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03-02-2010, 10:04 PM   #1
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For Pentax users who changed systems or thinking about switching

For Pentax users who changed systems and for current Pentaxians who are having 2nd thoughts of switching systems
What are the reasons why you switch or thinking about switching ? What do you think Pentax should improve or offer to strengthen the brand?

03-02-2010, 10:08 PM   #2
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I went to canon for a while and came back..."the grass is always greener". That and it didn't make me a better photographer...
03-02-2010, 10:26 PM   #3
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Is it necessary for the op to have two identical threads going :-)
03-02-2010, 10:28 PM   #4
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Sorry i think i double post

03-02-2010, 10:34 PM   #5
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rustynail, please bear in mind we also have an 'off brand' forum here and there are many threads just like this one.

Off-Brand Camera Discussion: Canon, Nikon, etc. - PentaxForums.com
03-02-2010, 10:41 PM   #6
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It may be related to off brand but the main concern here is all about Pentax
03-02-2010, 10:42 PM   #7
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I also went to Canon for a little while. I'll probably own another Canon in the future, but I'll also keep my K-x.

When it comes to my buying decisions, I ignore camera brands for the most part. Instead I look at how well a given system fits what I want to do, in which case the sensor and the lens are the most important aspects for what I like to do. My reason for buying a Canon was the EF 85mm f1.8, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I found the 40D's sensor a bit lackluster and the combination was too big/heavy and too lacking in flexibility for me to travel with, which is where the K-x came in.

Currently, my standards for sensor quality give me the latest SONY 12mp sensor (K-x, D5000, D90), the 14mp Sony sensor in the A550, and the 18mp canon sensors in the 7D and T2i. Or any FF sensor. I find the older sensors far less flexible in their capabilities (they're certainly capable of great pictures, but why not get the best you can?).

This leaves the Pentax, Sony, Nikon, and Canon lens selections open to me, as there are bodies to put behind their glass whose sensors I find satisfactory. I'd love to see Panasonic make some major leaps in sensor design so that I can put 4/3 under consideration as well, they've got some great glass. And there are fantastic lenses to be found in any of these systems.

After lens selection, the final consideration is value. I'm at a pretty low income level, so maximum bang for the buck is something important to me.

Currently, all my favorite lenses are either in the K mount or EF mount, so Pentax and Canon are my two main choices. In regards to value, Pentax used to be the clear leader... until the lens price hikes. This is one area I feel Pentax could improve in, like you asked. Pentax's value equation used to be one of its primary draws, and it's simply not there any more (except in the entry level and the used body market). Currently, the greatest value in lenses (for me) is found with Canon, where there are a wide selection of decent-to-excellent primes available for less than $400 used. That EF 85mm f1.8 compares pretty darn well to the FA77 at less than half the price- that's what I call value!

So the K-x is my current reality, and will most likely reside in my stable until it dies (perhaps I'll get a sigma 20mm f1.8 and dedicate the K-x to low-light work), and the Canon T2i is almost definitely in my future (along with a 100mm f2 and probably something wide, at the least).

Defining one's thoughts and behaviors along brand lines is really unnecessarily limiting.

03-02-2010, 10:51 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by rustynail925 Quote
For Pentax users who changed systems and for current Pentaxians who are having 2nd thoughts of switching systems
What are the reasons why you switch or thinking about switching ?
I almost switched in 2007. I had used primarily Pentax slr since '68. Almost switched to Nikon in '74...thought long and hard about getting a Nikon F Photomic back then, but got a Pentax ES 11. Stayed with Pentax , then with the digital age, thought about getting either a Nikon D200 or a Canon 30D. Not impressed with the Ist D.

Then the K10D came out...what a game changer. Got one, now also have a KM (K2000) as a second body and a whole passle of new Pentax lenses.




What do you think Pentax should improve or offer to strengthen the brand?
Two things...both lens related. Bring out a telephoto prime..like a 400 MM or 500 F 5.6...comparable to Canon's lens. Bring out a wide angle like a 10-16 (rumoured I know)...but at a reasonable price...same goes for the 400 mm. Non of this ridiculous jump in price (CAD $) like the Pentax 12-24...all that does is drive many Pentaxians to third party...re: Sigma 10-20 mm.
03-02-2010, 11:03 PM   #9
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Just interested why 2 systems?
What do you use the canon for and
what do you use the pentax for?
03-02-2010, 11:15 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by rustynail925 Quote
For Pentax users who changed systems and for current Pentaxians who are having 2nd thoughts of switching systems
What are the reasons why you switch or thinking about switching ? What do you think Pentax should improve or offer to strengthen the brand?
About every six months, I break out in a sweat and start thinking hard about switching to something else.

Why do I do this?
  1. I know and respect a number of other pros here in this forum, but of the working photographers here in Dallas that I know personally, I'm the only one using Pentax.
  2. Pentax flash units don't seem to be well made—not nearly as well made as the cameras—and the P-TTL metering system doesn't seem to work nearly as well as Nikon's or Canon's flash metering systems work.
  3. It's almost impossible to actually see and hold new Pentax stuff before I buy it. This isn't just because it's not in the stores, it's also because almost nobody else I know uses Pentax stuff. I've held a Nikon D3x, a Canon 50D, etc.
  4. I get the idea that everybody else's ISO 1600 photos are less noisy than Pentax's ISO 1600 photos.
  5. I worry that Pentax may go out of business and then where will I be?

So why don't I change?
  1. There are many things about the Pentax cameras I have that I really like—the ergonomics of the K10D/K20D, in particular, and weather sealing, and a couple of my best lenses.
  2. I've given up on P-TTL and also on Pentax flash units and now all my work is done in manual flash mode, using radio triggers and third-party flashes that can come from anybody. So I don't any longer care much about Pentax's weakness in the area of flash.
  3. If Pentax goes out of business tomorrow, I figure I can get along for at least another year or two before I really have to switch systems—perhaps longer. Pentax going out of business doesn't immediately mean that I won't be able to buy new Pentax-mount lenses or even bodies. And in any case, there's no reason to think Pentax is going out of business. Where does THAT anxiety come from?
  4. I've compared my photos to those of wedding and portrait photographers using much more expensive Canon and Nikon equipment, and my high ISO shots are just about as good as theirs—and my normal-light shots are every bit as good as theirs. The high ISO performance of my K20D is more than adequate.
  5. Giving up in-body shake reduction just seems crazy. This is why, occasionally, I imagine that, if I did switch, I'd have to switch to Sony or Olympus rather than Nikon or Canon. But then I look at the prices of the Sony and Olympus equipment! Besides, I suspect the main reason I feel insecure using Pentax is that Pentax isn't Nikon or Canon. But Sony and Olympus aren't Nikon or Canon, either.
  6. I feel quite sure that Nikon and Canon and Sony and Olympus have their own problems, which I would discover only after investing in them the amount of money I've invested in Pentax.
  7. I can't afford to change. It's not just that I can't afford to take the hit that I've have to take if I sold my Pentax gear and tried to buy comparable new equipment from, say, Nikon, it's also that even if I could sell my Pentax gear for the price I paid for it originally, I still couldn't afford to buy comparable Nikon or Canon gear. It's clear to me that Pentax still has the best value-for-money ratio in the business.
  8. Switching to Nikon or Canon or Sony, etc., would have virtually NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER on the quality of my photographs.

In this list of reasons to stick with Pentax, I want to highlight the last three (#6, #7 and #8). Those are the ones that really matter to me.

I sometimes wish I had started out with Nikon in the first place. I almost did. But I didn't. And now that I've sunk money into Pentax, when I'm in a rational mood (happens occasionally) I can't really think of a good reason to switch. Sometimes I fantasize that I could switch to Nikon, buy a couple of full-frame bodies and half a dozen top-quality VR lenses. Then I snap out of it and realize that, even if I did switch to Nikon, a D3s or D3x would be just as out of reach as it is now. If I switched to Nikon I'd probably be buying a D90 or maybe a D300; if I switched to Canon, I'd be buying a 50D or maybe a 7D. In other words, the cameras I can imagine myself actually affording, while they have their strengths, aren't decisively better than what I've got already.

Q.E.D.

Will
03-02-2010, 11:22 PM   #11
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I went to Sony and Olympus for a while and sold.
03-02-2010, 11:24 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by ogl Quote
I went to Sony and Olympus for a while and sold.
Sold what? Is there more to this story? :-)
03-02-2010, 11:29 PM   #13
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Not to be a stickler for the rules, but how is this thread "news"?
03-02-2010, 11:34 PM   #14
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Maybe it can be in the Pentax dlsr section but this concerns the lenses and flashes as well and it cant be in the off brand since we are talking mainly about pentax.
03-02-2010, 11:36 PM   #15
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I am thinking to switch to Canon because Pentax has no real super telephoto lens (600mm up) available for me. I usually take wildlife photography.Currently, 500mm is the longest focal length for Pentax, and I already own one (Bigma). However, many times 500mm is not enough. I am waiting for Pentax or third party lens producers to release super telephotho lens for Pentax mount, but it seems like this is just my hope. I like Pentax very much, and never use other brands since I have started to shoot with SLR camera (almost 20 year ago). Withing 1 or 2 year, if there are no super telephoto lens for Pentax, I would probably switch to Canon. However, I may keep Pentax as my every day use camera.
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