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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-11-2012, 06:09 AM
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I was haunting these forums and some posts had me convinced that the Pentax (or Tamron) 18-250 AF was for sure the best lens addition I could make for my K-x. I found a Pentax 18-250 AF locally on Craigslist, very decent price and it's in mint condition. I love it. It's my favorite lens and use it almost as much as the stock 18-55. I used the 18-250 a couple of days ago, the only lens I took with me. It's my most versatile lens, of course, and when I want versatility and don't want to have to change lenses, it's the one I have on my K-x.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-11-2012, 05:46 AM
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I got a K-x because I was convinced it was the best "bang for the buck." Nothing has happened to change my mind. I love it, it's done everything I could want. I have some great lenses and they weren't terribly expensive. I know that I can find lenses if and when I want/need them, and at relatively great prices. I don't need a local store to stock accessories, I can find them online. I wasn't able to find my camera for a touchy/feely before I bought it but this didn't concern me. I've bought a lot of my technical equipment without seeing and handling them ahead of time. I don't tend to just get the most popular thing, what's readily seen, handled and bought at Best Buy or the local specialty stores.
I'm aware of the very common advice to go into stores and handle and compare different DSLR's before making a buying decision. This wasn't possible for me with the K-x, and I wasn't concerned. I'd never used a DSLR before, and although I saw some posts from people saying the K-x felt somewhat small to them, I wasn't worried. Not being used to handling a DSLR, I figured that I wouldn't have a sense of how it should be, should feel, and I believe I was right. My hands are larger than average. It's often difficult for me to find gloves that are large enough for me, although my fingers are slender. But my K-x feels just fine.
I love the fact that it uses 4 AA rechargeable batteries. So does my other digital camera, a Samsung Digimax V3 (2 AAs), but the Pentax runs a very long time without needing to switch to freshly charged batteries. The Samsung, OTOH, is a total PITA, it's always shutting down due to insufficient battery power.
And I don't remember running into another Pentax user since I got my K-x, but this doesn't bother me. However, I have gotten comments from people on mine. Many are aware of Pentax's reputation going back over 50 years.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-18-2010, 08:51 AM
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Yeah, .1 x .1 x .1 = .001 = pretty "rare." Of course, I don't recommend using a DSLR while riding your motorcycle, YMMV. ;) BTW, I especially admire African Americans (I'm in California) who think for themselves. Of course, it doesn't matter so much what color your skin is. Not a lot of folks do think for themselves.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-18-2010, 05:36 AM
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I went to visit a friend upstate 10 days ago and brought my new K-x and shot over 200 shots of his digs. He studied art in college and I got an ear full about how what I was doing is "not photography, it's digital imagery." He resents that we can take a hundred pictures in 5 minutes, toss 99 and keep the one that just happened to come out right when he spent years learning how to get results from a single roll of film. I was into film many years ago, so I know about film but I was pretty much silent about defending digital photography. After all, I was his guest. I started to think he felt the camera an intrusion into his privacy and put it away for the rest of my stay. :o
A few days ago I took my K-x into a beautiful produce market early in the morning when everything was pristine and had my newly acquired SMC Pentax-A f1.7 50mm, and wanted to take some test shots. An older guy came up to me, very curious about my Pentax. He said he has a lot of Pentax glass from his film days and was very curious about getting a DSLR body for it. We talked for around 5 minutes and he seemed very encouraged to check out the K-x and the other Pentax DSLR bodies out there.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-29-2010, 07:57 AM
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I went to my first event with my new K-x a couple weeks ago, a girls roller derby competition. Had my DA 18-250mm. The guy next to me had a Canikon, but he was aware of Pentax and said he's considered/considering a Pentax because he has some glass. I mentioned the new models coming out.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-19-2010, 08:05 AM
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That's a fantastic photograph of the photographer club in Singapore. I saved a copy.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-14-2010, 09:32 AM
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Read a newspaper article yesterday describing the NEX3 and NEX5 as seeming like a cell phone, not a camera (I haven't seen them). The reviewer loves them, though, says they're just the thing for photogs who want IQ without the size/wt of a DSLR. He hopes the next versions will be camera-like!
It was Don Lindich's nationally syndicated column or maybe his blog, or maybe both. The blog:
http://www.soundadviceblog.com/
BTW, the first camera he recommended in his column yesterday was the K-x! The word that stuck in my mind was love!
Here's a quote about the NEX's from the blog:
"The dark horse on the horizon? It’s definitely Sony. This week I was introduced to Sony’s NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras and I became an NEX-5 owner in very short order, though I have not been much of a Sony fan lately. I was blown away when I saw how tiny the NEX cameras are and believe me, pics on the web do not do them justice. You really need to hold one in your hand to “get it.” I will write more later this week, but for now let me say that the NEX-5 is a technological tour de force that is unmatched in the category, though using it sometimes it feels more like using a cell phone than a fine photographic instrument. I am flabbergasted at what Sony has accomplished with these cameras, despite their quirks and flaws. If they make the next NEX body seem more like a camera and less like a gadget they might well own the CILC category. I am looking forward to telling you more about the NEX-5 later this week."
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-12-2010, 11:38 AM
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When did Pentax institute new prices? They went way up?
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-12-2010, 06:46 AM
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Exactly (and congrats, it's entirely obvious to me, and has been for a long time, that Austin >> any other city in TX). I bought my K-x sight unseen. I did some poking around (on the telephone! Also threads online) and determined that a Pentax DSLR wasn't going to be easy to find in a B&M store even in my major metropolitan area (San Francisco and immediate environment). It's nothing new for me to buy "sight unseen," I've done it many times and am usually quite comfortable doing so because I generally do my homework. So it was with my first computer monitor, for instance, a Nanao 17" CRT for $1000, a great price at the time, my HD projector.
I did see Sony DSLR's at my local Best Buy, but they aren't stocking Pentax's.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-12-2010, 05:58 AM
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I'm glad I didn't get on the "Rebel" train.
Great tip on the big lens. I think I'll get me an 18-250mm walk-around (partly) to impress the gentry! :D My 55-300mm will do that, but it's not so versatile.
I was thinking, my new 55-300mm DA L would be perfect for the San Diego Zoo. I was there around a year ago with my P&S (minimum 1 second shutter lag, 9+ seconds between shots :() and my cousin's husband was shooting a D60, IIRC. We compared photos later. Some day I'm going back with my K-x and zoom. It'll be a while, it's 500 miles away.
I'm not uncomfortable being different, per se. I'd rather have a camera with some real snob appeal (Pentax!) than Canikon. It took me over two years to pick out my camera but I'm confident I got the right one for me.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-11-2010, 10:15 AM
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Nice. Gotta believe that if anybody knows their cameras, particularly what's happening in the camera scene now, it's the Japanese, particularly the well-healed Japanese who would be traveling to the other side of the planet. I suppose this would apply to South Koreans, too. I've seen bus loads (off loaded) of Asian tourists who all seemed to have a camera around their neck or in their hands. They love their technology.
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