Purchase of 2nd hand DSLR - Pentax K20?
Discussion
We've always had the point and shoot cameras, and more recently simply use the mobiles.
My two eldest are becoming more interested in photography. One of them is look to do Art at Uni.
Point and Shoot has its place, and perhaps good strong details pictures aren't it.
Now of course all of this could be a complete novelty so spending big money I'd rather avoid. We have an option to buy a 2nd hand Pentax K20 with a (Pentax) 50/200 lens for £150
Is it a decent starter DSLR? If we do buy it what should I be checking (apart from the fact it actually works)?
My two eldest are becoming more interested in photography. One of them is look to do Art at Uni.
Point and Shoot has its place, and perhaps good strong details pictures aren't it.
Now of course all of this could be a complete novelty so spending big money I'd rather avoid. We have an option to buy a 2nd hand Pentax K20 with a (Pentax) 50/200 lens for £150
Is it a decent starter DSLR? If we do buy it what should I be checking (apart from the fact it actually works)?
Sir Bagalot said:
We've always had the point and shoot cameras, and more recently simply use the mobiles.
My two eldest are becoming more interested in photography. One of them is look to do Art at Uni.
Point and Shoot has its place, and perhaps good strong details pictures aren't it.
Now of course all of this could be a complete novelty so spending big money I'd rather avoid. We have an option to buy a 2nd hand Pentax K20 with a (Pentax) 50/200 lens for £150
Is it a decent starter DSLR? If we do buy it what should I be checking (apart from the fact it actually works)?
There are not that many Pentax users around (mostly Canon and Nikon) but it seems like a decent bit of kit and at £150 you could surely get your money back if it doesn't pan out. The lens is not very 'wide' so if your lad is looking to shoot landscapes he may find that the lens is not quite right (most folk would typically shoot with some thing a bit wider eg maybe around 10-30mm although it's personal taste of course).My two eldest are becoming more interested in photography. One of them is look to do Art at Uni.
Point and Shoot has its place, and perhaps good strong details pictures aren't it.
Now of course all of this could be a complete novelty so spending big money I'd rather avoid. We have an option to buy a 2nd hand Pentax K20 with a (Pentax) 50/200 lens for £150
Is it a decent starter DSLR? If we do buy it what should I be checking (apart from the fact it actually works)?
I would just take a few shots and see if it autofocuses ok and the pics look sharp.
Good luck
I'm a Pentax user, I don't know much about the K20 unfortunately so I can't say whether that's a good or bad price, though if it's a genuine Pentax 50-200 lens that's probably not bad, depending on the exact model. SRS are doing a used K20D body only (albeit with a guarantee) for £139, so including the zoom doesn't sound bad ( http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/used-refurbished/... )
A good thing about Pentax stuff is that if you don't mind shooting manually, a cheap M42 to PK adapter will open up a world of cheap second-hand car boot sale lenses of varying size and quality. And it's not hard to find kit lenses (typically the 18-55 Pentax lens) for a decent price - a recent ad on Pentaxuser had one for £30, but it's sold now.
A good thing about Pentax stuff is that if you don't mind shooting manually, a cheap M42 to PK adapter will open up a world of cheap second-hand car boot sale lenses of varying size and quality. And it's not hard to find kit lenses (typically the 18-55 Pentax lens) for a decent price - a recent ad on Pentaxuser had one for £30, but it's sold now.
Edited by droopsnoot on Thursday 14th July 18:41
Edited by droopsnoot on Thursday 14th July 18:41
Pentax do some interesting stuff, and the new cameras are ok, no idea about the k20 though.
One downside, and a mate here who shoots pentax always has this issue, is the availability of lenses, especially in the used market.
For nikon/canon and to some extent sony you can pick up a whole heap of cheap used lenses.
Another option is go for a mirrorless system that you can adapt all sorts to use with. Problem there is its likely to be more expensive on the used market at the moment for that option, and often older mirrorless are more compromised (in terms of ergonomics, options like flash, remote release, IQ etc).
One downside, and a mate here who shoots pentax always has this issue, is the availability of lenses, especially in the used market.
For nikon/canon and to some extent sony you can pick up a whole heap of cheap used lenses.
Another option is go for a mirrorless system that you can adapt all sorts to use with. Problem there is its likely to be more expensive on the used market at the moment for that option, and often older mirrorless are more compromised (in terms of ergonomics, options like flash, remote release, IQ etc).
Another pentax user here (k3 and k5 bodies + many different lenses)
K20 is an older body now but still capable of great image (pop on over to pentax forum on the web and check out the k20 used groups for some idea)
As previously said with pentax K mount you have access to load of older lenses including m42 mount stuck (with adaptor) - so plenty of room for experimenting with getting the bodies of photography right. Also lots of the older manual focus and aperture lenses are super cheap...
For the price it would make a great starter dslr.
K20 is an older body now but still capable of great image (pop on over to pentax forum on the web and check out the k20 used groups for some idea)
As previously said with pentax K mount you have access to load of older lenses including m42 mount stuck (with adaptor) - so plenty of room for experimenting with getting the bodies of photography right. Also lots of the older manual focus and aperture lenses are super cheap...
For the price it would make a great starter dslr.
I've got a Kx and have used some quite old M42 lenses without trouble. I would certainly agree that if you were going to buy an old lens it would be worth checking on the camera to see how many features you lose along with autofocus, though most of the M42 lenses I was talking about are really couple-of-quid car boot purchases to play around with.
Pentax were one of the big 4 (Nikon, Canon, Minolta and Pentax) back in the days of 35MM SLRs.
I found their MEs a bit too small for my hands, but you could get the best range of lenses in their K-Mount, so I actually bought a Chinon (only sold via Dixons in the UK, but actually a proper brand elsewhere) with that.
When DSLRs reached sensible prices I bought a Pentax iST (6 MPixel, as I recall) and it took sound great photos and most of my old lenses worked with it.
A couple of years ago I persuaded the missus to upgrade me to a newer Pentax (I don't recall which K it is, but it's one of them) and it takes even better photos (more Pixels).
If you get a Pentax for a good price, go for it - They're still a quality product and if not as common as Nikon and Canon these days, certainly a worthy alternative to either.
Reading back, my Pentaxs both work with manual lenses (one of mine even has no auto diaphragm!) - Whilst new lenses are a little harder to find in Pentax fit (not impossible), older ones are pocket money! I did have a problem with one lens (an 80-210MM zoom) where part of the back of the lens fouled the mirror in the iST. I bought a newer lens with autofocus for a small amount of money (I forget exactly how much, but well under £100) and have used it many, many times since.
A while ago I thought about replacing my 18-55MM 'kit' lens (came with the iST) and the general advice I received was not to bother as it's one of the best short zooms at twice its price!
M.
I found their MEs a bit too small for my hands, but you could get the best range of lenses in their K-Mount, so I actually bought a Chinon (only sold via Dixons in the UK, but actually a proper brand elsewhere) with that.
When DSLRs reached sensible prices I bought a Pentax iST (6 MPixel, as I recall) and it took sound great photos and most of my old lenses worked with it.
A couple of years ago I persuaded the missus to upgrade me to a newer Pentax (I don't recall which K it is, but it's one of them) and it takes even better photos (more Pixels).
If you get a Pentax for a good price, go for it - They're still a quality product and if not as common as Nikon and Canon these days, certainly a worthy alternative to either.
Reading back, my Pentaxs both work with manual lenses (one of mine even has no auto diaphragm!) - Whilst new lenses are a little harder to find in Pentax fit (not impossible), older ones are pocket money! I did have a problem with one lens (an 80-210MM zoom) where part of the back of the lens fouled the mirror in the iST. I bought a newer lens with autofocus for a small amount of money (I forget exactly how much, but well under £100) and have used it many, many times since.
A while ago I thought about replacing my 18-55MM 'kit' lens (came with the iST) and the general advice I received was not to bother as it's one of the best short zooms at twice its price!
M.
Edited by marcosgt on Friday 15th July 17:23
I got my first DSLR earlier this year after years of compact points n shoots. Of course Canon and Nikon users insisted that their offerings were the only ones to be considered, and I got the feeling that a lot of users purchased these out of concern of nonconformity and the comfort of a "safe" choice rather than any technical or other merits.
The basic offerings, body and kit lens from each, seemed priced quite low making them an attractive first toe in the water for DSLR. But that was soon outweighed by the cost of the lens if further were wanted, which they surely would. The high cost of the lens for these brands does not imply optical excellence so much as the fact that each lens must carry its own auto focus motor and image stabilisation unit, driving up the cost.
So looked around a bit more and Pentax kept ticking the boxes..........As a brand it has quite some pedigree and what was attractive was the fact that the camera bodies had the auto motor and image shake units, so lens were better priced and the fact that Canon users will often hack a Pentax mount to get a lens on a Canon speaks volumes for the optical qualities.
Anyway, I ended up at Jessops and got a new K50, a later iteration of the K20........and could not be more pleased and impressed.
The K20 has many of the great features of the K50, ones you will not find in Canon or Nikon..............The K20 has a weather sealed body so rain and dust no problem, the viewfinder is excellent, using a pentaprism and not a mirror like Canon or Nikon, and with a 95% view.
On a side by side comparison with a few Canon, the 60D and K50 about match, but the 70D beats the pentax...........If you consider that wireless capabilities and a flip screen are crucial for you.
Against the Canon 450D, the Pentax wins....the 1200D? about equal again.
I doubt you would regret getting the Pentax, and the DA lens that came with it is not a bad lens.
and the K20 will take almost every earlier lens that pentax and 3rd parties made for the k series mount........A world of manual primes and zooms for very little money.
The basic offerings, body and kit lens from each, seemed priced quite low making them an attractive first toe in the water for DSLR. But that was soon outweighed by the cost of the lens if further were wanted, which they surely would. The high cost of the lens for these brands does not imply optical excellence so much as the fact that each lens must carry its own auto focus motor and image stabilisation unit, driving up the cost.
So looked around a bit more and Pentax kept ticking the boxes..........As a brand it has quite some pedigree and what was attractive was the fact that the camera bodies had the auto motor and image shake units, so lens were better priced and the fact that Canon users will often hack a Pentax mount to get a lens on a Canon speaks volumes for the optical qualities.
Anyway, I ended up at Jessops and got a new K50, a later iteration of the K20........and could not be more pleased and impressed.
The K20 has many of the great features of the K50, ones you will not find in Canon or Nikon..............The K20 has a weather sealed body so rain and dust no problem, the viewfinder is excellent, using a pentaprism and not a mirror like Canon or Nikon, and with a 95% view.
On a side by side comparison with a few Canon, the 60D and K50 about match, but the 70D beats the pentax...........If you consider that wireless capabilities and a flip screen are crucial for you.
Against the Canon 450D, the Pentax wins....the 1200D? about equal again.
I doubt you would regret getting the Pentax, and the DA lens that came with it is not a bad lens.
and the K20 will take almost every earlier lens that pentax and 3rd parties made for the k series mount........A world of manual primes and zooms for very little money.
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