Are we really THAT rare?

Jonathan Mac · 07-25-2016, 12:51 AM

I saw quite a few Pentaxes in the wild in Norway and Sweden, including a K-1!!

Jean Poitiers · 07-25-2016, 02:35 AM

I saw one yesterday at Blossac Park ... a K-50, I think.

Fat Albert · 07-25-2016, 05:05 AM

Just spent 5 days at Disney--Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Disney Springs. Tons of Canons and Nikons, with mandatory kit zoom with crap UV filter and no hood in sight. Also some kid was shooting an L telephoto with no hood. The occasional Sony. 1 Samsung.

Not a single Pentax.

**clackers** · 07-25-2016, 05:41 AM

Originally posted by Fat Albert

Just spent 5 days at Disney--Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Disney Springs. Tons of Canons and Nikons, with mandatory kit zoom with crap UV filter and no hood in sight. Also some kid was shooting an L telephoto with no hood. The occasional Sony. 1 Samsung.

Not a single Pentax.

That's Walt's rules for you - no facial hair on the employees, no Pentax cameras!

**Alex645** · 07-25-2016, 10:14 AM - **1 Like**

Once upon a time THE camera (in the 60ʻs and 70ʻs) that photography classes provided to high school students was the Pentax K1000. Well I am happy to say that I was able to convince my teacher colleagues and administration for my school to get our one and only camera for our AP Art Studio class; a Pentax K-S2 with a 35mm f/2.4 and 100mm Macro WR. Just a few years ago when I made the same request for our yearbook staff, I was denied because the admin had never heard of Pentax.

Things are slowly changing from rare to uncommon.

Helios 1984 · 07-25-2016, 11:01 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Alex645

Once upon a time THE camera (in the 60ʻs and 70ʻs) that photography classes provided to high school students was the Pentax K1000. Well I am happy to say that I was able to convince my teacher colleagues and administration for my school to get our one and only camera for our AP Art Studio class; a Pentax K-S2 with a 35mm f/2.4 and 100mm Macro WR. Just a few years ago when I made the same request for our yearbook staff, I was denied because the admin had never heard of Pentax.

Things are slowly changing from rare to uncommon.

If it can cheer you up, your yearbook staff admin probably never heard of Hasselblad or Leica. :-)

Trey45 · 07-25-2016, 11:16 AM

Originally posted by Helios 84-5

If it can cheer you up, your yearbook staff admin probably never heard of Hasselblad or Leica. :-)

There's probably a lot of truth in that.

**Alex645** · 07-25-2016, 11:52 AM

Originally posted by Helios 84-5

If it can cheer you up, your yearbook staff admin probably never heard of Hasselblad or Leica. :-)

True, but as a once upon a time student, photographer, art educator, etc, for at least 2 decades the Honeywell and Asahi Pentax 35mm SLRs were the default at nearly every school, at least in the US. Other than in Germany for the Leicas and college profs and art institutes for the Hassy, Iʻd totally understand if the only other brand they knew of were Kodak, Polaroid, and maybe GAF.

My art teacher colleagues are roughly 40-65 years old and went to some notable schools like RISD, MICA, RPI, Alfred, Cornish, UO, etc. Admin is also in that age range....the film generation. But if they were like most in that age range, they may not have remembered or didnʻt take a photo class. In that case, their first cameras as adults were Kodak Instamatics, Canon AE-1, and maybe Nikon EM. IF their bachelor uncles were hobbyists, they might have had a Rollei TLR.

I miss the smell of the new packaging and cameras made in Japan. The German cameras had their own distinct aroma. But I digress.....

noelpolar · 07-25-2016, 05:13 PM

Originally posted by Alex645

I miss the smell of the new packaging and cameras made in Japan. The German cameras had their own distinct aroma. But I digress.....

A lot to be said for a leather wrist or camera strap.... to add some long lost aroma. It would have been nice if the K-1 had provision for adding some leather to it's body.

I retired to a small (2,000 peope) seaside town 5 years ago and have met 3 other pentax shooters within a couple of miles of here..... one via this forum. It's not something I put much effort into though..... as it is quite rare to find someone your in sync with to go for a photographic outing with...... and mostly now I'm looking for a set of conditions to happen that suit a particular thing that I might want to explore..... and pre-arrange outings rarely provide these.

trevinon · 07-26-2016, 09:20 AM

Last week I attended a trade show in Chicago. Saw the customary crowd of CaNikons in a fair amount and a lot of cell phones-as-camera examples, but no single Pentax both during the show and during my outings in the city. I didn't bring mine either but used my cell phone camera instead. No need to risk my treasure.

HopelessTogger · 07-26-2016, 10:00 AM

Someone must be buying these cameras. I've heard Pentax is popular in Japan.

**suraswami** · 07-26-2016, 12:05 PM

Last Weekend I was at Long Beach Aquarium here in California, as usual thousands of cell phones, few Canikons and couple of Mirrorless cameras. But suddenly there was a familiar button layout on a camera that was held by a person in front of me, woo hoo its a Pentax!! It's a K5, beaten up with top LCD cracked. Approached the gentleman and talked about his camera, showed my K50 with my 40mm XS. He was happy to see another Pentaxian. He loves his K5, said it has survived many harsh situations and he was using a 43 mm limited on it. He also mentioned that he had been shooting Pentax since the film days and recently invested in K1 and loves it too.

**Larrymc** · 07-26-2016, 12:37 PM

I'd say there are plenty of us. We're just spread out all over the world. I belong to no less than 20 Pentax oriented Flickr groups most of which are K-3 groups with several lens specific groups thrown in too. When I decided to buy my first DSLR and move from my Panasonic FZ35 Super Zoom I did a good bit of reseach and bought a K-50 back when they came out then I've moved on to a K-3 which I love. The thing that absolutely sold me on Pentax was the in body image stabilization and the ability to use legacy lens. Hard to beat the K mount DSLRs for a good value and ruggedness.

Larrymc

Helios 1984 · 07-27-2016, 12:17 PM

When I joined this forum, I wasn't aware that the Pentax Corporation was defunct since 2008 : / Hell, before joining this forum I thought Pentax was as big as either Canon or Nikon heh

Pentax was very present when I was a kid and I always assumed that they were as big as the other camera manufacturers.

IgorZ · 07-27-2016, 12:29 PM

Originally posted by Larrymc

I'd say there are plenty of us. We're just spread out all over the world. I belong to no less than 20 Pentax oriented Flickr groups most of which are K-3 groups with several lens specific groups thrown in too. When I decided to buy my first DSLR and move from my Panasonic FZ35 Super Zoom I did a good bit of reseach and bought a K-50 back when they came out then I've moved on to a K-3 which I love. The thing that absolutely sold me on Pentax was the in body image stabilization and the ability to use legacy lens. Hard to beat the K mount DSLRs for a good value and ruggedness.

Larrymc

I bought my first Pentax (and the only brand new one so far) when I was in grad school. I just wanted a camera, and I went to a camera store around the corner. The guy there asked me what kind of camera I wanted, and I told him "the one that takes pictures" or something to that effect. His advice was to get a Pentax because of the ability to use legacy lenses. I knew nothing about legacy lenses, but thought it was probably a good idea to be able to put any lens if one bothers getting an SLR. Right? My canikon friends always comment on that fact, as well as on the size and weight of Pentax lenses. And cost. And I always comment on the fact that they haven't switched yet

07-25-2016, 05:13 PM	#4419
noelpolar Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Goolwa, SA Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,310	Originally posted by Alex645 I miss the smell of the new packaging and cameras made in Japan. The German cameras had their own distinct aroma. But I digress..... A lot to be said for a leather wrist or camera strap.... to add some long lost aroma. It would have been nice if the K-1 had provision for adding some leather to it's body. I retired to a small (2,000 peope) seaside town 5 years ago and have met 3 other pentax shooters within a couple of miles of here..... one via this forum. It's not something I put much effort into though..... as it is quite rare to find someone your in sync with to go for a photographic outing with...... and mostly now I'm looking for a set of conditions to happen that suit a particular thing that I might want to explore..... and pre-arrange outings rarely provide these. Last edited by noelpolar; 07-25-2016 at 05:20 PM.

07-26-2016, 12:37 PM	#4423
Larrymc Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Mississippi, USA Posts: 5,251	We're all over the place! I'd say there are plenty of us. We're just spread out all over the world. I belong to no less than 20 Pentax oriented Flickr groups most of which are K-3 groups with several lens specific groups thrown in too. When I decided to buy my first DSLR and move from my Panasonic FZ35 Super Zoom I did a good bit of reseach and bought a K-50 back when they came out then I've moved on to a K-3 which I love. The thing that absolutely sold me on Pentax was the in body image stabilization and the ability to use legacy lens. Hard to beat the K mount DSLRs for a good value and ruggedness. Larrymc

07-27-2016, 12:17 PM	#4424
Helios 1984 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Saint-Constant, Québec Posts: 747	When I joined this forum, I wasn't aware that the Pentax Corporation was defunct since 2008 : / Hell, before joining this forum I thought Pentax was as big as either Canon or Nikon heh Pentax was very present when I was a kid and I always assumed that they were as big as the other camera manufacturers. Last edited by Helios 1984; 07-27-2016 at 12:25 PM.

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07-25-2016, 12:51 AM	#4411
Jonathan Mac Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,879	I saw quite a few Pentaxes in the wild in Norway and Sweden, including a K-1!!

07-25-2016, 02:35 AM	#4412
Jean Poitiers Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 18,076	I saw one yesterday at Blossac Park ... a K-50, I think.

07-25-2016, 05:05 AM	#4413
Fat Albert Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 966	Just spent 5 days at Disney--Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Disney Springs. Tons of Canons and Nikons, with mandatory kit zoom with crap UV filter and no hood in sight. Also some kid was shooting an L telephoto with no hood. The occasional Sony. 1 Samsung. Not a single Pentax.

07-25-2016, 05:41 AM	#4414
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Originally posted by Fat Albert Just spent 5 days at Disney--Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Disney Springs. Tons of Canons and Nikons, with mandatory kit zoom with crap UV filter and no hood in sight. Also some kid was shooting an L telephoto with no hood. The occasional Sony. 1 Samsung. Not a single Pentax. That's Walt's rules for you - no facial hair on the employees, no Pentax cameras!

07-25-2016, 10:14 AM - 1 Like	#4415
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	Once upon a time THE camera (in the 60ʻs and 70ʻs) that photography classes provided to high school students was the Pentax K1000. Well I am happy to say that I was able to convince my teacher colleagues and administration for my school to get our one and only camera for our AP Art Studio class; a Pentax K-S2 with a 35mm f/2.4 and 100mm Macro WR. Just a few years ago when I made the same request for our yearbook staff, I was denied because the admin had never heard of Pentax. Things are slowly changing from rare to uncommon.

07-25-2016, 11:01 AM - 1 Like	#4416
Helios 1984 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Saint-Constant, Québec Posts: 747	Originally posted by Alex645 Once upon a time THE camera (in the 60ʻs and 70ʻs) that photography classes provided to high school students was the Pentax K1000. Well I am happy to say that I was able to convince my teacher colleagues and administration for my school to get our one and only camera for our AP Art Studio class; a Pentax K-S2 with a 35mm f/2.4 and 100mm Macro WR. Just a few years ago when I made the same request for our yearbook staff, I was denied because the admin had never heard of Pentax. Things are slowly changing from rare to uncommon. If it can cheer you up, your yearbook staff admin probably never heard of Hasselblad or Leica. :-)

07-25-2016, 11:16 AM	#4417
Trey45 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Dismal Swamp, NC, USA, Earth. Posts: 173	Originally posted by Helios 84-5 If it can cheer you up, your yearbook staff admin probably never heard of Hasselblad or Leica. :-) There's probably a lot of truth in that.

07-25-2016, 11:52 AM	#4418
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	Originally posted by Helios 84-5 If it can cheer you up, your yearbook staff admin probably never heard of Hasselblad or Leica. :-) True, but as a once upon a time student, photographer, art educator, etc, for at least 2 decades the Honeywell and Asahi Pentax 35mm SLRs were the default at nearly every school, at least in the US. Other than in Germany for the Leicas and college profs and art institutes for the Hassy, Iʻd totally understand if the only other brand they knew of were Kodak, Polaroid, and maybe GAF. My art teacher colleagues are roughly 40-65 years old and went to some notable schools like RISD, MICA, RPI, Alfred, Cornish, UO, etc. Admin is also in that age range....the film generation. But if they were like most in that age range, they may not have remembered or didnʻt take a photo class. In that case, their first cameras as adults were Kodak Instamatics, Canon AE-1, and maybe Nikon EM. IF their bachelor uncles were hobbyists, they might have had a Rollei TLR. I miss the smell of the new packaging and cameras made in Japan. The German cameras had their own distinct aroma. But I digress.....

07-26-2016, 09:20 AM	#4420
trevinon Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Monterrey Posts: 100	Last week I attended a trade show in Chicago. Saw the customary crowd of CaNikons in a fair amount and a lot of cell phones-as-camera examples, but no single Pentax both during the show and during my outings in the city. I didn't bring mine either but used my cell phone camera instead. No need to risk my treasure.

07-26-2016, 10:00 AM	#4421
HopelessTogger Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Roi-et, Thailand Posts: 773	Someone must be buying these cameras. I've heard Pentax is popular in Japan.

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07-26-2016, 12:05 PM	#4422
suraswami Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2015 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 419	Last Weekend I was at Long Beach Aquarium here in California, as usual thousands of cell phones, few Canikons and couple of Mirrorless cameras. But suddenly there was a familiar button layout on a camera that was held by a person in front of me, woo hoo its a Pentax!! It's a K5, beaten up with top LCD cracked. Approached the gentleman and talked about his camera, showed my K50 with my 40mm XS. He was happy to see another Pentaxian. He loves his K5, said it has survived many harsh situations and he was using a 43 mm limited on it. He also mentioned that he had been shooting Pentax since the film days and recently invested in K1 and loves it too.

07-27-2016, 12:29 PM	#4425
IgorZ Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Ottawa Posts: 1,735	Originally posted by Larrymc I'd say there are plenty of us. We're just spread out all over the world. I belong to no less than 20 Pentax oriented Flickr groups most of which are K-3 groups with several lens specific groups thrown in too. When I decided to buy my first DSLR and move from my Panasonic FZ35 Super Zoom I did a good bit of reseach and bought a K-50 back when they came out then I've moved on to a K-3 which I love. The thing that absolutely sold me on Pentax was the in body image stabilization and the ability to use legacy lens. Hard to beat the K mount DSLRs for a good value and ruggedness. Larrymc I bought my first Pentax (and the only brand new one so far) when I was in grad school. I just wanted a camera, and I went to a camera store around the corner. The guy there asked me what kind of camera I wanted, and I told him "the one that takes pictures" or something to that effect. His advice was to get a Pentax because of the ability to use legacy lenses. I knew nothing about legacy lenses, but thought it was probably a good idea to be able to put any lens if one bothers getting an SLR. Right? My canikon friends always comment on that fact, as well as on the size and weight of Pentax lenses. And cost. And I always comment on the fact that they haven't switched yet