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Why did you buy a Pantax?

Don
Posted 24/09/2006 - 14:30 Link
Pentax is the only system out there that doesn't force you to think like Wall street...

Pentax lets you think about building your system and skills for a lifetime.

Wall street thinkers are forced to look at thier kit in terms of "who do I have to lay off this term, to boost profits by the end of the quarter, so I can afford to pay outrageous saleries, to the latest hotshot CEO, to save my financially challenged company for the next quarter."
Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.
Pahrens
Posted 25/09/2006 - 01:39 Link
We were looking at buying a camera for my Birthday so we took a trip into Adelaide to see what the larger camera stores had to offer. The salesman showed us the Canon 300D, after holding it for only a moment I realised very quickly that it was not much of a camera; It was built from cheap light plastics and didn't make much sense control wise. The salesman then showed us the Nikon D70 which was a totally different story, it felt very well built and handled excellently but it cost considerably more.
When the salesman brought us the Pentax IstDs it was a very quick sale, such a small well built camera with a viewfinder twice the size of the other two at a even lower price than the 300D. Coupled with a Sigma 18-125 digital lens it has served as my camera system for a year and a half and I couldn't be much happier; The only problem I have is getting lenses for it, particularly in the 300mm range.
George Lazarette
Posted 25/09/2006 - 03:52 Link
Pahrens wrote:
The only problem I have is getting lenses for it, particularly in the 300mm range.

The latest lens roadmap from Pentax shows a 300mm lens next year. It is likely to feature the new internal focussing motor.

This may cause some people to upgrade from their present F or FA 300mm 1:4.5 lenses, which typically sell for US$700 or so second-hand.

Of the two, which are optically identical (and superb), the F is to be preferred because of its detachable tripod socket-cum-handle. It has a good built-in lens hood too, and is made to last.

I suspect that second-hand lens prices are going to keep going up as Pentax increases its market share on the back of the excellent K100D and K10D. So if you see an F 300mm for sale on Ebay, grab it.

G
Keywords: Charming, polite, and generally agreeable.
MattMatic
Posted 25/09/2006 - 09:55 Link
I started out with a Pentax S1a which I borrowed from my Dad when I was about 10. For me, everything "clicked" and I got some great shots. Saved and saved and got a Zenit TTL and a couple of lenses, then eventually managed to buy my own S1a with 50mm/f1.4 lens. From there I progressed to the ME-F, then to the MZ5, Z1, and now the *ist-D and *ist-DS.

What clinches it for me is the ergonomics and build quality. Everything is just in the right place and I never have to think how to set the camera when taking a shot. Having seen the viewfinders in the 300D and D100 I was amazed at how dingy and small they were compared to the *ist-D

And then there's the glass... Oh yes! Pentax make some screamingly good glass. If I had to switch to Canon (for the 5D or 1Ds for instance), then I'd have to buy L-series glass and you can imagine how much that would set me back And even then, I don't like the out-of-focus rendition of some of them... the Pentax has such a pleasing, smooth rendition I'm growing to like it more and more.

If the 16-50/f2.8 is as I hope, then I'm not switching at all. It'll be "can I justify the 645D as well?" LOL!

Matt
Arthur Dent
Posted 25/09/2006 - 15:09 Link
I started out with the original Nikon F and a few lenses. Later on, when I needed to get a serious kit, I was able to get a couple of MX's with winders (one black and one silver, so I always know which camera has which film).

So when it was time to go digital, the *st D and perhaps one other were available. I had built up a collection of some of the finest glass you could get. Since the D acceped all those (expensive to replace) lenses and was close enough to pro-spec to use on jobs, it was a no-brainer. The battery grip is what did it.

I'm looking forward to the K10D, with the grip. I still have my favorite old lenses, they're still some of the best glass you can get, and they fit on the new cameras.

Besides, I looked through the viewfinder of someone's Nikon digital. What a dark tunnel! How are you supposed to compose a photograph with that? I'll stick with Pentxax, thank you very much!
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Pwynnej
Posted 25/09/2006 - 19:00 Link
I began with a Chinon CP-7m 20 years ago - got me into the K-system.....

Then I was offered a Z-10, although basic, absolutely faultless, sold to finance Z-1p purchase

then a Z-20 which I sold 3 years ago to buy the MZ-S

in the meantime obtained Mamiya 645, a Z-1 which I keep...

Simplicity is the beauty to the Pentax system- so intuitive that the instruction manuals can be sold as in mint condition....

Waited for the *ist D, then for the price to drop, bought it and promptly dropped it

while it was being repaired now have the DL too.....

my GF is trying to get me to change over to Canon, she has a 300D with a L-series lenses, lenses good, camera body horrid..

I think that most will agree that Pentax are more consistent, you can buy good or very good lenses, with Nikon and Canon, you might get very good but they do some dreadful lenses too

I am waiting for news on the mythical K1D (why do a 100 and 10 if you don't make a 1??) before flexing my credit card. There's no rush as I have plenty of choice at home
gartmore
Posted 26/09/2006 - 19:01 Link
I bought into Pentax because the art school I went to used Pentax kit so for me it was Zenith B with a funny wee f3.5 lens and a Leningrad meter that looked like a half-size Lunasix but that allowed me to borrow from a huge range of SMC Taks. Then it went Spotmatic F, MX, SFX, SFXn, 645, Optio mini, S50, *istDS, another Spotmatic F (mint on ebay for £45), I wont go into the LBA but my best lens is the 28mm Shift. A great advertising slogan would be "Just hold a Pentax" or has that been used before?

The funny thing is that the M42 lenses with adaptor are easier to use on the DS than the M series ones.

Worked for a few outfits using Mamiya medium format stuff, Nikons and Olympus - no contest!

Ken
Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -
fatspider
Posted 29/09/2006 - 01:03 Link
Well.....after a couple of years with a trusty Zenith Em I traded up to a Practica LTL, then on to an Olympus Om30 (superb little camera) which I had for YEARS!. I then wanted to go AF so I read all the reviews and "Practical Photography" magazine gave the Pentax MZ7 the thumbs up in an all out test with its rivals, the camera was/is fantastic (despite its lack of DOFP) the rest as they say is history, I purchased several pentax lenses, both manual and AF and the quality I got from these are what made me stay with the Pentax brand, as an aside to this I must also stress that had Olympus continued to use its OM fitting with an AF camera then I would probably have never changed brand.
Olympus, I'm sorry, you took far too long to get your act together! I now have far to much Pentax kit to ever consider changing brands!

I love my Pentax but OM will always have a place in my heart! (actually so will the Zenith "brick" I toted round my neck for years)
My Names Alan, and I'm a lensaholic.
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George Lazarette
Posted 29/09/2006 - 10:11 Link
It was of course the Olympus OM1 that inpsired Pentax to make the MX and ME.

G
Keywords: Charming, polite, and generally agreeable.
fatspider
Posted 29/09/2006 - 11:29 Link
Quote:
It was of course the Olympus OM1 that inpsired Pentax to make the MX and ME.

Yes, true, I'd forgotton about that, but Olympus got their own back as my OM30 was the Olympus' rip off of the ME F Pentax's first foray into the AF world. I never owned or used any of the OM AF lenses but having those three little lights blinking in the viewfinder was certainly a godsend in low light.
My Names Alan, and I'm a lensaholic.
My PPG link
My Flckr link
johnriley
Posted 29/09/2006 - 12:32 Link
Don't forget the OM1 was actually pretty unremarkable spec-wise. CdS meter with needle readout. Fully manual. Not even multi coated lenses. It was successful beacaue of the power of advertising. And all those professionals who claimed to use it soon went back to their Nikons...

The MX and ME were a different technology altogether, and I suspect they were on the drawing board long before the OM1 appeared. Pentax do not release cameras quickly....
Best regards, John
IanReigate
Posted 29/09/2006 - 23:31 Link
As a moneyless student, I started off with a Practika MTL3, because at least it meant that I could borrow lenses off my father who had a SP500. So it was natural that when I wanted to graduate to a "proper" camera, it would be Pentax - and seeing no point in getting anything automatic, it had to be an MX. Needless to say it lasted years - I've still got it, 20+ years later. And as they say, the rest is history. When I needed an extra body, I went for a P30. I eventually wanted a bit more sophistication in metering, and was given a MZ-5N for my 40th. And in turning to digital at the end of last year, it was a DS.

So why have I stuck with Pentax? - an obvious reason is that I have built up a collection of lenses - mostly Pentax, but a couple of Tamrons (old style 90mm macro and 500 mirror) for which I have Pentax adaptors. But that's not the complete answer.

Another possible reason is that I am very conservative - I tend to stick with a brand I trust rather than trying out anything new for the sake of it. This may explain why I stuck with Kodachrome 64 for slide film when everyone else seemed to move to Fuji, why I get most of my clothes from M&S, etc, etc. (It may also explain why I have stayed in the same job for 25 years (I thoroughly enjoy it too,and it pays me well, both of which help!). But that too is a bit of a cop out.

So guess the ultimate reason is that, above all, like many people on this forum, I've enjoyed using Pentax - they've been reliable, comfortable to use, and always produced good results. Why change?

Ian
Trawlerman
Posted 06/10/2006 - 17:11 Link
First time poster here.
I've been a Pentax user for years - sort of.

I got into photography whilst still at school at around 14 or 15 years old. My first camera was Praktica BCA which was AE only. I then added a BC1 body which taught me the essentials of using a manual camera.

My first K-mount body was a Ricoh KR-10M which was a lovely camera body and I used that for years with a pair of K-mount Centon lenses. That little camera was really impressive and did just about everything excepting auto-focus. When the shutter died on it at the end of the 90s I invested over £1000 in a Minolta DiMage 7 bridge camera but most of my interest had died.

At the end of 2005 I was talking with father about wanting to scratch-an-itch so to speak in having another go at 35mm but I couldn't afford a new camera. He filled me in on just how cheaply 35mm cameras had become and when I checked for myself on eBay I was astounded.

So early in January I took the plunge and got another K-mount body. I didn't know where to go so I took the safe route and got another Ricoh KR-10M. From there I purchased an original P30 which is truly one of the best (if not THE BEST) 35mm cameras i've ever used. I now have around 8 k-mounts in my possesion and i'm shooting more film than ever before. The availibility of SMC lenses at such cheap prices is a real boon and my photography is coming on in leaps and bounds.

I recently got myself a Samsung GX-1L with a pair of kit lenses. That again has been a great leap forward for me and i'm taking shots that i'm truly proud of.

Very shortly I have a small lump sum coming - around £2.5k or so and will be dropping most of that on a K10D with a selection of Pentax' better quality KAF lenses.

I still love film and will continue to shoot it when I can but as a learning tool the digital camera is unsrpassed.


I've looked at Canon and Nikon and don't see anything there to sway me into moving allegiances. My mate has a Canon 30D with two £800 lenses and my P30 and GX-1 run's rings around it. Perhaps it's because he doesn't know how to use it? Maybe so but i'll be staying with Pentax for some time to come.
Ammonyte
Posted 06/10/2006 - 21:35 Link
I bought a pentax courtesy of the often maligned people at Jessops. I had used 35mm compacts for many years and wanted to get into SLR. I had just recieved my yearly bonus and wandered in to the shop in Slough (next to Anne Summers )

Explained the situation and the shop assistant directed me to the MZ-10 with 28-70 mm lens. I never looked back. I have been totally happy with that decision, still use that body on occasion and due to my investment on other bits of pentax gear cannot see myself changing (lottery wins excepted).
Tim the Ammonyte
--------------
K10D & sundry toys
http://www.ammonyte.com/photos.html
George Lazarette
Posted 06/10/2006 - 22:54 Link
Jessops are often criticised. Unless the criticism is unfair, it cannot be termed malignment.

G
Keywords: Charming, polite, and generally agreeable.

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