[yotam]

Hi,

I'm considering buying a DSLR camera to replace my Canon S3. I am new to the field of SLRs (have basic knowledge but do not know models, etc.).
After a few days of research I have Pentax K-x and Nikon D5000 as final candidates. From what I read I tend to favor the K-x over D5000 for price, weight and in body shake reduction.
However, my main concern is the future - I do not know Pentax as a brand, I don't know how good its cameras are (though I used to have a Pentax compact film camera when I was a teenager and it was great ).
I came here because (and despite the fact that) it is a place of Pentax fans and I could not find many people who really used Pentax cameras around. I want to know your honest opinion on the brand and the K-x specifically. Also, I would like to have some feedback on the lenses.
Additional question I have is about compatibility - if I buy the K-x with a 18-55 lens (and maybe also 50-200), will they be compatible with a future, more advanced Pentax camera? (given that I have the money some day...) Will I be able to replace the body only?

Please help me to convince myself it's a smart purchase

Thanks a lot!
Yotam

[pxpaulx]

Hi,

I'm considering buying a DSLR camera to replace my Canon S3. I am new to the field of SLRs (have basic knowledge but do not know models, etc.).
After a few days of research I have Pentax K-x and Nikon D5000 as final candidates. From what I read I tend to favor the K-x over D5000 for price, weight and in body shake reduction.
However, my main concern is the future - I do not know Pentax as a brand, I don't know how good its cameras are (though I used to have a Pentax compact film camera when I was a teenager and it was great ).
I came here because (and despite the fact that) it is a place of Pentax fans and I could not find many people who really used Pentax cameras around. I want to know your honest opinion on the brand and the K-x specifically. Also, I would like to have some feedback on the lenses.
Additional question I have is about compatibility - if I buy the K-x with a 18-55 lens (and maybe also 50-200), will they be compatible with a future, more advanced Pentax camera? (given that I have the money some day...) Will I be able to replace the body only?

Please help me to convince myself it's a smart purchase

Thanks a lot!
Yotam

If you want the most bang for your buck you would want to get the 2 lens kit that includes the 55-300mm, which is a much better lens overall than the 50-200mm other 2 lens kit. It is definitely worth the difference. The K-x will also not disapoint (no elaboration needed, it is simply a better camera than the d5000 and probably cheaper). If you are worried about backwards compatibility, don't be. Pentax has the best backwards compatibility available from any brand - you can use any K mount lens ever made, and screwmount lenses via an adapter (we are talking stuff half a century old here). Shake reduction is a must have. While you would get it in the kit lens with the d5000, you will pay a princely sum to get it in future higher end lenses. As far as the brand, right now it is growing and the strongest it has been in the digital era, so despite a few people who might think differently, it isn't going anywhere.

[Rondec]

I think in general, Pentax offers an awful lot for photographers from beginners to professionals. The two kit lens package is awfully nice to get a start. Those lenses are compatable with all the other dSLR bodies out there that Pentax makes. The biggest weakness that Pentax has currently is in really long, fast lenses (like 300mm f2.8, 600mm f5.6), however, considering that those lenses cost many thousands of dollars, it isn'really that big a deficiency.

[yotam]

thanks guys, I'm now trying to see how much the kit with 55-300mm lens costs in my country. the kit with 50-200mm (and 18-55mm) had a really good price...

[Ira]

Hi, Yotam.

If you look at my signature below, you'll see a bunch of lenses approaching 50 years old. These function as manual focus, but with the K-x's metering functions, it's easy to get correct exposure. In addition, correct focus confirmation--via a beep and a little icon--is even available on this classic glass.

So worrying about lens compatibility with Pentax is a non-issue. Not to mention the fact how many other older lenses in other brands are available in M42 screw mount, at great low prices.

So if you simply have to have a certain focal lens at a certain speed (maximum aperture), you can find it for tons less in a manual version.

In addition, although the brand might not need seem so familiar to you, it has a long and reliable history.

[RioRico]

Hey Ira, is photography still an out-of-body experience for you?

But I digress. A camera is a box upon which one hangs lenses. I've been shooting longer than Ira's lenses have existed. My first dSLR was the Pentax K20D I got 2.3 years ago. It was my first-ever Pentax. What drove me to Pentax were careful research and analyses that showed 1) Pentax had the affordable lenses I wanted, and 2) the K20D would give me more bang-for-the-buck and and longer happy-use life than the competition. But it was primarily the lenses that drove me to Pentax.

Many camera bodies of equivalent cost offer similar performance. Many of us feel that the Pentax K7 and Kx bodies are superior to competitors in the same price ranges. But the glass comes first. We use many more decades-old lenses than we do decades-old cameras. Bodies come and go; good lenses last a LONG time, and remain highly prized.

Before buying a dSLR system, to supplant my old Sony DSC-V1, I asked myself: What do I want to do that I can't do with what I have? The answers were: ultra-wide, ultra-long, and low-light. Before selecting any glass and body, ask yourself: 1) Where do I want to go? and 2) What will get me there? and How much will I spend to stay happy? Buying a dSLR means that you marry the lens system; and divorce can be very expensive. Fortunately, all old and new Pentax-compatible lenses work will ALL Pentax cameras made since 1970. (Canon infamously orphaned their pre-EOS lens owners, the swine!)

So, think about the kind of photographs you want to take and make. Think about what glass will capture those images. At dpreview.com, read the gear reviews... and especially read the user ratings, see which items get bitched about the most, and why. Look at eBay and KEH and see what legacy lenses are available, often at astounding prices. Read the lens reviews here for evaluations of Pentax and other glass. More input, more input...

[JACOBY]

Well said RioRico

[Ira]

Hey Ira, is photography still an out-of-body experience for you? :

If you weren't always so funny and right, I could really learn to hate your guts.

Have to wait until a little past the 30th to be with body.

Why wasn't I born rich instead of good-looking?

[NaClH2O]

As others have said lens compatibility is a non issue. Every bayonet mount pentax lens ever made will fit and work as intended on the K-x. Naturally, old manual focus lenses remain manual focus but they will meter correctly at whatever aperture you set them to. It is highly unlikely that this design philosphy that has lasted since the introduction of the K mount in 1975 will change any time soon. I mean, it is possible, but since backwards compatiblity is a MAJOR selling point for Pentax, I find it unlikely at best. It would be like Subaru suddenly making only two wheel drive cars. Naturally I can't predict the future, but I will say with a good deal of confidence that your 18-55 will work on the latest pentax body as long as the lens lasts.

NaCl(one of my favorite K mount lenses is 34 years old and still produces wonderful shots)H2O

[yotam]

I just ordered the K-x with both 18-55mm and 50-200mm in an internet auction, for about $20 more than the lowest price I found for the kit with only 18-55mm. Will be delivered in three days, I can't wait

Thanks guys for helping me. I beleive I'll get the 70-300mm or another telephoto lens later, as currently I could not find it for a decent price here.

If you have any tips for a beginner I'll be glad to read!

I actually have one question - are you hiking with your DSLR? are you hiking with more than one lens? if so, how do you do that? with what bags? any tips on that?

Thanks again!

[Ira]

It is highly unlikely that this design philosphy that has lasted since the introduction of the K mount in 1975 will change any time soon. I mean, it is possible, but since backwards compatiblity is a MAJOR selling point for Pentax,

I don't think this can ever happen:

If it did, Pentax users with their lens arsenals would simply buy up current bodies as back-ups and not move toward the new ones.

There is no way any Pentax user could rationale trashing thousands of dollars of their glass just on the basis of a MOUNT. And Pentax has to know this.

[tuco]

A box to hang you lens on was more true in the film days than the digital era. Get the best glass you want and your low light image quality is still body/sensor dependent.

[tibbitts]

Three comments:

1. bodies didn't matter as much in the film era as they do now. Assuming you had the features you needed (shutter speed, flash sync speed, for example), a photo from the least expensive body was indistinguishable from one from the most expensive.

2. lens compatibility with the D lenses is mostly a matter of whether aps-c will be around. It's not so much a matter of whether the K mount survives, but if full-frame becomes the standard, the aps-c lenses would be generally orphaned. I'm not predicting that, but it's a possibility.

3. Pentax continuing in the camera business is probably not as solid a bet for the future as Nikon or Canon. Maybe not even Sony.

Personally I had had a Pentax back in the screw-mount days, then went to Canon. Canon completely abandoned its lens mount, rendering all the lenses essentially useless. So while Canon was still in business, it wasn't possible to by newer bodies that were compatible with the lenses I already owned, and it wasn't possible to buy new lenses that would work on both your current bodies and future bodies you might purchase. Pentax didn't abandon its mount, although using newer lenses is generally more convenient.

Paul

[RioRico]

A box to hang you lens on was more true in the film days than the digital era. Get the best glass you want and your low light image quality is still body/sensor dependent.

With chemical photography, when you want different image qualities (resolution, speed, spectral response, etc), you buy a new roll of film. With digital, the camera (rather, its sensor) IS the film, so you buy a new camera / sensor. And then soon, you upgrade cameras. But you hopefully keep the same good lenses. OK, so a film camera is a box for mounting lenses; a digicam is a COMPUTER upon which we hang lenses. The same quandary: what's the lifespan of the average consumer computer, the kind with a keyboard?

I just ordered the K-x with both 18-55mm and 50-200mm...

Congrats!

I actually have one question - are you hiking with your DSLR? are you hiking with more than one lens? if so, how do you do that? with what bags? any tips on that?

Me, hike? I'm not up to it at the moment. But were I hiking again, here's the photo gear I'd take:

For over two weeks, a camera with no batteries -- an old lightweight 35mm M42 SLR, with a small light meter and a few dozen 135 carts. Basic zoom: 70-210/4. Basic primes: 28/2.8, 50/1.4, maybe a Zenitar 16/2.8; macro tubes and Raynox DCR-250 for closeups. Light, sturdy tripod.

For less than two weeks, a Kx with lotsa extra batteries and an extra memory card. Basic zoom: DA18-250. Basic primes: the 50/1.4, and the tubes and Raynox. A solar battery charger couldn't hurt, too. And don't forget the tripod.