Three Best Pentax Cameras

The K100d and the K5ii are my favorites. Haven't had enough Pentax bodies to have a legitimate third. The K100d was my first camera, and though it had a lot of limitations, i was passionate about photography at the time and used it enough to know how to get the best out of it. I had a system for metering that worked well for protecting the highlights. The k5ii metered better and had more dynamic range so it was a lot easier. It's still my current body. Will likely upgrade to a k3 or KP at some point.

K01

K5IIS

Mx1 !

Beautiful story and beautiful images!!

Fantastic work Ian!!

6X7 thirty five years four of them including one with NPC Polaroid back just to keep art directors happy.

K5

K5 ll

Spotmatic F, LX, and ist*D. I just haven't had the time to warm up as much to my newer DSLRs like the K5IIs and K-1.

Kent Gittings

Massao wrote:

Fantastic work Ian!!

Thank you

I came to Toronto Canada in 1966, I was a 19 year old Irish guy. My first job paid me $64 a week and I took home $54. Room and board was $20 a week, so I went downtown to the Eatons store and drooled over an Asahi Pentax SV that I bought on time for $249. A few months later I was photographing a friends wedding and at the reception, I had my camera bag under my chair. Well I hooked up with this girl and forgot all about my camera gear. Went back a few hours later and the bag and camera were gone.

So I bought a Spotmatic and used it for years. I the late 1980's I bought a SF! but didn't like it that much so a few years later I bought a PZ1, that was a great camera and I still have it.

My first digital was a Canon Pro 70, 2 mp that was fine for a few years as I was still using my PZ!.

Then along came the K10, lovely camera and still use it and then I bought a K5 that is my everyday camera and the DA 16-50 lens that I converted to screw drive.

So my top 3,

Spotmatic, SF1 and either K10 or K5

I've only had three, so this is easy:

1. K100D Super. My first DSLR, my first SLR, still my go-to camera. Still my favorite. Bought it from a guy on Craigslist in 2010 for about $400. Feels perfect in my hands, and I can operate every button and menu without looking. Even though it has only 6 MP, I'll accept that because it takes AA batteries and has a nice top LCD for when I'm working in dark theaters and don't want to blow my night vision or bother people seated nearby.

2. K200D. I got tired of bringing my K100D-s to work with me on days I need to do product shots. Bought it last summer for a song on eBay. A solid step up from the K100D Super, with nearly the same controls and layout (but what happened to ISO 3200?). I keep this camera at work so I can take product shots every few weeks. My K200D has a particular flaw: it does not work with SDM lenses. As in, I get an error message and camera turns off. Fortunately, all I need at work is the kit lens, so it's hardly a dealbreaker.

3. K-S2. Just bought it in May as a closeout directly from Ricoh. I haven't used it much yet. It looks gorgeous in white, but I can already tell I'm going to miss my top LCD screen and my handy AA batteries.

My list is actually chronological -

Beginning with the 1st Pentax I ever owned and shot regularly with - the Spotmatic. Such a beautifully built and eminently functional camera.

Second is the MX - with its compact but oh-so-usable form, its K-bayonet mount, and its toughness. I had several and still regret no longer having them in some ways.

Third ... beyond a doubt, the DSLR I now own, the KP - beautiful design which hearkens back to the Pentax designs of analog film years - but possessing a beautiful feel - and a relatively (compared to many other larger modern cameras) size.

Honorable mentions to the ME-Super, a quirky but interesting variant on the MX - and also the K200D, my personal precursor to the KP I now own, and in spite some real shortcomings, a photographic tool which was both powerful and damn solid.

I'm an old 1timer and started with a Spotmatic 1000 at Journalism School in the 1970s, so I'm a little partial to the old girl. That being said, I've owned everything from the istD to the K1. Here's my favorites. I haven't owned a bad Pentax digital; mind you, the AF on all of them haven't been stellar but the K3 and K1 are coming around. Here's my favs:

The K10D...it kept Pentax in the game.

The K5...it really is/was that good.

The K1...beautiful big full frame.

The picks are in order. Best. Don

I'm excluding my film bodies, which consist of an LX and ME:

- Pentax K01

- Pentax K3

- Pentax KP

As was said earlier, if I could add a Ricoh, it'd be the GR - over the K01.

I've only had 3 Pentax SLR/DSLRs, so they have to be the best:

P30n - bought in preference to the K1000 because of DOF preview (which I rarely used anyway).  Still going, kind of bomb-proof.

MZ50n - bought for autofocus.  Really enjoyed using this one - so light.  Unfortunately it got damaged during a house move - the pop-up mechanism for flash.  Apparently a common problem, but didn't fix because digital took over.

K50 - well, great to use.  Pity about the aperture block failure.

Notice a pattern here?  The first is still fine, the other two......