[eddie1960]

An English pro working over here uses a 7D and a 40D - he says they work for him (company events, sports, industrial, portraits) and having seen his work I can't disagree !

Benjikan - a poster on here, search for him - shoots for a host of top fashion magazines (Vogue, Harpers & Bazaar etc.) and uses K5 and K20D.

They are all just tools that can get the job done for the conditions these pros work under.

You are right (though If I'm not mistaken Ben has a FF camera, and for that matter a hassy as well . He's been doing this for a bl**dy long time now So likely has rooms of equipment we don't talk about here. He uses what works for the shoot, with a preference for shooting the Pentax because he is sponsored. If he was sponsored by canon it would be a 5D3 he shoots or a 1DS.

For a pro the tool has to be up to the job, and almost all top level DSLR whether APSC or FF are capable of most jobs, and sometimes you will need a specific o achieve the result you want. If you are a pro and you don't use a specific tool enough you just rent it when you need it (this is one of the big advantages of shooting Canon, Nikon Hassy and Mamiya - there are generally good rental options on them, Other brands may well be good enough for most of your work but the back up of rental options is an enticing one. And by rental I don't mean via the web but walk into a shop and walk out with the goods. Locally I can rent Canikon at 3 different shops hassy at 1 mamiya at 1 - Pentax and Sony at none.

[Alizarine]

and sometimes you will need a specific o achieve the result you want.

There's also the "specific reliability level" that Pentax needs to fill with the problem-plagued SDM motor system...

[eddie1960]

There's also the "specific reliability level" that Pentax needs to fill with the problem-plagued SDM motor system...

I agree, but more important is fast turn around pro service, and the ability to rent or get loaners
SDM seems to have been less of an issue lately but the stigma seems to hang on. If they in fact made changes they should have rebadged as a mark 2

[ElJamoquio]

I agree, but more important is fast turn around pro service, and the ability to rent or get loaners
SDM seems to have been less of an issue lately but the stigma seems to hang on. If they in fact made changes they should have rebadged as a mark 2

I think a new acronym is (would have been?) a better decision.

[Chex]

Or scrap it and use their DC system, which seemed to be pretty decent in the 18-135 WR..

[Frogfish]

Or scrap it and use their DC system, which seemed to be pretty decent in the 18-135 WR..

The Piezo DC is a lower level system than SDM and likely couldn't handle the larger lenses.

[Chex]

ahh, I was impressed with how quiet and decently fast it was.. but if it can't handle larger lenses, that's a major drawback for it I guess..

[Alizarine]

The Piezo DC is a lower level system than SDM and likely couldn't handle the larger lenses.

Is it possible to make a "stronger" version of that motor?

but more important is fast turn around pro service, and the ability to rent or get loaners

perhaps this can be established when they have more B&M presence already...

[Anvh]

Is it possible to make a "stronger" version of that motor?

It's a burshless DC so yes but if the battery can sustain it... anyway the ultrarsonic motor has proven his self in other lenses. SDM, HSM, USM, SSM, SWM, SWD, XSM and USD all the same type of motor.
So if ultrasonic are bad then why does everyone use them?

[Anvh]

ahh, I was impressed with how quiet and decently fast it was.. but if it can't handle larger lenses, that's a major drawback for it I guess..

The speed of the DA18-135 most likely comes from the lens design not simply by the motor.

[eddie1960]

The speed of the DA18-135 most likely comes from the lens design not simply by the motor.

yep it likely has a very short focus throw which speeds things a lot

[Wired]

I better count myself lucky or knock on wood because for 6 years of shooting Pentax DSLR's I have yet to need to send something away for warranty repair. My DA* 16-50 had to go once, but thats because it had a fall and the casing got dented causing the zoom ring to sieze. But that was my fault.

That being said it took only one week for said repair.

[eddie1960]

Is it possible to make a "stronger" version of that motor?


perhaps this can be established when they have more B&M presence already...

Compared to the US for instance Pentax actually has a pretty good (not great) B&M presence here. But to really move it to the next level the dealer support needs to be much stronger and they need marketing
OTOH in the US I could rent lenses etc by mail, whereas there is no place to rent Pentax here

[Anvh]

yep it likely has a very short focus throw which speeds things a lot

Funny right how many conclusions are drawn by looking at just 1 lens.... if we do that for SDM as well and look at the DA*55 people would say different things about it but sadly everyone is looking at the DA*16-50 and DA*50-135 when talking about SDM.
Form the survey you see that all the primes and recent SDM lenses have far and i mean far less problems to almost none.

[Ben_Edict]

Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Olympus all have roots in R/F and are still pursuing it in one form or another. What does that tell us? Silly for Pentax to stay out, especially with Ricoh alongside. R/F provides more degrees of freedom in design, portability, cost and market than SLR.

Pentax has already too many different camera series running, which cannibalize the limited resources. Add a rangefinder add a FF, add whatever - that won't be sustainable at all.

It is not about camera bodies, the problem lies within the many different lens series required. If a Q-System shall survive,m you need Q"-lenses, not fourty years old K lenses with an adaptor. Manufacturers make their money selling lenses, no camera bodies. And if Pentax wants to sell lenses, they need to develop and produce them in mass market numbers.

I think, Pentax caters already for too many niche users - add more and they'll go down the drain.

Ben