In almost all of the photo forums I've visited, there's a thread about the impending demise of Pentax. Why? Because people haven't heard too much about them or their local salesperson tells them to go Canon or Nikon.
How many times did you hear about how Apple was going to go bust (especially pre-iMac/iPod?)
It's no question that Pentax is a smaller company than C&N (and in some respects Olympus with their fourthirds alliance) but they still produce some of the best glass out there right now. Name me one other manufacturer that produces a line of digital specific primes along side some of the best primes (cropped/full-frame/film) for any system, period. Name me one other manufacturer that can get you a weather-sealed body for under $700.
The point I'm trying to make here is that Pentax has always been a little quirky in regards to their features and lens line-up and has therefore found less mainstream success. As a result, their name brand recognition has suffered accordingly. Pentax doesn't make machine-gun FPS machines. They don't make absurdly-high ISO tank-like bodies. What they do make are solid, durable, full-featured camera bodies with a fantastic selection of lenses - especially digital-only primes.
Off the top of my head you can currently purchase:
14mm f/2.8
21mm f/3.2 Limited
31mm f/1.8 Limited
35mm f/2.0
35mm f/2.8
Macro Limited
40mm f/2.8 Limited
43mm f/1.9 Limited
50mm f/1.4
70mm f/2.4 Limited
50mm f/2.8 Macro
100mm f/2.8 Macro
200mm* f/2.8
300mm* f/4
On the road-map:
15mm f/?.? Limited
30mm* (rumored to be f/1.4 - if it's anywhere near as good as the 31mm, watch out...)
55mm* f/1.4
If you like shooting with primes, the Pentax system is a no-brainer (unless you absolutely need full-frame, in which case, have fun!
)
Heck,
Zeiss makes some primes for the Pentax K-mount that are phenomenal. And that's not even counting all the other third-party options like Sigma and Tamron. It should say something when Sigma announces several lenses for the Pentax system and continues to do so. I'd be worried about Pentax and the K-mount in general if that
didn't happen.
Sure, they don't have superzooms like the Bigma, but they have enough consumer lenses to keep most happy and have stepped up to the plate with their recent DA* offerings. Now tell me that a company that has teamed up with one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world (Samsung) is about to go belly up. Not likely. (Disclaimer: Samsung/Hoya might change the Pentax board of directors, business model etc, but the Pentax name and K-mount is likely to remain for some time.)
