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

My last DSLR purchase was Sony A900 a year after it was introduced. I purchased this camera because Sony just bought out Minolta. Like Minolta, Sony was not the big player then. I buy products from the so called underdogs.

Likewise, I loved the simplicity of the Sony A900.

Almost a decade later, I am seriously looking at perhaps my last big DSLR purchase. Again I am looking at the Pentax K1 or K1 Mark II. I like the attractive price of the original K1 while deliberating if the newer Mark II is worth the higher price tag.

Why Pentax ?

Again Pentax is the underdog in the DSLR market. IMHO, the Pentax offers an advanced DSLR but not as much bells and whistles as the Sony's....Nikon...Canon.

I sometimes worry that all these fancy automation does compromise my ability to imagine, to create, to fully visualize the picture I want to create. I am afraid that I will rely too much on the bells and whistles to create the picture.

I worry that I will lose the understanding of  the effects of the aperture openings, how I want to render the background etc.. It seems sometimes it is easier to just let the camera do the work.

The process of creating a photographic picture is much more enjoyable than the final product. When friends and family ask me about a picture I created, I am proud to talk about my thoughts, what I wanted to achieve.

BTW, my photo background ..... I still shoot with my old trusted 4x5, still love to shoot with my Mamiya RZ67II for black and white work. I still bring my Contax G system on vacation.

For landscape, I love the solitude that one needs to use these mechanical cameras. It just seems like the perfect compliment to enjoy the romance of the mountain landscape, the serenity and sound of the ocean.

To me, Pentax K1 is a good balance between the many benefits of digital but still leaves the photographer with enough room to use our creative mind.

My advice to the OP....you need to ask yourself why you enjoy photography. Then get the system that will compliment or help you achieve these goals.

You can not go wrong with any system, brand....but only you will answer which system will be best for you.