I'm late to the party, but still.
I'll start by saying thanks for this thoughtful and well researched comment. It's useful for everyone.
Originally posted by motorhead9999 Remember, I'm not a professional. I don't make a living through photography. It's a hobby for me, and I don't claim to be an expert at it. If I misstate something in this review, please tell me. I enjoy being educated.
That's fair and honest.
Originally posted by motorhead9999 So far, I have the following lenses: 15-30, 24-70, and 150-450
You've got fantastic glass, and are only missing out on primes, which is one of Pentax's strength.
Originally posted by motorhead9999 The lenses, and lens selection:
Originally posted by motorhead9999 beyond those 4 lenses, there's not a lot out there for the K1.
Here is where I disagree. It's true to say that Pentax invested a lot on APS-C in recent years (and apparently offers THE largest lineup of APS-C lenses). But here are the lenses that can be bought new and used on full frame:
31 F1.8
35 F2
43 F1.9
50 F1.4
50 F2.8 macro
77 F1.8
100 F2.8 macro WR
70-200 F2.8
28-105
I believe, but am not 100% sure, that the DA* 200 and 300 can also be used straight out of the box.
While that's not a huge lot, it's still something. Pentax is still building the DFA lineup and will flesh it out over time. A new 50, 85 and 70-200 F4 are coming, for instance.
A good number of third-party players also do support the brand : Irix, Rokinin/Samyang, Lensbaby, Lomography to name a few.
To this, you can add some oddballs. For instance, the DA 40 F2.8 limited does work on FF, as do some other lenses. The 60-250 F4 can be modified (easier than it looks). And as you point out, even if that means gong used, you can find a plethora of older lenses which work just fine.
You also CAN use DA lenses and accept the crop factor. You get 16 MP images, but keep all the rest (dynamic range, ergonomics, etc).
Originally posted by motorhead9999 An unknown and shaky future: When the lack of support and marketshare
That's always worrisome when your brand is not the leader, but Ricoh remains a profitable company, which is more than can be said of Nikon... I don'T see THAT as reason enough to jump ship. If the brand was ever to go under, your camera would still be working, likely for a long time. You'd lose some money but you could decide to keep your camera as long as it works, and write off the lenses' value as compared to the cost of upgrading another brand's body every other year.