A (Very) Fond Farewell to Pentax

This isn't one of those whinging 'why I'm giving up Pentax' posts!

However, I am selling my Pentax gear - K5, lenses from 12-44 zoom, 60-250mm, 200 2.8 and many in between. The camera is superb, I have no complaints. Neither do I have about the lenses, each and every one of them a great example of its type. So why am I selling?

I bought a Panasonic GH2 as a carry around camera, with a few Olympus and Panasonic lenses. A 12mm f2, 45mm f1.8 17mm f1.7 and others to come as my gear sells.

I also supply pix to Alamy, which has pretty stringent IQ requirements. My first 80 images on the GH2 passed QC with no problems. The camera is light, versatile and a joy to use with its large, bright EVF, articulated LCD and ergonomic control layout and alternative touch screen control which I personally adore.

No, its out and out image quality doesn't match the K5, nor its image capture speed. But it is light, I can carry a couple of bodies plus lenses in a tiny and light bag compared to my K5 and equivalent lenses.

The things I, as an EX Pro, now keeping my hand in with stock images, need to do are done perfectly well by this 4/3 camera. And with the new 16Mp sensor, with good quality up to 1600 ISO. I'd put the quality at about 1.5 stops behind the K5 noise wise. For my purposes, good enough.

I'm selling now because I ain't getting younger and the weight of the 4/3 stuff on my back is so much easier when I'm cycling (my main transport) and photographing around London. I can slip the camera and the new, tiny, 28-85mm equivalent X zoom in my shoulder bag so that it is always with me now that I am a lazy old s*d.

I had thought of getting a set of pancake lenses for the K5 but in order to get the long focal lengths, the laws of physics dictate they get very big.

The main reason I have made my decision now, however, is that I waited for Pentax to produce some radical new stuff. And they did, the Q. But getting images from that past the stock agency IQ Nazis(:wink would be, like with my old LX3 Panasonic, just too painstaking.

I had hoped they would produce a mirrorless micro 4/3 on the same general philosophy as the K5. I think such a model from Pentax would have knocked the GH2 into a cocked hat. But Pentax appear not to take my personal requirements into consideration when making their global corporate decisions

If I could have kept the K5 and lenses and bought the Panasonic/ Olympus stuff as well, I would have. Unfortunately, buying one means selling the other in my real world.

I anyone sees any criticism of Pentax or their products in this post, they should read it again. I am as happy with the equipment as when I bought it and my thoughts would apply the same if it had been Nikon or Canon. Please no muck throwing!

I just thought I'd put my view forward for what it's worth (nothing, did I hear?) as a discussion topic. My feeling is that micro 4/3 represents a fertile future development platform for all makers. Pentax, Nikon, Sony, Canon etc all make DSLRs.

Why can't they all make micro 4/3rds as well?

Well at least you have a decent reason for swapping ...

Good luck with your new system .. now how much for the 200mm, I miss mine a lot.

Please try to make sure this thread doesn't end up the same way as the other farewell threads have...

I hoped I had framed my post in such a way that I had made it clear that I had no axe to grind nor was I expressing any resentments, so that any angry replies would be forestalled. I thought my thoughts and reasons might be of interest to a few people.

If that's not clear or the post is inappropriate, please feel free to delete it John.

Good luck for the future Lemmy. Don't worry John just treats us like naughty kids

Good luck Lemmy. Don't worry, your post is fine, I think John is just trying to pre-empt any trolls. I haven't been around much as other things (including life and my other passion, bass guitar) have got in the way. I have the K5 and an array of lenses plus grip and yet lately I find myself just using the 21mm and body. Fact is, these are tools and the tool needs to meet your needs. As Mike says, you've made a rational decision and I may find myself looking in that direction soon (or maybe not - the K5 and 21mm is killer !)

Cheers

Tony

Thanks for your farewell post, it's a very pleasant one. I must admit I am pretty tempted too by the weight-saving but for now my k-5 and limiteds do all I want and the quality is second to none. If the 4/3 consortium get their sensors up to where Sony are, though, choices may become harder to make especially if looking at a trip abroad. Pentax/Ricoh could do with a full foot in the mirrorless market, imho, the Q being a bit of a toe. And good luck for the future, too.

The 4/3 holds no appeal for me at this stage.... but I dare say in a few years time, whether that be3/4 years, 5 years or longer, I may well make the same decision for exactly the same reason.

I normally lug around 2 bodies and up to four lenses - with other bits n bobs and a bottle of water that weight soon makes itself felt.

I started out in DSLR world with a 4/3rds DSLR (Olympus E520), which was a great camera, but 4/3rds was always a step behind APS-c. Not so far now though... A friend of mine has just left Nikon for the exact same reasons as yourself; I have also been thinking along the same lines recently. More in terms, however, of APS-c models like the NEX 7. It looks like an amazing camera.

But for now I will persevere with the K5 and K20D, and hope that Pentax comes out with a small mirrorless body on which I have the option of using my existing lenses, while slowly accumulating a few new-fangled and lighter alternatives. While keeping my K5. If Pentax don't produce a light EVF body with loads of control soon, however, I will find myself changing systems once again, which I would really rather avoid.

And no, John, I am not having a go.

Your reasons are perfectly valid, Lemmy, and I am sure you will enjoy the new system. It's a shame there is no viable alternative from Pentax yet (does anyone really take the Q seriously?), but I am confident they will catch up; it's also a question of how long their established client base will wait. Hopefully Pentax/Ricoh realise that this (a dedicated client base vs the hegonomy of Canikon) is one of their strengths. Hopefully they aren't panicking about getting a new fanbase as all us old farts bite the dust....



There's one thing, however, that will always be difficult for me as far as changing systems goes.... I am not sure a lighter body could ever feel as comfortable in the hand as an ungripped K5

Well worded lemmy and for reasons that matter to you.

Although I won't give up on my current Pentax equipment, I have lost faith with the company (is this a criticism)?

I've one last Ltd lens to buy (43mm) and that's my lot unless they go FF and then I only need the body.

For the last year or so, I've invested heavily elsewhere with no regrets.

Good luck with the move and be happy with your lot.

Best regards

I've got to add to grumblings from others here about Pentax's sluggishness in developing a compact aps-c camera. Anyone with the brain the size of a pea could have worked out that, what with the Pentax range of diminutive primes, this was a wise commercial move ages ago. But from an aps-c point of view their thunder has been stolen by Sony, Samsung and Fuji. Meanwhile, the 4/3 market is really very well-developed by now.

Fuji's X100 has gone down a storm despite having a fixed lens and a high price tag. Imagine what kind of reception a Pentax rangefinder type camera, with interchangeable lenses and the kind of IQ you get with a K5 or KR, would have had. Hopefully they are not too late. Though if I'm not mistaken, they have a (recent) track record of being late - having lost market share to Canikon in the shift to digital.

As Mecrox points out the Q is merely a toe in the water. And a little toe at that.

I quite understand your decision to move Lemmy. I was quite impressed by the Panasonic too. I am keeping an eye on the compact systems, though ideally I want to use my Pentax primes (without an adapter). And tbh the handling of the K5 is superb, and it is itself pretty diminutive - particularly for the amount of control it allows. Look what Pentax can do when they put their minds to it - hopefully whoever was responsible for putting a Q ahead of an aps-c compact has been moved in the recent Ricoh takeover.

Good luck with your move.

I must admit if I were going to buy a more compact option then it wouldn't be Pentax either as I just don't find anything that fits the bill. It seems that is the case for many enthusiasts.

I'm not sure what the point of the warning to the membership was, but if I were in the Pentax organisation I would regard discussions like this as extremely valuable market research.

If the gear you have isnt doing the job and there is a better alternative then it's a simple decision. I have always thought the Panasonic EVIL cameras looked good- then so do the Olympus and Sony alternatives- only the recent releases from Pentax (Q) and Nikon (V1 J1) look like poor options to me.

I think the NEX7 is the kind of camera Pentax could launch- all of the IQ of a DSLR but none of the bulk. So many cool small primes to stick on it.

So blooming obvious. Surely this will happen

A Pentax rangefinder/ EVF hybrid viewfinder that would take the pancake lenses

What a brilliant idea because the lenses already exist so a ready made market worldwide for such a camera.

Yes please! Where can I pay my deposit?

So long Lemmy, sorry to see such a valuable contributor go.
Hopefully Pentax will bring out something to tempt you back
in a year or so.

Regards