Originally posted by Poit Here's a question or two for you:
Have you ever been paid for your photography?
Have you ever had a young couple pay you $1000's of their hard earned money to shoot their wedding, and had the pressure of knowing you'd better do a good job?
Have you ever had to look at what your competitors are doing, and realised your equipment isn't capable of producing the same results?
Your points are valid from an enthusiast's perspective, but they are certainly not from a professional one. If you have ever been in a position that you are making money from your equipment, you will know what I'm talking about. Your comments suggest you have not.
To professionals, small differences in performance make a big difference in the final product they can produce. They need every ounce of performance they can get, and will pay as much as they can afford to get it, in order to compete in the marketplace. For some (myself included) the 645z is beyond what is affordable.
That is why Pentax needs a FF. Because there are countless wedding and other professional photographers out there who have passed the brand over because APS-C is not good enough, and just as many who may buy into the brand if/when the FF comes along.
Professional photography, my friend, is the real 'big picture' consideration in all the FF debate...
You are completely right sir. I have not been paid for photography itself but my pictures have been used in several publications around the world, for which I have never charged a penny (Environment issues).
I totally agree that a paid professional should be able to squeeze every bit of quality from their hardware and stay up to par with the competition on what they are doing and the product they are providing. That is why I clearly said that there may be a very small percentage of true Pentax professionals that could really benefit from a FF camera. Agree also that the 645z may be top notch but not as "portable" as a standard DSLR, besides, there is not much glass options for it around.
It is true, I am a hardcore enthusiast and as loyal to the Pentax brand as anyone could be. I do know my hardware limitations and what to expect form it. Should I change systems? (brand) I really don't see a point because for my needs, it will probably make no difference and besides, I do have a pretty good Pentax glass arsenal that replacing. it would mean literally thousands of $$$. Which make me think this may be a good reason some pro photographers are still using Pentax and craving for the ff body... they are too deep in hardware that could be used with a new Pentax K mount ff digital body, while changing systems will mean starting from scratch and dumping their beloved Pentax hardware into the used market... for peanuts compared for what it was paid for when new.
I am not saying or stating that such thing may be rule of thumb and all pro photographers out there still using Pentax gear are in the same situation. I just say that such situation may be a good reason for staying with Pentax besides brand loyalty, which by the way, is going to be "tested" to its full extent in the next two-three years, as the Pentax brand is slowly disappearing and being replaced by Ricoh. I'll give you three examples: 1) The WG-4 point and shoot no longer carries the Pentax brand name, it is sold under Ricoh brand. 2) The MX-1 compact camera, has no PENTAX logo anywhere except molded into the lens cap. 3) The top notch K3 's rear LCD bears the Ricoh name at the lower edge, not the Pentax name.
I am almost sure Pentax will go travel the same road that Minolta (then Konica-Minolta) went through.... just to end up under the Sony name.
Would you like your Lexus rebranded as Toyota, just because Toyota owns the Lexus brand?
Would you like your Chrysler 300 rebranded as Fiat, just because Fiat owns the Chrysler brand?
Would you like your Rolls Royce rebranded as Volkswagen... your Chevrolet Cruze as a Daewoo... and such and such?