Are we really THAT rare?

Jonathan Mac · 05-17-2019, 11:47 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Liney

an ex-pat Scots colleague and I were found standing in the car park last week enjoying the drizzle and bemoaning that it was a rare occurrence.

It's good to know I'm not the only one who does that.

MikeyBugs95 · 05-25-2019, 06:36 PM - **1 Like**

Just when I thought I'd never see a Pentax user at the beach, I saw someone with a silver KP yesterday! And he was using a F- or FA-era 70-200 range zoom! I gotta say, the KP is a surprisingly small camera.

Arjay Bee · 05-26-2019, 05:22 AM

Saw a middle aged male Asian tourist crossing on the ferry between Seisia and Thursday Island on Saturday wearing a Pentax neck strap and a K70 or similar. Very cool.

**steamloco76** · 05-26-2019, 06:33 AM - **1 Like**

Back in the 1980s, it seemed that everyone had a Pentax K-1000, which in retrospect, is probably the reason we Pentaxians are rare here in the twenty first century. The venerable K-1000 was a good teaching tool. Period. The camera was clunky, had a so-so meter, less than stellar focusing screen and no upgrade ability. Many parents of today’s photographers under the age of 50 were probably K-1000 owners. They never upgraded to a better, newer Pentax, instead jumping to the Canon or Nikon brands. They taught their children to use a Canon or Nikon. Stories of the “terrible of Pentax” are told to their children. Plus, most major retailers quit stocking Pentax equipment.

I can verify Pentax K-1000 horror stories being passed down. A friend reached out to me. She wanted me to find her a good, used DSLR outfit to photograph her brood of grandchildren. I have a basically new Pentax K-r, lenses and a flash I’d bought for my wife. I upgraded my Pentax and my wife liked my K-30 better than the K-r, so I offered the K-r kit to my friend CHEAP. Well, you’d have thought I offered to sell her lakefront property in Death Valley desert! “Pentax!! No, my parents had one of those junk things when I was a kid. Every photo they took was blurry!” I tried to explain, and also reminded her that all the photos of mine which she loves so much came from Pentax cameras. No sale. So I found her a Canon Rebel T3i with two kit lenses in like new condition. I tested it for her, worked great but just did not have the great Pentax ergonomics and color reproduction. And my K-r and kit lenses are still on the shelf....

**monochrome** · 05-26-2019, 07:38 AM

My daughter learned on a K1000 and photography led to her college Honors Program and her career. The first chance she had she bought some Canon Rebel. She hated that K1000.

**steamloco76** · 05-26-2019, 09:06 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

My daughter learned on a K1000 and photography led to her college Honors Program and her career. The first chance she had she bought some Canon Rebel. She hated that K1000.

My high school had a K-1000 for the school newspaper photographer. My sophomore year, I had that job and used the K-1000 once, which was enough for me to lug my Sears KSX ( Ricoh KR-10) back and forth daily the rest of the school year.

**monochrome** · 05-26-2019, 10:41 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by steamloco76

My high school had a K-1000 for the school newspaper photographer. My sophomore year, I had that job and used the K-1000 once, which was enough for me to lug my Sears KSX ( Ricoh KR-10) back and forth daily the rest of the school year.

In her High School, all extra-curricular courses were then taught as vocational courses, so while Photography qualified as an Art Elective it was taught as Photo Journalism and either Newspaper or Yearbook was the practicum. Her Senior Year she was Yearbook Editot-in-Chief and she and the Newspaper E-i-C jointly convinced the SchoolBoard to convert to Canon Digital cameras. The saving on film, chemicals, paper, paste-up supplies and reduced printing costs due to digital submission paid for the cameras and lenses, the furniture, the software and 20% of the Apple computers (Apple and a grant from the Government covered the balance of the computer cost) in ONE year. They converted the paste-up area to computer cubes. She and Blake received a citation for their work.

Interestingly, Film Photography is now a non-vocational Art Elective and they’re using the same 20 K1000s and lenses over 15 years later.

**steamloco76** · 05-26-2019, 12:53 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by monochrome

In her High School, all extra-curricular courses were then taught as vocational courses, so while Photography qualified as an Art Elective it was taught as Photo Journalism and either Newspaper or Yearbook was the practicum. Her Senior Year she was Yearbook Editot-in-Chief and she and the Newspaper E-i-C jointly convinced the SchoolBoard to convert to Canon Digital cameras. The saving on film, chemicals, paper, paste-up supplies and reduced printing costs due to digital submission paid for the cameras and lenses, the furniture, the software and 20% of the Apple computers (Apple and a grant from the Government covered the balance of the computer cost) in ONE year. They converted the paste-up area to computer cubes. She and Blake received a citation for their work.

Interestingly, Film Photography is now a non-vocational Art Elective and they’re using the same 20 K1000s and lenses over 15 years later.

My high school days were well before DSLR time, 1982-85. I learned SLR photography, b&w film developing and printing from my dad, and reading books. My first SLR exposures were recorded on Tri-X in his Spotmatic. I wanted a Pentax KM, however Sears didn’t sell them, so he got me the KSX kit for Christmas 1982. After I graduated, my first camera Purchase was the wonderful Pentax MX and I’ve been a full blooded Pentax guy ever since.

trevinon · 05-26-2019, 09:49 PM

I started way back in my precollege years with a borrowed Spotmatic (probably the original one). Later in college I was part of the few students in the photography club using another borrowed Canon rangefinder. I won several contests with it (there were few of us so probably some of the prices were by default).

Then, after starting to work, the first camera I bought was the Spotmatic F (stolen). Then I bought an ME with a f/1.4 prime that I still use (the lens, not the body which was used until it expired on me). In my early married years I bought an assortment of film point & shoots (Canon) and some digital cameras (Nikon 950 and Canon Ixus 50).

But when I had the chance, I got a hold on a K-x (shelf retired) and my current K-3. In retrospective, I was using other brands different to Pentax out of necessity. But my heart has always been for Pentax.

totsmuyco · 05-27-2019, 06:01 AM

Nowadays I think newbies will shy away from Pentax due to its price. I wanted to buy my son a new k70 with an 18-135. Unfortunately a Nikon d5500 with 17-140 is cheaper by about $100. And so is the d7200 vs. the KP. Starters will look for cheaper equipment. In my case, I don't have other places where I could get a k70 with a reasonable price for my son. So I might get a d5500 for him. Life is unfair here at my part of the world. ��

jgnfld · 05-27-2019, 06:59 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by totsmuyco

Nowadays I think newbies will shy away from Pentax due to its price. I wanted to buy my son a new k70 with an 18-135. Unfortunately a Nikon d5500 with 17-140 is cheaper by about $100. And so is the d7200 vs. the KP. Starters will look for cheaper equipment. In my case, I don't have other places where I could get a k70 with a reasonable price for my son. So I might get a d5500 for him. Life is unfair here at my part of the world. ��

Aren't D5500s--and D7200s discontinued?

Nikon D5500 and Nikon D7200 Discontinued - Daily Camera News

That is not to say that buying a good discontinued model at remaindered prices isn't a fine idea sometimes. But it makes price comparisons a bit dubious.

Amazon, at least, is still showing the K-70/18-135 to be 27 dollars cheaper than the D5500/17-140.

Compare here: Pentax K-70 vs Nikon D5500 Detailed Comparison Depends on what he might like to photograph, but if real outdoors is involved, I'd suggest more strongly considering the Pentax w/ weather sealed lens route.

**Alex645** · 05-27-2019, 11:28 AM

Originally posted by totsmuyco

Nowadays I think newbies will shy away from Pentax due to its price. I wanted to buy my son a new k70 with an 18-135. Unfortunately a Nikon d5500 with 17-140 is cheaper by about $100. And so is the d7200 vs. the KP. Starters will look for cheaper equipment.

I agree that Pentax really needs an entry-level priced DSLR. When I bought my son his K-50 with two kit lenses, it was priced competitively with the entry level Canons and Nikons. Also as a photography teacher, I had more newbie students buying the K-50, K-S1, and K-S2, but since the K-70, the numbers have dropped off.

Also, the colored bodies was a huge hit with teenagers. Lots of white and red models, and even a brown and black with orange accent. I think Ricoh went overboard with the color combinations, but at least with the entry-level models, they would IMO sell more if it wasn't just black or silver.

totsmuyco · 05-27-2019, 02:21 PM

Originally posted by jgnfld

Aren't D5500s--and D7200s discontinued?

Nikon D5500 and Nikon D7200 Discontinued - Daily Camera News

That is not to say that buying a good discontinued model at remaindered prices isn't a fine idea sometimes. But it makes price comparisons a bit dubious.

Amazon, at least, is still showing the K-70/18-135 to be 27 dollars cheaper than the D5500/17-140.

Compare here: Pentax K-70 vs Nikon D5500 Detailed Comparison Depends on what he might like to photograph, but if real outdoors is involved, I'd suggest more strongly considering the Pentax w/ weather sealed lens route.

You may be right. However, if you're comparing for a start up and support, Pentax is quite expensive and has very little support. If you compare the prices here of the 18-135 vs. the 18-140, Nikon is about $100 cheaper. If I'll buy in Cebu, I could get a better price which will make Nikon $160 cheaper. Looking at support, we only have 1 authorized distributor plus the prices are so exorbitant. Go to their store and they'll even recommend a Fuji, Canon or Nikon. Starters will definitely choose Nikon over Pentax.

yucafrita · 05-27-2019, 09:38 PM

Last two weeks I was in Ireland (Republic of), which is beatiful, and I got the feeling mine was the only Pentax on the island.

peterh337 · 05-28-2019, 01:36 AM

Popped into Park Cameras (Sussex, UK) 2 days ago. Not a single Pentax on display that I could see.

They used to sell them, but when I was looking for a K1 (not long after it came out) they weren't interested in discussing the firmware version (there were issues with the early ones, IIRC). So I went to SRS, who used to go all the great grey imports but no longer; now they are official.

As an interesting aside, Peark Cameras were showing the Canon G7X at £490, when a grey import I've just bought on Amazon was £400. I got the G7X for a hiking holiday in Greece; I can't carry the K1+lens unless I am going somewhere really special, and I am sure I am not the only DSLR owner who thinks the same way. OK, the quality doesn't compare (especially the dynamic range, in terms of info which can be extracted in LR from shadows and highlights) but the weight and size difference is huge, and the quality is way above any smartphone. The market for pocket cameras has collapsed in recent years but the upmarket ones are very good. I wonder if a lot of Pentax gear is bought as grey imports?

05-26-2019, 05:22 AM	#5478
Arjay Bee Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Horn Island, Torres Straits, Q Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,715	Saw a middle aged male Asian tourist crossing on the ferry between Seisia and Thursday Island on Saturday wearing a Pentax neck strap and a K70 or similar. Very cool. Last edited by Arjay Bee; 05-26-2019 at 11:23 PM.

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05-17-2019, 11:47 PM - 1 Like	#5476
Jonathan Mac Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,894	Originally posted by Liney an ex-pat Scots colleague and I were found standing in the car park last week enjoying the drizzle and bemoaning that it was a rare occurrence. It's good to know I'm not the only one who does that.

05-25-2019, 06:36 PM - 1 Like	#5477
MikeyBugs95 Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,206	Just when I thought I'd never see a Pentax user at the beach, I saw someone with a silver KP yesterday! And he was using a F- or FA-era 70-200 range zoom! I gotta say, the KP is a surprisingly small camera.

05-26-2019, 06:33 AM - 1 Like	#5479
steamloco76 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Pennsylvania Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,710	Back in the 1980s, it seemed that everyone had a Pentax K-1000, which in retrospect, is probably the reason we Pentaxians are rare here in the twenty first century. The venerable K-1000 was a good teaching tool. Period. The camera was clunky, had a so-so meter, less than stellar focusing screen and no upgrade ability. Many parents of today’s photographers under the age of 50 were probably K-1000 owners. They never upgraded to a better, newer Pentax, instead jumping to the Canon or Nikon brands. They taught their children to use a Canon or Nikon. Stories of the “terrible of Pentax” are told to their children. Plus, most major retailers quit stocking Pentax equipment. I can verify Pentax K-1000 horror stories being passed down. A friend reached out to me. She wanted me to find her a good, used DSLR outfit to photograph her brood of grandchildren. I have a basically new Pentax K-r, lenses and a flash I’d bought for my wife. I upgraded my Pentax and my wife liked my K-30 better than the K-r, so I offered the K-r kit to my friend CHEAP. Well, you’d have thought I offered to sell her lakefront property in Death Valley desert! “Pentax!! No, my parents had one of those junk things when I was a kid. Every photo they took was blurry!” I tried to explain, and also reminded her that all the photos of mine which she loves so much came from Pentax cameras. No sale. So I found her a Canon Rebel T3i with two kit lenses in like new condition. I tested it for her, worked great but just did not have the great Pentax ergonomics and color reproduction. And my K-r and kit lenses are still on the shelf....

05-26-2019, 07:38 AM	#5480
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	My daughter learned on a K1000 and photography led to her college Honors Program and her career. The first chance she had she bought some Canon Rebel. She hated that K1000.

05-26-2019, 09:06 AM	#5481
steamloco76 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Pennsylvania Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,710	Originally posted by monochrome My daughter learned on a K1000 and photography led to her college Honors Program and her career. The first chance she had she bought some Canon Rebel. She hated that K1000. My high school had a K-1000 for the school newspaper photographer. My sophomore year, I had that job and used the K-1000 once, which was enough for me to lug my Sears KSX ( Ricoh KR-10) back and forth daily the rest of the school year.

05-26-2019, 10:41 AM - 1 Like	#5482
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by steamloco76 My high school had a K-1000 for the school newspaper photographer. My sophomore year, I had that job and used the K-1000 once, which was enough for me to lug my Sears KSX ( Ricoh KR-10) back and forth daily the rest of the school year. In her High School, all extra-curricular courses were then taught as vocational courses, so while Photography qualified as an Art Elective it was taught as Photo Journalism and either Newspaper or Yearbook was the practicum. Her Senior Year she was Yearbook Editot-in-Chief and she and the Newspaper E-i-C jointly convinced the SchoolBoard to convert to Canon Digital cameras. The saving on film, chemicals, paper, paste-up supplies and reduced printing costs due to digital submission paid for the cameras and lenses, the furniture, the software and 20% of the Apple computers (Apple and a grant from the Government covered the balance of the computer cost) in ONE year. They converted the paste-up area to computer cubes. She and Blake received a citation for their work. Interestingly, Film Photography is now a non-vocational Art Elective and they’re using the same 20 K1000s and lenses over 15 years later.

05-26-2019, 12:53 PM - 1 Like	#5483
steamloco76 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Pennsylvania Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,710	Originally posted by monochrome In her High School, all extra-curricular courses were then taught as vocational courses, so while Photography qualified as an Art Elective it was taught as Photo Journalism and either Newspaper or Yearbook was the practicum. Her Senior Year she was Yearbook Editot-in-Chief and she and the Newspaper E-i-C jointly convinced the SchoolBoard to convert to Canon Digital cameras. The saving on film, chemicals, paper, paste-up supplies and reduced printing costs due to digital submission paid for the cameras and lenses, the furniture, the software and 20% of the Apple computers (Apple and a grant from the Government covered the balance of the computer cost) in ONE year. They converted the paste-up area to computer cubes. She and Blake received a citation for their work. Interestingly, Film Photography is now a non-vocational Art Elective and they’re using the same 20 K1000s and lenses over 15 years later. My high school days were well before DSLR time, 1982-85. I learned SLR photography, b&w film developing and printing from my dad, and reading books. My first SLR exposures were recorded on Tri-X in his Spotmatic. I wanted a Pentax KM, however Sears didn’t sell them, so he got me the KSX kit for Christmas 1982. After I graduated, my first camera Purchase was the wonderful Pentax MX and I’ve been a full blooded Pentax guy ever since.

05-26-2019, 09:49 PM	#5484
trevinon Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Monterrey Posts: 100	I started way back in my precollege years with a borrowed Spotmatic (probably the original one). Later in college I was part of the few students in the photography club using another borrowed Canon rangefinder. I won several contests with it (there were few of us so probably some of the prices were by default). Then, after starting to work, the first camera I bought was the Spotmatic F (stolen). Then I bought an ME with a f/1.4 prime that I still use (the lens, not the body which was used until it expired on me). In my early married years I bought an assortment of film point & shoots (Canon) and some digital cameras (Nikon 950 and Canon Ixus 50). But when I had the chance, I got a hold on a K-x (shelf retired) and my current K-3. In retrospective, I was using other brands different to Pentax out of necessity. But my heart has always been for Pentax.

05-27-2019, 06:01 AM	#5485
totsmuyco Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Iloilo City Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,276	Nowadays I think newbies will shy away from Pentax due to its price. I wanted to buy my son a new k70 with an 18-135. Unfortunately a Nikon d5500 with 17-140 is cheaper by about $100. And so is the d7200 vs. the KP. Starters will look for cheaper equipment. In my case, I don't have other places where I could get a k70 with a reasonable price for my son. So I might get a d5500 for him. Life is unfair here at my part of the world. ��

05-27-2019, 06:59 AM - 1 Like	#5486
jgnfld Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,789	Originally posted by totsmuyco Nowadays I think newbies will shy away from Pentax due to its price. I wanted to buy my son a new k70 with an 18-135. Unfortunately a Nikon d5500 with 17-140 is cheaper by about $100. And so is the d7200 vs. the KP. Starters will look for cheaper equipment. In my case, I don't have other places where I could get a k70 with a reasonable price for my son. So I might get a d5500 for him. Life is unfair here at my part of the world. �� Aren't D5500s--and D7200s discontinued? Nikon D5500 and Nikon D7200 Discontinued - Daily Camera News That is not to say that buying a good discontinued model at remaindered prices isn't a fine idea sometimes. But it makes price comparisons a bit dubious. Amazon, at least, is still showing the K-70/18-135 to be 27 dollars cheaper than the D5500/17-140. Compare here: Pentax K-70 vs Nikon D5500 Detailed Comparison Depends on what he might like to photograph, but if real outdoors is involved, I'd suggest more strongly considering the Pentax w/ weather sealed lens route.

05-27-2019, 11:28 AM	#5487
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	Originally posted by totsmuyco Nowadays I think newbies will shy away from Pentax due to its price. I wanted to buy my son a new k70 with an 18-135. Unfortunately a Nikon d5500 with 17-140 is cheaper by about $100. And so is the d7200 vs. the KP. Starters will look for cheaper equipment. I agree that Pentax really needs an entry-level priced DSLR. When I bought my son his K-50 with two kit lenses, it was priced competitively with the entry level Canons and Nikons. Also as a photography teacher, I had more newbie students buying the K-50, K-S1, and K-S2, but since the K-70, the numbers have dropped off. Also, the colored bodies was a huge hit with teenagers. Lots of white and red models, and even a brown and black with orange accent. I think Ricoh went overboard with the color combinations, but at least with the entry-level models, they would IMO sell more if it wasn't just black or silver.

05-27-2019, 02:21 PM	#5488
totsmuyco Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Iloilo City Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,276	Originally posted by jgnfld Aren't D5500s--and D7200s discontinued? Nikon D5500 and Nikon D7200 Discontinued - Daily Camera News That is not to say that buying a good discontinued model at remaindered prices isn't a fine idea sometimes. But it makes price comparisons a bit dubious. Amazon, at least, is still showing the K-70/18-135 to be 27 dollars cheaper than the D5500/17-140. Compare here: Pentax K-70 vs Nikon D5500 Detailed Comparison Depends on what he might like to photograph, but if real outdoors is involved, I'd suggest more strongly considering the Pentax w/ weather sealed lens route. You may be right. However, if you're comparing for a start up and support, Pentax is quite expensive and has very little support. If you compare the prices here of the 18-135 vs. the 18-140, Nikon is about $100 cheaper. If I'll buy in Cebu, I could get a better price which will make Nikon $160 cheaper. Looking at support, we only have 1 authorized distributor plus the prices are so exorbitant. Go to their store and they'll even recommend a Fuji, Canon or Nikon. Starters will definitely choose Nikon over Pentax.

05-27-2019, 09:38 PM	#5489
yucafrita Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Posts: 459	Last two weeks I was in Ireland (Republic of), which is beatiful, and I got the feeling mine was the only Pentax on the island.

05-28-2019, 01:36 AM	#5490
peterh337 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: London Posts: 573	Popped into Park Cameras (Sussex, UK) 2 days ago. Not a single Pentax on display that I could see. They used to sell them, but when I was looking for a K1 (not long after it came out) they weren't interested in discussing the firmware version (there were issues with the early ones, IIRC). So I went to SRS, who used to go all the great grey imports but no longer; now they are official. As an interesting aside, Peark Cameras were showing the Canon G7X at £490, when a grey import I've just bought on Amazon was £400. I got the G7X for a hiking holiday in Greece; I can't carry the K1+lens unless I am going somewhere really special, and I am sure I am not the only DSLR owner who thinks the same way. OK, the quality doesn't compare (especially the dynamic range, in terms of info which can be extracted in LR from shadows and highlights) but the weight and size difference is huge, and the quality is way above any smartphone. The market for pocket cameras has collapsed in recent years but the upmarket ones are very good. I wonder if a lot of Pentax gear is bought as grey imports?