Just compared K5 to the Nikon D600...

David&karen · 10-04-2012, 08:16 PM - **2 Likes**

Hi everyone. We just finished comparing our K5 to the Nikon D600, and there is no way were going to switch. Don't get us wrong, it's nice for what it is, but the shutter sound is at least twice as noisy as the K5(or K7), and makes a real high pitched 'twang' during the cycle. The quiet mode is not much better. I would still have to use a noise blimp over the camera in a church or during some parts of a wedding. We would also lose shake reduction for most of the primes. Now the Nikons af is better, but that should close up a bit with the K5II. And we feel the K 5(7)'is much better built. The rest may sway you differently, but we shot with Leica M's for 30 years for a reason, and the Pentax is closer to that while being affordable. We also use Katzeye screens for manual focus. Ymmv as usual,

David

JinDesu · 10-04-2012, 08:20 PM

Interesting experience to note, thank you for your writeup.

Buschmaster · 10-04-2012, 08:56 PM

Thanks for sharing that!

rawr · 10-04-2012, 09:14 PM

Great feedback. Thanks for that.

I had never heard of a 'noise blimp' until you mentioned the term. Looking at the commercial ones on B&H they run to about $1000

and seem rather ungainly.

panoguy · 10-04-2012, 09:33 PM

Thanks for the quick Pro/Con review. I've tried out a D800 and found it to be huge and loud, but extremely fast to focus and with great metering. Your experience fills me in on the D600 that I was wondering about, to some degree. Oddly enough, I haven't been tempted to try out Canon's full-frame since I sold my 1Ds (the "classic" v.1) many years ago and picked up a K10D.

Just the other day a tourist who didn't speak English (or French, so I was SOL) handed me his 5D (mkIII, I think) with a 70-200/4 lens on it to take a photo of himself and his girl (@70mm/4). It was massive, but not as heavy or ungainly as I expected, and not terribly loud. When I showed him my K-5 and FA 43mm, he nodded and smiled but didn't understand that I could take another, almost identical shot of them (focal length and DOF) with that diminutive combo!

Originally posted by rawr

I had never heard of a 'noise blimp' until you mentioned the term. Looking at the commercial ones on B&H they run to about $1000

and seem rather ungainly.

If you can do without the LCD, there is always something like this. (Also something I had never seen before that post!)

David&karen · 10-04-2012, 09:34 PM

Mine is a foam padded one from b&h, much cheaper.

Bestzoom · 10-05-2012, 03:59 AM

Thanks for the information.
How do you find the user interface of Nikon vs Pentax?

How about high ISO shots of D600 vs K5?

K5 is very one good camera......K5II is likely a better camera!

bossa · 10-05-2012, 05:28 AM

My D800E shutter sounds like someone slamming a garden gate shut and my K-5 sounds like a limo door kissing the car. The Nikon scares the hell out of wildlife at close range whereas they don't notice (or care) if I'm using my K-5.

goubejp · 10-05-2012, 05:39 AM

Originally posted by bossa

My D800E shutter sounds like someone slamming a garden gate shut and my K-5 sounds like a limo door kissing the car. The Nikon scares the hell out of wildlife at close range whereas they don't notice (or care) if I'm using my K-5.

Agreed; I was on holidays this week and made some fairly good shots (see https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/201120-birds-fa-600-a-2.html)
In the hides I met several guys using either Nikon D300 or Canon 7D. All of them, when they saw me at work, spontaneous made remarks about the quiet shutter sound of the K5. I myself was a bit irritated when the noise of their shutters scared the birds which were only a few meters away. At the end I took my best shots (the kingfisher) when I was alone at the end of the day.
BTW, I also met a large number of birders using Pentax...

westmill · 10-05-2012, 05:55 AM

The K5 has always had two huge faults. Autofocus and Flash reliability. It looks like the K5 2 will be much better in both of these aspects. The autofocus will be much improved although I am sure it still retains the probmatic dinner plate sized focus sensors. I believe whole heartidly that the flash exposure will be ammended in the K5 2. I think the K5 2 is far closer to being the perfect camera the K5 should have been in the first place. Its a shame Pentax decided to keep with the Saffox system with its huge focus sensors. At last though, I would say that the improvements should make the camera far more usable to take advantage of the superb image sensor. Its certainly a big step towards turning the K5 too perfection.

bossa · 10-05-2012, 06:30 AM

Originally posted by westmill

The K5 has always had two huge faults. Autofocus and Flash reliability. It looks like the K5 2 will be much better in both of these aspects. The autofocus will be much improved although I am sure it still retains the probmatic dinner plate sized focus sensors. I believe whole heartidly that the flash exposure will be ammended in the K5 2. I think the K5 2 is far closer to being the perfect camera the K5 should have been in the first place. Its a shame Pentax decided to keep with the Saffox system with its huge focus sensors. At last though, I would say that the improvements should make the camera far more usable to take advantage of the superb image sensor. Its certainly a big step towards turning the K5 too perfection.

My D800E and 70-200 VR II can nail an isolated bird in a tree like nothing I ever managed to do with my K-5. I ran a comparison of my K-5 & DA*200 against the D800E & 70-200 VRII in overcast conditions and the Nikon nailed the focus 100% every time. There's nothing worse than missing a shot you thought you got as it may never come again. I'm finding that hasn't happened so much with the D800.

Buschmaster · 10-05-2012, 06:58 AM

Originally posted by bossa

My D800E and 70-200 VR II can nail an isolated bird in a tree like nothing I ever managed to do with my K-5. I ran a comparison of my K-5 & DA*200 against the D800E & 70-200 VRII in overcast conditions and the Nikon nailed the focus 100% every time. There's nothing worse than missing a shot you thought you got as it may never come again. I'm finding that hasn't happened so much with the D800.

I don't think I miss many shots, though I do know what you mean to an extent.

Usually what I do is just set the focus point dead center, put the object in that spot, focus, then adjust my camera position and snap the shot.

From what I understand, the K20D has smaller focus points than the newer bodies, though. So perhaps I am not as prone to the issues yet.

westmill · 10-05-2012, 07:37 AM

Originally posted by bossa

My D800E and 70-200 VR II can nail an isolated bird in a tree like nothing I ever managed to do with my K-5. I ran a comparison of my K-5 & DA*200 against the D800E & 70-200 VRII in overcast conditions and the Nikon nailed the focus 100% every time. There's nothing worse than missing a shot you thought you got as it may never come again. I'm finding that hasn't happened so much with the D800.

Yes that is just the point Bossa. I use a Nikon D300 as well. The D300 probably still has the best autofocus system there is. It also has great flash accuracy. It is because of these two things alone that I find myself still using the D300 far more than the K5 despite the K5 having by far the most superior sensor. You need to be able to rely on your equipment to produce the goods. It does seem the K5 2 has gone a long way in addressing these problems. Those large focus sensors of the K5 can never be as good as those in the nikon. They can be as fast and as sensative but its simply not possable for them ever to be as precise as the smaller sensors. The K5 2 does look promissing to be vastly improved though in these areas.

NVSteve · 10-05-2012, 12:05 PM

I'm awaiting delivery of a D600 now. The image quality won me over, plus the fact that the body is smaller than the Oly E-3 I have been using for the past 5 years. The only downfall that I see is the lack of weather sealing. Real weather sealing, like that found in the Oly E-x bodies and the Pentax K-5/K-30, one of which I'm hoping to buy to supplement my needs. I finally decided to register here because the K-5 II and K-30 are the only cameras out there that will meet my backpacking & hardcore travel requirements.

harleynitelite · 10-07-2012, 05:42 AM

Welcome to the Pentax community Steve! I've been a member on here since 2009 and have owned many various name brands over the years. I've also participated in many name brand forums, but the people I've found on here just seem to go above and beyond to help others when in need so this became my home for advice and general discussions which I've learned a great deal. Just as Pentax is such a unique camera company that are head and shoulders above the competition in what they offer, I've found the folks in this forum are the same when compared to other forums. Congrats on the d600 purchase, if I could afford to do the same plan I would

10-04-2012, 08:16 PM - 2 Likes	#1
David&karen Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 327	Just compared K5 to the Nikon D600... Hi everyone. We just finished comparing our K5 to the Nikon D600, and there is no way were going to switch. Don't get us wrong, it's nice for what it is, but the shutter sound is at least twice as noisy as the K5(or K7), and makes a real high pitched 'twang' during the cycle. The quiet mode is not much better. I would still have to use a noise blimp over the camera in a church or during some parts of a wedding. We would also lose shake reduction for most of the primes. Now the Nikons af is better, but that should close up a bit with the K5II. And we feel the K 5(7)'is much better built. The rest may sway you differently, but we shot with Leica M's for 30 years for a reason, and the Pentax is closer to that while being affordable. We also use Katzeye screens for manual focus. Ymmv as usual, David

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Low price rumor FF Nikon D600	LFLee	Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands	159	10-06-2012 07:35 PM
Nikon D600 now #1 on Day 1 at Amazon US	Samsungian	Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands	22	09-19-2012 08:31 AM
Nikon D600	Fl_Gulfer	Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands	2	08-09-2012 02:31 PM
Anyone considering the Nikon Fx D600 if price is right?	Reportage	Pentax DSLR Discussion	50	07-25-2012 02:52 PM
Rumor mill: FF Nikon D600 this summer	writeb	Photographic Industry and Professionals	2	04-26-2012 10:10 PM

10-04-2012, 08:20 PM	#2
JinDesu Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New York City Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,638	Interesting experience to note, thank you for your writeup.

10-04-2012, 08:56 PM	#3
Buschmaster Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 806	Thanks for sharing that!

10-04-2012, 09:14 PM	#4
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Great feedback. Thanks for that. I had never heard of a 'noise blimp' until you mentioned the term. Looking at the commercial ones on B&H they run to about $1000 and seem rather ungainly.

10-04-2012, 09:33 PM	#5
panoguy Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,327	Thanks for the quick Pro/Con review. I've tried out a D800 and found it to be huge and loud, but extremely fast to focus and with great metering. Your experience fills me in on the D600 that I was wondering about, to some degree. Oddly enough, I haven't been tempted to try out Canon's full-frame since I sold my 1Ds (the "classic" v.1) many years ago and picked up a K10D. Just the other day a tourist who didn't speak English (or French, so I was SOL) handed me his 5D (mkIII, I think) with a 70-200/4 lens on it to take a photo of himself and his girl (@70mm/4). It was massive, but not as heavy or ungainly as I expected, and not terribly loud. When I showed him my K-5 and FA 43mm, he nodded and smiled but didn't understand that I could take another, almost identical shot of them (focal length and DOF) with that diminutive combo! Originally posted by rawr I had never heard of a 'noise blimp' until you mentioned the term. Looking at the commercial ones on B&H they run to about $1000 and seem rather ungainly. If you can do without the LCD, there is always something like this. (Also something I had never seen before that post!)

10-04-2012, 09:34 PM	#6
David&karen Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 327 Original Poster	Mine is a foam padded one from b&h, much cheaper.

10-05-2012, 03:59 AM	#7
Bestzoom Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Sydney Photos: Albums Posts: 232	Thanks for the information. How do you find the user interface of Nikon vs Pentax? How about high ISO shots of D600 vs K5? K5 is very one good camera......K5II is likely a better camera!

10-05-2012, 05:28 AM	#8
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	My D800E shutter sounds like someone slamming a garden gate shut and my K-5 sounds like a limo door kissing the car. The Nikon scares the hell out of wildlife at close range whereas they don't notice (or care) if I'm using my K-5.

10-05-2012, 05:39 AM	#9
goubejp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: France Photos: Albums Posts: 804	Originally posted by bossa My D800E shutter sounds like someone slamming a garden gate shut and my K-5 sounds like a limo door kissing the car. The Nikon scares the hell out of wildlife at close range whereas they don't notice (or care) if I'm using my K-5. Agreed; I was on holidays this week and made some fairly good shots (see https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/201120-birds-fa-600-a-2.html) In the hides I met several guys using either Nikon D300 or Canon 7D. All of them, when they saw me at work, spontaneous made remarks about the quiet shutter sound of the K5. I myself was a bit irritated when the noise of their shutters scared the birds which were only a few meters away. At the end I took my best shots (the kingfisher) when I was alone at the end of the day. BTW, I also met a large number of birders using Pentax...

10-05-2012, 05:55 AM	#10
westmill Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Stoke on Trent Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,146	The K5 has always had two huge faults. Autofocus and Flash reliability. It looks like the K5 2 will be much better in both of these aspects. The autofocus will be much improved although I am sure it still retains the probmatic dinner plate sized focus sensors. I believe whole heartidly that the flash exposure will be ammended in the K5 2. I think the K5 2 is far closer to being the perfect camera the K5 should have been in the first place. Its a shame Pentax decided to keep with the Saffox system with its huge focus sensors. At last though, I would say that the improvements should make the camera far more usable to take advantage of the superb image sensor. Its certainly a big step towards turning the K5 too perfection.

10-05-2012, 06:30 AM	#11
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Originally posted by westmill The K5 has always had two huge faults. Autofocus and Flash reliability. It looks like the K5 2 will be much better in both of these aspects. The autofocus will be much improved although I am sure it still retains the probmatic dinner plate sized focus sensors. I believe whole heartidly that the flash exposure will be ammended in the K5 2. I think the K5 2 is far closer to being the perfect camera the K5 should have been in the first place. Its a shame Pentax decided to keep with the Saffox system with its huge focus sensors. At last though, I would say that the improvements should make the camera far more usable to take advantage of the superb image sensor. Its certainly a big step towards turning the K5 too perfection. My D800E and 70-200 VR II can nail an isolated bird in a tree like nothing I ever managed to do with my K-5. I ran a comparison of my K-5 & DA*200 against the D800E & 70-200 VRII in overcast conditions and the Nikon nailed the focus 100% every time. There's nothing worse than missing a shot you thought you got as it may never come again. I'm finding that hasn't happened so much with the D800.

10-05-2012, 06:58 AM	#12
Buschmaster Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 806	Originally posted by bossa My D800E and 70-200 VR II can nail an isolated bird in a tree like nothing I ever managed to do with my K-5. I ran a comparison of my K-5 & DA*200 against the D800E & 70-200 VRII in overcast conditions and the Nikon nailed the focus 100% every time. There's nothing worse than missing a shot you thought you got as it may never come again. I'm finding that hasn't happened so much with the D800. I don't think I miss many shots, though I do know what you mean to an extent. Usually what I do is just set the focus point dead center, put the object in that spot, focus, then adjust my camera position and snap the shot. From what I understand, the K20D has smaller focus points than the newer bodies, though. So perhaps I am not as prone to the issues yet.

10-05-2012, 07:37 AM	#13
westmill Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Stoke on Trent Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,146	Originally posted by bossa My D800E and 70-200 VR II can nail an isolated bird in a tree like nothing I ever managed to do with my K-5. I ran a comparison of my K-5 & DA*200 against the D800E & 70-200 VRII in overcast conditions and the Nikon nailed the focus 100% every time. There's nothing worse than missing a shot you thought you got as it may never come again. I'm finding that hasn't happened so much with the D800. Yes that is just the point Bossa. I use a Nikon D300 as well. The D300 probably still has the best autofocus system there is. It also has great flash accuracy. It is because of these two things alone that I find myself still using the D300 far more than the K5 despite the K5 having by far the most superior sensor. You need to be able to rely on your equipment to produce the goods. It does seem the K5 2 has gone a long way in addressing these problems. Those large focus sensors of the K5 can never be as good as those in the nikon. They can be as fast and as sensative but its simply not possable for them ever to be as precise as the smaller sensors. The K5 2 does look promissing to be vastly improved though in these areas.

10-05-2012, 12:05 PM	#14
NVSteve Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 47	I'm awaiting delivery of a D600 now. The image quality won me over, plus the fact that the body is smaller than the Oly E-3 I have been using for the past 5 years. The only downfall that I see is the lack of weather sealing. Real weather sealing, like that found in the Oly E-x bodies and the Pentax K-5/K-30, one of which I'm hoping to buy to supplement my needs. I finally decided to register here because the K-5 II and K-30 are the only cameras out there that will meet my backpacking & hardcore travel requirements.

10-07-2012, 05:42 AM	#15
harleynitelite Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Lawrenceburg, IN Photos: Albums Posts: 118	Welcome to the Pentax community Steve! I've been a member on here since 2009 and have owned many various name brands over the years. I've also participated in many name brand forums, but the people I've found on here just seem to go above and beyond to help others when in need so this became my home for advice and general discussions which I've learned a great deal. Just as Pentax is such a unique camera company that are head and shoulders above the competition in what they offer, I've found the folks in this forum are the same when compared to other forums. Congrats on the d600 purchase, if I could afford to do the same plan I would