Three Days Warning - Pentax K1

There is an End-Of-Financial-Year sale email going out right now from Camera Electronic - you may be on the list that receives it. Normally I do not interfere with that section of the business or comment on the offers, but today another staff member pointed out that there is an exceptional good deal in there. So I grabbed an example of the camera, photographed it, and am adding the blog imprimature to it.

This blog post is chiefly aimed at someone who up until now has been shooting crop-frame cameras, but has not advanced to the full-frame models yet. If you are the possessor of purely-crop frame lenses you can read on - if you have a mixed bag of crop and full frame lenses you must proceed with caution.

Here's what I mean - if you have some crop or full frame lenses for the Canon or Nikon system, you will probably think of investigating the full-frame cameras from those makers. By all means - and you may find one of them in the same EOFY ad. Pass further down the car...

If you have ONLY crop-frame lenses and are contemplating the switch to full-frame...well you might as well consider shifting to a different camera system, as you'll be buying new full-frame lenses anyway. And you can do yourself some good by shifting to the Pentax K-1.

The specs are all in their own websites, or you can dial back to earlier issues of this blog that were posted just after the K-1 launch. Massive mega-pixelage, massively capable AF, weather sealing, high ISO...all the newer attributes of top of the line cameras. Plus the ability to achieve pixel shift recording in studio situations to add even more resolution to still life shots. The convenience of one of the best LCD touch screens in the business and all the electronic connectivity bells and whistles that people expect these days.

Days is the operative term - you've got 3 more days to secure an in-store or on-line bargain of the age with the offer on this camera. $2699 for a camera that rivals medium format performance.

You'll need a full-frame lens for it. I've included one in the illustration as a suggestion, and you can choose others if you wish. It is superb, but obviously you'll have to pay for it as a separate thing.

Personally, I would be utterly tempted if I wanted to make large landscapes, or if my studio work involved large prints. This blog just needs little images, but if you are more ambitious or better connected with commercial clients, but if you are more ambitious, or artistic, or better connected to commercial clients, you want the K-1.

The Three Stories Of O

We are perfectly safe. The danger of running out of Olympus E-PL5 cameras with 14-42 lenses has been averted. Supplies have arrived and the troops are shoring up the parapets with boxes of them.

Actually, they are filling up the shop. Already we have lost a staff member behind a wall of boxes and all we can hear is a muffled voice asking for coffee.

Members of the camera buying public - and their friends - are urged to come in and help us regain some control of the storeroom by buying a kit. There are also many many lenses as well, so if you have a spare pocket you can take a couple of those home too.

The E-PL5 is the small hand version of the OM-D mirror-less cameras with all the goodies packed tight. The image quality is superb and the convenience of use is unbeatable. We are also offering the 45mm f:1.8 lens and the 14-150 lens as well on special deals so the portraitist or traveller is directly catered for.

The E-PL5 kit with the 14-42 lens is going out at $ 499.

The 45mm f:1.8 lens is going out at $ 399.

The 14-150 mm lens is going out at $ 599.

Now here's the BIG PART. Olympus currently has a cash-back offer for these camera kits and lenses that goes until the end of this month - that's 12 days away. You go on-line and here is what you get:

1.  Olympus E-PL5 and 14-42 kit..........................$ 100

2. Olympus 45mm f:1.8 lens....................................$ 50

3. Olympus 14-150mm lens......................................$ 100

So the Camera Electronic prices have been cut to the bone already and then Olympus gives you money back. How good is that!

Note: If you are already a photographer and use an Olympus or any other fine camera system you probably are always getting asked by your friends for photographic advice. You are probably getting asked to do free weddings and print out their holiday snaps but that is a separate issue...For the moment think about telling your mates to come in and get one of the Olympus kits and some lenses - They'll get a good deal with gear that will be able to do the job and you'll look good when they succeed.

Boost your rating. You might even be able to skin out of doing their family portraits if they get good enough at it.