Is there anything I'm missing out on with Pentax DSLRs?
I've been looking at the smaller bodies online like the KP but these things are impossible to see in the natural world.
I had a fling with the Nikon Df and appreciated it's smaller form factor compared to the other FF Nikons. But a prism and screw drive still bulks it up a lot. I'm pretty married to an Fuji X100 for minimalist size-to-function ratio but sometimes I want a proper portrait lens or wide prime. It also seems like Pentax has some incredibly small glass.
I had the Pentax K1 II last year for a few months with the 31mm f1.8, 43mm f1.9, and 77mm f.18 limited lens. The K1 has very good handling, and image quality is very good. But, every time I use the camera, it reminds me why Pentax hadn't sold nearly as many cameras as Nikon did. Nikon have a few items sort out: 1) auto focus. The Pentax K1 II can hunt in daylight in center focus point only. What years is this? 2) I have the options to use the aperture ring. Those limited Pentax lenses have aperture ring, but you can't use it (if you know how to get around it, please let me know). I have to set the lens aperture to auto, to use the camera body to control the aperture. 3) rangefinder indicator for manual focus lens. Using vintage lens on Nikon dslr is a better experience.
The Pentax K1 is also quite heavy. At the end, I gave up and sold all my Pentax gear to my friend. He had the same conclusion as mine. Love the image, doesn't care for the focus hunting.
I love the Pentax lenses (31, 43 and 77 Limiteds) and have a Pentax KP but haven’t used it in a long time since I bought a Monster LA-KE1 autofocus Pentax K to Sony FE adapter. AF including eye AF works surprisingly well on my A7CR and I’ve never had so many in focus images with my Pentax lenses. I was seriously thinking about getting a Leica Q3 43 and thought I’d use my Pentax 43/1.9 on my A7CR for a while to see how I liked using only that focal length. I liked that combo so much that I have been using it A LOT and lost desire for the Q.
The Pentax Limited lenses are awesome. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t like the feel of their FF cameras and the APSc cameras don’t line up to my liking with the Limited lenses. Otherwise, great and under appreciated system.
