Pentax K-x for a curious Nikon Shooter?

[Eberbachl]

Thanks robz - I'll be home from China in a couple of weeks - it would be great to have a get together.

Cheers,

Luke.

[mongo]

Like LanceB, Mongo shots both Nikon and Pentax and has for many years. Mongo too has accumulated some of the best lenses made by both manufacturers. They are as good as each other in many respects.

Mongo agrees with Lance’s summary of the two brands – Mongo also agrees with Arthur that it is OK to change brands but if you do , do it for the right reason(s) , if there are any.

im curious about women, doesnt mean i want to be one

Mongo is not so sure Kiwi – you have looked quite alluring in that red dress you were flaunting at the races last week. But beware Kiwi because in the context of this thread, it also involves changing your personal equipment !

Mongo also agrees with Kiwi – curiosity does not a change make or justify

[I @ M]

im curious about women, doesnt mean i want to be one

Sorry, can you repeat that please Priscilla .

[Bennymiata]

I have a K-x, and find it an excellent camera.
Paired with my Sigma 24-70 F2.8, it takes excellent quality images and even the 2 kit lenses I got with it are better than I thought they would be and also take good photos.
I also have a Canon D60 and 60D but use the Pentax for fun days out, when I'm just snapping, rather than taking serious photos.
It's light weight and easy to use, and I've recommended it to a few of my friends and their kids as a great camera to get into SLR's.
I bought my K-x in white, and it looks a treat.
Great fun and a very capable camera, especially for the price.
Just don't buy a boring black one.....................

[ving]

Wow it always amazes me how many Canikon owners become so paranoid about someone going to different brand - it's akin to some religous cults who take exception to members leaving the flock.

LOL...

enter the chorus of pentax users in their best zombie voice: JOIN US.... JOOOIIN USSSSS!!!!! :stir

to be honest. there is no harm in trying a different brand and if you have the do$h then why not. I wouldnt expect better of worse photos, basically cause it comes down to the guy/girl holding the camera...
go for it!

[Eberbachl]

Sorry to dig up this thread a year + on, but I thought I'd drop by and provide an update.

In the end I decided not to do anything for a while, and kept shooting with my Nikons (I bought and shot a D7000 for a short time also). The K-5 was too pricey for a fling, and I didn't see enough in a K-x at the time.

Enter a few weeks ago, when I decided it was time to upgrade the D90 after all. I revisited my Pentax curiosity and found some screaming deals on the K-5, so I dropped an order on a K-5 with the 1-55mm WR last week.

In short, I'm LOVING it! Very nice camera. I like it so much, I've just ordered a K-r to go along side it for a fun little body to use for family snaps.

Great fun

[Cage]

Welcome to the close knit group of folk who choose to use Pentax.

I jumped ship from Canon, after nearly forty years, to a K20D, and have recently upgraded to a K5. Like you, I'm also LOVING IT.

I have maybe above average size hands and found the K5 a little small for me to hold, particularly with a heavier lens on the front, so I invested in a genuine Pentax D-BG4 battery grip. What a difference it made, shooting in portrait mode is now a breeze, and the whole outfit now seems more balanced. The knock-offs, for about 1/3 of the price of the factory grip, also seem to get good feedback, although they are not weather resistant, and often offer less features. Plus the grip makes you look like a serious professional type photographer. Derrr. Seriously, a really great bit of add-on kit.

You are now also able to avail yourself of some of the best OEM lens available, irrespective of any brand affiliation. Any Pentax lens made in the last forty years will fit your new K5, however you will have to go manual with any 'M42', 'K', 'M' or 'A' series lens, although if you want to go semi-auto, with most you can pick the aperture and ISO, and tell the camera to pick the shutter speed.
Personally, I prefer to shoot in full manual mode when using older lens.

I'm retired, and probably spend more time thinking about what to do than actually doing it, but in saying that I've acquired a fair amount of useful (useless ?) info on the Pentax range of gear. If I can help you in any way, please ask and I'll do my best not to confuse you.

A useful link to all things Pentax. I never buy anything without some research on this site beforehand.

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/

Welcome aboard, there's not a lot of us here, but we are a fairly parochial group.

[rodw]

I found this thread quite an interesting read as it bought back memories of many camera brands that have since left the market. I sooooo nearly bought Pentax 30 years ago but went with Minolta as back then Nikon was a lot more expensive than these two brands. I don't think Camon had the established reputation back then but my memory may be failing. If I had gone with Pentax, maybe I never would have bought a Nikon as I would still have been able to use my lenses.

Anyway, back then I am sure nobody really cared what brand of camera you had, it was all about the photos you took!

[Eberbachl]

Thanks Kevin - and thanks for the grip tip

I've registered at Pentax forums, and had a bit of a poke around there as well.

[Kerrie]

Kr. It has what little is missing on a kx. They're discontinued this year....u might get one cheaper.

Invest in good lenses and u should be happy


I do believe the k5 is very good too.....higher megapixels and all I think

[Eberbachl]

Check a couple of posts above... I picked up my K-5 last week and will be able to pick up my K-r in a couple of days

[Kerrie]

Check a couple of posts above... I picked up my K-5 last week and will be able to pick up my K-r in a couple of days

Wonderful! Welcome Pentaxian

[Eberbachl]

Thanks Kerrie!

[Eberbachl]

Just picked up my K-r this afternoon! Obviously has loads more "Mum and Dad" features than the K-5, but underneath all of that it seems very capable.



So, now I have the K-5 with the DA 18-55mm + 50-200 WR (50-200 is on the way) lenses.

... and the K-r with the DAL 18-55 and 50-200 lenses.

Now to start saving up for some Limited primes perhaps, or maybe a fast telephoto zoom. The DA 35mm f/2.4 looks extremely good value too!



I'm very happy, and wrapped with my new Pentax gear so far after around 7 years of shooting Nikon (still like Nikon very much I must say, but I'm loving Pentax so far... it'll be interesting to see how I feel in a couple of months when the honeymoon's over).