[CP1]

Hey folks, I've been rooting around this forum for information and keeping up with things. I've been thinking about buying a Pentax K1 but I have some reservations about what is happening at the moment. First, when Pentax came out with the K1 I thought it was a great starting point for them hoping they would expand their full frame lens base and gain further third party support. However, it looks like now they've lost more ground than ever with lenses. Official word from Samyang is their new XP lenses (also known as Rokinon SP) will not have a K mount and they have zero plans on making a K mount "unless Pentax can increase their market penetration to better the chance of more K mounts becoming available". If Samyang won't even continue K mount with their new stuff then what is going on? I've had similar discussions with Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina. You guys would know better than me, is Pentax full frame going to be a short lived experiment? I have been keeping up with the Pentax K1mk2 rumors and they are seriously disappointing. I'll wait for the official release but it seems like very little effort went into the mk2 upgrades. I guess what I'm really asking you guys is if you currently own a K1, would you have gone the same route or went in another direction if you could? Btw, you guys have done a great job taking some outstanding photographs with the limited glass that's available. I thought the Sony guys had it bad, trust me, you guys are a bit worse off. This is coming from a disgruntled Sony A mount user.

---------- Post added 02-16-18 at 07:33 AM ----------

Oh, and a side-note. I live in Florida and travel as much as I can, anyone have problems with the K1 in high humidity? I saw somewhere it says 85% and below humidity which doesn't help me when half the year Florida is 90%+

[BigMackCam]

However, it looks like now they've lost more ground than ever with lenses. Official word from Samyang is their new XP lenses (also known as Rokinon SP) will not have a K mount and they have zero plans on making a K mount "unless Pentax can increase their market penetration to better the chance of more K mounts becoming available". If Samyang won't even continue K mount with their new stuff then what is going on? I've had similar discussions with Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina. You guys would know better than me, is Pentax full frame going to be a short lived experiment?

Welcome to the forums

New third party lens support for Pentax is limited, it's true. But, there's a fine selection of in-house lenses already available. The question you need to ask yourself is, do they suit what you need? If they don't, I'd suggest it's not a suitable system for you. Personally, I think third party support will increase again in time, as the K-1 has been successful, and Pentax continues to improve on its APS-C cameras too.

Full frame certainly isn't going to be a short-lived experiment for Ricoh / Pentax. It's what a large part of the existing user base was waiting for all along. In-house lens development needs to be stepped up, but that will happen. Whether it'll happen quickly enough for you and others, I can't say... we're all different, and we have different expectations and tolerances.

I have been keeping up with the Pentax K1mk2 rumors and they are seriously disappointing. I'll wait for the official release but it seems like very little effort went into the mk2 upgrades. I guess what I'm really asking you guys is if you currently own a K1, would you have gone the same route or went in another direction if you could? Btw, you guys have done a great job taking some outstanding photographs with the limited glass that's available. I thought the Sony guys had it bad, trust me, you guys are a bit worse off. This is coming from a disgruntled Sony A mount user.

I'm not sure why you or anyone else would be disappointed by the K-1II. As I've said in another thread, this is a mid-term refresh of a model that isn't yet two years old. The update is similar in scale to the K-3 / K-3II update a while ago. Anyone who expected a major new model at this stage of the game was, I would respectfully suggest, being a tad optimistic. Canon users waited 4+ years for their 6D update, and look what it got them

Ricoh Imaging's Pentax team isn't big. It has limited budget and resources, and a small share of the market, so it would be unwise to expect developments and prolific model releases in the same vein as Canon, Nikon, Sony etc. Pentax is more of a niche player.

Base your decision on what Pentax cameras currently offer, and the range of lenses currently available. Whatever you do, don't base it on what you think or hope Pentax might or should do next, or what you've heard might be available in the near future - that way lies frustration and dissatisfaction.

I've been a Pentax owner since 2010, and have owned a Q, Q7, K-7, K-5, K-3 and K-3II (I still have all except the K-7). I have all of their APS-C HD Limited lenses, the D FA100 WR Macro, DA*60-250, plastic fantastic DA50 and DA35, some film-era AF and MF primes and zooms, and several third party lenses that remain available new to this day. I have more glass than I know what to do with, and much of it is excellent. I've never been anything other than delighted with my choice to shoot Pentax... but then, I went into it with my eyes open, and never expected anything more than it could already deliver. Anything beyond that was, and is, icing on the cake for me

[onlineflyer]

You're right CP1, Pentax is doomed. (satire)

[normhead]

I've been thinking about buying a Pentax K1 but I have some reservations about what is happening at the moment. First, when Pentax came out with the K1 I thought it was a great starting point for them hoping they would expand their full frame lens base and gain further third party support. However, it looks like now they've lost more ground than ever with lenses.

You can draw any conclusion you want by picking a certain period in time. Complaining about no new lenses within months of the 50 1.4 and 85 1.4 being released is one of those time sensitive judgements. But bottom line, don't buy into a K-1 expecting Pentax to become a company that churns out 5-10 new lenses a year. 2-3 a year is more the average.

My advice would be, if you can't find what you want at the price you want, see what you can do with other brands. Or as my photography studio instructor said, "Find the lens you love and buy the camera that it goes on." Driving the camera purchase with a camera body is backwards. If you never find the lens you want to make it work for you, it's just a piece of junk.

For me, "the Pentax lens" is the DA*60-250 ƒ4. Excellent centre sharpness and very good edge sharpness across it's whole range, and standard to telephoto, but it needs to be modified to work on a K-1 without a bit of vignetting. On the K-1 it's the 28-105. That lens is way too expensive to be considered a kit lens, but it's a truly remarkable piece of glass. For me, the APS-c wasn't really functional for me before I got the 18-135 and 60-250, the K-1 wasn't really functional before I got the 28-105. There aren't a lot of choices but if what there is works for you, the K-1 is a great choice.

If you think you're going to buy the camera and then wait for Pentax to release lenses you might like, that's a really bad choice, and we see unhappy disgruntled people here all the time. People who bought into Pentax because of what they thought Pentax might become, not because of what they are. That is a recipe for disappointment.

Price out the system you want with everything you need. Pentax is a great choice if they have what you need. Pentax is not so great a choice if they don't have something you can't live without. Especially if that capability is available off the shelf from another brand, and there are a lot of pieces of kit in that category. Then choosing Pentax goes from being a bad choice to being a ridiculous choice.

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Last edited by normhead; 02-16-2018 at 08:12 AM.

[BigMackCam]

"Find the lens you love and buy the camera that it goes on."

That's an excellent quote and equally excellent advice

[savoche]

Welcome to the club house!

Yes, I'm happy with my decision to buy a K-1. As I'm happy with going with the K-3 and the K-5 before that. All these cameras have given me lots of joy and good pictures.

With the changes we see in the industry now nobody's safe, not even the big names. That said, I have more confidence in Ricoh's commitment to Pentax than I ever had in Hoya's. New lenses are coming, albeit more slowly than we'd like. New cameras, too. The K-1 mkii is just that, a mark ii, an interim update if you will. Some people will work themselves into a frenzy over fantasy products just to feel let down when reality hits them. I can't see how that's Ricoh's fault.

As for lenses, I have all the lenses I need - and then some. I don't see the point of having a broad selection of lenses I will never buy anyway. Of course, if a brand doesn't have the lenses you need you should definitely look elsewhere.

I guess it all boils down to whether or not you have confidence in the owner of the brand, and whether or not you find the lenses you need in their portfolio. If the answer to any of those questions is "no" you should look at other systems.

And yes, if you buy into Pentax you'd better get used to a slower pace than in the world of certain other brands. Their strategy seems to be to swamp the market in new models. Not sure they make a lot of money that way, but I guess they manage to keep a certain hype going. I'm more than happy not to have new models churning out all the time. Gives me more time to enjoy the stuff I already have instead of agonising over not having the latest and greatest.

Oh, and the humidity thing. I wouldn't worry too much about using the camera in humid conditions (although I'd prefer to do so with sealed lenses - which I believe the third party lenses wouldn't be anyway). The important thing is how you store your gear. Keep it in air tight containers with bags of silica gel and all will be fine.

[CP1]

Well thank you guys for the replies. I guess why I'm worried is what happened to me with Sony. I was a Minolta film shooter so moving to Sony was the thing to do a little while back to keep the legacy glass going. Sony always gave us the fluff and buff "commitment" line but when the e-mount took over, it became very apparent where the focus shifted to. But I can't really blame them, they moved to where the money was but it left the rest of us that invested thousands in full frame A mount glass behind. Sure, you can use the glass with an adapter but you forego features and the aging A mount glass isn't nearly as sharp as the new FE stuff leaving A mount glass hard to sell or trade. So that is why I'm worried about coming over here and investing potentially 4-5k in glass if things aren't moving in a good direction. But again, this is probably just my previous experience messing with me. Anyways, thanks again for the replies. I am going to pay close attention to the CP+ show and make a decision after that.

[BigMackCam]

I guess why I'm worried is what happened to me with Sony. I was a Minolta film shooter so moving to Sony was the thing to do a little while back to keep the legacy glass going. Sony always gave us the fluff and buff "commitment" line but when the e-mount took over, it became very apparent where the focus shifted to. But I can't really blame them, they moved to where the money was but it left the rest of us that invested thousands in full frame A mount glass behind. Sure, you can use the glass with an adapter but you forego features and the aging A mount glass isn't nearly as sharp as the new FE stuff leaving A mount glass hard to sell or trade

I'll add one more thing in light of this...

A couple of years ago (maybe three... I forget) I bought into A-mount, in the full knowledge that it was all over. I managed to pick up one of the last remaining Hasselblad HV + Sony Zeiss 24-70 f/2.8 kits on close-out at B&H, for around the same price as a Sony A99 plus lens and accessories here in the UK. I wanted a Hasselblad (even if it was a re-worked Sony ), so I bought it. Over the next year and a half, I added a Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 USD, Tamron 150-600 G1, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro, Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, Minolta 50mm f/1.7 and Konica Minolta AF 17-35mm F/2.8-4. Some of my lenses - especially the Zeiss 24-70 and Tamron 70-200 are outstandingly sharp, and amongst the best glass I own. The others range from "very good" to "perfectly acceptable". They do an outstanding job for me, and I've got all my needs covered... on a system that was outdated and passed by before I even bought it.

I shoot most of that glass on my A7 MkII too, using the LA-EA4 adapter. Yes, I lose a few features. Doesn't impact my ability to take great photographs. I don't own any of the amazing new FE glass.

Sharpness is hugely overrated. We've become obsessed by it because of pixel-peeping and test chart reviews. If you haven't yet fallen too far down that rabbit hole, please step back from the edge I doubt you or most other people could tell whether I'd used my Zeiss 24-70 or Tamron 28-75 for many shots, viewed at normal reproduction sizes, even though the Zeiss is way sharper at all apertures than the old Tamron. By the time photos are processed and resized, few if any people will tell the difference in sharpness between the new, super-sharp FE glass and the older A-mount stuff.

By all means, choose a system that will allow you to select good glass that covers your needs. But the glass available for ANY of the current (and legacy!) systems is easily good enough for 99% of us

[normhead]

I'll add one more thing in light of this...

A couple of years ago (maybe three... I forget) I bought into A-mount, in the full knowledge that it was all over. I managed to pick up one of the last remaining Hasselblad HV + Sony Zeiss 24-70 f/2.8 kits on close-out at B&H, for around the same price as a Sony A99 plus lens and accessories here in the UK. I wanted a Hasselblad (even if it was a re-worked Sony ), so I bought it. Over the next year and a half, I added a Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 USD, Tamron 150-600 G1, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro, Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, Minolta 50mm f/1.7 and Konica Minolta AF 17-35mm F/2.8-4. Some of my lenses - especially the Zeiss 24-70 and Tamron 70-200 are outstandingly sharp, and amongst the best glass I own. The others range from "very good" to "perfectly acceptable". They do an outstanding job for me, and I've got all my needs covered... on a system that was outdated and passed by before I even bought it.

I shoot most of that glass on my A7 MkII too, using the LA-EA4 adapter. Yes, I lose a few features. Doesn't impact my ability to take great photographs. I don't own any of the amazing new FE glass.

Sharpness is hugely overrated. We've become obsessed by it because of pixel-peeping and test chart reviews. If you haven't yet fallen too far down that rabbit hole, please step back from the edge I doubt you or most other people could tell whether I'd used my Zeiss 24-70 or Tamron 28-75 for many shots, viewed at normal reproduction sizes, even though the Zeiss is way sharper at all apertures than the old Tamron. By the time photos are processed and resized, few if any people will tell the difference in sharpness between the new, super-sharp FE glass and the older A-mount stuff.

By all means, choose a system that will allow you to select good glass that covers your needs. But the glass available for ANY of the current (and legacy!) systems is easily good enough for 99% of us

I'm sure there are people who need super sharp lenses. I've just never met one. People say things like "Someday I plan to print really large." And someday I intend to go see an Ohio State football game in "the shoe"... but I'm not going to buy a 1200mm lens in anticipation of that. Honesltly, some people don't seem to understand what printing big means. It means you have to have climate controlled storage and expensive storage containers, unless you are in a position to see a $300 print damaged by poor storage conditions. You have to have big wall space, you have to have dedicated lighting. You need room big enough people can stand back 15 feet and view the whole image. My guess is most of the "someday I'm going to print really big" crowd, never actually get there... just like it's not very likely I'm ever going to get to the "the shoe" again. What you think you might want to do and what you'll actually do are two different things. Buying expensive gear in anticipation of your un-researched desires is almost a certain recipe for wasted money.

To me saying about my K-1 that I really like the way the camera feels in my hands and the images it takes, is a way better line than "someday I'm going to print really big." I've printed K-3 images big and it does just fine. Hell, I've printed K20D and K-5 images big (20x30 inches.) You don't need a K-1 for that, you don't need high end glass for that. You need to be there with what you have to take the picture.

There were times when we were still donig the craft show thing, When I was shooting a K-5 and my wife was shooting an Option 90W waterproof point and shoot, and after looking at the images we took the Optio image for 20x30 prints (12 MP) and one of those Optio images is our best selling print. I pay about as much attention to those DxO and Imaging Resource print size estimates as I do the weather in Cuba. Composition and rendering are what you need to evauate for large prints, relying on the resolution of really expensive lenses,rarely has much to do with it, when you start picking out what you are going to print from 6 months out in the field shooting.

It's amazing how much the photo industry is predicated on selling you stuff using your insecurity about possilby missing a shot, or a shot not being good enough without ever providing any examples that what they are selling will do what they say it will do.

[DeadJohn]

@CP1, what do you like to photograph? Let us know and we can recommend lenses for the K-1. Pentax has good options for most types of photography. If you have some special requirements that can't be met with the Pentax system, then we can help point you elsewhere.

The K-1 works very well for landscapes, portraits, product photography, macro, astrophotography, and many other subjects. There are many lenses available for those subjects. Would it matter if Pentax "only" has 10 lenses that are good for you while Canon has 90?

Pentax is "weak" if you need an extreme specialty lens that costs $5000 and upwards. Most photographers never buy such a lens.

[CP1]

@CP1, what do you like to photograph? Let us know and we can recommend lenses for the K-1. Pentax has good options for most types of photography. If you have some special requirements that can't be met with the Pentax system, then we can help point you elsewhere.

The K-1 works very well for landscapes, portraits, product photography, macro, astrophotography, and many other subjects. There are many lenses available for those subjects. Would it matter if Pentax "only" has 10 lenses that are good for you while Canon has 90?

Pentax is "weak" if you need an extreme specialty lens that costs $5000 and upwards. Most photographers never buy such a lens.

So I'm here mainly for landscape photography in remote locations, although I do product photography on the side and I've had clients print as large as 40"x60" for their corporate and warehouse locations. So I am a pixel peeper for a reason, if my name is associated with a product I want to be proud of it. The K1 originally caught my attention because it is a full frame with pixel shift. I know the Pentax 100mm F2.8 D-FA is up to the task but what other lenses can you recommend that get good results with pixel shift? I really do appreciate the feedback and I'm really not trying to be a downer. I also saw that recently Sony came out with the A7R3 that has pixel shift as well but it seems like with 1 second between shots there has been some problem with people getting consistent results even in studio.

[ChristianRock]

@CP1

1. Should you change? In all honestly, and I say this being a Pentax guy - if you are invested in the A mount, what is keeping you from getting the A99ii? Sure it's more expensive than the K-1 but it might be more cost effective than selling your A mount lenses to buy Pentax glass. Or even worse - maintaining two systems! Which to me personally is a no-no, even if guys like BigMackCam seem to have the means and the time to have SEVERAL systems

2. What glass is there? Well, how much glass do you need? I find it interesting that professionals usually make do with a camera and one, max two or three lenses, while the people here in the forums have multiple systems with lenses in the double digits - and there's nothing wrong with that of course. But if we were honest about what we need, most people would make it with either a 24-70 2.8 or a 35mm f2 lens (which I think happens to be the only two lenses that Annie Leibovitz uses but I digress). I myself own about 15 lenses but in all honestly, I don't really *need* most of them.
Where am I getting? You need to ask yourself what you want with your photography. If it's to impress your friends then Pentax has nothing to offer... if it is to take portraits, there's a wonderful 77mm 1.8 that's unique to Pentax. If it is landscapes, there's a wonderful 15-30 2.8 that is a Tamron with upgraded coatings from Pentax (called HD coatings). If it's general photography, the 24-70 2.8 works well. If it is sports... I'd look elsewhere despite the fact that Pentax does have a phenomenal 70-200 2.8 that is also pretty affordable. But the Pentax AF system is outdated - and yet some people make it work, but they're probably invested in the system. Do you need a fast 35mm? Pentax has the FA 35 f2, which is an older film lens, but still available new - and it's a cracking lens by all accounts. There's also the Sigma 35 1.4 Art (yes there's still some third party lenses sold in Pentax mount...)
And so on.
If you know what you want to do, then you can find out if there are lenses that do what you want.

3. Humidity. I don't think I would worry about that with any of the top line cameras from any manufacturer, as long as storage is in a dry place. I would probably worry more with dust when changing lenses, than with anything else. Also, the K-1 does have a very good weather sealing, and a good amount of weather sealed lenses.

[BigMackCam]

Or even worse - maintaining two systems! Which to me personally is a no-no, even if guys like BigMackCam seem to have the means and the time to have SEVERAL systems

Believe it or not, my Dad insisted I bought the A-mount Hasselblad. He and my Mum knew I'd wanted one since I became interested in photography, and they gave me more than half of the money towards it (I nearly fell off my seat!). It made no financial sense to buy it, and the money I spent on that and A-mount lenses could (and probably should) have paid for a much more capable K-1 and equally good glass. I would never recommend anyone else do what I did, but I don't regret it. I have my Hasselblad, even if it's one that some people look down upon because of the Sony connection

I won't be buying any more systems, and probably no new cameras, for a loooooong time. I'm more-or-less fully invested

Good post, by the way, with some great points

[Unregistered User 8]

Hi from Australia CP1, and welcome to the Pentax forums. Good to have you aboard.

[ChristianRock]

Believe it or not, my Dad insisted I bought the A-mount Hasselblad. He and my Mum knew I'd wanted one since I became interested in photography, and they gave me more than half of the money towards it (I nearly fell off my seat!). It made no financial sense to buy it, and the money I spent on that and A-mount lenses could (and probably should) have paid for a much more capable K-1 and equally good glass. I would never recommend anyone else do what I did, but I don't regret it. I have my Hasselblad, even if it's one that some people look down upon because of the Sony connection

I won't be buying any more systems, and probably no new cameras, for a loooooong time. I'm more-or-less fully invested

Good post, by the way, with some great points

That was a nice gift. I have a soft spot for Minolta lenses and therefore the A mount.

And thanks for the nice comments