Let's get this Clear....Re: Pentax

[benjikan]

I felt it necessary to start a new thread regarding my use of Pentax and my affiliation with them. As some individuals have questioned my motivation in doing so.

I have been a Pro Photographer for over 25 years. I had used Canon for over eighteen years for my 35mm format and anything from Sinar to Horsemean to Fuji 680 to Bronica to Blad to Mamiya to Pentax to Yashica for my MF and larger support imagery. I was sponsored Officially by Canon up until recently when I switched to Pentax, which for me was a very serious move. I have used Pentax MF cameras for years, specifically the 67. Pentax have never asked me to post on forums. They have never provided any work for me, as my field of expertise is totally out of their domain. They are pleased however with my move to Pentax. Being that I garnered a considerable amount of press re: my Canon sponsorship, they were delighted with the fact that they could benefit by that exposure. Yes I do use Pentax now and they do provide material for me. But I never would have switched to Pentax if the product could not deliver the goods. That would be professional suicide. As to my posting on several forums. Absolutely. I wish to share my experiences with other photographers who may have been reluctant to use the K10D in professional applications. I see no reason that if one can use a Nikon D200 for a pro shoot, why not the K10D. Canon and Nikon have thousands of Pro users publicly acknowledging the use of specific models for specific applications. I don't see why there should be a double standard. If Pentax were to stop my partnership with me tomorrow, I would still continue to use the K10D and acquire their 645D when it comes out in the Fall of 2007.

 

[shingfan]

by looking at your work.....no one would have doubt about PENTAX......they are just beautiful

 

[benjikan]

by looking at your work.....no one would have doubt about PENTAX......they are just beautiful

Shingfan;

Thanks for the very kind acknowledgment.

Ben

 

[Iron Flatline]

I have only seen a few of your threads. In all of them, you are very pleased with the results from working with Pentax. What I found a little superfluous in light of your former and current professional relationships was your post in which you wondered out loud if Canon had lost its way. I am not asking you to stop doing that, to explain your actions, or to somehow be any different than the rest of us - just be aware that it looks funny coming from someone who was sponsored by them, and then switched.

 

[usayit]

I agree with Iron... I find your postings interesting and I hope to read more.

On the other hand... I understand individuals questioning your motives as I am one of them. Until now, I've kept my thoughts to myself simply because of the content of your recent postings. It is difficult to ignore the fact that you are a relatively new our small friendly community comprised of mostly hobbiests and enthusiasts toting a 25 year career in photography, a long relationship with Canon, and a new sponsorship with Pentax. Looking back through your 70 posts, it is almost exclusively regarding Pentax and the Canon thread Iron mention really doesn't paint you in good light.

Let me put it this way... I'm grew up in a small town who prides itself on being a tight community and down to earth. You come rolling through in a quarter of million dollar mobile home trailering in a Ferrari. What do you expect from a small community?

( In fact.. 20 years later.. that small community doesn't exist but in name only... Totally overrun with commercialism... where most of Enron's executives called home. )

You can easily convince us wrong by continuing to contribute to this community of ours with valuable posts outside of the world of Pentax.

Btw... Your work is beautiful.. there is no questioning that.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

If using a Pentax camera makes more sense than any Canon body, than that's all that matters.

DSLR bodies give such similar results, the only way you can tell what is what from just an image is the aspect ratio. Is it the 35mm ratio or the 4/3rds?

 

[benjikan]

If using a Pentax camera makes more sense than any Canon body, than that's all that matters.

DSLR bodies give such similar results, the only way you can tell what is what from just an image is the aspect ratio. Is it the 35mm ratio or the 4/3rds?

....Thank You....:thumbup:

 

[benjikan]

I agree with Iron... I find your postings interesting and I hope to read more.

On the other hand... I understand individuals questioning your motives as I am one of them. Until now, I've kept my thoughts to myself simply because of the content of your recent postings. It is difficult to ignore the fact that you are a relatively new our small friendly community comprised of mostly hobbiests and enthusiasts toting a 25 year career in photography, a long relationship with Canon, and a new sponsorship with Pentax. Looking back through your 70 posts, it is almost exclusively regarding Pentax and the Canon thread Iron mention really doesn't paint you in good light.

Let me put it this way... I'm grew up in a small town who prides itself on being a tight community and down to earth. You come rolling through in a quarter of million dollar mobile home trailering in a Ferrari. What do you expect from a small community?

( In fact.. 20 years later.. that small community doesn't exist but in name only... Totally overrun with commercialism... where most of Enron's executives called home. )

You can easily convince us wrong by continuing to contribute to this community of ours with valuable posts outside of the world of Pentax.

Btw... Your work is beautiful.. there is no questioning that.

A very stark and poignant analogy...I totally understand. But this is the internet...Several years ago, the scientific community thought that space was a void. Nothing was connected. We were alone, disconnected and totally autonomous. However, as of late that hypothesis has been replaced by the dark matter and the zero point theories or called "The Field" as Lynn Mctaggart has so well coined. None the less, if I have upset your "web" with my intrusion, my apologies. You might wish to seek out some of the other topics that I and others have embarked on. It is not centered around Pentax, it is predominantly aimed towards the art of photography.

 

[Torus34]

A tempest in a teapot.

Cameras are but tools. It is the final work -- the image -- that matters.

I can't imagine a situation in which an artist shifted from one brush manufacturer to another and caused a single eyebrow to be raised.

 

[Garbz]

I agree while you do post about the pentax camera a lot there are plenty of other examples where you have given information about your industry, or presented methods for post processing photography which did not even mention the camera, and these have been universally applicable to any camera.

Some people do not understand your enthusiasm. I was the same. Coming from an electrical engineering background and after finally finishing a design which questioned my own taught way of doing things, I spent the next few weeks ranting about a certain chip which everyone dismissed because of its technical design and I was branded the same way as you right now by this community. The internet can be a real pain sometimes!

 

[boclcown]

I have to ask: what exactly did the K10D have that the markII (or III) or 5D lacked?

I understand that any camera works when put in the right hands, and that sometimes it's the "feel" that motivates a switch, but I'm curious as to why the K10D stood out among other, significantly better, cameras (technically).

 

[shorty6049]

man , that would be sweet to be sponsored by someone... , and to contribute SOMETHING to this thread, i'll say that free speech is a good thing.

 

[fmw]

Here's a suggestion, Ben. As a professional you can make images with any camera. You and I both know that. Using a Pentax doesn't make the image any different than using the Canons you used before. We all understand that a great photograph is in the eye of the photographer and not in the camera lens. We all understand that Pentax makes competent products.

My suggestion would be to share your experience and talents about photography and forget the camera issue. Stay independent of the equipment in your posts and your posts will be more valuable to the community. Obviously you have valuable contributions to make to the community. I'm not sure that plugging Pentax is one of them.

 

[Don Simon]

Ben as I see it, the issue seems to be that all your image posts have "k10d" in the title. I agree that this is not strictly necessary. Saying which lens was used I don't see being a problem, but the camera's name in the title doesn't really add anything.

Now the K10d is a relatively new camera (I say relatively; 4 months seems to be a long time in the digital imaging), and generally when a new camera is released you will find people on Pentax forums posting images taken with the said camera, just as you would find people posting images shot with a new Nikon or Canon on their respective forums; and it would be made clear that the images were made with the new camera, because people are understandably interested in what the newer product can do. That should be allowed here just as on brand-specific sites. However, the K10d is no longer that new... many people have one and there are many reviews with sample images. Therefore there is no longer any point to posting a set of "K10d images" any more than there would be posting shots with "D70" in the title.

Apart from that, I don't think there's anything wrong with the rest of your posts, some of which have been about Pentax and some which haven't. I don't think you need to completely avoid talking about equipment. You've provided information on new lenses; in one case referring to a delay in release and another reporting a technical problem, which hardly seemed like plugging. Info, reviews, even sample images for new lenses from Canon and Nikon is often forthcoming and I see no reason why you shouldn't do the same for Pentax. As for the 645D, well there's a chance it could be the first affordable digital medium format camera, which to me seems like a fairly valid topic for discussion, hardly gratuitous plugging. But IMO perhaps the key is to post those equipment-related issues in the Equipment section, and keep photo shoots in the Galleries.

 

[Jeremy Z]

I for one can see why Ben has mentioned Pentax so much. There is such a feeling going around that Nikon & Canon are the only brands that a pro would consider... When a newb comes here and looks around, he sees that nearly everyone is using Nikon or Canon. He goes shopping for Nikon or Canon, without even considering that anyone else makes a quality product.

Now and then, someone will say something to the effect of: "..if you think you might become serious about photography, you should get a Nikon or Canon. All the pros use Nikon or Canon and they have more lenses & flashes."

To someone who has had some of their best results with Olympus, Pentax, Minolta, it pains us to see the Canon & Nikon zombies getting more mindless reinforcements for their army.

There are probably 2 newbie posts per day saying that they just got a camera or are new and are considering which camera they should get. I, for one, am not ashamed to march right over there and suggest that they keep an open mind with regards to other brands, such as Pentax & Olympus.

I was also glad to see Ben come on board openly praising Pentax. Now, there won't be so many zombies saying that pros only use Nikon & Canon. There are a few pros who are open-minded. Pros tend to get pig-headed in their beliefs after a while. They say how they have been shooting successfully for so long with a certain brand, why change? It is good to see that one of them, at least, has kept his eyes open.

Ben's pro-Pentax posts are still vastly outnumbered by the posts that assume Canon & Nikon are the only real choices.

As for the "it's just a tool" comments; those have some truth to them. But I certainly wouldn't compare a digital camera body to a paint brush. Digital camera bodies can change the image by their minor differences, whereas a paintbrush or film camera do not make as much difference. Even shooting in RAW, there are differences due to noise & sensor size.

Example: the humble Nikon EM is capable of making just as good of an image as a Nikon F5. But to compare a Nikon D40 to a Nikon D2Xs is not really the same. (I use the Nikon brand as an example because they presently have a wider range of digital cameras levels at present)

It is true that a talented photographer will make a better image with the D40 than the no-talent photographer will make with the D2Xs.

Sorry for the ramble. I think Ben is just trying to open peoples' eyes to the alternatives. Maybe he was even a little shocked at how good Pentax is, after so many years of shooting Canon?