BebuLamar

Oh!

Kingman

The K1 has been working out wonderfully great to extend my use of legacy Pentax glass library that goes back over 50 years. With the addition of the DFA lenses for the K1, the weight can be a literal pain for my aging and arthritic hand & body. I did labor over getting the original K1 some 3 years ago instead of going elsewhere for FF. I also labored over the upgrade to K1 MK2, which is still pending with Precision Camera after 5 months. With all the controversy about the K1 MK2's performance I may cancel or not. I can always just purchase a another K1MK2 and keep my K1 as original. I probably have a few weeks to decide. More importantly over the last few years since the K1's original release, I have been getting a little (more) afraid for the longevity of Pentax in general. It's niche market segment place within an overall declining market for DSLR (mirrorless or not) is certainly disturbing. Recently my 50+ year faith in Pentax has recently been shaken and I see currently see only one more cropped Pentax and possibly only one more FF Pentax body in my future. The good news is the fact with a mirrorless FF bodies, I can still use most of my legacy Pentax glass with adapters (yes, I know...fully manual lens operation). I see currently more of a future with Sony or Lumix Mirrorless bodies. Until I see how the current iteration of Pentax, now with Ricoh, shakes out with the actual timely release of actual product. Pentax has served me very well for all these years but...the release of the K1 three years ago saved me from going to Canon 5D or Nikon 850 (whatever) at this time. Now, for my needs, I would certainly lean away from any Canon or Nikon FF bodies. While money plays a bit into this decision, it's not the limiting factor. I know what I want and would prefer to still be able to use my rather sizable library of legacy Pentax glass. Starting over is always hard to do...(is that a song?) :-)

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

I don't know, Kingman ... perhaps - sung by Carole King, maybe?

But, most definitely - it was a movie - perhaps, made from a book of the same name.

Whilst the K-1 is one of the least expensive FF DSLRs, it is, also, probably, one of the heaviest. But, don't forget - it DOES have 5-axis IBIS - which, I'm sure - in some way - contributes to the weight. But, then - the a99 II also has it, and that camera uses exactly the same body as the a77 and a77 II - so, it MUST be lighter than the K-1 / K-1 II. But, since you have "a sizeable library of legacy Pentax glass" as you put it - you probably made the right choice. Never-the-less - that is one BIG camera. A D610, is more likely my choice - IF I ever go to FF - or, perhaps, the new 6D2 - which is only slightly larger than an 80D!!!!

Not sure what's on the horizon for Pentax. You don't see many K-3s, or even K-3 IIs around, anymore. The K-S1 and K-S2 have been discontinued, along with the K-50 and K-30. But, you can still pick up a K-70 ... and the KP gets an awful lot of attention for its low-light handling. I don't think Ricoh is dropping the line. For one thing - they still have the least expensive MF camera going - in the Pentax 645Z.

Don't call Pentax short. They're likely to be around for quite some time, yet. Enjoy your K-3 and K-1s.

Kingman

Chris,

I have NOT yet given up on Pentax...obviously I am fully invested. I can wait for a while. I just miss the smallness of the older Pentax bodies...the smaller FF A7iii or A7Riii do both have the 5 axis stabilization in a smaller package, however all modern 24-70mm/f2.8 are heavyweights. Again, yes the K1 is no lightweight large camera, and when I really need to, I will go with the FA 77mm/1.8 limited or the FA85mm*/1.4 or even the DFA 100mm/f2.8 Macro for a lighter weight set up. Thanks for the encouragement. I recently spoke with some Ricoh people in person and one of their "photography ambassadors" told me that he really like the value conscious lowlight performance of the K70 (similar to the K1).

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

The K-70 is a very fine camera, Kingman … but, the Low Light Performance King is the KP - w/o doubt!

It's funny, you know - as the K-70 was so small, I elected to go with the K-3, but I couldn't afford a new one, at the time - so I bought a used one - which, I realized - after a month - had to go back. Then, when I went to look for a new one - the price had risen, quite considerably, from what it was when I bought the used one. I suspect, when folks realized the newer K-3 II had no built-in flash, there was a resurgence in demand for the original K-3. Anyway, instead - I used the credit for a D7100 - which was reduced, right after the D7200 debuted. Although the Nikon is a fine camera - I really miss that K-3. … Oh, well!!

Kingman

It forgot that the K3 II no longer has the pop up flash. Yes, I do like my K3. KP for low light...OK, I'll remember that one, but low light better than the K1? I very much like the low light performance of my current original K1.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

But it DOES have a built-in GPS - a swap!!! … That really got me, I'll tell you. I have two cameras with built-in GPS - the Nikon D5300, and the Sony alpha a77 - and they BOTH have the pop-up flash. So, why's it so hard for Pentax to do both? … They indicated they dropped the flash, to make room for the GPS!!!!

The K-3 is a fine camera, but not so hot in low light. Both the K-70 and the KP - are good in that regard - the top ISO with the latter is 892,000 … is that as good as the K-1, or not? Don't think the K-70's that high. Of course, those are just numbers. Whether you get that kind of mileage or not, depends on the way you drive … isn't that the caveat they put at the bottom of car ads - where they list the mileage? ….

The K-1 is another good low-light performer. You've implied, by that, though - the K-1 II isn't as good. Not sure how you'd know that, if you don't - actually - have it, yet. Wait till you do, in order to compare.