[BobLee]

Hi everyone I recently purchased a Pentax K-x after I have sold my Nikon D3400, i bought the Pentax K-x with the 2 kit lenses 18-5 and 50-200 or 210 , my question is : is the Pentax K-x still got as a overall camera in 2018? I’m concerned about only 12 mp , my Nikon 24, and the second question is what lens is recomanded for sport ( my sons footbal games) I know I have the 50-210 kit lens but I will probably need a better lens.Thanks everyone.

[BigMackCam]

(Moved to a new thread)

Welcome to the forums

The K-x is a fine camera, but due to its age, in some respects it's not comparable to the D3400. The K-70 is probably the closest match in terms of spec and features, though I'd argue that the K-70's image quality is superior.

As for lenses... it really depends on your budget, but assuming the football games are played outdoors in decent light, the 55-300 PLM would be a great choice - especially since it has fast auto-focus compared to many other lenses. It's also quite reasonably priced, and has a wide focal length range (effectively replacing your 50-200).

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EDIT: My recommendation for the 55-300 PLM was for the K-70 or newer cameras; the K-x would require the older non-PLM 55-300.

[BobLee]

55-300 from Pentax ? What mount lenses can I use with the Pentax K-x?

[paulh]

Not sure, but I don't believe the 55-300 PLM is compatible with the OP's K-x. (?) One of the older DA or DAL variants will work.

[photolady95]

All lenses made for and by Pentax can be used on your K-x except the 55-300mm PLM version. However, any other 55-300mm can be used on the K-x. (I just gave away my little K-x to my daughter) and I loved using it.
You can even use M42 mount lenses with an adapter.

[joergens.mi]

A simple answer for a simple question: YES

[aslyfox]

55-300 from Pentax ? What mount lenses can I use with the Pentax K-x?

I think it will help if the OP looks at this material

Pentax Lens Compatibility Chart
Copyright 2006-2016 Mosphotos.com. All rights reserved.
Pentax bayonet lenses labeled "SMC Pentax" are referred to as "K" lenses in the table below. Other Pentax bayonet lenses have the lens designation as a part of their name as in "SMC Pentax-FA."
Note that "star" lenses work like their "non-star" counterparts: DA* lenses work like DA lenses, FA* like FA, F* like F, A* like A, and M* like M.
Exceptions:
FA and F "soft" lenses behave like M lenses in terms of metering.

The Pentax Camera Lens Compatibility Chart

___________________

Pentax K-Mount Lens Series Explained: The differences between various Pentax lens series

In a nutshell

There are several series of Pentax K-mount lenses; the ones currently being produced include the DA (digital), DA L (cheap digital kit), D FA (full-frame, digital optimized), and FA (full-frame) series. While all Pentax K-mount lenses ever produced are compatible with all current Pentax DSLRs (in some cases with restrictions in that not all exposure modes of the camera are supported by old lenses), there are significant differences between each lens series and each has different features. Furthermore some of the newer lenses do not work with older cameras. We'll be exploring the differences between the various K-mount series lenses in this article.

Pentax K-Mount Lenses Explained: The differences between various Pentax lens series
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Last edited by aslyfox; 05-05-2018 at 06:49 PM.

[BigMackCam]

55-300 from Pentax ? What mount lenses can I use with the Pentax K-x?

Apologies, I should have been more specific.

If you were to move to the K-70 or a more recent Pentax body, I'd recommend the Pentax DA 55-300 PLM WR.

For your existing K-x, any of the non-PLM DA 55-300 variants.

The main problem with your K-x, compared to more recent cameras, will be image quality (specifically, colour and luminance noise) in lower light situations. The K-70 improves on that capability very significantly indeed

[GeneV]

All lenses made for and by Pentax can be used on your K-x except the 55-300mm PLM version. However, any other 55-300mm can be used on the K-x. (I just gave away my little K-x to my daughter) and I loved using it.
You can even use M42 mount lenses with an adapter.

Funny, I just gave my Kx to my niece. She is loving it the way I did.

---------- Post added 05-05-18 at 02:50 PM ----------

Apologies, I should have been more specific.

If you were to move to the K-70 or a more recent Pentax body, I'd recommend the Pentax DA 55-300 PLM WR.

For your existing K-x, any of the non-PLM DA 55-300 variants.

The main problem with your K-x, compared to more recent cameras, will be image quality (specifically, colour and luminance noise) in lower light situations. The K-70 improves on that capability very significantly indeed

I wouldn’t call low light a problem with the Kx. It is 12mp spread over an APSC CMOS sensor, and I was pretty happy with it, but I’m sure you can find improvements. The two biggest plus to the Kx IMO is that it runs on AA batteries, so you don’t need to take a charger or a converter on vacation. A set of lithium batts will get you a couple thousand shots if you don’t use flash or live view much, and screw drive lenses become snappy to focus.

[BigMackCam]

I wouldn’t call low light a problem with the Kx. It is 12mp spread over an APSC CMOS sensor, and I was pretty happy with it, but I’m sure you can find improvements.

I'm happy with the low light performance of my GX-10 K10D-clone, given a fast enough lens

However, by way of explanation:

Since we're talking about sporting event photography, that's going to require fairly high shutter speeds. Given the choice of camera, I'm assuming that the OP isn't looking to fork out for a 70-200 f/2.8, and is more likely to consider variable aperture zooms. With a 55-300 at the long end, stopped down to f/7.1 or f/8 for decent IQ, either very good light or increased ISO will be necessary. The K-x might handle it just fine, but a K-70 will perform much better

[StiffLegged]

As long as you don't want to use the camera in conditions that need high ISO settings and can fill the frame with your subjects, the K-x should do you fine. I have a K-7 with a lowly 14.7 megapixels and get good results from it by following these cautions.

[Adam]

A simple answer for a simple question: YES

Here is the non-PLM 55-300mm:
HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

If you expect to upgrade the K-x, you could go with the PLM version, however- it works, but the aperture would always be wide-open (so you'd have to shoot in Av mode in order to get correct exposure).

[GeneV]

The Kx has a Sony Sensor that is miles ahead of the Samsung in the K7 or K20d for low light. It was the first Pentax which I could use at 3200 ISO. Newer models have higher resolution and it can be hard to compare, but when I was using both the K3 and Kx, I did not see a big difference in high ISO capability, especially if I use Noise Ninja. The K5II is a little better than either of them.

It is too bad that DPReview’s image comparison tool does not allow a comparison between the Kx and K70, because they changed their test image. However there isn’t much difference between the K3 and K70.

[BigMackCam]

The Kx has a Sony Sensor that is miles ahead of the Samsung in the K7 or K20d for low light. It was the first Pentax which I could use at 3200 ISO. Newer models have higher resolution and it can be hard to compare, but when I was using both the K3 and Kx, I did not see a big difference in high ISO capability, especially if I use Noise Ninja. The K5II is a little better than either of them.

Not wanting to drift too far from the OP's original questions, however...

I've used a K-r, which had the same sensor as the K-x, I believe. I agree, it's excellent. Compared to later, higher resolution cameras at 100% reproduction, it's surprisingly good. However, for photos viewed at the same physical size, the effect of down-sampling on later, higher resolution sensor images produces generally better results at higher ISOs in terms of noise (in my own personal experience, at least).

It is too bad that DPReview’s image comparison tool does not allow a comparison between the Kx and K70, because they changed their test image. However there isn’t much difference between the K3 and K70.

Assuming we're talking about RAW shots, the K-70 shows a noticeable improvement over the K-3, especially where colour noise is concerned. Overall, I'd say there's about one stop of improvement, but at higher ISO settings the colour noise difference is huge.

I'm not saying the K-x is a bad camera - far from it, it's very good. But higher ISO performance on the K-70, for photos viewed at the same physical size, will be better.

[VoiceOfReason]

It was what I started out with. It has a loud shutter, but is a wonderfully light and easy to use camera, plus it takes AA batteries which makes it easy to get some in a pinch.