[Fenwoodian]

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I've read Thom Hogan's blog for years. I respect him a lot. In his blog today he had a thread entitled "I See Dead Mounts". He placed the Pentax K and Q mounts in the lowest category (on-life-support).

In spite of Canon, Nikon, and Fuji recently announcing exciting new cameras, I'm not planning to sell my Pentax K-1's because they still do everything that I want from a stills camera.

But I'd have to be blind not to notice that some of the best, long-term contributors here have recently jumped to other brands (Kenspo, loveisageless, Graham, and others).

If someone were to buy all my Pentax gear tomorrow, I'd use the money to by another Pentax K-1 body. I'm stayin with Pentax for the long term for two reasons -

1. Pentax does pixel shift better than anyone else
2. Adapted Zeiss ZF and Leica R lenses perform brilliantly on Pentax bodies

Well, if someone were to offer to buy all of your Pentax gear tomorrow for what you've got into it, what would you do with the proceeds? Would you buy another Pentax system, or use it as an opportunity to switch brands?

[jatrax]

Tough decision to be sure. I stick with Pentax because they cover all my needs. All the things touted as areas that Pentax is lacking in are irrelevant, TO ME.


And perhaps most important to me: the camera fits my hands. I've tried nearly every other brand out there in the shops and they all feel awkward and poorly designed. For MY hands. So if someone wants to buy all my gear I would seriously consider other brands, but most likely stay with Pentax anyway. I don't see anything else out there that does what I want any better and certainly not at the price point Pentax does.

[Alex645]

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Well, if someone were to offer to buy all of your Pentax gear tomorrow for what you've got into it, what would you do with the proceeds? Would you buy another Pentax system, or use it as an opportunity to switch brands?[/B]

My initial thought is I would not sell all my Pentax gear tomorrow even if someone offered. But then I thought more deeply about your wording: "for what you've got into it". I paid top dollar for my Pentax 645 system new in the 80's. Assuming there would be an adjustment for inflation, I would sell all my 645 cameras and manual lenses to buy a 645Z.

But if I really thought about it, I'd probably regret that because nothing replaces the film experience and my 645 and 645N are my favorite film cameras.

I'm already a dual system user (Nikon) and I wouldn't leave one system to be all-in with the other system. Why? The glass. I have certain Nikon and Pentax lenses which have a certain rendering quality not replicated by the other.

[k1man]

any of the cameras would do what i want but the K1 just fits pretty well in my huge hand very comfortably, the 6x7ii was my go to camera before digital as it was large and with the beautiful grip was just about perfect for me, ian

[WPRESTO]

I have shifted extensively to MFT, but not by parting with all my Pentax gear. Very hard to do, after all, I've owned Pentax since the Asahi Pentax S with f2.2 preset Takumar, purchased before either Canon or Nikon was offering an SLR. The K1 gives beautiful images but it is just too big & heavy, camera & lenses, to carry any more. Osteoarthritis in my right hand makes the K1 with 70~200mm f2.8 Tamron on the edge of painful to hand hold. My Oly D10 mkII with 100~400mm Pany/Leica (= 200~800mm FF equivalent) is both more compact and lighter weight. IQ is not as good, but the only camera and lens that matter is the one you have when you want or need it. I had the Pentax 150~450mm for a while, but it was soooooo heavy, and AF was not all that quick and reliable. I have a Canon 7D with a Tammy 150~600mm that has quicker, more reliable AF by an easy margin. Were someone to offer to purchase all my Pentax equipment would I part with it? Much of it probably yes, but not every piece, even If I wound up using some of the glass on an MFT body via adapter. I am contemplating letting some things go as the reality is it's not being or going to be used. Better it gets into the hands of someone who will value & use it. I might sell some of what I have & purchase either a KP or whatever comes out as an APS-C flagship so I can continue to use the lenses I value at least locally, but the MFT kit will definitely replace Pentax gear when traveling.

[pakinjapan]

To me, it is the fact that Pentax doesn’t hold back for all things currently available at hand. For example, something like the early adopter of pixel shift tech and in-body stabilization, the star tracker, the composition adjustment and so on.
If someone wants to buy all of my Pentax gears right now, would I sale it? I bet no one wants to buy it, who wants a Pentax right now.
and my gears are full of scratch and look old by over use, It won’t make much money even I want to sale. (by the way, DM. me if you want my gears, )

[gaweidert]

Been using K-Mount and 42mm mount for almost half a century. At the moment Pentax can still fulfill my needs in a camera. I don't see any camera out there that would make me a better photographer. That's more up to me.

[k1man]

yes, i struggle a bit now with Rheumatism in my right thumb now, old and broken i am, haha but it doesnt much affect me holding a camera yet, ian

[Digitalis]

I work with Pentax commercially and for my own personal portfolio development - Though it should be noted I also work with Hasselblad, Nikon, Phase one, Leica, and on film: Sinar, Alpa, Horseman, and Ebony cameras. I Like to work with Pentax because of the lenses: the FA limited lenses FA77 and FA31 and the newer D-FA line and I like that Pentax continues to have native support for the DNG format.

Well, if someone were to offer to buy all of your Pentax gear tomorrow for what you've got into it, what would you do with the proceeds? Would you buy another Pentax system, or use it as an opportunity to switch brands?

Buy a house, that would be the most prudent move.

[thazooo]

I wouldn't do it, not because I'm some kind of Pentax Fan Gal but because I have my Kit the way I want it. Got my bodies and glass so I feel no need to do anything.
Now there is a caveat to the scenario. My Grandson is messing around with Photography. If the question is ever asked " Which system to buy into ?' I won't answer Pentax. Probably send him towards Nikon. Pentax still makes very good Bodies and Glass. But Pentax left a bad taste in my mouth with the problems with the lens and camera bodies. I don't trust the products to last any more.

[photoptimist]

I came for the bodies and stayed for the lenses.

The K10D, then K-5, and then the K-1 had a bunch of features (IBIS, advanced controls, weather-resistance, good IQ, and decent size) that were unavailable in other brands at any price (plus Pentax had a great price, too). Since then, I've picked up a couple dozen older lenses from garage sales that I really enjoy (e.g., the k28/3.5 shift, K50/1.2, M20/4, and various M42 takumars).

At this time, the K-1 still seems like the clearly superior camera for me. Only the Nikon Z7 is close to the K-1 for me but I prefer an OVF. So why would I pay 50% more to get a lesser camera?

So, "if someone were to offer to buy all of my Pentax gear tomorrow for what I've got into it," I'd tell them to take a hike because I'd want the K-1 again and it would be almost impossible for me to replicate the lens collection for the amount that I've paid.

[travelswsage]

That's a tough question -- I love the K-1 but I mostly do landscapes and the lack of lighter F4 zooms is a big minus. I also did not expect to have to work so hard to research lenses and search for lenses to fill gaps I needed. If I was sure that Pentax was going to close some of the gaps in a timely fashion(with say a 17-35 or thereabouts F4, 70-200 f4, a full frame teleconverter, a tilt/shift) I would definitely be in the stay camp.

[Bruce Clark]

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I'Well, if someone were to offer to buy all of your Pentax gear tomorrow

I would say, take a hike. I am not selling

[aikilink]

My reasons might be more subjective than most, especially since I enjoy doing the odd wedding and could certainly benefit from some things that other brands offer, and don't take advantage of pixel-shift - which is one area where Pentax is pretty obviously in the lead.

When I started looking for a camera, I was pretty uninformed - I'm a big fan of making a purchase once and can't stand planned obsolescence. Entry bodies from other companies felt cheap, kit lenses felt gritty. Read a bit about Pentax and how their bodies had weather-sealing, and their basic kits didn't have features deliberately locked out. Their kit lens was well built and WR. IBIS made a lot of sense to me too. Bought a white K-30 and loved it. Bought the DA 50 and a Rokinon/Samyang 85mm and haven't used the kit lens since. A couple months later on a honeymoon, we found that we didn't like having to take turns non-stop with the camera, and decided to get another - the K-3 was pricey to us, but we were pretty impressed with Pentax. Later we got a K-1 - my wife loves it as much as I do!

There are frustrations, but they mostly boil down to the buffer of the K-1. There are little things that could be avoided by switching brands, and doing weddings could be more hassle-free. Ultimately though, I don't really appreciate the tactics that the other companies have used at times, especially the entry-level stuff being so limited. It's true that I enjoy taking the path less traveled, and Pentax fits that, but there are benefits beyond that.

The cameras are durable and feel great in-hand. The lenses are awesome, and I like using old glass with character. Image quality is amazing. I'm happy here, and I'm always excited to hear when something new is on the horizon from Ricoh/Pentax.

[LaurenOE]

Why do *I* stay with Pentax.

"Stay" is an interesting word, and if I were to expand on what that means, it would be absorbed in other meanings. I will never "Leave" Pentax if I use the same definition. Cameras in my hands have changed as I have worked my way up the professional ranks. Pentax has shown me that there are many things not available to me that other cameras have that make my workflow easier. I am doing media creation every single day, and a Pentax camera is less and less part of that professional workflow. I own a staggering amount of Pentax gear, and there is not much more I *could* own except for the really exotic legacy glass or some of the more specialized pieces of equipment.

Tomorrow I am heading to the UK for another shoot/gig, and it will be the first time I have not had any Pentax gear with me. Not even adapted lenses.

It's less about me "leaving" Pentax, as Pentax not keeping up with my professional workflow tools. I LOVE my Pentax gear, and I sincerely hope that video is worked back into what is important to Pentax.

There is nothing more enjoyable than my Pentax gear, but I can only take and work with so much on my journeys. For now, my Pentax gear is idle...but I still consider myself a hardcore Pentaxian.