Are Pentax cameras seen as being a bit rubbish?

[johnymac]

Whenever somebody posts a question asking for advice on which camera to choose for any given subject of photography, almost all camera manufacturers get a mention in one discussion or other - except it seems (to me) Pentax. Are they unfairly overlooked or are they perceived as not worthy of consideration?
I am thinking along the lines of DSLR rather than the pocket point and shoot cameras.

[StevieBee]

That's an interesting question.

They never used to be seen as a poor quality option and were often spoken of as equals to anything Canon or Nikon put out.

I wonder if it's a case of a smaller ecosystem that exists for Pentax gear. Dealers will be inclined to push brands where there's a likelihood of a customer returning to buy additional lenses and bits in the future. If there's not so much for Pentax then dealers will be less inclined to push them.

I'd also suggest that they tend to target to the amateur. Whenever you see a pro at a grand prix, football match, catwalk or boardroom, they'll most often be using a Canon, Sony or Nikon. They all target the amateur too but when they see the pros using something, there's a subconscious bias towards those brands.

And unless I've missed a product launch, I'm fairly certain they don't yet produce a mirrorless offering.

[bcr5784]

StevieBee said:

That's an interesting question.


And unless I've missed a product launch, I'm fairly certain they don't yet produce a mirrorless offering.

That, I think, is the big issue. Other manufacturers are clearly taking the view that the market for slrs is fast disappearing and are not producing updated versions of them. This may leave the market to Pentax - but, if that is what Pentax think, it seems a risky strategy to me.

[droopsnoot]

I've always been a Pentax user, going back to when I bought an MV-1 as my first film SLR, then upgraded to an ME Super a little later. I went for a Pentax digital SLR so I could carry on using the lenses I'd already got - though of course I have replaced most of them now. There's plenty of Pentax-K and M42 lenses around for almost no money to experiment with.

I am disappointed that their profile has dropped to the point that now I'm surprised when I see someone at an event with a Pentax dSLR. I'm very out of touch with the current range, though. I don't think there's anything wrong with the quality of them, though I think now the range of lenses isn't what it used to be. I like the fact that the image stabilisation is in the body rather than the lens.

Edited by droopsnoot on Monday 1st December 18:21

[Simpo Two]

Back in the film days Pentax was arguably the most popular brand, and their K-mount was adopted by lesser camera brands because it was so common. But it seems Pentax lost ground by not moving to DSLRs fast enough in the early noughties, and Nikon and Canon took the lead.

[PartsMonkey]

StevieBee said:

That's an interesting question.

And unless I've missed a product launch, I'm fairly certain they don't yet produce a mirrorless offering.

They tried mirrorless with the Q mount which flopped. Then they tried again with the K-01 which still used the K-mount. It also flopped. Pentax recognise that the ship has sailed on mirrorless and there isn't a hope in hell of them competing with Nikon/Sony/Canon/Lumix/OM-System. Instead, they are attempting to be for DSLR, what Leica is for Rangefinders. I.E. if you want a new DSLR, you'll have to buy a Pentax because they're the last man standing.

Simpo Two said:

Back in the film days Pentax was arguably the most popular brand, and their K-mount was adopted by lesser camera brands because it was so common. But it seems Pentax lost ground by not moving to DSLRs fast enough in the early noughties, and Nikon and Canon took the lead.

Plus, they stuck with APS-C for too long. By the time they released a full frame model, those who wanted one had moved to rival brands. In addition, their lens line up was geared towards APS-C so there wasn't much choice at launch unless you wanted an old film lens.

Edited by PartsMonkey on Friday 5th December 15:29

[bcr5784]

PartsMonkey said:

Plus, they stuck with APS-C for too long. By the time they released a full frame model, those who wanted one had moved to rival brands. In addition, their lens line up was geared towards APS-C so there wasn't much choice at launch unless you wanted an old film lens.

Edited by PartsMonkey on Friday 5th December 15:29

I'm not convinced that sticking with APS C was necissarily the problem. Fujifilm have done the same and seem to be going along nicely with well regarded bodies and lenses
The other issue - correct me if I'm wrong - but none of the dslrs do video. I accept that you wouldn't choose a DSLR over mirrorless alternatives if video was
your main interest. However, not having any video at all seems unwise.

Edited by bcr5784 on Sunday 7th December 17:41

Edited by bcr5784 on Sunday 7th December 17:42

[droopsnoot]

bcr5784 said:

The other issue - correct me if I'm wrong - but none of the dslrs do video. I accept that you wouldn't choose a DSLR over mirrorless alternatives if video was
your main interest. However, not having any video at all seems unwise.

Mine's a Kx, which was a fairly basic dSLR back when I bought it, but that has a video mode. I can't recall ever using it (nor half the other functions, which is why I haven't upgraded it) and had to check the manual to be certain it was there. I don't know whether any of the newer / higher spec ones have that mode.

[crowfield]

I still use 2 Pentax cameras. My old K10D with the CCD sensor produces some wonderful images, and my newer, but still quite old, K5 has video capability , which I have never used , and "live view" . 2 great cameras.

[bcr5784]

crowfield said:

I still use 2 Pentax cameras. My old K10D with the CCD sensor produces some wonderful images, and my newer, but still quite old, K5 has video capability , which I have never used , and "live view" . 2 great cameras.

I just looked at the current dslr cameras on the Pentax website and they all said "still" camera with no reference to video. I did look at Nikon and Canon and their current DSLRs do 4k video. Pentax DLSRs do all (?) seem to have IBIS which is not universal on DLSRs - so that's a plus.
If you use your camera mainly to take stills of fairly static objects I can certainly see the appeal of something without the fearsomely complex options, most of which you will never use, which most mirrorless cameras offer. The user guide of my Canon R7 runs to nearly a 1000 (!) pages - so I can see why many would like something a bit simpler. I have argued before that anything that complex would benefit having menu options of (say) basic, intermediate and advanced .- as some complex applications have- hiding much of the complexity from new users.

[Benzinaio]

Nothing wrong with the quality, there just isn't the choice of lenses, particularly third party ones when it comes to Pentax.
But the brand will always have a place in my heart, like many of us that traded up to a K1000 after their Praktica MTL3/5.

[Simpo Two]

Benzinaio said:

Nothing wrong with the quality, there just isn't the choice of lenses, particularly third party ones when it comes to Pentax.

Which is sad as the K-mount was once the most popular. But now not even Sigma do it: https://sigmauk.com/product-category/lenses nor Tamron and Tokina.

Another victim of progress is my favourite, Vivitar. I still have their Series One 70-210; how delighted I was when I got my paws on the latest version from Jessops in 1982!

[bcr5784]

Simpo Two said:

Which is sad as the K-mount was once the most popular. But now not even Sigma do it: https://sigmauk.com/product-category/lenses nor Tamron and Tokina.

Another victim of progress is my favourite, Vivitar. I still have their Series One 70-210; how delighted I was when I got my paws on the latest version from Jessops in 1982!

I assume that's because Sigma etc consider the market too small. However both Canon and Nikon prohibit most Third party lenses for their mirrorless bodies, so it's not only Pentax owners who are deprived of better value lenses.

[GravelBen]

bcr5784 said:

I assume that's because Sigma etc consider the market too small. However both Canon and Nikon prohibit most Third party lenses for their mirrorless bodies, so it's not only Pentax owners who are deprived of better value lenses.

I don't think its so much prohibit (at least with Nikon, I don't know about Canon), more like charging licensing fees which 3rd party manufacturers aren't always willing to pay.

Viltrox and Tamron both make a reasonable range of Nikon Z mount lenses, Sigma have a few but only for APSC. I've heard there is some bad blood between Nikon and Sigma relating to a court case over VR patents (which resulted in Sigma paying Nikon a large settlement), but I don't know if that is related to them only making APSC lenses for Z-mount.