K20D vs. K7 in High-ISO RAW Noise

When contemplating whether to stay with Pentax for my needs in regards to the K-7, 2 years ago, I had to consider what I wanted the camera for. A lot of the people on this Pentax forum seem to hold higher expectations and are more critical of Pentax's K series semi pro DSLR's that what their designed for. The reason that I've always decided to stay with them, is that they are the most bang for your buck, and they're put together in a very tight, compact, and very weatherproof package that suites my needs a backpacker/mountaineer who lugs his camera, lenses, and equipment many miles into and over rugged terrain. Now granted if I was wealthy, and could afford say a horse to get me close to the areas that are 20 miles in on trail, to where I go, an another say 5-7 over the trail-less and rugged areas to that of where I really like to go, then ya, I may decide to spend 3-4 times as much on say a D3x and a couple of nice lenses in the FF format. The biggest problem that I foresee with that kind of upgrade is that carries a huge weight and volume penalty when you go to that format and your gear now weighs 15-25lbs instead of 5-8lbs when you factor in the appropriate carbon fiber tripods for each of those applications. With that said, I believe that there are a lot of true and strictly photographers who weigh more heavily on the straight-up photography needs and forget about all of the other things that the newer body styles bring to the table. Let's face it, the older body styles are more on par with most of the other manufactures semi-pro bodies in terms of size and weight and feel. I know that I can't use the older body style, my K-10D, for confident one-handed operations if I'm on a very exposed class 4 climb where I need that other hand to be on the rock to give me those 3 points of contact while I shoot a photo one handed. I also need that built-in HD video to save me from having to carry a separate camcorder that will add more weight and take away from what limited space I already have. I also need that 14 degree low operating temperature range seeing as I often find myself in those conditions where 32 degrees just doesn't cut it. I also prefer to sleep with the K-5 or K-7 in-between my legs in my Down Sleeping Bag when the night time temperature dips below 14 degrees because those body styles are smaller. So it may be true, if your an outdoor enthusiast like myself, you'll definitely prefer the newer body styles for the application of those types of needs. If you’re a straight-up just-photographer, who perhaps likes Pentax and/or can't afford a true Professional Body and the equivalent lenses that go with it, ya, then you might like the older bodies. I always tend to see the people who prefer the older body styles preaching about the controls and feel for their needs and the outdoor enthusiasts like myself preaching about what I just said. If I could come up with the money, I'd have the D-4 when it comes out along with the lenses for my off-the-trail needs. Right now, I'm more of what you would consider a semi-professional photographer who doesn't need those Professional options for the majority of my shooting which is done in the extreme backcountry where the newer body styles suite those needs perfectly for what I do.