DSLR – Pentax Body

I’ll admit that since I bought my first Pentax, the K20D, last November (2008), I’ve gone through times when I’ve wondered if I made the right decision. I was originally a Canon film guy and enjoyed the ease of use of my old Elan IIe, and only after I bought the K20D did I learn more about and get intrigued by Nikon.

I’ve also wondered about the direction that Pentax is planning to take now that Hoya is their puppet-master. Pentax advertising seems to be pretty vague even when it does appear, and one wonders whether it will try to attract more professionals through full-frame or just that tiny segment who shoot medium-format. In other words, in the back of my mind, I still wonder if Pentax will be around in a few years to make new bodies to go with the 30+ million lenses it has floating around out there.

Also, when Pentax seriously jacked the prices here in Ca-na-duh back in March 2009, I was so angry that I was ready to jump ship right then and there, especially as some of their APS-C glass was being priced close to the full-frame equivalents of other brands. I was incensed! But then I realized that I could start looking into some of the older lenses, and this calmed me down a little.

Anyhow, after another serious bout of soul-searching about my commitment to Pentax about a month ago, I finally realized that despite some of the eye-candy offered by the Big Two and their ubiquitous advertising and market presence, Pentax is the system for me. Maybe this has something to do with also being a Mac owner and appreciating just being "different", but I like the fact that Pentax is likewise committed to innovation and quality despite (unlike Apple) having an identity crisis. At least Pentax has some sort of direction, even though it can’t seem to get that across in their advertising.

Specifically, here are some of the things that kept me from selling my gear and going for one of the Big Two:

• In-camera shake reduction. I’d rather not pay the extra price for the privilege of lugging around a lens that has this; having it in-camera is just so logical, but I guess it’s just not that profitable. But this says to me that Pentax is concerned about more than just making a profit and trying to be top dog.
• Support for older lenses. I never appreciated just how much and how well Pentax is committed to this until I bought my first SMC-A lens a few weeks ago, and it’s wonderful that all that old yet excellent glass can still be of use in this digital age. And shake reduction just makes these lenses that much better.
• Value. I really didn’t want to mention this because it might give Hoya the excuse to senselessly jack up prices once again (a serious bone of contention with me still), but let’s face it: the quality of most Pentax lenses is stunning compared to (or at least on par with) the generally more expensive similar offerings of other brands. And weather sealing in bodies costing hundreds less than other brands? Brilliant! Pentax has used things like this to force other brands to offer great features for less instead of continuing to gouge their customers.

I could go on and mention all the other little things about Pentax that are growing on me with time, like the great selection of old and new tack-sharp prime lenses. I guess sometimes it’s hard being different in the face of things like magazines listing their top photos of the year and nearly all of the winning photographers having Canon gear and none shooting Pentax, for example.

But when I’m out shooting and I’m able to immerse myself in what I’m doing and to enjoy the process and the product, it’s only then when I realize what a fully capable system I have and how it is able to produce some stunning results. And that’s all that should matter.

So yes, I’ve droned on about my Pentax revelations of late, but I’ve done this in the hope that someone else can be rescued from the brink of being tempted by the mainstream and the mediocre, and can learn to grow where they’re planted and appreciate the great system that Pentax truly is.