Why did you buy a Pantax?

I kind of "grew into" Pentax through pfotography class back in -73 with a Spotmatic and I bought my KM in -75 for my first real sallory. I still have the KM and it works great. That´s why I always used Pentax through the years.

Now, I have to admit I have a great affection to the Carl Zeiss lenses, so there is also a Contax gear in the bag. But since the digital break through, I´ve been waiting for an DSLR body for my Zeiss glass, without success. So they will probably be my analog gear. Right now, I´m just waiting to lay my hands on a K10D.

Thanks,

// Mats

Once upon a time there was a boy who wanted to take photos. He was 8 years old at the time, so his parents bought him an inexpensive point and shoot. It was a Hanimex Iforgetwhat. Some nice photos were taken and developed and the camera was upgraded to a Yashica Iforgetwhat rangefinder on B&W film, again because B&W was cheaper. After some more good photos the camera was upgraded again to a Yashica Iforgetwhat SLR with an Asahi 55mm f1.8. This time I was given colour film to shoot with, and some pretty good pictures were taken. This covers 1984-1990 when, for our trip to Europe, I was awarded a Pentax P30n with 28-80mm f3.5 SMC-A. Fantastic camera , and it has been good, no excellent, until 2006 when, for my 30th birthday, my wife (and by that I mean I) bought me the Pentax *istDL single lens kit. The reason I went Pentax digital is because I had the 28-80 and 80-320 lenses. Being poor (money only to feed one of us and to buy camera equipment ), I had to stick with Pentax because I couldn't afford a new range (28-320) of lenses.

So in the end I was bred into the Pentax family rather than choosing it.

To wrap up, I must say that if Pentax was a bad product , and that's one HUGE if, I would have noticed about 16 years ago!!!

Mys first proper camera was a spotmatic F, now I have two bodies and a heap of lenses for them. Originally chose this camera as it is totally manual, no reliance on batteries, wiht a view to aurora and astro photography.

Using it to take pictures at steam and vintage fairs / race tracks I noticed it had some limitations with regard to meter accuracy etc (it is old) so I also got an MZ-5 and some lenses.

Recently I bought an *istDS to add to my collection.

Never seen the point in changing brands as I'm happy with what I've got.

When I was at school, my brother bought a Kodak Retina 3S, which I rather fancied, but because it was my brother, I wouldn't possibly get one the same. By the time I could afford it I fell in love with the Pentax ME Super because of the size, the spec and the price and bought one in 1980 when working in the States with a 50mm f1.7 lens, a 28mm f2.8 and a Sigma 80-200mm. It was hardly any bigger than the Halina my wife had before we were married. The ME-S did until 1999 when I dropped it on an oak floor. After that, I just used a compact until starting a course in about 2003 where they had a couple of MZ-30 to lend. I bought a Canon AE-1 from a colleague, for me and a Pentax MZ-30 for the wife (she did the course with me). Later I bought the MZ-6 and then a *ist, then added an MX and another ME-S. I've been waiting for a worthwhile Digital SLR (Pentax, of course), and now have a K10D on order.

The Pentax gear always feels nice, works well and is usually good value for money. Not all the lenses I use are Pentax, and I'm not sure the kit leses are always the best quality. The D will probably have the Pentax 16-45 lens.

I'm afraid George's epigram, more gear freak than photographer is applicable in my case . I also have a problem that I can never sell anything, so have enough gear to kit out several times over.

Why did I first buy a Pentax: (long story please take the time to read)

Parents offered me the choice to go on Holiday abroad with them or have the equivalent in cash and stay home and house/dog sit. I was just at the age when holidays with parents was not a good thing.

So I took the cash, I looked at Pentax Me Super, Olympus OM 10, and a Nikon (I forget which, but was a bit too expensive) Had a play in the shop with the Me Super and an OM 10, the OM did not feel right, the ME super just felt perfect for me. So I bought It.

Stayed with them ever since, adding lenses and an MZ body as I went along (apart from a slight detour to a Fuji S602, becasue *ist D was not available then) Then got the *istD when it came out.

Will stick with it for a while, it more than exceeds my abilities.

I like the way that when something new comes out I can choose to buy it or not, knowing that I only need to buy something new that I want, and it will work with all the old stuff. I do not need to buy a new set of lenses etc, no need to trade in old stuff.

Also makes Christmas and Birthdays easy for the parents and family, just send them a "wish list" They pick out what they want and I get new toys that are compatable with everything.

SWMBO (Wife) has a Pentax 35mm compact Espio 105G which I must admit that over the years has never let us down and is a brilliant "Pull out of pocket and shoot camera" We will be uprgrading it this year to a Pentax digital compact (thank you to all that replied to my thread on digital compacts)

I used the phrase "Pull out of pocket and shoot" earlier because sometimes we just take her compact on hols due to space and weight limits, what with also having to carry my SCUBA gear and underwater camera. Having a simple reliable camera that can fit in a pocket or her hand bag sometimes has higher priority than carrying around the *istD in a camera bagwith lenses, spare batteries etc

The Pentax compacts are excellent when you are not looking for special effects shots, but still want every shot to be a keeper from holiday.

Some of the members on this forum are much better photographers than I will ever be, they understand pixels and f-stops better than me. ( but I thank them all for the help that they give, there does not appear to be any snobbery or "I know better than you" within the Pentax user community)

I just want to take good pictures, with reliable equipment, upgrade to modern technology when I chose and at a reasonable cost.

Pentax meets all the above criteria.

Basically I went Pentax because my Dad has been shooting Pentax since the K1000 came out (he has one of the first few in this country, in near mint condition despite its years of service).

When I started thinking about my big family present for my 18th birthday all I could come up with was a really good camera. My family offered me film or digital and I'm glad I went for film since at that time there were no DSLRs to speak of, certainly none in our price range. My Dad picked me out an MZ-7 with twin lenses (28-80 and 80-320). It's a kit which will always hold a dear place in my heart and though all three pieces are now a outclassed by other items in my collection I will never sell any part of it.


Between Dad and I we have one example of every range of Pentax cameras since the K1000 except for the K series digitals. We also have a vast array of Pentax lenses. I would need a VERY good offer before I'd think about switching systems. I love the way I can borrow the 55 F1.8 from Dads K1000 and mount it on my *ist DL2 knowing that it will work in every way that matters, and equally putting my FA 80-320 on the K1000 works perfectly.

"K series digitals" ???????????????

G

as in, K100D, K110D, K10D

The K series to me still means K1000, KM, KX, K2, then I came to mention the new digitals and realised I had a designation crisis lol

Moi aussi.

G

It's confusing to newcomers to the Pentax lingo, since the K series camera were the first K mount film cameras. Then because of the fame of the K1000, Pentax decided to use the K in the names of digitals, adding a D after the number.

To most of us, the K series is the old film cameras, the D series is the digitals.

The price had A lot to do with it, But would never have have bought one on that fact alone, Many years ago I bought A Petax SPF and considered this A very fine camera which I still own but have now gone digital with the K100D.
Kevin.

The price had A lot to do with it, But would never have have bought one on that fact alone, Many years ago I bought A Petax SPF and considered this A very fine camera which I still own but have now gone digital with the K100D.
Kevin.

In 1994 I wanted a camera in order to use it for a project of my faculty. I had to take photos in a monastry of Holy Mount Athos. I didn't have much money and all I had was little experience on Zenith SLRs.
During that period I saw a used Pentax P30T with a Pentax cheap lens 28-80/3.5-4.5 in a shop. I didn't resist in the temtation and I bought it. I got in love with that camera. Later, I got a Tamron SP 35-210/f3.5-4.2. I became a strong Pentax supporter.
My dream was to get the (P)Z-1(p). This dream became reality, after 3 or 4 years. I didn't want to lose my P30T, but I had to because I didn't have the money to buy my Z1.
Soon, I loved my Z1 so much that I have still been refusing leaving the film. If there was a hand-grip for this camera. I wouldn't ever leave it.
I hope that Pentax K1d will be sth like Z1 with full of accessories.

So why didn't they market them as the KD range, KD100 KD110 KD10?
Also does this mean the next generation of Pentax DSLRs could be the M or A series or better still what about the LX10D, gold plated with snakeskin leather trim!

My first camera was a unit which took film in a cassette (126 film ??). Then I "upgraded" to a fuji point and shoot 35mm which lasted a couple of years.
After some time and often using my dad's Minolta SLR I bought a Carena SX300 which was a chinese clone of the Minolta S300X (if mix up the designations every time...). That thing worked for years and years, it came with a 50mm f1.7 and a 28 f2.8 and a 135 f2.8 followed.
After those years I found that it was time to take a step up the ladder and go for a autofocus SLR.
After some searching I ended up with a Pentax MZ-10 based on price and look&feel. It came with a 35-80 lens (not the best kitlens ever produced by pentax...) and later I bought a 80-200 out of the same range.
Then I took a sidestep to a Minolta Dimage Z1 because of the then high prices of digital SLR's. After only 3 years I couldn't resist investing my Christmas bonus in a DS with the 18-55. I bought the DS for a couple of reasons. It just felt right in my hands, didn't have to search for functions. And the fact that I could use my old Pentax lenses and flashgun with it was the last push to get me to pull out the plastic... First I tried the old 80-200 but that wasn't the best combination. In the following period I got a SMC-A 50 f1.7, a sigma 50mm macro and a Tamron 28-200. Now this year my Christmas bonus went to Pentax again to get a DA16-45 and the DA50-200.
The K10D will have to wait, the DS can do more then I am able to do with it at the moment. So I will wait a couple of years and see what happens.