[MJKoski]

While frustrating, full manual camera is a blessing in the end. Because, when it clicks in your head it is very pleasant feeling. Then one can blend in some automation while staying in control at all times.

[DougieD]

Of course you can start learning photography on a K-1 (I don't think you ever finish learning once it begins). Just don't blame the camera if you're not happy with the results. But if it's stretching your budget, forget about it! Photography is probably going to be way more expensive than you think it is. I know that's how it turned out for me.

Look at pictures on this website and go to Flickr and look at pictures of landscapes and bugs taken with the K-S2 and K-70 and decide if you would be happy with some of those results. If you would be (and I suspect you would), then there's your answer.

[mikeSF]

definitely NO.

The K-1 and most all top end cameras from other makers have many more features than you need at this stage, and the slightly better image quality it potentially yields would be lost on a beginner who is not ready to harness that capability. Much better to get an entry level or older, less capable body that is inexpensive, learn M mode shooting, and use the rest of the money to get a small assortment of lenses to learn fundamentals of exposure, composition, focal length, DOF, shutter theory, etc..

I always cringe when I see someone holding a top end camera and their lens hood is reversed, or some other obvious tell that they are using the wrong tool for the job. The added confusion could easily drive you away from photography because "it's too complicated".

good luck

[DougieD]

While making your decision, it's worth considering that until about the Spring of this year (2016), most people on Pentax Forums were raving about the quality of their crop-sensor cameras (and rightfully so). And before roughly the start of 2014, it was a 16 megapixel camera (or less), to boot!

The less you worry about the gear, and the more you worry about technique and style, the more affordable and fun photography becomes. A boring picture taken with a K-S2 will still be a boring picture taken with a K-1.

So, I'd forgo the K-1 for now. But that's just my opinion.

[Parallax]

Is the K-1 good for a beginner?
The simple answer is that it depends on the beginner.
Everyone has different learning abilities. Only you know what yours are. I find it unlikely that anyone who can learn to use a K70 couldn't learn to use a K-1. If anything, life should be easier starting with it as you won't need to learn 2 cameras as you would if you start with something else then upgrade. The principles of photography are the same whether you're using an instamatic or a Hasselblad, so it comes down to learning to use your particular machine.

The other consideration is cost. If you're going to want the K-1 it will be cheaper to buy it straight off than to buy a K70, KS2, etc. and upgrade later.

[ambie]

A ton of responses, I was not expecting all this help. Thank you everyone!

Alright, you guys got me leaning toward the K-70. I wanted the K-1 because it is "the best", but I am worried that 1) Learning on an advanced camera with so many features/options will leave me feeling overwhelmed and scare me off from photography 2) Since I'm a beginner I won't get the most out of the camera's technology, because starting out I'll get about the same results I would with another camera.

And price is another consideration. I think it makes more sense to spend more money on lenses and cases than a camera right now. I will look into the macro lenses, thank you for the recommendation.

[W.j.christy]

And price is another consideration. I think it makes more sense to spend more money on lenses and cases than a camera right now. I will look into the macro lenses, thank you for the recommendation.

Sounds like a good plan. For fun, you can look at the PENTAX : Welcome to the PENTAX Photo Gallery and search by camera, lens, etc... and get a really good idea of what each can do. I think what you will find is its truly the painter and not the brushes (or in our case camera and lens) that gives the results. Truly, some of the work by those using entry level gear is pretty amazing. Same with this forum. Take a look at the photo sharing threads its amazing what people can accomplish with 30+ year old glass!.

FYI, my avatar was a K-30 with a DA 50 1.8. That lens cost less than $200 new when I bought it.

Have fun and enjoy!

[HopelessTogger]

OP. Start with a high end point and shoot with as much manual control as possible, shooting in RAW. Like a Lumix LX100, something like that.

If you like photography after that, then skip the consumer end DSLR's and go straight for the higher end stuff, like the K-1 and the better lenses. Otherwise you'll waste a ton of cash upgrading from consumer to professional.

Yes the K-1 is ideal for beginners.

I wish I'd never bothered with consumer grade anything. Example, after three consumer grade tripods I ended up with a professional grade Induro set-up. Would have saved a bunch just going for the Induro.

We get what we pay for.

[narual]

My take: Hold off on the K1. Buy a used K-30 or something that was an entry level but still weather sealed body if you can find one for about $100. Or if you want a little more room to grow, get a used K-5 or K-7. They're all excellent cameras still. Main difference is going to be that the entry level body has fewer controls, so if you need to do some things, you end up going into the menu, or holding down multiple buttons.

Once you decide you love it and you find you're actually USING it, then feel free to pull the trigger on the top of the line body you want.

I say this, because if you look at camera bodies for sale, when people post how many photos they've taken with them, a lot of times you'll see the high end bodies, several years old, with only a few photos taken (the photo file's metadata tells you how many photos have been taken on that camera).

If it's stretching your budget, and you're not already an avid photographer... just get a nice used body. Once you hit a few thousand photos, that might make the investment worthwhile... but even moreso, it's after hitting those, when you say to yourself "I really wish I could do this specific thing but this camera does not support it and the K-1 does" - Then you can sell the used body for probably $25 less than you paid for it and buy the shiny new thing, which might have come down in price by that point (used gear is the best IMO. There's a sizeable price drop from new to used, but not much of one from used to slightly more used, so you don't lose much if you start with a used product and resell it later). And take a few hundred dollars you were going to spend on the body and get some nice lenses. Used, of course. A da* 50-135 and DA 20-40 limited lens pairing give you excellent quality with weather resistance to go along with the body, and cover reasonably wide and reasonably long, so you won't be hurting much for typical photo needs. The different sensors between the bodies aren't that terribly different from one another.. a bit more noise, a bit more megapixels, maybe less capability for photos in very dark areas... the photo's going to come out looking roughly the same, all the pentax cameras from the K-20 on (when they switched from a CCD to a CMOS sensor) are going to have pretty close to the same color rendering and so on. But mediocre glass isn't going to make you love photography, even if its on the best body, while good glass is going to look every bit as good on the older bodies as it does on the newer ones. And good lenses retain their value better than bodies do, in case you decide to drop the hobby - you can almost look at buying any good lens (used especially) as a cheap long-term rental with a large security deposit, and an option to keep it.

Or, you could just buy a shiny new K, play with it for a couple weeks, get frustrated with all the functions, and then quite possibly end up letting it sit in a bag for months on end and only take it out for birthdays and other random stuff, then finally sell it with 200 actuations at a substantial loss in a couple years. Not saying that you would - but it does happen a lot.

[zzeitg]

That said, Pentax doesn't really make cheap, beginner cameras. Pentax' entry level is actually a little higher than many of the competition's cheapest offerings.

^^^
Exactly.


If budget is not any problem for you, don't waste time with anything else. Get your K-1.


I'd recommend to start with some good quality zooms:
- DFA 15-30mm f2.8
- DFA 24-70mm f2.8
- and either DFA 70-200 f2.8 or DFA 150-450 f4.5-5.6


You may add some primes later on, maybe a macro lens.

I've been wanting to get into photography and after tons of research, I have narrowed it down to Pentax.

Good choice! I made the same decision almost 10 years ago and I've never regretted.

[johnyates]

There is nothing wrong with using the K-1 as a beginners camera. It is definitely a camera that you can grow into. If you really want to learn then all you need is a manual mode with spot metering and the desire. If you shoot landscapes the K-1 is probably the best camera you can buy.

I agree with this advice.

The alternative is to buy a 'beginners camera' now, and then later get the K-1, but that would be more expensive.

[narual]

I agree with this advice.

The alternative is to buy a 'beginners camera' now, and then later get the K-1, but that would be more expensive.

That assumes that the price of the K-1 does not go down more than the loss on the buy and later resale of the beginners camera.

[noelpolar]

Ok Ambie.... welcome to Pentax forums..... like most things in life, the simplest things we ponder are often the deapest and most difficut to understand. Many aspects of photography are like that..... hence why you have many people here giving a range of diverse and often conflicting views.

Only you really know yourself...... if your the sort that comits to something, doesn't get flustered and really are keen on high end photography and prepared to sink some serious money ..... then the K-1 may be a good kick off point for you. If this doesn't describe you, then a more cautious and deliberate lower cost, lower complexity camera may be a better option....that's about it...really!

[k5astro]

Uhhuh yes. Basic controls that should be physically available for direct control are exposure time and aperture. Entry line DSLR bodies often have only one dial.

It is easy with K-1 to accidentally put camera into multiexposure mode or exposure delay mode, or pixel shift mode or astrotracer without calibration or...<insert the accidental function here> buy just poking around. Then the head scratching begins.

Just because someone is a beginner doesn't mean they're dense. Give others some credit!

[johnmflores]

No, it is a terrible first camera. It will taunt you incessantly, "Is that the best you can do? I am capable of so much more! Yawn...I am waiting for you to catch up to me. Really, another cat photo?"

Stick with something that smaller and more fun to start.