[claudmella]

I am relatively new to this forum, which I have been lurking on for a while but never engaged in so far.

I am a sociology student from Italy, 25yo, film shooter out of necessity: I have basically got no money (studying costs a bloody lot) so when I eventually gave myself up to my photography yen I had to start out with what I got—i.e. a brilliant ME Super with a decent lens set, all from my granddad. As my budget has always been meagre, I had to choose either to sell my ME Super and keep on putting money by to eventually buy a DSLR (Pentax, ça va sans dire), yet without shooting at all, or to invest my paltry sum in film and start learning on my granddad’s relic. As the former option would have been too disheartening at first, I settled for the latter, unapologetically (I’m in love with my ME Super) 😀

So, those already rolling their eyes expecting another diehard film hipster, don’t worry: I am not here to moralise about Kodak or Ilford being superior and the like. I just reckon starting with film is heaps more fruitful than with digital—or maybe it’s just me who’s put a little more effort than my pals with DSLRs 😆

The fact is I now need a DSLR for two main reasons:

a) for all its beauty, working exclusively with film will shortly cost me my kidney. I have been asked to shoot a friend’s wedding, which is going to tot up to some 300 euros’ worth of film stock only. For my soon-married friend that will be my present; but what if I made up my mind to shoot weddings, with an average non top-pro photographer’s fee being in Italy around 500€? Not to mention accessories or courses.

b) a DSLR is definitely more versatile.

Therefore, I would like to ask the forum which (second-, third-, ...tenthhand) Pentax DSLR I should buy, given my budget limitation of 400-500€. Preference is given to bodies that grant a dim viewfinder, MF assist, acceptable performances at high ISO and a good IQ overall. I was actually about to pick up a beautiful white K50 from a mate, which seemed a good deal to me, but the same day I brought it home the dang aperture control issue turned up, so it ended up with nothing.

I’ve also been fancying snapping up a ~300€ 645 I’ve found in a shop instead of a DSLR: this would cause me to stick to film anyway, nonetheless with all the plusses of medium format.

But I know this is the wrong place to raise this questions, so I’d better post it somewhere else!

Anyway, I’m into street photography, ‘conscious’ photography (although I reckon it’s a ridiculous definition, how would you name investigating themes like urban decay, migrants, workers and the like?) and mostly female portraiture. I strive to shoot better landscapes but I’ve eventually acknowledged I simply am not good at it. Oh, and I love bokeh!

Thank you for your attention and sorry for my huge post 😅

[claudmella]

Sorry—for some reason I wrote that I want a camera body with a «dim viewfinder» on my previous post. I meant of course the opposite, a bright and possibly 100% covering viewfinder.

[claudmella]

Sorry—for some reason I wrote that I want a camera body with a «dim viewfinder» on my previous post. I meant of course the opposite, a bright and possibly 100% covering viewfinder.

[TER-OR]

Hello, and welcome!
I can highly recommend the K5 series. They are a bargain now, and were built to last. I'm using mine in the field now, with the DA300 for longer-ranged shots and am reminded why it's a highly regarded camera.
A solid argument can be made for a K10 or K20 if you have sufficient light. They have a very "film-like" quality to the CCD sensor.

Of course there's a LOT about wedding photography you'll need to learn. I wouldn't touch it myself, though I'd gladly do candid/informal shots if asked. Portrait photography is all about lighting and working with your subjects. Expectations are high, and ritual reigns supreme here in the US with all the obligatory group pictures etc.

I would, if I were you, still take some film portraits of the couple.

[victormeldrew]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

[Bethor]

Hello and welcome!
As stated above the K5 is a great camera. You should also check out the for sale section here. A lot of other users have had great luck with it.

[twilhelm]

Welcome to the forum! I’ve shot weddings with the K10, *ist, K20, K5, K3 and K-1. For the money, the K5 would be your best option. Bright viewfinder, great high ISO capability and very rugged. Paired with a 17-70 and 50-135 and you have a great set up.

Good luck!

[claudmella]

Hello, and welcome!
I can highly recommend the K5 series. They are a bargain now, and were built to last. I'm using mine in the field now, with the DA300 for longer-ranged shots and am reminded why it's a highly regarded camera.
A solid argument can be made for a K10 or K20 if you have sufficient light. They have a very "film-like" quality to the CCD sensor.

Of course there's a LOT about wedding photography you'll need to learn. I wouldn't touch it myself, though I'd gladly do candid/informal shots if asked. Portrait photography is all about lighting and working with your subjects. Expectations are high, and ritual reigns supreme here in the US with all the obligatory group pictures etc.

I would, if I were you, still take some film portraits of the couple.

I’ve already taken some b&w candid shots during a couple of weddings as second photographer but yes, definitely this is a sound piece of advice.
I’ve also considered buying a K5, but hesitated due to the lack of focus peaking—never mind, I’ve got a good eyesight after all. Thank you for your suggestion!

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with all these new ventures... so many all at once.

[SJM]

Hi and welcome

[TER-OR]

I’ve already taken some b&w candid shots during a couple of weddings as second photographer but yes, definitely this is a sound piece of advice.
I’ve also considered buying a K5, but hesitated due to the lack of focus peaking—never mind, I’ve got a good eyesight after all. Thank you for your suggestion!

FWIW, I have no problem with the K5 or K3II switching to manual focus and seeing a good image. It's occasionally necessary in the field when photographing birds or dragonflies. The K3II autofocus is better than the K5 but there's only so much you can ask of a camera. The Catch-in-Focus feature works for subjects which contrast with their backgrounds or are clearly closer. I've used it a lot in the past with manual lenses but I'm afraid I'm out of practice. I do have a couple 50mm manual focus lenses, the A50 f1.4 is a gem. I get more use out of my DA21mm or DA40mm these days, but that A50 is very nice glass. Just remember to put a hood on it.

And yes, there's nothing like B&W film images. Process a digital file as much as you want, it's just not the same.

[RKKS08]

Welcome to the Forum from Germany.

I also recommend the K-5 or K-5II.
It was the first Pentax camera which offered roughly the resolution of ISO 100 24x36 film.
Dynamic range is not yet up to modern color negative film, but well into color slide territory.

For your purposes (and your budget) I would not recommend a K-30 or K-50, despite they are using the same sensor. The K-5 was the flagship in its time, and Pentax always cared much more about reliability of these, compared with lesser models. Failures seem to be MUCH less often than with K-30, K-50, K-S1, K-S2, etc.

If you don't need the camera within the next 4-5 days, on German eBay you would be able to get it for about €200 (body only), with less than 10000 actuations. You'll likely also need to spend some money for 2 SD cards and a reserve battery.
K-5-II is still €260 - €320.

And I did explicitly mention "German eBay". I am several times a week searching eBay with the option "Europe within 2000 km distance", which includes nearly all of the EU as well as Ukraine, but only the most western parts of Russia (I have all the russian lenses I need).
With this kind of searching I got the impression that used Pentax equipment from Italy (and also from Denmark, Belgium, and Switzerland) is offered at start prices 30-50% higher than from German sellers (France and the UK is about the same as Germany). Not to mention the exorbitant transport cost from Italy to Germany - ridiculous, it's nearly as expensive as from the USA to Europe.

So I suggest to look also for offers from all EU countries - no duty troubles and very seldom problems with sellers where eBay would not help you.
My experience.

Good Luck!

---------- Post added 21-08-18 at 22:05 ----------

You should also check out the for sale section here. A lot of other users have had great luck with it.

The OP is located in Italy.

Transport cost from US to EU (insured) are very high, and despite a used camera body would likely not cost duty fees, italian customs may still stop delivery and have a look at it. If unlucky, you then have to drive to the next big town to get your package.

I know why I am not using the Pentaxforums marketplace.
And it's also the reason why you will not find many European members using it.

It's just too expensive, and returning it if something is not ok sometimes can turn into a nightmare.
US customs can be worse than the Swiss (and that's difficult!)

[Shuttershew]

Welcome. Also new here.

[Unregistered User 8]

Welcome from Australia.

[aslyfox]

Weclome

The K 5 series: K 5, K 5 II and K 5 IIs, have excellent reputations

check the reviews under " Cameras " above

good luck

[ photographing a friend's wedding - " Danger Will Robinson Danger " ]

____________________________________

the OP might want to consider this for the view finder question:

PENTAX Magnifier Eyecup O-ME53

https://www.pentaxforums.com/accessoryreviews/pentax-magnifier-eyecup-o-me53.html

. . . I know why I am not using the Pentaxforums marketplace.
. . .

I would not rule out looking at the forum's market place " buy/sell "

you can filter it to show only items from certain locales - specific European countries, the EU, etc.

now I have no knowledge as to whether items on the forum are priced higher or not in those locales/countries than other options