[Billk]

Nope, it's for people who want full frame That's certainly not the average person.

Full frame should give better dynamic range to the images and less noise at higher ISO levels. Combine those with 36mp and you will get the ability to produce beautiful art prints at large sizes. You won't see much difference from entry level APSC DSLRs with the photos you post on the interweb but you will see the difference with the photos you print out, frame and put on your walls or on art gallery walls.

[Pictora]

It was love at first site! Then I started to read all the hands on reviews followed by videos! Then my eyes glazed over and I preordered the K1 and the 15-30 and what the hell, throw in the battery grip. Do I need it? Hell no! Do I want it, oh yeah! An amateur can have just as much fun as a pro.

Now that's a true Pentaxians spirit.

[quant2325]

The majority of the most memorable photos every taken came from equipment considered junk by today's standards. No amateur needs a FF, and an argument can be made that no amateur driver needs anything but a cheap automobile. If you want to take the most technically perfect photos possible you have to have a FF. If you don't need poster-sized prints from your work a FF isn't a necessity, just like a luxury car isn't necessary to have a good ride down the highway. I still want a FF to get the most out of my talents.

[clackers]

I know everyone wants the latest and greatest but is it really that big of deal?
I can look at a whole bunch of photos taken with Pentax cameras and if I
don't know what model that was used I'd be hard pressed to tell you which was
which. Some of the best Pentax photos I seen were taken with the original
ISTD.

Point taken.


It's obviously not for the average amateur ... FF camera only make up perhaps ten percent of DSLR sales, if we're to believe people's guesses.


But could it be for you, rather than the Average Joe?

[officiousbystander]

Watched this fascinating doco the other night.

You Tube

You Tube

Despite his talent Brian Duffy became so dispirited by the demands of commercial photography that one day he sacked his staff, closed his studio and attempted to burn all his negatives. He ended up being a furniture restorer.
What it shows is no matter how apparently glamorous, the world of professional photography for some can be a complete grind.
Maybe it could be more fun to be an enthusiastic amateur who chooses when and where and what they shoot. Would anyone deny them the satisfaction of a K1 just because they're not a pro? They may even get more out of it.
[Sorry should have warned about non work safe contacts sheet.]

[snpsht]

It was love at first site! Then I started to read all the hands on reviews followed by videos! Then my eyes glazed over and I preordered the K1 and the 15-30 and what the hell, throw in the battery grip. Do I need it? Hell no! Do I want it, oh yeah! An amateur can have just as much fun as a pro.

Yep!!! I want it...yep - I am decidedly an amateur. Will I use it to its absolute capability in every way? No. Will it push me? Yep!

Will I have FUN? YES YES YES YES!!! Oh YES! Especially with my three amigos.

I'll have to wait a little while to get it as I didn't jump in early on the pre-order, and it looks like there'll be a long queue for second round purchasers.

Meanwhile I'll get my pleasure vicariously as others explore and enjoy and post their experiences and their pics.

[banep]

The operative word there is "want". Anyone who "needed" a full frame camera bought one years ago from another brand.

There are many reasons why someone might "want" a K-1:
1) Not wanting to be embarrassed when playing with the big kids with their mk 5DIII and D810.
2) A preference for the FF 'look' whatever that might be to the individual
3) A desire to have the newest camera available and show off the new toy
4) An expectation of somewhat better dynamic range
5) An expectation of improved ISO performance, ie less noise at a given ISO
6) A desire to use their vintage film glass as they were intended to be used
7) A need or want to print larger than what 24mp can print. Though that is more a need for more MP not necessarily a FF camera
8) Just supporting the brand. If you want Pentax to make more stuff, you gotta buy some stuff
9) Pixel shift on FF 36mp camera? That just might be amazing
10) They have complained about no Pentax FF for so long they either have to buy it or admit they are full of hot air
11) A belief that the K-1 will somehow improve their photography

And my personal reason: I want it. I've saved money in the camera budget for two years and I pre-ordered. Will I be amazed? Will I like it? Will I hate it? Will I admit APS-C is more than I can handle and sell it on? Will it make my photography so amazing that people will travel for miles just gaze in awe at my display? Who knows.

4,5,6 and 9 in my case.
5 is most important for me.

[noelpolar]

Yep!!! I want it...yep - I am decidedly an amateur. Will I use it to its absolute capability in every way? No. Will it push me? Yep!

Will I have FUN? YES YES YES YES!!! Oh YES! Especially with my three amigos.

I'll have to wait a little while to get it as I didn't jump in early on the pre-order, and it looks like there'll be a long queue for second round purchasers.

Meanwhile I'll get my pleasure vicariously as others explore and enjoy and post their experiences and their pics.

The attitude of a long lifer....

[Alex645]

An amateur can have just as much fun as a pro.

Actually amateurs should have more fun than a pro. The amateur is doing it for the love of it. No stress to fulfill an assignment, please the client, deadlines, competition, being underpaid, etc.

It IS cool if you wake up one day, a pro photographer, and realize you're not going to a desk, to an office, wearing a suit, punching the clock, being challenged to merge business with art and craft, etc. But I've had many pro photographer assignments that I despised, in a horrible environment with bad people for something you don't really believe in, just to make money.

One of my WORST jobs was on a movie and the producer made a speech on the first day how lucky we all were to be working in Hollywood on his film. Bad story, bad directing, bad hours, bad pay, and just a bad experience. Did I tell you how bad it was? Eventually, if you really love photography, you stop taking those jobs because you care more about photography than you do money.

Just know that semi-pros admire the full time pros, and the full time pros often dream of the good old days when it was just a hobby and they shot what they wanted, when they wanted, and how they wanted for no one other than themselves.

[zmohie]

my 10 fa.fa*.f* lenses needing it!!

[Rondec]

The K-1 is for people who want it and can afford it. There are a few people out there who really need full frame, but most people who get it just want better. But you get an awful lot of camera these days for a few hundred dollars with a camera like the K30 or K50 and if finances are tight, I certainly would stick with one of those rather than breaking the budget to go to a bigger sensor.

[wizofoz]

This very average photographer can't wait for them to be available. Like Rondec said, I want it, and I can afford it. Life's too short

[Sandy Hancock]

This very average photographer can't wait for them to be available. Like Rondec said, I want it, and I can afford it. Life's too short

Add me to the chorus of average photographers, who happen to be amateurs, who can barely bear the wait for this camera.

[RobA_Oz]

I don't think I've ever bought a camera just because I wanted the latest. I've mainly bought because I could see something in a different camera that would allow me more freedom to compose and shoot. Hence, having started with an S-3 and a hand-held light meter, I moved to a Spotmatic-F because its full-aperture in-built metering made working in low light and with moving subjects easier. I then moved to an ES because I could set an aperture and let the camera electronics take care of the speed (I bought an ESII because it was a step better and the changeover price was a bargain too hard to resist) and that probably would have been my last 35mm film camera if the imperative to move to a K-mount hadn't come along in the shape of a K2DMD that offered the Judas aperture window, higher flash sync speed, exposure memory lock and greater range of film speed settings (plus the opportunity to purchase from an expanding range of lenses). It also came with a motor drive. By the way, only the SP-F was bought new.

Similarly, every step taken with the line of Pentax DSLRs that I've bought (the *istD, K-20D, K-5 and K-3) has been because the next one offered useful (to me) further advances in the ease of taking photos. In addition, each of those cameras has been near or at the top of the range at some stage. The K-1 won't be any different, as far as I'm concerned – it just expands the opportunities for me to take photos that I probably wouldn't otherwise take, or would only take with difficulty, or not be happy with because I didn't have time or the opportunity to do better.

So, am I an "average" amateur photographer? I don't shoot for a living, and I guess I'm average, because I know many people who take worse pictures than me, and a fair number who take better ones. Is the K-1 for me? I think so, but I'll reserve judgment until I try one.

PS: It's also called a "K-1", not a "K1", let alone a "K01" or a "K 1" or a "k1". It's a small point, and it shouldn't niggle – after all, people are often mis-spelling my surname, too – but it does.

[Schraubstock]

...that people will travel for miles just gaze in awe at my display?

I would, just send me the ticket. But be warned before you agree, I haven't flown cattle class for the last 10 years, at least.

Cheers