[TaoMaas]

....but the denigration I have received from Australian so called professionals.........get a real camera.........you wont be considered pro with out a canikon...........only has s*&t lens'.........and today I was told my sigma 50-150 was crap and the whole world thought so...

You need new friends. Friends who know that the folks you've been listening to previously don't know beans. lol

[slackercruster]

OP. I don't give a fudge what others say. If you like / love your gear stick with it. If not, get something else.

[bigdavephoto]

I choose to have a Pentax.......I have always had a Pentax........I now have a Pentax K5....... a very capable camera..........more capable than me sometimes.......but the denigration I have received from Australian so called professionals.........get a real camera.........you wont be considered pro with out a canikon...........only has s*&t lens'.........and today I was told my sigma 50-150 was crap and the whole world thought so......

I know I know......its only the internet but whats with this? Do I go around telling people what to shoot with.......as if I give a rats what your choice of poison is........

so now I can only play with you guys..........is that ok?

Jan

Whoever these jokers were, they must not be professionals themselves. Next time someone says anything about using Pentax, ask them why they use toys like cankon? and Sigma lenses are just as good if not better then cankon lenses.

Pentax lenses have always been better then cankon lenses. That is the reason most of us use the Pentax system.

[RioRico]

We spent a couple months last year wandering around high country in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. In one historic town in the Colorado Rockies we strolled past the usual tourist-trap shops and into a local photo gallery -- with PENTAX pasted across the front door. The pro, a noted 'scape-shooter, used film and digital Penatx cams and had just received (from Pentax Imaging USA) a trial sample 645D to work with and evaluate. A pro who has shot Pentax for decades -- yes, such exist, even in USA.

Anyone saying Pentax doesn't make pro-quality cams knows nothing of the pros who shoot Pentax. Ignore the morons.

[lammie200]

Their is a lot of simple brand snobbishness and technical ignorance out there.

Any real 'pro' will recognise that the skill of the photog is more important than the gear they use.

Personal example: I've been shooting up against newspaper pro photogs at various events even with my K-x, and produced better work than their D700's and Nikon glass. Simple things like knowing the best angles to shoot from, and the best place to setup at an event will sometimes trump using all the best gear in the world.

Also just stick a battery grip on your K-5. Instant 'pro' status for most people.

This is a good video to dispel any doubts about K-5 and pro-dom:

Pentax K-5 and the Limiteds - YouTube

'So what's up with this Pentax system? Everyone knows pro's use NIkon or Canon, so why are you using THAT?. This why the K-5 system rocks'

Nice video. I don't care what other people think when they see me pull my K-5 with grip, attached 300mm lens, and a shoulder strap out of an Ape Case holster bag. Yes, a HOLSTER bag! Fits easily as well. I would like to see how well a 5DII would fit in one. In fact, I am sure that any Nikon or Canon with a grip would not fit at all no matter what lens is attached.

[janstew]

I love you guys..........I kept my mouth firmly zipped and made no retaliating posts.....but jeeeez I wanted to ...........I have to admit I have never come up against such blatant discrimination..........and was taken by surprise.......are photographers that insecure? of themselves and their gear? Why is there all the mine is bigger then yours stuff? Yikes grow up! It always been a case of how ya use not what ya got ( read that any way you like
Excellent video.........and confirms why I stuck with Pentax in the first place.........
cheers
Jan

[Paleo Pete]

So far I haven't had to deal with any brand snobs, but if I do I can always pull out my photo album and let the pictures speak for themselves. As a long time photographer, over 30 years, I found out long ago the camera is not important, as long as it's a good one. I've gotten great shots with a 35mm Yashica rangefinder camera, several Pentax models including an instamatic 35mm, a Minolta SRT101, and a 110 instamatic. I even got some shots at a friend's band gig good enough to print at 8x10 and give the guys as christmas presents, with the 110 instamatic. That's a film frame half the size of a postage stamp blown up to 8x10... With digital I've gotten shots that impressed a professional photographer, then told him they were taken with a Samsung point and shoot.

Any true photographer can get good pictures with any camera he picks up. For me, as long as it's 10 megapixels or better, give me a week to play with it and tweak the settings, and I'll hand you excellent shots, I don't care what name is stamped on the body. Most good photographers can do the same, and most that are not completely insecure will not denigrate someone else's choice of equipment. If they have to put you down because of your camera choice, they are hiding a major insecurity, and probably couldn't be called photographers, but camera toting idiots.

Pay no attention to their inane diatribes, I've been carrying a Pentax for 30 years along with others, and will probably always have a Pentax in my hands more often than anything else and I don't have the slightest hesitation about carrying it around people with any other brand. So far the other photographers I've met with Canon or Nikon rigs have been cool about it, one checked out my K-x when I first got it, and seemed to like the idea that I was using a 40 year old screw mount lens. Several have also told me they started on or used Pentax 35mm cameras and liked them. That's understandable, Pentax made some great film cameras, I loved my KX and K1000, and the ME Super too. But those are people who already know that the camera is not the most important aspect of a good picture...the fool behind the lens is. And that's what I'll tell anyone that thinks he has to make derogatory comments about my rig. Because I already know I can get good shots with even a cheap point and shoot...Did it today in fact...

So just show 'em your pictures. That usually should shut anyone up. I've never seen anyone bad mouth Pentax after looking at my shots.

[MoiVous]

.....[snip]....
Any true photographer can get good pictures with any camera he picks up. For me, as long as it's 10 megapixels or better, give me a week to play with it and tweak the settings, and I'll hand you excellent shots, I don't care what name is stamped on the body. Most good photographers can do the same, and most that are not completely insecure will not denigrate someone else's choice of equipment. If they have to put you down because of your camera choice, they are hiding a major insecurity, and probably couldn't be called photographers, but camera toting idiots.

.....[snip]....

So just show 'em your pictures. That usually should shut anyone up. I've never seen anyone bad mouth Pentax after looking at my shots.

I love you guys..........I kept my mouth firmly zipped and made no retaliating posts.....but jeeeez I wanted to ...........I have to admit I have never come up against such blatant discrimination..........and was taken by surprise.......are photographers that insecure? of themselves and their gear? Why is there all the mine is bigger then yours stuff? Yikes grow up! It always been a case of how ya use not what ya got ( read that any way you like
Excellent video.........and confirms why I stuck with Pentax in the first place.........
cheers
Jan

And here is the point which many of you make in a round about way - the key word is PHOTOGRAPHER!

I've come to the conclusion that a lot of so called photography forums are actual camera equipment forums. Its a bit like art collectors vs artisans - one collects, one creates. As an example, my photography club - we welcome everyone and don't care what they shoot with - its all about the image! A lot of other clubs are camera clubs that collect equipment.

So shoot with what you want - ignore the collectors and enjoy creating good images.

Cheers

[SpecialK]

......but the denigration I have received from Australian so called professionals.........

Jan

Micro-genital compensation, no doubt.

[anthony mazzeri]

I'll be new to new to Pentax myself with the K-01 after 25 years of Nikon. I have to say the only people I've seen sneering at any Pentax camera so far has been other Pentax owners dissing the K-01 and belittling its prospective owners as 'P&S' etc despite the sensor, SR, processor etc all being newer/superior to any other existing Pentax camera ever made. So what difference is this to Canikon owners dissing Pentax.

Seriously, I just had a look at DPR and this is of the many examples of denigration I have to endure about both myself being at P&S level and my new Pentax camera being decribed as a total joke by other Pentax owners:

Re: Without EVF it is just wasted piece of plastic.: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

What a welcome to the world of Pentax.

[paulh]

Opinions are like a******s, everybody's got one. You're purchasing or using a camera for YOUR use, no one else's.

[GibbyTheMole]

Pentax lenses have always been better then cankon lenses. That is the reason most of us use the Pentax system.

Mmmmm... I used to own a Nikon F2 & Nikomat film bodies with a variety of Nikkor glass. And I beg to differ. Some of those Nikkors were downright incredible. Truth is, they all make great glass, as well as some lenses that aren't as good.

Wanna hear something weird? Some of my all time favorite lenses were Olympus Zuikos. Beautiful build quality and some of the best glass I've ever used. Go figure.

As a long time photographer, over 30 years, I found out long ago the camera is not important, as long as it's a good one.

True dat. I've used Pentax, Minolta, Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Kodak, Yashica, Ricoh, Petri, & Praktica film cameras and they've all given me good results.

[RioRico]

Some of those Nikkors were downright incredible. Truth is, they all make great glass, as well as some lenses that aren't as good.

Yes, some Nikkors are superb. I won't willingly relinquish my 35/2 nor 85/2 (modded for PK). I haven't encountered bad Nikkors yet, but I haven't really tried.

Yes, almost all camera- and lens-makers produce some outrageous classics, as well as some steaming turds. Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Minolta-Sony, all are included here.

Wanna hear something weird? Some of my all time favorite lenses were Olympus Zuikos. Beautiful build quality and some of the best glass I've ever used. Go figure.

Indeed. The Zuikos on my old Pen-FT were crystalline. The OMs I now use (50/1.8, 135/3.5) ain't bad neither. I'm still looking for more OMs, you-betcha.

I've used Pentax, Minolta, Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Kodak, Yashica, Ricoh, Petri, & Praktica film cameras and they've all given me good results.

My film-days working cameras included Argus, Canon, Graflex, Kodak, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, and Yashica. My current use-sometimes film cameras include some of the above brands as well as Petri, Pentax, Praktica, Voigtlander, and Zeiss. I've also shot Exakta, Fujica, Mamiya-Sekor, Porst, Ricoh, and probably some others I've forgotten.

The camera is a box upon which to hang lenses. A lens captures images but the photographer must SEE to make those images worthwhile. Anyone who thinks their gear qualifies their photography is a fool.

[Kerrowdown]

Get yourself a nice plastic Holga for public display and then use whatever works for you.

Contrary to public opinion, the use of Pentax equipment has allowed me to pay my bills for many years now, stay lucky.

[Stone G.]

The camera is a box upon which to hang lenses. A lens captures images but the photographer must SEE to make those images worthwhile. Anyone who thinks their gear qualifies their photography is a fool.

I think you hit the nail head-on. But you see, many people who are insecure about their qualifications as photographers seem to think they if they carry (what is universally accepted as) semi-pro gear, the may be respected as if they were pro photographers. Me, I am insecure too - but no problem: I just love taking pictures anyway, so I have the personal freedom to choose what I like.