[dan aron]

(edit: Somebody took his answer away and I responded to that so don't wonder what I'm talking)

Well, that's true. I forgot to tell you precisely about my plans. But the thing is I'm not quite sure what would be the main thing for me. Interests are so wide but I'm surely going to do some journalism for fishing/hunting/extreme sport magazines. Also the wildlife interests much.

Oh, no. Now I'm little bit tilted back to Canon or Nikon. Right now Nikon definetely isn't the best system for me because I can't afford those pro VR-lenses. But in long terms it might be the best.

Well, sounds like I got to go with Pentax and if it doesn't fit to me in future I just get back to Nikon. I'm wasting money but I don't have a change. I hope Pentax starts to invest money to this so we could smile wider.

[Mallee Boy]

Hi Dan,
I think you are on the right track. A friend has the DA*50-135 and he very cruelly let me play with it.

.... I must admit I feel a familiar itch starting up..... and the 60-250 hasn't been released yet.

Cheers

[jct us101]

What kind of issues with AF does Pentax have? My 30D searches in any kind of low light and I find it irritating, is it worse than that?

[HouseOfHorla]

I'd argue that your artistry is far more important than your kit. I looked at,
lusted over, Nikon as it was absolutely everywhere I cared to look. Pretty much
every camera I saw was a Nikon - shops/professionals/tourists carried them
everywhere (I work in London), so it seemed to be the only choice. Sad isn't it
and there's me thinking I was immune to the consumer/advertising drip-drip
effect. Duh to me!

So, I spoke to one of the guys in a local shop (one of the foremost Nikon
dealers in London) - his response? "You need to decide what you want to use it
for." A simple enough question. Here's a guy whose main focus was Nikon (new
and second-hand by the way which is another option) telling me to REALLY
consider what I wanted from my kit. High ISO, very little noise? High fps? etc.
etc. etc. and forget about wether it was Nikon/Canon/Pentax and how good the
badge/strap looked.

Get what you can afford even if it's a £20 1970's film camera. You can always
shift over to another system at some time in the future. OK you'll have to re-
invest, but if it's your livelihood presumably you're making money and cost
won't be such a big issue at that point. I'd hope so anyway.

I'm really sorry forum guys, I don't want to put someone off adopting into the
Pentax family I'm just trying to be honest as I see it. It feels like the same
thing I was pondering over for about 3 months before dipping my toe into the
world of Pentax.

Surely your imagery is the single-most aim. If it can transport or move your
audience, even if it's been captured on an ancient 35mm, or with a home-made
pinhole camera, who knows, or really cares, what kit you're using.

As long as it's Pentax

PS. Your eyes are far more important than the box you use. After that, it's the
glass.

[Big Dave]

Dan,
After reading your last comment about weather, I got an idea. If you use a lens with auto focus and appeture, you could fabricate a simple plastic slevve to slip over the whole lens. It could be simply sealed at the mount and filter ring or hood with painters masking tape. It would be better if the front element didn't rotate. This would be just as effective as an expensive sealed lens.

Dave

The biggest issue is the weather sealing. The thing why I need weather sealing and image stabilization is that I'm going to shoot extreme sports and I'm living in Finland where it's really dark in winters.

[keithg]

Hi Dan,
I think you are on the right track. A friend has the DA*50-135 and he very cruelly let me play with it.

.... I must admit I feel a familiar itch starting up..... and the 60-250 hasn't been released yet.

Cheers

Haha Sorry about that Grant but i remember you doing that to me with that big lens of yours. Have had trouble sleeping after that lol.
Keith

[rparmar]

I do not have much experience with other systems, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

If you are going to go pro and rely on your camera equipment for your livelihood, then Pentax may not be the best choice. Canon and Nikon have a vast network of professional support services which Pentax lacks. So if you need a specific lens for a job or expeditited repair service on your gear, you can get that fron Canon or Nikon Professional Services.

This is a key point. If you are stuck in the field and need to borrow a lens or body, what will you be able to get? Then again, if you have a spare backup kit you should be fine.

The biggest issue is the weather sealing. If I stay with Nikon I got to buy D300 and some extremely expensive lenses with VR, cause that's what I need. If I decide to change to Pentax I would buy K20, 16-50mm, 300mm and 50mm at first.

Note that the 50mm is not weather-sealed but the new DA* 55 at €500 is. If you're going professional that's the one to get. The starter zoom setup of K20D, DA*16-50 and DA*50–135 can be had for €2000. The DA*300 is €1000. The total for a setup that would cover any need you have is €3500.

(Plus a good tripod. And a flash if you need it.)

The thing why I need weather sealing and image stabilization is that I'm going to shoot extreme sports and I'm living in Finland where it's really dark in winters.

If you need long, weather-sealed, and faster than f/4 you will have to look at a brand other than Pentax. Also mega-bucks.

Get what you can afford even if it's a £20 1970's film camera. You can always shift over to another system at some time in the future.

I agree. The OP should buy the four-lens setup I suggest above. If, at some point in the future, this is not good enough, it will only be because he is on the bleeding edge and making a living from photography. At which point affording a top-of-the-line Nikon/Canon kit would be no problem at all.

You don't need to stick with one make; get what you need.

But for now your money will go twice as far with Pentax.

[Ratmagiclady]

The weather sealing is definitely nice, ...one of the major factors in me going to Pentax, cause I'm just not used to the paranoia of a little drizzle frying an eight hundred dollar camera. (Actually, I'm not used to an eight hundred dollar camera, full stop. But once upon a time, that kind of money bought you something you could practically drive nails with and leave to your future grandkids. )

For dimly-lit action in Finland, you might just have to go to a very fast *film* on your budget, but, really, I predict that by the time you plan to be going pro, high-ISO performance in digital is going to have trickled down to something more affordable.

You'll probably want one anyway, but, battery grip, and probably at least two spares on top of that, that you can keep in a pocket close to your body where it's warm.

As for weather-sealed lenses themselves, you can always try 80's high tech: we used an arcane device called a 'Plastic Bag With A Hole In It.' attached with a 'Rubber Band' connector.

You can just poke a little hole for the eyepiece and it'll hold the bag in place, just leave enough room to get your hand inside.

[dan aron]

Got to ask.. You are highlighting the customer service and stuff is better in Nikon and Canon for pros. Anyways, I'm quite sure there are plenty of pro photographers who uses Pentax.

So, is it really possible to shoot with Pentax and get images like Canon and Nikon's pro equipment does? And before somebody graps to this I say a photographers of course takes the pics not the cameras. Is there any world's top shooters using Pentax?

[rparmar]

So, is it really possible to shoot with Pentax and get images like Canon and Nikon's pro equipment does?

Yes.

And before somebody graps to this I say a photographers of course takes the pics not the cameras. Is there any world's top shooters using Pentax?

Few enough, but they do exist and some are on this forum. You must understand that though it is perfectly possible to get great shots with a Pentax system, the statistical dominance of the other two companies means that you will be unlikely to see too many Pentax photos in your typical magazine. It's not because it cannot be done.

[dan aron]

Fair enough.
This thread gave me a reason to try Pentax. After that I I've been using all of those systems I would ever use. Canon, Nikon and Pentax. I'll be much wiser after a couple months.

Thanks for all. You seem to be quite a pleasant people.

[Ratmagiclady]

Pentax is, in fact, marketing toward those who 'go their own way.' There's a lot of extremely good photographers to whom smallish bodies that don't need to be babied, and small, high-quality primes are just the thing. A lot of the types that might have been working with rangefinders not so long ago, it seems like,sometimes.

I don't know if Pentax ever really went for the sports market, but they always had a little niche. I knew a couple of fire photographers back in the 80s who were Pentax guys... (where I probably came to appreciate the brand... And back then, Canon users were kind of the poor cousins, maybe *outside* sports, as the modern stuff went, just a few years ago, Nikon was kind of struggling to catch up with Canon, mostly trading on those who had brand loyalty and Nikkors and F5s...

Anyway,whichever way you end up going, get some fast glass and learn to focus. VR or SR and fast AF are an advantage, but it's not like photography couldn't happen before we had these things. Once upon a time, people used to race that fancy new AF against *me.*

[Wheatfield]

Why choose Pentax (K20) before Nikon (D300) or Canon (D50)?

Because Pentax lenses are better than Nikon and Canon lenses, and when the shutter is open, it's the lens that is between you and the subject.

[ITW]

Seence you live in Finland, I'll give you my expiriense with my GX-10 (K10D)

Im guessing you have snow, and I bought my camera in January 08, and from the northern Norway, I run snowmobiles, and that is almost everything I do in the winter.

So with me I always have my camera.

And Im suprised, of what it can handel, Ive droped it in the snow, and have it in My backpack when I ride snowmobiles, and it works great still.

In summertimes, Im a lot on the seas, and here I get sea-spray on it, and all I do is whipe it wit an moist rag when I get home.

So if thise is some of the conditions you are planing to expose your camra fore, I can recomend pentax.

All the other technical stuff I leve fore somone else, it takes great pictures that all I know

ITW

[CaymanImaging]

One thing we have here in the US is the "professional photographer program" through Pentax N. America. Once approved as a working pro using Pentax, all your gear that gets worked on first, ahead of everyone else in line. I think they say it will be sent back to you within 48 hours. They also have a loaner program where they will send you any of their products to use for 2 weeks, free of charge. I've used this to check out lenes before I buy. They also sent me a K20D to try out before I bought one. Awseome way to try before you buy. Anytime you call or email them and tell them you are part of the pro program, you get even better customer service than you normally would, which is still great. Check with Pentax Europe to see if they have that program there.

I have the Sigma f/4 150-300 lens. Yes, it's not weather sealed, but it's a hell of lens that reaches out their with the digital conversion factor of 300-450. I do agreee, an easy way is just to wrap it up in a plastic bag and you're good to go.