[Torphoto]

That is so true... I can tell you that I am very happy with my decision to go with Pentax (besides all the great posters in this forum and other Pentax forum). I am also glad to learn that I can do pretty much (and more) with my K10D compare to my friend who bought the D200, which costs more than twice of what I paid for my K10D (more than K10D and K100D combined). Also, he said he does not need to take in RAW because JPEG is already the best IQ than my Pentax RAW (I think more of the reason is that Nikon package does not come with NEF to JPEG conversion software).

This is typical nikon snobbery, I have seen similar of D80 owners speaking to some one with a canon 1ds!

[messthetics]

First off, aside from the internet, I've never met anyone in real life who has expressed any sort of elitism over camera equipment. I have however met people who have over photography itself, but at least that's something substantial.

To the OP- I wouldn't take any opinion too seriously. Personally, the best thing to do is to go down to a story and try them all out yourself. Canon and Nikon products have a ton going for them, so pick something that is best catered to your use. Heck, in my opinion the Nikon D50/D70 and the Canon 20D are two of the best deals right now in the used market, if you would feel comfortable using craigslist or something of the sort. Anyways, I love my K100D and am looking to a K20D eventually because I really like the feel of Pentax products and a lot of their features, try it out and see if you feel the same way.

[BrendanPK]

I have seen a 50mm 1.7 lense by Pentax too

I was refering to only the 200mm lens.
I have a 50mm F1.4 and a 24mm F2, thats not the point it was a specfic lens I was refering to not the whole line, just to clarify

[BrendanPK]

Short and simple.. I am a woman in her late 20's trying to get a decent camera set while I have the extra funds... Before the house and kids come.. I think I am feeling the funds depleating since I am getting married in June. The fiance' and I are committing to saving for a house after our wedding. So I am trying to get something to satisfy my photo itch and pasify my creative craving. I had to beg and bribe my fiance' to get the K10D and I just wanted some reassurance I was investing in a nice brand.. I do feel I am.. thanks..

We all understand, and good to here you got the K10D. Now as long as you dont handle a K20D you'll be fine. Save the $$ for LBA Heck w/ the honeymoon, get a FA* 600mm F4 instead

[HGMonaro]

All I've got to say is too many people pontificate about gear. Get a camera, take pictures.

[wiyum]

I really hope this doesn't open a can of worms.. but here I go..

I was talking to a photographer friend of mine and told him i was looking to buy a Pentax set up. He's a Canon man, prev. a Nikon man, and told me that Pentax is a limited system. I know some photographers who are all about equipment, and this particular friend never has been. Have any of you used the "other" systems before and come back to Pentax? In my opion how may lenses can a company really make without repetition?

In terms of a total system, the current Pentax lineup is extremely limited. Currently they produce two camera bodies and a relative handful of lenses. A well-heeled Canon shooter can have three different bodies and a stable of lenses, pack the whole kit into three large Pelican cases, and go anywhere for any job and know that the right tool is there for the job. That just isn't the case with Pentax.

If you want to shoot sports, Pentax is the wrong system. If you want to do professional-grade architectural work, Pentax (and indeed nearly all small format digital offerings) is the wrong choice. If you want to do studio lighting with strobes and you need high speed flash sync, then Pentax isn't the right system to buy (at the moment).

Beyond that, there isn't much that the system fails to do, and do well. As others have likely pointed out (I skimmed some of the responses), the in-camera shake reduction is a boon for many applications. Only Pentax and Sony offer this currently (unless you want to jump into the mess that is fourThirds), and Pentax offers many things that Sony doesn't (yet).

If you want to shoot with primes and you want to have four distinctive focal lengths from wide to tele and run as light as you can, Canon and Nikon allow that, with the 5D and D3 respectively. But those are big cameras, and those will be big lenses. Come the release of the 15mm limited, odds are that the Pentax equivalent will be much, much more manageable. As in camera-over-your-shoulder-and-three-lenses-in-a-waistpack manageable. For some, that isn't a dealbreaker, but for me, it is a huge advantage and it offers something that no other system does. In fact, Canon and Nikon are rather "limited" systems if shooting primes and running mean and lean is your goal.

The legacy lenses are all pretty great, and those that autofocus can be used hassle-free on the new cameras (personally, I hate manually focusing without a split-image prism, and getting one for these cameras is a bit of a chore). The lens roadmap looks very promising. By this time next year, the focal lengths not covered by currently-produced Pentax lenses will be very niche indeed.

But the Pentax system can't do everything. Figure out what you need it to do, and determine if it will do it. If it isn't sports, architecture, or high-level strobe work, my guess is you're in great shape. If you're looking to do street type stuff, then this is the best of all possible systems for you.

Will

In full disclosure, I started out shooting with Pentax a decade ago, and did so (quite happily) until I moved to digital. I had a Nikon D70 for less than a year, but I hated it. I switched to Canon 20d and now have five lenses. I love my camera. But when I just want to grab the camera and go, I can't easily carry more than two lenses, and even that isn't as simple as it should be. So I'm waiting for the dust to clear on the K20D and for more info on the 15mm Limited, and I expect that after having all of the facts before me I'll be back in Pentax's camp. I really think they're doing the most interesting things in terms of innovative camera AND lens design. But I need to be sure it'll be everything I need before I go about selling off a pretty substantial camera system.

[TaoMaas]

Short and simple.. I am a woman in her late 20's trying to get a decent camera set while I have the extra funds... Before the house and kids come.. I think I am feeling the funds depleating since I am getting married in June. The fiance' and I are committing to saving for a house after our wedding. So I am trying to get something to satisfy my photo itch and pasify my creative craving. I had to beg and bribe my fiance' to get the K10D and I just wanted some reassurance I was investing in a nice brand.. I do feel I am.. thanks..

Sounds like you're needing a camera that will give you the most quality for the money you have available to you right now. With that criteria, there is nothing even remotely close to the K10D. It is the best bang for the buck, bar none.

[rormeister]

I had to beg and bribe my fiance' to get the K10D and I just wanted some reassurance I was investing in a nice brand.. I do feel I am.. thanks..

Reassurance you shall get in this forum. Many of us have owned Pentax gear far longer than you are in years, and are loyal to the company. Our loyalty comes from many directions, but most of it is from extremely high quality products at prices we can afford. Do you need the Audi A4 or do you get to the store comfortably in your Ford Focus. The brand/model does not make you a photographer, any more than the camera itself. It's your eye, and with a little luck with lighting, focus, ISO, f/stop, etc. that will make the image what it should be. Loyalty is something you develop after having good experiences. Many of us in the forums are 'different by design', and choose the tools we feel best suit our needs. Pentax does this in spades.
Have Fun!

[nanok]

as usual, very informative and honest answers. but i must, again, point somethng out: let's not get ahead of ourselves on how pentax is no good for sports or low light (somebody mentioned strobe: my use of flash is so limited i will not even try to argue on that point). i have shot both sports (mostly rally) and low light (anything from long exposures on a trypod to concerts) with anything from praktica mtl3, minolta srt super (60-70's), pentacon six, to nikon d50, k100d, recently k10d. the conclusion is that none of them is perfect for either job, and that overall i tend to preffer the pentax system (matter ofchoice ofcourse), i am not blown out by the af of the nikon (yeah, i know, it's entry level), or by it's kit lens (sic), and i am not put off by the minolta manual-everything enough to not have shot (and with quite decent results) motor races. i am not saying a high end canon or high end nikon won't do better than a k10d, but let's be realistic: to spend that kind of money, you must be a hitman in need of the machine gun, not somebody who just enjoys shooting. funny enough, a serious hitman would probably go for a long-range semi-automatic, though, rather than an ak47 (strange people, those guys..) . people who are much better, and much more serious at shooting sports than i am, as it was mentioned earlyer, shoot pentax, and make quite a decent living by doing so. i don't hear them complain about the af so much, i wonder why? could it be that, unless you really do machine-gunning shooting, it doesn't really matter (if you have ideas, and get the shots you want with your gear, you probably are not too concerned about not being able to get 5 run-of-the-mill tack-sharp focus-tracked pictures every second, which are all the same as everybody sees everywhere on the subject; or maybe i just don't know what sports photography is all about, and those guys are just masochists )

if you want to have fun shooting, create some visual "art", and so on 1. pentax will do, without a hickup, and the k10d will just fly, for that matter 2. the k10d is really hard to beat in bang-for-your-buck, and it also happens to be quite a consistent package (so not only value for money, but also overall very good absolute value). have i missed a shot because the af was not quick/smart/alien-technology - enough? sure i did; with all cameras i had. so what? if i understand correctly you already got it: go out, shoot, have fun, get more lenses if/when you need them, and stop worrying about who shoots what gear. all systems have limitations, this is where you come in . you will be just fine, forget about tests, comparisons, and such. all you need now is time and patience, and passion.

have fun

[Mike Cash]

When you buy in a system, it's more about lens than a body. Pentax lens, especially prime, is among the highest quality you can find from any brand. These lenses are pro grade.

I used to follow what seems to be the common way of thinking....that lenses are things we attach to the front of our cameras. I have since come to realize that cameras are things we attach to the back of our lenses. And, as Aegisphan so correctly notes, Pentax lenses don't have to take a back seat to anything out there. And there are TONS of fine legacy lenses out there, usually at very affordable prices, which you can use both backwards and forwards along the developmental timeline of Pentax camera bodies. You can grab decades-old fine Takumar lenses to use with your modern Pentax DSLR.....and if the urge strikes you there is always the option of going back and picking up practically any Pentax 35mm film body and using them as well. Any of the bayonet mount lenses will similarly work on practically any Pentax 35mm film body, with the obvious exception of bodies from the screwmount era. I can use the same Takumar lenses on both my 2007 K100D and my 1962 Pentax SV. Options for expandability and broad use? Pentax has it in spades over the others.

And lets not forget the many Canon/Nikon users who like to snatch up Pentax Takumar lenses to use on their DSLRs..... Need a better testimonial to the quality of Pentax glass than that?

[tipsy1956]

I am a Canon shooter who have just started a Pentax kit with the kit lens + 40mm limited.

Canon has a very large system for its DSLR. Any option you want - it's available.

1. Generally their consumer level lenses quality is average and poor in built - witness its kit lens - a plastic looking toy with a moving filter ring.

2. Their choice of consumer level prime lens are poor in build and are not updated at all. ie the 24mm, 35mm, 50 f1.8 II are poor to average in build quality with useless focusing ring. Their 28mm f1.8 is rather weak in performance. The short telephotos are incredibly good and sharp though ( ie the 85 f1.8 and 100 f2, 135 f2 ).

3. Their quality primes are very large and very expensive, ie the 24mm 1.4L, 35mm 1.4L etc. all with 72mm filters. I noticed that Pentax 31mm f1.8 is rather expensive also, but are relatively small compared to Canon.

4. Their L quality telephoto zooms are very expensive but very high in quality ( eg the 70-200mm f4L IS is excellent but cost about USD 1K. )


Generally, if you are a sport shooter, a bird photographer, Canon will be a better choice than Pentax due to availability of super long telephotos ( 300, 400, 500,600,800, 1200!), BUT these are very expensive lenses typically not used by normal home uses. For ultra wide, Nikon is known to have better lenses than Canon - not too sure about Pentax which only have the 12-24mm and the 14mm DA lenses (not counting the Pentax 11-17 fisheye which produces distorted pictures ).

However, a general user for travel, family will be satisfied with Pentax, with small quality lenses, especially primes.

I bought my Pentax K100D super based on the size of the system, and I have now the kit lens ( comes with the SLR ) + a 40mm f2.8 pancake. I intend to obtain the 21mm pancake and later the 70mm pancake, mainly for travel. In time, I might get the Pentax 12-24, or the Sigma 10-20 for landscape use. See my gallery for some of Canon's pictures taken with the Canon 10-22 ultrawide.

I do not intend to use the Pentax to replace the Canon gear, which have better sports capability ( 5 frames/sec vs 3 frame/sec ) plus a bigger memory buffer. The Canon Dslr is also much larger than the Pentax K100D, though about the same size as the K10D which is why I am choosing the K100D ( why not K200D? - well, it is substantially more expensive and bigger mp which means bigger files ).

Tipsy.

[leadbelly]

I was on a flower shoot yesterday and we were shooting in groups of two. I was shooting with someone with a 40D. I did a shot of some rocks, and when he saw it, he wanted to shoot it too. I obliged, being a good sport and all. But he took more shots than I did (I took just 1). I asked him what's taking him so long and he answered, "I can't get the colors to look like yours. Yours look fantastic!"

I was using a K10D

[dopeytree]

I started my dslr photography with a *ist DL + kit lens 2 and a half years ago. I progressed very quickly and found my skills and results are mostly due to the pentax camera system. I often take pictures that are alot better than many pros/ posers (rich people with canon/nikon systems) for examples see my clothes show live 2007 photos taken on a k10d + pentax 50-200mm lens not the best lens but the results are superb photos?

I have now upgraded my kit lens to the 16mm-45mm f/4 lens and bought a 50mm f/1.7 which is amazing especially s it only cost £30.

Pentax is like apple was about 2/3 years ago when people thought they weren't compatible with pcs, which was totaly sh*t just like canon & nikon people say pentax is limited. Unless you do your research you won't know.

The other thign about canon is they have several sets of lens for their full frame and 1.3 & 1.5 sensors so it gets very confusing!

Last thing I have to say is if you get to hold a canon & nikon equivalent in your hands they feel very plasticy next to a k10d including the lens, you'll know what I mean.

[Paulypentax]

I was on a flower shoot yesterday and we were shooting in groups of two. I was shooting with someone with a 40D. I did a shot of some rocks, and when he saw it, he wanted to shoot it too. I obliged, being a good sport and all. But he took more shots than I did (I took just 1). I asked him what's taking him so long and he answered, "I can't get the colors to look like yours. Yours look fantastic!"

I was using a K10D

I had the same situation. The other guy was shooting a 30D and I have a K10D. We were shooting a liitle pond with little green flowers on it. My camera reproduced the green beautifully, everything he tried did'nt reproduce very good at all.

[ChipB]

I was at my youngest granddaughter's 2nd birthday party Sunday and had my trusty *ist DS with my DA 16-45 lens and AF500FTZ flash. After taking several pics, I set the camera down on the table. One of the 30 somethings at the party looked at my setup and said, "Pentax, huh, now THAT'S a camera"!! Kinda Kool!!!