[Wasp]

A lot of people went down the Nikon / Sony road before Pentax had an FF, and a lot of them are back. A used K-1 might be a better choice if you favour Pentax output values, which are different than Canon values.

My guess is you won't see a lot of difference between an RP and a K-3 or K-P. Not enough to move into a completely new lens environment.

Used Pentaxes are few and far in between in South Africa. Importing is an option, but paying what is still big money for something of unknown provenance is a difficult decision. Used Sony A7s do turn up occasionally. There was an A7S for USD430 a while ago. It sold quite quickly - the one that got away. Next time.

A K3 or KP would work well for me as far as IQ goes. My full frame itch is more about field of view and depth of field. My 20mm would be ultra wide again. A bokeh monster like a 50/1.2 or 85/1.4 would be just a little bit more monstrous. As far as the color science of other brands go, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I already have couple of Samsung cameras and they are not very different (to me anyway) from my Pentaxes as far as color goes.

If I ever get a full frame body, getting lenses for it is not a priority. I have quite enough full frame K mount primes: 20, 24, 28, 35, 50, 85, 100, 135, 200, 300, 400, the lot. With the appropriate adapter, they will work with any mirrorless on my shortlist.

[normhead]

Or a K-P and an 11-18. My adapters are used so infrequently I wonder why I bought them. It's just not (at least for me) an enjoyable experience.
But I'm more of a "shoot on the move" guy, find image, take image, move on. Maybe you're more deliberate. "Set up, fuss and fiddle, take a a shot."

[Wasp]

I do have a Sigma 10-20/3.5 to do wide angle on crop frame. The bokeh thing is not that urgent in the crazy times we live in now. Going full frame will probably remain on the bucket list a little longer.

[normhead]

Bokeh on APS-c is only one stop difference. It's rare you want to use it, although Zygonyx's images are changing my mind a bit.
HD Pentax-D FA★ 85mm f/1.4 SDM AW - Page 63 - PentaxForums.com

The thing is, with many older lenses the bokeh just isn't all that smooth. Especially wide angle lenses.

[Wasp]

An extra stop of madness would be interesting in cases like this:




(SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.2 on Samsung NX100)

[surfar]

a K1 II is just too expensive in South Africa! The asking price is USD2900

Wow,thats a lot.must be enormous government taxes in that price.

---------- Post added 06-22-20 at 06:27 AM ----------

the price for a Canon EOS RP body is USD1030.

Thats more like it,In the US rrp is down to $899 and with the new kit lens(reviews are good) is only $999.

If you go down that road,you wont be disappointed.The lens line up is expanding rapidly,some are very pricey but others are reasonable.

[MarkJerling]

To answer the question - a K1 II is just too expensive in South Africa! The asking price is USD2900 and that is way, way more than I can afford. It is available on pre-order only, BTW.

Edit: to put that into context, the price for a Canon EOS RP body is USD1030. Yes, I know that is a very different thing, but it will scratch my full frame itch for a whole lot less. I can buy a lot of lenses for the difference. A more comparable camera, the Nikon D780, is USD 2570.

Import duty still a problem in South Africa? Once travel opens up, get a friend to buy you one at Adorama or B&H in New York and bring it back with him.

[MarkJerling]

Well. . . first of all, congratulations on the most successful trolling of this forum without getting banned (yet) that I think I've ever seen.

His comedy value is priceless.

[Wasp]

Wow,thats a lot.must be enormous government taxes in that price.

No, camera gear only attracts value added tax at 15%. I blame it on the local distributor. To be fair, the K1 must be a very slow seller.

[surfar]

camera gear only attracts value added tax at 15%. I blame it on the local distributor.

He must not want to sell any.You could probably fly(when the virus is over) to Melbourne(buy from our distributor) and pay Orzzie 10% taxes and not be far behind,but you get a holiday at the same time.About 12-1400Usd will get a used K-1 from Japan off Ebay.Some quote very low shutter counts.

[Wasp]

The other thing that is a concern regarding buying Pentax gear in South Africa is support. I have little information on how good local Pentax support is. One photo shop told me they're not too bad. Canon and Nikon have office blocks in my city. I have only seen a Ricoh warehouse in the industrial area, probably all about office equipment.


Wherever they are, it's unlikely that they hold much spares for slow selling items. They could also refuse to touch anything that they did not import themselves. They could also refuse to supply spares to independent repair shops. I have heard a few ugly stories of other brands doing that.

If that happens, it means that any personal import will have to be shipped somewhere in the wide world for repairs. The cost will be about USD100 one way and the delay will be substantial. I will also be at the mercy of couriers, repair shops and customs officials. On the subject of traveling, I can buy a lot of gear (we're talking used medium format) for the price of an overseas holiday. Even if I do that, "smuggling" in a shiny new-to-me K1 to avoid paying the VAT could end in tears if the customs guy stops me for a friendly chat.


The cost, hassles and uncertainties of getting my hands on a K1 outweighs the benefits. I will have green button exposure and auto diaphragm with my MF lenses. That's nice but there is an elephant in the room. My eyes do not do well with focusing through a prism anymore, so it is live view most of the time. Or an EVF like the one on my Samsung NX1. Manual diaphragm isn't that awful. It even seems like focus peaking works a little better at say f/4 than f/2 but the jury is still out on that one.


In the meantime, I am keeping an eye on the local classifieds. Sellers tend to have inflated ideas on the worth of their gear, but that's just the way it is. There was a K1 on sale last year, but the seller was a five hour drive away. The price wasn't too bad, but alas I didn't quite have the required discretionary funds needed at the time. The first generation Sony A7 might suit my budget, but they were not that special. Later ones have issues with sensor mounts cracking when it leads a rough life. The EOS R/RP is still a bit new on the market for used ones to turn up. When the K-new hits the market, used prices on the K3 could drop enough to tempt me away from full frame.


There is no rush on my side to buy any much gear at the moment, especially in these uncertain times. There is a used Fujifilm XE2 at a dealer, but I have resisted the temptation so far. I did succumb to a Pentax 1.7x AF converter. It should reach me by the weekend.

[Parallax]

first of all, congratulations on the most successful trolling of this forum without getting banned (yet) that I think I've ever seen.

It hasn't been quite so successful as it appears.

[Lev]

I agree.. also full frame body/lenses cost much more..
Generally, the burst buffer is less on full frame too as the larger files need more time to offload.
I am really happy with the compromises that aps-c provide and look forward to upgrading to K-New when (if) it's announced and released!

Well, that was true maybe 5 years ago. Look at the price of upcoming K3 III, it will cost as much as Nikon Z6 II !!!
Pentax DA* 11-18mm cost more than my DFA* 50mm for example.. etc...

[volley]

hello everyone! (Great big wad of rubbish deleted by mod)

For a while your post have been ridiculous but entertaining (well, sort of at least). But it's time to stop wasting my time.
Boriscleto'ed (first time for me ...)

[cmohr]

@MarkJerling @Parallax Can someone please do something about the Troll.

He's got a few too many wallabies loose in the top paddock, if you know what I mean.

There should be a basic rule of conduct here, the forum is for health conversation, knowledge sharing, discussion and sharing of photos and contributing ideas.

The bloke has only made 28 posts in 5 years, 9 out of the blue in this thread, after years of absence and the rest of his posts were only ever photo nomination posts. And just jumping on after 5 years and posting all this nonsense should be rewarded with an IP ban, and deletion of all the posts here as they serve no other purpose, but to flagilate the posters ego.

Thankyou