[fishy]

1. Weather proofing and build quality - I'm a traveler first and a photographer second. Babying a camera would ruin the experience for me. I've already shot in the rain, the jungle humidity and around splashing water. I've also accidentally smashed the body into rocks and tree branches on several occasions. The K10D is tough as hell, I can throw it in the top pouch of my backpack and pull it right out when its time to take a shot (I do however wish it was a bit smaller, oh how I want a K-7!)

2. In-body SR: I don't generally take a tripod hiking or motorcycling, I often dont have the time (or level enough ground) to use one. Being able to use any K-mount lens handheld with acceptable results is great!

3. Value: Canon and Nikon's alternatives in the price range dont work for me. While the performance may be better on C and N cameras (less so now with the K-7), most of the cameras in my price range are lightweight crap with dumbed down features. The K10D's shooting modes and dual e-dials have done much more for my photographic education than any auto scene mode on a C or N. Also, the availabilty (both new and used) of good quality glass at less-than-outrageous prices is great!


So there you have it! My Pentax is a very useful lifestyle tool and not a photographic phallus extension to show off to other enthusiasts (no offense).

What he said.

[torneol]

My brother use to have Pentax cameras for last, maybe 20 or 25 years. So I have heard only good things about Pentax. When it was my turn to bought a camera, there actually was no alternatives at all.

That's why.

And I have to say, that I'm very satisfied with K10D. Allthougt, that my personal limits are much, much more lover, than cameras. Well, maybe it's good thing, that now I have an equipment with good properties, so my personal skills will improve... at least I hope so .

-Olli-

[asw66]

I really think I got lucky when I chose the K20D as my first SLR. At the time that I was researching the market, it just seemed to offer the best bang for buck, by quite some margin. In addition, I had a vague perception that Pentax is a brand favoured by "real photographers", whatever that means!

If I had waited a little longer, my choice would have been made much harder by the arrival of the Nikon D90. But I'm really glad that I went with Pentax -- it's only since I've bought my SLR that I've come to appreciate just how rare the combination of in-body SR + massive backwards compatibility for lenses + "Pentax magic" is.

Before too many people misunderstand me.... I have to agree with your "bang for the buck" comment.

For previously stated reasons... the K7 may be a huge let down and I may switch to Canon for professional and hobbyist reasons. However, I hate the fact that in order to have SR, I must spend a lot more money on every lens.

I very much like having SR on any lens I attach to the K20D.

Why would the K-7 be a letdown? In digital I shoot the K10 professionally. I can't see switching brands. The others may have certain features I like but really won't use all that much. And yeah, I am a gear guy. I like having the latest, greatest, biggest and baddest. (My wallet proves that) After weighing all the benefits and drawbacks of all the cameras I want, the Pentax still fits the bill. It gives the quality output I need (I shoot raw+ all the time, even for "snapshots"), and I am familiar with it. The benefits of the Pentax far outweigh switching brands. And spending a 10's of thousands on lenses I'd also want just doesn't make sense to me.

You really need to look at it again. Are you giving up features you use for ones you think you want?

For me and how much I charge (I am one of the more expensive. Mostly because I don't want to work) Pentax is the preferable camera.

I still shoot film. For that I use my trust 1978 K1000. (Not the Chinese version) And my 2 Mamiya 35mms. I like them all. The Mamiyas give me a few things that I find convenient but still can accomplish with the K1000. I just like shooting with a different camera every so often. But then again I didn't spend thousands on those cameras either.

As an added bonus: I get to use some really good old glass on the K10D. And they're all stabilized even when I am not.

[enoxatnep]

The main thing for me was price, but I also had a friend woo me to Pentax because he and his dad have used them forever; prior to that, I would have never considered Pentax.

Now, the lens price advantage isn't there any more, but I'll stick with Pentax for now. If their lenses were the prices they are now when I was researching last fall, I probably would have gone with Nikon instead. At least with them a person can migrate to full-frame if the need/desire arises.

[HeavyD]

I originally chose Pentax for the weather sealing, SR, and availablity of lenses. I bought a K10d in early 2008 that I didn't like very much. I had nothing but problems with it. I was so fed up that I switched to Canon and bought a 30d. The Canon was a lot faster than the K10d, but it didn't produce the same natural colors I was used with the Pentax, on the few occasions when it took good pictures. I also missed the feel and controls of the K10d, and most importantly, I missed the weather sealing. I was would put away the 30d at slightest sign of grey clouds. Last month I sold off my Canon equipment and bought an old stock open boxed K10d. The moment I took it out of the box and held it I didn't know why I switched to Canon in the first place. My new K10d doesn't have any of the issues the first one did, so I guess it was a lemon and all the Pentax bashing I did in the past wasn't warranted. I've done several comparison shots with the new K10d and it surprised me, the K10d and Sigma 17-70mm shows more detail and has better image quality than the Canon 30d did with the Canon 50mm 1.8.


Canon 30d and Canon 50mm 1.8



K10d and Sigma 17-70mm

[nostatic]

1. Glass. FA ltd primes are awesome.

2. Build quality. Today I went and held a 5Dmk2, D700 and a900. Then grabbed the K7. Best built of the bunch imho. The Canon is especially depressing - the card bay cover is cheap and flexes every time I moved my hand.

3. It's something different.

[jaz]

I would add that "bang for the buck" is a better description. System value when including lenses (at least for now in the US).

[Darius4522]

What do you mean by lenses not easy to get? Don't you have any access to adorama.com or bhphotovideo.com?

Best wishes.
Can.

I'm in Australia...I buy locally or overseas when I visit SE Asia. Pentax lenses in SE Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore) are not all that easy to find whereas Nikons and Canons are a dime a dozen. Even Sigmas and Tamrons but few have Pentax mounts.

In Adelaide Australia, I only have four shops that I would consider, and the prices tend to be pretty high (ie, DA* 50-135 is about $1,600-$1,700).

[mickey]

Started off manual with a Centon DF300.
Then decided to buy an AF SLR.
Wanted the Pentax MZ-5 as a travel camera to go to Japan, but the eos 50e was cheaper, so I went with that.
Always had a soft spot for Pentax, and I thought they made the best looking cameras.
I feel the Pentax lenses offer much better value for money, and the selection is great.
WR, in-camera SR, and build were a few factors for me when I went digital.
Also appreciated Pentax's history and cameras for enthusiasts.

[ManixZero]

I had initially thought of buying a Nikon D40, as my film camera at that time was a Nikon FA. The FA was bought to replace my ME Super that had been stolen. Then I realised that with the simple addition of an adaptall mount my treasured Tamron lenses would all be perfectly functional on a Pentax DSLR – FANTASTIC!. Still not convinced I trudged off to my local camera store to handle the two cameras D40/K100D and to be honest the K100D out of the box just smelt better. The handling was fine, the kit lens (my first AF) seemed good and honestly having picked it up I was never gonna put it down. I left the shop with my K100D/18-55 kit, a PK adaptall 2 mount and have never looked back. I will never change back to Nikon and I have never liked Canon.

One day I will buy a big boys Pentax body like the K7 (Lottery win pending) but until then I have lenses to buy starting with a DA16-45mm or a 12-24, or a 15mm Ltd, or maybe a 200mmf2.8 or........................this could go on forever!

I still have the FA, for film plus an OM40+ad2 mount. These will go when I finally E-Buy a Pentax film body (but which one? I feel a new post coming on!)

So why? – Legacy lenses, in body SR, and of course the camera smelt and felt good in my hands. I can’t think of better reasons to by a camera!

MZ

[orlovszki]

hy
i am new on this forum and just get a k2000.
I had previously a mz50, which was broken. because i had some lenses one of my friend bought on the flomarkt a MZ-5 and also an NSXn with a lot of lenses.
In digital I have used for 6 years a fuji S7000 bridge camera. Very useful, made over 30.000 pics but I have missed the speed and the field depth.
I have chosen to by a digital DSRL and spent over half a year on the forums to choose one:
my options were:
Fuji S100 - brigde camera with full of gadgets and features
Fuji S5Pro - because I was satisfied with fuji and because a good price pro camera with extreme capabilities
then came Pentax in the view: k200, or K20
I have spent one month in deciding next to K7
Finaly I have chosen the small and cheap K-m (k2000)
Why Pentax, - simply because I had too many lenses.

I have read a lot of stuff about this camera with lots of pros and cons.
Let me tell you something:
My first camera was a Vilia (russian gear) in 1980. Fully manual. I have learned the meaning of every aspect (diaphragm, shutter speed, Iso setting. Then came my first SRL, the MZ50. I have posted 37 pics in my album out of the 36 film. You know what I mean? That I have made a picture only when it was the right moment and all were perfect and I was proud of my pics.
Than came the digital mania, Shooting all day long and, believe me, perhaps 1 out of 100 pics deserves to be shown in public. Pocket or bridge cameras simply can not make quality (except some nice macro pics made by 1 cm focus.
I could not wait and also not afford a full frame, but a good field depth and little bit faster shutter is just enough for me.
This camera has so many gadgets that if you can not make a reasonable pic with it you should quit making pictures.
We are so stupid and believe all the crazy bla-bla written on dpreview, or other big page.
I am sure that one out of million pics deserves to be shown, and printed in such a quality wich needs better performance that the cheapest camera on the market.
Are you printing your pics as big as a table-cloth? Of course not.
Are you spending a lot of time in setting up the camera before every shot? - Of course not
Are you using the green position in most cases? - Of course yes
Do you use maximum res and jpeg quality, however you will post the pics only on picasa or my-space - yes, of course.
So, we are the slaves of technology and if we can not make a reasonable picture with any of the available DSRL cameras in the market, then we are really stupid
So, I am satisfied with this small K2000 and i am convinced that my pics will not betwice better with a K-7, or even a Nikon D3x

[DavidWasch]

I picked up a K20D two weeks ago, purchasing a Pentax for the first time. The price was great for the feature set, and I have heard many good things about Pentax lenses. I particularly like having in body VR. One of the things that makes the K20D right for me is what it doesn't have (video capture, nor super-fast fps, for instance). The camera gives me plenty to grow into, allowing me professional capabilities, without being as hype oriented as some of the leading brands.

[TheGrandPrixKid]

I came from Canon and although the optical quality of the lenses could not be faulted, the cost was prohibitive. Pentax offered quality lenses at affordable prices, i'm not someone who demands a fast number of frames as i shoot mostly landscapes and architecture with the occasional wildlife shot, my biggest gripe was with dust and constantly sending my bodies back to Canon for the sensor to be cleaned. So i dedcided to try Pentax based on recommendations and reveiws but after taking one on loan for a weekend and getting soaked and the K10D just kept on shooting. I've been using Pentax/Samsung now 20 months and none of my 3 bodies have had to be sent away for cleaning!!

I can't see myself ever leaving Pentax now, the weather sealed bodies and lenses at prices a beginner could afford and images that are as good as the competion.

Current Gear: Pentax K20D, Pentax K10D Grand Prix Ltd Edition, Samsung GX10, 3 Grips (i find the bodies a little small without and the extra battery comes in handy), 16-45, 12-24 (Samsung), 55-300, 60-250, 18-200 Tamron.

[jays0n]

I choose Price and Other please specify. Price is obvious, but other is this. Everyone has a Nikannon so I wanted something different. Out of all my contacts on zooomr and flickr one great photographer had a pentax and was killing me with his work. So I gave it a go. So glad I did and am very pleased with both the Pentax DSLRs I have had. The 50mm f1.4 is an amazing lens too and so reasonable.

j