[eddie1960]

he didn't read its f***ing manual ! everything is in the manual !

with the exception of talent

[ManuH]

You know that could be a good ad for Pentax: imagine a babe smiling with her Pentax (and a nice bikini) circled by grumpy old men with black/yellow strap cameras (Nikon) on the left and the blue/white/red straps on the right (Canon). I guess it's too macho but... one can dream that Pentax one day would do better on marketing and make being alone in a herd an advantage. Speaking of marketing I kind of liked the old Asahi Pentax ads

You Tube

You Tube

.

[RioRico]

Speaking of marketing I kind of liked the old Asahi Pentax ads Asahi Pentax ads.

I could maybe hang a K1000 or Kr dangling from the rearview mirror like that -- but not my K20D, it would crack the windshield! Can't leave it on the dashboard either, it slides around too much. But there's a no-slide plastic-mesh fabric available -- I cut a piece of that, fold it over, set it on a corner of the dash, place the K20D with a heavy lens on it, and the camera stays put. Maybe Pentax needs that sort of useful accessory, mousepad-size dashpads emblazoned with the Pentax logo.

But I digress. Mostly when I see a Pentax user, it's just me in a mirror.

[markdesmarais]

Two weeks in the UK, mostly in tourist-heavy places (being that we were tourists too ;-). I saw two white bodies (with white kits lens)- one on the tube, and one at Kew Gardens. Also a K20?-maybe at Edinburgh Castle. Swept away by the crowd before I could get a good look.

[DaveHolmes]

I'm starting to see more and more K-r's in particular here... And just found out a good friend uses a K10...
Secondhand Pentax lenses and accessories also sell quickly from all the 'used/pawn-type' stores in west yorkshire too...

[Gregory_51]

At my local camera club membership is about 150. Mostly Canon and Nikon naturally. Next is Sony maybe a dozen. Olympus maybe 5 and about 3 Pentax. The other two don't have much invested in equipment other than body and a lens so they may switch when it comes time to upgrade who knows. Don't really care if I'm the only one left, I'm not one to follow the herd. A lot of people buying a DSLR will buy what the salesman is pushing or what their friends have. When I bought my first DSLR ( the K10) I researched long and hard and chose Pentax after having had Minolta and Nikon SLR's. I'm happy with what I have in fact I take a little perverse pride in having a Pentax in a sea of Canikons.

[eddie1960]

At my local camera club membership is about 150. Mostly Canon and Nikon naturally. Next is Sony maybe a dozen. Olympus maybe 5 and about 3 Pentax. The other two don't have much invested in equipment other than body and a lens so they may switch when it comes time to upgrade who knows. Don't really care if I'm the only one left, I'm not one to follow the herd. A lot of people buying a DSLR will buy what the salesman is pushing or what their friends have. When I bought my first DSLR ( the K10) I researched long and hard and chose Pentax after having had Minolta and Nikon SLR's. I'm happy with what I have in fact I take a little perverse pride in having a Pentax in a sea of Canikons.

Welcome to the Forum, great first post deserved a Like, took a peek at your profile, nice kit you've assembled

[aurele]

I'm happy with what I have in fact I take a little perverse pride in having a Pentax in a sea of Canikons.

Nice ! i like it !

[minahasa]

.. I researched long and hard and chose Pentax after having had Minolta and Nikon SLR's..

+1
..we share quite a common story here

[kadajawi]

Me too. I used to own a Nikon FM2, which was and is a great camera. When it was time to buy a DSLR I too researched quite a lot, looking at new and second hand cameras. Canon only had prehistoric cameras that were affordable (D30... lol), so I started looking to other brands, and narrowed it down to a new (or almost new) Nikon D40 and an older Pentax. A big viewfinder and compatibility with older lenses were what got me, and I'm happy with my choice.

That ad is quite funny, well, I love the ending. Great cars too. Not sure about that hot babe idea... "many" girls seem to like Pentax, so it might not make sense to do an ad that they feel is offensive.

I'd show a man taking photos of his newborn boy or girl, as a child, etc.. Then he fondly puts the camera (perhaps a KX or K1000 etc.) and lens into a glass cabinet (including several lenses). 25-30 years later... that boy or girl looks at the same cabinet, takes out an old lens and mounts it onto his/her brand new K-r or K-5 to take photos and videos of his baby/kid. And at the end perhaps a "shot on a K-r" (or K-5). All shot very cinematic, calm, ... like with several slow moving dolly shots that show different scenes of the photo taking.

(Another ad could show a war photographer/soldier using a K-5 during a battle, with the camera taking quite a beating, during the rain, ... while his colleague is hiding because his brand x camera just can't do it.)

[ManuH]

All shot very cinematic, calm, ... like with several slow moving dolly shots that show different scenes of the photo taking.

(Another ad could show a war photographer/soldier using a K-5 during a battle, with the camera taking quite a beating, during the rain, ... while his colleague is hiding because his brand x camera just can't do it.)

The 1st one I like. The second one, unfortunately now many brands jumped on the "cheap" WR bandwagon (D7000 and now the A77), so it's not so much a differentiator especially now that Pentax has dropped entry-level WR like the K200D.

[Cannikin]

Just yesterday I was day hiking in Mount Rainier National Park. Out of the ILCs I saw, there were a lot of Canons, a few Nikons and a couple Micro 4/3. But I caught out of the corner of my eye the unmistakable shape and green ring of the DA 18-55 on one camera. It was a K10D. It was my first time seeing a non-entry level Pentax DSLR in the wild (I've seen a couple K-xs and 1 K-r before).

It was especially surprising since there weren't that many people yesterday (at least in the afternoon/evening), so that one Pentax I saw constituted about 5% of all ILCs I saw. Nearly 10% if you include my camera too!

[thorswolf]

New to the thread so I hope I don't bore you folks to tears.

I learned photgraphy on the venerable Pentax tank knows as the K1000. Luckily, the copy I got back then (1980) came with the 50mm f/1.2 K prime. That was a sweet sweet lens for learning photojournalism and that glass earned me many kudos. When I dropped out of journalism after a serious burnout, I got rid of everything journalism-related in a fit of "never again", including all my photo gear (BIG mistake). I had worked on Canon equipment at a newspaper in the Maritimes (Canada) and never liked the ergo, and the glass paled in comparison to the K glass.

Years later, I walked into a pawn shop while waiting for my wife, and saw an old K1000 witha 50mm A lens attached to it. I picked it up and it felt like an old friend in my hands, and I immediately had to buy it. The A lens wasn't as good as the K lens, but what the hell.

The kicker was that I had been out of photography so long that I didn't realize that film was well on its way out. Oh sure, I had a small digital point-and-shoot (an excellent Olympus), but when it came to SLRs, I thought film still ruled. You have to understand that during my journalism days, I did my own processing and darkroom work. When I realized I would have to move to digital, it was quite a shock.

I did a lot of comparison and for my dollar, the K10D was the best bet for features, functionality and weather sealing. That is still the body I use. Many of my co-workers look at me strangely when we compare notes. One is a Canon enthusiast (but not at the proselytizing level), and the other is a Nikon gearhead (who did try to convert me to his religion). When people ask "Why Pentax?", I wink and say "Because I know something you don't..."

I had not spotted another Pentaxian until recently. My current job is in the IT field and I recently had to hire a consultant to work alongside me to customize a software package to my company's needs. During one of our convos, we realized we both enjoyed photography and I mentioned I was going to take pics of the swans on the river the following weekend and it would be great to meet there. The consultant did come out with a film camera and a DSLR: a K1000 and a K10D. We had a good laugh and I accused the consultant of "sucking up to the boss". I spent a great afternoon talking about our Pentax fixation and why we will one day rule the world.

Sorry for the long post but after reading pages and pages of Pentax stories, it feels like family in here.

[Zaphodmonster]

I just got back from New York city and I saw only two Pentax users walking around.

There was one in the Metropolitan museum of art that was checking out my gear while I was checking out his. Our eyes met for a second and we parted ways..... But I had a distinct urge to run over give him a high five and yell "Pentax for life yo!" lol

[Ex Finn.]

Just today saw a gentleman shooting with K200 at the Patuxent River air-expo. Blues were flying so no time for conversation. Pretty much all the rest of the DSLR`s were either Canon or Nikon. Some with nice looking lenses on them.