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'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
If you are working on the outlier fringes of professional photography, you would be well advised to consider Nikon or Canon. Pentax makes nice cameras and good lenses, but if you need a 400/2.8 or a 600/4 you are out of luck.
The nice thing is, very few photographers actually do.
Most pro shooting is pretty mundane, weddings, portraiture, the occasional basketball game, that sort of thing.
The important parts of professional photography really aren't related to cameras and lenses. The really important stuff is related to marketing, business skills and human relations.
Secondary to that is lighting, something that most beginners completely overlook. A few craptastic shoe mount strobes, a cactus wireless trigger and a couple of cut rate stands are not going to cut it for long. Real lighting equipment is not cheap, but is an absolute requirement if you want to be anything other than a soccer mom pro photographer.
Get your business plan in order, learn how to market yourself, make sure you have good interpersonal skills first and foremost.
After that, if you are planning on shooting in a studio environment, start looking at good quality lighting equipment. It doesn't have to be top end stuff, but you need to get away from equipment powered by AA batteries.
After that, start worrying about your camera gear. I started with Olympus, moved to Nikon, and finally settled on Pentax some 30 years ago. I've pretty much gotten out of the pro game now, but when I was in it, my income was derived primarily from wedding and portraiture, with a smattering of product and commercial shooting.
I never felt especially constrained or restricted by Pentax, and at the studio I was partnered with, I was given the technical jobs because the Pentax glass was better than what the Nikon and Canon shooters were using.