[jacamar]

Started with a Mamiya Ranger rangefinder camera, second hand about 1970. First Pentax was a K1000. Then K-100, K-r, then K-3

[MikeMcE]

Wow!! I guess I’m an oddball, as I started this journey with a Minolta Autocord. Shot high school football and track, wanting a Spotmatic for Basketball.
Never could get enough $$ so settled for a Mamiya Sekor 500 Tl.

As years went by, I worked in a camera shop, and lots of loaners. Technical training then and became a camera/ lens repair apprentice, working on anything, process camera lenses to minox, not to mention Bolex 8/16mm and Polaroids.
Then a Leica and Hasselblads followed. Minolta Maxxum factory training and ownership.

Injuries, career change, cross country move, Photographic Burned out.

2010 Pentax K200 kit and love found again..... 2020 new KP and real glass thanks to my SSI check......

As was sung, What a long strange trip!


Hang up and DRIVE!

[WileyB]

'First camera' is a tough question, isn't it?

First Pentax was my wife's K-x. First camera that was _mine_ back in high school was a (then) absolutely ancient Nikkormat with a 50mm lens - the cheapest thing with manual controls in the camera shop!

[Lev]

Actually I had some experience in film cameras as my father loved photography

One of his Zenit

[Wheatfield]

I started with a 50s vintage Fujica rangefinder, which I still own, started using my father's Spotmatic II because he wasn't using it, bought an Olympus OM1, sold it and bought a Nikon F2s, and used Nikons doe a decade. I moved to Pentax with an LX and a couple of K1000 bodies in the mid 1980s, and stayed with Pentax during the shift to digital.

[Lev]

'First camera' is a tough question, isn't it?

Agree to a point that it could be better formulated, like first camera seriously considered as a main workhorse, but it's too late

[UncleVanya]

Actually, I didn't start out with a film SLR, I started out with a Kodak Instamatic 100 in 1964. It used a 35mm #126 film cartridge and little tiny flashbulbs (as opposed to the tiny 110 cartridges that used "flashcubes"). The Canon AE-1 came much later ("Official camera of the 1980 Olympics" printed on the 50mm f/1.4 lens cap).

For anyone interested in more info on 126 film: kodak classics - mischa koning

[WileyB]

Agree to a point that it could be better formulated, like first camera seriously considered as a main workhorse, but it's too late

Looking back, your actual thread-starter was quite simple! Was your first Pentax film or digital...it was only my memory of the original question that had frayed so badly by the time I got to answering!

[pentaxus]

I started with a Spotmatic in 1969. When the K series came out I bought a KX and a K2 and so it continues.

[The Foto Guy]

Started with the SP500 way back in 1971 while in high school which I still use to teach photo classes on using M with Digital.
Then Super Program and finally the ZX-5N until I switched to digital.

First DSLR was *ist D in 2005.
then K-20, K-7, K-5, K-3 and my current DSLR is K3II.

[AlwaysAl]

MEF in the 80's, followed by P-3's and finally a MZ-S before getting an *ist D

[Sidney Porter]

First camera is hard. Various kodak instamatic, old polaroid. I had a kodak disc as a kid. Various point and shoot 35 mm camera.

My dad had an early k1000 purchased post Christmas 1978. I would have been 7. I used it in high school and college. At some point it officially became mine. In the 90s a zx-10.

2003 a Nikon point and shoot digital 3 mp. After that a 6mp sony cybershot. The camera lag bothered me so I still used the pentax on occasion. 2008 or so a used k100d, 2017 a used k3. Depending on price I will get the k3iii for the better auto focus / low light (I shoot a lot of lacrosse).

I still have all of the lenses and pentax bodies. I stayed with them because of the k mount

[Belcik]

Somehow predictable results. Myself started with K200d, still is in family.

[stevebrot]

Of course, the full answer is always a little more complicated in that Pentax models were on the list of desirable cameras to purchase way back to the beginning in about 1970. At that time, I saved about $100 by going with a Ricoh Singlex TLS. Fast forward to 1982 and I bought Ricoh again (XR7) based on all things being equal except better feature match on the XR7. It did come with a Pentax-M 50/1.7, so that counts as my first Pentax purchase.


Steve

[kiwi_jono]

Kodak Instamatic --> Canon AE-1 Program --> Various compact digitals --> Pentax k-x --> Pentax K-5 + ME Super --> Pentax K-1