[Billk]

People are very helpful and lots of them ask when I am going to get a proper camera - you know, Canon or Nikon.

I explain that I ALWAYS have to be different and shooting Pentax is different.

Who wants to be normal?

[Papa_Joe]

As I mainly discuss pentax on this site and the german pentax forum, the only pressure I can report is, that you sometimes get some not so friendly coments, when not supporting pentax. Quite often disguised as a good wish, when you leave the community. I am a bit sad about that, because we as the pentax community as a minority should be able to show some more tolerance to the minority in our forums.

The other people I am in contact with, who know I am a pentaxian are the one at our local dealer, who has has still pentax in stock and tehy are always happy to see me (despite not I'am not buying so much).

[brewmaster15]

I was shooting pics in a wildlife refuge last month. There was a relatively rare bird there that had been hanging around long enough for the masses to come out to shoot. Saw no Pentax users there but honestly I never run into them when taking pics.. I look close for kindred spirits but never see them. I saw a bunch of people using nikons and canon. One guy had his smart phone hooked up to his spotting scope... Ive seen that alot. He was eyeing my DFA 150-450 whistfully lamenting he didnt bring his Slr... One of the Nikon guys came up to me and looking my gear over said "pentax huh? I used to use those a few years back" He said something to the extent that he broke it and his wife would not let him buy another Pentax. So he switched to Nikon. It was the first time I ever saw a Nikon user looking sad over abandoning pentax.I got the impression he really wanted to talk more about Pentax. Then his wife came over and I swear this lady had the classic stereotype Nikon/Canon contempt thing going for Pentax.She dragged the poor fellow away as soon as he told her I used Pentax. I really felt like I was a low class citizen in her eyes. The difference between the two people was glaring.

I just shook my head and felt bad for
the guy as he obviously wanted to talk more about Pentax but his wife obviously called the shots.

One thing I do know is I dont really care what camera brand someone is using. If it gets the job done thats all that should matter. A camera is nothing more than A tool... Im interested in who can use that tool effectively to meet their goals. I have been told by many that I need to switch to Nikon or canon .. though I may envy the bigger selection of big lenses they have I could never afford them or justify the prices so.it doesnt really matter. Ive used Pentax my whole life and have a ton gear from all those years that I can still use today.. Im Ok with being in the minority... theres no.amount of pressure by peers that will get me to leave Pentax. When I get pressured I double down..I dont fold.
AL

[MJKoski]

In the end, no brand matters when it comes to images one gets or not. I have swapped all my gear quite a few times only to find myself shooting the same things I did before the swap. I started with Pentax and now I have...Pentax. And few other cameras including film stuff. It is shame that modern digital photography scene runs circles around gear year after year.

[stevebrot]

The most common comments about Pentax are relating to not knowing the brand still existed

I just say that there is a queue at the camera-maker's bankruptcy court and that Nikon and Olympus are ahead of us.


Steve

[brewmaster15]

I just say that there is a queue at the camera-maker's bankruptcy court and that Nikon and Olympus are ahead of us.


Steve

Now thats a line I need to remember! lol

al

[iheiramo]

I'm a pure amateur and haven't seen any pressure to chance gear, but that might be because I don't necessary recognise such. I tend to view myself as a trendsetter rather than follower and in my serious hobbies I tend to use gear that common folk don't know about. Therefore I view all questioning comments as a sign of weaker knowledge. Depending on the case I can either share my knowledge, if person seems willing to learn, or just overlook the comment

[RobA_Oz]

I don’t know about pressure, other than snide remarks intended to belittle or marginalise the target. However, I have noticed less of that sort of thing lately, and more curiosity, which is either a sign of the gloss going off cameras as a status symbol, or the fact that I mix with fewer idiots, these days.

Certainly, the old nonsense about not having a “full-frame” camera has less relevance, for those of us with a K-1/ii.

[PDL]

I have lived with snide remarks about my cameras my whole life. In the blossom of my film days - I bought Fujica and suffered from the lack of third party accessories. My first SLR (if you would call it that) was an Ihagee Exa that had no additional accessories. My first 35mm was a Petri rangefinder. So I have been shooting "outliers/orphans" all my shooting life.

I bought my first Pentax (SF-1) after all of my Fujica SLR's were stolen - 5 lenses three bodies - replaced with one camera and one lens. (I did get all of the Fujica stuff back - it took the small town where the fence lived over 5 years to get their act together. The property room officer did not like the Sheriffs office of the county where I lived so he decided to "hold onto" all of the stuff stolen from the county where I lived. When he retired I was contacted by the new officer - they had my name, phone number and case number on file. The kid who stole my stuff was a neighborhood kid who broke into the house within the first week of us moving in. The kid was arrested at breakfast two door down from our house, he has stopped to chat up a local girl with all my stuff in his back seat - not the sharpest knife in the drawer.)
In sticking with Pentax over the years, I have had a few ---- mostly Canon users ---- lecture me on the "stupidity" of my choice of equipment. I have been in workshops where Pentax was the obvious minority (one where the NG photographer talked about equipment for 20 minutes - pretty generic - and then said "this workshop is not about your equipment - but the content of your images"). I have been to a few workshops where I was the only one shooting Pentax and due to the frantic pace of shooting the subjects, the idea of equipment bigotry just does not hold up.

So now I am using Pentax and I am in my usual - lack of support from third parties. Same-o same-o. I don't argue with people over hardware preferences anymore, I have what I need I shoot with it. I don't need full frame, I have reasonably fast glass in the focal lengths that I use - although a f2.8 300mm would be nice - and I have a set of people/non-profits that I shoot for that seem to like my images. If I were to switch systems, it would be to Fuji - for sentimental reasons, but since they do not have GPS - it ain't gonna happen.

The last time anyone gasped at my using a Pentax was during a Scott Kelly/Adobe sponsored photo walk. When it started to rain, in the Pacific NW - in October - go figure, all the other people were scrambling around to cover up their babies and I was just getting more shots. One of the people told me that I was going to ruin my camera and I just giggled and said I did not have to worry about getting the camera wet. They were indigent, but I just walked behind everyone and blasted away - at some pretty boring images I might add.

[StiffLegged]

I have had a few ---- mostly Canon users ---- lecture me on the "stupidity" of my choice of equipment.

Some people just never heard “If you want to keep a man’s friendship, never criticise his wife, his kids or his car/motorbike/camera.”

[carlb]

In the end, this other guy's loss was my gain. I laid $350 cash on the table and wished him well, walking out with a black 31 Limited lens he no longer could use. That may be the best Pentax bargain I've ever landed!

Now that is a deal

[deus ursus]

[...] The other people I am in contact with, who know I am a pentaxian are the one at our local dealer, who has has still pentax in stock and tehy are always happy to see me (despite not I'am not buying so much).

It sounds like you are their only potential Pentax customer. It makes me wonder if their smiles look more and more desperate for each time you visit their store?

[sansfin]

I am amateur and is seriously thinking to switch system. The pressure is from myself. It's like.....have you experienced pressure of switching you wife? Probably at times when I realize my needs and know her too well and it's not convincing praising my wife all the time without getting to know other women in the world......you know what I mean.

Having been a pentax user for some years, I am changing shooting habit, using less viewfinders, have less time for processing photos, and weight matters more. The mirrorless Sony and Fuji had great appeal. Recent months I had chance to acquire a Fuji XA and 35/1.4. They are amazing and did completely what I need and pentax is somehow lacking. However, the feel of taking photos are not familiar to me. I start to miss the touch of pentax again. it's more sentimental than rational.

[Fluegel]

I heard stories how clever Nikon designed the 500 series.
The local shop offers a D520 if I am correct at a friendly price.
Just to confirm I was right buying the K5II I will ask for the Nikon to see what it is like.
For me the Pentax lenses make the difference especially the M and A series.
I never liked Canon WA lenses. Canon will not move me from Pentax if that should happen it will be by Nikon.
The idea of missing my manual Pentax lenses already bothers me.

[Papa_Joe]

It sounds like you are their only potential Pentax customer. It makes me wonder if their smiles look more and more desperate for each time you visit their store?

No, they look quite happy when I enter, as I recently bought a K-70 and a Sigma 35 / 1.4. I guess they expect some follow up sales.
To be serious, their range for Pentax is diminishing, but they try to keep it up.