[jockscott1]

I have been using Pentax film cameras with good results in the past and got sucked in by the great digital race
I tried all other cameras (Canon /nikon fuji xpro etc and was feeling something was always lacking
it left me with a knowing something was missing and so I came back to looking at Pentax
I was leaning towards K5 or K3 but reading about the shutter problems i had second thoughts but I just purchased a seconhand Ko1 on Ebay and I am looking forward to this
Only problem what to do with my digital Canon gear as the market goes down very quickly
what is the best prime lens for this I do mainly landscape and feel 30mm or 50mm

[Jean Poitiers]

Bonjour from France and welcome to PF, jockscott1 ... Hope to see some images soon. Salut, J

[mike.hiran]

If you're looking for a body that has an optical viewfinder, the k5ii or k5iis has been by far the most reliable. I've had my k5iis for almost a couple years now and it's been great. That said, I've heard of some users having issues with the k3, but I did not feel that the problem was widespread enough nor debilitating enough (just remove the battery to stop the cycle) to warrant avoiding the camera so I've recently bought the k3.

Regarding your question about lens choice... I assume since you've been using Canon gear, your aware of crop factors and have calculated that into your request. So... the FA31 is a pretty fantastic lens, but it's pretty fantastically priced The DA35 f2.8 macro is a great all rounder that can do pretty much everything well but since it's a macro, it's focus speed is a bit on the slow side. The DA35 2.4 is a great lens that happens to not cost that much. Another lens that has been reviewed very well has been the Sigma 30mm f1.4. If you're looking for a zoom, the Sigma 18-35 f1.8, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, Sigma 17-50 f2.8, Pentax DA*16-50, and Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 are all great lenses. Of these, the Pentax 16-50 is the only one that has weather sealing.

In the 50mm range, the Pentax DA* 55 f1.4 is really great and is weather sealed. If WR isn't too important though, there are many good choices - DA50 1.8, FA50 1.4, DFA 50 2.8 macro, F50 1.7, and the Sigma options are all extremely good. And if manual focus is ok, the SuperTakumars are still excellent performers as are the M, k, and A series Pentax lenses.

For some ideas of the pics you'd get from these lenses, head over to the lens section of this website - there is a ton of info over there.

Good luck and congrats on the k01!

[beachgardener]

G'day mate and welcome to the forum

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome to the forum, an interesting forum name suggests origins from around me somewhere perhaps?

[jockscott1]

thank you for all your kind remarks I have not recieved my K01 as yet but will post some phot,os when this happens
I am from Western Australia but originally from Gods own country next to Loch Lomond
I am located close to the beach with 90km of sandy beach and the light here is prety much harsh and does not lend itself to pictures during the hours of 9am to 5pm
I travel a lot and take lots of pictures mainly landscape and will recreate some of my pictures when I go this year to compare the ones I have done in the past maybe go all the way back to film
looking forward to being able to use all those classic old lens I have a Takumar 80-200 in pristine condition which will be very interesting to compare with my Canon pictures
You have made me more aware of the K3 and if this Ko1 lives up to expectations will endeaver to aquire K3

[Kerrowdown]

Gods own country next to Loch Lomond

No sorry... he stays up a bit further North, around here with us.

[TER-OR]

Welcome aboard!

If you mean the shutter freeze-up, it's a battery voltage issue and after a few recharge cycles the problem largely disappears. It's annoying, but it's not limited to Pentax. I gather it's the camera freezing in defense. Pop the battery out and put it back in and it works fine. It's something which really should have been fixed by the K3 though - easy for me to say.