[JibbaJab]

29 year old female here. But I'm an engineer, so I'm really like a 45 year old man at heart as most of you apparently are in body. Now get off my lawn!

[monochrome]

Why were most of the people that have been loyal to Pentax for so long, able to buy Pentax gear when they were teens and early twenties? No amount of paper-routes or shelve-filling is going to earn any kind of Pentax gear now. Something changed.

My grandmother gave me a (black) KX and K50/1.4 and ER case as my college graduation present in 1977. It was doubtless at or near the end-of-production and might even have been on clearance - but nevertheless I couldn't have afforded such a camera when I was 21. After learning on the high school Spotmatics I'd used an Instamatic with flashcubes for years.

That was a momentous occasion - no one in my family had ever gone beyond the first year of college - and to her was worth a serious gift.

EDIT: I should add that my second Pentax was an MESuper / M50/1.4 / AF200S Flash and cases kit that I selected from a sales contest promotion catalog in 1984. I was 29. So I really didn't 'afford' a Pentax until I bought my K10D.

[Tako Kichi]

Why were most of the people that have been loyal to Pentax for so long, able to buy Pentax gear when they were teens and early twenties?

I bought my first Pentax gear used which meant it was affordable. Admittedly I had to do without a hot shoe (there wasn't one on the early Spotmatics) but a L-bracket and off camera flash got me around that problem (in fact I still have that L-bracket in a box of old camera stuff in the closet).

Now I think back I've bought most of my cameras and lenses as used equipment with the exception of my Olympus C2040 and K-30 with the 18-55 WR kit lens.

[magkelly]

You mean there are twentysomething Pentax users? This informal survey confirms my own sure-to-be-skewed-ideas that most Pentax users are old coots or soon-to-be old coots. Methinks most folks in their 20s haven't heard of the brand, and that many folks in their 30s believe Pentax went under years ago when grandpa died.

M

But saying that discounts the fact that many of the "old coots" started out with Pentax as kids, doesn't it? Also, they're teaching their own kids to love Pentax. This board has an older crowd I think, but I don't think the brand itself is skewed that way. The kids just aren't on here that much, that's all.

[stevebrot]

Anybody used to have access to a beginners tier of photography. Please read everybodies reactions in this thread too. Why were most of the people that have been loyal to Pentax for so long, able to buy Pentax gear when they were teens and early twenties? No amount of paper-routes or shelve-filling is going to earn any kind of Pentax gear now. Something changed.

It depends on age group. When I was in my teens, buying a Spotmatic with normal lens would require about 200 hours work at minimum wage. In the late 70s a K1000 could be had for a weeks work (40 hours) at minimum wage. At present, a K-500 kit requires about 50 hours labor at minimum wage in the many areas of the USA and as little as 40 hours in many states.*

So...the good old days were not so good if you wanted to shoot Pentax. That is why so many of us started with Ricoh, Petri, Praktica, or a fixed-lens rangefinder cameras. My first Pentax product was the M 50/1.7 lens that I currently own. It came attached to a new Ricoh XR7 bought in preference over the ME Super in fall of 1982. (Some Ricoh's were bundled from the factory with Pentax lenses...go figure...) My K10D (2007) was my first Pentax body.


Steve

* All numbers are for the USA

[RobA_Oz]

29 year old female here. But I'm an engineer, so I'm really like a 45 year old man at heart as most of you apparently are in body. Now get off my lawn!

It's hard for us old guys to get our walkers off a soft surface, you know...

Hell's teeth! I'm a 66 year old male engineer, so that means I'm like a 43 year-old female. Wait until I tell my wife.

Apparently, 60 is the new 40...

[Kerrowdown]

As long as you don't straddle it, you should be OK

And you know this how?

[RobA_Oz]

And you know this how?

I'm further down than you. How do you think I got here?

[RonHendriks1966]

It looks like I'm average overhere with my 48 years.........

[RobA_Oz]

It looks like I'm average overhere with my 48 years.........

Look on the bright side, Ron – that means you're equivalent to a 31 year-old woman, according to JibbaJab's reckoning!

[RonHendriks1966]

Look on the bright side, Ron – that means you're equivalent to a 31 year-old woman, according to JibbaJab's reckoning!

that sounds great since the 31mm is my favorite

[Clavius]

I wish we could compare these results with similar demographics from the other brands. I have been searching for a bit, but can't really find such topics on those forums.

[Franc]

i'll have a look what my passport says

[RonHendriks1966]

I wish we could compare these results with similar demographics from the other brands. I have been searching for a bit, but can't really find such topics on those forums.

I guess the Leica crowd is even a little older....

[RobA_Oz]

I guess the Leica crowd is even a little older....

I think a disposable income demographic survey might be more revealing…