[hanamai]

After months of research and comparison to the other offered DSLRs of the time (not including pro cams), I decided on and bought my first DSLR- a K10D in Spring of 2007.


When purchasing the K10D it came down to:

-Build quality- huge factor!

-Dual scroll wheels!

-How it felt in hand- It feels solid, hefty and has a great grip! (Although I didn't actually get a chance to hold a K10D before purchasing online, because no one carried one, near me. I read how great if felt in hand and took a chance that I'd feel the same. I did get to hold a K100D and that felt better than all of the other consumer DSLRs.)

-Dedicated controls!

-Good interface, no need to go "menu diving" to accomplish simple tasks

-In-body Shake Reduction

-Backwards compatibility- though at the time of purchase I had no "classic glass"

-Many setting options seemed nice (Though I find now, I only use manual. I appreciate the lack of silly "portrait, action, or night" settings. )

-Weather sealing

-White balance customization

-In camera processing and the customization thereof (I wanted to apply post
processing as I saw fit, not have the camera apply too much sharpening, etc.)

-Customization of almost everything

-Best quality kit lens

-Price for all that was offered

-Not made in China! (I don't know offhand where the others are made, but I try not to buy Chinese, if I can help it.)

-And now owning the camera, I really appreciate that green button!



The reason I turned down the others:

Canon Digital Rebel XTi felt like a plastic toy, only 1 scroll wheel, crappy kit lens

Canon 30D had a nice feel, but didn't have SR or weather sealing and the kit lens lacked

Nikon D80 felt too bulky for my hands (that was a huge deal), didn't have SR and the kit lens lacked

Sony A100- All the photos I could find taken with it looked awful by comparison

Also, I knew that the Canons and Nikons would cost me more in the long run, for decent glass.


And now I REALLY want a K-7! Don't have the funds for it, though...

[fractal]

And now I REALLY want a K-7! Don't have the funds for it, though...

I am in this boat also.

Price combined with going against the mainstream was probably how I ended up with Pentax. I was not all that clued on about the compatibility with older lenses, so that was a pleasant suprise. I didn't really play around with other cameras much. I was researching on the internet for months and came to the conclusion that the K200D was the camera I was to buy. It's a good little machine and havn't looked back.. too many times. Had the occasional glance at Canon from time to time. But, I guess the important thing is that it has given me some great images and hasn't let me down.

[stormcloud]

had some lenses from film days thought not a fraction of what i have now and not such good quality either so in retrospect i could have easily started from scratch again with another brand

but good reviews of the k7 - and the weather sealing made it seem like the best option

happy with my purchase aslong as pentax continues to produce good bodies in the future for when i wanna upgrade - if they dont =/ argh spent alot of glass so better hope my k7 doesn't break

[paulelescoces]

I had liked photography for many years, although always limited with various P&S cameras. Early last year I decided to get a DSLR and automatically decided that Canon was the best... and that I needed the 400d, at this point I had done no research, had not really studied the options.... and actually came very close to making the purchase while in a local electronics shop.

I did not buy the 400d that day... and actually spent time doing my homework on the various options which is when I discovered the K20d... I perceived the price/quality balance to be better than that of the 400d... and when putting in in the hand I could start to see the shortcomings of the 400d which in comparison seemed like a plastic toy. Around the same time as this I found out that my soon to be father in law had some old pentax equipment... so the backward compatability of Pentax also had extra value.

Actually bought the K20d for the father in law first (60th birthday)... and followed up by buying one for me a few months later.

Reality is that many first time dSLR buyers listen to salesmen and dont do any up-front research (I was almost one of them)... and once bought into a system its $$$ to change to something else.

[powdablu21]

I dont want to be limited if there is a drizzle our inclimate weather

[taurus9]

I wanted to try the new movie functions in DSLRs to shoot a few videos of my nine-month old. I started looking at the Canon lineup to take advantage of the lenses I already have which meant the T1i. The T1i movie mode was crippled that did not allow aperture control. So unless I got the 7d (picked one up and felt like a battleship) I had to look elsewhere.

Had a look at Nikon's sample movies and was not impressed with the quality.
Then had a look at Pentax Kx (K7 would have been nice, but since I'm adding another system, had to keep the costs reasonable). Tried a Kx at the store and compared it with the T1i, and really it was an easy decision to get the Kx. Here's my list of reasons of why Kx

- in body SR - much has been said here already, but I would add that it's an even stronger differentiator in video - the movies don't have the shakes

- cost - in order to get a stabilized zoom lens, had to compare a Canon T1i + 17-55 IS f2.8 or a Pentax Kx + Tamron 17-50 f2.8. In Canada, that's more than 500 hundred dollars difference. Even with a Pentax 16-50 f2.8 we're still talking several hundred dollars.

- AA batteries - initially had my doubts, but the runtimes with rechargeable AAs have been very good, even better than the proprietary Li-On from the Canon

- and it's just a nicer to use camera than the Canons. Even the kit lens feels better put together than the two $600+ canon zoom lenses I have.

[rover]

K10d, $520 when it was being closed out, vast lens compatibility, key current prime lens excellence (FA LTDs), SR with all lenses, by far the best viewfinder in that price range at the time.

[mcjm78]

Price to performance ratio!

Then the ergo is very good too. I can't stand the two button pressing business to do stuff like zooming in and out of picture during review time.

[bulbexposure]

1. Able to use older MF lenses (Really like having focus confirmation)
2. In Body Shake reduction (Big reason I bought Pentax)
3. AA batteries
4. Compact size and quality feel

[JohnBee]

I can't remember if I ever replied to this thread but, I thought it'd be worth putting down my two cents just the same.

My wife and I moved to pentax for a number of reasons, but the two main ones were, she had a fling with Pentax film in the past and the second main reason was price. We liked the idea of easing into better glass in a realistic way rather than struggling to justify prosumer priced gear.

Also... as a bonus we are really enjoying sharing gear whereas(initially), we had different gear and it was alot of work to maintain two separate kits on outings etc.

[Graystar]

I was all set to buy a Nikon D90. But then I learned that the Nikon RAW output uses lossy compression. You have to spend 700 bucks more for a D300 in order to get the lossless compression option. The Nikon D5000 does the same thing. In DPReview’s comparison of noise in RAW between the K-x and D5000 (and others,) the D5000 was pretty much running neck-n-neck with the K-x up to ISO1600. However, the test images show a sizable difference in detail…even at ISO 100.

This really miffed me to no end. It’s one thing to remove functionality from a camera in order to cut cost down. But it’s another thing entirely when the very camera you’re holding in your hand is capable of a certain level of detail, and you’re not getting it because some corporate bigwigs wanted to protect their expensive models. So I crossed Nikon off the list on principle.

I then looked at the Canon T1i. I thought the ergonomics were terrible. It just felt awkward. And it only has an EC and exposure bracketing range of +/-2EV. Less powerful flash than the K-x, more noise…the only thing it’s got is that nice LCD. It seemed overpriced for what you were getting, so I crossed Canon off the list for lack of features important to me.

So I started looking at the K-x. The important buttons like on/off and EV were in the right place, I like the dial on the back, it has a good feature set, and the price was right…for 100 bucks less than a T1i + kit lens, I got a K-x along with two lenses that have been well received. I also like the fact that it uses AA batteries. I actually did buy a new set of batteries, rather than use my existing rechargeables, because I wanted to try a new technology (NiZn.) But I intend to use those same batteries in other devices as well, so they’ll serve double duty…something you can’t do with those overpriced proprietary rechargeables that Canon and Nikon sell.

I've only had the K-x for a day but so far, it feels like a keeper!

[pniauris]

Use of old , legendary, although low cost glasses and all this low cost M 42 stuff
(bellows etc)

[nnyorkie]

had some lenses from film days thought not a fraction of what i have now and not such good quality either so in retrospect i could have easily started from scratch again with another brand

Same here. I had a few so-so lenses from a film body. That, plus research and positive reviews led me to the *ist DL. I did consider other options, though.

While shopping around, there were other factors involved: I tried a Canon and didn't like the interface at all. I tried a Nikon, liked the interface, but heard a few poor reviews from acquaintances.

Also, I'm a bit of a reverse snob when it comes to purchases. I don't like going with the big, well-known names if I can help it. For instance, I've avoided buying a Fender or Gibson guitar for years because their prevalence annoys me.

I admit I sometimes have camera envy, as if I'm missing out on something, but I'm so used to the Pentax system now that I can't imagine switching.

[ericcch69]

I have been a Pentax user for the past 20years...their ergonomics and body are well built....and if you more research on SLR production, most SLR uses Pentax's Pentaprism.....

[ericcch69]

We share the same thoughts......but in Malaysia, Pentax representation is very poor.....every retailers are going with the main stream like Canon & Nikon....there is Nikonian Academy in Malaysia....and I am planning to set-up a Pentaxian Academy....in the near future...