[ManuH]

After leaving photography for almost 10 years, I’d like to get back into it. I still have my K-3, K-01 and a bunch of lenses. I’m pondering on getting a K-1 which would be a huge upgrade over my K-3. I know all the benefits and drawbacks of FF for having participated in tons of discussions about it when Pentax did not release the K-1 yet.

That being said, I have no good zoom for FF, I have a few primes (FA35, FA50, FA77, FA50 macro). Some of the deals on used K-1 will bundle the 28-105 which seems to be a very fine lens. But I’d be more interested in a 24-100 f/4 like, because I like wide angles. Speaking of which only the DFA 15-30 seems available on K-1. OTOH, I have glass that covers 8 to 500mm on my K-3.

For landscape work I’d be glad to have the K-1. One thing I’m really missing on the K-3 is the articulated screen. And the new K-3 MkIII does not have it. The only thing that would matter for me on the MkIII is the new AF-C but it’s too late for me and anyway to get the best of it I’d need to get the PLM lenses. And still no articulated LCD. Which is why I looked into KP (too expensive) or even the K-70 (but I prefer the K-1 style).

For FF I’m unsure if switching systems would not be a better deal. I love Pentax ergonomics which is one of the reasons I stayed with the system but while bodies are relatively well priced, the glass is scarce and costly unless you already have a collection of FF lenses from the film era.

If money was no object I would try to go with Fuji MF for the ultimate IQ or an used 645D or 645Z,

[biz-engineer]

If I was in the market for a Pentax K-1, I'd get a Pentax K-1 II used in good condition, shutter count under 50K. For the zoom I'd take the DFA 28-105. For the wide angle the DFA 21mm ltd, although it would be pretty much impossible to find used. A manual 20mm lens would also work, Samyang 20 1.8 new or used. I wouldn't get the 15-30 , a bit too large IMO.

If money was no object I would try to go with Fuji MF for the ultimate IQ or an used 645D or 645Z,

Medium format isn't more expensive than FF, it can even be cheaper. You can have a 645z or GFX50 used for $2000 and used 645 lenses for less money than new FF lenses.

[AfterPentax Mark II]

A huge upgrade over your K-3 would be the K-3 Mark III. The K-1 II is outdated as far as technology used concerns. As you have no modern DFA lenses yet, it would be wise to ponder a bit longer and try to hire the camera's that are of interest to you to experience if you and the camera agree...

[mbukal]

I like shallow dof, I shoot mostly in raw format, I don't primarily shoot "sports" photos, after APSC : Km/x/r/3/30 I switched to FF K1 and I've never enjoyed taking photos more than now (with K1 approx. 5 year),I'm covered with autofocus from 19 to 320mm ,see the photo equipment in the signature, maybe help to decide,

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Last edited by mbukal; 06-03-2023 at 04:50 AM.

[Serkevan]

The K-1 would work well, and the DFA 28-105 is satisfactory in the vast majority of situations.

For wide angle, as Biz said the non-15-30 options are the DFA 21 Limited, or third party lenses. I'm personally very happy with the Irix 11mm f/4, but it is certainly *too* wide for regular use.

[Joetitch]

I have found the tokina 19-35 acceptable on my K1 for wide angle and have only recently acquired the FAJ18-35 so cannot comment on it but it is worth reading the reviews to get a feel for the different options. Both these lenses were under $120aud

[garywakeling]

I think either the K1 or K1ii would be fine, if you can get a deal on one with the 28-105 at a fair price it would make a great starter combo with the lenses you already have. A couple of reasonably priced lenses that work well with the K1 are the FA 17-28 fisheye or the FA 20-35mm, either should give you the wide angles you prefer. For a longer lens the F series 70-210mm is compact and gives quality at an economical price. Good luck with your search

[robgski]

the glass is scarce and costly unless you already have a collection of FF lenses from the film era.

Building up a lens collection need not be expensive. Having done a fair amount of lens purchasing in the decade I've owned a Pentax DSLR, I haven't found it hard to find used lenses as reasonable prices, especially here on PF Marketplace.
IN the last year, I've decided to buy fewer, but higher quality lenses, and to sell off the rest, even though many of them are still very good lenses which produce great images on the K-1.

[UncleVanya]

I’m a Sony FF and Pentax APSC user. The vast voices in Sony lenses are overwhelming at times but the prices are pretty high also.

The 645 series offers great bargains in mf - the used lenses out there are quite good. @pepperberry farm has used a 645d along with Fuji apsc for a while now and I think he’s shown the kinds of incredible images that can be made with that gear.

But the choices in mf lenses are also fairly limited.

I own a KP. It’s a worthy upgrade. The new KF is also an option to consider. As for zooms for a k-1 - the Sigma 12-24 is full frame and many like it. The D FA 21 is a worthy wide angle by all accounts also. I don’t currently own anything wider than that other than a fisheye natively on my e mount. I do occasionally mount the Pentax SMC DA 12-24 on my Sony and squeeze out just a tad more (maybe as much as 17-18mm before vignette shows too strongly for my tastes). But that lens has a lot of curvature on ff at that point - not a fisheye, but a lot of bending nevertheless. Really wide lenses are hard to use in many ways.

What about the D FA 24-70?

[sb in ak]

Used K-1iis come up on these forums pretty often. That probably sounds like the best bet for your use case without switching brands.

The K3 Markiii is probably a nice upgrade in terms of AF.

If you want an OVF, articulating screen, resolution, and better AF the D850 is a good option. I’m pretty impressed how well my K3 Mark iii holds up to my D850 in terms of dynamic range and high ISO performance. AF with the joystick feels similar as well. The 850 just bests it in resolution, but I’m not sure that matters too much for what I do.

[James O'Neill]

If you like the Pentax ergonomics, and have full frame lenses the K1 makes a ton of sense. If you buy used and it doesn't work out you can sell with minimal losses.

As a K1 owner myself: It offers the best image from a Pentax - more pixels and more of the image being captured, but really it's not night and day difference from my K5. There's a feel to the images that I like. High iso performance is very good. The GPS is sometimes useful, I've used Astro a few times. The tilt screen helps when the camera is held above my head (very rare), or at waist height or below on a tripod (not common). WiFi and phone control help, but only rarely. Twin SD slots are a plus.
Negatives. The AF is based on the K3-ii and doesn't cover anything outside the APS-C frame. The FPS rate is not as high as on a crop camera. The SD write speed is what we expected in 2015, there is a good size buffer and it can take a minute to flush everything. I think I've hit buffer stall twice in 6 years. The WiFi speed is from 2005 and useless for moving full size files, but remote control and previews over WiFi is useful, I don't think I've used the k5's built-in flash in 7 or 8 years, so the K1 not having one doesn't bother me.

My experience with the K1 is such that if/when Ricoh deliver a K1-iii I will buy it. Doubtless it will have even more pixels and even better high ISO which I don't need, better AF, and faster support chips giving better SD write speed and WiFi transfer. If my (mk i) K1 exploded tomorrow, I'd buy a mk-i or mk-ii used (the difference is so small, I'd take a lightly used mk-i over a mk-ii which has had a hard life) - but I wouldn't drop the new price on technology of that age. Sony offer better AF and there is an adapter to put the lenses I love onto a Sony; but I prefer an OVF, and the Pentax is a nicer camera to use all round. I'd recommend the K1, but with the the above as a "with your eyes open" for some people it's the wrong camera, but it's good for me.

[kypfer]

I've been tempted to expand into digital full-frame in recent times … even considered an early Canon Mk.V (shock - horror!) … mostly because I've got a drawerful (alright two drawers full) of full-frame lenses, mostly from my film days, and felt I wasn't getting the most out of them, especially the fish-eye lenses, 8mm Peleng and 16mm Fujinon and a few other bits and pieces.
So … I reverted to film
Not a total solution, I'll agree, none of the immediacy of digital, and I already own a 35mm film scanner, so no expense there, but it certainly helps scratch the itch!
Inevitably … YMMV !

[btnapa]

If money was no object I would try to go with Fuji MF for the ultimate IQ or an used 645D or 645Z,

I would go to Fuji 100MP sensor too but not 645D or 645Z. I bought my k1 after pondering the move to the 645D/Z. The added resolution did not warrant the cost and limitation in lens choices, etc. I owned the K1 for about six years and shot some commercial and mostly landscape work. My main lens was the 28-105 despite having the FA Limited Trio and five other lenses. If you want to stay with the Pentax eco system, K1 and the 28-105 are no brainers. I went to the next big resolution jump with a Sony A7RIV. It gives me the mega resolution and the files but it is no K1 in handling or color science. If the K1's 36MP is enough for the type of work you do, then get it. I had the original K1 and saw no need to go to K1II as the sensors are the same. Pixel shift and all that stuff turned out not to be practical in everyday shooting so the K1II having the motion pixel-shift etc. was meaningless to me. You can get a low shutter count used K1 and 28-105 for a song these days. I am thinking of getting my K1 back and converting it to a full time black and white camera. I kept almost all of my Pentax lenses.

Good luck with your purchase.

[AgentL]

A huge upgrade over your K-3 would be the K-3 Mark III. The K-1 II is outdated as far as technology used concerns.

Holy cow that's not true at all.

[MaineNative]

I own both a K-1 and the K-3iii.

I don’t think you will have any IQ issues with the FF K-1 sensor if you are using a good quality lens—no need to go to medium format in my opinion. I use the DFA 28-105 as my normal lens with a Samyang 14/2.8 for astro and a used FA 20/2.8 as an auto-focus ultra-wide lens. I rented the DFA 15-30 and it is an awesome lens but it was too heavy for me. I like having the built-in GPS and the articulating screen is great for star pictures.

I own the K-3iii for travel. (It replaced my K-5.) I miss the articulating screen, but that would make the camera bigger and heavier. My normal travel kit is the K-3iii, my DA 18-135 and then tiny DA 10-17 fisheye for ultra wide-angle. Sometimes I’ll throw in my DAL 55-300. The DA 16-85 is slightly sharper than the 18-135, but the 18-135 is smaller and lighter for travel.

Noise-wise, the K-3iii at ISO 3200 is similar to the K-1 at ISO 1600 when I do astro.