Why ?.

Flossie; I totally agree with the points you have raised. (You don't need to defend the Pentax brand here!) And those are some of the reasons why I'm certainly sticking with Pentax.

Though the main reason for me is something I felt the first time I picked one up - is that the Pentax system just feels right. The ergonomics, the layout, controls. It's the nuances. I feel at home. Every other system I've played with just does'nt click with me.

But others might not see it that way - they might have been looking for a good time to jump to a full-frame system for example, and after an assesement of the growing capital they have in their Pentax collection, they realise they can sell the lot and not need much further in terms of finances to go to a new brand.

I'm not making this up - a few Pentax User Forum members within the last year have done this, so there's obviously some substance in it.

What encourages me however (as John Riley says) there does appear to be more people coming to Pentax than ever before - but these are people who are (generally speaking) starting from scratch; and my point centers around some existing Pentax users with a fair bit of gear.

carrying the logic into other areas of life:

I'm constipated. Clearly it is my toilets fault, so I will sell all the "American Standard" toilets in my home and buy "Aquaware"



"American Standard" is crap.
So who wants to buy some "American Standard" toilets, these are beautiful, hardly used in mint condition....
$200.00 each or best offer.

For me it was mainly down to one thing. It is all but impossible to rent Pentax and there are no long, fast lenses. I can hire a Nikon 200-400 f/4.0 for £200 a week or a Sigma 300-800 f/5.6 for about £230.

I simply cannot get lenses like this for Pentax and (although I think SRS have just started) there is nowhere else hiring Pentax.

I think it cost me about £1,000 to switch so it was not an easy decision.

It could be if someone found themselves unable to buy the lenses they planned to. For example at the beginning of 2009, a DA 12-24, FA35 and FA50 (I'm just picking an arbitrary 'upgrade set' for landscape photographers!) would have cost a total of £830. Today it's £1589 (£829 DA12-24, £430 FA35, £330 FA50). For £1589 one could buy a Canon EOS 50D and two out of the three lenses (35 f2 and 50 f1.4). The money gained by selling Pentax gear could then be used to pay for a 10-22 with cash left over.

I happen to love my Pentax gear, because the lenses are fabulous, for my own uses the camera's better than the other three systems (hint: K20D has weather sealing. I live in a place where rain is just called 'weather' ), but I can see why that would be attractive to some.

As we said when we started out with this thread there are lots of reasons why people do what they do. These threads tend to deteriorate as people become defensive of their own decisions, so let's keep this one nice and cool!

Surprised no-one has picked up on the fact that there is a lot of misinformation circulating about the Pentax brand which has been circulating for years, not helped by the fact that Jessops do not sell pentax equipment limiting visibility:

Things like:

Pentax is a dead brand
Lens availability and compatability; this is a good for one for Nikon-switchers - not a problem if you have D90 or higher, but if you have the budget versions you can have AF-S only
DA* and SDM problems
or the 'best' their photography will improve

Sort of things that put people off buying Pentax because a) they are ignorant and b) the sellers are ignorant.

Many people have gone for a Canon or Nikon for a valid reason. Their models might fit their type of photography better. The D3 complements the Pentax gear very well, it excels in the areas where the Pentax falls down a bit (AF and noise); I really did not want a D300s as that would overlap with the K20D, and I just love the Pentax primes (the FA is more than a match for the AF-S G 1.4

Comparing an FA 35 with the Nikon 35 f1.8 is rather daft as the Nikkor is a DX lens

I can't comment on the relative handling of current Pentax vs Nikon/Canon digital models but I had limited experience of the merits of the comparable Pentax and Nikon film cameras.
In my newspaper days I was a a reporter not a photographer but I did carry camera gear for those occasions where no photographer was available. I sometimes used my own ME Super and at others a Nikon FM2 from the office. The Nikon was clunky, heavy and despite its solid feel was not as sturdy or well finished as the Pentax.
I can understand why professional photographers like pressmen use Canon and Nikon, that's because the high end models costing more than most amateurs can justify, have features more suited to action photography. They offer faster and longer lenses and better frames-per-second performance.
But at entry and advanced amateur level I haven't been impressed with what I've seen of the Canon and Nikon models used by my camera club friends, particularly the Canons.
Pentax cameras have always been ergonomically superior and Pentax lenses are as good as the best from the opposition.
David

I think this is actually a major factor and if Pentax did withdraw Jessops credit then a big mistake.

While I agree Jessops did look very dodgy for a while (and still do) there is no getting away from the fact they are the biggest photography retailer out there and for Pentax not to be in their shops (imo) tells most people that it is not a brand worth considering.

It would probably be worth risking a few hundred grand and getting Pentax back in Jessops .. even if they do go under in 12 months it's no doubt cheaper than advertising in a few glossy mags for a year.

Pentax are poorly represented in the Netherlands too.
They are not sold in many shops where people go to buy a camera - Dixons and the like.
Yes the big camera shops have them, but nowhere near as well promoted as the others. In one well known store they have all the models from the others on show for you to play with, but not a single Pentax.
Many smaller camera stores also no longer stock Pentax. You really have to want to but the brand here, and go out to your way to do so.

That explains why people don't buy Pentax in the first place, but not really why they change brands having gone to the effort of finding Pentax stuff.

It is human nature to want to believe that the grass is greener on the other side. Marketing professionals exploit this trait and are assisted by magazine articles and revues. It is always the same whether the equipment is for photography, hifi, golf, fishing,computing, cars, politics etc etc etc.

Whether the people in photography who change brands, have any real need for this percieved performance gain is often questionable. Many such people, do not enter photographic society competitions, or enter exhibitions, or sell their work professionally. However, what people spend their money on and their reasons is a matter of personal choice.

What about after sales support? That seems to have been a factor in some cases reading on this site.

After Sales is a bone of contention with all marques - just read the forums elsewhere to see that.

The trouble is we only ever hear the bad stories, never (or very rarely) the good ones.

Very true. The Internet has worsened this problem significantly too.

As a teenager/very young man I wanted an ME Super, but couldn't afford one. When the SFX was launched here (about 1985/86 if I remember)I was able to afford one of those and used it until traded in for (down to ?) an MZ5. Then digital got invented, and they all seemed so huge that I waited and waited and waited for Pentax to produce something the size of the ME Super. Nothing small enough arrived until the Olympus E400. I was seduced and bought one, and three lenses. But even the E400 was too large a camera for me, and I've spent the last year buying an MX, an ME Super and endless lenses from a well-know auction site.

So I feel I've come full circle. If Pentax could produce a digital SLR genuinely the size of the MX / ME Super, who knows : perhaps I may be seduced again. of course, I wouldn't have to buy new lenses (unless I decided I had to have autofocus.............)

Cant knock Pentax here either my first K100 D was faulty sent it back for repair and when the camera was sent back they had replaced it with a brand new model and no more than a two week turn around. Also my Samsung GX 20 showed signs of dust they sent it to there lab and again the camera was back with me inside 2 weeks pretty impressed by both after sales service teams.
Ian