That's an awesome price!

I have a Lumix G3 (MFT) atm and I'm generally happy with it as I have two great Olympus lenses, my 25mm f1.8 and 45mm f1.8. This is equivalent to 50mm and 90mm I believe in 35mm terms.

What sort of price am I looking at for similar lenses and how will sharpness, DoF, bokeh and other factors change by "upgrading" to this entry level DSLR?

oh, so cheap.

Very well spotted item OP but came to £154.85 at checkout. Maybe I should have paid in euros! Joking aside, a new opportunity to reuse my legacy Nikon lenses for the cost of a bridge camera or new-fangled optic.

Firstly Thanks OP heated! Hi i'm keen to get a decent camera but i'm not very clued up!! So I assume with this I get a fully functioning camera "body" then just have to source a compatible lense and a memry card? does it have to be an Pentax lense and can anyone suggest a good starter "general purpose" lense for portrait and general "out and about" photography also stationary car photography ?

I have been waiting for a deal on either the Olympus OM-D E-M10 or Sony a5100 - having missed out on both on this site. How does the Pentax Compare?

Many thanks for any advice

So all that's needed is a good lens ? Often baffled by the body-only tag.Have images of an empty shell which of course it isn't. Great deal it is

I was going to get a Nikon D5300 kit, but someone said oh you'll want full frame in the near future. Maybe I will but I could just go out and get a full frame body and reuse my lenses as long as I non DX lenses. I need to research the camera in this deal and see how it compares to the Nikon.

Anyway here's some information for n00bs such as myself, regarding crop frame and full frame (DX versus FX) >

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/article/g588ouey/the-dx-and-fx-formats.html

Some good advice I was given, you can take awesome photos with a pinhole camera, spend money on the glass (lenses), a photo is only as good as the person behind the camera. The camera is a tool, it's how you use it that makes the difference. You can take amazing photos with a crop frame camera. Don't worry so much :smiley:

Don't forget that with Pentax cameras you can use any k-mount lens from the last 40+ years. A lot of these may be manual lenses but the image quality is amazing and they can be picked up cheap. A manual M 50mm f1.7 lens can be picked up on an auction site for about £30.

I have really wanted to buy a digital camera for a while, mostly to actually do youtube videos and product reviews/photos. Would this be a good starting point? I havent wanted to spend over 200 on a camera but had looked at the likes of the d3200 etc. Also What lenses do these use (im a newby so may need some explaining unless its a particular brand). Thanks!

good price but why do they insist on making them as ugly as possible?

can anyone recommend a decent lens for this around £120 ? preferable official pentax ( i know i'll prob only get 35-50 mm for this) also preferable one that wont require button config as i'm a beginner, i just want to plug and play

What's 'bokeh' ?

Maybe it shouldn't matter at this price but could you really live with white? Really?

Thanks - is that 2 lenses or a connector and a lens?

Basically I have this camera already, scratched the lens that came with it, so need a new basic lens, bought a vintage one quite big and goes to 200mm K Mount and it works (Was £11) but it's manual and I can't work out how to actually use it as you have to re-configure buttons etc - need official plug and play as i'm a proper novice.

I see yeah... I basically got this to try and learn and steer away from iPhone and automatic shots, i'm getting to grips with it still and yeah, I stupidly thought mm = better shots - i'll get there, just need a basic lens for about £100 - £150 as i already scratched mine (even more novice of me)

more mm just gives you a closer view (more zoom in point and shoot terms) it doesn't say anything about the quality really
how badly did you scratch the lens? i saw an article where they stuck bits of paper and scratched/smashed the lens purposely and the results were surprisingly good
edit: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches and http://kurtmunger.com/dirty_lens_articleid35.html


for the above post it was 2 lenses - 18-55 you probably have and 50mm one similar to the 55mm view but higher quality

i wouldn't give up with the manual lens - just experiment with the settings and twist the focus ring until your target is in focus (80-200?)
be a learning experience if nothing else, make sure test of things not moving as well to start with

Thanks Brilly - it's not too bad really, basically I was practicing long exposure at a waterfall and the camera was on a mini tripod about 6 inches off the ground, it fell forward and there are 2 x 1mm marks from grit, in some photos you can see the specs, but not in others.

With the manual lens, its more a case of a black screen, it fits (snaps on and i can see perfectly) but I can't take shots yet, the manual says somehting about re-configuring the buttons to accept the new lens, but I'm still getting my head arouns apature, shutter speed, F Stops etc, let alone a manaul lens :laughing:

I'll keep hold of them both and I guess keep practicing with the slightly scratched lens, I've got 2 photography books on the christmas list too... for dummies LOL!

First Google hit......
In photography, bokeh (Originally /ˈboʊkɛ/, /ˈboʊkeɪ/ BOH-kay — also sometimes pronounced as /ˈboʊkə/ BOH-kə, Japanese: [boke]) is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens. Bokeh has been defined as "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light.

Oh and i have 18-33mm - it came with camera from this post... http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/pentax-ks-1-dslr-camera-black-35mm-lens-kit-269-amazon-fr-lightning-deal-2168011

and a vintage one... I think 35-200mm telephoto f3 or similar - very cheap,

bokeh is pretty :laughing:

nah you got the 35mm 2.4 as recommended here going by your link :laughing:
you'll see less of the scratches the lower the fnumber is most likely

vintage one a vivitar lens? 35-200 f3-4.5?


so you only get a black screen with the big lens? on my own camera (not a pentax) i had to change a menu option to "Release w/o lens" or similar to get it to work.

edit: http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/54-pentax-lens-articles/110657-how-use-meter-manual-m42-lenses-all-pentax-dslrs-k-5-k-r-k-x-k-7-a.html ?

Is this a good deal to? or is the lens inferior to the ones mentioned earlier in the thread?

Your text here

If this was black, I’d be all over this. I could slip this into my camera bag and the wife would never know. But I think even she would notice the colour change from black to silver :disappointed:

Yes spot on, for all of it!

Will check the lens tonight and try your tip via the link - thanks bud! absolute hero! :man:

Does this come shipped across from France with a 2 pin euro plug? And do you need to speak french to deal with warranty/returns??

If you like garish colours and prefer to buy from an English supplier then there is this one as well:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pentax-K-S1-DSLR-Camera-18-55mm/dp/B00VFX0P7Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449664867&sr=8-2&keywords=pentax+ks1
or as a bundle with bag and 16GB card:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bundle-Pentax-Digital-18-55mm-Genuine/dp/B016OWCB90/ref=pd_sim_sbs_421_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=51EGXlTNX5L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0JNVC22XZJVRAEEYKXFF

Brilly thanks for the reply. Before I go for the deal -do you know if this model is image stabilised or not?

​If you take your camera, point it at the keyboard in front of your computer, with google on the screen, , focus on the letter B, then press the B key with the end of the lens, take a photo at the widest aperture, load it up in Photoshop. Repeat for lettrts O, K, E and H, then do the same with the enter key ..... the meaning might get clearer......

thanks Brilly, not sure I can stomach white!! From someone in the know, what is the main advantage, apart from lower price of this Pentax vs the sony a5100 for instance, which I originally had my eye on as it's much more compact but apparently produces great photo's?

aside from the colour good deal.

​your lack of answering the question points to you being an aperture hole.

Tamron 17-50!

For £120 ? From where ???

Check out this site to find the cheapest new Pentax fit lenses
K Mount Camera price buster lens prices

Great price for the camera. I generally get my lenses second hand off ebay or the pentax uk forum

CEX do second hand weather sealed 18-55mm kit lenses for £30!
You don't need to reconfigure the buttons, just stick the camera in manual mode, set the aperture from the ring on the lens and press the green pentax button to take a light meter reading to set your shutter speed!

1. tamron isn't pentax
2. its not £120 .. even 2nd hand and i was sticking to new as per my comment
you probably know much more about the pentax but i didn't want to be such an 'aperture hole' so as to recommend a lens that fails on 100% of the properties asked for :man:

edit: i assume from your post that you are someone who was previously butthurt, unfortunately i cant remember you - i hope this doesn't hurt your delicate sensibilities any further.

Thanks Brilly, I already have numerous Pentax lenses being a Pentax fan for over 40 years.

Can I get a link to the CEX thing please

Here you go. Only 2 left! https://uk.webuy.com/product.php?sku=SDIGLENSPENDA1855WL#.Vmif24ROXop

Also any idea how much import tax will be?

As hotbydegrees says, no import tax as we are buying from within the EU. It will most likely come with an EU plug too as opposed to UK plug.

Looks to me some affordable lenses are the:
Pentax smc 35mm f/2.4 AL Lens (equivalent of 52.5mm - roughly what our eyes see) - £99 on Amazon
Pentax 50mm f/1.8 SMC DA Lens (equivalent of 75mm - more shallow depth of field I.e. more bokeh and blurring of background) - £89 on Amazon
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM (equivalent of 45mm - very wide lens so more blurring of background/bokeh) - £159 used from various places

I've already ordered the camera but looking at the samples from those lenses, it doesn't seem much better than my Lumix G5 (I dunno why I thought it was a G3 in my first post) with its 25mm f1.8 and 45mm f1.8 lenses. I don't know if I should give this to my sister as a Christmas present and get her the 50mm f1.8 lens or just return it. I don't think I can break even even if I sold it on eBay hence return or gifting.

wow, good price.

Does anyone have any video samples from this camera, I checked online but I cannot seem to find any good ones?

Looks like a good camera for the money. Not sure on that UI scheme/colour, funky rear control dial and shallow plastic grip. Also the focusing and shutter sound appear to be very loud.

There's so little about this camera online, its like it has been completely overlooked even though it has great features (good sensor, 100% and large pentaprism, sensor stabilization, focus peaking).

yes i think so:)

Received mine yesterday but I think I'll be keeping my white G5. The white KS-1 just doesn't look as nice as my G5 and doesn't seem as nice to handle. My sister doesn't want it either so I'll be returning this. I'm sure the images with a 50mm f1.8 will be slightly sharper and with more bokeh than my G5 with the 25mm f1.8 and it works out much cheaper too (~£155 for the KS-1 + £89 for the lens = ~£245 compared to me paying £242 for the G5 and £270 for the lens = £512) but I just prefer the extra features of my G5 (touch and swivel screen), design and handling.

I take it I missed out on this - bummer.

Good find OP.

thanks, would you reccomend any particular one? some are £18 and one is £30

https://uk.webuy.com/search/index.php?sortOn=sellprice_asc&stext=18-55mm+pentax§ion=

​The £30 is weather sealed so it won't let in dust or moisture. Probably the pick of the bunch.

This camera is white.

Edit - ' Nuff said .

This deal is back on again.

Did anyone else get one of these? What is it like?