[Wheatfield]

Wow... are you serious? that is excellent news

Regarding the forum, I wholeheartedly agree.

In this case I am just parroting what I’ve been told, but I have no reason to disbelieve.
Sadly, the rep that I used to deal with, who was quite often able to score me soon to be released lenses to try out, retired last year, and Ricoh is no longer playing that game, at least not with me.
I was hoping to have the new 50 in my hands a month ago as a pre production product tester, something I have done in the past when it was Pentax Canada, not Pentax, a division of Ricoh Canada. So it goes, now I have to wait until probably August. Being a one man profit center for Pentax isn’t what it used to be.
Ricoh has made Pentax a bit faceless. Even the local to me Pentax rep is not employed by Pentax, He works for a distributor called Gentec that distributes several brands, one of which is Sigma. My local store had a dog and pony show a few weeks ago, and the one brand that was 100% absent from it was Pentax. The rep had everything Sigma on the table, but Pentax may as well not have existed. For the most part he wasn’t really able to speak to the Pentax line at all outside of generalizations.

[DeadJohn]

My local store had a dog and pony show a few weeks ago, and the one brand that was 100% absent from it was Pentax.

Adorama is having a weeklong event with workshops, discussion panels, and product demos. Ricoh/Pentax is not listed. Hoya, f'ing Hoya, is participating.

[Theov39]

Two good reasons NOT to switch to Sony: (1) many of their cameras have proprietary hot shoes (and even cables) which I hate as you can then only use overpriced and under-specced Sony flashes. (2) EVF. Maybe it is just me but no matter how fast they get I always sense a micro-delay.

Their lenses also seem very over-priced compared to similar lenses from other brands.

[BigMackCam]

reasons NOT to switch to Sony: (1) many of their cameras have proprietary hot shoes (and even cables) which I hate as you can then only use overpriced and under-specced Sony flashes

I don't like the proprietary "multi interface" hot shoe either. However, Metz is at least one third party manufacturer that supports it, and the Metz 52 AF-1 I use is an excellent and relatively inexpensive unit... There's also an adapter that allows the use of simple fully-manual flashes and radio triggers on the multi interface shoe.

[totsmuyco]

I believe you know what you want and your purpose or use for your camera. It is only you who can really decide. A lot of us here read and studied the pros and cons before buying into Pentax. My only advice is, look for the brand that answers your need. Then grow into it. Expand that system as your needs grow. While others here have 2 or more systems, I believe you should stick to one. Unless you have a lot cash, I think it is too costly to maintain 2 or more systems or to keep on switching from one to another. Good luck on your choice.

[GeneV]

I have both the K1 and the A7III. I like them both very much. If I were starting from scratch without 45 years of Pentax lenses, I’d probably go with a mirrorless. The EVF now works fine for me and will only get better. An SLR is the technology of the ‘60s for viewing through the lens, and mirrorless opens up all kinds of possibilities for autofocus logic. The A7III autofocus is amazing,

OTOH, the higher resolution of the Pentax and the better ergonomics are a plus for it. There are knobs for more things you use. It is a mature technology as well.

[ChristianRock]

Is this a "drive by shooting" kind of thread where the OP leaves a question that he already knows the answer for, and never comes back?

[LensBeginner]

Is this a "drive by shooting" kind of thread where the OP leaves a question that he already knows the answer for, and never comes back?

A quick burst "riding shotgun" until the buffer gets full!

[BigMackCam]

Is this a "drive by shooting" kind of thread where the OP leaves a question that he already knows the answer for, and never comes back?

Yup. It's the "Why I won't by a K-1II" thread...

[normhead]

Yup. It's the "Why I won't by a K-1II" thread...

Can the forum really support two threads like that?

[BigMackCam]

Can the forum really support two threads like that?

Not on our current server farm

[normhead]

Is this a "drive by shooting" kind of thread where the OP leaves a question that he already knows the answer for, and never comes back?

Can we assume he went Sony. I always wonder, why would you ask a group of happy Pentax shooters if you should switch to another brand? Do people go to Jeep gatherings and ask everybody if they should switch to a Land Rover? Do people go to Airstream gahterings and ask if they should buy a Prowler? Do people go to cheese conventions and ask if they should buy Velveeta, ok, I went to far with that one.

Honestly, say there were a bunch of really good reasons for switching that anyone in their right mind would switch for (which there isn't but hypothetically let's say there was) wouldn't the fact that we shoot Pentax mean we don't know what they are?

The logic of this type of post always leaves me scratching my head.

If I were having a problem with my gear that needed addressing, I'd find some kind of Sony forum, explain my problem and ask how Sony adresses it. I definitely wouldn't be asking Pentax users. Well maybe once just to see if there's a solution to my problem I don't know about. But I'd address the problem.

The OP presents us a solution, but we don't know what the problem is. If all you desire from a product is proprietary in camera software from one brand, what is there to even talk about? Another good opportunity to learn how to shoot wasted, by the promise of an easier to use technology from another company.

Or is Eye AF so good, you don't need to know anything about technique for keeping group in focus? When shooting a wedding party say, does Eye AF find the eyes of the person closest to the camera, the person furthest from the camera and set the AF to a hyperfocal point that maximizes sharpness for the whole group? That would be the only advantage I can see. But hey, I'm a Pentax guy, what do i know? I just don't find eyes to be all that difficult to get in focus.

I always remember the person a few years ago who bought a D600 because she wanted more crop room than her K-3 did. She never came back to tell us how it worked out for her.

Same deal, parting shot on the way out the door. Leaving us all saying "but, but, ...."

[reh321]

Two good reasons NOT to switch to Sony: (1) many of their cameras have proprietary hot shoes (and even cables) which I hate as you can then only use overpriced and under-specced Sony flashes.

Four years ago I was a Canon user so I purchased a Canon flash. A year later I switched to Pentax, but because both manufacturers support the standard hot shoe, I still can {and do} use that Canon flash {it is still the most powerful flash I own}, now in manual mode only.

[reh321]

Can the forum really support two threads like that?

This thread has managed to talk about the original subject, not race cars or bacon. As long as it stays on subject, I don't see any harm to it - it may even answer a question being thought by a genuine questioner.

[reh321]

Not on our current server farm

Apparently @Adam wants us to strain the server farm for the next three months; in fact, we are currently slightly behind the pace he would like us to be pushing it at.