Originally posted by rustynail925 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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- I get the idea that everybody else's ISO 1600 photos are less noisy than Pentax's ISO 1600 photos.
- I worry that Pentax may go out of business and then where will I be?
So why don't I change?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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