[Don Promillo]

Yes it is and considering the current price tag it's one of the very few occasions where the offer not only seems to be too good to be true. It really is.

Sure, there are better, newer Pentaxes available but with the same amount of money you can get a K 50 AND good glass AND a good tripod AND a set of ND filters AND a nice bag AND a few more batteries AND a few manual flashes AND Lightroom AND a bean bag AND a set of eneloop batteries AND a charger for these AND all the other usefull stuff for the camera as well.

What really makes a difference in picture quality is the lens, not just the body. And this is an investment you can take with you when, one day, you feel the need for a new camera body.

[jgnfld]

Hello everyone, I'm new here. Not a Pentax owner but debating getting one. Adorama has a K-50 body for less than $300 and it seems like a really good deal, but I know the camera is now more than 2 years old. Is this still a good purchase? I tried asking for advice on another forum but it seems all the members there wanted to do was argue with each other instead of providing much in terms of camera/product line-specific info, so I thought it might be better to get advice from people who have actually owned the camera before. I'm really just looking for a camera with a good UI that's easy to make adjustments on the fly in manual or any of the priority modes, with decent low-light performance and a good large viewfinder (I wear glasses, if the viewfinder is too small I might have trouble getting my eye close enough to see it well), and the IBIS seems to be a good way to save money on lenses compared to Canon/Nikon/Sony. I have a max budget of about $300 for the body only (I'll be buying secondhand lenses to save some money). I think the K50 best fits my needs, plus it has the bonus of being water resistant, something good for the Florida weather where rain can pop up basically at any time.

Is this still a good purchase today?

I love my K-50 and I think it will do what you appear to be asking just fine. I use it on my sailboat in spray and Newfoundland constant rain, drizzle, and fog just fine. You can buy an aftermarket Pentax viewfinder magnifier, btw, that helps with "old" eyes like mine! (give dealer the number "Pentax O-ME53 Viewfinder Loupe" or search US internet dealers).

There is also the question of what glass you presently own and is it worthwhile to obsolete it? Not knowing our present setup, this is your call.

Some examples in less than great weather conditions that I've posted here before. All shots handheld. Clicking on the pics will bring up the exif info.
100% crop. Taken from moving sailboat at 300mm. Dull day.


In rain, drizzle, and fog. Late twilight to boot. WR 18-55 kit lens @28mm. Droplets removed in PP.


At -10C...not that you'll see that in Florida. Sigma 10-20 @13mm.

[grcolts]

For the price they are asking for it now, the Pentax K50 is a steal compared to other cameras. Plus, it works with AA batteries in a pinch!

[jgnfld]

For the price they are asking for it now, the Pentax K50 is a steal compared to other cameras. Plus, it works with AA batteries in a pinch!

Yes. A complete steal.

[esrandall]

K-50 is a great purchase. If it was able to accommodate a grip, I very well may have never upgraded to the K-3. Great feature set (especially the focus peaking for macro), and feels good in the hand.

[The Squirrel Mafia]

By the way, it looks like you can get a blue or olive K-50 at an insane price on eBay right now. It even comes with the Pentax flash, 18-55, 50-200 & a 4gb Eye-fi card.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/94-pentax-price-watch/301123-k-50-w-18-55...ore-399-a.html

^ You can't beat that with a baseball bat. Makes me want to get one too, but I already have a black & red one.

But that blue........ Hahaha!

[Helios 1984]

Buy a K50, you won't regret it.

[reh321]

Thanks to everyone for their input, just ordered the camera body now and looking for some used lenses as I'm typing this. Seems like the K50 is near a perfect match for what I need! Only downside would be video, but I don't often take it anyway, plus my Note 4 does decent 4K that scales nicely to 1080p.

I hope you're aware of the other discussions in this section about reliability issues with the K-30/50. I bought a K-30 a year ago, partly because we were having some cash-flow issues, and it has does just fine for me. You need to realize that I'm a low-volume user {fewer than 1000 clicks/year}. I do expect to buy a K-70 some time in the {maybe near} future, even though I've typically viewed a camera that last less than four years as a "failure". Of course, all the lenses and other stuff I've accumulated for the K-30 will be equally usable on the K-70.

Before getting the K-30 I was using a Canon Rebel {I switched because I had to of them fail in less than eight years}. One of the changes I've noticed is that I've become interested in all kinds of older lenses since I got the K-30.

[Carol8345]

I love my K-50. Some of my images stack up to higher end cameras. Good choice.

[dwinnert]

I decided to get a new DSLR and my choices where between a new Nikon D3200 and the K-50. Went with the K-50 and it is out for delivery.

I have shot with many brands, and was looking at my images over the last 15 years and found I liked the ones from the K10D I once had.

[vankasteelj]

I would also recommend it. At that price range, it is a steal (compare it to the 1200D... you'll quickly get it^^)