New vs Used

Prenderb

Hey all, long-time Pentax (MZ-M, and just recently SFXn!) user here, thinking of a change to Digital SLR. I've been advised by the man in the shop that pretty much all my pentax lenses will not work on a Pentax DSLR, so "keeping with the system" isn't a huge issue.

I like Canon, 2 mates have Canon systems and so it'd be nice to have a Canon so we could swap lenses, but that's no huge deal either.

The question is, should I budget for a new 1000d or 450d (10MP or so) or, I've seen an EOS 20d body for sale at around 150 euro, no lens - would this be a false economy?

smelltheglove

I buy 90% of mine used. Never had any problems, bar one I'm having now which is nothing got to do with the fact that it is used. It is a lot cheaper and if you buy off someone who is keen about photography and upgrading you'll be sure enough that they wil have kept the equipment in good condition.

Ghost Train

Prenderb wrote: »

Hey all, long-time Pentax (MZ-M, and just recently SFXn!) user here, thinking of a change to Digital SLR. I've been advised by the man in the shop that pretty much all my pentax lenses will not work on a Pentax DSLR, so "keeping with the system" isn't a huge issue.

I like Canon, 2 mates have Canon systems and so it'd be nice to have a Canon so we could swap lenses, but that's no huge deal either.

The question is, should I budget for a new 1000d or 450d (10MP or so) or, I've seen an EOS 20d body for sale at around 150 euro, no lens - would this be a false economy?

your pentax lens will work I think on pentax dslr, although the focal lenghths will be doubled

new or second hand... new is probably the logical way to go, just prices are very good for what you get and you get a decent lens and less risk, second hand you can save money and probably be just as happy

Ghost Train

Heres a good guide for pentax lenses and compatibility
http://www.mosphotos.com/PentaxLensCompatibility.html

MagicMarker

I always look out for used. As long as everything is in pristine condition then you'll lose a lot less if you decide to sell it on. In fact I have one or two things I could sell on and not make a loss at all.

Ricky91t

The only ever piece of photography equipment i've bought new was the canon 50mm f/1.8,
I'd dread to think how much my small amount of gear would of costed new :eek:

If you go to a trustable shop,Chances are you'll get a good deal which could easily last you till you feel you'd need an upgrade,I've bought a used camera from hong kong and two from England,Both were sold on in PWO,and i hope they're still going strong

smelltheglove

I buy my used equipment on adverts.ie and photographyireland.net, I have bought some equipment from regular posters here. I feel safer working this way as most of the sellers on these sites are also regular posters so I would trust them that bit more than a complete stranger.

Ricky the only thing I bought new was the nifty too!

cps_goodbuy

Prenderb wrote: »

I've been advised by the man in the shop that pretty much all my pentax lenses will not work on a Pentax DSLR, so "keeping with the system" isn't a huge issue.

Frankly thats bull****. In my opinion, he either wants to buy your equipment cheap, sell you his stock Nikon/Canon, or he is just unaware.

I'm a Pentaxian and I have everything from modern DA zooms, to K-mount lenses, to 50year old M42 lenses. You even can get a teleconverter 1.4 that can be attached between the old lense and DSLR and gives the lense autofocus.

The Pentax DSLRs are some of the best for backwards compatibility!

If you like manual lenses and the different characteristics of older lenses (helios) then I'd stay pentax, there is also shake reduction to consider.


Personally, since you have suggested Canon and that you have friends that you may be able to share equipment with, then go that way and a few pro lenses. I'd say buy a 2nd hand and cheap dSLR and spend as much as you can on top quality optics (new or 2nd hand, though preferably new as you can test run the lense and return if unacceptable), second hand has dangers, and ebay can be worse. Bear in mind that on ebay you can have a certain amount of comeback if the lense is not as described, fungus is a common problem.

Then when the next series of DSLR becomes obsolete you can upgrade relatively cheaply! Lenses rarely loose their 2nd hand value.

Another plus is that you have backup almost everywhere and you have places where you can rent the more expensive lenses.


Please let me know what Pentax lenses you have as I ocassionally love to swap,trade,buy,sell lenses to try out, if you're interested of course!

Morrisseeee

your pentax lens will work I think on pentax dslr, although the focal lenghths will be doubled

Yes & No, ie. Yes: old lenses will work on Pentax DSLR's (might need an adapter for M42 mount tho),
but No: the focal length will be 1.5*, not 2*.
The K10D & K20D have Image Stabilization (handy for older lenses), have sensor-cleaning & both are weather sealed, its a win-win situation for you !

I have 2 Pentax M lenses, a 50mm 1.7 & a 28mm 2.8 on my Olympus E510 (with adapter) and the quality from both are excellent.

Ghost Train

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Yes & No, ie. Yes: old lenses will work on Pentax DSLR's (might need an adapter for M42 mount tho),
but No: the focal length will be 1.5*, not 2*.
The K10D & K20D have Image Stabilization (handy for older lenses), have sensor-cleaning & both are weather sealed, its a win-win situation for you !

I have 2 Pentax M lenses, a 50mm 1.7 & a 28mm 2.8 on my Olympus E510 (with adapter) and the quality from both are excellent.

yep sorry wasn't thinking of course is x1.5 for 35mm equiv
have the same two primes 50mm and 28mm, both very useful

Prenderb

Ghost Train wrote: »

Heres a good guide for pentax lenses and compatibility
http://www.mosphotos.com/PentaxLensCompatibility.html

That chart seems to tell me that something like a K2000/Km will have full compatability! De man in de shop was either misinformed, or something else - I'm surprised, given the shop in question. Anyway, that's neither here nor there.

So, now I'm thinking of a Pentax DSLR, must spend some more time researching these. Weather sealed sounds great, as does in-camera IS.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I've got a 28-80 kit, 100-300mm sigma and a 50mm prime, as well as a 28-80 with macro, so it'd be nice to keep all of them as well as the film bodies. The sfx-n in particular has a lovely sturdy feel, and a great film advance sound!

cps_goodbuy

I suggest a K10D as they are inexpensive second hand, K-7 = too expensive right now, the K20D = coming down ...but the extra money can go towards lenses and gear .

If weight and/or portability is a concern, then any of the K100's that have IS may be suitable

I still have my IstDS with only 7000 shots and it produces great photos!

Sounds like a good lense kit you have there, what particular models are they?

Lastly, If going Pentax, I suggest you shoot RAW and find yourself a good RAW program that you can streamline your workload with (Photos). The quality of picture and having theing the digital negative is worth it. It has been a pain for me as I started shooting raw and didn't have a suitable streamlined program to go through them...

Prenderb

35-80 Pentax-A SMC 1:4-5.6, original kit lens with MZ-M. It's ok, but limited
50mm Pentax-FA 1:1.7 - I like this one a lot.
28-8- Pentax-F 1:3.5-4.5 with macro. It's nice, just getting used to it.
Sigma 100-300 1:4.5-6.7DL - The Extender!

I'll keep an eye out for a K10D - ebay? adverts?

Further query, as you guys seem to know lots - is a K100D too old at this stage? Is the 6MP spec a little "light" at this stage...

cps_goodbuy

all those lenses sound good, the 1.7 50mm FA is a great lense. I have a 50mm 1.4 FA and a A version.

6mp is fine for normal photography, and due to pixel size and constraints with aps size sensors, you'll find that with the Ist/K100 series that they give good iso (sensivity) to noise ratios. Like I said before, My Ist DS gives great photos and produces photos at 1600iso that are pretty much noise free (lighting and exposure has a lot to do with this as well!)

So unless you want the extra cropping factor that 10MP+ gives or want to print photos at a high DPI at poster sizes, then 6MP (at DSLR Quality) is fine.

I picked up a K10D Grand Prix + Grip and a whole lot of accesories (cards, bag etc) for £180inc postage on ebay so definitely worth a try.

I would suggest that you avoid the auctions on ebay and focus on buy-it-nows and offer submissions, you have to be clued up on going rates for pentax gear though!!!

Reason is that the average prices at auction are a little on the high side compared to lucky buy-it-nows. Also, I would suggest being on ebay.co.uk and focusing on UK only based items (shipping) as you have less competition against the global bidders due to shipping restriction. I have a UK address as a last resort but for the last 4 years I've never had a problem with anyone shipping to Ireland.

Ebay or Pentaxforums.com are the two places I buy and sell my equipment.

dpreview.com is a fantastic site for reviews and discussion forums so it is worth looking through

All I need to do now is actually improve my photography!!!

Hope that helps, good luck

AnCatDubh

Both the MZ-M, and SFXn are k-mounts and k-mounts are k-mounts back then and now. You buy the k10d or k20d or the k-7 (drool) and each one of those lens becomes image stabilised gods of lenses.

You already know how good they are on film - they are magnificent on digital. Even if you were to begin into digital with an older *ist D / DS / or DL you wouldn't have image stabilisation but you've a stock load of lenses which are compatible. Also don't forget the more modern K200D and the K-m.

The only problem with buying Pentax DSLR's second hand is that it is not overly common to come across them. The older film stuff is available second hand regular enough. It seems that Pentax owners tend to hold onto them when they upgrade or change. I had been following a K10D on adverts last year for about 2 months and then lost it by failing to check it one day (doh!). Anyhow, I haven't come across one on adverts since. They do come up from time to time but they are rare.

For example; on eBay at the moment there are no K10d's (not surprising) but there is a Samsung GX-10 which is the Pentax K10d (Pentax and Samsung being collaborators) for €380 - assuming this is in as good order as it is described it is an absolutely brilliant purchase (this in the UK so no duty to be paid).

The K20D new at the moment in a hong kong deal (eBay) including the battery grip is about €550 new - awesome. I bought one a while back for about €850 if memory serves me. The K7 is the new kid on the block so you are getting flipping great deals on the K20D.

AnCatDubh

cps_goodbuy wrote: »

I picked up a K10D Grand Prix + Grip and a whole lot of accesories (cards, bag etc) for £180inc postage on ebay so definitely worth a try.

Lucky sod (nice find)

duffarama

The new K-7 looks amazing!

As has been said already though, all the Pentax digital bodies can accept your lenses AS can the Samsung DLSR's which you may be able to get at a bargain price online or in the stores around Dublin. Don't be afraid to haggle as they may have been sitting on the shelves a while.

Like this for example
https://cameraexchange.ie/shop/product_info.php?products_id=78&osCsid=c02861a1a23965c508a2d37c3f7c5640

Prenderb

Yeah, I saw that samsung alright, will keep an eye for them too, as the pentax DSLRs are quite rare. Currently bidding on a K10D, at a reasonable price - fingers crossed, though there's a couple of hours left.

cps_goodbuy

(your name here)s Ebay rules

Only "snipe" the auction, do not up the bidding until 15 seconds to the end

Follow your head and not your heart.

Consider condition and shipping

What is your budget? and stick to it.

Believe that if you miss this opportunity that it will come up again in the future.

Prenderb

cps_goodbuy wrote: »

Believe that if you miss this opportunity that it will come up again in the future.

I resisted the eBay "oh it's closing, must bid even if I don't want to pay that much, or amn't quite sure..." problem, lost a good K10 with lens for just shy of £300 - sure enough, there are more there to bid on!

Edit: Just been offered 2nd chance, at my highest bid 245. Apparently this k10d comes with a Pentax DA 18-250 lens... a) is this good value and b) should I be suspicious of the 2nd chance (I asked in the online buying forum too)

Kintarō Hattori

Longtime K100D Super user and love it to bits. I'd love to upgrade to the K7 for some extra crop factor but realistically I don't need too. All the current Pentax models are great value OP and I'm sure you'll be delighted with whichever DSLR you buy in the end.

cps_goodbuy

FYI I got my K10D on a second chance offer! If the 2nd chance is done through ebay (you have recieved a 2nd chance and a buy-it-now of ___), rather than email, ebay messages, or paypal invoice, then it is genuine.

Edit: Do not know if we can give value&pricing advice, but I feel it is reasonable value, you may decide to sell the 18-250 and then (considering your other lenses) with your digital body was actually really good value!

Does it include the grip, cards or anything else, if it has the grip then awesome.

AnCatDubh

cps_goodbuy wrote: »

FYI I got my K10D on a second chance offer! If the 2nd chance is done through ebay (you have recieved a 2nd chance and a buy-it-now of ___), rather than email, ebay messages, or paypal invoice, then it is genuine.

Edit: Do not know if we can give value&pricing advice, but I feel it is reasonable value, you may decide to sell the 18-250 and then (considering your other lenses) with your digital body was actually really good value!

Does it include the grip, cards or anything else, if it has the grip then awesome.

In addition, don't forget you may qualify for paypal protection which certainly helped me in the past when a minor ebay deal went skew ways. Money refund came through from paypal rather than the seller who became contactable after the close of the ebay sale.

If I were offered it at €245 including that zoom which is a really nice range, I would take both hands off them - fabulous value imho. And a brilliant camera.

Prenderb

Yeah the guys on the online buying forum were very suspicious, the fact that the 2nd chance came in less than an hour after my auction ended (and it went about 50 quid on from my last price, so there must have been 2 other higher losing bidders...) not to mention the seller only was a member only since 19 July? They reckoned it was worth steering clear.

No grip or any extras, only the body and lens and boxed accessories.

Currently bidding on one with a grip&battery and the 18-55 lens, we'll see how that one goes.

The second chance is on offer to me for £245, still around €3oo with packaging. Even if genuine.

duffarama

If you're spending €300 (including delivery) for a used body on ebay why not go to a store in the city and buy the Samsung I posted earlier? You'll get a guarantee at a shop you can pop into anytime.

Prenderb

To be honest, the K10D is more advanced for the same money - more pixels, faster bursts, prism rather than mirror to viewfinder, dust and splashproof, in-camera shake reduction, more AF points, USB2 rather than USB1. Though I do like the idea of buying from a real shoppe, with a 3 or 6 month warranty, there isn't much choice available.

cps_goodbuy

Prenderb wrote: »

To be honest, the K10D is more advanced for the same money - more pixels, faster bursts, prism rather than mirror to viewfinder, dust and splashproof, in-camera shake reduction, more AF points, USB2 rather than USB1. Though I do like the idea of buying from a real shoppe, with a 3 or 6 month warranty, there isn't much choice available.

Beat me to it

Edit: better included lense

Mycroft H

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Yes & No, ie. Yes: old lenses will work on Pentax DSLR's (might need an adapter for M42 mount tho),
but No: the focal length will be 1.5*, not 2*.
The K10D & K20D have Image Stabilization (handy for older lenses), have sensor-cleaning & both are weather sealed, its a win-win situation for you !

I have 2 Pentax M lenses, a 50mm 1.7 & a 28mm 2.8 on my Olympus E510 (with adapter) and the quality from both are excellent.

the old smc takumars are excellelent. I have the 55mm f1.7 and its really sharp :pac:

duffarama

cps_goodbuy wrote: »

Beat me to it

Edit: better included lense

I was unaware of the differences!

Prenderb

Samsung GX10 = Pentax K10D
and Samsung GX20 = Pentax K20D

Is this right? Are there any differences? I know that the battery grip isn't common, but are all other things equal, do you guys know?

Ghost Train

Prenderb wrote: »

Samsung GX10 = Pentax K10D
and Samsung GX20 = Pentax K20D

Is this right? Are there any differences? I know that the battery grip isn't common, but are all other things equal, do you guys know?

That seems to be right, basically the same camera hardware, just slight changes externally, the user interface is slightly different and like you say the battery grip said to be different. Would be interestiing to see image quality side by side, but would expect the raw images from each to be matched

cps_goodbuy

Samsung firmware differences, and there "may" be issues with Samsung versions recognising Pentax lenses. I suggest the samsung sections of the sites above.

And the things mentioned such as grip, body styling, name, etc

cps_goodbuy

Any luck Penderb?

Prenderb

Nope, not yet! Went to a camera shop yesterday to hold (not play with, no batteries in the things) a Nikon D60 and sony alpha 200. The sony actually felt better in my hands, size and grip wise, but lacked the quality of the Nikon. Anyway, I digress - apparently there are no Pentax being sold because Irish salespeoples' noses were put out of joint when Pentax removed the Irish sales office? I dunno. They didn't have one anyway.

Still watching ebay - 300 pounds seems to be the going rate for a K10D body/lens, so might take the next one that comes in less than that. Also watching the pentaxforum as you suggested, thanks.

Morrisseeee

You could also get an Olympus E510/520 (or even its little brother E410/420) fairly cheaply, especially on the bay. Then get an adapter (again fairly cheeply on the bay) and then use your older lenses. But the effective focal lengths are 2*, so your 50mm 1.7 becomes a 100mm 1.7, or say like my Pentax 100-300mm 4.5/5.6 becomes a 200-600mm lens !
Here's a few with that lens: 100-300 at 300mm: