Totally new to Pentax, should I do it?

**Lowell Goudge** · 11-14-2008, 02:03 PM

Originally posted by stevebrot

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...)

you forget the guy that complained the cameras were not pro quality because it couldn't stand dropping it 3 feet

cpopham · 11-14-2008, 02:52 PM

Originally posted by stevebrot

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...)

He's probably talking about service turnaround times.

Also, the polycarbonate bodies bounce slightly....that's actually probably a good thing...

jeremy_c · 11-14-2008, 03:10 PM

Look at my signature! Got it at Dodd Camera in Cleveland, OH (30 min drive for me, not too bad).

Jeremy

roentarre · 11-14-2008, 03:17 PM

Originally posted by kunik

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

Besides, Canon world is so obsessed with sharpness of any images taken by its own L lenses that could be easily sharpened in photoshop without haste.

A little over rated.

Clicker · 11-14-2008, 03:39 PM

Originally posted by cpopham

He's probably talking about service turnaround times.

Also, the polycarbonate bodies bounce slightly....that's actually probably a good thing...

yes, and congrats Jeremy start posting photos

heliphoto · 11-14-2008, 03:44 PM

Originally posted by jeremy_c

Look at my signature! Got it at Dodd Camera in Cleveland, OH (30 min drive for me, not too bad).

Jeremy

Dude, Congratulations!!! It's good you asked here, if you'd asked in a Canon or Nikon Forum, we might have never heard from you again. I just received my K20D today (an hour ago, the battery is charging), as an upgrade for my seven month old K200D (might keep that too.)

Owners of the big two brands will talk down to you a bit, but go shoot next to 'em in low light with a 30 year old superb lens you got for $70, and when they ask why you're not using a flash, you can explain how you have in body stabilization, and suddenly they'll start asking more questions.

You're gonna love your K20D. We'll look for your images soon over in the "Post your photos" section.

stevebrot · 11-14-2008, 04:55 PM

Originally posted by heliphoto

...Owners of the big two brands will talk down to you a bit, but go shoot next to 'em in low light with a 30 year old superb lens you got for $70, and when they ask why you're not using a flash, you can explain how you have in body stabilization, and suddenly they'll start asking more questions...

Reminds me of this last summer. I was showing my K10D with the Jupiter-9 mounted to a fellow who shoots a higher-end Nikon. He took a couple of shots and was very pleased with the results in the LCD. He then asked me with a bit of wonder in his voice about the focus confirm with a non-coupled lens. I confirmed that the focus confirm indeed worked even with primitive lenses and that the SR did as well. All he said was "Wow..."

Steve

laissezfaire · 11-14-2008, 06:07 PM

Originally posted by kunik

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

***** This is an outstanding post and very informative (data rich)

It's EXACTLY what pushed me over - I looked at B&H's pricing for Canikon's USM / SWM with IS/VR capabilities, and concluded the pricing was for pros. Based on reading everyone's posts here... you go with the best glass you can buy, then you find out from review after review that the bodies are all pretty good, and you'll probably upgrade those every 3-4 years, maybe more as technology plateaus a bit.

Go look at the consumer level lenses for Nikon - All have cheap plastic mounts and cheap feeling parts. No way that stuff is going to last more than 5 years.

MRRiley · 11-14-2008, 06:10 PM

One point.... A Canon or Nikon lens you buy today may not fit a Canon or Nikon camera manufactured 3 years from now. Both Canon and Nikon have changed their lens mounts (Canon twice and Nikon at least once) in the last 15 years. Pentax on the other hand has used the same basic mount for the last 30 years. This means that ANY k-mount lens (not to mention another 15 years worth of screw-mount M42 lenses) ever made will fit on a modern Pentax camera. It is also very highly unlikely that Pentax would ever change the mount! Doing that WOULD spell the end of Pentax and they know it!

MRRiley · 11-14-2008, 06:22 PM

Originally posted by 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.

reeftool... another major reason that most people buy Canon or Nikon is because every time you see a camera on TV on the sidelines of a sporting event or on CSI or in a movie it is a Canon or a Nikon. More people know those names than know Pentax. Even Olympus is a cult brand. The only other brand that has approached Canon and Nikon's level of recognition was Minolta and sadly, they are gone today. Pentax's major problem has ALWAYS been ineffective marketing. The equipment has always been comparable if not downright superior (ie: the LX and MX models) but the marketing has never been there to gain the market share that the quality deserves. Part of that effort should be putting the cameras in the hands of working professionals and getting them exposure.

SpecialK · 11-14-2008, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Go look at the consumer level lenses for Nikon - All have cheap plastic mounts and cheap feeling parts. No way that stuff is going to last more than 5 years.

Not saying the lenses are great, but plastic technology is quite advanced, and I can assure you that a plastic lens will be around for millions of years :-)

**mike.hiran** · 11-14-2008, 07:50 PM

Congrats Jeremy... you have a camera that I would love to have. I have the k10d which I think is a great value, but the k20d has some improvements that I would love to have (and likely will soon enough

) So what lens(es) and/or accessories did you get?

I can recall 10 years ago thinking that I'd never buy something electronic sight unseen so I can relate to those who are not comfortable buying something that isn't in front of them.

But I find with all the resources available on the web now, the amount of research I can get on any given product not only makes me comfortable buying something without seeing it, I now have a better idea than 10 years ago of the pro's and con's of a given product because of this plethora of info.

The other reservation I had back then was not always knowing which vendor was trustworthy. But I've found places like resellerratings where many buyers have shared their experiences and rate stores trustworthiness. Of course sticking with the major sites like B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon, Ritz etc can be comforting to some less familiar with the ways of filtering out the bad stores.

Personally, after getting comfortable with web purchasing (I even use a dedicated credit card for web purchses... I even called the credit card company to lower my credit limit to reduce risk), if all the camera stores were to close near me, I would not be concerned in the least. I will favor b&m stores if they are competitive, but by the time I go to a store looking for something, I usually know more about what I'm buying than the sales help because of what's available on the web. So, while it's nice to look at the "package" before buying it, I don't think it's that important in deciding whether I will actually buy it. my 2 cents...

Stratman · 11-14-2008, 08:51 PM

Another word of advice, when considering Pentax, do NOT listen to anything RiceHigh has to say, he has a personal vendetta against Pentax for some odd reason...

stevebrot · 11-14-2008, 10:44 PM

Originally posted by MRRiley

...Pentax's major problem has ALWAYS been ineffective marketing...

Technically true in the sense that the prominent National Geographic ads of the 60's and early 70's were paid for by Honeywell, Pentax's U.S. distributor not Asahi. Strangely, you NEVER saw an ad in NG for Canon back in those days. Just Pentax, Hasselblad, and Nikon.

Steve

Wombat · 11-14-2008, 11:13 PM

It's not all negative on the visibility side, though. I get the English magazine "Black and White Photography" and whenever lists of cameras are made for whatever reason, Pentax is always in there alongside Canon, Nikon,Olympus et.al. They seem to have the attitude that Pentax is a top-level camera and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the others, as a matter of course.

It's a great mag, BTW, if you're into b&w.

And a warm welcome, Jeremy. Congrats on your purchase.

11-14-2008, 06:10 PM	#24
MRRiley Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sterling, VA, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,275	One point.... A Canon or Nikon lens you buy today may not fit a Canon or Nikon camera manufactured 3 years from now. Both Canon and Nikon have changed their lens mounts (Canon twice and Nikon at least once) in the last 15 years. Pentax on the other hand has used the same basic mount for the last 30 years. This means that ANY k-mount lens (not to mention another 15 years worth of screw-mount M42 lenses) ever made will fit on a modern Pentax camera. It is also very highly unlikely that Pentax would ever change the mount! Doing that WOULD spell the end of Pentax and they know it! Last edited by MRRiley; 11-14-2008 at 06:25 PM.

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11-14-2008, 02:03 PM	#16
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,888	Originally posted by stevebrot 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...) you forget the guy that complained the cameras were not pro quality because it couldn't stand dropping it 3 feet

11-14-2008, 02:52 PM	#17
cpopham Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Auckland Posts: 553	Originally posted by stevebrot 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...) He's probably talking about service turnaround times. Also, the polycarbonate bodies bounce slightly....that's actually probably a good thing...

11-14-2008, 03:10 PM	#18
jeremy_c Inactive Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ohio USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 96 Original Poster	Look at my signature! Got it at Dodd Camera in Cleveland, OH (30 min drive for me, not too bad). Jeremy

11-14-2008, 03:17 PM	#19
roentarre Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 11,783	Originally posted by kunik 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 Besides, Canon world is so obsessed with sharpness of any images taken by its own L lenses that could be easily sharpened in photoshop without haste. A little over rated.

11-14-2008, 03:39 PM	#20
Clicker Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,241	Originally posted by cpopham He's probably talking about service turnaround times. Also, the polycarbonate bodies bounce slightly....that's actually probably a good thing... yes, and congrats Jeremy start posting photos

11-14-2008, 03:44 PM	#21
heliphoto Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Region 5 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,539	Originally posted by jeremy_c Look at my signature! Got it at Dodd Camera in Cleveland, OH (30 min drive for me, not too bad). Jeremy Dude, Congratulations!!! It's good you asked here, if you'd asked in a Canon or Nikon Forum, we might have never heard from you again. I just received my K20D today (an hour ago, the battery is charging), as an upgrade for my seven month old K200D (might keep that too.) Owners of the big two brands will talk down to you a bit, but go shoot next to 'em in low light with a 30 year old superb lens you got for $70, and when they ask why you're not using a flash, you can explain how you have in body stabilization, and suddenly they'll start asking more questions. You're gonna love your K20D. We'll look for your images soon over in the "Post your photos" section.

11-14-2008, 04:55 PM	#22
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by heliphoto ...Owners of the big two brands will talk down to you a bit, but go shoot next to 'em in low light with a 30 year old superb lens you got for $70, and when they ask why you're not using a flash, you can explain how you have in body stabilization, and suddenly they'll start asking more questions... Reminds me of this last summer. I was showing my K10D with the Jupiter-9 mounted to a fellow who shoots a higher-end Nikon. He took a couple of shots and was very pleased with the results in the LCD. He then asked me with a bit of wonder in his voice about the focus confirm with a non-coupled lens. I confirmed that the focus confirm indeed worked even with primitive lenses and that the SR did as well. All he said was "Wow..." Steve

11-14-2008, 06:07 PM	#23
laissezfaire Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 188	Originally posted by kunik 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 ***** This is an outstanding post and very informative (data rich) It's EXACTLY what pushed me over - I looked at B&H's pricing for Canikon's USM / SWM with IS/VR capabilities, and concluded the pricing was for pros. Based on reading everyone's posts here... you go with the best glass you can buy, then you find out from review after review that the bodies are all pretty good, and you'll probably upgrade those every 3-4 years, maybe more as technology plateaus a bit. Go look at the consumer level lenses for Nikon - All have cheap plastic mounts and cheap feeling parts. No way that stuff is going to last more than 5 years.

11-14-2008, 06:22 PM	#25
MRRiley Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sterling, VA, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,275	Originally posted by 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. reeftool... another major reason that most people buy Canon or Nikon is because every time you see a camera on TV on the sidelines of a sporting event or on CSI or in a movie it is a Canon or a Nikon. More people know those names than know Pentax. Even Olympus is a cult brand. The only other brand that has approached Canon and Nikon's level of recognition was Minolta and sadly, they are gone today. Pentax's major problem has ALWAYS been ineffective marketing. The equipment has always been comparable if not downright superior (ie: the LX and MX models) but the marketing has never been there to gain the market share that the quality deserves. Part of that effort should be putting the cameras in the hands of working professionals and getting them exposure.

11-14-2008, 06:57 PM	#26
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,481	Quote: Go look at the consumer level lenses for Nikon - All have cheap plastic mounts and cheap feeling parts. No way that stuff is going to last more than 5 years. Not saying the lenses are great, but plastic technology is quite advanced, and I can assure you that a plastic lens will be around for millions of years :-)

11-14-2008, 07:50 PM	#27
mike.hiran Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Location: portland Photos: Albums Posts: 1,491	Congrats Jeremy... you have a camera that I would love to have. I have the k10d which I think is a great value, but the k20d has some improvements that I would love to have (and likely will soon enough ) So what lens(es) and/or accessories did you get? I can recall 10 years ago thinking that I'd never buy something electronic sight unseen so I can relate to those who are not comfortable buying something that isn't in front of them. But I find with all the resources available on the web now, the amount of research I can get on any given product not only makes me comfortable buying something without seeing it, I now have a better idea than 10 years ago of the pro's and con's of a given product because of this plethora of info. The other reservation I had back then was not always knowing which vendor was trustworthy. But I've found places like resellerratings where many buyers have shared their experiences and rate stores trustworthiness. Of course sticking with the major sites like B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon, Ritz etc can be comforting to some less familiar with the ways of filtering out the bad stores. Personally, after getting comfortable with web purchasing (I even use a dedicated credit card for web purchses... I even called the credit card company to lower my credit limit to reduce risk), if all the camera stores were to close near me, I would not be concerned in the least. I will favor b&m stores if they are competitive, but by the time I go to a store looking for something, I usually know more about what I'm buying than the sales help because of what's available on the web. So, while it's nice to look at the "package" before buying it, I don't think it's that important in deciding whether I will actually buy it. my 2 cents...

11-14-2008, 08:51 PM	#28
Stratman Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: St Louis, Missouri U S A Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,464	Another word of advice, when considering Pentax, do NOT listen to anything RiceHigh has to say, he has a personal vendetta against Pentax for some odd reason...

11-14-2008, 10:44 PM	#29
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by MRRiley ...Pentax's major problem has ALWAYS been ineffective marketing... Technically true in the sense that the prominent National Geographic ads of the 60's and early 70's were paid for by Honeywell, Pentax's U.S. distributor not Asahi. Strangely, you NEVER saw an ad in NG for Canon back in those days. Just Pentax, Hasselblad, and Nikon. Steve

11-14-2008, 11:13 PM	#30
Wombat Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 901	It's not all negative on the visibility side, though. I get the English magazine "Black and White Photography" and whenever lists of cameras are made for whatever reason, Pentax is always in there alongside Canon, Nikon,Olympus et.al. They seem to have the attitude that Pentax is a top-level camera and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the others, as a matter of course. It's a great mag, BTW, if you're into b&w. And a warm welcome, Jeremy. Congrats on your purchase.