K-r owners: still happy?

fgaudet · 03-12-2014, 07:00 AM

Originally posted by red5isalive

I like to set up my WB myself

Same here. Since it is so shitty in auto, I always set my WB manually... Even if it is kind of useless when shooting RAW

Aerlind · 04-07-2014, 07:58 PM - **1 Like**

Just wanted to add my thoughts: I still have my K-r and I still love it. I'll have it for years to come, as photography is entirely a hobby for me, and I'd rather save my "extra" money and buy either lenses for it or on my other hobbies. I've never had any issues with it, and I haven't updated any firmware (I didn't know I needed to?). Anyway, I have no desire to upgrade (yet), nor can I afford to.

Taobat · 05-01-2014, 09:33 AM - **1 Like**

Still love my K-r.

Some shots I took with it have been used in huge (2 meter tall lightboxes and 1.5 meter tall prints on canvas mounted to a wall) enlargements at work--everyone loves the images.

I Thought there was an issue with the quality of images when I was reviewing them on the LCD, but this turned out to be middle-aged eyes. The Camera was and remains awesome.

When I bought it, I was looking for the combination of price and low-light performance. Since then, the Canons and Nikons have caught up and moved on in low light performance, but I find my K-r still performs as I had hoped.

I only wish I had a bigger budget for lenses.

franco64 · 05-06-2014, 12:29 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by DominicVII

My anti-consumerist philosophy is all about using your tools till they die an honourable death.
This might not be good for the companies who would like us to buy into the latest fad, but it
renders service to certain bygone ideals.

I am no professional and my demands when it comes to camera gear are moderate in nature.
I have been tempted to upgrade from K-r to K30 or K5, but I am content with the performance
of my K-r and therefore I shall withstand the temptation.

So, how many among you intend to continue shooting with the K-r for many more years to come?
And are there those here who have much older DSLR models still in service?

Dom

Hi Dom,
I have my k-r now since 2 years and 4 months, I don't believe it is a long time even for an entry model, I was quite satisfied but this week end I had a big problem. The gear stopped to work.
It seems that the shutter is blocked. No matter which button I push the LCD scree blink and the same noise that the shuttering one, nothing else.
I didn't do anything strange, it could be a SW issue.
I called Pentax customer service, we reinitialised the camera but nothing changed.
It seems that the only solution is to send the camera at my charge to Ricoh for a technical analysis, minimum cost 50+ euro.
I really don't know what to do, freckly specking I was planning to upgrade to K5 or even K3 (the limited silver model looks grate) but now I have serious doubt about Pentax reliability.
Franco

Unregistered User · 05-14-2014, 06:01 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by franco64

Hi Dom,
I have my k-r now since 2 years and 4 months, I don't believe it is a long time even for an entry model, I was quite satisfied but this week end I had a big problem. The gear stopped to work.
It seems that the shutter is blocked. No matter which button I push the LCD scree blink and the same noise that the shuttering one, nothing else.
I didn't do anything strange, it could be a SW issue.
I called Pentax customer service, we reinitialised the camera but nothing changed.
It seems that the only solution is to send the camera at my charge to Ricoh for a technical analysis, minimum cost 50+ euro.
I really don't know what to do, freckly specking I was planning to upgrade to K5 or even K3 (the limited silver model looks grate) but now I have serious doubt about Pentax reliability.
Franco

That's sad to hear. Either your shutter is stuck or it has breathed his last. As a former Nikon user, I would say that these things could happen to any brand - even their high end products. If you haven't invested much in Pentax lenses, you could as well take a chance on a different brand (I myself am somewhat intrigued by the EM10).

jalemusk · 05-15-2014, 08:43 AM

I purchased a Kr 2 years ago, and wish I had bought an extended warranty. The camera worked great in the beginning, but I have had problems with it for the last 6 months. The pictures shoot normal, or shoot bright. I believe it is the sensor that is bad. It also will continually shoot even though it is not on that mode. I took it in to a camera dealer and they said it probably would cost more to repair it than what I paid for it. I still have my K100D and have been using that, but it's going on 7 years old. Still works fine. I'm upgrading to a K30. I just hope I don't have the same problems with it. I'm debating whether to purchase an extended warranty on that. I found one for 4 years for only $60. Sounds too good to be true.

Na Horuk · 05-15-2014, 09:27 AM

Yeah, unfortunately so many modern day products simply don't last as long, so extended warranty is a good idea

Unregistered User · 05-15-2014, 04:29 PM

Originally posted by jalemusk

I purchased a Kr 2 years ago, and wish I had bought an extended warranty. The camera worked great in the beginning, but I have had problems with it for the last 6 months. The pictures shoot normal, or shoot bright. I believe it is the sensor that is bad. It also will continually shoot even though it is not on that mode. I took it in to a camera dealer and they said it probably would cost more to repair it than what I paid for it. I still have my K100D and have been using that, but it's going on 7 years old. Still works fine. I'm upgrading to a K30. I just hope I don't have the same problems with it. I'm debating whether to purchase an extended warranty on that. I found one for 4 years for only $60. Sounds too good to be true.

I bought my Kr with a foolproof warranty extension of 5 years for 50 EUR. So, I am safe till 2016. You should definitely get one if it costs no more than 60 USD.

Fire Angel · 06-04-2014, 11:34 AM

I'm very happy with my K-r and have no plans to replace it in the near future. My view at the moment is that any spending money I get would be far better spent on lenses than on a better camera. Time spent learning to use what I currently have will pay later when I do get better equipment. If I were buying now I'd be after a K-30 or a K-50, but when I bought the K-r (at a reduction from normal selling price at the time) the camera was a good buy and I have no regrets.

Skanda · 06-06-2014, 12:21 AM

Originally posted by DominicVII

My anti-consumerist philosophy is all about using your tools till they die an honourable death.
This might not be good for the companies who would like us to buy into the latest fad, but it
renders service to certain bygone ideals.

I am no professional and my demands when it comes to camera gear are moderate in nature.
I have been tempted to upgrade from K-r to K30 or K5, but I am content with the performance
of my K-r and therefore I shall withstand the temptation.

So, how many among you intend to continue shooting with the K-r for many more years to come?
And are there those here who have much older DSLR models still in service?

Dom

Pentax K-30 have Focus Peaking, this is for me...

**Nakedgun** · 06-10-2014, 07:00 PM

I gave my wife a white K-r in Oct 2011 as an anniversary gift. Her first digital, she takes snapshots with a Tamron 18-200, and is happy with all she has done with it. Not really a hobby for her, nevertheless, I have a K-50 (also white) waiting for her when the time is right.

Fire Angel · 08-10-2014, 09:03 AM

Well here are two reasons why I am still happy with the KR. The first of the two is from one of my first attempts at night photography, the second is a more recent effort. Both are 30 second exposures, stacked in Photoshop to increase the number of light trails in the image. When I first started doing this I often tried to get more light trails by increasing exposure times, but it gets difficult as any static lights in the scene are over-exposed and blown out. By taking several shots and stacking them in PhotoShop you can get a much better result. Using "lighten" as the blend mode really helps.

ChristianRock · 08-18-2014, 08:57 AM

I'm glad people are enjoying their K-r cameras.

This week I am set up to pick up a cheap yet well kept K-r body that I intend to have as my wife's camera, and the camera we take to family outings. I'll keep the K20D for my flower and macro pictures, as well as landscapes and travels.

ChristianRock · 08-21-2014, 10:57 AM

...and I did get the K-r! Just as this forums seems to be dying... lol

Na Horuk · 08-21-2014, 02:13 PM

Yeah, this forum isnt very active, but people still use their K-r and post in other threads

05-15-2014, 08:43 AM	#81
jalemusk Inactive Account Join Date: May 2011 Location: muskego, Wisconsin Photos: Albums Posts: 11	Bad KR luck I purchased a Kr 2 years ago, and wish I had bought an extended warranty. The camera worked great in the beginning, but I have had problems with it for the last 6 months. The pictures shoot normal, or shoot bright. I believe it is the sensor that is bad. It also will continually shoot even though it is not on that mode. I took it in to a camera dealer and they said it probably would cost more to repair it than what I paid for it. I still have my K100D and have been using that, but it's going on 7 years old. Still works fine. I'm upgrading to a K30. I just hope I don't have the same problems with it. I'm debating whether to purchase an extended warranty on that. I found one for 4 years for only $60. Sounds too good to be true.

06-04-2014, 11:34 AM	#84
Fire Angel Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 136	I'm very happy with my K-r and have no plans to replace it in the near future. My view at the moment is that any spending money I get would be far better spent on lenses than on a better camera. Time spent learning to use what I currently have will pay later when I do get better equipment. If I were buying now I'd be after a K-30 or a K-50, but when I bought the K-r (at a reduction from normal selling price at the time) the camera was a good buy and I have no regrets. Last edited by Fire Angel; 06-07-2014 at 06:27 AM. Reason: Spelling error

08-10-2014, 09:03 AM	#87
Fire Angel Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 136	Well here are two reasons why I am still happy with the KR. The first of the two is from one of my first attempts at night photography, the second is a more recent effort. Both are 30 second exposures, stacked in Photoshop to increase the number of light trails in the image. When I first started doing this I often tried to get more light trails by increasing exposure times, but it gets difficult as any static lights in the scene are over-exposed and blown out. By taking several shots and stacking them in PhotoShop you can get a much better result. Using "lighten" as the blend mode really helps. Attached Images Last edited by Fire Angel; 08-10-2014 at 03:14 PM.

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03-12-2014, 07:00 AM	#76
fgaudet Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 726	Originally posted by red5isalive I like to set up my WB myself Same here. Since it is so shitty in auto, I always set my WB manually... Even if it is kind of useless when shooting RAW

04-07-2014, 07:58 PM - 1 Like	#77
Aerlind Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Colorado Posts: 116	Just wanted to add my thoughts: I still have my K-r and I still love it. I'll have it for years to come, as photography is entirely a hobby for me, and I'd rather save my "extra" money and buy either lenses for it or on my other hobbies. I've never had any issues with it, and I haven't updated any firmware (I didn't know I needed to?). Anyway, I have no desire to upgrade (yet), nor can I afford to.

05-01-2014, 09:33 AM - 1 Like	#78
Taobat Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 44	Still love my K-r. Some shots I took with it have been used in huge (2 meter tall lightboxes and 1.5 meter tall prints on canvas mounted to a wall) enlargements at work--everyone loves the images. I Thought there was an issue with the quality of images when I was reviewing them on the LCD, but this turned out to be middle-aged eyes. The Camera was and remains awesome. When I bought it, I was looking for the combination of price and low-light performance. Since then, the Canons and Nikons have caught up and moved on in low light performance, but I find my K-r still performs as I had hoped. I only wish I had a bigger budget for lenses.

05-06-2014, 12:29 AM - 1 Like	#79
franco64 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Photos: Gallery Posts: 34	Originally posted by DominicVII My anti-consumerist philosophy is all about using your tools till they die an honourable death. This might not be good for the companies who would like us to buy into the latest fad, but it renders service to certain bygone ideals. I am no professional and my demands when it comes to camera gear are moderate in nature. I have been tempted to upgrade from K-r to K30 or K5, but I am content with the performance of my K-r and therefore I shall withstand the temptation. So, how many among you intend to continue shooting with the K-r for many more years to come? And are there those here who have much older DSLR models still in service? Dom Hi Dom, I have my k-r now since 2 years and 4 months, I don't believe it is a long time even for an entry model, I was quite satisfied but this week end I had a big problem. The gear stopped to work. It seems that the shutter is blocked. No matter which button I push the LCD scree blink and the same noise that the shuttering one, nothing else. I didn't do anything strange, it could be a SW issue. I called Pentax customer service, we reinitialised the camera but nothing changed. It seems that the only solution is to send the camera at my charge to Ricoh for a technical analysis, minimum cost 50+ euro. I really don't know what to do, freckly specking I was planning to upgrade to K5 or even K3 (the limited silver model looks grate) but now I have serious doubt about Pentax reliability. Franco

05-14-2014, 06:01 PM - 1 Like	#80
Unregistered User Guest	Originally posted by franco64 Hi Dom, I have my k-r now since 2 years and 4 months, I don't believe it is a long time even for an entry model, I was quite satisfied but this week end I had a big problem. The gear stopped to work. It seems that the shutter is blocked. No matter which button I push the LCD scree blink and the same noise that the shuttering one, nothing else. I didn't do anything strange, it could be a SW issue. I called Pentax customer service, we reinitialised the camera but nothing changed. It seems that the only solution is to send the camera at my charge to Ricoh for a technical analysis, minimum cost 50+ euro. I really don't know what to do, freckly specking I was planning to upgrade to K5 or even K3 (the limited silver model looks grate) but now I have serious doubt about Pentax reliability. Franco That's sad to hear. Either your shutter is stuck or it has breathed his last. As a former Nikon user, I would say that these things could happen to any brand - even their high end products. If you haven't invested much in Pentax lenses, you could as well take a chance on a different brand (I myself am somewhat intrigued by the EM10).

05-15-2014, 09:27 AM	#82
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	Yeah, unfortunately so many modern day products simply don't last as long, so extended warranty is a good idea

05-15-2014, 04:29 PM	#83
Unregistered User Guest	Originally posted by jalemusk I purchased a Kr 2 years ago, and wish I had bought an extended warranty. The camera worked great in the beginning, but I have had problems with it for the last 6 months. The pictures shoot normal, or shoot bright. I believe it is the sensor that is bad. It also will continually shoot even though it is not on that mode. I took it in to a camera dealer and they said it probably would cost more to repair it than what I paid for it. I still have my K100D and have been using that, but it's going on 7 years old. Still works fine. I'm upgrading to a K30. I just hope I don't have the same problems with it. I'm debating whether to purchase an extended warranty on that. I found one for 4 years for only $60. Sounds too good to be true. I bought my Kr with a foolproof warranty extension of 5 years for 50 EUR. So, I am safe till 2016. You should definitely get one if it costs no more than 60 USD.

06-06-2014, 12:21 AM	#85
Skanda New Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 1	Originally posted by DominicVII My anti-consumerist philosophy is all about using your tools till they die an honourable death. This might not be good for the companies who would like us to buy into the latest fad, but it renders service to certain bygone ideals. I am no professional and my demands when it comes to camera gear are moderate in nature. I have been tempted to upgrade from K-r to K30 or K5, but I am content with the performance of my K-r and therefore I shall withstand the temptation. So, how many among you intend to continue shooting with the K-r for many more years to come? And are there those here who have much older DSLR models still in service? Dom Pentax K-30 have Focus Peaking, this is for me...

06-10-2014, 07:00 PM	#86
Nakedgun Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Southwest Posts: 1,365	I gave my wife a white K-r in Oct 2011 as an anniversary gift. Her first digital, she takes snapshots with a Tamron 18-200, and is happy with all she has done with it. Not really a hobby for her, nevertheless, I have a K-50 (also white) waiting for her when the time is right.

08-18-2014, 08:57 AM	#88
ChristianRock Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: People's Republic of America Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,910	I'm glad people are enjoying their K-r cameras. This week I am set up to pick up a cheap yet well kept K-r body that I intend to have as my wife's camera, and the camera we take to family outings. I'll keep the K20D for my flower and macro pictures, as well as landscapes and travels.

08-21-2014, 10:57 AM	#89
ChristianRock Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: People's Republic of America Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,910	...and I did get the K-r! Just as this forums seems to be dying... lol

08-21-2014, 02:13 PM	#90
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	Yeah, this forum isnt very active, but people still use their K-r and post in other threads