Originally posted by Into The Lens Was wondering if any of you folks tried shooting concerts and low light events with the newer K-3? If so, is the auto focus in low light an improvement over the K-5 and K-5II/IIs? And do high ISO pictures show more or less noise than with a K-5 with the new 24 Mp sensor and all? I shoot in low light a lot (with a K-5) at ISO 3200 up to 6400 and was wondering if I should stick to a K-5IIs or wait for the K-3 to decrease in price.
Ben,
Im using both K5 & K3 for concert / event photography under lowlight.
I usually shoot with either Pentax 50-135mm or Sigma 70-200mm. I've been using the Pentax 35mm Plastic wonder sometimes.
I never shoot above ISO 6400 and 80% of my concert pics are below ISO 1000, I use PP to enhance light later on.
The AF is way better on the K3, the Sigma-K3 combo especially is great !
There is something that I hardly explain, K3 noise is more visible when zoomed in on the screen, it's also "uglier" than the K5 when zoomed in
but I find it's easier to correct under Lr5.3.
I usually print 30x45 cm on fine Art paper (Negatif+ is my lab) and noise is never visible at theses size. Same for K5 to be honest.
I've recently printed a 60x80cm pic from ISO 1600 taken with K3 and I was blown away by the quality, the noise could be seen by exert eyes but my customer never asked me anything about it
The sharpness was simply stunning but I guess you would have the same with K5 IIs.
I dont have pics to share, they are all still private, but I have theses from a Ballet company called KAKANDE which came out great in screen and in prints.
I think the most important changes are in some of the options of the K-3 :
- Dual SDCard - I feel more confident when it's a paid gig
- AF lock and tracking - Way better especially in conjonction with the AF button and AF-C mode
- All around speed of the K3 in menus, checking images etc.
- Burst mode is amazing for dance shooting, in this case I set the AF to speed priority instead of focus priority
The smallest AF points are really a important improvement for me as well....
and the sound of the trigger is less noisy with K3 which is important when you shoot accoustic music like I often do.
Im still using the K5 and I dont think Ill sell it, it's a marvellous machine for concert photography !