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03-03-2012, 10:05 AM   #16
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Everytime...

QuoteOriginally posted by TaoMaas Quote
Thank you. I'm familiar with in-camera stabilization....just not up on the acronyms.
I hear you. Everytime I see MF or MFT, I start thinking motherfooker something.

03-03-2012, 11:29 AM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rondec Quote
I could see sticking with the K5 for several years (I have bought every new flagship model from K100 on) instead of buying the newest camera.
ditto.
03-03-2012, 11:31 AM   #18
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Same for me, K-5 is in fgamily for few more years as meet 95 % of my need, the other 5 % is P&S
03-03-2012, 03:06 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by klopus Quote
I know, i know, these "should I wait" questions always elicit "get now or wait forever" or "there's always something around the corner", etc. answers which in general is right.


But I got K10 (my first Pentax) back in Jan 2007 and it's getting long in the tooth compared to modern bodies especially in high ISO, lack of video, small LCD and large size/weight.


I accumulated some K-mount glass which I really enjoy and in general, as a committed non-conformist, I like Pentax. But this orphan constantly changing foster homes makes me a little nervous. To me being an available light street shooter (amateur) IBIS is a must. Which leaves as a real ASP-C alternative only Sony which is ok since I'm not married for life to OVF and a mirror.I've had Pentax for a long time...44 years. I have a K10D...got in 2007...1000's of shutter actuation's...no problem (touch wood). I'm planning to take it out tomorrow to an ice race in Western Canada...along with my K-5, which I bought a couple of months ago. Like you I've worried about whether Pentax and the K-mount (K mount has been around since 1975 or so) will continue to be in business. I had worries with Hoya ownership, but now that Ricoh has taken over and in the few short months since take over...has released future road maps of lenses, etc...I have few fears. In fact, I think if Ricoh ever did want to divest themselves of Pentax...that another large company would take over...because of the K mount and the lenses.

What makes Pentax stand out from the others. A concentration on outdoor cameras and fine lenses. Check out Popular Photography's lens ratings and you will see that Pentax gives nothing up to other makers in quality. Yes they need to punch up their telephoto primes and also bring out a few faster zooms...say a 70-200 F 2.8. But they have announced that a 560mm F 5.6 will come out by the end of the year...so they're addressing part of that concern.



K-r and K-01 don't wet my appetite. I'd take smaller size/weight any day over weather proofing but I really like bright VF and extensive tactile controls and feature richness of K10/20/7/5 series.


I note that K5 is already well more than a year old. Is there a replacement on a horizon? What to expect?
Also what are your general and honest thoughts on Pentax or even K-mount viability?I generally buy my cameras ...new...when they are nearing the end of production...significant savings as a result. That's why I just bought my K-5. It's wonderful and is a significant improvement over the K10D in my opinion.

As mentioned tomorrow, when I go to the car races...I will have my K10D....and K-5...and possibly my Km (K2000 in the states).

Sony is relatively new (compared to Nikon, Canon, Pentax) into the DSLR market...will they stay ? I don't know. I do like their A 850 full frame DSLR....but to be frank if I was in the market for a full framer...I would buy a Canon 5D Mk 11...which has just been displaced by the intro of the new Canon 5 D Mk 111.



Thanks for the help!
So looking at your situation would I take a chance on a new Pentax ? Well, I did. Do I know if Pentax will still be in business in 3-5 years ? No, but in my long life I've seen a lot of big name firms bite the dust. I don't know if Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, etc. will still be cranking out cameras.

I also have Canon equipment...which I like, but I do prefer my Pentax stuff.



03-03-2012, 10:33 PM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by klopus Quote
I note that K5 is already well more than a year old. Is there a replacement on a horizon? What to expect?
Also what are your general and honest thoughts on Pentax or even K-mount viability?
Pentax being with Ricoh will mean better stability for the brand - it won't go down easily now. But it has a lot of work to do to capture market share.

The K10D is still a competent camera. I still enjoy using it. So you don't need to hurry to replace it.

So one option is to just wait and see what else happens in Pentax land and in general in the industry.

The problem with moving to Sony A mount is that you cannot adapt any of your Pentax lenses to it. You can use M42 lenses on Sony A mount bodies, but K mount ones would either require an optical element or would lose infinity focus. So you would need to sell your K mount stuff. Or consider a NEX or some other such camera to which you can easily adapt K mount lenses.

If you can sell your stuff easily, you could move to Sony SLT. I used an A55 and an A65 a bit and I like the build and controls - particularly that of the A65. The EVF of the A65 was also very good. But I'm not sure if that is necessarily better than K mount for the reason I'll outline next.

My long term prediction/speculation is that most enthusiast users will migrate to systems like MFT, NEX, NX, XPro1, with SLTs and DSLRs being used only by pros or people that absolutely want FF sensors or DSLR designs. You will see this happening over the next years, which is why it makes sense again to wait. Right now, MILCs are 42% of the market in Japan and they got there in just a few years. It's the writing on the wall. I don't think the K mount will survive this trend, but it will probably take another decade to die and K mount lenses will continue to be useful via adapters.
03-04-2012, 07:36 PM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
The K-5's replacement will be announced in september, and it will likely have a 24Mp sensor. I wouldn't wait if I were you, though- the K-5 is ages ahead of your k10 as far as technology and IQ goes, and right now it's priced very reasonably, even new. Once the successor is announced, the price will likely go back up to full MSRP until stock runs out.
I thought prices will go down once the replacement's out... like a clearance sale or something.

@OP

As Adam said the replacement will probably have higher MP count and possibly better video control and hopefully faster AF. In terms of other stuff we don't know, and if what Adam said was true then getting a K-5 right now before prices fly up again will be the better choice (well, depending on your photography needs though).
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