[pentaxdslruk]

Hi,

If you have the money for the K1 & lenses it is a great camera. The K70 although cheaper is still a superb camera for the money.

Work out your budget & go for the one that suits your needs the best.

I am lucky enough to use both & would side with the K1.

Happy hunting

[johnmflores]

Option A
25% on camera body
25% on lenses
50% on classes

Option B
70% on camera body
30% on lenses
0% on classes

With Option A, you will become a better photographer and 75% of your investment (lenses and classes) will carry over for many years
With Option B, you will have a nice camera.

[normhead]

When I think that all I owned personally, not counting the equipment available to me through the schools where I taught, all I had for years was a Program plus with a 50 and a Tamron 35-300 zoom. What was wrong with me?

I even sold some pictures people bought right off the walls in my apartment during that time.

[k5astro]

People are always saying get a 50mm lens but I find it too close - at least on an APS-C camera. It may be ok on the K-1 but before you buy check out a 35mm lens. I think this is the best all rounder if you only have 1 lens for a while, especially after spending the big buck for a K-1.

[PiotrKrochmal]

my answer is No .
My suggestion: go on ebay,buy dirty old dslr. K20 or even K10 max. learn. If you found that you are still keen on photography you will be knowing enough to buy whay you need, MLC, DSLR, or advanced compact. And as your income cost will be small you could easily change your mind and buy K1

[k5astro]

my answer is No .
My suggestion: go on ebay,buy dirty old dslr. K20 or even K10 max. learn. If you found that you are still keen on photography you will be knowing enough to buy whay you need, MLC, DSLR, or advanced compact. And as your income cost will be small you could easily change your mind and buy K1

Sorry but I have to pipe up here and say this is bad advice. The K20 takes great pictures but it has limitations that you won't find in newer cameras - low light sensitivity in particular that will limit where and when you can use it faithfully. So of course you will get a poorer experience with it and just possibly disappoint yourself and wish you hadn't waisted your money on a lesser camera. I'll say again, get the best you can afford.

[FantasticMrFox]

My suggestion: go on ebay,buy dirty old dslr. K20 or even K10 max. learn.

I don't see how artificially crippling oneself is conducive to learning. He might just as well buy a K5 II or similar, for little more (and it won't matter anyway, looking at his budget), and get a much better camera that's more fun to use and can do more.

[Alex645]

I don't see how artificially crippling oneself is conducive to learning. He might just as well buy a K5 II or similar, for little more (and it won't matter anyway, looking at his budget), and get a much better camera that's more fun to use and can do more.

Purely for the sake of friendly counterpoint, I think there is something helpful in learning to shoot, for example, with an all manual film camera and ISO 125 film. Maybe I'm the old guy now who had to walk 20 miles to school every morning barefoot through the snow, but in the beginning I feel that because I had to work with Kodachrome 25 or 64, with a couple of primes, and a manual flash, it made me really nail exposures, use a tripod, understand depth of field, etc.

Perhaps it doesn't translate to a 3MP digital camera, but I think a good sensor that can handle bad light can desensitize you to good light when you've got it.

[redcat]

strange, I think K1 would be perfect for a beginner, I started with K5 IIs, the Pentax flagship at the moment and it didn't take me long before I could get decent photos
Just begin with some understanding on Aperture, Shutter speed, and Lighting (especially lighting) and it's gonna be a pleasure to shoot with the best Pentax camera ever made

[PiotrKrochmal]

I don't see how artificially crippling oneself is conducive to learning. He might just as well buy a K5 II or similar, for little more (and it won't matter anyway, looking at his budget), and get a much better camera that's more fun to use and can do more.

K5 is also good

[Kerrowdown]

Is the K-1 good for a beginner?

Owning one will not make you a better photographer, but it is still a great tool to use.

[Rondec]

Purely for the sake of friendly counterpoint, I think there is something helpful in learning to shoot, for example, with an all manual film camera and ISO 125 film. Maybe I'm the old guy now who had to walk 20 miles to school every morning barefoot through the snow, but in the beginning I feel that because I had to work with Kodachrome 25 or 64, with a couple of primes, and a manual flash, it made me really nail exposures, use a tripod, understand depth of field, etc.

Perhaps it doesn't translate to a 3MP digital camera, but I think a good sensor that can handle bad light can desensitize you to good light when you've got it.

I guess I think using a camera with a modern sensor does make things easier, but if you are focused on learning, you will grow over time, regardless of whether you start shooting with a K1000 or a K-1. I am an unabashed auto focuser. I occasionally use manual focus with landscapes and live view, but I depend on the camera to focus for me. I almost never shoot in manual mode. But to me, the most important thing is the image and while sharp focus and good exposure are important, so are light, subject, and composition and with modern cameras, those feel like the tougher things to learn.

[PiotrKrochmal]

Option A
25% on camera body
25% on lenses
50% on classes

Option B
70% on camera body
30% on lenses
0% on classes

With Option A, you will become a better photographer and 75% of your investment (lenses and classes) will carry over for many years
With Option B, you will have a nice camera.

Get Option A!.

[VoiceOfReason]

Would you rather work on a project car with a complete set of tools such as found in a dealership including all specialty tools, a set of all your basic ones from a reputable company, or 40 dollar wrench and socket set from a no name company made in China? Obviously, if you can afford it option 1 would be by far the best. You could learn the tools well and get the job done better and more quickly with those. option 2 would still get the job done, but wouldn't be as nice and it make take more work to get what you want done. Option 3, yeah, don't even go there.

I'd put the K1 as option 1, the current and previous generation of APSC stuff as option 2, and then those who say get a 10+ year old camera body as option 3.

[W.j.christy]

Would you rather work on a project car with a complete set of tools such as found in a dealership including all specialty tools, a set of all your basic ones from a reputable company, or 40 dollar wrench and socket set from a no name company made in China? Obviously, if you can afford it option 1 would be by far the best. You could learn the tools well and get the job done better and more quickly with those. option 2 would still get the job done, but wouldn't be as nice and it make take more work to get what you want done. Option 3, yeah, don't even go there.

I'd put the K1 as option 1, the current and previous generation of APSC stuff as option 2, and then those who say get a 10+ year old camera body as option 3.

Though I like the mechanics reference and can really relate I will counter with this. I put myself through college working as an auto mechanic and having done that, the number of tools that I still have and no longer use in my home mechanic work is astounding. If I had started out with all those tools when first started, I would have not only been confused as to what some tools did and how to use them, I would have been out several thousand dollars that I didn't have. Especially since i started out changing oil and not doing anything else.

Photography is in many ways the same. The amount extra you pay for the extra tools and such can lead to an overwhelming experience that doesn't always deliver on the expectations that go with it. As with my beginning in auto mechanics, people typically start with the simplest task and then move up from there. The beginner simply does not need to invest that heavily to get the desired results. The beginner may also decided they have no use for the tools after some time and abandon them all together, which makes the greater investment up front all the more regrettable later.

I can assure you , the work I completed and knowledge I gained with my $75 craftsmen tool kit was made all the more valuable by the fact I didn't have to spend a ton of money up front. The same goes for my initial purchase of the K-30 and subsequent upgrade to the K-3