[Billking]

I started with Pentax and just kept going with it.

I decided to get a DSLR in 2005 or 2006 and read a review of the K100D by Terry Lane, who raved about it and said it was the equal of cameras that were twice the price.

I was disappointed it didn't have a rechargeable battery but otherwise thought it was great. When it died, I got a K7, which was a big improvement, then a K3, which was another big improvement, then a K1.

[JoelA]

Ok, my turn.

1978 College. Got a gig on the campus newpaper as I knew how to handle film in a darkroom from high school classes. Bought a Ricoh XR-1. Found a Ricoh XR-2S that became the stable-mate as I was doing multiple publications and actually earning enough money to buy beer and the second camera (in that order!).

1980. Ricoh XR-1 Dies. Part of it's demise was a direct strike from the guitar of Sting (of the Police of course!). Found a used Pentax K2 and Pentax 50mm f1.7.

Oh, ground shakes, world shifts! Got a 28mm f2.8 and a 200mm f.4 to go with it. Blown away by the imagery out of the lenses. Buddies were shooting Nikon and Minolta and I was much happier with the Pentax images.

Then a couple of cheap zooms.

After getting married the whole set travelled with us all over the globe. The absolute dependability closed the deal for me. No matter where we were or what we were doing, I knew everything would work perfectly.

Time out from about 1998 to 2019 for life, family, work, etc. Stored everthing in the bag. Properly.

2019 found out that Pentax digital bodies handled the old glass. Bought a cheap used K-50 (which I still have) just to see if things would work...

Last year picked up several K-Mount and M-42 lenses. Not much need to buy the new expensive stuff, since I love the colors of the SMC and am quite happy shooting manual. Still have the two film bodies and they are in working order.

Now, rather lusting after a K-1 to run all this nice glass full frame again!

There you have it!

[garyabq]

Pentax MX + SMC-M 50mm 1.7 lens. 1979

Ditto except for the year. I bought my MX, f1.7 50mm lens and the optional winder late-1977. I shot exclusively with that setup for 15 years. BEST camera EVER!

[bpcarlson]

Pentax MX in the 70s when stationed in Italy in the air force. 50mm 1.4, 135mm and 28mm. Went digital because of that.

[zworld]

How did you become a Pentax user (Pentaxian) ? And share with us your thoughts on that first Pentax model you owned please.


My first 2 digital cameras were a 2 megapixel HP camera and then a prosumer Olympus c5050z digital camera.

My ex-wife bought me a Pentax k2000 at Sam's Club. It was my very first SLR (film or digital). I was amazed at how good the operation and pictures were, compared to my previous cameras. It came with the 18-55mm DA L kit lens.


I have been a Pentaxian ever since then. Shortly after she bought it for me, I purchased a Pentax 55-300mm - it was the DA version that had the metal mount - unlike the DA L version that had a plastic mount. It was the first and *only* new lens that I've ever purchased for any camera - it cost over $300 and I think it cost like 4 or 5 hundred US dollars. I didn't purchase another lens for many years after that. I knew nothing about SLR lens and the 55-300mm lens was selected for me by my wifes friend, who was a Nikon professional photographer - all we told him was that we wanted a zoom lens for it to photograph our daughter playing sport.

My thoughts on the Pentax k2000 are as follows. It took excellent photos compared to the Olympus prosumer c5050z camera. I really really really enjoyed the SLR experience where looking through the optical viewfinder gave nearly a 100% view of what the resulting photo would cover (width and height that is). The k2000 did not have a proprietary rechargeable battery. It took four AA batteries, of which I opted to buy four rechargeable AA batteries - I may have already had 4 as the Olympus c5050z also only took 4 AA batteries. I didn't think much of the battery situation; however, when I acquired my next Pentax DSLR, it came with a proprietary battery which I enjoyed very much more as it took many more pictures. One last thought is that the k2000 was a 10 megapixel DSLR - having twice the megapixels of the Olympus camera (5 megapixels) and having 5 times those of the HP camera (a 2MP camera).


So, how did you become a Pentaxian, and please share with us your experience(s) and thoughts about that first Pentax camera.


Regards,

Michael

In 7th grade, I had a friend who loved cameras - his entire family was into them. They had a darkroom in their basement. He got me hooked. I was a poor kid, and didn't have much money, but if you signed up for the school newspaper and yearbook, they would loan you a camera for the year. The camera that was loaned to me was a Pentax K1000. I shot countless rolls of film. It took two summers, but at the beginning of 9th grade, I'd saved up enough money to buy my own K1000 - I still have it. I bought a couple of lenses, one 28mm very expensive lens (especially for a poor kid), which turned out to be a favorite. Changing platforms was never an option - I started procuring more lenses and Pentax kept making bodies that were backwards compatible - I've never wanted to switch platforms. :-)

[InnAtElmwood]

was the Asahi Pentax Spotmatic II in 1971 because I wanted a smaller body camera; got it at a Navy Exchange in Rota, Spain; still have it, too.

[Jozef De Groof]

ik fotografeer al 40 jaar met Pentax weet niet meer het eerste type heb meerde bodys gehad analoog en nadien digitaal een 5 tal

[Niefol]

I had a fully manual Ricoh film camera in the '80s, because I was taking a photography class and we needed a 35mm camera, and that's what my dad bought me. I still have it, although the light meter is long since broken and "not worth fixing."

Sometime around 1992, I had a Pentax 35mm autofocus SLR (not sure of the model), which unfortunately I ruined with salt water damage. Wasn't being very careful with it.

Then I went Canon SLR/HP point & shoot until 2010, when I decided that I really would like a DSLR. We have no actual proper camera stores where I live, just the usual big-box electronics store/variety stores that happen to carry some cameras, so I was initially trying to decide among what were then the entry- to mid-level Nikon and Canon DSLR models, because that's what I could literally get my hands on. But I also did some poking online and came across the K-7. Decided it sounded better than the ones I was able to pick up and hold at my local stores - largely because of the weather resistance and b/c DP Review and other rating sites said it was built like a tank - so I took a chance and bought one online. Loved it. It felt right in my hands, I liked the menus, I liked the colors, etc. Never looked back. Subsequently bought a used K-5 because my kid started doing a lot of stuff on her school stage (chorus, plays, orchestra) and I needed better low-light performance than the K-7 offers, and later bought a used K-1. Still have both and have no plans to upgrade ("upgrade") because they do what I want them to do and they are, in fact, built like tanks. Sold the K-7 to a friend a while ago.

I also bought (all used, of course) a K-01, MX-1, Q, and Q7 and still have them all except the K-01, which I sort of wish I still had. Those are all "for fun," although I did take the Q and Q7 on a family vacation to Greece a few years ago. Ran through three batteries per day, too. (That's my big complaint about the Q series; I've become so spoiled with the long, LONG battery life of my old K-7 and current K-5/K-1.)

[rpgrimm]

My first Pentax was the Asahi Pentax K1000 35 mm SLR, I purchased in 1970. Loved that camera. It was stolen some years later, but I then got a Pentax ME. Big improvement in my eyes. Then I got the Pentax 20D, the 5K and now the K1 Mark II. Amazing changes in over 50 years of camera development. Especially from film to digital.

[Mooncatt]

My first DSLR was an Olympus E-500 with the two standard kit lenses. It was good for learning the basics, but I quickly outgrew it for my preferred photography style and started the hunt for my upgrade. Since I only paid $99 for the kit used, I wasn't really locked in to any brand. I almost settled on a Nikon D7500, but one of the photography groups I'm I had a guy that posted a ton of great hummingbird photos that used Pentax.

That's when I started learning about all the features (I.e. He was using catch in focus) Pentax had that other cameras didn't. It also became evident that Pentax was often a better value unless you had specific needs necessitating Canikon equipment. The three main features that finally sealed it for me was being built like tanks, water resistance on non-pro bodies and lenses, and IBIS.

That's when I joined up here to start researching more and flip flopping on which body and lenses to get. I eventually saw a deal on a K3 II with a very nice selection of lenses for sale from another member that I just couldn't pass up. Everything arrived in excellent condition, and I couldn't have been happier with my choice. It was love at first click, and been enjoying it ever since.

[Smolk]

Against my will, my father and the seller forced a Pentax ME upon me when I was 16 or so (it was my money, however). I had wanted the Canon AEX-1 or something like that. It wasn't to be. I've never bonded with that camera.

A few years later I came across a black Pentax KX - love at first sight. I used it for two decades - later sold it, but regretted that so much that I have since purchased two copies again. The KX with a 28mm, 50mm and 85mm is bliss. Still my favourite combo, even though I've got the 6x6 equivalent with the Rolleiflex 50mm, 80mm and 150mm for the 6008 Integral. (This is a heavy system, its only downside.)

I've owned a Pentax 645 (well, several of them) in between, but the move back to Pentax in digital version came about because I had some lenses I appreciated, and the K-3 III seemed to have the OVF I wanted. (The K-1 not quite, and the KP is a camera of which I don't know why I didn't buy it.)

I still have several TLRs, 6x6 and 6x9 folders, which, in truth, I love using more than digital, but the K-3 III has its moments.

I dumped the ME as soon as the hot shoe came loose.

[thetrooper]

ME Super + 50mm f1.7 - bought new in 1983. I was at school at the time and saved up for it for 6 months with the proceeds of a weekend job. Being young and foolish I sold it a year later! Regretted it pretty much ever since.

I've now corrected that mistake an have another mint ME Super, but it's been joined by an LX, an SF7, a Z-1P and an MZ-S (I was lucky with this last one as it is in the 5nnnnnn serial number range so, hopefully!, has the brass mirror motor gear, not the plastic one).

I mostly shoot film but, for when I don't, I have a K1 Mk2 - a beautiful DSLR.

I love shooting with the ME Super but my favourite of all of them is the LX. The viewfinder with the FA1 finder and a 50mm f1.4 lens is stunning - a completely immersive experience!

Listing out all the above makes me think I may have too many Pentax cameras though! ;-)

[GlumGrum]

After borrowing my dad's late 1950's Exacta once too often, I was given a Pentax MX for my 21st birthday for my first SLR. LOVED that camera and really learned all my photography basics on it (mostly still works, although the curtain is a bit sluggish now). I've never seen a reason to change brand so this was followed by a ZX5n (lot's of fun with the film-based panorama mode in that one!), a K10D for my first digital, and a currently a KIII. Having fun with a Theta too - does that count? I hope one day to get back to a full frame, only digital this time!

[sheridangis]

How did you become a Pentaxian ?
In 1977 I purchased a Pentax K1000 with a 50mm lens. I also purchased a 28mm and 135mm and a 2x adapter. At the time I considered the options and Pentax seemed the best for what I was doing, a lot of hiking and back country time, where if the battery went dead I could still take pictures. I actively used this setup over several decades and literally around the world.
When I "went digital" I traded a lot of items into KEH, which now I whish I had not done. I have since purchased another K1000 and started doing film again, I once again have my "original" setup. I find film slows me down and makes me think about the process, and takes me back to why I like photography in the first place. I still do digital but I enjoy film too.

[TaoMaas]

I wanted a Spotmatic F, but as a college student, I couldn't afford one. So I settled for a used Yashica and eventually started buying Pentax lenses to use with it. As time went on and my finances improved, that led to buying Pentax bodies to go along with the lenses I owned. Every now and then I get an itch to switch, but really Pentax hasn't given me a good reason to stop using them. In fact, their backward compatibility is probably what has most kept me from switching brands.