Quote: Originally posted by gary1952
I have been in S.E. Asia for the past two years and I can tell you I have never seen a Pentax. Not only that but I shoot birds here. Pentax and Sigma is a fairly good combo. Cheaper than the glass here for nikon and canon, it is thru the roof. But everyone hates Pentax. I have to agree to some extent. Pentax does not make a camera that is anywhere near there prosumer cameras. The K-7 is a joke for my work and the k-x is great but the QC is a joke. Fast glass doesn't work on most of the K-x until you get it calibrated. Too bad. But it is the truth. I am cheap but Pentax in many places is really a joke and the people know it. Also Canon and Nikon have outlets that cater to the locals and have repair centers locally. Where Pentax has nothing. It is strickly which is better and offers the best customer service. Pentax has none and Canon and Nilon have great Customer service. Even tho the prices are tripple what a Pentax costs.
Luckaly i have had no problems, excet calibration problems. With a simple calibration it has to go back to Japan for service and takes forever. You have to deal with customs and paperwork. Really not worth it. Again the locals know it.
Originally posted by Bob photo 4 life ...I doubt that everyone knows Pentax is a joke, I think people just tend to go with what everyone else is using.
I chuckled a little when I Gary's comment. Why anyone would dump a significant amount of money into a camera system and then proclaim to the world that he made a poor purchase is hard for me to understand. If his K-7 is a joke, it should have been apparent on first use and handling. He could have easily have traded it in for a D90 or 50D. The few extra dollars (~50% more) should have been worth it if the K-7 did not meet his needs.
Regarding calibration, I think he is referring to dialing in the AF. My understanding is that AF calibration is a fact of life for all cameras that support the feature, regardless of brand. I haven't needed to calibrate my K10D. The factory calibration is spot on with my AF lenses.
A few weeks ago I was at a gathering of friends and a guy wanted to see my K10D with FA 35/2 mounted. I explained that the camera was several years old and that the current model (K-7) is smaller, lighter, and has a sealed magnesium body at about $800. He played with it quite a bit, all the while muttering that he wished he had spent his money better than on his "plastic hunk of junk Canon <can't remember exact model>"...
Steve