Originally posted by John-TO I've been getting a few jobs shooting with my K-50. The images are processed then go online so the K-50 has been doing a pretty good job. Now that I want to upgrade my lenses from the kit lenses I keep getting told to SWITCH from Pentax, "They just don't have the ratings, quality, or variety of lenses that the pro 'Canon' and 'Nikon' systems have."
And, the pro shops DO NOT rent any Pentax gear so either own it or don't use it.
I'd love to hear from anyone shooting commercially with Pentax.
John
John, There are many things to consider:
I was a pro many moons ago shooting Minolta 35mm and Pentax MF. I got a lot of flack (in Hollywood) back when all the pros shot Nikon 35mm and Hasselblad MF. It was tiring deflecting and defending my equipment to the bias; it was almost as if I had to take better images for them to accept my work. When my 35mm system was stolen, I replaced it with Nikon and never had to deal with the nagging 3rd party doubters. IF this is a reality for you, then yes, but beware, itʻs not just the brand name.
There is also a huge bias toward certain models. If youʻre shooting a Nikon D810...."oh, youʻre not pro because you donʻt shoot with a D5". If youʻre shooting with a D4....."oh, business not so good that you canʻt upgrade to the D5?"
But if you think your clients are not brand biased, then this is my suggestion in increasing price investment of a plan to support a pro career:
a) Get a second Pentax DSLR. Either as a back up for your K-50, or to make your K-50 the back up.
b) Next, seriously look at your lenses and how critical is artificial lighting (i.e. flash) for your type of photography.
c) You have to be high on the photographer pyramid where Canon, Nikon, etc, will loan you gear. Renting is not cheap, and there are places that rent Pentax gear:
LensRentals.com - Rent Pentax > Lenses
d) If your K-50 was good enough to get you paid, your skills must be good enough. Rent or borrow a K3II (for sports and wildlife) or a K-1 (portraits, events, landscape, catalog, still life). IF it is not good enough for you, then I would rent a Nikon D500 or D4s/D5 to see the difference.
If this is going to be your income and you need best outcomes, then consider all of this an investment. Better to spend $2000 to make $25k per year or to spend $20k to make $60k per year? If youʻre in it for only one year, then go cheap. If youʻre in it for a lifetime, then go with quality.
Narrow down the lenses you need to get the job done and donʻt worry about all the other lenses youʻll never use. If you MUST have a brand new 600mm f/4 prime, and Pentaxʻs 560mm f/5.6 isnʻt good enough, then the decision is made for you.