[Jamey777]

I didn't own a DSLR but was using a prosumer Minolta camera. When Sony bought them I was ready to buy a DSLR and loved the Minolta in-body stabilization.

Pentax and Minolta / Sony were the only ones with the in body and I liked the idea that older lenses could become stabilized.

Why do I stay? I have too many lenses to quit :-)

Also I have gotten into film the last year and that has been quite fun. Love my LX!

FYI: Currently own K-01, LX, and Super Program

[boriscleto]

I was disappointed in the quality of the images from my Panasonic FZ8, much worse than my previous FZ5. So I started looking at DSLRs.

The Nikon D5000 came closest to meeting my wants, but was too expensive and didn't have an AF screw drive.

I looked at the K1000 on my shelf and decided to see if Pentax still made cameras. The K-x had come out a few months earlier and had the same sensor as the D5000 & D90, it had a screw drive and was backward compatible with manual focus lenses. Easy decision.

After a few years of LBA I was pretty much locked into the system. I bought the K-5 last year when it came back down under $1000. If the K-30 had been released at the same time as the K-01 I would have bought that instead.

[mikeSF]

If I somehow felt market share should contribute to my purchasing decisions, I would probably also be driving a Ford Focus or Toyota, thinking it must be "the best" car because of its popularity. wth??

I actually find Pentax to be superior to Canon and Nikon when it comes to landscape photography. I have very carefully researched and auditioned the competition and still find the K5 (or even better, a K3) to be the best match for my needs. I shoot primes and Pentax limited primes are just excellent.
I keep seeing this market so hung up on # of AF points and AF accuracy and that may be fine for sports shooters, but the fact is, I ALWAYS use manual focus for landscape photography in order to place the plane of focus properly within the image, so, all that AF crap is really completely irrelevant to me.

These days, I have the 645D too and there is just nothing from Nikon/Canon/Sony/etc that can compare. Their dinky little full frame sensors, lol.
Very happy to be shooting Pentax!

[Na Horuk]

I just wanted a DSLR for under $800 lol. And the K-r had the best features in that price range, plus it allowed easy usage of legacy K-mount and m42 lenses (I had some laying around). It had more cross type AF points, in-body SR, good high ISO performance, catch-in-focus, I think it had best dynamic range/bit depth.. and when I held it, it felt much more solid than the Nikon and Canon "entry level DSLRs". Those had a cheap-feeling plastic shell.
Sure, the K-r is not perfect and I miss a couple of things on it, but that is mostly because the technology keeps improving at a fast pace. When it was released, the K-r with 2 lens kit was most bang for buck. And I got an SD card and bag with it. Its a great place to start digital on a budget, especially because of legacy lenses. I kind of envy the people starting out today, because the K-50 and K-5II are so low priced these days and you get so much. Basically pro all-purpose cameras.

[dansamy]

I wanted in-body stabilization. I was looking at Sony and Olympus. Pentax was on my peripheral vision, but I was pretty well certain that I was going to buy Oly. The great folks at Steve's digicams highly recommended the Pentax line. I dug a little deeper. One Amazon gold box deal later, I owned a k-x.

[i83N]

I like beaning an underdog

[Homo_erectus]

I think the biggest, intangible, reason that I use Pentax gear is that I found these forums when I was initially considering the k5 and the community here is really excellent. People generally love their Pentax gear even while recognizing it's quirks and oddities. People are super friendly and helpful. There's a civility on these forums that most other communities on the internet lack.

On the more tangible side, WR, in body shake reduction, ergonomics, the fact that the K5ii feels like a camera that was made for a photographer rather than an awkward video camera that can also take stills.

The low market share concerns me sometimes but as long as Pentax makes products that meet my needs and can provide support in a timely manner when I need it, I don't really care if they are 5% or 95% of the market.

[monochrome]

I have owned a KX film body and one K lens since 1977. I've also owned an MESuper and an M lens since 1984. Beginning in 1999 I bought many more K-mount lenses (and several Pentax film bodies) on eBay after which I had lusted for years - at prices I'd never seen. I could not have cared less about digital then - I just wanted to use those lenses (see my list linked below) with my two film cameras.

My first dSLR was an Olympus E-20n, which was a fairly sophisticated fixed zoom lens camera, and renowned for its time. When technology had progressed beyond it Pentax made a great deal of sense since I already owned so many lenses and they made such a big deal about backward compatibility.

I started with a K10D - a breakthrough camera - and have never looked back. I really don't care that all my friends use some Canon, or a D800e, and mostly they understand why I use Pentax, though if I ever do change it will be Nikon.

[Ash]

I went with a K100D when it first came out and since then I got LBA. It just so happened that Pentax was the brand I decided to invest in that I kept going for K-mount lenses. It helped that the FA Limited lenses were such too quality that I stuck around with Pentax. From that time, 6 further camera bodies later, and going through countless lenses, I haven't felt the urge to swap mounts, and the camera I've got now is solid, durable and yet lightweight enough for me to take on any photographic task I would have it do, so I'm set with Pentax.

[Eulogy]

It's cheaper, and generally better for the APS-C market. It's also weather-sealed (A certain forum member's YT video had some influence...)

Why I stayed is that I'm in a location with a brick and mortar store that carries more Pentax than Canon. (Strange town...)

[Bob from Aus]

My first SLR in 1974 was a spotmatic F. When I wanted a digital SLR sensor cleaning, shake reduction and price were important. Luckily I went pentax and not olympus or sony. I now have a sensational kit of camera gear to die for. I have everyone around me suffering badly from photography envy. The part that sets my kit apart from canon/nikon owners is I can carry a lot more kit and I have a large set of primes beautifully made.

I was doing a photoshoot of kids on a beach and a press photographer came along. The comments I had from the kids was - 'my dad has a bigger camera' I asked the press photographer to take some photos with the kids and I and her comment was 'that's a nice camera'

Pentax is to blame for loosing and wasting its market share. I must say I have been crapping myself that pentax might go the same way as many other extinct camera brands. Good to see the new investment into pentax gear.

[kiwi_jono]

This question gets asked from time to time but the answer are pretty similar.

For me, the reasons I got into Pentax are different from the reasons I'm still with Pentax. Over time, what is important can change.

To start with I bought a K-x because:
1. Amazing value for money - the feature set versus cost really spun my wheels.
2. Relatively small size. I thought a lot of the bulkier cameras were downright ugly and to boot no more comfortable to use than the Pentax. Also I wanted to cart my camera everywhere so size was a factor.
3. Lens compatibility. Pentax has done a great job with this. I got a little stung when Canon changed the FD mount and vowed to not trust Canon again.
4. In body SR - I loved the idea of being able to use old glass without many restrictions.

Now, quite frankly, I love Pentax even more. But the reasons have changed a bit (order is relevant):
1. Great usabilty. Although some reviews criticise "the archaic menus", when I have tried to use a Canon or Nikon they feel so clunky to use to me. The arrow buttons functioning as direct functions (WB, Flash, Drive mode etc) are brilliant and you don't need to spend much time in the menus anyway.
2. Lens compatibility
3. Build quality (love the feel of my K-5)
4. Relatively small size.
5. In body SR
6. Good value for money

[Kozlok]

I started with Pentax after reading all the reviews I could find. In my price range at the time, the KX had the best low light performance by a large margin, and I thought that looked like a difference that mattered to me. I don't often shoot high ISO, but when I do it's usually the important stuff, so I feel good about that decision. When I upgraded to the K-30, I compared similar systems, and found the K-30 offered WR, lower carry weight and a real pentaprism for the same price as competing systems with no drawbacks that mattered to me. I love the k-30 so much, I bought the DA limiteds, and now I really love Pentax. Every time I touch a Canon or Nikon, within 20 seconds I am completely angry at the menu system and the stupid camera handling.

[geomez]

From 2004 to March of 2013 I owned:
*ist DS
K100D

Since discovering the forum nine months ago, I've purchased:
K-5 IIs
K-01
Q
Ricoh GR

I blame these folks. I was brainwashed.

[mccarvindh]

Started photography with a K Mount Vivitar v3000 and Pentax A 50 2. In preparation for entering the world of DSLRs, I did camera comparisons on websites and I always ended up with the K10 D. In my view that was the best DSLR with a feature-price ratio that could not be beat. However, I could not afford it at that time. Waited a while and got the K20d. Discovered the forum, LBA struck - lusted after the best fast glass and built up a collection. CBA struck, built up a collection (that includes 3 K 01s!).

When it comes to making images, I feel that I am the weakest link in the chain and yet to master the K5 let alone the K3. Will probably never switch brands (though there is absolutely nothing wrong with the other manufacturers). As someone said these days even entry level DSLRs have very good sensors and are highly capable machines.

My dream camera is the 645D.