Pentax any good?

A

amyliz

Suspended / Banned
Messages
179
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi,

Im thinking of moving to Pentax (most probably the K100d or K10d)

Does anyone have any experience of Pentax as a company and the K10d or K100d?

Good or bad!

Amy
 
Yep I'm using a K100D and im saving up for a K20D, I really like my K100D, its never failed me before and its built like a bomb. I've had it soaked in heavy rain and covered with sand, and it still works perfectly. The lenses arent half bad either, and theres plenty of sigma/tamron readily available for it.

Great camera, for a really good price.
 
Good! :) Great quality and built like tanks.

Not as popular as your main stream Cannon or Nikons but I wouldn't swap mine.

The K100D was my first jump into the DSLR market and loved it, I upgraded to the K20D which is fantastic imo.

If you decide to go for it I would go for the K10D, funds premitting. They dont make them anymore put can still be picked up for good money. K200 and K20 is also worth looking at, but not sure what your budget is.

Pentax has also just released a new model which would also be worth looking into, I dont know much about it yet but you can find it here.

Let us know how you get on.
 
They are great cameras, would recommend them any day.

A point well worth looking at that could end up saving you a couple of hundered is to look at the Samsung DSLR's.

They are Pentax Cameras rebranded and use the same mount, to all intense and purposes are the same camera. I have the GX-10, which I love. It is my first DSLR and its so simple to use and easy to learn on.

By going for the pentax/samsung, your opening yourself up to a lot of cheap second hand lenses, if yur happy to focus manually. This is because the K mount has been around for donkeys years and older lenses from back in the film ranges of SLRs will fit your DSLR body.

Feel free to PM me if you have any Q's.
Bottom line though, as is always with buying a DSLR, go with what your comfy holding /using, but Pentax/Samsung would do you well IMHO.

Rob
 
I think it dependes on what you want from a camera. I started with a K100D Super back in April this year, and it was a great piece of kit, but I moved to a D300 instead because I wanted something a bit quicker at focusing, a bit more MP and better/quicker glass for motorsport.

I have the K100D Super with kit lens and a Tamron 70-300 and found it a great introduction to D-SLR's. Once I got the D300 I gave it to my partner and she finds it easy to use as well. Benefit of the Pentax over the other entry level cameras is that the focussing is in the body, rather than the lens so your lenses will be cheaper and lighter than the competition, the K100D also has a dust removal sensor too that's a great bonus. It's not very well weather-proofed so be careful if you get caught out in the rain.
 
viper_biker said:
I think it dependes on what you want from a camera. I started with a K100D Super back in April this year, and it was a great piece of kit, but I moved to a D300 instead because I wanted something a bit quicker at focusing, a bit more MP and better/quicker glass for motorsport.

I have the K100D Super with kit lens and a Tamron 70-300 and found it a great introduction to D-SLR's. Once I got the D300 I gave it to my partner and she finds it easy to use as well. Benefit of the Pentax over the other entry level cameras is that the focussing is in the body, rather than the lens so your lenses will be cheaper and lighter than the competition, the K100D also has a dust removal sensor too that's a great bonus. It's not very well weather-proofed so be careful if you get caught out in the rain.
Click to expand...

??

Do you mean shake reduction?
 
viper_biker said:
...the K100D also has a dust removal sensor too that's a great bonus.
Click to expand...

Just to be clear on Viper biker last comment just in case of confusion (which i'm sure he meant! :) ), it is the K100D Super that has the dust removal system, the K100D does not. The K100d is a bit of a hybrid between the K100D and the K10D. :)
 
I used Pentax film gear for 25 years (from the 70's)...only switched to Canon because Pentax were a little too slow into the DSLR marketplace.

Never had a problem with the old stuff and still have it in the cupboard.

Bob
 
@ Rob, yup, that's what I meant. It's been a while since I've used the pantex now that my missus has it, it's got built-in S.R.

@ Darknfuzzy, Sorry, I meant the K100D Super has dust removal. As I said, I own a Super and can only comment on what I have. My apologies if I confused anything.
 
viper_biker said:
@ Darknfuzzy, Sorry, I meant the K100D Super has dust removal. As I said, I own a Super and can only comment on what I have. My apologies if I confused anything.
Click to expand...

No appology necessary buddy, I just wanted to make sure the OP knew the difference, not sure how new they are to Pentax. :)
 
There's £100 cashback on the K20D at the mo, if bought with a lens, making it very competitive against the Samsung equivalent. Consequently, it's now hard to find and the K30D (when it arrives) will probably be my next body.
 
viper_biker said:
Benefit of the Pentax over the other entry level cameras is that the focussing is in the body, rather than the lens so your lenses will be cheaper and lighter than the competition
Click to expand...

Hypersonic motors in the lenses are comparatively new for Pentax. It's true that the focus motor work is usually done by the camera body.
 
I have a K10D, and love it to bits.
I always shoot RAW, so get around one of the complaints about it that the onboard processing is "soft"

It's a metal chassis and has a good solid feel to it, much like a film camera. Most of the images in my Flickr are from my K10D.

Shake Reduction on the body is really useful, and the range of cheap (but good quality) old K mount lenses is astounding. I've a gorgeous 50mm f2 that cost me peanuts.

All the controls fall to hand very nicely, and the whole thing is customisable to the individual.

Best thing though is to try one out, with batteries in (some stores will not do this) and you may find that trying one from someone on here would be an option.
 
I Love my K10D...have had it a year now and still very happy with it. I purchased a Sigma 10-20 lens for it and I'm a happy togger...
Will probably pick up a 50mm for it soon..
Great build quality, great images....no complaints from me.

Plenty of examples on my Flickr page.

Mark Morb
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top