[jeremy_c]

This is a strange question to ask in a Pentax Forum, but I wanted to understand the whole situation. I have done much research online reading review after review after review and finally decided to get the K20D. I ran into great difficulty finding one local in NE Ohio.

One shop I stopped by said that the K20D is a phenomenal camera but he questions the wisdom of a person new to Pentax getting started with them. It obviously centers around acquiring Pentax gear. He used my lack of ability to find a local K20D as an example. He said he may be off base, but he would fear where Pentax will be in 5 years.

I really like the K20D but it has been a bit discouraging not being able to find anyone local and then this guy talking the way he did discouraged me more. He suggested going with a Canon or Nikon because they are the giants.

Can anyone provide input?

Thanks and sorry to be depressing.

Jeremy

[cwood]

I just added a Canon 1D to my collection and I'm in a state of shock and awe over the price of Canon glass. When it comes to matching quality with price nobody matches Pentax. When it comes to long-term planning with Cameras the only thing to consider is glass because it is the only thing you will (or might) still have in 5-7yrs

Compare (all BH pricing)
Pentax 50-135 = $750
Canon 70-200 (non IS) = $1110
Canon 70-200 IS = $1549

Pentax 16-50 = $649
Canon 16-35 = $1324

Pentax 300mm F4 = $1079
Canon 300mm F4 = $1189

[vizjerei]

simple, get it from B&H or something, they have great return policy anyways. Yes Canon or Nikon are giants, and giants usually screw customers ;P

[pschlute]

If you want to run with the crowd you should go down the Canon/nikon route.

if you want to stand out from the crowd... go with Pentax

Pentax's demise has been talked to errr. death! They are part of Hoya now and are very much alive. And even if they werent around in five years, do you think digital phography in 2013 will resemble what we are used to today ?

Peter

[Lowell Goudge]

That is pretty discouraging, but you could also ask him why you should buy canon or nikon also.

If you like the features of the pentax, and it suits you, I see no reason why you should not buy one.

it is up to you and if the value for money is there, go for it.

To be honest, any camera today produces results far superior to what you could do with film, and the products available to support the K20D from not juet pentax but independant suppliers is there and expanding.

but your first point is well taken, this may be a slightly biased site

[fwbigd]

This is a strange question to ask in a Pentax Forum, but I wanted to understand the whole situation. I have done much research online reading review after review after review and finally decided to get the K20D. I ran into great difficulty finding one local in NE Ohio.

One shop I stopped by said that the K20D is a phenomenal camera but he questions the wisdom of a person new to Pentax getting started with them. It obviously centers around acquiring Pentax gear. He used my lack of ability to find a local K20D as an example. He said he may be off base, but he would fear where Pentax will be in 5 years.

I really like the K20D but it has been a bit discouraging not being able to find anyone local and then this guy talking the way he did discouraged me more. He suggested going with a Canon or Nikon because they are the giants.

Can anyone provide input?

Thanks and sorry to be depressing.

Jeremy

It appears that Pentax/Hoya are giving up on the local retail sales market and focusing on the internet market in the USA. In other words you want be able to go to your local camera store and pick up a Pentax camera or lens in the near future. You will have to order it from B&H, Adorama or Pentax Imaging.

[FuzzyOne]

I give credit to the sales person. They sound like they are very honest. I would venture a guess that a very high percentage of Pentax shooters deal strictly with online purchases due to the inavailability of stores. Any of the brands you choose will be wonderful. If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn't choose Pentax if I had to make the decision today. But I also just ordered a K20 which will replace my K10 which replaced my K100. LOL

[stevebrot]

Hi Jeremy, and welcome to the forum!

The relative scarcity of Pentax on store shelves is a problem that is often a subject of discussion here. Yours is a very valid concern. Purchase of a digital SLR seems to invariably mean the the eventual purchase of additional lenses and lenses are expensive. If your body wears out or breaks, it is good to know that you can simply buy a new one. Now if product is no longer available...

I personally can fill the fingers of both hands (and quite a few toes) listing off the camera brands that have disappeared during the 40 years I have been doing photography. Most of those brands live on in one form or another due to the activities of various collectors and cult enthusiasts who will continue to maintain and repair their film cameras as long as parts are available. Having said that, I sincerely doubt that there will be a cult forum in 2018 discussing the best way to repair/adjust the SR in a K20D. Complex auto-focus and digital cameras are fundamentally different than the film cameras of the past. They are consumer electronics and are not designed to operate for decades with minimal maintenance. To put it bluntly, except for the extreme high-end gear, most digital cameras are intended to be thrown away after 3-4 years.

One thing is good to know, Pentax has a strong parent company and has a market position as least as strong as the Sony, Panasonic, or Olympus digital photography lines. It also has a quality, high value product and probably has as good a chance of survival as many of its competitors.

As for your personal choice...much depends on what you are wanting from your camera. It is truly difficult to find product on today's market that is not excellent. It all comes down to what features you need, how much you have to spend, and most important, how the camera feels in your hands. From a hobby perspective, Pentax has a huge amount to offer. The easy backward compatibility to a wide range of lenses dating back 50+ years lends color and interest to the simple act of taking pictures.

Steve

[Tom S.]

Many Pentax buyers are people who have older Pentax lenses, which can be used on any of Pentax's DSLRs. This may have been the salesman's point. He may have felt that a person buying a DSLR without owning previous equipment would be better to stick to a company with a 'brighter future'.

As many of the die hard Pentax fans here will tell you, the Pentax DLSR offers an outstanding value for the money. Additionally, because they can be used with lenses over 40 years old, you can outfit the camera with a wide array of glass for much less than you can other brands. This would be true even if Pentax were to close shop today and quit making lenses.

[Livewireshock]

C & N lenses may be cheap on the initial kit lens to 'sucker' some in. However whenever LBA sets in, then it becomes alot more painful with those brands.

With Pentax I have found, not only are they cheaper to buy new but there are many, many, many different lens I can buy second hand that still fit my K10D at an even cheaper price.

You obviously have found the forum and like me, you have seen it is a wealth of knowledge to help those along the way. I have learnt quite a bit in the short time I have been here trawling the pages. So while being new to the system, help and support from fellow enthusiasts is never far away.

Every journey begins with just one step!

You will not regret this one.

[reeftool]

While I am an "old" Pentax user and ended up buying a K10D a year ago, I was in a similar situation. Being new to digital SLR's, I wasn't going to buy anything until I saw it, picked it up and really checked it out. Our local Ritz got some in and I was able to check one out. I liked it the minute I picked it up and bought it. I would never buy a camera from a mail order vendor sight unseen and i'm sure there are many other people like me. If Pentax wants to sell cameras, they have to get them into stores so people can see them. Canon and Nikon are selling cameras because they are everywhere, from Walmart and Target to Best Buy and BJ's Wholesale club. You can hold them, take a few pics and check the camera out and if its your lucky day , maybe even a salesperson who's smart enough to answer a question. I hope the recent lack of Pentax cameras in stores is a temporary result of new management and will soon be corrected. All the good press and reviews are worthless if you can't buy one.

[Clicker]

Depends on many things:

1. What do you shoot mostly.
2. What do you shoot with currently?
3. Are you a one shot or mad and fast shooter?
4. Do you break gear frequently?
5. Do you travel/shoot in adverse weather frequently?
6. Are you a brand shooter?


If you've answered yes to #4,6 then definitely no to Pentax.

[NorthPentax]

You have come this far. Buy a Pentax and join the club

I've bought the new Pentax K-m/K2000 today. Nice entry level dSLR.
I'm trying to sell one of my K10D's with the lens I got with the K-m and a Tamron 70-300mm. When someone buy's it, I will buy a K20D

I only hope that the new K-m/K2000 will help Pentax/Hoya take a bigger piece of the market.

Good luck to you.

[stevebrot]

Depends on many things:

1. What do you shoot mostly.
2. What do you shoot with currently?
3. Are you a one shot or mad and fast shooter?
4. Do you break gear frequently?
5. Do you travel/shoot in adverse weather frequently?
6. Are you a brand shooter?


If you've answered yes to #4,6 then definitely no to Pentax.

Out of curiosity, why #4? I have read many criticisms of Pentax, but none that suggested that the bodies are particularly fragile.

Steve

(Though swapping out the polycarbonate for a little mg++ might be nice...)

[shadowspar]

It appears that Pentax/Hoya are giving up on the local retail sales market and focusing on the internet market in the USA. In other words you want be able to go to your local camera store and pick up a Pentax camera or lens in the near future. You will have to order it from B&H, Adorama or Pentax Imaging.

Interesting observation. What makes it especially interesting for me is that given my local camera store situation, Pentax really is not at much of a disadvantage. I'm in a small town (~80,000 people) in Northern Ontario, Canada. You can buy Pentax bodies here but it's nearly impossible to find lenses. Contrast that with C&N, though, and the situation is not much better -- they stock stuff that's on par with the kit lens, maybe a fast 50, and that's about it. So if you want to pick a decent lens, you can either get the local camera shop to special order it, or order it yourself online. When it comes to convenience, at least, there's not much of a difference.