[Cloudy Wizzard]

........then you my friend are in the birthing room of the digital age.....study well, but neglect not.....FUN !

Yes, I grew-up around/with computers so I'm a digital kid

[stewart_photo]

........then you my friend are in the birthing room of the digital age.....study well, but neglect not.....FUN !

Actually, he missed much of the birth of the digital age - the 60's, 70's, and early 80's when most of the technology used today was conceived, invented, developed, or adopted. I played with my first computer (a mainframe terminal actually) in 1964 when I was very young child. The 70's saw a boom in computer application and technology, including the introduction of the personal computer for mainstream consumers. By 1981, I already had two of those personal computers in the living room at home. By 1982, I was accessing online services (BBS) through a modem. And I gained access to the internet, what would soon become the world wide web, in late 1983. By the time he entered school in the early 80's, computer companies were already fighting for control of the school market. By the time he reached adulthood in the early 90's, the digital age was already well underway (one could buy a computer at Wal-mart, for example).

stewart

[RoxnDox]

I started with Pentax because I could afford it (I bought my K1000 as my HS graduation present to myself). When I got married, I was lucky enough to acquire access to some nice Pentax glass that came with. :-) So, after a couple of digital P&S models, the K100D came along as a Christmas present after months of "Hmm, do I want to spend the $$$ to upgrade to a real camera again?". And now the P&S (Canon A80, still works great and I hate tossing out working stuff) has been "borrowed" by my son...

Now I have the K100D with the 18-55 kit lens, the old glass, and a Promaster 70-300. Who knows what the future may bring to my camera bag? <GRIN>

Jim

[foxglove]

Amazing variety of ways we've all come to Pentax. I've enjoyed everyone's stories.

I'm sort of a hereditary Pentaxian - the first SLR I used was my dad's old Spotmatic. I assume he got it because it was affordable. Not only have I inherited a fondness for Pentax, I've inherited cheapness! I eventually got myself a K1000, and later an ME Super to fill in while the K1000 meter was fixed. I still have both, and they both work - I should use them, it's been a long time since I shot some film! I got a digital Olympus P&S for field work (many, many photos of streams - digital made sense, and a small P&S was easy to carry) which re-kindled my interest in photography. Started thinking dSLR, found out Pentax was back-compatible with old lenses and still affordable, got a DL, loved it, soon sold it to a friend and moved to the K100. Now if only I had more time for shooting! Yeah, I know, what am I doing pissing away my time on the forum, I should be out shooting...

Julie

[JamesD]

I've owned Yashicas, Minoltas, Canons and my last slr was a Nikon. Then for some reason, I lost interest in photography. for ten years I never really picked up a camera other than taking a few required snaps with a point and shoot (Pentax IQ-Zoom) during vacations.

My wife suddenly developed an interest in photography during our trip to Hawaii and began asking questions. It seemed to spark an interest within me so I began researching. I had pretty much whittled down the competition to two cameras: Nikon D80 and the Olympus E-510. That was until a friend came over one Saturday to show me his new Pentax k10d (he already owns a K100d. As an artist, he goes on field trips, makes images with his cameras and then returns to his studio to paint.

Well... when I picked up the k10d and began playing with it, I loved the feel and responsiveness. My wife also loved it. We had previously visited several camera stores in Portland and handled the Nikon, Olympus and yes...even a few Canons. None of them felt as "right" as the Pentax. Then he told me about the shake reduction and the dust reduction ... the weather sealing and the price. I was sold; or I should say, Pentax managed to sell two k10ds that day to me and my wife. She received hers yesterday and I will be receiving mine today. With this expense I'm holding back a few months before acquiring a second lens (for each of us). We're very happy Pentax owners.

[Ecosse]

The main reason I decided to go with Pentax, (K100d Super), is the value. This is my first slr, and after researching on the internet for months I came to the conclusion that Pentax just have a better cost to features ratio, especially in the beginner/intro models, than the other big brands.

BTW, did anyone else feel mildly insane while wating, and waiting for their camera to arrive (purchased online to save a few bucks due to the rise in the value of the Canadian loonie). The one good thing about waiting is that it gives me that much more time to read up on any important info and tidbits about the camera.

[Cloudy Wizzard]

The main reason I decided to go with Pentax, (K100d Super), is the value. This is my first slr, and after researching on the internet for months I came to the conclusion that Pentax just have a better cost to features ratio, especially in the beginner/intro models, than the other big brands.

Sound like my own case

BTW, did anyone else feel mildly insane while wating, and waiting for their camera to arrive (purchased online to save a few bucks due to the rise in the value of the Canadian loonie). The one good thing about waiting is that it gives me that much more time to read up on any important info and tidbits about the camera.

LOL, yeah, I hated the wait and it was only about 14 days before it was available to pickup at the store (I did order it online though just opted to pickup the camera in a local store rather then to have the postal service deliver it to my doorstep).

[smitty]

Sound!

It fit my hands just a little better than the Nikon, so the deciding factor was the sound of the shutter.

It just sounds like I'm taking a REAL picture.

[Cloudy Wizzard]

It just sounds like I'm taking a REAL picture.

LOL, I remember when I showed my K100D Super to my brother (who's a Canon EOS 350D owner) he said "what's that noise" ? I told him that was the "normal" sound of the mirror moving but he didn't listen his Canon was so much quieter

[Kguru]

32 years ago someone (most likely an American, I wonder if s/he might be reading this) was in a rush to leave Vietnam and left behind a Pentax SLR in the US Embassy. It was given to my brother and became our family camera for many years.

So I already knew about the Pentax name. When I went shopping for a dSLR a few more factors swayed me towards the K100D: good price, small size, AAs, right amount of Mpix for my amateurish use, and last but not least it has a top LCD to show settings at a glance. Competitor models in the same price/size range but without a top LCD dropped out straightaway -- they belong to P&S class

[Mike Bokeh]

I chose a Pentax DSLR mainly because I've owned a Pentax 6x7 for almost 20 years, and the quality of the prints that camera produces is unbelievable. So, Pentax had already proved themselves to me. Any company that makes a meduim format camera has to be serious about photography.

Also, that K10D promotional video is very persuasive.

I bought a K100D, because it got very good reviews, and I figured by buying the K100D first, I'd be able to move up to the K10D.

Pentax =

Mike

[D Dude]

After wearing out my point and shoot digital camera not long ago I decided to go with an DSLR. Pentax had just released the K100 and I was impressed by it's specs: Reasonable price (I paid about $600 with lens kit), uses 4 AA batteries (I use rechargables) and the fact that my K1000 has served me flawlessly since 1985.

No regrets with this camera. I love it.

[bymy141]

Well hoping this will cause less controversy as the RAW vs JPEG one.

I'm wondering why the people who use Pentax choose Pentax and not another brand like Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Leica, Samsung, Sony, Fuji, ...

Not that I think Pentax is less then these others (wouldn't have bought the K100D Super if I thought that now would I ) but I'm just wondering since I didn't really know about Pentax until a few weeks ago and Canon and Nikon seem to be considered to be the top 2 brands.

Let me start :

I had a look at the website of a local camera store (they are fairly big and offer all major brands) and selected a camera from each brand (like Canon EOS 400D, Nikon D40, ...). First I tried to compare them myself but since I don't have the knowledge to judge based on those specs I decided to ask around. So I asked some people on a generic photo forums where most people use Nikon or Canon.

Anyways, one of the first replies was from a member who also owns the K100D Super and he was very happy with it (he also stated that this camera was as good as the more expensive Canon EOS camera's and the SR was also a plus).

So I decided to have a closer look at the Pentax camera (I was then actually doubting about the Canon and Nikon camera's) and I found a fair number of reviews on this camera which were almost all very positive (perfect camera for the beginner) offcourse with a few negative points but I guess all types/brands have those.

One of the major things that surprised me was that a certain review (don't remember which one) stated that this 6Megapixel camera would produce better quality images then some (most ?) of the 8Megapixel camera's from other brands.

Convinced by the positive reviews and the price I decided to buy the Pentax and not a Canon or Nikon one.

now I'm just hoping that I will be as positive about this camera as the person who advised it (and the people here) so that my next camera (not that soon I hope ) will also be a Pentax.

A long time ago I bought a ME Super camera for my father of my first self earned salary. I allways liked that camera very, very much. Light, sharp lens, easy.
For our trip to Africa I wanted to buy a DSLR. After reading too many Internet camera reviews and tests, I didn't know what to do. I even made a big Xl tabel with features and scoring per camera and almost bought the Olympus E510, until I saw the dynamic range results.
The weight and size of the K10D made me doubt the most. I like smaller en lighter better.

Nevertheless, the ME Super and a camera shop in Amsterdam made me choose the K10D.
Good choice, no regrets, wish there were more lens options to choose from.

- Bert

[m8o]

I saw this thread kicking around the weeks but haven't looked or posted. I'm sure this has all been said, but anyway, my list in response to the original question posed...

1) Feature set; Unrivaled set of capabilities for the money.
2) Handling ; feels natural in the hands and so easy to use ... I will probably never buy another camera without dual wheels front and back.
3) Backward compatibility with decades worth of super sharp 'old' lenses.... if I ever want. Haven't yet, but great to know I can.
4) Numerous test image shots across many camera review sites, especially imaging-resource.com, held up really well against other cameras in its class or even the next step up.
5) Both SR and DR built into the body, to make lens purchases more economical in providing SR to each and any lens. I might have ended up with the D200 if it had DR (yes, D300 does now and I knew that would happen!!!), and if I could have stomached the cost of fast lenses with SR (VR in Nikonian).
6) Weather sealed body! And, at the time, the expecation of upcoming weather sealed lenses.
7) Fantastic value. The best value in DP today IMO!

...I bet if I tried I could'a made it a "top 10" list!

[bymy141]

After giving your question a long thought I guess the most important reason to buy Pentax instead of Nikon/Canon is to not the price and/or the featureset.

It was not to go with the flow, to be off the track.
It's not something I’m advertising, however, I guess I’m a person that is somewhat rebellious. Wanting to differentiate.

Reading this forum you may come to the conclusion that this might be true for many of the people here.

So in the end, was it reason or emotion?
I guess it was emotion and I’ve made plenty of very nice photos to support decision afterwards.

- Bert