[I shoot people]

I admit it, first I only chose Pentax because I was sick of seeing people with Nikons, Canons, Olympus(es?/ies?) or Sony SLRs at every street corner! I wanted to stand out and be different. Now there were several not so well known brands around. Why did I go for Pentax and not, say Leica (other than because of the price of course!)? Well, weather proofing and toughness. I like things that last me a long time and Pentax has a reputation for having both very tough cameras and the best weatherproofing on the market. At last their lenses are often underrated, but I know that in the old days and now they make very good lenses. (I also saw a guy use a Pentax kit lens as a hammer to put a nail into a wall on youtube at some point... Yeah, Pentax users ARE different!) I then asked a friend to borow me an old Pentax of hers and fell in love. A few days later the Pentax K-7 came out and I bought it.

[Capslock118]

My now wife had about 5 manual lenses sitting in a closet for 3 years and also a k1000, me, and mx. We thought all of the cameras were broken.

So I bought a K100D refurbished from bestbuy in march of 2010. Shortly after I learned a bit more and found that the manual cameras were fine, they were just holding a dead battery for the exposure meters; except the mx - that's definitely busted.

[Auraluu]

I bought a Spotmatic II in 1971 because I wanted a "real" SLR with interchangeable lenses as opposed to the Kowa SE that I had. Everybody wanted Nikon back then, but it was around $500 and I was able to get the Pentax with the 50mm f/1.4 for $200.

[AOShep]

Friends of mine encouraged me to go Pentax because it provided the best for less money. So in 1979 I bought the MX with the M50 f/1.7 lens. So I moved from my Kodax Bantom to the world of SLR. Later I added a slightly used LX. Bought my wife a P30 with kit lens. When I thought I was ready for digital Pentax still didn't have one out yet so I diverged briefly to an Olympus C3100 because it was the closest P&S that resembled an SLR. I should have bought a film scanner instead, though. Then in 2007 I came back to Pentax with the K10D. I still have all of the above. Can't seem to let loose.

[mustangjoey]

I dared to be different. And haven't looked back. Very happy with pentax. Couldn't ask for more. Plus storm trooper white, who could resist?

[lolliiy]

I actually own olympus and canon, i only use the canon though...Yesterday i got my first pentax camera and i'm impressed!

To answer your question,
a couple of reasons, i really wanted to have two cameras so i could have one set-up with one type of lens and settings and the other with another set-up. but i really couldn't afford this..but then i found the K-x and thought i'd do some research on the net..it seemed to be a great camera..
I also wanted movie mode which it has which is amazing for the price.

I was actually looking at nikon first but for some reason i clicked on pentax on the site i was on, and saw the K-x.

[twilhelm]

My switch came 3 years ago.
In the past I had shot Canon. AE1 and A1, before the autofocus. When Canon scrapped the
FD mount for the new one, I was completely put off.
I did invest in a scanner. But the time came that I felt digital was the way to go completely. I did all my research, and discovered that Pentax was the only system out there that could use ALL of their old glass.
I ordered the K10d sight unseen (no nearby dealer) and I know I made the right decision!

Tony

[theunartist]

In body Image Stabilization and backwards compatible with every K and m42 mount lens ever made...

Also, at the time, Pentax K-m got higher reviews and marks than Canon's and Nikon's. I seriously considered Olympus E-620 and E-30 as well but it came down to value...

[boriscleto]

My first SLR was a K1000 with a Pentax-A 50 f/2 in 1987. When I got into digital I had several point-and-shoots & bridge cameras. Not being satisfied with the Panasonic FZ8 I started to look into DSLRs. My uncle swears by Nikon cameras so I started to look into the D5000 & D3000. I wasn't impressed by the lack of compatibility with legacy lenses so looked at what else was available in the price range. The K-x immediately stood out and I had the funds available to buy one where I would have had to wait a few more weeks to get the D5000 or T1i.

[zero656]

my first dslr was the K-x, i chose pentax after reviewing every entry dslr(because my budget was between $400 & $500 ) from cannon, nikon, olympus and pentax, and my best choice was the k-x, but after viewing the dxomark comparative, i bought the K-x

[yeatzee]

The first DSLR I used was a Pentax

I was hooked on the pseudo macro I could achieve with the kit lens and began researching for my own camera. Obviously pentax was a contender from the get go. At my price range, there was no question that the K200d ruled supreme. So here I am at 16 years old a couple years later will everything in my signature and more

[liukaitc]

the SR..

[Ash]

Much like yeatzee - started digitally with a K100D, then K10D, then K20D, went back to a *ist D for a backup body, and now a K-x. Never looked back. The lenses are great quality, their niche of small and compact gear of such competitive pricing suits well. The WR and SR are valuable added bonuses for me.

[xinu]

I vividly remember going to McBain camera at the Westmount mall in Edmonton when I should have been attending high school. There inside the camera display case was a Pentax Spotmatic. I never did had the money to buy it. I must have been a major PITA for the store owner but he did seem to tolerate my frequent visits to eyeball the camera "not you again kaufman ". After that the Pentax name was branded to me. Sentiment aside, Pentax DSLRs have the total capability I was looking for. Not particularly excelling at any one thing, the word synergy comes to mind.

[luke0622]

rich in features, in body SR, lens compatibility, real weather seal bodies, just to be different; and I am also sick of the Canon stuff lol