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10-06-2019, 11:27 AM   #16
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Pentax were huge when I was growing up and cheap when I first bought into digital. Now I have a KP, a K3 and a host of great lenses, I have no desire to change, not that I could afford to lol

10-06-2019, 11:30 AM - 2 Likes   #17
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You can be one of the sheep in the herd or be an individual on your own path...Coming from a Minolta Maxxum 5000i film camera, I knew nothing about digital equipment. In searching the different makes and models that had my required capabilities and price range, I settled on the Pentax K50. In handling the contenders, Pentax was the only one that actually felt like solid equipment and not some plastic toy.
10-06-2019, 11:37 AM - 1 Like   #18
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I could ask with such a long Pentax history building innovative and value-oriented cameras, why did other people choose Canon, Nikon Sony or the other brands? I started digital with an Oly E-20n, which was a pro grade camera at the time. Then there was the K10D.
  1. I had K-mount lenses
  2. K10D was ground-breaking
  3. I had K-mount lenses
  4. I had K-mount lenses
10-06-2019, 11:37 AM - 1 Like   #19
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Simple, every Pentax I've handled with the possible exception of KP has just fitted my hand.
As well as the manual convenience I find the digital user interface much more naturally structured than products from Sony, Nikon and Panasonic that I've tried.

Oh yes, and when I came to digital I already had K-mount lenses.

10-06-2019, 11:51 AM   #20
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Though I'd used a Canon AE-1 since the early 80s, I'd fell away from using it because most of my hobbies involve outdoor activities around water. I used a few different water resistant compact cameras. Around 2007, I felt that DSLRs were finally getting results close to 35mm film SLRs, so I started learning about products available. Since Canon had abandoned their FD mount, my Canon lenses would not fit their DSLRs, so I was free from that consideration and looked at other brands. I learned of the Pentax K10D with their affordable weather resistant bodies and lenses and IBIS: I was sold.
10-06-2019, 11:52 AM - 1 Like   #21
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Because it was a Pentax DSLR that rekindled my love for photography, which I was beginning to lose by the end of the film age. And because that love has only grown stronger with using these beautifully built, ergonomic, intuitive, capable, and yet affordable tools. (Tried to keep it short.)
10-06-2019, 12:04 PM   #22
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Started with the K100D, and was convinced that it was the right camera for me because i could afford that one. From what i recall, it was less expensive than similar offerings from the others.

Big plusses were also the compatibility and usabilty of m42 and older k mount lenses, and the fact that it used AA bateries.

I am here to stay, and have no plang to jump ship. It would take a large sum of money to buy the gear that i have from other manufacturers (replacing the limiteds would be a challenge), especially in the form of a dslr (no, the dslm's dont have a viewfinder, they have a screen, and i look at it all day at work - it's more than enough)

10-06-2019, 12:08 PM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by roberts_camera Quote
I think the title says it all. There are plenty of great cameras and lenses from many manufacturers, and Pentax obviously is not in the "popular club" that everyone and their mother seems to own. Why do you choose Pentax?
Like others - it's historical - I have good glass going back over 20 years that has plenty of life left in it. Add to this the the skill cap - if I'm 100% honest then I'd say (the best of) my kit is better than my skill level.

investing in another system wouldn't make me a better photographer - but selling up and switching manufacturer would make me a financially poorer one..

PB
10-06-2019, 12:11 PM   #24
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Value for money for what I tend to shoot--outdoors in a bad climate.
10-06-2019, 12:17 PM - 1 Like   #25
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Backwards lens compatibility was a consideration even back when I chose Pentax for my first 'serious' film body. Access to all that old glass
without an adapter is still a perk, but I would say secondary to:

-Ergonomics, Pentax just do this so well
-Value for money, (specifically build quality and specs/price), no other established brand comes anywhere close
10-06-2019, 12:19 PM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by roberts_camera Quote
I think the title says it all. There are plenty of great cameras and lenses from many manufacturers, and Pentax obviously is not in the "popular club" that everyone and their mother seems to own. Why do you choose Pentax?
Everyone and their mother is using an iPhone or Android. Except at a big public occasion like an airshow or sports event you hardly see DSLRs of any brand much these days.

I use a Pentax because I'm a longstanding user who started off with secondhand M42 Super Takumar glass and an SV, SP500 and later moved to a much-loved MX and K mount lenses. In those days all the camera brands were big names. I still had the glass (still do) so moving to digital I bought a Pentax DSLR. Had I the cash to splash that some have, I might have looked at something else, but a relation's other-brand DSLR felt like a kid's toy compared to the alloy-bodied Pentax.

In the end it's the images that count, not to which tribe you swear loyalty.
10-06-2019, 12:28 PM   #27
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For me, getting back to photography a few years ago and into digital, meant looking for a complete system. Doing some research quickly settled me on Pentax. The price to quality ratio is simply unsurpassed, and the fact that Pentax is weather proof is a big part of that, given that I knew that I would be doing a lot of nature photography. Furthermore, I actually like the idea of having something of a niche product; not simply going with the herd.
10-06-2019, 12:38 PM   #28
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I only shop when I am needing a camera. The last two times that happened were in 2007 and 2014. Both times, the Pentax line offered my desired features in a durable package that suited my style of shooting. If the K-3 had not hit the market in 2013, I might have moved to Nikon. I did consider the Sony A7 at a similar price point, but passed, based mostly on the EVF experience.

My K-3 just turned over 40K actuations and I will be in the market again in the next year or so. The replacement may well be Pentax, but maybe not.


Steve

(...K-mount user since 1982...)
10-06-2019, 12:42 PM   #29
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I find it really interesting seeing how everyone first got into Pentax. Compared to many other people here, I'm barely a baby in this little corner of digital photography, only becoming seriously interested within the last 2-3 years
10-06-2019, 12:43 PM   #30
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My satisfaction with my K1000 (still in use) and the ability to use my few lenses made me stay when I jumped to a DSLR back in 2007. My satisfaction with that K100DS and the subsequent K20, Kx, K5II and K-01 made me stay. My growing collection of film cameras from M42 to AF is getting me deeper into this hole.
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