[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'm not a "gear head' and suspect that lenses are available for what I need. Checking DXOMark though, it seems that it's not the array of lenses that's important, the challenge is to find lenses that have good ratings with your camera. With fewer lenses to choose from you get what you get because there may not be alternative choices—unlike with Canon and Nikon where you get many choices as well as many TP lenses to choose from. I'm not sure I want to go the "use legacy lenses" route as I want to take full benefit of the features of the modern cameras.

That said, I love the DXOMark rating of the K-1, and the price.

I'd love to hear from anyone shooting commercially with Pentax. Are the Canon and Nikon proponents just brand enthusiasts or do they have a point? As much as I love Pentax and especially the value, I cannot afford to choose the wrong system. Please weigh in.

Thanks,

John

[HopelessTogger]

K-1's certainly cheap as are the lenses, compared to the competition. I have no regrets, although I'm getting a bit of the old green eyed monster looking at the Sony A99II, which, with a set of quality AF Sony zooms (trinity, 16mm to 200mm) and a couple of primes is coming in at around £13,500.

Go with the K-1. For the money nothing else comes close.

[pres589]

While I pay a little attention to the Canon stuff, just know what's out there, I pretty much focus on Pentax and what their ecosystem offers me.

Let's talk about your work, as I think it'll be much more useful and interesting than what some other jobbers think about the gear you own. What are you shooting? You mentioned getting jobs shooting something with your camera, what are you working on? Are you interested in maybe going with the K-1 eventually or just impressed by the camera and not going to purchase at some point in the next few months/years? Do you need ideas for a lens replacement or other item?

[honey bo bo]

Going Pro means Going Self Employed Business(Usually).
Business means generating the Maximum Revenue with the Minimum Expendatures for the profits you need to survive.
Going Pro you need Skill and Equipment to do this.
My personal Opinion on the Equipment cost & capabilty is Pentax Can ,Nikon? , Canon?, Sony? etc. The skill is all you.

[LaurenOE]

So much depends on what level of "Pro" you are moving towards. "A few jobs with the K-50" is what I would call "borderline professional". I'd say, at that level, and maybe a few more up-ticks, you will be fine staying with Pentax.

If the work you are moving towards, is global, 24x7 and at a moments notice, shooting and filming whatever is asked for, then I would say no, Pentax is not a viable choice.

The eco-system that surrounds Pentax is not enough to sustain integration with other professionals, and cross platform hardware makes for a difficult workflow. Professional workflows are based on efficiency and throughput, and Pentax is niche.

The quality is there from Pentax, sure, but the market dictates the professional workflow.

What am I talking about?

Here is a scenario...and a real one.

"Lauren, I hear you are coming to the UK. We are going to film a music video, at Lyme Regis. You in? We'd like to use your drone and maybe have you pick up a few other shots along the way. Would you be up for some directing too?"

I agree, and I'm off to the UK.

The other folks on the team, shoot with A7SII cameras, and an FS700. There might be some Osmo in there, and of course our drone shots. For stills, we will have the A7SII cameras, which will be recording 4K on Atomos devices, installed on some Ronins. Since the A7SII cameras are also FF, they can duplicate any other FF stills camera that is out there. Everyone knows how all this hardware works, so there are no guesstimates, and an efficient workflow results.

Sure, I have my K1 with me on this shoot, but because it's the "odd camera", it might make it into the professional workflow, but probably not. Therefore taking it, is a personal choice only. In a professional setting, there is no way I am going to "introduce" people to Pentax. There are no technical features that make the K1 a "go-to" in many workflows. The K1 is a great camera, but Pentax hasn't put anything into the camera that would make it a must have on a shoot like this.

The one thing...is that Pentax cameras are weather-sealed, and in this shoot it was raining and windy. If Pentax would have just given the K1 a decent video codec, and a flat profile, and at least 1080p/60, the K1 *could* have been included.

Alas, another opportunity missed.

The below music video brought to you by a Pentax shooter on a team using Sony and DJI equipment.

Enjoy.

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[HopelessTogger]

So much depends on what level of "Pro" you are moving towards. "A few jobs with the K-50" is what I would call "borderline professional". I'd say, at that level, and maybe a few more up-ticks, you will be fine staying with Pentax.

If the work you are moving towards, is global, 24x7 and at a moments notice, shooting and filming whatever is asked for, then I would say no, Pentax is not a viable choice.

The eco-system that surrounds Pentax is not enough to sustain integration with other professionals, and cross platform hardware makes for a difficult workflow. Professional workflows are based on efficiency and throughput, and Pentax is niche.

The quality is there from Pentax, sure, but the market dictates the professional workflow.

What am I talking about?

Here is a scenario...and a real one.

"Lauren, I hear you are coming to the UK. We are going to film a music video, at Lyme Regis. You in? We'd like to use your drone and maybe have you pick up a few other shots along the way. Would you be up for some directing too?"

I agree, and I'm off to the UK.

The other folks on the team, shoot with A7SII cameras, and an FS700. There might be some Osmo in there, and of course our drone shots. For stills, we will have the A7SII cameras, which will be recording 4K on Atomos devices, installed on some Ronins. Since the A7SII cameras are also FF, they can duplicate any other FF stills camera that is out there. Everyone knows how all this hardware works, so there are no guesstimates, and an efficient workflow results.

Sure, I have my K1 with me on this shoot, but because it's the "odd camera", it might make it into the professional workflow, but probably not. Therefore taking it, is a personal choice only. In a professional setting, there is no way I am going to "introduce" people to Pentax. There are no technical features that make the K1 a "go-to" in many workflows. The K1 is a great camera, but Pentax hasn't put anything into the camera that would make it a must have on a shoot like this.

The one thing...is that Pentax cameras are weather-sealed, and in this shoot it was raining and windy. If Pentax would have just given the K1 a decent video codec, and a flat profile, and at least 1080p/60, the K1 *could* have been included.

Alas, another opportunity missed.

The below music video brought to you by a Pentax shooter on a team using Sony and DJI equipment.

Enjoy.

Omen ( Disclosure ft Sam Smith ) Emily Williams Cover - YouTube

Lauren, what do you reckon to the A99II? From the specs looks like the near perfect all-rounder.

[LaurenOE]

Lauren, what do you reckon to the A99II? From the specs looks like the near perfect all-rounder.

I think Sony is killing it.

By putting XAVC-S, and Slog, along with 4:2:2 HDMI out and 100Mbps, they are giving their dSLR shooters a camera that fits their entire eco-system.

If I was an Alpha shooter, I would rejoice!

The only issue - or benefit - is the Alpha/Minolta mount.

I will always be a Pentaxian, but it pains me to buy redundant gear.
I am getting ready to pick up an A7SII because I have to live in the Sony world.
I am dragging my feet to see if Pentax gives me video in the K3mIII.

IMHO to keep the APS-C line alive at Pentax they are going to have to do something with video to differentiate.

[mattb123]

I have another job so I'm maybe semi-pro but I do get paid for photos fairly regularly.
I'm usually a lone shooter, doing landscape, adventure sports, events, real estate, and portraiture.
I live in a remote area so there are no local camera shops to rely on. If I want to use it, it's mail order rental or I need to own it.

Taking all the above into account, Pentax is at least a good of a choice as anything else. I had a history with the brand from the film era and I like their modern design ethos which fits my active shooting style.
If your needs are similar to mine I'm sure you will be fine. If not you will need to give it some thought. The gear is certainly capable of professional caliber results, it's just a matter of what suits you.

[John-TO]

While I pay a little attention to the Canon stuff, just know what's out there, I pretty much focus on Pentax and what their ecosystem offers me.

Let's talk about your work, as I think it'll be much more useful and interesting than what some other jobbers think about the gear you own. What are you shooting? You mentioned getting jobs shooting something with your camera, what are you working on? Are you interested in maybe going with the K-1 eventually or just impressed by the camera and not going to purchase at some point in the next few months/years? Do you need ideas for a lens replacement or other item?

Thank you for weighing in. Currently I shoot landscape architecture and small building projects for my clients. The online portfolios of their work was seriously underwhelming and although my photography isn't nearly where I want it to be, it is light years better than where they started. My clients are getting a lot of work from their online presence now and the quality of the images are often given as the reason they were called.

What I didn't count on is how much I am loving photography. As a painter, I love painting portrait studies so I am sure that my interests photographically will grow in that direction too. Truth is, I'm searching for my vision—I'm not interested in being another "me too" photographer. That said, it is nice to know that my photography, even at this early stage, is making a difference for my clients.

I'm thinking that I might move up to a full frame camera but the choices are overwhelming.

[gorme]

The first thing you need to tell us is what kind of photography you are getting paid for. If your business is sports, at the moment, I would say that you might need to switch brand. Otherwise I don't see any problem with Pentax.
I shoot press (rarely nowadays) and weddings and am getting money for it, although it is more of a side job than my main source of revenue. For both I use pretty much the same equipment : cameras (K-1 + K-3) zoom lenses (28-70mm f/2.8 tamron + 70-200mm f/2.8 sigma) and some manual prime lenses depending on the mood (16mm f/2 APSC Samyang, 35mm f/1.4 samyang, 50mm f/1.2 pentax, 85mm f/1.4 samyang). And these 6 lenses do most of what I need to do.
Again, I don't know what you shoot, but if you have no budget limit, Pentax has everything you need as for lenses : 15-30mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm, 150-450mm, 560mm. You cover all the focal range with this, and everything is modern and weather sealed. There are some primes available (limited, macro lenses, etc) and they are going to release some new primes. And some third party options are available too : sigma (18-35mm for APSC for instance), tamron, samyang, irix...

I also react to your comment because you mention DxOMark. 1) I remind that DxOMark is buying what they use for their test or get some lenses from the manufacturers. The problem is that they are not buying so many K mount lenses as the readers of the website are mainly Canon and Nikon users. So there are very few pentax lenses displayed on the website 2) the DxOMark score depends on the sensor used, so comparing the score of a same lens on a D810 versus a K-50 does not make sense. Be sure that you compare similar sensors.

[cali92rs]

The first thing you need to tell us is what kind of photography you are getting paid for. If your business is sports, at the moment, I would say that you might need to switch brand.

+1...
People get paid doing all kinds of photography.

If you get paid to shoot sports, I would go to Canon. If you have to shoot video along with stills in one package, which a lot of wedding photogs do nowadays, then I would also go with Canon.
Otherwise, where is Pentax lacking?

[btnapa]

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'm not a "gear head' and suspect that lenses are available for what I need. Checking DXOMark though, it seems that it's not the array of lenses that's important, the challenge is to find lenses that have good ratings with your camera. With fewer lenses to choose from you get what you get because there may not be alternative choices—unlike with Canon and Nikon where you get many choices as well as many TP lenses to choose from. I'm not sure I want to go the "use legacy lenses" route as I want to take full benefit of the features of the modern cameras.

That said, I love the DXOMark rating of the K-1, and the price.

I'd love to hear from anyone shooting commercially with Pentax. Are the Canon and Nikon proponents just brand enthusiasts or do they have a point? As much as I love Pentax and especially the value, I cannot afford to choose the wrong system. Please weigh in.

Thanks,

John

Hi John,

You did not mention what type of photography you are doing. That would help in giving you pointers.

I owned a K5IIs and two K3 cameras. I shot plenty of paid gigs with those cameras. I switched to K1 about 5 months ago and I can honestly say that for the price nothing touches this baby. I know I will get a few (maybe a lot of) people upset by saying this, if you shoot action type work, Pentax is sub par. I shot weddings for 4 years with a variety of Canon bodies and lenses. If I shot those weddings with the Pentax, it would drive me nuts with the sub par low light focusing and focus tracking. I shot Canon for 12 years (4 of it weddings) and for wedding work they did a great job. Their flash system sucked (and still does). I switched to Pentax and never looked back. I love my Pentax system. I do mostly commercial studio or location work (non-action) and landscapes. For this type of photography Pentax rocks. I just got back from a trip and was comparing my K1 shots with almost identical K3 shots from the same location and the K1 wins by a good margin. If I were to get back to the wedding world (highly unlikely), I would go with Nikon in a heart beat for their superior focusing and flash system. However, for my type of work which is critical commercial work, landscape photography and occasional portrait work, K1 has no equal (at least in the price range). I like DXO Mark and respect their ratings. They have not been kind to Pentax glass, often giving them low ratings. But my experience having shot pro grade Canon and Nikon glass, Pentax is just as good if not better in every category I have tried. Yes Pentax does not have the numbers of lenses or the variety that Canon and Nikon or even Sony have but for most assignments Pentax has plenty of top notch glass to get the job done. If you want to switch, the other guys are good too. In some instances better than Pentax but if you are happy with the Pentax system you have, stay with it. There are plenty of lenses and bodies to serve most applications. Another area Pentax tops the other guys is user interface (menu system). Canon menu is good, Nikon sucks and I hear Sony is as bad as Nikon. But Pentax GUI is so intuitive and comprehensive without being overbearing.

Best of luck to you. I know it is not an easy decision. Let us know what you decided.

[zzeitg]

Going Pro is serious decision...

[pres589]

"Truth is, I'm searching for my vision—I'm not interested in being another "me too" photographer. That said, it is nice to know that my photography, even at this early stage, is making a difference for my clients."

This really stuck out to me. It sounds like you've got a reason to be doing this and have connected with the work or practice of taking pictures. You've mentioned an eventual interest, basically, in getting a K-1 at some point, so I would probably not spend much on an APS-C only lens. OR you could get an APS-C lens and know that you're stuck with using it in crop mode or will be doing your own cropping to the resultant images. There's so many options; when you're interested in getting a new lens, with a few constraints, I bet the group here could recommend a dozen or two different options.

[bdery]

And, the pro shops DO NOT rent any Pentax gear so either own it or don't use it.

That is generally true.

"They just don't have the ratings, quality, or variety of lenses that the pro 'Canon' and 'Nikon' systems have."

That is most certainly not true.

DXOMark

That is a bunch of rubbish wrapped in a website

It depends on how much you need to interact with other photographers, the style of pictures you take, the money you have available.

Remember that, while it's harder to rent or exchange a Pentax, the cost of acquiring a second Pentax body might match the cost of subscribing to a repair center, or renting a body in a pinch.

For outdoors work, WR is invaluable and not found easily with CANIKON.

If you do need to share equipment with other photographers, then the group should use a common brand, for sure. Not because it's better, just simpler.

Pentax cameras offer the best value, the smallest size, advantages not found in other brands, generally cheaper lenses for the same quality. But yeah, they're less common.