Are we really THAT rare?

melander · 08-12-2010, 05:18 AM

Came across my first fellow pentax shooter the other day. We where both like.

-WOOOOOT!!

Then we where like

-Nice *nod*

GeneV · 08-12-2010, 05:34 AM

Originally posted by m88k

What's been killing me lately is finding sites on the web where Canon users slaughter perfect pentax glass to make a cheap tilt-shift or similar. It's one thing to destroy say a Minolta manual focus, or a canon FD, but to destructively convert relatively rare Pentax gear to Canon lenses? Someone must speak for the K mounts, they cannot speak for themselves!

Reminds me of all the Graflex flashes slaughtered as light sabers.

GeneV · 08-12-2010, 05:52 AM

Originally posted by melander

Came across my first fellow pentax shooter the other day. We where both like.

-WOOOOOT!!

Then we where like

-Nice *nod*

Similar to running into a (semi?) pro photographer who was engaged to shoot an event last year. I was shooting for fun, and we were both carrying a K20d, and a bond was formed. He is the only Pentax shooter I've encountered locally, other than through this board.

A retired pro photographer friend has taken to calling me "Mr. Pentax," and that is not because I am an advocate, but just because I looked something like this for most of the event I photographed from which we just returned. He used to do the same job at this event with film Nikons around his neck. (It was "button" night)

Muse · 08-12-2010, 05:58 AM

Originally posted by northcoastgreg

Along the northcoast of California, we get a lot of tourists, many from foreign lands, with their cameras passing through to gape at our trees and snaps shots of the local herds of Roosevelt Elk. I've seen a great many DSLRs, and out of all that I've seen only one Pentax (did see another one last year at Bryce Canyon). Almost everyone has a Canon or Nikon, with Canons predominating, decorated with their cheap, narrow, plastic kit lenses. I've never faced any Canikon snobbery. Perhaps being 6'3" has something to do with that. Or it may have something to do with the glass I'm using. When I'm shooting with the DA* 300, I get admiring and envious looks from other shooters, and even a few explicit compliments. People are impressed with the size of the lens, regardless of brand.

I'm glad I didn't get on the "Rebel" train.

Great tip on the big lens. I think I'll get me an 18-250mm walk-around (partly) to impress the gentry!

My 55-300mm will do that, but it's not so versatile.

Originally posted by GregK8

I was at the Toronto Zoo a few weeks ago with my family and over by the gorilla exhibit I was surrounded by Canikon everywhere. I wasn't surprised, but I felt a little self conscious with my K20D and 55-300mm lens. All the other guys had bigger lenses and I was feeling a bit inadequate.

Then, I whipped around to change my angle on the subject and I practically ran into a guy holding a K20D with a 55-300 on it. We kinda chuckled at each other and then went about our business. No bragging necessary.

I was thinking, my new 55-300mm DA L would be perfect for the San Diego Zoo. I was there around a year ago with my P&S (minimum 1 second shutter lag, 9+ seconds between shots

) and my cousin's husband was shooting a D60, IIRC. We compared photos later. Some day I'm going back with my K-x and zoom. It'll be a while, it's 500 miles away.

I'm not uncomfortable being different, per se. I'd rather have a camera with some real snob appeal (Pentax!) than Canikon. It took me over two years to pick out my camera but I'm confident I got the right one for me.

Last edited by Muse; 08-12-2010 at 06:17 AM.

GeneV · 08-12-2010, 06:03 AM

Originally posted by Muse

I'm glad I didn't get on the "Rebel" train.

Great tip on the big lens. I think I'll get me an 18-250mm walk-around (partly) to impress the gentry!

My 55-300mm will do that, but it's not so versatile.

A battery grip and a big lens, and you are set. Seriously, my K20d with grip and 55-300 recently drew a comment that "it was good to see Pentax getting back in the pro market."

kytra · 08-12-2010, 06:28 AM

unfortunately the Kx does not allow a battery grip. Maybe the upcoming model will have that option

Muse · 08-12-2010, 06:46 AM

Originally posted by germar

Really, the average American consumer would be happy to shoot with cameras like the KX and K7 and put the extra money they would otherwise spend on Canikons in their pocket. That type of person is not rare. What is rare is a place to put your hands on the gear, touch it, peer through it and "kick the tires" so to speak. I would bet that a very large percentage of us on this forum have bought our gear sight unseen ( I ordered my K100D, K10D, K20D and K7 without ever touching a real copy) and that just isn't the way people spend 500 dollars or more on cameras.

I argue that if Americans could see Pentax gear along side the Canikons at places like Best Buy, we'd find shooters like us to be more common.

germar

Exactly (and congrats, it's entirely obvious to me, and has been for a long time, that Austin >> any other city in TX). I bought my K-x sight unseen. I did some poking around (on the telephone! Also threads online) and determined that a Pentax DSLR wasn't going to be easy to find in a B&M store even in my major metropolitan area (San Francisco and immediate environment). It's nothing new for me to buy "sight unseen," I've done it many times and am usually quite comfortable doing so because I generally do my homework. So it was with my first computer monitor, for instance, a Nanao 17" CRT for $1000, a great price at the time, my HD projector.

I did see Sony DSLR's at my local Best Buy, but they aren't stocking Pentax's.

GeneV · 08-12-2010, 07:02 AM

Originally posted by kytra

unfortunately the Kx does not allow a battery grip. Maybe the upcoming model will have that option

The K-x does not impress--until one uses it.

Pentaxor · 08-12-2010, 07:14 AM

Originally posted by GeneV

The K-x does not impress--until one uses it.

the ergo and build doesn't look impressive. those two things are also major factors in a camera's appeal. the Sony NEX for example are ugly as hell.

Ballyclogh · 08-12-2010, 07:32 AM

Originally posted by germar

Really, the average American consumer would be happy to shoot with cameras like the KX and K7 and put the extra money they would otherwise spend on Canikons in their pocket. That type of person is not rare. What is rare is a place to put your hands on the gear, touch it, peer through it and "kick the tires" so to speak. I would bet that a very large percentage of us on this forum have bought our gear sight unseen ( I ordered my K100D, K10D, K20D and K7 without ever touching a real copy) and that just isn't the way people spend 500 dollars or more on cameras.

I argue that if Americans could see Pentax gear along side the Canikons at places like Best Buy, we'd find shooters like us to be more common.

germar

This. Seriously.

About three weeks ago I had to do an emergency replacement of a lens for a shoot (My dear 17-month-old son took my camera out of my zippered case and dropped it...He wanted me to take a picture). I checked at quite a few stores to see if I could find what I needed...nada. Then I went to a store that was a bit out of my way but was known for having an extremely extensive stock of Lenses for every camera type from Leica to Rolleiflex...they did have everything EXCEPT Pentax. Not even used. I was disheartened. I asked in frustration why now one had any Pentax lenses and the owner told me "Two things - Marketing and Demand. Pentax doesn't Market themselves properly to make it economical for us to carry K-mount equipment and thus the demand isn't there...outside of the states it's a different story".

I know quite a few of my friends that use Pentax. Many more Canikons, to be sure, but they have respect for the Pentax brand. When I asked them why they chose Canon or Nikon, some of them said " I don't know...but they are very popular".

Edvinas · 08-12-2010, 07:48 AM

Well, all I can say about Pentax situation in Lithuania - it is different. It's not that difficult to meet a person with Pentax DSLR here. However situation isn't getting better here for Pentax. Befor insane Pentax lens price hike, I could go to photo equipment shop near my workplace and get hands / buy any of Pentax Limited, DA* glass. Now their Pentax lens stock is limited to DA range - looks like Pentax scared people off with their new pricing. Now you need to order and wait a few days to get Limited/DA* lens...

Muse · 08-12-2010, 11:38 AM

Originally posted by Edvinas

Well, all I can say about Pentax situation in Lithuania - it is different. It's not that difficult to meet a person with Pentax DSLR here. However situation isn't getting better here for Pentax. Befor insane Pentax lens price hike, I could go to photo equipment shop near my workplace and get hands / buy any of Pentax Limited, DA* glass. Now their Pentax lens stock is limited to DA range - looks like Pentax scared people off with their new pricing. Now you need to order and wait a few days to get Limited/DA* lens...

When did Pentax institute new prices? They went way up?

stevebrot · 08-12-2010, 11:54 AM

Originally posted by Muse

When did Pentax institute new prices? They went way up?

About a year ago. Here in N. America the price increases were fairly modest for most lenses. In Europe, they doubled.

Steve

Blue · 08-12-2010, 12:01 PM

Originally posted by m88k

. . .

What's been killing me lately is finding sites on the web where Canon users slaughter perfect pentax glass to make a cheap tilt-shift or similar. It's one thing to destroy say a Minolta manual focus, or a canon FD, but to destructively convert relatively rare Pentax gear to Canon lenses? Someone must speak for the K mounts, they cannot speak for themselves!

The irony is that one of the best things in the current Canon catalog is tilt-shift lenses.

Originally posted by stevebrot

About a year ago. Here in N. America the price increases were fairly modest for most lenses. In Europe, they doubled.

Steve

I guess $100-250 is modest.

panoguy · 08-12-2010, 12:51 PM - **1 Like**

Like most of the other Torontonians (or Urban Canadians, maybe?), I see Pentax everywhere - when I'm looking - definitely a solid third to Canikon. Some Sony, but almost never Olympus.

I was at some local waterfalls out west of town and had my K20D w/grip and 12-24 set up in the stream and was fiddling with ND filters when this guy with a (giant) D3 came bounding over with his Gitzo monopod and bag full of stuff and asked "so what's your exposure reading?"

I held up the ND filter and said "shutter's not slow enough" thinking he'd get the joke... but got a confused look. I then offered "ND filter." Still confused. So I said "I'm looking at 90 at f/11 and 100 ISO, so the ND500 should get me down to a few seconds."

He fiddled with his lens and pointed at the filter I was still trying to screw on and said "Nice Pentax, but is that a glass lens cap?" At this point I realized I would have better luck discussing dharma with a boulder, and was relieved when my wife called to me from the upper ridge. (She thought I was in some argument "since the guy had such a weird look on his face.")

At least I didn't have my CZJ tilt/shift monster out of the bag - that would've really made him wonder...

08-12-2010, 12:51 PM - 1 Like	#150
panoguy Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,327	Like most of the other Torontonians (or Urban Canadians, maybe?), I see Pentax everywhere - when I'm looking - definitely a solid third to Canikon. Some Sony, but almost never Olympus. I was at some local waterfalls out west of town and had my K20D w/grip and 12-24 set up in the stream and was fiddling with ND filters when this guy with a (giant) D3 came bounding over with his Gitzo monopod and bag full of stuff and asked "so what's your exposure reading?" I held up the ND filter and said "shutter's not slow enough" thinking he'd get the joke... but got a confused look. I then offered "ND filter." Still confused. So I said "I'm looking at 90 at f/11 and 100 ISO, so the ND500 should get me down to a few seconds." He fiddled with his lens and pointed at the filter I was still trying to screw on and said "Nice Pentax, but is that a glass lens cap?" At this point I realized I would have better luck discussing dharma with a boulder, and was relieved when my wife called to me from the upper ridge. (She thought I was in some argument "since the guy had such a weird look on his face.") At least I didn't have my CZJ tilt/shift monster out of the bag - that would've really made him wonder... Last edited by panoguy; 08-12-2010 at 12:56 PM.

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08-12-2010, 05:18 AM	#136
melander Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sweden, Umea Posts: 876	Came across my first fellow pentax shooter the other day. We where both like. -WOOOOOT!! Then we where like -Nice nod

08-12-2010, 05:34 AM	#137
GeneV Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Photos: Albums Posts: 9,830	Originally posted by m88k What's been killing me lately is finding sites on the web where Canon users slaughter perfect pentax glass to make a cheap tilt-shift or similar. It's one thing to destroy say a Minolta manual focus, or a canon FD, but to destructively convert relatively rare Pentax gear to Canon lenses? Someone must speak for the K mounts, they cannot speak for themselves! Reminds me of all the Graflex flashes slaughtered as light sabers.

08-12-2010, 05:58 AM	#139
Muse Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: SF Bay Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 211	Originally posted by northcoastgreg Along the northcoast of California, we get a lot of tourists, many from foreign lands, with their cameras passing through to gape at our trees and snaps shots of the local herds of Roosevelt Elk. I've seen a great many DSLRs, and out of all that I've seen only one Pentax (did see another one last year at Bryce Canyon). Almost everyone has a Canon or Nikon, with Canons predominating, decorated with their cheap, narrow, plastic kit lenses. I've never faced any Canikon snobbery. Perhaps being 6'3" has something to do with that. Or it may have something to do with the glass I'm using. When I'm shooting with the DA* 300, I get admiring and envious looks from other shooters, and even a few explicit compliments. People are impressed with the size of the lens, regardless of brand. I'm glad I didn't get on the "Rebel" train. Great tip on the big lens. I think I'll get me an 18-250mm walk-around (partly) to impress the gentry! My 55-300mm will do that, but it's not so versatile. Originally posted by GregK8 I was at the Toronto Zoo a few weeks ago with my family and over by the gorilla exhibit I was surrounded by Canikon everywhere. I wasn't surprised, but I felt a little self conscious with my K20D and 55-300mm lens. All the other guys had bigger lenses and I was feeling a bit inadequate. Then, I whipped around to change my angle on the subject and I practically ran into a guy holding a K20D with a 55-300 on it. We kinda chuckled at each other and then went about our business. No bragging necessary. I was thinking, my new 55-300mm DA L would be perfect for the San Diego Zoo. I was there around a year ago with my P&S (minimum 1 second shutter lag, 9+ seconds between shots ) and my cousin's husband was shooting a D60, IIRC. We compared photos later. Some day I'm going back with my K-x and zoom. It'll be a while, it's 500 miles away. I'm not uncomfortable being different, per se. I'd rather have a camera with some real snob appeal (Pentax!) than Canikon. It took me over two years to pick out my camera but I'm confident I got the right one for me. Last edited by Muse; 08-12-2010 at 06:17 AM.

08-12-2010, 06:03 AM	#140
GeneV Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Photos: Albums Posts: 9,830	Originally posted by Muse I'm glad I didn't get on the "Rebel" train. Great tip on the big lens. I think I'll get me an 18-250mm walk-around (partly) to impress the gentry! My 55-300mm will do that, but it's not so versatile. A battery grip and a big lens, and you are set. Seriously, my K20d with grip and 55-300 recently drew a comment that "it was good to see Pentax getting back in the pro market."

08-12-2010, 06:28 AM	#141
kytra Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bucharest Posts: 482	unfortunately the Kx does not allow a battery grip. Maybe the upcoming model will have that option

08-12-2010, 06:46 AM	#142
Muse Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: SF Bay Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 211	Originally posted by germar Really, the average American consumer would be happy to shoot with cameras like the KX and K7 and put the extra money they would otherwise spend on Canikons in their pocket. That type of person is not rare. What is rare is a place to put your hands on the gear, touch it, peer through it and "kick the tires" so to speak. I would bet that a very large percentage of us on this forum have bought our gear sight unseen ( I ordered my K100D, K10D, K20D and K7 without ever touching a real copy) and that just isn't the way people spend 500 dollars or more on cameras. I argue that if Americans could see Pentax gear along side the Canikons at places like Best Buy, we'd find shooters like us to be more common. germar Exactly (and congrats, it's entirely obvious to me, and has been for a long time, that Austin >> any other city in TX). I bought my K-x sight unseen. I did some poking around (on the telephone! Also threads online) and determined that a Pentax DSLR wasn't going to be easy to find in a B&M store even in my major metropolitan area (San Francisco and immediate environment). It's nothing new for me to buy "sight unseen," I've done it many times and am usually quite comfortable doing so because I generally do my homework. So it was with my first computer monitor, for instance, a Nanao 17" CRT for $1000, a great price at the time, my HD projector. I did see Sony DSLR's at my local Best Buy, but they aren't stocking Pentax's.

08-12-2010, 07:02 AM	#143
GeneV Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Photos: Albums Posts: 9,830	Originally posted by kytra unfortunately the Kx does not allow a battery grip. Maybe the upcoming model will have that option The K-x does not impress--until one uses it.

08-12-2010, 07:14 AM	#144
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by GeneV The K-x does not impress--until one uses it. the ergo and build doesn't look impressive. those two things are also major factors in a camera's appeal. the Sony NEX for example are ugly as hell.

08-12-2010, 07:32 AM	#145
Ballyclogh Forum Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Worcester, MA Photos: Gallery Posts: 71	Originally posted by germar Really, the average American consumer would be happy to shoot with cameras like the KX and K7 and put the extra money they would otherwise spend on Canikons in their pocket. That type of person is not rare. What is rare is a place to put your hands on the gear, touch it, peer through it and "kick the tires" so to speak. I would bet that a very large percentage of us on this forum have bought our gear sight unseen ( I ordered my K100D, K10D, K20D and K7 without ever touching a real copy) and that just isn't the way people spend 500 dollars or more on cameras. I argue that if Americans could see Pentax gear along side the Canikons at places like Best Buy, we'd find shooters like us to be more common. germar This. Seriously. About three weeks ago I had to do an emergency replacement of a lens for a shoot (My dear 17-month-old son took my camera out of my zippered case and dropped it...He wanted me to take a picture). I checked at quite a few stores to see if I could find what I needed...nada. Then I went to a store that was a bit out of my way but was known for having an extremely extensive stock of Lenses for every camera type from Leica to Rolleiflex...they did have everything EXCEPT Pentax. Not even used. I was disheartened. I asked in frustration why now one had any Pentax lenses and the owner told me "Two things - Marketing and Demand. Pentax doesn't Market themselves properly to make it economical for us to carry K-mount equipment and thus the demand isn't there...outside of the states it's a different story". I know quite a few of my friends that use Pentax. Many more Canikons, to be sure, but they have respect for the Pentax brand. When I asked them why they chose Canon or Nikon, some of them said " I don't know...but they are very popular".

08-12-2010, 07:48 AM	#146
Edvinas Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kaunas Posts: 1,458	Well, all I can say about Pentax situation in Lithuania - it is different. It's not that difficult to meet a person with Pentax DSLR here. However situation isn't getting better here for Pentax. Befor insane Pentax lens price hike, I could go to photo equipment shop near my workplace and get hands / buy any of Pentax Limited, DA* glass. Now their Pentax lens stock is limited to DA range - looks like Pentax scared people off with their new pricing. Now you need to order and wait a few days to get Limited/DA* lens...

08-12-2010, 11:38 AM	#147
Muse Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: SF Bay Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 211	Originally posted by Edvinas Well, all I can say about Pentax situation in Lithuania - it is different. It's not that difficult to meet a person with Pentax DSLR here. However situation isn't getting better here for Pentax. Befor insane Pentax lens price hike, I could go to photo equipment shop near my workplace and get hands / buy any of Pentax Limited, DA* glass. Now their Pentax lens stock is limited to DA range - looks like Pentax scared people off with their new pricing. Now you need to order and wait a few days to get Limited/DA* lens... When did Pentax institute new prices? They went way up?

08-12-2010, 11:54 AM	#148
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Muse When did Pentax institute new prices? They went way up? About a year ago. Here in N. America the price increases were fairly modest for most lenses. In Europe, they doubled. Steve

08-12-2010, 12:01 PM	#149
Blue Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,377	Originally posted by m88k . . . What's been killing me lately is finding sites on the web where Canon users slaughter perfect pentax glass to make a cheap tilt-shift or similar. It's one thing to destroy say a Minolta manual focus, or a canon FD, but to destructively convert relatively rare Pentax gear to Canon lenses? Someone must speak for the K mounts, they cannot speak for themselves! The irony is that one of the best things in the current Canon catalog is tilt-shift lenses. Originally posted by stevebrot About a year ago. Here in N. America the price increases were fairly modest for most lenses. In Europe, they doubled. Steve I guess $100-250 is modest.