Editorial

Which Color Do You Prefer: All Black, Silver, Or 150 Color Permutations?

The introduction of the Pentax K-50 with its 150 “serious” color permutations almost gave me whiplash. I have to admit that I always associated color with amateur, well, even lower than amateur, photographers. I mean real “enthusiast” and “serious” photographers could not care less about colors, right?

Some swear by an all-black camera, getting completely out of sort that a silver model would even exist for a serious camera. I am partial to silver models when way back cameras used film and lenses were focused manually. I had seen an ad that featured a battered Pentax Spotmatic F salvaged from the ocean. It kept ticking, or so the ad went. That was probably the most beautiful camera I ever saw, in silver, all dented and bruised, and holding its own. From then on, serious cameras for me came only in silver. All-black was for “poseurs” (which is, of course, not true, but that was how I felt about it way back then).

Now, of course, I should admit that I do love a well designed all-black camera. It depends a lot on the design and quality of the material used.

And then there’s Pentax, who keeps giving us color options. They make great cameras which are now available in almost any color combinations you want. Personalization to an extreme?

So what color makes your heart beat a little faster? All-black, silver or a particular color?