Are we really THAT rare?

MikeyBugs95 · 09-19-2018, 05:40 PM

Well, I'm starting a photo club at my college and I've had to go to many photography class to spread the word. In all of them (I've probably spoken to greater than 40 students in total), not one had a Pentax. Lots of entry level Canikons and one mid-range Canon (was one of the XXD series; didn't get a closer look but it was small and had a top screen). So as far as I can tell, I'm the only person at my college who uses Pentax.

reh321 · 09-19-2018, 06:07 PM

Originally posted by eyrr

Would you believe fireworks? More than 10 years ago I was taking pictures at a fireworks display and someone was shooting them with a dslr handheld with flash. I wonder how they turned out. Would the flash have brought the shutter speed up enough to give a usable result? I'd try it myself, but I don't want to incur the loathing of everybody within 500m...

You should be able to test that. Take flash photos of the sky on a normal night and see what settings your camera uses (*) - then use those same settings without flash during actual fireworks - the flash wouldn't have lit anything important anyway, so excluding shouldn't affect the actual photo.

(*) each camera has some idiosyncratic way of determining what settings to use when it detects flash

The photo below was hand-held with a Canon Elph pocket camera {flash off}
1/8 .... f/2.8 .... ISO = 250

barthovis · 09-19-2018, 06:38 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by dubyam

As you gain experience with the K-1, I'd love to see a thread on your comparison/contrasting of the two systems in your use.

That's a good idea - I had not thought about doing that. My goal is to try to duplicate, with digital, the kind of image "character" I got with my Pentax 67 in large(ish) prints. What I find so appealing about images taken with the 67 is not just the sharp details, but the beautiful, smooth transition of colors and tones from lighter to darker areas (hard to put into words, but you know that "look" when you see it). So that's what I'll be hoping to achieve with the K-1.

**Cerebum** · 10-06-2018, 10:20 AM - **4 Likes**

Rare? Pentax? Nah! I was taking some pictures in Lancaster when I was approached and asked about my lens (a Schneider kreuznach edixa tele xenon 135mm) he was a student from luxemborg and he was sporting a K70 and a K series 50mm f1.4 we were just discussing how rare Pentax are and along came a girl with a spotmatic and a tak 55mm f1.2 there were no other cameras in sight! See, common!

yucafrita · 10-06-2018, 01:13 PM - **2 Likes**

I saw a K-3 or so in Bordeaux the other day. I had my Z-20 with me with slide film. I guess that's a crowd...

Jome · 10-07-2018, 07:36 AM

Discovered that a workmate was also a Pentaxian

!
He had a non-working 50-135 SDM.

I proposed him to convert it into screwdrive and he kindly let me use his K-5 to do it.

Tested it on my K-3 and now it works well! (by the way, it is largely faster on the K-3 than on the K-5).

lesmore49 · 10-07-2018, 11:57 AM - **1 Like**

Regarding Pentax and rarity. I was perusing the October 2018 edition of Digital Photo Pro, reading an article entitled " A World without DSLR's".

I found this statement in that article "...Nikon and Canon seem even more extreme--they alone develop and release DSLR cameras. " Hmmmn....maybe they know something we don't about Pentax. I bought my recently developed and new K1 in 2017, which has been superseded by the K1 Mark ii..just a couple of months ago if I recall.

jeallen01 · 10-07-2018, 01:35 PM

Sunday, at the (UK) Shuttleworth "Race Day" airshow, getting there very early, I had put my chair right next to the flight line fence - went "walkaround" for an hour or so, and when I returned to my chair a family had taken up residence next to me. I then noticed that the oldest member (grandfather?) had a Pentax DSLR - which I, over time, worked out to probably be a KD10 with a long non-AF 400mm lens. Unfortunately for him, that was not the right lens for that airshow (an AF zoom of anything around 70-300 was about right), and so I then noticed he didn't actually take many shots during the show

.

rmalbers · 10-08-2018, 05:54 AM - **2 Likes**

Hey, I'm just got back from a two week, NE and Canada cruise and I ran into another Pentax user in Quebec City, he was as surprised as I was and wasn't an English speaker so it was a very brief but happy encounter!

screwdriver222 · 10-09-2018, 04:42 AM

A couple of months ago I was at a secluded woodland waterfall about 30 miles from where I live. I was the only one with a dslr and a tripod. A man came along and put his tripod next to me. What camera did he have, a K-1 same as me except his was a limited edition.

A couple of weeks ago a I was at an event taking pics when one of the guest asked what camera I had. She had never heard of Pentax - she owned a Canon. I was speechless.

jeallen01 · 10-09-2018, 05:18 AM

Monday, I ran a Digital Photo Group promo table at our local U3A monthly meeting - rolling presentation on the laptop, several albums of prints from members and various cameras and accessories, and including my K-30. Quite a few people came over to discuss things, including one couple who said they had a couple of Nikons (don't know which), and then the guy picked up the K-30 and looked at the brand name on the front - another case of the "classic" "Ah Pentax, knew about them a long time ago, but didn't know they made DLSRs!"

**grhazelton** · 10-09-2018, 09:41 AM - **2 Likes**

Went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Monday with the grandkids. Saw NO Pentaxes, indeed only a few "real" cameras! Asked one shooter what was the lens on his camera - huge bulbous front element - and was "treated" to a paean to Canon. He said he had $8,000 in Canon gear! And that he'd traded his PENTAX gear for Canon because Pentax lenses weren't good enough, citing the less expensive Pentax optics. My K5 wasn't readily visible, since it was on my Black Rapid shoulder strap. He asked what I was shooting and I said Pentax K5 and he said that he'd liked the body, but not the lenses. I mentioned to him that the AsahiFlex predated Canon SLRs by many years, and that I had the Pentax f1.2 50mm, among many others. I didn't have the heart to mention to him my 645n kit, which includes the fabulous 35mm, and the 120mm macro. The f1.2 50 did impress him, but I bade him "good shooting," feeling that he had, or had had

more money than sense.

**ffking** · 10-09-2018, 10:06 AM - **4 Likes**

I spent the weekend in London, in tourist hotspots such as the South Bank, Westminster and Trafalgar Square - I heard more foreign languages than English spoken, and there were a lot of Japanese about. Looking only at ILCs, I was surprised that Nikon took an early lead and stayed ahead of Canon until well into the second day (impressions, not numbers) when Canon probably caught up, particularly around protest event I stumbled into (basically dogs against Brexit). I saw a handful of Fujis and probably fewer Sonys - inly three or four. (Canons and Nikons easily int the high 20s, if not more). I saw not a single Pentax - though plenty of other people did.

Here's the proof - or a very small part of it

**Alex645** · 10-09-2018, 10:57 AM

Originally posted by grhazelton

he said that he'd liked the body, but not the lenses.I didn't have the heart to mention to him my 645n kit, which includes the fabulous 35mm, and the 120mm macro. he had, or had more money than sense.

Totally agree, more money than sense. Not that Pentax bodies doesn't hold their own, but the main reason I continue to shoot Pentax is because of the lenses.

....and you should have thrown in that you shoot medium format; something Canon didn't offer in either film or digital.

**grhazelton** · 10-09-2018, 03:24 PM

Originally posted by Alex645

Totally agree, more money than sense. Not that Pentax bodies doesn't hold their own, but the main reason I continue to shoot Pentax is because of the lenses.

....and you should have thrown in that you shoot medium format; something Canon didn't offer in either film or digital.

Yeah, you're right. Of course he may not have known about the 645n and the other truly excellent Pentax medium format offerings. The expense of Pentax's medium format lenses should have caught his attention!

10-07-2018, 01:35 PM	#5348
jeallen01 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,697	Sunday, at the (UK) Shuttleworth "Race Day" airshow, getting there very early, I had put my chair right next to the flight line fence - went "walkaround" for an hour or so, and when I returned to my chair a family had taken up residence next to me. I then noticed that the oldest member (grandfather?) had a Pentax DSLR - which I, over time, worked out to probably be a KD10 with a long non-AF 400mm lens. Unfortunately for him, that was not the right lens for that airshow (an AF zoom of anything around 70-300 was about right), and so I then noticed he didn't actually take many shots during the show. Last edited by jeallen01; 10-09-2018 at 05:09 AM.

10-09-2018, 09:41 AM - 2 Likes	#5352
grhazelton Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Jonesboro, GA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,972	Deluded Canon shooter Went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Monday with the grandkids. Saw NO Pentaxes, indeed only a few "real" cameras! Asked one shooter what was the lens on his camera - huge bulbous front element - and was "treated" to a paean to Canon. He said he had $8,000 in Canon gear! And that he'd traded his PENTAX gear for Canon because Pentax lenses weren't good enough, citing the less expensive Pentax optics. My K5 wasn't readily visible, since it was on my Black Rapid shoulder strap. He asked what I was shooting and I said Pentax K5 and he said that he'd liked the body, but not the lenses. I mentioned to him that the AsahiFlex predated Canon SLRs by many years, and that I had the Pentax f1.2 50mm, among many others. I didn't have the heart to mention to him my 645n kit, which includes the fabulous 35mm, and the 120mm macro. The f1.2 50 did impress him, but I bade him "good shooting," feeling that he had, or had had more money than sense.

10-09-2018, 10:06 AM - 4 Likes	#5353
ffking Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Old South Wales Posts: 6,038	I spent the weekend in London, in tourist hotspots such as the South Bank, Westminster and Trafalgar Square - I heard more foreign languages than English spoken, and there were a lot of Japanese about. Looking only at ILCs, I was surprised that Nikon took an early lead and stayed ahead of Canon until well into the second day (impressions, not numbers) when Canon probably caught up, particularly around protest event I stumbled into (basically dogs against Brexit). I saw a handful of Fujis and probably fewer Sonys - inly three or four. (Canons and Nikons easily int the high 20s, if not more). I saw not a single Pentax - though plenty of other people did. Here's the proof - or a very small part of it Last edited by ffking; 10-09-2018 at 10:33 AM.

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09-19-2018, 05:40 PM	#5341
MikeyBugs95 Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,206	Well, I'm starting a photo club at my college and I've had to go to many photography class to spread the word. In all of them (I've probably spoken to greater than 40 students in total), not one had a Pentax. Lots of entry level Canikons and one mid-range Canon (was one of the XXD series; didn't get a closer look but it was small and had a top screen). So as far as I can tell, I'm the only person at my college who uses Pentax.

09-19-2018, 06:38 PM - 1 Like	#5343
barthovis Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: St. Louis Posts: 68	Originally posted by dubyam As you gain experience with the K-1, I'd love to see a thread on your comparison/contrasting of the two systems in your use. That's a good idea - I had not thought about doing that. My goal is to try to duplicate, with digital, the kind of image "character" I got with my Pentax 67 in large(ish) prints. What I find so appealing about images taken with the 67 is not just the sharp details, but the beautiful, smooth transition of colors and tones from lighter to darker areas (hard to put into words, but you know that "look" when you see it). So that's what I'll be hoping to achieve with the K-1.

10-06-2018, 10:20 AM - 4 Likes	#5344
Cerebum Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Lancaster Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,828	Rare? Pentax? Nah! I was taking some pictures in Lancaster when I was approached and asked about my lens (a Schneider kreuznach edixa tele xenon 135mm) he was a student from luxemborg and he was sporting a K70 and a K series 50mm f1.4 we were just discussing how rare Pentax are and along came a girl with a spotmatic and a tak 55mm f1.2 there were no other cameras in sight! See, common!

10-06-2018, 01:13 PM - 2 Likes	#5345
yucafrita Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Posts: 459	I saw a K-3 or so in Bordeaux the other day. I had my Z-20 with me with slide film. I guess that's a crowd...

10-07-2018, 07:36 AM	#5346
Jome Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2016 Photos: Albums Posts: 784	Discovered that a workmate was also a Pentaxian ! He had a non-working 50-135 SDM. I proposed him to convert it into screwdrive and he kindly let me use his K-5 to do it. Tested it on my K-3 and now it works well! (by the way, it is largely faster on the K-3 than on the K-5).

10-07-2018, 11:57 AM - 1 Like	#5347
lesmore49 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Western Canada Posts: 12,342	Regarding Pentax and rarity. I was perusing the October 2018 edition of Digital Photo Pro, reading an article entitled " A World without DSLR's". I found this statement in that article "...Nikon and Canon seem even more extreme--they alone develop and release DSLR cameras. " Hmmmn....maybe they know something we don't about Pentax. I bought my recently developed and new K1 in 2017, which has been superseded by the K1 Mark ii..just a couple of months ago if I recall.

10-08-2018, 05:54 AM - 2 Likes	#5349
rmalbers Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 104	Hey, I'm just got back from a two week, NE and Canada cruise and I ran into another Pentax user in Quebec City, he was as surprised as I was and wasn't an English speaker so it was a very brief but happy encounter!

10-09-2018, 04:42 AM	#5350
screwdriver222 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Plymouth Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 139	A couple of months ago I was at a secluded woodland waterfall about 30 miles from where I live. I was the only one with a dslr and a tripod. A man came along and put his tripod next to me. What camera did he have, a K-1 same as me except his was a limited edition. A couple of weeks ago a I was at an event taking pics when one of the guest asked what camera I had. She had never heard of Pentax - she owned a Canon. I was speechless.

10-09-2018, 05:18 AM	#5351
jeallen01 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,697	Monday, I ran a Digital Photo Group promo table at our local U3A monthly meeting - rolling presentation on the laptop, several albums of prints from members and various cameras and accessories, and including my K-30. Quite a few people came over to discuss things, including one couple who said they had a couple of Nikons (don't know which), and then the guy picked up the K-30 and looked at the brand name on the front - another case of the "classic" "Ah Pentax, knew about them a long time ago, but didn't know they made DLSRs!"

10-09-2018, 10:57 AM	#5354
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	Originally posted by grhazelton he said that he'd liked the body, but not the lenses.I didn't have the heart to mention to him my 645n kit, which includes the fabulous 35mm, and the 120mm macro. he had, or had more money than sense. Totally agree, more money than sense. Not that Pentax bodies doesn't hold their own, but the main reason I continue to shoot Pentax is because of the lenses. ....and you should have thrown in that you shoot medium format; something Canon didn't offer in either film or digital.

10-09-2018, 03:24 PM	#5355
grhazelton Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Jonesboro, GA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,972	Originally posted by Alex645 Totally agree, more money than sense. Not that Pentax bodies doesn't hold their own, but the main reason I continue to shoot Pentax is because of the lenses. ....and you should have thrown in that you shoot medium format; something Canon didn't offer in either film or digital. Yeah, you're right. Of course he may not have known about the 645n and the other truly excellent Pentax medium format offerings. The expense of Pentax's medium format lenses should have caught his attention!