Flickwet Loc: NEOhio

Funny you should mention them. I stopped in my local Dodd to look at the Nikon AW1, and Olympus outdoor cams, I need gps and water resistance.
After looking at the cams the guy suggested a used K-S2.
Best camera I ever bought?! Pentax is now my guilty little secret. They have all the weather sealing, ruggedness, Glass prism! Hydro-whatever lens coating that’s on all their glass but only on $$$ nikons, Built in VR (SR), fast inexpensive high quality zooms, a lot of good stuff

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

If more people here owned Pentax, you would see more comments. Pentax was taken over by Ricoh, and the future of the company is in doubt. Ricoh recently killed off Keenai, software for FitBit because of concerns about profitability. If Pentax doesn't earn enough money, it will be history.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I have no problem with Pentax. If your happy, then that's all that counts. I find Nikon has much more to offer me in way of diverse products than Pentax. But again, if you are happy with your results, what else do you really need to know.

Dannj

Pentax K 50.
I’m strictly an amateur but I’m very happy. Price was a major factor for me and the K 50 gave me the best combo of features/$. My only regret is that there doesn’t seem to be user friendly guide available...the “Dummies” type books...as there are for Can-kons.

I have a Panasonic DMV FZ 50 that has some mechanical issues but is still a very good camera.

Bunko.T Loc: Western Australia.

I too, bought a Pentax spotmatic in 1967 in Singapore. Took many slides with it on my travels, young enough to hump it around those days.
Got married, had kids, worked my arse off, not much time for photography.
I down sized into the compacts & was let down badly halfway through a holiday, twice. That put me off Pentax but still kept the Spotmatic until last year. I met a young girl who was interested in film photos, so I gave it to her, lenses & all.
Proviso was if she lost interest in it, give it back to me. Haven't seen her or her work since.
I'm a Sony freak now in digital, both compact & mirrorless A77 mk2, the compact DSC-T20.
Both take nice pics, as does my iPhone SE. I'm always armed with 3 choices of camera.
Currently in Bali capturing some of the many great images. Some on each camera.

JaiGieEse Loc: Foxworth, MS

The best ever advice I've yet seen on UHH is to go for the"hands on" approach. Find a rental shop.Find a camera club, Find a friend with a camera or three. Find a shop that'll let you fire a few test shots. With digital, one can see the results immediately. Pick a camera that fits well in your hands, functions in a manner that satisfies you, and produces imagery that pleases you.

if you want to take it another step, have some enlargements made of your test shots and see how they hold up.

Bottom line is to concentrate on WHAT WORKS FOR YOU, not on brand name plates, magazine or internet reviews.or the opinion of others. Use such things as guidelines and/or starting points.

Again - test, try, get the feel of various makes and types and then settle on the camera thst WORKS BEST FOR YOU!!

Bison Bud

I love my Pentax K3! The current Pentax line up is probably the best bang for the bucks out there and I too wonder why they don't get more attention than they seem to get. However, I will admit that their auto focus is not quite up to present day standards, but it works for me and being able to use my old Pentax K-1000 film era lenses is a big plus as well, even with manual focus only. Pentax has recently focused on their full frame K1 and K1 mark II bodies and compatible glass, but there's lots of us that would like to see them come out with a new "Flagship" crop sensor body. This may never happen since they are now owned by Ricoh, but who really knows for sure. Meanwhile, the $400.00 bucks I spent on a used K3 was the best money I ever spent on photographic equipment!

insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida

Pentax has a long history of making wonderful equipment.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Try this search in google:

pentax site:www.uglyhedgehog.com

This will bring up over 3,500 citations of Pentax on UHH

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

++++.....been producing quality products for decades

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

Is that #5 in quality or just #5 in sales. I think they may be higher if rated by quality.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Note: A search using UHH's search function for Pentax will not bring up topics that do not contain the word Pentax in the title. So, for instance, a topic called "What are your thoughts?" will not appear in a search for "Pentax" using the UHH search.

Nosaj Loc: Sarasota, Florida

There has been a number of good postings on Pentax cameras. Just last week there was a posting that went on for many pages. I've posted many long comments on this topic. But, since most UHH members use either Canon or Nikon DSLRs, the other brands get less coverage. Also, people are reluctant to change brands because it may require a new set of lenses.

rodpark2 Loc: Dallas, Tx

Pentax has what I consider to the best menu and control system available, intuitive and easy to learn. Like Nikon you can use legacy lenses going back to '76, and screw mount lenses way before that with a simple adaptor. I can't think of a single complaint except generally lower resale value. They've lagged slightly in resolution and dynamic range, but overall I really like them. I can't speak for Ricoh service because I've never delt with them.

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

I have a Pentax K-3 ll that I feel comfortable taking out in inclement weather. Great image quality, easy to use, reliable, not too big, not too small, good grip, good battery power and many lenses to choose from that don't break the bank. Pentax makes a 300 mm f4 prime that is fabulous and weighs about 36 ounces or so. It is weather resistant as well. Works well for sitting birds; BIF is a bit more challenging for quick focus and tracking but that may be because I have not set it up properly for that. Having said that I usually rely on my Nikon for BIF.

I also have a 12-24 mm f4 lens that I use for landscapes. The Pentax with this lens is often the camera I pick up first for landscapes.

I bought my Pentax new a couple of years ago and have had no issues at all. It is definitely not a fragile, persnickety, sit on the shelf until the weather is nice kind of camera.

Their full frame cameras have gotten lots of positive attention and I have seen excellent images that compare favorably with their competitors.

I also have 2 Pentax film cameras with lenses that were gifted to me.

Will they survive and can they continue to compete in the future? They have a solid following and have been around for a long time. I hope so.