[Chex]

I miss so many low profile landscapes cuz i cant view the screen well.

Your allowed to bend down and even lie down to make a shot I'd rather see tethering than an articulating screen... port the screen to a cell phone or tablet PC.

[bogiesbad]

Who you calling ugly?

[mrjamesabels]

Yes laying in the wet sand. Wet sandy hands, switching out filters and lenses. Not good for our $$$ equipment. I did it this morning. I always do it. Sick of doing that!!! Tethering is even more important for a professional doing portraits and product photography in a studio. Sony doesn't have it either unless you get they're fullframe camera. I run mac so pktether isnt an option and Pentax should offer it if they want to be a real contender.

[unfocused]

Who cares what a National Geographic shooter uses? You don't shoot for National Geo. You shoot for your inner circle shared on Facebook and Flickr.

If true, it's a sad, sad, situation. Crap standards rule. And you certainly don't need a dSLR for that. Those that use dSLRs only for Facebook and Flickr just love bulky jewellery round their neck, hoping it makes a "statement" about them.

As for pro endorsements, I've lifted the following quote by Steve Roberts from 1970s Pentax Advertisements ....

As part of my general interest in photography, I accumulate (I wouldn't go so far as to say "collect"!) Pentax 35mm SLRs up to and including the K series. Along with that interest, I also keep a watchful eye out for Pentax advertising material, which I usually laminate and stick on the walls of the darkroom. A series of ads I've always admired is that showing the Pentaxes belonging to various noteworthy individuals. Thus we have a shot of a battered Pentax SV captioned "Ken Russell's Pentax" and at the bottom of the page the terrific slogan "Your Pentax becomes a part of you." Other notables' Pentaxes include David Bailey, Spike Milligan, Terence Conran, Henry Fox Talbot (no, I'm kidding on the last one!).

Of course, Spike Milligan and Terence Conran weren't pros, but all were icons.

I don't think I could name a single professional photographer working today, but back then they were household names.

[gazonk]

Many drive mini-vans and tote around bags larger than what a medium format shooter uses.

I see many parents with DSLR's. I have seen no market information or intuition that they resent the size of these cameras. I suspect, like many, the OVF has appeal.

I was thinking of the young urban mothers that Pentax was targeting with their K-x ads, not soccer moms from Suburbia. I know what you're talking about, I've seen canon 1d with huge white lenses on school fairs, but that's not the same market as latte-sipping young mothers in the city

[wwwmorrell]

Hey, a lot of us have trouble bending down these days & even bigger trouble getting back up.

Your allowed to bend down and even lie down to make a shot I'd rather see tethering than an articulating screen... port the screen to a cell phone or tablet PC.

[jsherman999]

If true, it's a sad, sad, situation. Crap standards rule. And you certainly don't need a dSLR for that. Those that use dSLRs only for Facebook and Flickr just love bulky jewellery round their neck, hoping it makes a "statement" about them.

Funny situation from just last night - we were out at a kid's Halloween party and met up with some friends who have a boy the same age as my oldest. They were running around going crazy in their costumes at this indoor park and I was snapping away, just recording the event for the grandparents, and the mother of the boy, who had bought a DSLR last year after seeing my shots of my kids and of her kids (and at my recommendation,) walked up to me holding her P&S, and exclaimed, "have you ever tried to go back to using this? It sucks, I can't even take a picture, its so slow, I hate it!"

I felt gratified that she recognized the vast difference in performance, made me realize my advice to go DSLR had really helped them get a lot of shots they would miss otherwise, etc. She said she had quickly grabbed the P&S out the door, but wouldn't even bother with it anymore after going back to it for that one event. I think I may have some shots of her trying to shoot with it, maybe I'll upload

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Last edited by jsherman999; 10-29-2011 at 07:05 AM.

[pinholecam]

Its nice talking about possibility of Ff and all, but isn't Pentax in deep water now with the Sony sensor plant in Thailand under flood waters?

Even the Nikon D800 is delayed.
I don't dare to think that Pentax may not even have the 16mp sensors for K5.

[Asahiflex]

Its nice talking about possibility of Ff and all, but isn't Pentax in deep water now with the Sony sensor plant in Thailand under flood waters?

Even the Nikon D800 is delayed.
I don't dare to think that Pentax may not even have the 16mp sensors for K5.

I think that the Thailand sensor plant only made the cheap cellphone etc. sensors, so everything below APS-C. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[v5planet]

Those that use dSLRs only for Facebook and Flickr just love bulky jewellery round their neck, hoping it makes a "statement" about them.[/SIZE]
[/SIZE]

Um, I'm sorry but that is an absolutely ridiculous generalization. I rarely print photos, and most of my shots never make it past Flickr and these forums. I bought and use my dslr equipment for the enormously larger performance and creative control over P&S. I am not disappointed with this decision, and it has nothing to do with "jewelry". I suspect most people on these forums are in a similar boat, especially those of us who never shot film. You don't really believe we'd be better served by some clumsy P&S, do you?

[unfocused]

Most of my shots never make it past Flickr and these forums. I bought and use my dslr equipment for the enormously larger performance and creative control... You don't really believe we'd be better served by some clumsy P&S, do you?

If you spent a lot of money to be creative I'm surprised you haven't progressed beyond Flickr and Facebook. In photography terms your sights seem to be set pretty low. Why not join a photo club, enter your work for competitions and be prepared to take constructive criticism on the chin? That'll get you out of the Flickr rut and give you the incentive to be truly creative.

Is P&S "clumsy" these days? I have an Ixus and a G12 for those occasions when dragging a dSLR around isn't necessary. Both are "quick on the draw" and perfectly OK for most Flickr situations.

[Chex]

Hey, a lot of us have trouble bending down these days & even bigger trouble getting back up.

Thats what assistants are for.. kids/grand kids can carry gear and be an extra crutch when needed! But if not.. I guess just hang out on the ground and take as many keepers as you can until someone else comes by and finds you.

[v5planet]

If you spent a lot of money to be creative I'm surprised you haven't progressed beyond Flickr and Facebook. In photography terms your sights seem to be set pretty low. Why not join a photo club, enter your work for competitions and be prepared to take constructive criticism on the chin? That'll get you out of the Flickr rut and give you the incentive to be truly creative.

I'm not sure I consider Flickr a "rut" at all. To me it's a medium for casually sharing work when I want to with a community of other photographers. If that doesn't carry much value for you personally, fair enough, but competition and organized clubs are not a prerequisite for owning or enjoying a dslr. I think it's pretty narrow-minded and dishonest to assume that just because those things motivate you to produce better work that people who do not participate in those activities have somehow hamstrung their creativity or are simply dangling "bulky jewellry round their neck[s]" as a status symbol.

Overwhelmingly, I take photos for my own pleasure, and my photographic skills have grown a lot in the year and a half since I bought my K-7. If your argument is that clubs and contests and other structured forms of community involvement would have grown these skills faster, sure, I don't disagree. Frankly, I'm content to explore photography at the pace and in the directions that I am, because I have a variety of hobbies and interests that compete for my time. Perhaps some day that will change, but not for now. Does this invalidate my choice in equipment? Is a P&S "good enough" for me because I choose Flickr as my medium when I want to show someone what I've been working on?

Is P&S "clumsy" these days? I have an Ixus and a G12 for those occasions when dragging a dSLR around isn't necessary. Both are "quick on the draw" and perfectly OK for most Flickr situations.

This is the attitude I have a problem with. What exactly is a "Flickr situation"? Is that a genre of photo? Or are you suggesting that Flickr users are inherently too undiscerning to gauge the difference between a P&S and better equipment? I don't need external validation or critique from arbitrarily qualified groups of people to recognize and exploit the capabilities of a dslr, or to find value in my hobby. Or even to grow. I doubt I'm in the minority here, so please don't try to invalidate how and why other people produce and display their work simply because it's not in line with how you choose to see the world.

[jsherman999]

If you spent a lot of money to be creative I'm surprised you haven't progressed beyond Flickr and Facebook. In photography terms your sights seem to be set pretty low. Why not join a photo club, enter your work for competitions and be prepared to take constructive criticism on the chin? That'll get you out of the Flickr rut and give you the incentive to be truly creative.

Some of the best photographers in the world use flickr and sites like it to showcase their work, or as a portal into their personal sites.

As far as photo clubs and competitions - the photo club in my area is really, frankly, much more amateurish than what I see on flickr - just from my contacts alone. And the local print competions can be good, or they can be really lousy - entering one isn't necessarily any indication that you've really progressed in any way.

Is P&S "clumsy" these days? I have an Ixus and a G12 for those occasions when dragging a dSLR around isn't necessary. Both are "quick on the draw" and perfectly OK for most Flickr situations.

Sure, if you're stuck in that 'flickr rut', right?

Truthfully, you have to go up into DSLR $$ range before you get a decent CDAF-based mirrorless camera of any kind to come close to matching the performance of a DSLR. If you don't mind missing shots in less than great light, noise doesn't matter, or don't care about things like DOF control, then sure, P&S is just fine.

Maybe I'm missing your point.


.

[jsherman999]

Overwhelmingly, I take photos for my own pleasure, and my photographic skills have grown a lot in the year and a half since I bought my K-7..

I'll attest to that. V5 is probably a better photog right now than almost everyone I've met in two local photo clubs, and the majority of the members in those clubs have been shooting since the film days.

The rapid, iterative-feedback a DSLR + online presentation combo brings is more conducive to rapid skills development than a traditional photo club ever was, IMO.

There are many ways to get into a 'rut'.