[ivanvernon]

Our little church has a magnificent performing artist as its musical director. He delivers a weekly musical performance, always sacred or maybe sometimes thematic and semi-sacred, but always excellent musical events, definitely a cut above the country artist Amazing Grace standard. We would like to record his weekly performances and publish an annual DVD disk of his performances. My request is for advice on what would be the best budget-sensitive equipment to purchase for this purpose. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

[Blue]

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I don't think DP Review is overly biased against Pentax.


Their are lots of camera and lens makers out there. They can't review all of them, so they must focus on the more popular brands. If Pentax sales volume were to significantly grow, I'm sure they'd not omit Pentax in their reviews.

Actually, they could do most of the better ones. Other places have done the lenses from various makers in the past.

[VSTAR]

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I don't think DP Review is overly biased against Pentax.


Their are lots of camera and lens makers out there. They can't review all of them, so they must focus on the more popular brands. If Pentax sales volume were to significantly grow, I'm sure they'd not omit Pentax in their reviews.

When all of your reviews about one particular company always start off with an explanation...that you are not biased...and then you chuckle during the video...and your reviews are not done properly...and you later have to admit your review was not done properly...then yes you are showing a bias against that company. That is exactly what dpreview has done to Pentax over the years. There are indeed lots of cameras and camera equipment to review. But if they choose to review one, then at least do it properly.

[Rondec]

The thing I've noticed about DP Review is that more and more they are doing the thing where you have an article that stretches over 20 pages -- I suppose so you can generate more clicks and more advertising on each page. Personally I hate this "Buzz-Feed" style of article. It has nothing to do with being anti-Pentax, but it is annoying nonetheless.

[bdery]

There has never been a "time when only Pentax offered in-body IS". Minolta offered it first, Pentax and Olympus offered it pretty much simultaneously, Sony continued it from Minolta.

You are correct, I wrote too fast. If I remember correctly Pentax was mostly alone in offering stabilization in nearly all of their bodies (only the K110D lacked it, if memory serves) but you are right they were not alone.

I don't think DP Review is overly biased against Pentax.


Their are lots of camera and lens makers out there. They can't review all of them, so they must focus on the more popular brands. If Pentax sales volume were to significantly grow, I'm sure they'd not omit Pentax in their reviews.

That observation is not backed by experience.

When the K-3 came out, it won "camera of the year" by everyone, even DPreview users, and still they took more than half a year to acknowledge it. They even said when they published the "winning status" of the K-3 that it was maybe time they took a look at it.

[Kunzite]

My current gripe with DPR is related to the reason I'm still there - the forums. Specifically, how the mods on the Pentax SLR Talk Forum are defending the trolls and censoring the users.
Of course, BS like "Star Eater on steroids" and "WaterFAILS" is more damaging...

[hjortron]

Digital Pornography... sorry... Photography Review?
It used to be an excellent source for in-depth reviews and sample images in Phil Askey days.
Now the content varies from decent reviews to complete shit.
And some people in the forum (I've never been there) seem to pixel-peep and criticise only or defend their favourite brand and hate everything else. I wonder if they still photograph or just sit and discuss/troll the tech?

IIRC K-1 (and its upgrade) were valued positively on DPR. But Pentax community is indeed rather minor so other brands take the places of honour.

[Kevin B123]

But Pentax community is indeed rather minor so other brands take the places of honour.

In truth the size of the user base is irrelevant to the review if conducted properly. Is the camera / lens good or not.

I don't go to DPR because I am not interested in being tempted by other marques, and my wallet is happy about that. When Chris Nichols / Jordan ??? went there I thought they might improve but it seems not.

[Rondec]

In truth the size of the user base is irrelevant to the review if conducted properly. Is the camera / lens good or not.

I don't go to DPR because I am not interested in being tempted by other marques, and my wallet is happy about that. When Chris Nichols / Jordan ??? went there I thought they might improve but it seems not.

But the questions that DP Review ask in their reviews are things like: "Does this camera have an EVF?" "What is the frame rate of this camera?" "How good is the video of this camera and does it have seamless auto focus with video?" "Is this camera as small as mirrorless options with a similar sensor size?" "How many auto focus points does it have and can they track a wobbly bicycle?"

I just don't expect them to give Pentax a good review because Pentax isn't going to give them what they are looking for in a camera. They are post-still photography and are very much focused on specs and 4K video and mirrorless tech. I would be shocked if any Pentax camera gets over a silver award in the next few years, regardless of how well it is received by the photography community as a whole.

[Kevin B123]

But the questions that DP Review ask in their reviews are things like: "Does this camera have an EVF?" "What is the frame rate of this camera?" "How good is the video of this camera and does it have seamless auto focus with video?" "Is this camera as small as mirrorless options with a similar sensor size?" "How many auto focus points does it have and can they track a wobbly bicycle?"

I just don't expect them to give Pentax a good review because Pentax isn't going to give them what they are looking for in a camera. They are post-still photography and are very much focused on specs and 4K video and mirrorless tech. I would be shocked if any Pentax camera gets over a silver award in the next few years, regardless of how well it is received by the photography community as a whole.

I see your point, it's just that those questions never occurs to me. Is there something wrong with me? do I need my bumps to be felt?

[Rondec]

I see your point, it's just that those questions never occurs to me. Is there something wrong with me? do I need my bumps to be felt?

No, but I think DP Review is consistent in how they evaluate camera gear, it just happens that they are asking completely different questions than most current Pentaxians are concerned with.

[hjortron]

No, but I think DP Review is consistent in how they evaluate camera gear, it just happens that they are asking completely different questions than most current Pentaxians are concerned with.

You mean like great support for old lenses - including IBIS?

On the other hand an FF/APS-C MILC with a good EVF would be great if Pentax had one.
No need for 4K video, no need for two card slots... just a good EVF.
Even after 10+ years of Pentax DSLRs use I tend to chimp LCD to check if the exposure was correct.
On the other hand I prefer OVF for fast manual focusing.

[Imp]

Our little church has a magnificent performing artist as its musical director. He delivers a weekly musical performance, always sacred or maybe sometimes thematic and semi-sacred, but always excellent musical events, definitely a cut above the country artist Amazing Grace standard. We would like to record his weekly performances and publish an annual DVD disk of his performances. My request is for advice on what would be the best budget-sensitive equipment to purchase for this purpose. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

It's hard to judge what budget friendly covers, but I can share the option I went with for video. I got a used Panasonic GH3 from Keh, and adapted by K mount lenses to it. Great results. Also got a Sennheiser MKE600 shotgun microphone, best in its price range. If you're lucky you can find that used too.

Also, was this the thread you meant to post in? Just wondering

@ the thread topic, sometimes all the talk out there on DPR and other sites makes me wonder what I'm missing out on, compared to other brands. Takes a second to realize it's mostly fluff. However, it's a sign that their marketing works!

[kadajawi]

You mean like great support for old lenses - including IBIS?

On the other hand an FF/APS-C MILC with a good EVF would be great if Pentax had one.
No need for 4K video, no need for two card slots... just a good EVF.
Even after 10+ years of Pentax DSLRs use I tend to chimp LCD to check if the exposure was correct.
On the other hand I prefer OVF for fast manual focusing.

I find it near impossible to manually focus with my K-5. With my EVF GX80, despite having a rather meh EVF, it's really easy.

Also I would never give up 4K video anymore, if anything, I expect a new camera to have 6K or more. And two SD slots are nice, though I'd be fine if they were Micro SD.

[ivanvernon]

It's hard to judge what budget friendly covers, but I can share the option I went with for video. I got a used Panasonic GH3 from Keh, and adapted by K mount lenses to it. Great results. Also got a Sennheiser MKE600 shotgun microphone, best in its price range. If you're lucky you can find that used too.

Also, was this the thread you meant to post in? Just wondering

@ the thread topic, sometimes all the talk out there on DPR and other sites makes me wonder what I'm missing out on, compared to other brands. Takes a second to realize it's mostly fluff. However, it's a sign that their marketing works!

No, posting here is definitely a laughable mistake, unsure how/why it happened! But anyway, thanks for your suggestions.