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pentax snub while on vacation in mexico

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ardpreview

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dont mean to rant or anything but thought i'd post this to see how many others have experienced this.

I was in a mexican resort a number of weeks ago (best vacation ever!) and attended a buffet on the beach. I had my k10 discretely tucked away in a lowepro swing backback and was enjoying the festivities. A group of people sat at our table and we introduced one another and i noticed one the louder gentleman was carrying an entry level nikon dslr (d50 or higher) and promptly placed it on the table in plain view. I wanted to start talking photography with him but for some reason i didn't, maybe it was his loud mannerisms or something. At the end of the buffet my wife and i decided to leave where apon the guy saw me pull out my slr and a look of amazment came over his face like he found a brother in arms or something. He then saw the pentax name and his face turned sour and he said something like, "Pentax? Phshhh!" I simply smiled and walked away. How many other people here have had this happen to them?
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var
 
my experience is quite the opposite, as I always run into very interesting people using Pentax. usually I would greet them when I identify they camera saying "Oh, it's a Pentax!" they would smile and usually we would have chat.

I guess you can do this with every dSLR user, but the Pentax guys & girls are different, usually they would turn out to be keen photographers and very nice persons.
ardpreview said:
dont mean to rant or anything but thought i'd post this to see how many others have experienced this.

I was in a mexican resort a number of weeks ago (best vacation ever!) and attended a buffet on the beach. I had my k10 discretely tucked away in a lowepro swing backback and was enjoying the festivities. A group of people sat at our table and we introduced one another and i noticed one the louder gentleman was carrying an entry level nikon dslr (d50 or higher) and promptly placed it on the table in plain view. I wanted to start talking photography with him but for some reason i didn't, maybe it was his loud mannerisms or something. At the end of the buffet my wife and i decided to leave where apon the guy saw me pull out my slr and a look of amazment came over his face like he found a brother in arms or something. He then saw the pentax name and his face turned sour and he said something like, "Pentax? Phshhh!" I simply smiled and walked away. How many other people here have had this happen to them?
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var
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LOL. I LOVE people like that!! You can almost guarantee they "spray and pray" happy snap "photographers" who have never taken their camera off full auto.

I was taking pictures in a park and I had someone ask me "Is that a Nikon or a Cannon?" When I responded, "Its a Pentax" I got "Oh, I didnt know they made DSLRs." Nothing close to what you got but it was a little annoying.

But I got the same type of reaction when I was shooting with my Panasonic FZ8 from the DSLR crowd. Never mind they had no idea what my pics looked like, I wasnt using a DSLR so I was a lower form of life. Go on flickr and you will find people taking amazing pictures with every camera made. Its not the equipment you hold but who holds the equipment.

--
Very happy K200 owner!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/
 
I usually get the same reaction at most camera shops. And to top it off...very few now even carry Pentax. I went to my local Wolf Camera where I originally purchased mine in 1995. They no longer carry Pentax. And it was becoming almost impossible to find anyone in the Miami area that carries them anymore. The guy at Wolf Camera said it was a contract dispute with Pentax but, they expected to be carrying them again sometime in the future.

Couldn't deal with that anymore so just purchased the new Canon EOS 50D. Oh well.
 
I agree with all of you.

I was a bit annoyed but i would have loved to talk shop with any slr user, but i'm glad i didnt pull out my gear to show him otherwise it would have been a lot of, 'my camera is better than your camera' talk. but i can imagine someone you just met giving you a sour face for a tool that you own when he hasn't seen the results of what that tool produces. I think it says more about the person than anything else. I myself admire nikon gear very much. but this guy seems to have bought it because it IS the best. :P
wildkat2 said:
LOL. I LOVE people like that!! You can almost guarantee they "spray and pray" happy snap "photographers" who have never taken their camera off full auto.

I was taking pictures in a park and I had someone ask me "Is that a Nikon or a Cannon?" When I responded, "Its a Pentax" I got "Oh, I didnt know they made DSLRs." Nothing close to what you got but it was a little annoying.

But I got the same type of reaction when I was shooting with my Panasonic FZ8 from the DSLR crowd. Never mind they had no idea what my pics looked like, I wasnt using a DSLR so I was a lower form of life. Go on flickr and you will find people taking amazing pictures with every camera made. Its not the equipment you hold but who holds the equipment.
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var
 
I've had similar things happen, but it's usually more in jest. I will in turn say "Nikon? Eww" or something similar and then talk cameras/photography with whoever is behind the other camera. I've found most folks can laugh at their brand of choice as well as love it. Who knows, maybe the guy wasn't that bad afterall and was just giving you some crap he wanted in return. Next time, when he says "Pentax? Pshhh" say "Nikon? Hah" and see how the person responds. If they aren't an a-hole, they'll usually laugh or at least see the humor in their own reaction.

-Mouse

--

The Mouse Gallery
http://www.photobucket.com/andy_allen

'My boss just quit the job, says he's goin out to find the
blind spots and he'll do it ... the 3rd planet is sure
they're bein watched, by an eye in the sky that can't
be stopped - when ya get to the promised land ...
you're gonna shake the eyes hand.'
 
ardpreview said:
dont mean to rant or anything but thought i'd post this to see how many others have experienced this.
Click to expand...
He then saw the pentax name and his face turned sour and he said something like, "Pentax? Phshhh!" I simply smiled and walked away. How many other people here have had this happen to them?
ardpreview said:
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var
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Don't worry about it, he was just hoping to talk to you about how great and inspirational of a photographer Aston Kutcher is because he used Nikon.
 
most who have this kind of attitude don't know what is ISO, DOF and aperture or most likely they are novice. This kind of response shows lack of class.

cheers,

rene
 
I get it around here all of the time. Not many Pentax cameras in my area. Only one store sells them and it's a "we also carry" line.

I was asked once by a Nikon user, "I can't understand why you shoot with Pentax." I answered "I can't understand why you don't." :)
--

If you find something you cannot do, start doing it. Pretty soon you will find how you are doing some of it wrong and put that right. After a while, you will find you are doing it all right.
 
Remember for many folks their gear is just the badge of their tribal loyalties. It is an emotional matter that is immune to reason and susceptible to irrational behaviour. Read our forum and you quickly see who the tribe members are.

I find the approach that disarms their tribal pretensions is simply to ask them about their gear and photos, showing a sincere interest and appreciation of the strengths of their gear and photos. Invariably they open up and soon we discover we are photographers first and foremost.
 
I can't say I've had this happen. The last time I was shooting around large numbers of people the gentleman next to me was interested in my K20D even though he himself had a D300 and 300mm f2.8 Nikkor at home.

In the end though, if someone casts aspersions on my usual K20D/DA*16-50 combo they are saying more about themselves than me or my selection of equipment. There are things about Pentax that I find substandard and inexcusable, but there is no doubt my combo is a very viable choice offering excellent performance well capable of delivering the goods.
--
K20D w/Sigma 10-20 and 70EX-DG Macro, DA*16-50, FA50-1.4, DA55-300 and 18-250
 
It happened to me a few times, but mostly from beginners with entry level cameras. More experienced photographers have probably found out, the lens and the eye behind the camera are more important than the brand of the camera.

On the other hand, on my last tour in Namibia, I got a lot of comments from experienced photographers wondering how fast and still silent the K-7 operates and were impressed by the build quality of the DA*300/4 lens and still relative compact combo.

--
Dominique

http://www.pbase.com/tcom
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dschreckling/
 
yep i've had similar experiences
those who know very little about photography are quick to go "who's pentax?"

while those that actually seem to know what they are doing will often stop and ask questions like how's the k7(when i don't have one) or what's that little gem (da35) i know a few canon photogs who appreciated the size of the outfit (k20 + da35) vs their 50d's and 5d's plus the large canon zooms at his year carnival of flowers.

Rohan

--
I hear birds out the window, quick i must grab my camera.
http://floatycod.zenfolio.com/
 
I never really had anyone truly SAY anything bad, but I have sure had conversations end quickly once they found out I was shooting a brand other than what hung around their necks. LOL

Back a few years ago when I was in college, I took a Outdoor Photography Class, with a fairly active husband and wife photography team as the teachers. They were great teachers and very hands on, we had numerous outings and lots of critique time. But they was very anti digital. Actually they first requested I not take the class or buy a film based camera, but after much begging and pleading I talked them into letting me take the class.

Ended up, the couple was professionally converted to digital within 4 months of the class finishing, but the funny part was they was very BRAND ORIENTED. If it was not Canon, it was not worth their time.

At a later point in time I meet up with him and we had a conversation about this exact delima. He laughed it off and admitted it was a change in time and he has never looked back. He did make the comment that now his students shoot and review, were years ago they would review an plan a shot for hours before ever even taking a picture. For the better or the worst it one of those things that come with Digital...
 
I starting shooting with a Pentax film SLR back in the 1980s, and I got sneered at almost every time I walked into a camera store and asked about accessories. So it's been no big loss to me to see the small camera store business drying up (Amazon seems happy with my business). I live in Southern California btw.

--
http://www.pixelstatic.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelstatic/
 
People who Poo-Poo a camera brand usually don't know much
about the brand, only thinking they bought the "best" camera
for them.. These people most times have not been into photography
very long. What happens when you carry more than one brand of
camera??
 
I think I would have loudly responded with "You don't know much about cameras do you" and walked away.

Marion
 
I usually just get no comment or some nice remark.

I was in a local store that no longer carries Pentax, to buy a flash for my daughter (Nikon D40) and mentioned I had a Pentax K-7. The guy at the counter said "Yeah, that's an amazing camera…too bad Pentax doesn't know how to market it!"

I found it interesting that in full hearing of half a dozen customers, he would openly praise the K-7 and we then went on talking about older Pentax SLR film bodies we admired.

Not everybody is prejudiced against Pentax!
--
----------
Lawson G. Stone
I don't make history, just memories.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawsonstone/
My 365 Photo Blog
http://www.stonesfence.net/StonesFence/Project_365/Project_365.html
 
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