[pid]

don't forget the genuine TAv-Mode!

[BigMackCam]

I don't mean to be unkind, but dude, get a life.

Anyone totally bought into brand loyalty is not gong to change. That includes you.

Almost sixty years in the photo business, if your will, I just don't get this brand cock fight.

But you *are* being unkind - and rude. The OP asked a reasonable question - if you don't like it, or don't think it's relevant, the gentlemanly thing to do would be to stay out of it.

I'm find myself becoming less and less tolerant of discourteous conduct on what is otherwise a fantastic forum. It really is so unnecessary.

[monochrome]

Most of biz-engineer's comments are correct and would be meaningful if Pentax was competing directly with Nikon or Canon for the same customers. They're not. It's called brand differentiation. For instance, how many potential buyers of a K-1 also will actually buy a 600/4? It's a conceit to think that omission matters.

[BigMackCam]

don't forget the genuine TAv-Mode!

TAv mode is one of my favourite features for non-flash photography - it really does save time!

[dakight]

I can't believe no one mentioned in-body shake reduction. We take it for granted, but it means that any lens that is mounted to a Pentax body will enjoy the benefits of image stabilization, even adapted M42 mount lenses from the film era.

[pid]

I can't believe no one mentioned in-body shake reduction. We take it for granted, but it means that any lens that is mounted to a Pentax body will enjoy the benefits of image stabilization, even adapted M42 mount lenses from the film era.

nobody mentioned this, because it is used standard for Pentax Users. Same as the TAv Mode, which is unique for Pentax. We know why we love Pentax ;-)

[BigMackCam]

I can't believe no one mentioned in-body shake reduction. We take it for granted, but it means that any lens that is mounted to a Pentax body will enjoy the benefits of image stabilization, even adapted M42 mount lenses from the film era.

I think a couple of people mentioned "IBIS" which I assumed was "In Body Image Stabilisation"

[UserAccessDenied]

When I first got into photography I was looking at every brand of DSLR available.
I asked friends who had CANIKON and each one praised the gear they shot with and said "Anything else is just not as good as what I have..."
Nobody mentioned Pentax.

I found this forum through extensive Google searches and figured I'd read through some articles, threads, posts, etc.

I was amazed by the support here!

Also, there is an insane amount of activity on this forum... I've been a member on other forums where you'd go days or weeks between posts, from any member.
There is always someone here to answer questions and guide you.
The marketplace is a sweet feature as well.

But my main 2 reasons for buying into Pentax: K mount and the quality of entry level gear.

For $220 I picked up a K-30 and an old Rikenon 50mm 1.7; both from the marketplace here.

I took it to work to show my CANIKON friends and they were all kinda of snickering at first.
I said, "Before you say anything, try it out"
First, none of them knew it was WR... and then my friend (shoots Canon) took a few shots and was amazed by the color depth and the bright pentaprism VF.
He let me use his T5i and I was not impressed... Sure it has a flip out screen with touch capabilities, but honestly I prefer to not have all that. The camera overall just felt cheap and plasticky. Button placement didn't make sense to me either; mainly because the touch screen was required for most of it.
I think he paid $700 new for his T5i kit with lens...
I told him I paid $220 for my K-30 and nifty fifty...

Overall I am so glad I did the bit of research and stuck to my gut. So many people will try to sway you towards their preferences, either to make them feel better about the choices they made or perhaps they are afraid to admit something better may be out there.
If I needed a video camera I probably would have gone with a higher end Canon.
But I wanted a camera for shooting stills. I wanted WR. I wanted color depth. I wanted affordability. I wanted quality. I wanted a Pentax!

I think I'm sold on the brand now, I feel like one of those guys at work who was swaying me towards their purchases... But when people ask me for advice, I just hand them an entry level, last generation K-30 with a prime and let them decide for themselves.

The gear will speak for itself.

[normhead]

With all due respect you two, he didn't ask what was wrong with Pentax. I'm beginning to see you guys as folks with rather severe psych problems. Every question about a company is an opportunity to bash the brand.

1. Rugged bodies built for adventurers.
2. Lenses coverring 15-800 mm FF equivalent in new glass up 1200 mm in legacy FF glass.
3. A great line up of WR lenses and bodies. You can start with water resistance in your most basic economy set up.
4. Every Pentax lens ever made including your 50 year old Spotmatic lenses will benefit from shake reduction.
5. The best collection of lightweight, incredibly good lenses ever made.

6. the 31 ltd.

The cover of the March 2002Popular Photographyproclaimed, "The 3 greatest prime lenses we've ever tested!!!", yet nowhere inside the issue was the cover blurb referenced. Hint: this was one of the three. For the others, read on.

http://luminous-landscape.com/sm-02-05-02/

If I was to create a poster the text would be something like.

"What ever it is you do outdoors, Pentax will take your best shot, and come home to tell the tale."

But then, I don't know how many people would actually understand that.

[6BQ5]

Ergonomics. Honestly, a Pentax just feels good to hold and use. The brands don't fit my hands the same way. Holding a Canon just feels awkward. It's got a different balance and molding for my hand/fingers.

LiveView composition adjustment. I don't know if this is possible in other brands but it's very nice to have in my K-3. It's great for macro and perspective adjustment.

Low light AF performance. I think we take it for granted just how little light a Pentax needs in order to perform AF before turning on the AF assist light.

Big viewfinder. An APS viewfinder is tiny in general but Pentax makes one of the biggest ones! This would be one reason to get the upcoming FF - a large, glorious viewfinder!

[pathdoc]

The absence of the aperture reporting lever for pre-A-series K mount lenses (and the need for the Green Button Trick) notwithstanding, the smoothness of implementation of Pentax's legacy glass support is just amazing. Pre-AI? AI? AIS? Who cares? We don't have that issue - mount the lens (M42/K as required), go to manual mode; focus, dial the aperture, hit the green button and shoot. Couldn't be simpler (at least if you're not using flash; if you are, things get tricky and then a thyristor flash is worth its weight in gold). The ONLY real problem is with anodised mount faces on some third-party glass, and a strip of electricians' tape fixes that nicely.

Stabilisation for every lens you can mount. Wow.

WR at a bargain basement price, and some really cheap but really outstanding fast primes for those who want them.

The DA Limiteds - good things really do come in small packages.

The Pentax lens line-up may not be as huge as Canon's or Nikon's, but perhaps that's an advantage - too much choice can result in paralysis. I think this will change once the full-frame has been out for a while and the range of matching glass has had some time to expand. We have our wide to short tele and long to ultra-long tele zooms, we will soon have our short to mid tele, and we know roughly what to expect in UWA terms (Tamron 15-30 rebrand). We have (or will soon have) everything from 15mm to 450mm covered, plus 1.4X for those who need it, and I think that's a pretty good place to be. The only thing lacking right now is any concrete idea of what D-FA prime territory will look like in the future.

[BigMackCam]

The Pentax lens line-up may not be as huge as Canon's or Nikon's, but perhaps that's an advantage - too much choice can result in paralysis.

Agreed. And, when you look at it, we actually have a *really* nice selection of glass available to us. Yes, it would be nice to have more new, fast primes, and some longer, high-quality teles; more WR and AW models would be nice, and we do miss out on certain third-party lenses because of Pentax's smaller niche presence. But, overall, we have a great range to choose from...

[apete]

In random order:

1. Interesting set of lenses. Big and small, primes and zooms. From cheap but good IQ plastics to high quality stars.
2. Solid WR cameras with intuitive menus/controls and built-in image stabilization. Keeping and using this kind of well built body in hands is a pure pleasure for me.
3. The system evolves. With every year improved bodies and new lenses. For bodies - no revolution but evolution: if I change body to a newer and faster one all the controls are in place.
4. pentaxforums.com
5. Face look of someone who finds out you are shooting with Pentax and not so-Canikon: priceless.

I am not saying other systems do not have #1 to #4... (yes, they do not have #5 :-)

[Kerrowdown]

Why buy Pentax in 2016?

Simple... cos that's when the FF comes out to fit my "Ladies".

[lesmore49]

I don't mean to be unkind, but dude, get a life.

Anyone totally bought into brand loyalty is not gong to change. That includes you.

Almost sixty years in the photo business, if your will, I just don't get this brand cock fight.

I dunno...nobody who has been around as long as you...almost 60 years in photo business...alone...uses words like 'dude'. Btw, I'm an old guy too and we just don't use vernacular like that.

But I do agree with the brand loyalty thing. Always be open minded about all products.

But to the subject at hand. Why buy Pentax in 2016. Much of what I say has already been posted. Where else are you going to get a rugged, sealed, well built body like a K3ll for tha mount of money that Pentax is asking ?

I've been both a photography and Pentax fan since 1968. I keep buying Pentax equipment because of it's durability, reliability and ability,,,with a good photographer..to take pix that are competitive with any other equipment in it's class.

BTW, I've got a lot of film/digital equipment of different makes...Leica RF, Mamiya medium format, Canon, Olympus, Zeiss, etc. For close to half a century my main line has been Pentax.

Lens quality....I'm very happy...albeit I would like a faster lens in some areas...but to me, no big deal.

For awhile there a few years ago, during the Hoya time, I was considering changing to Nikon. However since Ricoh has taken over the Pentax line, I've been pleased with the direction and products ....both available and planned.

With three Pentax DSLR bodies...I don't really need another body...but I'm thinking about it. Possibly...eventually a FF Pentax and maybe a K3 ll or whatever replaces the K3 ll.