[lesmore49]

A buddy of mine (non Pentax owner) recently mentioned to me that so many individuals, particularly those that recently got into photography...seem to move brands from Nikon to Canon, Pentax to Nikon, etc.

His view was that some feel that th brand they're with ...suddenly doesn't meet their needs...or brand X recently came out with the latest, greatest feature and it's off to ebay...sell their present kit and buy new bodies, lenses of a different brand .

I'm not saying this is common, but neither does it seem all that uncommon.

Me....I tend to do a lot of research from different sources, try the product...etc...before I make my final decision. Then I stick with it, learning all the nuances, etc... of the brand .

Now I know some pro photographers make the big switch...I'm not talking about them as in many of these cases it's not an impulse, but a considered business decision.

So why do people buy one brand, keep it for a couple of years...then go to something completely different ?

It's not about it's their money, they can spend it on whatever they want...I understand that...that's 'understood' and not the issue.

[johnmflores]

It has nothing to do with photography.

It's the thrill of the hunt. The modern world is a world of CONSUMErs.

[enoxatnep]

It has nothing to do with photography.

It's the thrill of the hunt. The modern world is a world of CONSUMErs.

I was going to give an elaborate response to the OP, but frankly yours sums this up entirely, and in only three sentences!

[lesmore49]

So....having something new and different is the objective.

[Bramela]

I wonder, with all due respect, if, as they aren't producing the top photos they aspire to, it is felt it is the brand and not the photographer.

Change brands and abracadabra, top professional shots..........NOT.

[Wheatfield]

People get sucked into specifications without really knowing what they mean.
It works faster, has more of this or that, so it must be better.
Perhaps it is, but at this point the margins of improvement switching from brand to brand are pretty insignificant, unless one brand truly doesn't do some thing that you need particularly well, and another brand does.

As an example, there are a few cameras other than Pentax that do better video. OTOH, none of them take Pentax lenses, so although you may get better body specs, you are not getting as good a lens.
Or something.

I've never figured it out, but I'm a lens junkie, so I went with who makes the best glass and have stayed with it.

[lesmore49]

I wonder, with all due respect, if, as they aren't producing the top photos they aspire to, it is felt it is the brand and not the photographer.

Change brands and abracadabra, top professional shots..........NOT.

I think this could be a big factor. I have seen some photos posted on a local site by individuals with all manner of DSLR's and although I realize I'm no Karsh...I look at the stuff and think...in many cases..I would of deleted that.

It's the nut behind the wheel or the viewfinder that makes an excellent photo.

[lesmore49]

People get sucked into specifications without really knowing what they mean.I agree.
It works faster, has more of this or that, so it must be better.
Perhaps it is, but at this point the margins of improvement switching from brand to brand are pretty insignificant, unless one brand truly doesn't do some thing that you need particularly well, and another brand does.Once you get to a certain level of DSLR...it doesn't make really much difference...they (DSLR cameras) are all good at a certain level. The determining factor of how that translates to good photographs is the photographer .

As an example, there are a few cameras other than Pentax that do better video. OTOH, none of them take Pentax lenses, so although you may get better body specs, you are not getting as good a lens.
Or something.

I've never figured it out, but I'm a lens junkie, so I went with who makes the best glass and have stayed with it.

I've been primarily a Pentax user since '68 and even then Pentax was known for the quality of their lenses. I've gone through the screw mount era, the bayonet film era and here I am ...43 years later in the digital era with the digital bayonet.

Still use my Pentax 35-105 Macro F 3.5, 'A' lens on occasion.

But during the past 4 decade I've also 'invested' ( I don't use that word seriously ) with camera equipment) in Mamiya medium format system (3 lenses), Leica Rangefinder, Olympus and as of late, Canon G 12 for a carry around.

But Pentax remains my main system.

[Tommot1965]

A buddy of mine (non Pentax owner) recently mentioned to me that so many individuals, particularly those that recently got into photography...seem to move brands from Nikon to Canon, Pentax to Nikon, etc.

His view was that some feel that th brand they're with ...suddenly doesn't meet their needs...or brand X recently came out with the latest, greatest feature and it's off to ebay...sell their present kit and buy new bodies, lenses of a different brand .

I'm not saying this is common, but neither does it seem all that uncommon.

Me....I tend to do a lot of research from different sources, try the product...etc...before I make my final decision. Then I stick with it, learning all the nuances, etc... of the brand .

Now I know some pro photographers make the big switch...I'm not talking about them as in many of these cases it's not an impulse, but a considered business decision.

So why do people buy one brand, keep it for a couple of years...then go to something completely different ?

It's not about it's their money, they can spend it on whatever they want...I understand that...that's 'understood' and not the issue.

for me...it would be lack of lenses...recently Ive been wanting longer quality FL...as any pentax user will know we suffer in this area..and have to rely on third party producers to fill the gaps..often without the optical quality that the other two big players produce,
I know they are at a different price point too,,but thats not the point...{ yes it is I still say in my head }

I spent a few hours on Saturday morning testing longer lenses, particularly the new Sigma 70-200 OS alongside the 50-500 bigma and the 100-400 sigma, not that im really interested in the 50/500 or the 100/400...I just wanted to see how the 70-200 went up against these two at the relative crop value ...if this test works out well..then Ill be happy again..

I was forced to use a canon/nikon for the test though, as the shop didn't have the lenses in the Pentax mount, being yet another reason to switch is availability of goods, and a used market that is flooded with the other two big brands, unlike pentax where you hardly see a used bargain ...unless its old Tech bodies .

so for me..I didn't look at the lenses too much that pentax has to offer, when I bought my body, I was too focused on the body tech rather than the bigger picture that Pentax has to offer, Id say a lot of newbies do this, and why you get people switching brands after a year or so..

I will say though that price has a influence on my purchases too, what Pentax do offer me is a very well priced feature pro body, and thats why Im here...we have some great Primes that Id love to have some day...but the longer end is piss poor IMHO

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

So why do people buy one brand, keep it for a couple of years...then go to something completely different ?

Because:

(1) they can afford it
(2) they are not happy with what they achieve with their current equipment
(3) they think the "other" equipment will alllow them to achieve what they want

or because:

(1) they can afford it
(2) their goal is not to take photos but to showcase the latest equipment

or very rarely because:

(1) they can afford it
(2) they have discovered an interest in a special type of photography
(3) they realized that the other manufacturer offers the best equipment for that particular type of photography

[GibbyTheMole]

I started off as a Pentax user with a trusty K-1000 & a few lenses... Then I needed money, so I sold it.. Later, I got a good deal on an Olympus OM-2S Program body, so that's the direction I went. Body died, found out it was the main board & they didn't make that anymore, and I wanted something reliable. I traded in my Olympus lenses on a Nikon F2 (always wanted one of those, and it was a great camera, IMO) and was a Nikon 35mm shooter for many years with 2 bodies & some nice Nikkors. Problem was, I couldn't afford to shoot as much as I wanted with the expense of film, so I decided on digital.

The reasons I came back to Pentax for digital were:

1) The ability to use older MF lenses... (which you can't really do at all or at least very well with Nikon or Canon, as far as I know) This was the biggie.

2) I got a killer deal on my K100D body.

As long as Pentax supports using the old MF glass with their digital bodies, I'll stick with Pentax.

[jatrax]

I think it often has to do with people not really understanding they are buying into a 'system'. I used a series of 'super-zoom' point & shoots over the years and when a new model with better features came out I 'upgraded' with little regard for the brand. It's not like you are buying lenses and accessories, its just a camera, so the loyalty is to the features not the brand. When I decided to move to a Dslr I researched long and hard because I realized I would be staying with the brand through several bodies due to the investment in lenses.

On Dslrs you should understand that you are buying into the system of that manufacturer and you may change bodies several times but retain the lenses and accessories. Unfortunately many people do not understand. They are just buying a camera, it comes with a lens and the lens even comes off if you want it to.

I was at an estate sale today and there were 5 SLRs each with a single lens. There was a Spotmatic, a Nikon, a Minolta, a Konica and a Yashica. No extra lenses or flashes, just the camera and 'kit' lens. The owner just bought a new camera when he wanted to without regard to his existing system.

[Rondec]

For most people, it is a lack of honesty. It is hard to admit that the reason your photos aren't turning out has to do with you and not the camera body that you happen to have. Surely, if I have a Sony/Nikon/Canon, my photos would turn out better. When you shoot only in auto mode, only use a kit lens and never learn anything really about composition or photography basics, it is easy to blame the camera for your own deficiencies.

The second issue is that modern folks tend to value bodies over glass. That means that (as jatrax says), you never move beyond the kit lens, but you buy multiple bodies, each one with a higher pixel count and "more features."

People who make informed decisions may move to a different brand (for full frame, or longer glass as examples), but they don't switch randomly and they don't switch often.

[JohnBee]

Why not?

I've always considered a fresh change is kind of exciting tbh.

[Digitalis]

they are called early adopters, they adopt whatever is new and has pretty lights in the viewfinder...they don't care if it is any good at what it is designed to do...they just want it.