[zzeitg]

Here is my current inventory of lenses:

SMCP-FA-31mm-F1.8-Limited;
SMCP-FA-43mm-F1.9-Limited
SMCP-FA-77mm-F1.8-Limited

Is there any information on the new APS-C camera? And idea of a release date? Sorry for being out of the loop for so long.

IMHO group of Pentax very best (FF) lenses.
Go and buy K-1 (to discover full potential of these lenses). It's a great camera.

[aslyfox]

. . . ..Have you hired a K1 and given it a go for a few weeks?

no

don't want to like it, and then want to buy it

I don't think I said not to try out a K 1 did I ?

it just isn't for me

[officiousbystander]

The 31, the 43, the 77, the 100 and the A 50 cry themselves to sleep every night because they're not being used to their full potential on a full frame. How long can you let this state of affairs continue?

[noelpolar]

it just isn't for me

Cool.... you post to much for me to know what you might have said... I can't remember what I have posted half the time.

(I think you're a SOC shooter..... I reckon a K1 would serve you well)

[aslyfox]

Cool.... you post to much for me to know what you might have said... I can't remember what I have posted half the time.

(I think you're a SOC shooter..... I reckon a K1 would serve you well)

moi ???

post a lot



yeah, and a fraction of the posts have a photo or two attached

I shoot and pray

sometimes I do SOOC

sometimes I try a little crop and pp [ very little basic pp, limited program and very limited skill at using it ]

mostly I pray

[ if you don't try to get the photo, you will not get it if you try, you might get lucky ]

[texandrews]

Acquiring camera gear is rarely an "investment", unless you become a highly paid professional.

Or any kind of professional or aspiring professional. I "invested" in a 645Z in 2014 before I had much pro work, but now I'm getting a great deal more work, and I've backed it up with a K1 (now upgraded). I made the plunge after being bumped out of a job application process because I didn't have digital medium format experience in the job setting. So, I made sure THAT wouldn't happen again! And lo and behold, I've leapfrogged some other "competitors".


For enthusiasts and amateurs it's not an investment, it's a luxury item, even in the "first" world.

[landofcourtness]

I think most people have said what I agree is best... to wait until this new camera comes out. It looks quite the jump in technology! and we hope that it will be well worth the full-price. However, I think the way that Pentax appears to release cameras, is the first camera represents a big leap in tech (I think this feels like the significant leap felt from the K-5 to K-3, maybe even moreso)... and then they just funnel that tech to their 'budget' (ex: k-70), 'full-frame' (k-1), and then 'misc' (kp). Whenever someone asks me which type of (Pentax specifically) camera they should buy, I almost always start them out with the K-3. Are the improvements from the K-3ii, k-70, k-1, kp... really that different in terms of IQ? In some ways yes, but only incrementally and FF being what it is.

Having both a K-3 and K-1 (I actually picked up the K-3 afterwards) I can tell you that there is a pretty big bump up in IQ, as well as situations where you really feel the improvements play themselves out. There's the obvious 36MP jump up, which really any APS-C really can't overcome that part, and Pixelshift shouldn't be understated (I think the 3rd wheel is pretty big in terms of handling too)... but then there's the low-light performance where it truly shines. There are circumstances where the K-1 can take clear and 100% useable photos to the point where you'd never know that it was taken when it was. The dynamic range is impressive, but so is the way for it to manage noise as well. I always point to this video, when I reflect on the amazing range it has (3min):

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

However, there are places/circumstances where even the old K-3 has a big advantage over the K-1. The only real shortcoming in the K-1 imo, is the RAW buffer and 4fps. The K-1 will fill up after a handful of pictures, while the K-3 will shoot RAW photos for days and at 7fps. You really feel it during moments that are fast-paced like sports or events (I take pictures for my school sometimes) Also, you do miss the 1.5 crop factor in some instances. Using the K-1 you do have to re-adjust to taking that step back, but moving back to APS-C and its basically like putting a teleconverter on your FF-lenses. Also, one thing I didn't consider at the time that I made the jump, is that I would have to basically replace all of my lenses. It is shooting with the K-3 that has convinced me that there is value in having both. APS-C for events and speed (that 1.5 reach really comes in handy!), FF for when you need the added detail.

Will there be any shortcomings for not using a lens designed for the K-1?

A lot of times I find that most DA/APS-C lenses can actually still 100% be used in 1:1-mode, which gives ~24mps. That's pretty useful!

I think you should just wait though, as many of the advantages in low-light are pretty negligible now with the new cameras. I got a KP for my sister-in-law, and sometimes I envy at it's low-light ability, and the newer cameras have Pixel-shift too. I think you should wait for this next APS-C camera. We've seen it, so it seems like its pretty far along. My guess is that Full-frame with similar tech will come right after that. It would suck to buy a K-1 now, and then the FF come out 2-4 years from now with the vastly new tech. Then if you still wanted to go with the K-1, it be cheaper... but in the meantime new APS-C would mean not having to worry about lenses too. Sadly, with the state of the world, this timeline might shift a bit in terms of waiting.

[SSGGeezer]

I think most people have said what I agree is best... to wait until this new camera comes out. It looks quite the jump in technology! and we hope that it will be well worth the full-price.

No one here who owns a K-1 has said anything like that. With those FA Limiteds, go for the K-1. I wanted one from the first time I held one in the store and now that I have one, love it almost as much as my children.. It does what I want without any back talk! jk as my kids are grown. But the K-1 is a solid feeling, as in carved out of a block of magnesium solid feeling! Work of mechanical art that takes great images.

[btnapa]

But the K-1 is a solid feeling, as in carved out of a block of magnesium solid feeling! Work of mechanical art that takes great images.

Agree 100%.

---------- Post added 04-25-20 at 10:51 AM ----------

Another interesting story about being digital. I got my first gig back in 1999-2000 time period. I think I was shooting with a Fuji S1 which was a 3MP JPEG only camera. That was state of the art back then! A professional photographer friend called me and told me that he had an AD agency client that wants images done and delivered digitally. He was a film guy and did not want to bother with digital. That is how I got a very lucrative client which gave me work for the next four years.

As far far as cameras as investment, I believe they are an investment for pros as they can pay off fairly quickly. Years later, in doing weddings back in mid 2000s, I bought cameras in pairs and a good number of pro glass because that is what the jobs required. However, since I was making money from my gear, I did not care if they cost me. I always chose mid- range cameras as the bang for the buck was much higher than high-end bodies. I made the same money with mid-range bodies that cost 1/2 to 1/3 of the top of the line DSLRs.

[ffking]

Yes

[Apet-Sure]

'Your 100mm lens on your current cameras gives you the same FOV as a [EDIT: 66.7mm-wrong] 150mm lens would give you on a K-1.'

Well, another brain fart from Apet-Sure. Sorry.

[aslyfox]

that's why I like the articles:

"Equivalent" Focal Length
To get the same field of view with a 24 x 36 mm camera as we have with the APS-C sensor we'd have to use a longer focal length on the 24 x 36 mm camera, namely a lens that is longer by the crop factor. So a 75 mm lens would yield the same field of view on full frame as a 50 mm lens yields on APS-C. Similarly, a 33.3 mm lens on APS-C would yield the same field of view as a 50mm on full-frame.

24 x 36 mm (full frame) sensor - 75 mm lens
16 x 24 mm (APS-C) sensor - 50 mm lens

When comparing lenses for different sensor formats it has become common practice to convert the focal length of a given lens on a given camera to the "equivalent" focal length. Unless qualified further "equivalent" focal length means the focal length one would need on a full frame camera in order to get the same field of view (or same magnification) as produced by the given lens on that other (smaller or larger format) sensor.
As an example a 50 mm lens on APS-C has an "equivalent" focal length of 75 mm. . . .

Read more at: The Crop Factor Unmasked - Articles and Tips | PentaxForums.com

charts are in the article

My first thought was, "get a new KP, and use the lenses you've already got." My reasoning is that it's got so many pixels in an APS-C sensor, that it's practically the same as the K-1 in image quality. So unless the K-1 has something you need (e.g., inbuilt GPS), the KP will probably do better than you can imagine. I don't recommend waiting for "the new flagship", unless you wait a couple of years to let the price settle down - the KP is pretty cheap right now.

On the other hand, and although you said you didn't want to buy all new lenses, if you were to consider full-frame (and in my view, that will require new lenses), you could open up your horizons and consider other brands of competitive cameras, as well. E.g., the Canon EOS 5DS (fifty some-odd megapixels).

I think the K-1's a great camera, by the way, and wouldn't discourage that purchase. Just suggesting alternatives. (But FF lenses work fine on APS-C cameras - people say there's some loss of resolution, but I've never noticed it - but most APS-C lenses, if they work at all on FF cameras, require application of some restrictions - they're only usable at certain aperture settings, for example.)

[Kerrowdown]

Should I finally invest in a K-1?

Absolutely...

[normhead]

I can't believe I missed this thread are we talking about K-1s?

It was pretty coomon phenomenon when it first came out....
People went for a look somewhere, held one in their hands and bought it on the spot.
I goes beyond a theoretcdial analysis.

I was buying a lens from MightyMike, and selling him a few to defray the cost. He said "You want to hold my K-1." I was hooked. Had one a week later. I was recovering from hip surgery or I might have run off with his.

It's one of those things, 90% of the time it makes no difference. 5% of the time it makes a little difference, 5% of the time you look at an image and think "my K-3 couldn't do that."

Once you have a camera that's good enough every new body is like that. You buy for that little bit of difference, every now and then.