Nervous nellie...go with Pentax K-1 or move to Sony FF?

Alex Sarbu wrote:

Lyff wrote:

Alex Sarbu wrote:

yiangelo wrote:

I love the ergonomics, image quality, and feel of Pentax cameras but the only thing that makes me consider selling everything and going all-in to Sony FF is the question of long-term longevity and the seemingly uncertain future for smaller companies in the photography business. I'd hate to get stuck with a bunch of expensive lenses that would become worthless if Pentax were to close shop.

Opinions? Advice? Help!

Do whatever you feel comfortable doing.

No one can reliably predict if a certain brand will stay in business in the long term. Pentax is constantly 'predicted' to go away yet they don't; OTOH... remember Samsung? They retired from the camera market just as their users celebrated the NX-1.

Alex

Samsung is a bad example for many reasons, that said if one brand could disappear now from the camera market, it's Pentax..

Samsung is an excellent example, and so is Pentax: one was supposed to do very well yet it gave up completely, the other was supposed to die yet it continues.

People should keep this in mind any time they're presented "predictions".

No Samsung leaved the market due to short sighted vision of a just elected guy that was expelled some time after. There is no logic in Samsung leaving the camera and sensor market, that was an accident.

So yes, anything can happen, even though logically Pentax could be the first to die that doesn't mean they will. That means they're the more likely to do so though.

Pentax is by far the less active brand on the market and since the K-1 launch they're pretty much in a stasis state. They're not dead yet, maybe they won't die anytime soon but that's something to keep in mind;

No. I had enough of this, year after year after year of "Pentax might die". The PentaxIsDoomed brigade has an extremely poor track record. Mine is a bit better.

Until I see signs of something like this actually happening, I'll continue to be a happy Pentaxian.

As is said, I'll continue to use my gear, Pentax dead or not I'll enjoy shooting with my k-3. I'll just be sad to leave what I loved about Pentax products. But you can't deny the state of Pentax, marketshare, product launches (in term of quality and quantity), was Pentax ever that slow?

Pentax is a fragile brand with small investments and support,

Pentax is not in a very strong position; however that doesn't mean it would die. So far Ricoh has a good plan for them, we're seeing some very important (and long postponed - thanks, Hoya!) development and commitment for the future.

OTOH other brands/systems might be less safe than you think. Samsung is a warning.

Trying to make long term predictions is futile. You just can't possibly know what will happen.

True, that's why I say "They're not dead yet, maybe they won't die anytime soon", but the fact that Pentax is a very weak position can't be overlooked if you want to switch to Pentax as your main system. That's either a risk to take or you're completely satisfied with the system ( if you're a landscape photographer on a budget a K-1 with samyang lenses is an excellent choice).

so if you want to shoot Pentax make sure what you want is already here.

That's actually true for every brand.

Wouldn't say that outside of Canon. Pretty much every brand offers to their users what they asked for, Fuji & Olympus went from abysmal video & AF performance to one of the best performance, Sony was criticized on its battery life and EVF blackout for sports they fixed it, Nikon for the lack of affordable action bodies since the D700/D300 so they launched the D7500, D500 and D850, Panasonic for it's low light performance then came the GH5S.. Canon was asked for 4K, well they disapointed

No brand is perfect, but they try to satisfy their users as best they can (Fuji even got the best APSC IBIS you can find on its first try!), Pentax is asked for up to the competition af and video performance since the K-5 II and we're still waiting.

A lot of the Pentax lens line up still use screwdrive AF in 2018. 2 years after the K-1 launch there isn't one single prime made for it, only APSC design or film era lenses.

While I completely understand pentax can't launch, design or produce as much as Sony as Canon, having at least one 35, 50 and 85 a year around your system launch is a basic! Especially when most third party brand leaved the market some time ago, leaving us only old designs from Sigma, Tamron and Tokina (at least we have the 35mm ART and some manual focus Samyangs..).

When you invest in a camera brand usually you have a good idea where the brand is headed thanks to it's steady investments over the years. Investments that seems to have completely halted since the K-1 launch.

And for the glass becoming cheap after Pentax closing shop I doubt that, sure some price drops will happens but look at good 4/3 lenses, like the f/2 zooms, they're still quite expensive.

That's FUD talk. "after Pentax closing shop"? Not "in the unlikely event of Pentax closing shop"?

That wasn't my intention to say that Pentax will die soon, even though I'm prepared for it (in the unlikely event of Pentax closing shop).

Even though I sold my K-1 I I kept my K-3 II and apsc lenses, and I will keep them for a long time even if Pentax leave the market tomorrow.

So you gave up on Pentax (not buying any new equipment, right?).

Alex

No I plan to buy the 11-18 f/2.8, and maybe a refresh of the 16-50 & 50-135 if it ever happens. Maybe the K-3 III if it's interesting enough, or a small body and by small I mean really small, like K-S1 / canon 200D. The KP is as big as the K-3 and not light enough to justify the lack of battery life and features.

I'll even go back to Pentax FF if I can have a bunch of modern f/1.8/2 primes around 500/600€ each.