What Camera?

I am an avid Pentax user with a K5.
My 17 year old son is wanting his first DSLR.
Q. Any advice on how I can steer him away from a Canon 600D or a Nikon D5100, both of which may appear more interesting considering Pentax's current situation?
I know the answer, of course, but would like some reassurance!

17 year olds are still at an impressionable age, so the fact that Canon and Nikon both advertise on tv, he's gonna want one of their products. Tell him that just because Pentax aren't "in yer face" like the aforementioned camera-tarts, doesn't mean Pentax are useless. I think a wee lesson in the history of Pentax cameras might just open his eyes a tad!

That said - his eyes might prefer the colours produced by Nikon or Canon in the same way as some people will buy Denon hifi because it sounds better than perhaps TEAC's hifi systems - in other words, it's subjective.

I'm not sure what is meant by Pentax's current situation. New owners who have plans to add some serious investment sounds OK to me....

I think he'll make up his own mind though - beware "selling" anything because if it goes wrong guess who'll get the blame....

I'd just suggest he has a good look at all the options before being swayed by advertising. Check up on tests online and in magazines, handle the products in a shop. There's no guarantee that any choice will prove to be his long term choice, but if it is the right choice it might save a lot of swapping about later.

Hi teve9761 & johnriley,
Many thanks for your wise words.
What I meant by Pentax's current situation is - I would love to wholeheartedly advise him to buy a K5 - at the current prices it's got to be the best bargain ever!
But, looking into the future, can we be confident that Pentax's direction will further add to the excellent equipment already available?

I don't see why it wouldn't. It's as good a bet going forwards as anyone, and certainly in better shape than Olympus! Nikon have huge production problems and Canon don't seem to moving very quickly anywhere....But where do we expect things to go? Reading the future is a tricky business and I would just choose the best there is right now and let the future take care of itself.

There are huge numbers of Pentax lenses, old and new, so things are pretty well covered.

STEVIED - to follow up on John's point.. My supervisor at work was intent on buying the Nikon 3100 slr, but because the assembly plant at Ayutthaya (Thailand) was flooded when the Chao Phraya river burst its banks, coupled with the earthquake/tsunami in Japan earlier in the year, Nikon have been seriously damaged production-wise, hence you will have great difficulty in obtaining some of their newer models. If you can source a Nikon you're after, chances are that you will pay over the odds for it. I can't say with any certainty what Canon's problems are though.

Like John says, buy what's on the market now. It's a bit like your son wanting the latest superbike or a Mitsubishi Evo - if he got an old Honda 50cc, or a second-hand Nissan Micra, he'll be content enough with it at the time, but still be driven with the aspiration of moving up to "better" things in the future. HE's got to learn to walk before he can run, Stevie.

Surely showing your photographs will be enough...

I would let him make his own mind up.

He is likely to have friends who probably have a Canikon of some description with which he can borrow/lend lenses and suchlike.

TBH at 17 he will probably want to go with what his friends have anyway, after all would you have picked the same equipment your dad used at his age?

NOOOoooooo!

Steer him towards a Canon or Nikon, then he cant nick your lenses

Well, that is about the age I started and bought my first srl. My father had a Pentax MX and that is what I wanted too. But I could not afford it and so I bought a Cosina CT1.

At 17 I guess it is not a bad thing to be able to borrow dad's lenses, wouldn't Pentax be a natural choice?

When you were looking it is probably safe to say Pentax was a major brand in photography therefore it made more sense then.

Not heard of peer pressure?

At 17 you want exactly the same as your mates .. and I can guarantee that's not Pentax.

At 17 years old, if this lad was particularly swayed by peer pressure, I doubt he'd be spending his money on a DSLR

Hopefully if he has mates who share his hobby, they will think the same way. But I agree - let him make his own mind up, so long as he knows what a sweet deal the K5 is!

I was going to suggest that if he buys the Pentax so you could share lenses but Fatspider seems to have summed this up well

If you stand back and let your son do the maths, he might agree that Pentax is a better deal all round, especially if he's buying AND you're prepared to share lenses, etc.

If he decides on another brand, well, life's all about learning from experience and mistakes isn't it?

As to peer pressure, difficult to avoid at that age. Depends whether he sees himself as a leader or follower.

Here's a tip: Go to a camera store. Ask him to hold a 600D. Then ask him to hold a K5. Now start pouring water on your K5. Well you see where this is going...