Originally posted by cali92rs LOL...must be nice to have the money to even consider both the 800E and a possible K-5 successor!
By the way, how is the 800E working for you? Obviously, the IQ is otherworldly, but how is the handling and AF?
Tackling this question while the other guy is away...
I love the AF. The continuous AF is awesome. The handling isnt as bad as I thought. Its just heavy. But the button and layout for the important parts to me is just fine. I am not an expert in camera layouts because I usually only want : aperture control, iso, shutter, auto focus, and viewing results...everything else is icing to me, and as long as I know where these buttons are, I am fine.
Actually, IQ i have a little issue with - I have the E version. I love pentax colours. I love, love pentax colours. I feel that there is more I need to do in post with nikon colours, that comes out initially flat. Sure, working in raw and all that - but every company has their own formula for raw settings, and pentax default makes me happy.
Details : Awesome....errr...so awesome in fact, I was taking a picture of a couple who had some freckles, moles , etc...normal, gorgeous girl. The details were popping so well that it took freckles into the next level. I find that when I use harsh light on a person now, i have to ...soften their skin back quite a bit. Otherwise they will think they had a breakout or something. I was looking at pores on this one guy's face - and looking at each individual tiny, shaven beard at its root.
So uh...maybe its not so awesome afterall! LoL.
On a different note, i was standing some 9 feet away from a butterfly 1 inch across, took aim with 70-200, and it was awesome. So ...depends on where you use these detailed capabilities.
Noise - while I think the FF is better in the noise department, I feel that my K5 actually performs better. Its a subjective opinion. I look at the picture and go...hm, i kind of think my K5 is brighter than that, or less noisy. But, i never did a comparison.
Flash commander mode...awesome. if you have multiple flashes..they are expensive. for a specific distance I dont need popper or cactus or wizard or whatever anymore. its so easy to set it in camera...go to menu, set the power of each flash, and off you go.
At the end of the day though, I love my pentax colours. I just wish that the AF was as fast. There is nothing more frustrating than a model or client whose smile froze. Or in the case of a running piggybacking scene I did where the couple ran between me and my second shooter - where she had a K5 and I had a D800E, and she had one in the batch that was almost on focus, and I had the exact opposite in my batch.
Pity too...because after i looked at the files my second shooter was taking the scene at a better angle and I wish we could use her picture instead.
If pentax comes with a Full Frame I may use it as a main though, thats how important I think colours are.