Below is a photograph of me holding my son, Adam, moments after he was born. But before you check that out, read this short story.
It was a very joyous day when I found out that I was going to be a dad. Millions of thoughts ran through my head – Will it be a boy? Maybe a girl? Should we start thinking about names for the baby? Where to put the crib? Etc... But there was one question, which became more apparent in the following weeks. I did not have a camera. Well, apart from an old Canon P&S, which was on its last leg. I've always wanted a DSLR, and worked with many at work and even borrowed some to try out (T1i, 1DsMkIII, 5DMkII, 40D, D90, D300). As for many others, I'm sure, the cost was a huge factor in the decision making process. At that point, I didn't think of Pentax. I knew they existed, just didn't know they had DSLR's. So I kept borrowing the various cameras thanks to the good heart of my co-workers/friends. I had the T1i for a few weeks, and my good friend generously lent me his Nikon D300 for a pregnancy photo session.
I loved the Nikon. Yet I knew it was way over budget. I had a kid on the way and needed to save up! The Canon left me completely unimpressed. I could never get used to its saturated, yet emotionless color rendition. Then as I was browsing dpreview, I saw the announcement of the Pentax K-x. I was intrigued. Then I found out about the White version. Now they had me really hooked. I did more research and joined PF. I kept reading and reading and found that Pentax as a brand, really "clicked" with me. So about 2 months before the due date, I bit the bullet and ordered a White K-x. Waiting for it felt like forever. No one had them in stock! I ended up ordering from Best Buy and hoping they get them in time. They did. I received it November 13th. Close call. Baby was due November 25th. So wasting no time, I began familiarizing myself with the camera.
This is picture number 7 taken with my K-x
I was blown away by the high iso performance! This is 1600 I kept telling myself. I've tried the T1i at 1600 and results were very discouraging. Another thing I instantly noticed on the K-x, was how perfectly it fit in my hands, allowing for very comfortable shooting. Then there was the battery performance (shot over 1200 pictures on the included Lithiums).
I was HAPPY.
Then the due date passed. Then a week passed. I was getting worried. So we went to our doctor on Thursday, and he scheduled us for a c-section on Saturday. Then it was mayhem, trying to prepare everything. I just made sure the camera was in the bag. At 6am we were in the hospital. I was anxious. Time flew by and before I knew it, I was sitting outside the OR with the K-x in my sweaty hands (WR would have been nice
).
Then they called me in. Flurry of emotions overwhelmed me when they pulled the baby out. I completely forgot about the pictures.
Thankfully, the Anesthesiologist grabbed my camera and asked me to turn it on. I threw it into Live View and she started blasting away. After a few minutes I was able to regain control of my shaky hands and grabbed the camera from her.
When the K-r came out, I was a bit jealous. It had all of the improvements that I wanted. This prompted me to take a step back and look at some of the photos I took with the K-x. Then I found a photo I have not seen in months. It was one of the many that the Anesthesiologist lady took of us. I cropped it and converted it to BW. This pushed me to share with you my Pentax story. I'm sure for many of you, your Pentax camera is more than just a piece of equipment.
Feel free to share your story...