[ffking]

I have finally made a decision. I now have a Nikon D500 + 500mm f5.6 PF + 1.4TC on order with an option for trading in the DA560 and 1.4TC. I am grateful to my camera store for offering a trade in, because it was impossible to sell the lens privately, and I did try.
It was the better option for me. Hope for other Pentax APS-c users though, that a K3 successor does eventually surface.

right decision

[redpit]

I have finally made a decision. I now have a Nikon D500 + 500mm f5.6 PF + 1.4TC on order with an option for trading in the DA560 and 1.4TC. I am grateful to my camera store for offering a trade in, because it was impossible to sell the lens privately, and I did try.
It was the better option for me. Hope for other Pentax APS-c users though, that a K3 successor does eventually surface.

Chris

OK, you made your decision, that's good! You're so experienced that you need no guidance of any type!

I hope the best for you and enjoy your new equipment! I'll be waiting for your impressions (I can imagine most of them as I also have tried Nikon equipment, but it is always nice to hear them from real experienced users and not from reviewers of any kind).

I'm very pleased with my K-1 and this has earned me time to wait for a new high level APS-C that will continue on the K-3 philosophy to upgrade from my K-5IIs. If it doesn't come (my info say it will) or if it doesn't satisfy me (performancewise) I will stick on what I have and wait for the new FF. If it is something like a mini 850 but as Pentax see it, (like the D810 and K-1 were) I will buy another FF body and I'm done... Until then I enjoy shooting with my gear. This is what it counts mostly IMHO, to enjoy your gear and look forward to using it on every chance. If that isn't the case or someone feels he is not happy with what he has, the best solution (and unfortunately the worst financially at the same time) is to move on to the gear that you know (and you really know after all these years) it will help you get the results you want and bring back the happiness in shooting!

Don't forget that we have here in PFs also photographers that were shooting Canonikon and have switched to Pentax. Surely most of them are landscape photographers but then again as Chris said it is where Pentax has focused lately.

[siva.ss.kumar]

I have finally made a decision. I now have a Nikon D500 + 500mm f5.6 PF + 1.4TC on order with an option for trading in the DA560 and 1.4TC. I am grateful to my camera store for offering a trade in, because it was impossible to sell the lens privately, and I did try.
It was the better option for me. Hope for other Pentax APS-c users though, that a K3 successor does eventually surface.

Chris

Good for you. I wish I had that option of trade in in my area too.
May be next year. If I sell the 560, it will be a big loss of money. May be a year down the line, who knows

[Chris Mak]

Good for you. I wish I had that option of trade in in my area too.
May be next year. If I sell the 560, it will be a big loss of money. May be a year down the line, who knows

The DA560 is a fine lens, I don't expect the Nikon 500PF to better it optically, except perhaps for bokeh and better color correction. Really, I have no regrets shooting it for 5 years. It is just that the K3 does not feel reliable enough AF wise, and high iso is dated. The KP was not my cup of tea.

Chris

[Kunzite]

I have finally made a decision. I now have a Nikon D500 + 500mm f5.6 PF + 1.4TC on order with an option for trading in the DA560 and 1.4TC. I am grateful to my camera store for offering a trade in, because it was impossible to sell the lens privately, and I did try.
It was the better option for me. Hope for other Pentax APS-c users though, that a K3 successor does eventually surface.

Chris

Good move. Even if the Pentax APS-C flagship is nearing completion, going Nikon means you will have a nice kit for this spring - not at an unspecified later date.
Don't forget we have a non-Pentax equipment section, show us what you can do with it

[redpit]

The DA560 is a fine lens, I don't expect the Nikon 500PF to better it optically, except perhaps for bokeh and better color correction. Really, I have no regrets shooting it for 5 years. It is just that the K3 does not feel reliable enough AF wise, and high iso is dated. The KP was not my cup of tea.

Chris

Totally agree in everything you wrote.

[OJGoreng]

I have finally made a decision. I now have a Nikon D500 + 500mm f5.6 PF + 1.4TC on order with an option for trading in the DA560 and 1.4TC. I am grateful to my camera store for offering a trade in, because it was impossible to sell the lens privately, and I did try.
It was the better option for me. Hope for other Pentax APS-c users though, that a K3 successor does eventually surface.

Chris

I think you won't be disappointed. I got a D500 plus a Tamron 150-600 G2 some time ago, and was surprised to find hardly any improvement over the performance of my K-3II + DFA 150-450. in many aspects I actually preferred the Pentax combo, to the point that I eventually reverted to using it. However, a week ago I received my 500 PF, and now I finally understand the D500's reputation. I'll be curious to read your experience with the teleconverter; something tells me that you may end up feeling you don't want to use it with that wonderful lens if not absolutely necessary.

[Chris Mak]

I think you won't be disappointed. I got a D500 plus a Tamron 150-600 G2 some time ago, and was surprised to find hardly any improvement over the performance of my K-3II + DFA 150-450. in many aspects I actually preferred the Pentax combo, to the point that I eventually reverted to using it. However, a week ago I received my 500 PF, and now I finally understand the D500's reputation. I'll be curious to read your experience with the teleconverter; something tells me that you may end up feeling you don't want to use it with that wonderful lens if not absolutely necessary.

Interesting to hear about your experiences. With regards to the 1.4TC, do you mean performance drops AF wise, or IQ wise?
The DA560 with 1.4TC took a hit optically, so I am familiar with this. From what I have seen though in user reports though, IQ wise the 500PF works well with the 1.4TC

Chris

[Catodon15]

Big shoes to fill now.

[MMVIII]

With all due respect, and maybe tongue in cheek, somehow I wish the Nikonforum to go through this story now,

But seriously, I assume this was a natural and very well based choice. All the best now!

[Kunzite]

Good move. Even if the Pentax APS-C flagship is nearing completion, going Nikon means you will have a nice kit for this spring - not at an unspecified later date.

Speaking of which, it looks like the APS-C flagship will arrive - next year.

[Chris Mak]

Speaking of which, it looks like the APS-C flagship will arrive - next year.

It will come when it is ready, with "next year" still giving quite a bit of room to the time frame, since it's only 2 months into 2019. Someone who seemed into the know told me some specs for the coming camera, but also told me that launch or announcement was supposed to be this CP+. I decided to wait until this CP+, and no longer. But it shows me that no one really knows anything at all about a possible next high end APS-c body.

I honestly won't miss all the confusion and groundless speculation. What I realized is: you should be shooting the camera that you want to be shooting and that is available right now, on the shelves in the stores, not a speculation placed into an uncertain future. I guess it is a problem of the internet, that camera bodies that have no reality in the stores at all, somehow become real on the internet, on fora. So I found it was time to force myself to limit myself to reality.

The K1mkII is a camera that I would want to shoot for my needs, if I weren't invested in Sony and the Zeiss Loxias, so I am not at all dismissive of Pentax.

Chris

[OJGoreng]

Interesting to hear about your experiences. With regards to the 1.4TC, do you mean performance drops AF wise, or IQ wise?
The DA560 with 1.4TC took a hit optically, so I am familiar with this. From what I have seen though in user reports though, IQ wise the 500PF works well with the 1.4TC
Chris

I meant performance-wise. The loss of a stop of light will decrease AF speed and accuracy somewhat. In the past week we've had both very bright and heavily overcast days, and the difference in AF performance under those different circumstances is really noticeable.

[Chris Mak]

I meant performance-wise. The loss of a stop of light will decrease AF speed and accuracy somewhat. In the past week we've had both very bright and heavily overcast days, and the difference in AF performance under those different circumstances is really noticeable.

So the limitation of the dslr AF system at f8, which is to be expected. I am aware of this, and have considered getting the Nikon Z7 instead, because I don't so much mind the loss of AF speed in lesser light, but would mind the loss in accuracy. Mirrorless AF enables high accuracy at smaller apertures, like the Sony A9 with dead on AF at f11. Have you tried the Z7 with your lens?
Is it AF-C that you are referring to, or also loss of accuracy in AF-S?
Regardless though, the DA560 is unreliable on the K3 at f5.6 in anything but high contrast, bright daylight, especially with first focus acquisition, so it is not all the physical limitations of the dslr AF system.
I have seen pin sharp images from D500 with 500PF and 1.4tc of birds under canopy, so with care I expect it to be possible.

Chris

[OJGoreng]

So the limitation of the dslr AF system at f8, which is to be expected. I am aware of this, and have considered getting the Nikon Z7 instead, because I don't so much mind the loss of AF speed in lesser light, but would mind the loss in accuracy. Mirrorless AF enables high accuracy at smaller apertures, like the Sony A9 with dead on AF at f11. Have you tried the Z7 with your lens?
Is it AF-C that you are referring to, or also loss of accuracy in AF-S?
Regardless though, the DA560 is unreliable on the K3 at f5.6 in anything but high contrast, bright daylight, especially with first focus acquisition, so it is not all the physical limitations of the dslr AF system.
I have seen pin sharp images from D500 with 500PF and 1.4tc of birds under canopy, so with care I expect it to be possible.

Chris

I haven't tried the Z7 (don't think I've ever seen one of those in the flesh, even). I also haven't really tried AF-S with the D500. The lack of fast switching between AF-modes on that thing is a giant PITA when you're coming from the Pentax ecosystem (or from the Nikon D7x00 series, for that matter); like many others I do not find the "shooting banks" system particularly useful compared to switchable user modes. My workaround for stationary birds is simply to take my finger off the AF button once AF-C locks focus instead .