Are all Pentaxians Grumpy Old Men?

Best of Pentax Forums Newsletter February 26, 2026

Feb 26, 2026

Talkin’ bout my generation

We all know the stereotype-all Pentaxians are grumpy men between the ages of 82 and a half and 87, yelling Hey you kids! GET THAT MOOSE OFF MY LAWN OR I’LL POKE YOU WITH MY PENTAX POINTED STICK!!!

Is this true? Or are more generations represented here on the Forums? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know!

Elsewhere this week, Loyal Site Supporter JoelA takes his K-1s on an off-the-grid trip around Morocco; Junior Member Eric J reviews the HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2; and Senior Member woody54 puts a Pentax MX-1 through its paces.

If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, please take a moment to join the almost 1,600 Pentaxians who have subscribed to our free curated compendium of the hundreds of great images and post shared each week in our Pentax community. Please let us know your thoughts here in the comments and on our Pentax Forums, and have a perfect Pentaxian week!

Threads of the Week:

Durability Report: Hiking the Sahara Desert K-1 II

February 23, 2026 • Pentax K-1 & K-1 II • 7 replies • 385 views

JoelA said — All, Just back from a ‘off the grid’ trip around Morocco. Three days of the trip was hiking in the Sahara. Due to restrictions on what we could put in our packs, I ended up carrying the K-1 II for the entire three days completely uncovered - no bag. Lens was DFA WR 28->105 for most everything, and occasionally 15 f/4 DA if I could safely make a change. Modest winds, cold nights, warm days. Read more »

3D Printed Battery Connector cover for K-3 & K-5. Pentax part 77240-A410

February 19, 2026 • Pentax K-5 & K-5 II • 1 replies • 224 views

hercii said — Hi, I had a few people ask me if I could make this part so it’s now available in the Buy/Sell section. Read more »

Takumar 100/2

February 18, 2026 • Lens Sample Photo Archive • 4 replies • 138 views

pinholecam said — Some very old photos as well as more recent ones. Read more »

Pentaxian User Reviews

Pentax Lenses

HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2

Reviewed by Junior Member Eric J

Review Date: February 18, 2026 Recommended | Price: $350.00 | Rating: 9

Pros: Size, image quality Cons: Maybe the slightly noisy AF in some cases
Sharpness: 10 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 9 Autofocus: 9 Handling: 10 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: KF

I bought it new. Excellent detail and colors. Contrast and sharpness also very good. AF is screw drive, but very accurate and fast. To my eyes, the rendering is more on the FA lens category with pleasant contrast and colors, compared to the more crispy modern DA lens rendering. I like both, but the FA on an APS-C body just makes this combo a go to on my end.
Why I went for this lens it’s 193 gr size and the quality it delivers, for F2 lens at 35mm how many lenses come close to that specification?
Overall, excellent.

Takumar 28mm F2.8 Bayonet

Reviewed by New Member carl0

Review Date: February 11, 2026 Recommended | Price: $30.00 | Rating: 8

Pros: Image quality, bokeh, inexpensive, well-built, small
Cons: Simple coating (no SMC), full manual
Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 7 Bokeh: 8 Handling: 9 Value: 9 Camera Used: Pentax K-01

My copy arrived with a UV filter, a rubber lens hood, and a case. It’s very well built — I was afraid it might feel cheap, but it doesn’t. Mine doesn’t have the stiff aperture ring issue; it works smoothly. Sharpness is good, and I like the colors and contrast. It’s not an auto lens, so it’s fully manual, but I don’t mind — it suits my shooting style perfectly. On APS-C it’s equivalent to a 42mm, which is a very useful focal length in my opinion. For the price I paid, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to try vintage lenses without spending much. I haven’t tested its flare resistance yet.

Pentax Cameras

Pentax MX-1

Reviewed by Senior Member woody54

Review Date: February 16, 2026 Recommended | Price: $400.00 | Rating: 9

Pros: Image quality, Control interface and Portability Cons: Cost
New or Used: Used

Recent purchase after exploring other manufacturers products, decided to return to my original brand Pentax. Not expansively, as I’m wishing to rationalize my hobby. Just the MX-1. Travel photography is one of my photographic passions and portability is a prime consideration so larger models and multiple exchangeable lenses are not getting a vote. The brief opportunity I’ve had testing so far, has produced useful images thru macro-closeup, architectural-street, people and landscape. With high demand V limited supply prices now are exorbitant. Some offerings have lens retraction issues fingers crossed mine remains OK. The identical lens unit has been used by other manufacturers, Olympus XZ-1, XZ-2 and Casio EX-10. Curious given the critical plaudits who actually manufactured it.

Comment of the Week:

Site Supporter WestCoastGuy on What was your first new Pentax? The Best of Pentax Forums February 19 Poll: Pentax compact, with auto-winder-I was 14YO, 1974. My Dad made me buy it so I would stop using his SLR! I have purchased a series of Pentax bodies and lens over the decades, kept the lens, traded or sold the bodies to family as I moved up.
I currently have a K3-III, lens from 50mm (who doesn’t?), 28-100mm, 70-200mm F2, 125-450mm, and a few others. I have a 2x and a 1.7X doubler as well. My daughter has a K3, and yes, uses my lens when she can. Must be in the family or something.

What’s your generation?

The Best of Pentax Forums February 26 Poll

Loyal Site Supporter Sebrof made an interesting point on How many systems do you use regularly? The Best of Pentax Forums February 12 Poll: I know it's early days, with only 42 respondents at this point, but I am surprised at how few people use (or admit to using) Pentax lenses on other makes of body. I would not have been surprised if it was a third, based on forum posts. But a breakdown based on age would be interesting. I suspect that the Pentax diehards are people of a certain age, while the "other body" brigade are much younger. I bought my first Pentax, an SP!!, in 1973, and have never been tempted to switch brands. But if I had not been a Pentax owner for over 50 years I might have less brand loyalty.

So how about it? Is the stereotype right? Are all Pentaxians grumpy men between the ages of 82 and a half and 87, yelling Hey you kids! GET THAT MOOSE OFF MY LAWN OR I’LL POKE YOU WITH MY PENTAX POINTED STICK!!!

Or are more generations represented? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know!

This poll closes March 4.

And here are the results of last week’s poll:

Weekly Photo Challenges

Project 52-14-8: Candlelight, until 3-1 (Sunday)
How about a little magic?
Candlelight is the perfect backdrop for atmospheric photos.
Whether it's a single tea light or a chandelier, the important thing is that only candlelight illuminates your scene.
Post your best photo, but most importantly: Have fun!
I'm looking forward to seeing many familiar and new participants of Project 52 and am excited to see your inspiring ideas with wax and stearin.

And here’s the entry from Loyal Site Supporter PurpleMyth: This was my first thought. Set up is in the fireplace. River rocks partially hide the glass candle. 2 more are in the back corners for some back glow on the bricks. Just having fun. Another first for me, I flipped the legs on my tripod over and had the camera hanging upside down. K70, and the sigma 17-70,

A Walk Down Memory Lane

From the Pentaxian Profiles:

Tommy Evans

Pentax Videographer

By PF Staff in Pentaxian Profiles on Apr 17, 2011

Our third Pentaxian profile is about a Pentax videographer, Tommy Evans.

In college, I saw my first SLR camera. It was a Canon Tlb that belonged to an art major friend of mine. Up until that point, the nicest camera I’d ever held was my dad’s old Argus C3…a decent camera, but nothing like this Canon. There was something magical about looking at the world through that camera and the pictures it turned out were extraordinary! I had to have one! I began reading everything I could find about photography. As a result, I knew about film, filters, and lenses long before I even owned a camera of my own. I didn’t have enough money to buy a Canon like my friend’s, so I had to settle for a used Yashica SLR that I bought from a pawnshop. I always tried to get the best lenses I could afford for my camera, and since my Yashica took thread-mount lenses, that meant putting Pentax Takumar lenses on it. I’ve been a Pentax guy ever since.

PentaxForum Front page stories Feb 20-25:

January 2026 “Best of 2025” Photo Contest Winners

Announcing the winners of our monthly contest

By PF Staff in Photo Contests on Feb 23, 2026

It is our pleasure to announce the winners of our January, 2026 “Best of 2025” photo contest! In first place was forum member markduq from USA who captured “Quite a Pair” (pictured above). This photo was shot with a Pentax K-1 Mark II and an HD Pentax-D FA 150 - 450mm F4.5-5.6 lens.

Our runners-up were forum member siva-ss-kumar from India in second place with “Horn-eyed Ghost Crab” and Hattifnatt from Romania in third place with “Rain is Poetry”.

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