[Zewrak]

Pentax is the KING of compatibility. When Olympus and Canon want to use "classic" lenses, they have to use PENTAX.

Huh? What do you mean? I am intrested, cause I am thinking of getting an Olympus for second camera, because I want more old lenses.

is this in regards to the EOS mount having a 3rd party adapter for pretty much everything?

how do you define the difference between compatibility and prior inversions?

Compatibility:
Canon, olympus and/or I think that Sigma (I am not sure): can mount (at least) Nikon, OM, adaptall, Pentax K, C/Y, M42 with adapters.

Pentax: can mount old K-mount without adapters. M42 and adaptall with adapters and not too much more (maybe some NAI nikkors fit also pentax)

Advantages of using pre-KA mount lenses on Pentax over (i.e) a cropped Canon with adapter=none

Prior inversions (I mean, prior inversions from people that want to stay in the same system):
Case 1) say you have a canon with FD mount and lenses. YOu cant use it with your new canon EOS without an almost impossible to find adapter. You cant upgrade the canon body without having to sell the lens

Case 2) you have nikon AI (or in this particular case, non motorized) lenses and you dont have money for a D300/D3 but for a D40-60 then you start thinking on starting from scratch.

Case 3) you had a K1000, ME, SF, PZ.... and you have lenses for those cameras and want to go digital. Pentax made a dslr that was able to use them all without loosing a bit of their original functionality.

[jshurak]

I hear this alot, I don't see why though. Could you explain why it is important to you?

I think what Heather is getting at, is the lack of Pentax exposure. I, for the life of me, can not find any decent place to get Pentax products. This has been explained to me by clerks, as simply there isn't enough demand. No one asks for Pentax. They ask for Canon or Nikon. Everything Pentax I have, I've had to buy online. I'm ok with that, but it would be nice to take things for a test spin. The only place that carries a decent amount of Pentax is Calumeta in Philly, which, is only open 9-5....the only time I can't go. (stupid job!)

Now, if Pentax/Hoya spent more on their marketing campaigns, Pentax would have more exposure and more people know about their products. More people would go into stores and ask to see them. Building demand for the product. In whatever company, if there is a product, its the marketing job to get it known out there. If Pentax/Hoya launched a larger campaign, maybe showed off some of the features, compared them to other camera models, people would be more likely to go with Pentax, thus increasing demand, in turn increasing supply and therefore (finally) making it easier for me to find Pentax products in stores.

[nakey]

Case 1) say you have a canon with FD mount and lenses. YOu cant use it with your new canon EOS without an almost impossible to find adapter. You cant upgrade the canon body without having to sell the lens

Isn't there 3rd party FD to EOS converters?

Case 2) you have nikon AI (or in this particular case, non motorized) lenses and you dont have money for a D300/D3 but for a D40-60 then you start thinking on starting from scratch.

Or old D70s & D50. D80 also has screw drive focus too, and it's not that expensive

[carpents]

is this in regards to the EOS mount having a 3rd party adapter for pretty much everything?

how do you define the difference between compatibility and prior inversions?

Olympus should probably have the title of 'most compatible through adapters' because you can use most SLR lenses, including Pentax K, without restriction. If you want to use an EOS camera you sometimes have to be careful with mirror clearance for some Pentax (and other brand) lenses.

Olympus DSLRs are more compatible than all the others, since they have such a short register distance and small mirror.

Pentax has always tried to make their mount compatible with previous generation lenses. You could now nitpick that Nikon offers more historical lens consistency since you can use their non-AI (pre-AI, whatever) lenses on their new D60 camera since it has more clearance than previous Nikon DSLR models. But Nikon hasn't learned the Pentax trick of the 'Green Button' for metering yet. So if you're willing to use the 'Sunny 16' for exposure, you can use Nikon bayonet lenses from 1959 on the newest D60 digital camera - without an adapter. Prior to the D60, Pentax held the title of natively using every K-mount lens since 1975.

Isn't there 3rd party FD to EOS converters?

I think that FD converters are "glass"-converters which degrade the IQ. Third parties seems to be worst than the several hundred dollars original Canons (if you find one.

Or old D70s & D50. D80 also has screw drive focus too, and it's not that expensive

I am sure you got the point of my post.

[Venturi]

You forgot issue number 4: Rice High whining and bringing Pentax down at every opportunities.

As the saying goes... "I'd pay good money for him to shut the hell up."

[heatherslightbox]

I think what Heather is getting at, is the lack of Pentax exposure. I, for the life of me, can not find any decent place to get Pentax products. This has been explained to me by clerks, as simply there isn't enough demand. No one asks for Pentax. They ask for Canon or Nikon. Everything Pentax I have, I've had to buy online. I'm ok with that, but it would be nice to take things for a test spin. The only place that carries a decent amount of Pentax is Calumeta in Philly, which, is only open 9-5....the only time I can't go. (stupid job!)

Now, if Pentax/Hoya spent more on their marketing campaigns, Pentax would have more exposure and more people know about their products. More people would go into stores and ask to see them. Building demand for the product. In whatever company, if there is a product, its the marketing job to get it known out there. If Pentax/Hoya launched a larger campaign, maybe showed off some of the features, compared them to other camera models, people would be more likely to go with Pentax, thus increasing demand, in turn increasing supply and therefore (finally) making it easier for me to find Pentax products in stores.

That's exactly what I mean. If Pentax would simply hop into the big-time marketing pool, along with Canon and Nikon, then Pentax could become a household name, along with Canon and Nikon and others. It would be nice to be able to go to a bricks and mortar camera store with a good selection of Pentax and 3rd party K-mount lenses, so I can play around with the gear before I decide to buy. Needless to say, if there weren't forums like this, then buying gear would basically be a crapshoot.

Heather (who's thankful for this forum)

[shutterpuppy]

Olympus should probably have the title of 'most compatible through adapters' because you can use most SLR lenses, including Pentax K, without restriction. If you want to use an EOS camera you sometimes have to be careful with mirror clearance for some Pentax (and other brand) lenses.

Olympus DSLRs are more compatible than all the others, since they have such a short register distance and small mirror.

Pentax has always tried to make their mount compatible with previous generation lenses. You could now nitpick that Nikon offers more historical lens consistency since you can use their non-AI (pre-AI, whatever) lenses on their new D60 camera since it has more clearance than previous Nikon DSLR models. But Nikon hasn't learned the Pentax trick of the 'Green Button' for metering yet. So if you're willing to use the 'Sunny 16' for exposure, you can use Nikon bayonet lenses from 1959 on the newest D60 digital camera - without an adapter. Prior to the D60, Pentax held the title of natively using every K-mount lens since 1975.

Don't get me wrong, they make great P and S cameras and some of their bridgecams really hit the mark with some consumers. I loved their OM series of 35mm cameras back in the 70s and 80s.but I've avoided them as far as digital goes because their continued use of the Xd memory card..at least Fuji cameraa now use both the Xd and SD in the same same camera..come on Olympus get on the 2008 bus.

[creampuff]

Even though Pentax may lag behind the other brands in some areas like quicker focusing, fps, widespread availability, etc.; I am nonetheless happy that for the most part Pentax cameras don't have serious faults and reliability is good.

Other makes suffer some serious issues for example:
- the Olympus E-3 has serious problems with the HLD4 Grip; sensor overheat in LV for the E3 & E-510;

- Sony's new cameras have buffer issues and the camera body needs to be reset occasionally

- Battery drain issues with the Nikon D300; AF dying unexpectedly

All in all, Pentax is pretty reliable and rather that complain that "such and such feature is lacking", I'd rather have the peace of mind that the camera won't conk out when we least expect it.

[Zewrak]

Lets all be honest, we all buy our gear from internet. Not because it's not available in local stores, because its cheaper. If every single one of us went to the local store and asked for pentax stuff, paid the extra it costs and let it take a while longer while we waited for our stuff. They would start getting it home. Its just like someone said earlier "there is not much demand". Stores can't keep stock of everything, so obviously they keep stock of what sells.

[simons-photography]

K10D + 2 Pentax Lenses + 1 Tamron Lens.

I saw them.

I researched them.

I bought them.

I'm happy as a fly on poop. (And that is happy!!!)

Nuff said.

likewise except that I am one pentax lens short of you

[rfortson]

My K20D and lenses are so far beyond my puny capabilities that I'm happy as can be with it. I honestly have yet to find a situation where the K20D and the DA*50-135 (my go to combo) wouldn't perform, including sweet shots at ISO as high as 2500. It's just a superb set for me.

I prefer to be happy with what my camera CAN do and not worry about what it CAN'T do. As long as it performs as advertised, I'm happy. The best thing about the K20D is that it performs much, much better than Pentax advertises. They are seriously underselling this camera.

[flyer]

Lets all be honest, we all buy our gear from internet. Not because it's not available in local stores, because its cheaper. If every single one of us went to the local store and asked for pentax stuff, paid the extra it costs and let it take a while longer while we waited for our stuff. They would start getting it home. Its just like someone said earlier "there is not much demand". Stores can't keep stock of everything, so obviously they keep stock of what sells.

I actually buy my material from "brick and mortar" store. I might pay a little more, but I can try everything I buy BEFORE buying it to make sure it is all right. When you are a good customer, the price difference between "online" and "off line" is very small.

[lithos]

I love Pentax negatives!

I also love Pentax slides.