Originally posted by Dan Rentea You think? I just sold all my Pentax gear 2 days ago and today I'm going to buy Canon 6D with a couple of lenses. Canon and Nikon are not worried about Pentax. If they worry about something, I think it's the increasing sales of Sony.
PRO photographers will not switch from Canon/Nikon to Pentax, at least not in the next 4-6 years.
Pentax need some important improvements in:
- service
- autofocus
- flash systems
- lenses
I love Pentax, but then again, if the specs are not interesting to me (and Sony 42mp sensor is not), then I'll have nothing else to choose from (there is no other full frame available).
Even if I had Pentax K-3 II, for me the best camera that I owned from Pentax was K-5 II.
Enjoy 6D I had one. It is a fantastic camera. That was the last Canon I owned before switching to K5IIs then to K3.
As to the better stuff you are looking to get out of Canon, as a Canon digital camera owner for almost 13 years, I got fed up with them.
1. Better service, BIG yes. This is the only item on your list I can concur with.
2. Autofocus - the good autofocus is in their $5K plus cameras. Otherwise all the overpriced mid-range cameras including the much heralded 5D MarkIII too suck at it. A pro wedding photographer of mine has one and he is fed up with it.
3. Their flash system is the main reason I switched. Just two word, It sucks.
4. Lenses - yes they have pro stuff but you pay an-arm-n-leg for it. Especially the stablized ones.
As to people switching to Pentax, I said "might" not will.
Yes I agree 100 percent that Sony is what Canon and Nikon are worried about. Specifically the A7 mirrorless series.
What a Pentax 42 or even 36MP FF will offer that Canon or Nikon guys might find interesting is not just the MP count but:
1. Compact form
2. Built like a tank construction at vey attractive price. One word "value"
3. IBIS - free stabilization on ALL your lenses
4. Decent flash system. Nikon is king here but Canon is no better than Pentax
5. Enough lenses for most pro work, except perhaps sports. Canon and Nikon lead here but you pay $5-6k for a body (as a pro you need two, backup) and another $6-10k apiece for long glass. Perhaps you need two of them plus some short lenses. Total cost $30-35k. Definitely not your average user budget
6. Better dynamic range than Canon not Nikon
7. Astrotracer for night shooters
8. Pixel shift for all sorts of hi-res apps. I did art reproduction for artists back in the days. A camera like this would have saved me tons of work. And so many other hi-res uses.
9 Did I mention reasonable cost. Yes you can get two as a pro and still have money left over for food!
Would die-hard Canon and Nikon guys sell off their beloved cameras to flock to Pentax, not by a long shot. But Pentax offers a cost effective platform to do pro still work at fraction of the cost of Canon or Nikon.
I agree with you the real threat to all camera manufacturers is Sony. They offer the best of both worlds including 4K video. If I were a serious video shooter, I would have swithced by now not to Canon or Nikon but Sony.
As a still shooter Pentax offers me the best APSc camera for now until the best FF camera comes out in a few months.
Am I switching in the next 4-6 years, if Pentax gives me what they have promised, I don't think so... Homey don't do that!