Pentax DSLR System

morgan · 2 Feb 2006 at 11:14

just wondering what puts people off pentax....just looking around and the 2nd hand value of lenses for the pentax system is nearly half the price of canon/nikon equivalents.

Pentax made great film cameras and now the bodies and lenses are dirt cheap to buy used. Sigma also supports the pentax system so I'm just curious why they dont sell more units than they do.

the current dslr lineup is the DL2, DS2, DL and DS - all of which seem to be pretty nice bits of kit - spot metering and 2.5" LCDS on some models.

I personally use canon as this is what I have always used, but people who are venturing into the world of slr could do far worse than invest into the pentax way of life imo....

anyone else ever considered pentax?

dod · 2 Feb 2006 at 11:48

I considered Pentax but already had a few canon lenses so the choice was pretty straightforward. Same applies to Minolta really.

aztechnology · 2 Feb 2006 at 12:35

When I bought my first AF SLR I looked at all the available options and considered what was available then as a potential upgrade path. I ended up with a EOS 1000F, then having bought lenses and such for that I never strayed off brand when i upgraded to an EOS 5.

When the time comes for me to empty my wallet for a DSLR there will have to be something special available from another manufacturer to warrant a system change.

Alex53 · 3 Feb 2006 at 13:48

Hmmm I know a couple of long time Pentax users who are holding off digital because the Pentax bodies don't convince them, and they would have both gone digital by now if their lenses were Canon. Instead one of them got a little Pentax Optio body to do his less serious or less demanding photography. A sort of half step.

My first SLR was digital so it was a clean start and I still got Canon. I cant say I found the Pentax bodies very attractive. Having said that I have been toying with the idea of grabbing a second hand medium format camera with one lens with roughly the equivalent FOV as one of my wider 35mm lenses and doing some landscapes after using the DSLR for a test shot.

I think it would be a good way to reduce the troubles of shooting with film if you basically use a DSLR as a sophisticated light meter with a preview, and then use the equivalent settings on the medium format setup to get the same shot, but on a huge negative. It wouldnt be practical for fast situations, but I can see this working for landscapes.