I'm wondering if there are any other Pentax users about? I love mine but hate trying to buy lenses and bits as none of the photography shops I know will deal with Pentax. I'm actually considering trading my camera in (a Pentax K-x).
I started my project with a Pentax K100D, I loved the camera but out grew it a bit. I have now upgraded to a Canon but my 12 year old is starting to learn on my Pentax :)
Noooooo don't trade it in. Just get yourself a bag full of film lens for under £100 and learn how to expose manually if you already don't. It is crap that the major shops only cater for the two fashion brands, well the one fashion brand!! as I understand it Nikon build real cameras much like Pentax ;0)
@scuffer You lost me a bit there. The KX should work with film lens just like the KR I started out with. They work with film lens right the way back to 1970s the only trouble is you have no light meter so would have to learn about something called the sunny 16 rule. My current Pentax DSLR is a K10D but I have three film lens costing me around £20 each and two of them came with cameras attached for that price. I only put my digital lens on for multiple exposures as the light meter helps free my mind a little to concentrate on the layers etc
Also do you not just shop on-line? I don't know where abouts you are but there are plenty of reputable dealers on the internet that deal in Pentax gear.
Sorry, that's my pregnancy brain plus reading your response while trying to stop a small child chewing on my leg!
I did buy an old manual 50mm and I love it and it has got me better at working the camera on full manual mode. I actually bought the camera as I heard any lens would fit but am just finding it hard to buy them where I can test them out first.
I think you are talking me back into loving my camera!
@scuffer Haha don't worry about it I can fully understand your drama haha
I'm not sure about the KX working with any lens as mine wont work with KAF lens. I can see where your coming from it is frustrating. It surely is worth the hassle though. You should get yourself out to some pawnbrokers and places like that see what you can get for peanuts and that way you can test the lens there and then.
Good idea on pawnbrokers, I hadn't thought of that. I do love my camera, it needs a clean at the moment (I have some dust and fluff inside & I've had no luck getting it out) so I suppose I was just feeling a little frustrated with it.
The only DSLR camera I've ever used has been my trusty Pentax K10D. I love it! I've always ordered my len's from Amazon.com after googling all the consumer reviews I can find. I believe there's even a Pentax forum of people discussing their purchases. However, if you prefer to try before you buy I agree with Eddie about looking at pawnbrokers and such. You might even find some good deals.
Another Pentax user here - had a Pentax slr film camera before starting out with a K-X - now have the K-5 and I am very happy with it. However, I too will want to go full frame one day and they dont offer that path at the moment and @ayearinthelifeof like Eddie I will jump ship in the coming years if they dont expand their camera line up. As for buying lenses if you are in the US, Adormara and your other big store (B and H is it) stock a complete line up. Here in Aus I buy my lenses second hand from ebay and Pentaxforums and the like. I love Pentax Prime lens line up and would stay with them for that forever if they released a ff option!
@kellc Its not just me and you, if you read in the Pentax groups/forums around the web a lot of people are in our exact position though some seem more desperate to upgrade than most.
@ayearinthelifeof I am not quite as desperate as some (well not about a camera upgrade at least LOL) but I am a little confused about their camera choices - a class leading crop sensor I can understand and a class leading Medium Format is all good - but you dont jump from a consumer level crop sensor camera to a Medium Format?? So yeah I would like a ff frame one day - particularly if/when I take this camera gig further!! And there is plenty of good info about lenses etc on Pentaxforums and plenty of cheap second hand stuff as well! We will have to wait and see - something I can do readily as I have no cash to swap systems at present and get lenses of the quality or better than the ones I own :-(
@kellc Again we are in the same boat, the sooner they release a FF the better as it will drop in price by the time I get saved for one. I am concentrating on getting everything I need for lighting in the mean time and that is relevant to this thread. I was in Jessops yesterday and they do nice complete cheap trigger sets etc for Canon & Nikon but none that fit Pentax at least not in a complete kit. The buggers had a swivel and bounce Jessops brand flash for every brand except Pentax too including the Sony range :0( And it does seem nonsensical that they don't already have a FF flagship model like the rest, I saw in your thread that Sony have or are releasing one so this gets my hopes up a little as the K10 is just the same as a GX10. We will just have to sit and watch for a while with fingers and toes crossed. I always assumed the K5 and k7 were full frames until I came back and did some thorough research. I wasn't happy when I found out!
@ayearinthelifeof Dont know if they are out of your price range but a cheaper set of triggers which suit Pentax are Hahnels - the Canon ones work on the Pentax about $60 Aus - so likely to be MUCH cheaper in the US and UK as is everything LOL! They include a trigger and receiver unit for that price and can be added to if you want to trigger multiple lighting units! And yes - if Sony can sport multiple ff and have such little market share I am sure Pentax can come up something (please) as I have a few lenses that would work on FF!
@scuffer yep and look where the friggin iphone is, talk about nations of followers, not much independent thought out there in the market place. Not much real info though when you look for what camera to buy there are very few good reviews that put Pentax above Canon which when you analyse the cropped sensor market Pentax usually wins hands down for me but I am biased :0)
@kellc They had the haahnel ones in I think but it never said Pentax on the packaging, I will have to investigate. I like Haahnel I got two batteries for my old Canon for £30 when one Canon battery would of cost nearer £50.
@scuffer Lol, I must and look again, never seen Pentax users ever on the camera page. @ayearinthelifeof and Eddie the Hahnel triggers for Canon definitely work on my K-5! Not sure about other Pentax models.
@kellc I can understand why they would. As I understand it the Pentax Hot shoe can handle a lot more voltage than the Canon one so anything made for Canon theoretically wouldn't harm a Pentax camera. How did you find out that one works with the K5?
K10 & K5 were launched around the same time and accept the same accessories so I think it should work, I will be going back to Jessops to have another look and a chat with one of the staff that knows what they are talking about :0)
This is a local store in Aus (and not that cheap) but they had them on their website and when I purchased them they were for Canon - and on the side of the box it also said compatible for Pentax K-7 (but knew it would work on the K-5 also). I have heard that many Canon flash products work with Pentax - but wouldnt want to ruin a good camera experimenting - but I was sure in the case of the Hahnels as DCW are a reputable company in Aus.
Got my Pentax Kr about six months ago, and am enjoying playing with it, but I want to learn more. I have the kit lens, plus a zoom/macro lens and a fisheye. Saving for a true macro and a really strong telephoto lens. My favorite lens is Takumar if it's not a Pentax brand. My husband also uses Pentax and I'm going to try to get him to join me over here. His is a K20
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I did buy an old manual 50mm and I love it and it has got me better at working the camera on full manual mode. I actually bought the camera as I heard any lens would fit but am just finding it hard to buy them where I can test them out first.
I think you are talking me back into loving my camera!
I'm not sure about the KX working with any lens as mine wont work with KAF lens. I can see where your coming from it is frustrating. It surely is worth the hassle though. You should get yourself out to some pawnbrokers and places like that see what you can get for peanuts and that way you can test the lens there and then.
@kellc They had the haahnel ones in I think but it never said Pentax on the packaging, I will have to investigate. I like Haahnel I got two batteries for my old Canon for £30 when one Canon battery would of cost nearer £50.
K10 & K5 were launched around the same time and accept the same accessories so I think it should work, I will be going back to Jessops to have another look and a chat with one of the staff that knows what they are talking about :0)
This is a local store in Aus (and not that cheap) but they had them on their website and when I purchased them they were for Canon - and on the side of the box it also said compatible for Pentax K-7 (but knew it would work on the K-5 also). I have heard that many Canon flash products work with Pentax - but wouldnt want to ruin a good camera experimenting - but I was sure in the case of the Hahnels as DCW are a reputable company in Aus.