This is my last post on this topic, because I think the subject has been well-aired and nearing exhaustion. Several summary observations come to mind reading all these points of view.
(1) There are different kinds of reviews, and depending on the kind of review it is, reviewing every detail may be more or less important.
(2) What you get from a Michael Reichmann review is how a very experienced professional finds the overall handling and performance of the camera in real-world photography, and what he sees as distinguishing it - or not - *in important ways* from its peers. If you think his experience and judgment is worth anything, you'd appreciate having this kind of contribution a mouse-click away; if you don't, well you don't.
(3) He never said the camera isn't good value for the money - in fact he did, if not in exactly those words. But regardless of what HE says about that, we as individual consumers with our individual likes and dislikes, needs versus desires, and deep or shallow pockets, need to make that determination; the review is only an assist.
(4) I have always found brand loyalty a curious phenominon. I really have none and I'm grateful for that. I like things that perform and meet my needs at a price point I can afford. I don't care who manufactures it. And this is all the more *a propos* when you consider that no one brand of anything has everything. I also consider service an important component of the brand, and the little I've seen of Pentax leaves me cold.
(5) In that vein, at some point we have to ask ourselves some questions about what makes companies tick and some more prominent and successful than others. As mentioned in one of the posts above, why should it be so hard to find and test a Pentax, when Nikon and Canon are all over the place? This isn't an issue of "natural justice" or "underdogs", it's a story about corporate policy and strategy, which pervades everything from marketing through to service - making and selling cameras isn't only about features and technical quality. I'd like to see more of that angle covered in reviews, but it's a very difficult thing to do because reviewers don't have the data to do it reliably. That's just a limitation we'll live with, but it means we need to keep our eyes and ears open about the company behind the product before we buy.