[northcoastgreg]

why would the K5 give better color than the D7000 - both share the same sensor?

The color comes primarily from the lenses, not the camera. The jpeg defaults in each camera may produce slightly different color schemes as well, but that's irrelevant for those of us who shoot raw.

[fisheye freak]

I started out with Pentax way back in 1981 because both my brothers had Pentax,and I thought i could hook on to their systems. Within 6 months, my passion had well and truly outgrown both of their systems put together. Have contemplated switching to Nikon- have a Fuji S5 pro to go with some Nikon lenses that simply do not exist for Pentax(10.5mm f/2.8, 80-200 f/2.8 and a Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 fisheye in Nikon mount that I picked up for a very good price.) Given that the Sigma 4.5mm fisheye is finally made in Pentax mount and the K5 has some subtle advantages over the D7000, the Nikon kit is likely to get the flick. Mind you, I tend to use the wife's little Lumix a lot for its quality and compactness. Its only problem is that it simply does not go anywhere near as wide as i'd like. Now if Panasonic made a fisheye to 28mm equivalent point and shoot, I could be sorely tempted.

[magkelly]

I have owned and used other cameras, but from the time I started using SLR's there has always been a Pentax or two in the house. I don't give up my Pentax stuff to use other gear, period. Right now most of my gear is Pentax but I do have a couple of Yashica bodies and a few c/y lenses too. Yashica's cool. Good bras I think. Next to the SPII I like the Yashica FX2 and FRI bodies the best. I have used a Canon and a Nikon SLR but I'm definitely an SPII person.

When it comes to DSLR's I'm definitely a K-x lover. I can't even begin to say how much I love my K-x. I might like a K-r or a K-5 nearly as much, but I really doubt I'd ever swap out my K-x completely. I'll be keeping it even if I ever do get a K5, K3 or whatever...

[redrockcoulee]

We almost switched to Nikon when buying our first digital SLR. My wife and I have used Pentax for 35mm since Spotmatic F days but did not have that many lenses, and nothing really special. The job I had at the time used Nikon cameras and the lenses were used for purposes other than still photography so my place of employment had from 10.5 mm to 400 2.8 lenses that I could occassionally borrow and I was using a D200. In buying the K10D I was choosing between it and the D80 as a Christmas present for my wife. She was happy with Pentax and as would not be buying lenses right off decided to stay with the brand. It was not an easy choice with pluses and minuses going both ways. I no longer am employed at the same place however on special occassions I can still borrow a lens or two, especially for weekends.

The irony of it is that since getting the K10D my wife has given away her 28-80 lens that was her main one and replaced it with the 16-45 and since got a Sigma 10-20 and a Tamron 90 macro (think I bought both of these off this forum). I am still using the D200 with the 18-200 lens and just a month or so ago bought myself the K-r with the DA 35 2.4 lens. We both still have Pentax film cameras that we occassionally use and it is great having the ability to shoot both digital and film with the same lenses, saves on weight. If I had bought her a Nikon digital we would have gotten rid off all the Pentax gear and bought most likely one F100 or a FM Nikon film camera.

I am still primarily a film shooter and just love my Hasselblad and we both also use large format which can also be a lot of fun with pinholes and or paper negatives etc. The main reasons I got the K-r was it was very affordable and I can throw it and a couple of primes or a small zome into the Hasselblad bag whereas the D200 with the 18-200 was almost impossible to do.

I do not regret staying with Pentax as am happy with the gear we have for the most part. We just need to get a faster long zoom like the 70/80-200 2.8 and get a better long lens than the Sigma 400 non APO that I sold a couple of years ago. I also think I most likely would not have regretted going with the Nikon due to the larger number of lenses that I cannot afford that I could borrow but as long as I still have the D200 (mostly for work) that option is still there for the next half decade.

[RioRico]

I am switching at this very moment.
I just bought an Olympus C5050 for US$10.
I'm charging batteries to see if it works.
If so then it's goodbye, Sakar.

[mithrandir]

When I outgrow the feature set of my K7 (or my K10D for that matter), I might consider another system. At my current (slow) pace of improving as a photographer, that may not happen in the next 20 years.

[uccemebug]

Pentax *is* my switch-to brand; or rather it was picking up a Pentax that caused the switch away from a single line. I used nothing but Minolta SRT mount from '91 - 2006. Then bought my Pentax DSLR and I learned a lot and my photography improved - and with it my interest in daily photography. The next year added an Olympus rangefinder. Then I discovered my wife's late grandfather's Ricohflex TLR. My wife and I were given two Lomo cameras; she's also got a Fuji F30 and as of last X'mas a Kodak waterproof pocket video camera (model eludes me); my dad just gave me his old autofocus Nikon and my brother's shipping me his FE2. I occasionally pick up my son's $40 Kodak p&s digital. I use cell phone cameras. Brand means nothing at all to me. I like what I like to use. I've worn two Minolta bodies into the ground and one Pentax lens.

For the past five years the *istDS and my K28 f/3.5 have seen a lot of use. 25,000 frames to date, mostly with that one lens (though I have four others for that system). I'm looking at the Ricoh GXR and GRD right now....

My diversification is due to my success with the Pentax, as I say.

[RonHendriks1966]

I started in '95 with a Nikon reflex. In 2009 I bought into Pentax, but that was a close call at the time and price and performance convinced me into a K20D set (and lack of knowledge offcourse).

I recently almost switched to Canon, but descided not to, again over price. Since a good and complete set (1D Mark IV with some nice L-glass) would cost me way to much.

So bought K-5 Silver and DA*60-250mm to compensate for that.

[VaughnA]

Twice,

And it looks like the 2nd time is for real. I'm in the process of moving to Nikon. I got a steal on a like-new D300 and I've got a 18-105, 70-300 and flash to get me started. I've still got my K-x and a couple of lenses but I'll probably be concentrating on the nikon system from now on.

I've always lusted for Nikon since I was a kid. And the AF and Flash systems on Pentax are a bit behind. I also fell in love with the larger selection of SDM lenses and cheap primes. I had a couple of limiteds but they tied up a LOT of money, a large percentage of my investment. I can get primes good enough for my skills for 1-200 bucks instead of 5-900 bucks. I love the Pentax ergonomics but the reasons above made me consider the switch. When I got the offer above I couldn't resist.

[DigitalGal]

Well..if I have to consider a B&W, Pentax beats both Canon (that is too smooth) and Nikon (that lacks the contrast). I am the only Pentax user between my friends photographers and they are always amazed with my B&W images (not only though).. I love portraits, and Canon images are quite attractive, I shoot a lot outdoors, general family images, and Nikon would be great with it's perfect exposure and white balance, I love the Sony colors (I have consumed dsc-v1 to it's end), Olympus is fun too (I was considering it too).. But after all the hard studies on Steve's digicams (I've got my 1st SLR - Pentax K10D with 2 kit lenses in late 2007).

I keep myself tied to Pentax because of its versatility..it is like a tank, goes everywhere and delivers excellent results. So I am not switching to any other brand. Only regret is that I didn't by enough K mount lenses a few years ago..it seems that prices are going to the stars lately..at the moment I have 2 kit lenses plus these: smc pentax af zoom 35-70mm f2,8 (a huge and rare lens, very sharp I love it),

tamron adaptall 80-210mm f3,8-4, that became my general 'walk-around' lens, equally excellent for scenery and portraits, also macro),

smc pentax-m 28mm f2,8, a small, lightweight, sharp and snappy focus lens, I love it too..

and auto makinon macro 135mm f2,8, an amazing portrait lens sharp or silky, depends on how you choose to use it..amazing in every light condition..

At the moment I am using Pentax20D (since 2009), because my K10D crashed (the body broke in one of the bottom corners) against the stone floor, popping out of terribly arranged camera bag, what a pain! This was the period when I was considering switching to another brand (Nikon D300), but I didn't.. because the only issue that I have always had with Pentax cameras is unprecise white balance and often green/magenta cast on images that I can fix always since I shoot only DNG. This issue has been considerably inproved in K20D. And one more thing to do is to lower contrast setting in camera. This makes almost no issues anymore. I'd love to have K5, but I dont trust its HD video thing..

PS. I couldn't survive without Pentax in camera laboratory that is so much of fun!

I'll share one set on Flickr for fun: FESTA MEDIOEVALE, Borgo Antico - AFFI dal 11 al 13 giugno 2010 - a set on Flickr

Images in this set are not manipulated in any graphic software, only resized in automatic image upload mode..

Have a great summer! I jave had a long break from serious photographing, but my will is coming back.. see u soon!

[johnmflores]

I sold the K20d and bought a Panasonic GH2 instead of a K-5 because I'm shooting more video. The DA Limiteds still get used with an adapter, while the DA* zooms get exercised once in a while on my wife's K-x.

And I'm saving up my pennies for a K-5 or successor. That will most likely be the last dslr that I buy.

[Unsinkable II]

I hadn't really thought about it until this week. I had a front-row seat at a Chelsea football match in Hong Kong and trying to shoot action at speed really showed up the autofocus limitations of my camera/lens combo (K-x / 55-300).

[Ailuropoda]

I'm not set on my next serious camera being a pentax, does that count? I'll see how things unfold in the future.

[Narsuitus]

“How many times did you almost switch to another brand”


For years, I have used Nikon, Fuji, and Pentax brand SLRs. I have never been tempted to switch to another brand.

In medium format cameras, however, I did switch from Mamiya to Fuji.