[kadajawi]

I think potential buyers should recognise the K-3 is possibly still the best APS-C DSLR in the world, is available at great prices, and should not be put off by Kadajawi's personal requirements.

We do need to save up, buy him a GH-4 and tell him to leave us alone. :-)

Donations are not tax deductible, but in a fair world, should be.

OT:
Funny. Is it not allowed to criticise the holy K-3? How would someone feel, buying the K-3, and then noticing that for him the K-5 is actually a better camera? Thankfully I was able to try the K-30 and the K-5 (the K-5 II was just being launched and out of budget) in a shop (back to the topic :P ). I was going for the K-30, being a more modern, faster UI camera with a more modern codec, proper video controls etc. A minute into trying the K-30 I knew I wouldn't buy that camera... (and when I looked at the footage at home...). The good old K-5 convinced me though. The K-3 is very much like a K-30 in terms of video, except for somewhat better quality. For stills, which I do more than video, any DSLR will do.


All I was saying was that the K-5 is a good alternative, and, for some, the better one. The GH4 btw. doesn't stabilize video, and since I don't want to carry additional gear it's thus not what I want. It's other advantages aren't big enough to offset that for me. I'd rather have a K-5. That's also why I want Pentax to look at the NX1 and be inspired by it.


If we just keep accepting the K-3, including it's flaws (that don't have to be there, they were a conscious decision by Pentax, even though users point out that it's a bad decision (it's not just me), how is Pentax going to improve?


I know Lauren shoots video professionally with K-3s... she also just bought a gadget that costs $3000 to do something the K-5 could do in camera, and the K-3 would be able to too. (Yes, the Ronin is better... but what the K-5 was able to do is good enough for me, and others probably too. And don't forget the size and weight of a Ronin, and that it has to be adjusted when you change the lens, or even just the focal length of the lens IIRC).

[trevinon]

Wow! Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to find in the 2015 catalogue of Sanborn's Hermanos, a Mexican chain of stores (that belongs to Carlos Slim Helu, one of the riches persons in the world) a page promoting Pentax gear. It stated that any given model would be subject to in-store availability though. The photographs showed almost all Pentax prosumer products. This is a first since a very long time in my country. It signals to new times under this new management at Pentax.

[normhead]

If we just keep accepting the K-3, including it's flaws (that don't have to be there, they were a conscious decision by Pentax, even though users point out that it's a bad decision (it's not just me), how is Pentax going to improve?

You have absolutely no credibility telling anyone they shouldn't be happy with their K-3, or shouldn't "accept it" based on your personal biases and those of a few others. How can we put this politely.
I disagree with your opinion. I find your attempts to define Pentax users as sharing your opinion " If we just keep accepting the K-3," provocative and bordering on silly. I just "keep accepting" the K-3 because I go out and shoot with it almost everyday, and I love working with it.

There is no "we", there's you and a few others. Your opinions in no way reflect mine. If you want to write to Pentax and say "improve the video" I want to write and say "don't bother." Not only do you not speak for me, I'm against what you propose.. GO buy a camera that does what you want and quit hating the K-3. It's making you look like an idiot. I drive a Toyota RAv4 but I don't go around complaining about the lack of all wheel drive on other vehicles. Buy what you need. Quit bad mouthing product that isn't what you need. If you bought something that wasn't what you needed, the product didn't change after you bought it, that's on you. From my perspective, all those two wheel drive vehicles out there are fine with me. I'm not writing letters to GM and Ford saying "put all wheel drive on all your vehicles." Why would you be trying to get Pentax to put better video on a K-3 successor? Just buy what you need. Quit your bitchin.

[mamethot]

Although I agree with part of what you just wrote, in his defense, the car he is talking about has 4wd, just a bad implementation of it (in his and many others opinion).

[UncleVanya]

OT:
Funny. Is it not allowed to criticise the holy K-3?

I'd have no concerns with the topic in a thread for that purpose myself. I find the critique interesting, however in a thread about the rarity of "Pentax users in the wild"; your critique of the performance of the k3 and comparison to the k5 seems out of place, distracting, and outputting to an otherwise interesting topic.

[normhead]

Although I agree with part of what you just wrote, in his defense, the car he is talking about has 4wd, just a bad implementation of it (in his and many others opinion).

And the reason they couldn't have just gone and bought what they needed?
Was there some kind of fraud committed here?

Where is the payoff in hoping a manufactured product will be altered to suit the needs of a few people?
What is being demonstrated here is some kind of psychological parent relationship with Pentax where Pentax is supposed to give you what you want every Christmas or something. This isn't healthy.

All that needs to be said here is, the K-3 isn't good for that, buy something else.

Pullease....

[paulh]

Wow! Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to find in the 2015 catalogue of Sanborn's Hermanos, a Mexican chain of stores (that belongs to Carlos Slim Helu, one of the riches persons in the world) a page promoting Pentax gear. It stated that any given model would be subject to in-store availability though. The photographs showed almost all Pentax prosumer products. This is a first since a very long time in my country. It signals to new times under this new management at Pentax.

Thank you for trying to steer this thread back on-topic

[jeverettfine]

There does seem to be a few places in the world where Pentax dominates the market. I know the sales staff at Precision think very highly of the camera and as I said previously, they sell well here in Texas. I feel proud to be seen using my K-3. I admit that I have always had an attraction to cameras that are not the most common. I have been a Leica film camera user for near 40 years now, but their digital cameras have never been as good as the Pentax (and other mainstream brands) at almost 10 times the price. Their lenses are another story.
My K-3 replaced my K-20 which I enjoyed very much. So far, I would say the K-3 is a "break through" camera for me. I have nothing but praise for it. I'll add that I rarely shoot video.

[kadajawi]

You have absolutely no credibility telling anyone they shouldn't be happy with their K-3, or shouldn't "accept it" based on your personal biases and those of a few others. How can we put this politely.
I disagree with your opinion. I find your attempts to define Pentax users as sharing your opinion " If we just keep accepting the K-3," provocative and bordering on silly. I just "keep accepting" the K-3 because I go out and shoot with it almost everyday, and I love working with it.

There is no "we", there's you and a few others. Your opinions in no way reflect mine. If you want to write to Pentax and say "improve the video" I want to write and say "don't bother." Not only do you not speak for me, I'm against what you propose.. GO buy a camera that does what you want and quit hating the K-3. It's making you look like an idiot. I drive a Toyota RAv4 but I don't go around complaining about the lack of all wheel drive on other vehicles. Buy what you need. Quit bad mouthing product that isn't what you need. If you bought something that wasn't what you needed, the product didn't change after you bought it, that's on you. From my perspective, all those two wheel drive vehicles out there are fine with me. I'm not writing letters to GM and Ford saying "put all wheel drive on all your vehicles." Why would you be trying to get Pentax to put better video on a K-3 successor? Just buy what you need. Quit your bitchin.

Where on earth did I say that someone shouldn't be happy with his K-3? If Pentax were to remove a feature you love, even if few people use it, for a reason that makes no sense whatsoever, and it really wouldn't have made any difference to them leaving it in, would you be happy with that? But if you're happy with your K-3, great! I don't want to take that away from anyone, and I don't think I said that anywhere. Implementing what I, and some others, would want, would in NO way make it a worse camera for YOU. Heck, I'd want them to remove that stupid video/stills switch. It should select the focus point, as on the K-3. I think it was a mistake. IMHO it'd be enough to enable an option where you can select video with the Fx button, and to perhaps have the function on the mode dial. In no way do I want to turn the camera into a video camera, or that Pentax creates a video camera. I do not want that.


You must have misread what I meant with we. And I'm sorry about having worded that in a misunderstandable way. I'm talking about the ones who do care about video.


There is no camera that does what I want. The closest thing to that is the K-5, and I have it, and I'm rather happy with it. But one day it will break, and it would be nice if Pentax continues to make appealing cameras.


What Pentax has done is essentially create a SUV with AWD, but when it senses that you go offroad (most owners don't, so they won't complain) it will deactivate the AWD and turn it into a FWD car. For the reason that the fuel consumption is higher when AWD is activated. Instead they offer an offroad FWD mode that uses some fancy but useless tech to "improve" offroad capabilities.


The K-3 could be good for video. Better than most competitors, especially at the time of launch. It's just details in the firmware that keep it from being that. Which, btw., bringing it back to this thread, could be part of why Pentax is so rare. 2 friends were looking for a new camera, and willing to switch brands (both having Nikon). I recommended Pentax. The K-3 would have fitted their requirements for the most part, except for video. Instead they ended up with Panasonic and Sony. Especially the Sony one could have bought Pentax... the K-5 was interesting to him, but outdated. The K-3 wasn't interesting.


The K-30 and K-50 are offered in a major consumer electronics chain in Spain, however I don't think I have seen any in the wild. All Canikony. The only place I have seen a reasonable amount of Pentax in the wild was Malaysia, and even there it was behind Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, ...

[virusn3t]

Wow! Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to find in the 2015 catalogue of Sanborn's Hermanos, a Mexican chain of stores (that belongs to Carlos Slim Helu, one of the riches persons in the world) a page promoting Pentax gear. It stated that any given model would be subject to in-store availability though. The photographs showed almost all Pentax prosumer products. This is a first since a very long time in my country. It signals to new times under this new management at Pentax.

Era solo el catálogo en linea o un promocional dentro de la tienda? Ojala no se aumenten demasiado los precios

[clackers]

How would someone feel, buying the K-3, and then noticing that for him the K-5 is actually a better camera?

(Sigh).

Folks, do not buy a K-5 instead of a K-3 on a zealot's logic.

[kadajawi]

(Sigh).

Folks, do not buy a K-5 instead of a K-3 on a zealot's logic.

Not sure I understand you (or you understand me). The weird thing that happened when Pentax launched the K-3 was that it launched a, in some ways, inferior product, and it didn't have to be inferior. Clearly the K-3 is intented more for video than the K-5. Dedicated video switch, manual video controls, headphone out (and there's really just one purpose for that... video). They have put some effort into video, but then managed to deactivate two things that would make it better than what Canikon have to offer.


All I'm advocating is that people should also take a hard look at the K-5, as for some that may be the better choice. And that Pentax starts to give us some OPTIONS in terms of video. For stills it's not a problem to offer several SR modes, several image quality modes, ... why not for video? Options also means the ability to turn off video and to be able to re-use video centric buttons and switches for other purposes.

[Trey45]

Please forgive my 2 cents. If I buy a DSLR I intend to shoot stills, if I wanted to shoot video I wouldn't buy a DSLR, I'd buy a dedicated video camera. As a matter of fact out of the 6 DSLR's that I own, I have shot video on exactly none of them, and all are capable of it. I use my JVC Everio for video.

[zzeitg]

if I wanted to shoot video I wouldn't buy a DSLR, I'd buy a dedicated video camera.

yeah, but be careful... That's what I mentioned on the previous page and was called a troll


But seriously - I've never used the video mode and don't even have plans to give it a try. I can fully understand that there are people which in contrary to me like to shoot video - but then again - why not to buy a real video camera which is fully designed for this purpose?

[grhazelton]

I believe in starting them young....

She is lovely! And a Pentax user, to boot. Please post more of this young beauty.