[Excalibor]

This weekend I went on a short trip to a nearby town, which was hampacked with other tourists... sigh. Oh, well, I thought. There were lot of cameras, the usual suspects, Canons, Nikons, I saw 1 Sony a7 and a surprising number of Lumix bridge, superzoom cameras! And mobile phones, of course. Everywhere, from the people who just snapped pictures, the selfie stick couple trying to get in frame a huge Gothic cathedral in the sun while being in the shadows (HDR working hard!) to the candid elder taking pictures of the very same Gothic cathedral ceilings with his phone flash or recording video with the flash on (let me tell you, they were at least 35m high!). Sigh. Anyway, we went for lunch to a reservation-first, crowded place and while we were waiting for our table to be ready, we thought of asking for a wine. On the bar, there was a couple, and the young woman tells me (translated, hard to fish the slang equivalents from Spanish, but, well you get the gist): (dramatized):

Pointing to my K-3, sporting the 18-135mm WR

She: Well, that's an impressive piece of machinery!

Me: Well, it's just an old camera...

She: I'm a photographer, I have a Canon, and I can see that's a blast of a machine! ("un maquinón" in the original Spanish)

Me: Well, it certainly serves me well... It's capable of more than I am, so it's great for me to learn.

She: No kidding...

The floor master comes looking for us.

He: Your table is ready...

Me: Alright, nice to meet you. Bye.

She: Bye...


That was really funny. "I have a Canon" as an authority card is certainly novel, especially since she never told me which one! "I have a Canon 1Dx mark II" gives some perspective, right? Right? :-D

And then un maquinón... LMAO


It's clear, folks: Pentax K-3 still rocking sexy in 2019! :-)

[kiwi_jono]

Well at least it was amusing! Thanks for sharing.

I have had a Canon user look down their noses snobily and dismiss at my K-1 when they are holding a EOS 2000 or similar. On the other hand, rare as it is, I have had one person come up to me ask me some intelligent questions about the K-1 too.

[Excalibor]

...

I have had a Canon user look down their noses snobily and dismiss at my K-1 when they are holding a EOS 2000 or similar

Really!?! LOL Well, of course, a snob is a snob is a snob is a snob. But one would, at least, expect a snob with a 80D, 7D or probably a 6D. A 2000D holder is just a fanboy (I had a 1300D, the previous model, and it was a really nice little, lightweight, camera! Coupled with cheap, decent quality Canon entry level lenses it worked very well within its limits, but it forced you to choose sometimes, it was a low-end camera, after all).


But yes, arrogance is boundless... :-p

. On the other hand, rare as it is, I have had one person come up to me ask me some intelligent questions about the K-1 too.

That's very nice. I always try to be very honest and gentle when talking with someone about their gear, and try to get their first had experience on topics I might know are controversial or different from what I am used to: it's the best way to get some knowledge, and had led to some very interesting bar conversations. In the end, we all love photography, the camera is a necessary evil... ;-)

Cheers!

PS- the K-1... I drool just thinking about it... LOL If it wasn't because all have have around is usually my dog and birds, I'd try to save up for one! But APSC is so cool with the 55-300... Sigh :-)

[PJ1]

I am certainly happy with my K-3 (and I don't need any stray senorita to tell me it rocks.)

---

Last edited by PJ1; 11-04-2019 at 03:56 AM. Reason: typo

[MotoRider]

This weekend I went on a short trip to a nearby town, which was hampacked with other tourists... sigh. Oh, well, I thought. There were lot of cameras, the usual suspects, Canons, Nikons, I saw 1 Sony a7 and a surprising number of Lumix bridge, superzoom cameras! And mobile phones, of course. Everywhere, from the people who just snapped pictures, the selfie stick couple trying to get in frame a huge Gothic cathedral in the sun while being in the shadows (HDR working hard!) to the candid elder taking pictures of the very same Gothic cathedral ceilings with his phone flash or recording video with the flash on (let me tell you, they were at least 35m high!). Sigh. Anyway, we went for lunch to a reservation-first, crowded place and while we were waiting for our table to be ready, we thought of asking for a wine. On the bar, there was a couple, and the young woman tells me (translated, hard to fish the slang equivalents from Spanish, but, well you get the gist): (dramatized):

Pointing to my K-3, sporting the 18-135mm WR

She: Well, that's an impressive piece of machinery!

Me: Well, it's just an old camera...

She: I'm a photographer, I have a Canon, and I can see that's a blast of a machine! ("un maquinón" in the original Spanish)

Me: Well, it certainly serves me well... It's capable of more than I am, so it's great for me to learn.

She: No kidding...

The floor master comes looking for us.

He: Your table is ready...

Me: Alright, nice to meet you. Bye.

She: Bye...


That was really funny. "I have a Canon" as an authority card is certainly novel, especially since she never told me which one! "I have a Canon 1Dx mark II" gives some perspective, right? Right? :-D

And then un maquinón... LMAO


It's clear, folks: Pentax K-3 still rocking sexy in 2019! :-)

Nice story, your camera is great, as she pointed out it would have been nice to check out some of her photos from her Canon.

I don't know how common pentax envy is but it's pretty cool when or if it happens. We all know the quality of our equipment and I'm sure most here are proud to talk about their pentax to any other brand users. Its' nice to know the k3 does the job for you I. 2019!!

[Excalibor]

Nice story, your camera is great, as she pointed out it would have been nice to check out some of her photos from her Canon.

I don't know how common pentax envy is but it's pretty cool when or if it happens. We all know the quality of our equipment and I'm sure most here are proud to talk about their pentax to any other brand users. Its' nice to know the k3 does the job for you I. 2019!!

Yeah, well, I didn't explicitely say, but she was't sporting any camera when we talked, maybe she had it on the car (we were on a restaurant, after all... Maybe it's ony me that even tale the camera to the bathroom, LOL). But yeah, the K-3 rocks! :-)

[gaweidert]

I doubt that her comment about using Canon was meant as a snub of any sort. Just a starting point for a conversation. She obviously understood the capabilities of the camera. Since 2013 I have been to Yellowstone 7 times and spent some over two and a half total time there. Other than planned meetings with fellow Pentaxians I have seen exactly two Pentax cameras there. Both were film cameras. One was a Spotmatic. The other was a 90's era film camera.


The Panasonic all in one super zoom cameras are really a very good piece of gear. I have an FZ1000. It is no DSLR but if you are careful and avoid high ISO situations it can do quite nicely. 4K video is pretty nice too.

[AggieDad]

“I have a Canon”

“Oh really? Did you get it at Best Buy or Target?”

[JimJohnson]

In regards to gear envy.... My niece was married in 2017 and the couple hired a professional wedding photographer (with his assistant, of course). I'm not a wedding (nor portrait) photographer, but I can do some decent candids, so my goal when attending such events is to stay out of the pros' way and capture things they might miss and present them to the couple as snapshots rather than high-end photography. I brought my K3 & grip (which coincidentally I purchased used from a wedding photographer here on the Forum) and my 540 flash.

The K3 is a relatively quiet camera. During the ceremony I used a faster prime, bumped the ISO up, and shot non-flash from the church pew. The pro didn't see me. At the posed photo event following the ceremony, I mounted the flash and stayed off to the side. The only shots I took were during setup or shortly after the pro finished shooting his setup. Again, I was looking for candids, not portraits. And of course there were a couple dozen other people with their P&S, tablet or cellphone cameras trying to grab the same shot as the pro - everyone got a lecture about not shooting when the pro was doing his thing. The pro otherwise ignored them; but as soon as he looked at my gear, did I ever get a stink eye! What could he complain about? I never fired a shot when he was aiming his camera.

To avoid conflicts with this arrogant SOB I deliberately didn't take many shots at the reception - but multiple times my wife and I saw the pro's eye on me and my rig sitting on the table. I had everything I could do to keep from laughing at the guy one time. I like doing still life shots. I spotted the bride's shoes sitting nicely in front of the wedding party's table. Everyone was on the floor dancing and the pro was grabbing shots of that action. I squatted down and got a great shot of the shoes and the table. As I rose and walked back to our table my wife discreetly pointed back at the wedding party table. I turned and the pro had moved over to my spot and was studying what I had shot. He caught me looking at him and smirked when I shrugged my shoulder. At least I didn't make a more rude gesture.

For the record, most professional photographers quickly pick up on what I am doing and treat me just like the rest of the guests - maybe better because they see I am staying out of their way.

[tvdtvdtvd]

That was really funny. "I have a Canon" as an authority card is certainly novel, especially since she never told me which one! "I have a Canon 1Dx mark II" gives some perspective, right? Right? :-D

And then un maquinón... LMAO

I had a similar experience a few years ago, but I got to see the other camera. Me and another potter were talking about the need to
document recently fired work and my friend offered to let me borrow his camera with 'macro' lens. He then dashed into his studio and
pulled from a dusty drawer the most basic entry level Canon DSLR with kit zoom. I don't recall the actual model, something equivalent
to a Rebel 500D. I had never seen him use the camera before or since, but he presented it as a 'serious' tool for the purpose of
getting good portfolio shots. I said thanks but let him know I had a camera of my own and didn't need to borrow his. A little while
later I showed him my K3 and his jaw nearly dropped when he hefted it. He was insanely impressed by the build quality and
assumed it was a >VERY< expensive camera and quite surprised to learn it hadn't actually cost much more than his Canon.

[HoutHans]

Lots of nice stories. Thanks for sharing them. I have a friend who is a professional photographer and uses Nikon. When we go out, we just focus on the images, not on brands and stuff, let alone snubbing stuff. I really like that.

[boriscleto]

Last time I went to the zoo with the D FA 150-450 I got a lot of "professional photographer" type comments...

[kiwi_jono]

Lots of nice stories. Thanks for sharing them. I have a friend who is a professional photographer and uses Nikon. When we go out, we just focus on the images, not on brands and stuff, let alone snubbing stuff. I really like that.

Same here. I sometimes go shooting with a friend with a Nikon D500 and its always about taking photos . Any modern DSLR is capable of taking great photos, its more about the niceties of having a camera you enjoy using for your what you like to shoot and that fits your budget.

---------- Post added 11-05-2019 at 08:53 AM ----------

That's very nice. I always try to be very honest and gentle when talking with someone about their gear, and try to get their first had experience on topics I might know are controversial or different from what I am used to: it's the best way to get some knowledge, and had led to some very interesting bar conversations. In the end, we all love photography, the camera is a necessary evil... ;-)

Cheers!

PS- the K-1... I drool just thinking about it... LOL If it wasn't because all have have around is usually my dog and birds, I'd try to save up for one! But APSC is so cool with the 55-300... Sigh :-)

Good policy! Best to talk about photography in general I find.

The K-1 is my dream camera and had been saving for quite some time to buy one. Don't regret it at all but yes you do sacrifice a bit when it comes to telephoto (or pay in size, weight and cost). Fortunately for me, I don't shoot a lot of wild life and when I do I use either my cheap Sigma 70-300 (and crop as necessary - still as good as the same lens on my K-5) or the old Tamron 500mm mirror I have.

[Rickster]

Bumped into a Nikon pro at an event. He was sporting a D5. I spent the better part of an half hour showing him my K-1 and explaining its features. He thought the articulated LCD screen was pure genius. ;-) Then I showed him the K3-II and spent another half hour. ;-)

[DWS1]

I ran into a very experienced and knowledgeable astro photographer while attempting my first every Milky Way photo at Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado, USA). He was very nice and extremely helpful. I was using a K70 w/16-45mm, no gps, which I explained is Pentax's entry level crop sensor camera. He was using a Canon 5D w/Rokinon 14mm on a motorized equatorial mount, taking 3 min exposures. He said he had a 6D but liked the low light performance better on the 5D. He asked how I planned to shoot this. I told him I was shooting separate series of 25, 6 and 8 sec. exposures, then planned to stack in post. He then offered to let me use, if it would work on my camera, an intervalometer he had in his bag. When I told him it wasn't necessary the K70 had it built in, he was astounded. I then went on to tell him if I had the add-on gps unit, I could use the astro tracer mode and shoot a tracked image for a 3-5 min. exposure. He said that was impossible to do in camera. I had to explain that Pentax could do it because of the IBIS system of being able to move the sensor in sync with Earth's rotation. His response was, "All this in an entry level camera". When I told him yes plus it has built in wi-fi too, and I paid less than $600 for the body he was shocked. I told him Pentax had used some of the features developed for the K1 FF in the K70. He did not know Pentax made a full frame. He then became very interested in knowing more about the K1. I told him what I knew about it, 36mp, extremely good low light performance, built in gps, astro tracker, and wi-fi, and he could get the K1ii and the Rokinon 14mm both for about $2000. He was amazed and said he was seriously going to look into it. Long story short, this very experienced and knowledgeable astro photographer learned more from me than I did from him. I'm a complete novice at astro photography.

BTW. I now have the O-GPS1 and the Rokinon 14mm f2.8. I just don't have a dark sky anywhere close to me.