DPReview TV: The most important Pentax cameras of all time

My first SLR was a Praktica L, with no TTL capability. Around me all the non-pro guyz used Pentax: Spotmatic, K1000, so it was no question I wanted a Pentax. So when I purchased an ME for my dad, it was like heaven! Kodachrome 64 with a good SMC lens is like unbeatable. I just updated my K20D to K1. Did I really need it? Probably not, I did not became a better photographer. Do I use all the features? Not even close. But man, this is a wonderful camera, I am so happy with it. I wish Pentax created a full frame with a little less features, but cheaper.

So yes, Nikon, Canon, the big guyz, of course are very good. But Pentax has a soul once you touched you don't want to release...

Thx for the vid!

Wot.....no Spotmatic?

the k1000 experience, even in this digital age, and what can be learned by this foundation in using a camera is a rite of passage no true shooter should pass

exposure handling manual focusing [ which is still a highly important current important skill and perishable ] are all things the k 1000 offers

grounding oneself , with humility and honestly is strangely absent in these times
of endless flux

10 rolls of bw film a k 1000 [ you dont have to process yourself]
and photoshop burn and dodge your work is a journey every budding shooter
will come to understand the need of , with the maturity that is almost sure to follow

ME super, then MX that I bought used back in late 70s. Used it until beginning of 2000 when I switched to a Canon compact digital when a friend came back from Japan with one and I discovered digital world... still got them on a shelf collecting dust but still fully fonctionnal! I think I did not even change the battery in the ME since middle of 80s!
Wonderful memories, for me the MX is still a kind of piece of art, built like a tank, simple, compact, light and so easy to use.
I can remember having a 3 weeks motorbike Ireland tour in 1988:
ME super + MX + 24 Tokina + 35 pentax + 50 pentax + 50-250 Tokina + cokin filters all fitted in one small reporter camera bag and had only an other backpack for clothes in my top case. So compact , so much fun ...

I was a devoted Pentaxian for many many years. My first camera was Pentax ME Super. I was very happy with it, small and affordable. In 1999 I started editing and producing a magazine for my industry, which was published and printed in Australia, but distributed internationally. My camera for all the photographic work was Pentax 645N. A beautiful piece of optical and mechanical engineering which I still keep in my museum display. I used mostly slide films (typically Fuji Velvia) which I would then scan on FlexTight scanner for the high quality print, especially the magazine covers. Subsequently I bought and used all Pentax digital SLRs, starting from the first *istD, up to the K-3. I waited for the promised Pentax digital full frame for far too long, and at the end I gave up and switched to Sony Alpha.
I do have, however, a special place in my heart for Pentax.

The ME, original version, must be seen as one of the most important Pentaxes, since it introduced the COMPACT size SLR into the 24x36mm land (alongside the MX of course).
It was notably smaller than the Olympus Om1/2, Canon AE1 / AV1 or any Nikon or Minolta at the time.

It also happened to be my second SLR, which i bought for my 18 year birthday money in 1977 ;-)
Did a 15 km bicycle ride to the closest big city from our rural home, and also bought a 36 exposures Kodachrome 64 slide film, which I did finish off during the (very sunny) day, in June that year.
Aaah, the memory ;-)

Yes, one must have a great deal of patience with Pentax, but the wait has usually been worth it, as we can see with the K-1 and 645Z. Guys have been predicting Pentax's demise for years and we are still here. Ricoh says they remain comitted to the brand and will continue producing new designs. Now if they can only do something about the marketing, which really does suck...but Pentax will be here for a long time to come. Dare to be a Maverick!

From there, it was onto the LX, SF1n, PZ-1p, and then the digitals like the K10D, the K-3 and now the K-1. During this time, I also picked up a Pentax 6x7 with several lenses, and the fact that I could get a Pentax 35mm to 6x7 lens adapter, allowing me to use my 6x7 glass on all my SLRs including now digital, using the sweet spot of each 6x7 lens, made me a Pentaxian for life. I continue to get stares from my photojournalist bretheren as I show up for assignments sporting a Pentax, Real good conversation starter.

My first was a K1000 like everyone else. Then came the decision to upgrade: Nikon FM, Canon AT-1, Olympus OM-1, or Pentax MX?
The decision came down to the meter readout. The Canon AT-1 still had a match needle, like the Olympus OM-1; the Nikon had an LED readout, which I judged superior and more rugged; but when I saw the traffic light design of the LED readout in the Pentax MX, that really sold me. That alone convinced me that Pentax put a bit more thought into ergonomic design than the other guys, an asset that remains to this day, IMHO.

Pentax seems going to be dead, but Pentax is not dead yet, well the funeral video is already ready for it...

Pentax is not happy with it as Pentax is fighting with last breath...

Hi Chris Ladies Large Nichols. Nice video. Sometimes it is hard to know if you and your mate Jordan Drake are joking or serious. I think you made this video a bit tongue in cheek, but I also am totally convinced you mean what you say in this video. You like Pentax.

And you have a point. Pentax was in the race until K10D and 645Z. No doubt about that. But then Nikon and Canon and also others made serious investments in making the cameras pro grade, mostly by adding pro level AF. But, Pentax was not. Instead it was sold to Hoya and then Ricoh. And, in both cases degraded to a not top priority part of the company. Just trickling in a narrow stream of money.

And now we are here. With cameras that lack serious AF. That lack native lenses. That totally lack third party lens support from Sigma, Tamron, Tokina and Zeiss.

So, lets hope they positively surprise us with Pentax New, the next APS-C camera. And then the K-1 new, and FF lenses.

I think the M42 models should have been mentioned, the Spotmatic and the ES/ES II. They were real classics. Especially since the title is "The most important Pentax cameras of all time". I believe the Spotmatic was the best selling SLR worldwide for a few years. Am also slightly puzzled why there is an image of the Pentax MX as a cover shot for the video (great camera, I had one years ago). As a side note, I have a Pentax ME (and a small collection of other veteran SLRs) - its incredible how the viewfinder image with a 50 1.7 just blows away any current DSLR.

Enjoyed this.

I wrote a piece here, and kept reading others' posts, and I come to a conclusion: here we are telling our loyalties and infidelities with Pentax, sort of opening some box of the heart, but always keeping a nice and comfy memory at the bottom, as if Pentax, more than a camera were a subjugating, with imperfections but unforgettable, lover. And I think that, also in that sense, Pentax has a very special and unique place in photography.

Thank you so much for this short film about Pentax history.

:) :) :) :) :)

I was a 13 year ols lad growing up in Williamsport PA in 1964 where there was one camera store, Hoyer's Camera in the downtown Williamsport area. My father would take his slide film there to be processed. I fell in love with an Asahi Pentax spotmatic in the display case. Mister Hoyer, the owner, explained all aspects of the SLR to me. He said I could put it on layaway and pay weekly. I worked all summer, got a paper route, caddying at the golf course, painting porches and mowing yards to pay off that camera and 1.7 50mm lense. I had that camera through high school, for a stint in the US Navy, then college. I shot thousands of rolls of film until it just fell apart. I went to the other brands and have mostly Nikon and Olympus cameras but I still remember how that Pentax felt. It was an extension of mind and body. I miss cameras like that and I miss Kodachrome slide film. Thanks for Pentax week this was great.

Nice selection of Pentax cameras, excepting the cheap K1000 (especially the second generation) which I would replace with KX or MX.
Regarding the review of 645Z, we can still acces the one from the late Michael Reichmann, at Luminous Landscape. Be curios and read it, I find it fabulous!!

The K1000 was the most popular camera for photo students back in the 70's, hands down. Although I didn't own one (I had a Canon FTb and a Nikon F2as - both of which I still own), I still have my Pentax MX in perfect working and cosmetic condition - one of the best in 35mm format from Pentax and still highly sought-after by those discovering and re-discovering film photography.

But the best Pentax ever is the Pentax 67II 6x7 medium format camera. I still have and use a mint-condition 67II system with the AE finder. It is simply a joy to use. It has the handling and feel of a 35mm DSLR with big, beautiful 6x7 frames and some amazing lenses. Try shopping for a used 67II on eBay; they cost a mint and keep getting more and more expensive. But just imagine if Pentax ever put a huge MF sensor in a 67II form-factor body!

I bought my 1st slr circa 1974, a Nikormat FTN2, although I was aware of & admired Pentax cameras for their quality & ergonomics, I bought the Nikormat mainly because Nikon had perspective (PC) lenses which Pentax didn't have at the time. I stayed with Nikon thru the film era. When I finally went digital I went with the *ist DS which seemed much superior to the Nikon D50 & D70s of the time. Aside from a used Nikon D700, I've stayed with Pentax (K-10, K-7, K-5, K-3 & KP) What has kept me with Pentax is their superior ergonomics & build quality. Also for APS-c they have for my purposes a better lens selection.

Still have the MX I got in 1981. Great camera.

The Spotmatic* was a work of art for the '60's.
The wind on lever action is sublime.
It is through cameras like that and the Nikon F that the japanese vanquished the Germans as makers of affordable fine cameras.

[ * It didn't have a spot meter, and it wasn't automatic - what marketing ! ]

A lot of people look to the past here. I believe there is a future for Pentax.

C & J have a different history on reviewing Pentax compared to Dpreview. Reading reviews is also a matter of trust. While I disagree to the statement from Chris "Have they made anything widely innovative in last few years, no, not really.", I can see the point, compared to other companies that throw a lot of equipment to the market every year.

What I find generally problematic at dpreview reviews origins from Richards comment regarding 645Z: "It's not a camera many people are likely to be looking for buying advice on and, so long after launch, it was difficult to justify postponing other reviews and committing time to something we weren't confident large numbers of people would read." There is nowhere transparent what dpreview / amazon commercial interests are in reviews, how much funding the individual camera companies provide to dpreview via travel etc. How amazon sales directs the review process.

Like most Pentaxians, I started with Pentax in the film days. I just liked the feel of the Pentax and chose the Super Program. My next upgrade was the MZn and it was okay but I kept remembering the fun I had with the Super Program. Years later, I was looking to get back into photography and now I had to consider what digital brand to go with. At this time, I considered staying with Pentax since I had several of their lenses, including some A* and the wonderful A 15 3.5 lens. I still use it today on my K1 II. I looked at the K 10 and the K 7 but the K5 was new and I went over the specs and felt justified in spending a little more to get the latest. Ergonomics and weather sealing were bit deals for me. I still use that K5 but also added a K3 when it came out and then waited for the second generation of the ff K 1. I like all of these but to deal with the matter of what are the top Pentax cameras of all recent times, I would suggest adding both the Super Program and the K 1.

I have Spotmatic, ME Super and MX. Wonder to get LX someday, when find on for reasonable price

My first SLR was an ME Super, with a 50mm 1.7 Pentax lens. I still have it, although it no longer works. Even though it was pretty much an automatic camera, it did have a manual feature which helped me learn a lot about photography. That was the only Pentax I ever owned which I used until about 1993 when I switched to Nikon.

My first SLR was a used, all mechanical, black Pentax without light meter, purchased in 1974. All my exposures were based on the instruction sheet that was included with every roll of film.

Thanks for Pentax week. My dream camera in the seventies - the Pentax ES. Cannot remember exactly, but I think it was the first automatic SLR with aperture priority. Every month, when I would receive and review the latest issue of National Geographic Magazine, this splendid camera would be staring at me from the back cover or somewhere inside the magazine, as a full-page ad.
In modern days, we need to thank Pentax for their weather-sealed kit and other zooms, Pixel shift, Astro-tracer, great weather-sealing, built in IS, and some great compact, and lenses like the 55-300s, 15mm, 23mm, 41mm, 77mm, 300mm prime lenses, and the super compact 18-50mm zoom, many of which are small, rugged, and WR. Another shout out for all, older lenses still working on all new bodies. I, for one, am in line for the new aps-c body...
Also a solid vote for the Pentax 645 film camera and lenses that S. Salgado used for several of his books whilte shooting Kodak B&W film (Tri-X?)...

Thanks for spreading this kind of love to one of the greatest camera manufacturers.

Back in the late 1980s/start of 1990s I worked in a camera shop. One customer was chief photographer for a cruise ship company. Had a standing request to reserve for him all used Pentax K1000s and Nikon FM/FEs that we took in part-exchange for the autofocus gear that was selling rapidly new (mostly Canon EOS/Minolta Dynas [Maxxum in the US]). His reason is that in an environment that combined salty air/spray, alcohol and young, temporary workers inclined to abuse gear, those were the most durable products.

Pentax Spotmatic is simple and ingenious. He's the best! https://www.dpreview.com/challenges/Entry.aspx?ID=1126141

If any photography student is put off a used K1000 because of it's relatively high cost, consider the Pentax KM or KX which have the same basic body but are far less expensive.

The former is just the same as the K1000 but with added depth of field preview and self timer.
The latter has that plus a more sensitive light meter, wider ISO range, and mirror lock-up, plus an aperture window and match-needle exposure readout so that the aperture and shutter speed could be read through the viewfinder.

I still use that XXX triptych. KX, LX, MX,
and all their manual focus lenses on my Pentax DSLRs.

Excellent appreciation of Pentax which demonstrates a true understanding of both their cameras and us Pentaxians.
I had previously picked up on a liking for Pentax in you and some of your colleagues at DPR, so it's nice to see this put on the record.

I had an MX and LX, still sorry to this day parting company with the LX. Lovely camera. Still have a P30, P50 and Auto 110. Never used a Pentax digital tho.

People rightly mention Spotmatics but I would rather pick ME Super. Camera which combines a lot of Pentax tech at kind of sweet spot, was made in large numbers, it's fun to use even today with compact M series lenses, and it's plentiful to get from eBay and other places for couple bucks.
ME Super is compact, yet has large and bright viewfinder, solid aperture priority metering system with LED indication, precise metal shutter going to 1/2000 unlike earlier cloth shutter which slowed down at fastest speeds.

The Kx is the most important for me.