[jlstrawman]

i agree with Paul's assessment. I would do again what I have already done. I first shot a Pentax film body in 1966. I bought a new K1 when they first came out. I found the K1's
"bulk" aggravated the athritis in both hands. I quickly sold the K1, and moved to Sony and more recently Fuji mirrorless. I do prize my legacy Pentax lenses, using them frequently on both my Sony a7rIII and Fuji X-T3.

[Texas-expat]

I would probably stay with Pentax for the digital stuff, but I have been easing back to film of late. I would probably move to a minimal full frame kit and work in the medium and large format.

[JPT]

I bought into K-mount Pentax in 2008, knowing that they were a smaller brand, often stuck in the corner of the shop, and with rumors perpetually circulating about how they would struggle to stay in business. But they had great features, handling, image quality and a really varied selection of APS-C lenses that I was intrigued by.

Fast forward to 2022, and if I had chosen any other mount, it would have been discontinued by now (excluding Leica and some MF system). Pentax would still be my choice for the exact same reasons as before, and with the same disparaging rumors to filter out.

[Cerebum]

There are some beautiful cameras out there (Fuji XT, Nikon retro milc) but they are all flawed in ways that would bother me (lack of ibis/wr). The more expensive milc offerings would probably be out of my reach and I don't want bulk so it would probably be Pentax again. I would be torn between another KP (I adore mine) or a K3iii, a set of DA limited lenses would be a no brainer, a couple of zooms, a nice TLR and Pentax MX, then, if I had any money left, a K1

[biz-engineer]

As my shooting style evolved , I'm getting older, I would buy a 645z with a couple of lenses, and a K3 III as point & shoot and sport camera. I wouldn't buy a K1 kit again, not that it's not a great all rounder camera very pleasing to use, but it's not fitting my needs anymore.
Now, if Ricoh marketing reads my post for market research, I'll would want to be completely honest, the 645z would likely morph into a GFX100S (because 102Mp does matter for prints, and I haven't seen 645z Mk II specs), which may drag the K3 III into becoming an XT-2 bought used (or XT-3, or XT-4) as point & shot / street.
Not that Pentax ergos and Pentax UI aren't great, they are, but imaging capabilities does matter for making premium "fine art" prints (not just looking at images on a 4K LCD), I'm afraid, sorry Ricoh-Pentax, I apologize for being fully honest as I put camera specifications as photographic tool above brand loyalty.
At the end of the day, cameras are just tools to do a job, and the image result is what matters the most, above all.

[BarryE]

Research is so time consuming. I'd just replace my Pentax gear, but I would definitely thin out some of what I had, holding back some cash for the future. Any downtime would be painful. I would be bad enough waiting in for deliveries and setting the AF etc. The idea of having to consider all the peripheral stuff that is built up around my Pentax gear would be nightmare. I'd just want to get going quickly, knowing what's what.

[Dartmoor Dave]

Well, I actually have got rid of most of my camera gear over the past couple of years, although it was entirely by choice and there was no fire involved. And the reason I did it was exactly to sort of reset myself to year zero and start all over again. I was tired of carrying a bag full of DSLR and heavy metal Takumars, and frankly I was bored by the predictability of the results I was getting.

Will I ever start collecting exact replacements for all the gear that I've given away? Or will I start buying into a new interchangeable lens system? No, I don't think I ever will. I just don't like the ultra-clean, ultra-sharp, ultra-sterilised look that the latest digital gear produces, so I've settled for using digital compacts for snapshotty stuff and film for when I'm feeling all serious and arty-farty. I'm back to pretty much exactly where I started out in the year 1980, shooting with a K1000 and just one fully manual lens (Sigma 21-35mm), and I'm loving it.

So who knows, for many photographers it could turn out that losing all their gear would be the best thing that could happen to them. That chance to start again from scratch and really honestly reassess what you actually want from photography is a chance worth taking.

[telum]

Now: K-70, 70ltd, 17-70 sigma contemp, 12-24 pentax, 55-300 plm, 35mm plastic fantastic, flash

All but the 35 bought used.

After: K3-iii, 17-70 contemp(or similar performing normal range zoom), 55-300 plm, maybe 15mm ltd. or an affordable manual UWA

I like the "less is more", but it would take a fire to depart with the 70ltd. although I rarely use it which is silly I guess..12-24 is nice but a bit of a niche product for my usage.

[Alex645]

If you lost all your photo gear in a fire, and assuming it was fully insured, would you

1. Replicate exactly what you had;
2. Stick with the same system but make different specific choices of cameras and lenses;
3. Jump to a new system;
4. Get a new hobby?

Sort of #2: Instead of having both Nikon & Pentax, APS-C, FF, and MF, film and digital......lots of cameras, lots of lenses, I would strip it down to one 645Z with three primes. And I would finally get a tripod that has no upgrade for that MF body.

[microlight]

I’ve used Pentax since 1975 almost exclusively (had a mild flirtation with a Nikon F801 alongside my MX in the 90s) so am comfortable with their capabilities. The bulk of 35mm film format digital cameras doesn’t appeal. My active APS-c system has never been large; always used just one active body and have never had a failure, fortunately. So I’d get another 20-40 Limited like a shot, and replace the K-3II with a K-3III. Then the 55-300 PLM and maybe the 15mm/f4. And the FA 100/2.8 macro is very good…

[kypfer]

If you lost all your photo gear in a fire, and assuming it was fully insured, would you

1. Replicate exactly what you had;
2. Stick with the same system but make different specific choices of cameras and lenses;
3. Jump to a new system;
4. Get a new hobby?

Frightening thought!
I'm still using some lenses I bought over 40 years ago!
I've yet to try an EVF that I'd want to use full-time, which rather restricts my choice if I want a DSLR
If everything was "fully" insured I'd probably first order a K-3iii, then track down low-mileage KP and *istDL2 bodies, then hit eBay hard and trawl the dealer listings to rebuild my lens collection!
Changing hobby isn't really an option for me … I have several, but photography has been a backbone of my life for the last 60 years … a habit I probably inherited from my mother … we've both documented everything of consequence in pictures.
It's the loss of those pictures which would be the biggest problem … that concept really gives me the shivers

[TimR]

I too would stick with Pentax. I have looked at other brands out of curiosity.
They seemed to be lacking something to me.
I really like my K-3 III, My FA & DA lenses. I am a Pentax guy.
Also I shoot Pentax because of Pentax Forums.

[garywakeling]

1

That is all

[robgski]

I would likely replace at least my K-1 and FA 77mm combo. I'd probably get a "walk around" zoom as well as a DA 40 XS. Those three lenses would probably meet most of my needs in the near term.

[pres589]

The Fuji APS-C hardware like the X-E's and Nikon Z fc both interest me, so I would probably try to rent one of each and shoot around before making a decision. But the glass I really want, a 28mm f1.x prime with autofocus, doesn't seem to exist for either system in native mount, so I could see going looking for another Sigma 28 EX DG and getting a K-3 III as well as another DA 15 SMC, maybe the DA*55, another DA 18-135 and perhaps the Sigma 18-35 f1.8.


If my k-mount Pentax film gear also went away I'm not sure what I would do. Probably look at Nikon. The Konica 40mm f1.8 Hexar AR-mount prime alone has me curious about that ecosystem but I'm not sure if any of the bodies really do it for me. I could see getting a few Ricoh and Chinon bodies again just like I have now. Probably get another M 40 f2.8, that Sigma 28 works on these film bodies, something wider yet, and another Tamron 90mm f2.5 macro. Oh, and the M 50 1.7, that's a given.