Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Montana, USA | My take on Pentax and professional use
Jeez, folks, can we just put this, in my opinion, frankly silly thread to rest, once and for all?
In 35 years of shooting professionally near exclusively with Pentax equipment (except for film panoramics with Fuji pano cameras) only once have I ever met an art director or photo editor at any magazine, ad agency, design studio, corporate publications, advertising or marketing office, or newspaper photo department who gave a rat’s ass what model of camera I shot with. All they wanted to see was my portfolio, tearsheets and client list. I have shot assignments for and sold stock photos to an extensive list of major national/international magazines, newspapers, ad agencies and corporations and I never got one assignment or made one sale based on what camera system I used.
The only time I was ever asked was by a photo editor at a major publishing company based in Washington, D.C. whose magazine has a yellow cover. Then the only thing they said was, "Ah. Pentax. Good glass." When I didn't have all the “bigma” lenses to do the job, they loaned me a couple motorized Nikon bodies and a couple super long Nikkor lenses to shoot alongside my Pentax system. They made no editing decisions based on whether the shot was done with Pentax or Nikon glass, just what the content and quality of the image was. The legendary in-house mantra of the folks who shoot for this company is "f/8 and be there," not "f/8 and be there with Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus (or any another brand of camera.)" However, having said that, I do remember a conversation I had with the legendary Director of Photography there, Bob Gilka, who said that while Pentax was perfectly acceptable to the magazine, Olympus was not. Glass not good enough.
I shot for over a decade as an American stringer for the international news and features syndicate Sipa Press of Paris, France. They sold my images and photo stories all over the world. Not once did they ask what system I shot with. Nor did the Black Star Agency in New York. None of the various professional industry organizations I have belonged to over the years, including ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers), NPPA (National Press Photographers Association), PPA (Professional Photographers of America), ASPP (American Society of Picture Professionals), NANPA (North American Nature Photographers Association), SAA (Stock Artists Alliance), and OWAA (Outdoor Writers Association of America) have ever asked me what camera system I shot with, nor was it a requirement to become a member.
My point here is simple - it ain't what you shoot with, it’s how well you shoot it. Great photos are made by great photographers, not popular or hyped equipment. Good tools are important, but only so far as they allow you to do what you do well. If you do not have a good eye and a good brain armed with knowledge and honed by experience, all the most expensive gear in the world will not make you a professional level photographer.
Trust me, Pentax glass and Pentax cameras, within their parameters, are equal to and in some ways better than the best other "professional" equipment out there. Pentax lenses have always had that reputation. And now, especially with the K20D, the digital bodies also have the ability to compete professionally at the highest levels in digital capture. The only caveat I would make is that if you need extreme rapid fire recycling, as in high action sports shooting, maybe you would do better with Canon or Nikon. Maybe. I have shot high speed motor sports, rodeo action, active wildlife and birds in flight with Pentax quite successfully by concentrating on careful positioning and peaks of action (the “decisive moment”) without the need for "machine gunning," which, frankly, can produce pretty mediocre results if you don't know well the subject you are shooting. No fancy or expensive equipment can substitute for subject knowledge and experience when shooting action (or anything else for that matter).
Finally, over the years I have benefited greatly from the general uninformed public perception that only people sporting Nikon or Canon gear are "professionals," and thus worthy of attention. Pentax shooters can frequently "fly under the radar" and be overlooked by overly officious authorities intent on limiting coverage by the "pros." I know for a fact that I have gotten shots I otherwise could not have gotten, or could have gotten only with great hassle, by appearing to be just another innocuous tourist or amateur taking snapshots with my lowly Pentax gear. Where it was absolutely necessary to get a press pass with professional credentials, I simply produced mine and got one. Nobody ever refused me one just because I used Pentax.
That's my take and I'm stickin' to it.
|