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12-25-2014, 05:09 AM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by Des Quote
So is Pentax is a Ford in Iowa and Nikon a BMW in New York? Or is Pentax a BMW in Iowa and Nikon a Ford in New York?

With such an identity crisis it's no wonder they have trouble with marketing.
Just how much eggnog have you had?



12-25-2014, 05:44 AM - 2 Likes   #17
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I've had both before and stayed with the K-3 for a couple of reasons:
  1. Ergonomics: With the K-3 having dedicated AF-L and AE-L buttons was huge. Sure, you can re-assign the AE/AF-L button on the D7100 but then you lose another custom button in order to assign that to exposure lock or focus lock. Also I appreciate having the ISO button right behind the shutter as opposed to right in front of your face when the camera is to your eye
  2. Buffer: the D7100 has a horrendous buffer, especially if you are shooting in 14 bit RAW. To go along with this, I do like having the extra speed of the K-3's 8.3 fps as opposed to the D7100's 5 fps (6 fps if you do 12 bit RAW).
  3. Aperture control in video mode. I honestly don't do that many videos but when I do it's much less of a hassle with the K-3. You can directly adjust aperture during video recording which you cannot do with the D7100 due to its lack of Powered Aperture Control. In order to change the aperture in video mode on the D7100 you have to exit out of Video mode, change the aperture, and then re-enter video mode. Very unintuitive.
  4. As other's have mentioned, In-Body Image stabilisation on the K-3 is awesome to have. It may not work so well in video mode where you need it most, but it does work quite well for stills.
  5. User modes. I prefer the implementation of User Modes in the K-3 to the D7100. I can easily change a multitude of functions including burst rate to a User Mode and easily have the camera set-up for any situation. With the D7100 you can set base settings, but then you still need to adjust the burst rate and a few other settings which don't get changed. Also, having 3 User Modes is better than just 2! (Still doesn't compete with the 5 on the K-5/k-5II though)
Now, all that being said, I did prefer a few things on the D7100, although they were mainly advantages of Nikon in general as opposed to specific advantages of the D7100.

  1. Flash system. Let's be honest, P-TTL sucks. Nikon's CLS is far better at controlling wireless flash and more consistent flash output. That being said, use some Wireless Flash triggers and some quality flash guns and the Pentax system is more than serviceable.
  2. AF-S vs SDM. The focussing system of the K-3 is awesome. Unfortunately in sports photography it can be let down by the AF speed of the lenses. Don't get me wrong, SDM is nice and quick, but my Nikon AF-S lenses always seemed to be that much quicker. Now this can easily be worked around by either pre-focussing or getting third party lenses.
There are a couple more reasons for either side but these are all of the majors ones that readily come to mind to me right now. Overall, I'd say go for the Pentax over the Nikon, but obviously I may be a bit biased
12-25-2014, 08:50 AM - 1 Like   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by tampamiketaylor Quote
Hey guys,

Seen a decent deal on a d7100 for $750 (may take less) used with a 18-105mm lens. It only has 3k shots and great condition. I was really looking out for a better deal on a k3 due to more rugged body and perceived image quality, but this seems like a great deal. Looking for advice please before I pull the trigger.

What do you guys think?

Mike Taylor
Price wise they are neck-n-neck. It is more of a system decision which is huge. You are deciding to invest in a system for the long run. At least that is the assumption. You are not gonna buy just one camera and one lens.

I switched from Canon and I have not looked back. Some of my pro friends have Nikons and the focusing is better than my K3. However, Pentax image quality, IBIS and the Limited lenses win it for me over Nikon and Canon. You have to remember, as Adam said, each system has its pros and cons.

As far as feel and touch of a system goes, As I have mentioned in other threads, I liked the Canon interface. I like Pentax just as much. I never really warmed up to the Nikon touch and feel and its interface. For me the Nikon menus and the feel of their cameras was the deal breaker.

Another biggie for me is the longevity of the brand. Nikon is all alone with majority of their revenues coming from camera business. So they are vulnerable. Ricoh (Pentax's parent), Canon, Sony, Panasonic and Samsung are conglomerates with deep pockets. They can support a camera business/brand for a long time. So they are more likely to survive.

In the case of Pentax, Ricoh adopted an orphan child. Ricoh has the deep pockets to send "Jr." to a top school. And when "Jr." graduates and finds the cure for cancer (FF cameras and more FF lenses), it is going to make the parent very proud!!!

At the end of the day, cameras are mere tools. It takes a lot of practice and skill to get the best out of any system. You can't go wrong with any camera these days. It is just a matter of what brand you want hanging from your shoulder. Good luck with your final decision.
12-25-2014, 10:01 AM - 1 Like   #19
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I had the same D7100 vs. K-3 decision when I was choosing a camera. I went with the K-3 for a number of reasons:

The IQ was slightly better.
I take a lot of photos in dimly lit museums, and sensor stabilization + fast prime can't be beat.
I go hiking a lot, and the K-3 wins on ruggedness and weather sealing.
TAv mode is incredibly useful, and I use it a lot.
I liked the backwards compatibility with all previous K-mount lenses. It's a fantastic way to get great lenses very inexpensively, as long as you're willing to sacrifice autofocus and autoaperture, and also a great way to experiment with lenses on the cheap. Also, if you're concerned about the price difference between the bodies, you might very well be able to make up the difference buying old lenses.

I'd choose the D7100 over the Pentax if I were worried about the following issues:
Video-- as it happens, I just don't care.
Sports/wildlife shooting with really long lenses-- I'm happy with my 55-300, and don't care enough to invest more time and money in this corner of photography.
The flash system-- as long as I can get a hotshoe flash that I can point anywhere, I'll be happy.
Access to specialty lenses-- Nikon has a wider range of lenses available, but most of these are pretty specialized and not stuff I'd ever need.

As I've come to use the K-3 for several months, I've come to really appreciate the ergonomics of the body and the tiny, high-quality Limited primes.

Anyway, you can't really go wrong with either. Enjoy your new camera, whichever one you choose!

12-25-2014, 11:21 AM - 1 Like   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by btnapa Quote
Price wise they are neck-n-neck. It is more of a system decision which is huge. You are deciding to invest in a system for the long run. At least that is the assumption. You are not gonna buy just one camera and one lens.

I switched from Canon and I have not looked back. Some of my pro friends have Nikons and the focusing is better than my K3. However, Pentax image quality, IBIS and the Limited lenses win it for me over Nikon and Canon. You have to remember, as Adam said, each system has its pros and cons.

As far as feel and touch of a system goes, As I have mentioned in other threads, I liked the Canon interface. I like Pentax just as much. I never really warmed up to the Nikon touch and feel and its interface. For me the Nikon menus and the feel of their cameras was the deal breaker.

Another biggie for me is the longevity of the brand. Nikon is all alone with majority of their revenues coming from camera business. So they are vulnerable. Ricoh (Pentax's parent), Canon, Sony, Panasonic and Samsung are conglomerates with deep pockets. They can support a camera business/brand for a long time. So they are more likely to survive.

In the case of Pentax, Ricoh adopted an orphan child. Ricoh has the deep pockets to send "Jr." to a top school. And when "Jr." graduates and finds the cure for cancer (FF cameras and more FF lenses), it is going to make the parent very proud!!!

At the end of the day, cameras are mere tools. It takes a lot of practice and skill to get the best out of any system. You can't go wrong with any camera these days. It is just a matter of what brand you want hanging from your shoulder. Good luck with your final decision.
I agree with everything you said here. except, Nikon, although all of it is about camera/glasses, is owned by Mitsubishi, which is another conglomerate.
Like you, I never warm up to Nikon, I own a D70 (not a fair comparison, as it is old - same time as k10D), the menu system is all over the places. With the exception of Sony, all camera makers are pretty much set on its own camera ergonomics - depends on which one you are used to.... go from there. IMHO, the Pentax, the menu, button layouts are more user oriented and more convenient, of course, YMMV.
12-25-2014, 01:45 PM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by dborked Quote
I've had both before and stayed with the K-3 for a couple of reasons:
  1. Ergonomics: With the K-3 having dedicated AF-L and AE-L buttons was huge. Sure, you can re-assign the AE/AF-L button on the D7100 but then you lose another custom button in order to assign that to exposure lock or focus lock. Also I appreciate having the ISO button right behind the shutter as opposed to right in front of your face when the camera is to your eye
  2. Buffer: the D7100 has a horrendous buffer, especially if you are shooting in 14 bit RAW. To go along with this, I do like having the extra speed of the K-3's 8.3 fps as opposed to the D7100's 5 fps (6 fps if you do 12 bit RAW).
  3. Aperture control in video mode. I honestly don't do that many videos but when I do it's much less of a hassle with the K-3. You can directly adjust aperture during video recording which you cannot do with the D7100 due to its lack of Powered Aperture Control. In order to change the aperture in video mode on the D7100 you have to exit out of Video mode, change the aperture, and then re-enter video mode. Very unintuitive.
  4. As other's have mentioned, In-Body Image stabilisation on the K-3 is awesome to have. It may not work so well in video mode where you need it most, but it does work quite well for stills.
  5. User modes. I prefer the implementation of User Modes in the K-3 to the D7100. I can easily change a multitude of functions including burst rate to a User Mode and easily have the camera set-up for any situation. With the D7100 you can set base settings, but then you still need to adjust the burst rate and a few other settings which don't get changed. Also, having 3 User Modes is better than just 2! (Still doesn't compete with the 5 on the K-5/k-5II though)
Now, all that being said, I did prefer a few things on the D7100, although they were mainly advantages of Nikon in general as opposed to specific advantages of the D7100.

  1. Flash system. Let's be honest, P-TTL sucks. Nikon's CLS is far better at controlling wireless flash and more consistent flash output. That being said, use some Wireless Flash triggers and some quality flash guns and the Pentax system is more than serviceable.
  2. AF-S vs SDM. The focussing system of the K-3 is awesome. Unfortunately in sports photography it can be let down by the AF speed of the lenses. Don't get me wrong, SDM is nice and quick, but my Nikon AF-S lenses always seemed to be that much quicker. Now this can easily be worked around by either pre-focussing or getting third party lenses.
There are a couple more reasons for either side but these are all of the majors ones that readily come to mind to me right now. Overall, I'd say go for the Pentax over the Nikon, but obviously I may be a bit biased
Thanks man, good points.

I read that the video on the K3 is horrible, but looking at sample on youtube it does not look so bad. I really do not take alot of videos but will take some of the family and karate dojo for their website. I think my video needs are more basic, but should I have any concerns on K3 and video? Also, the guy that has the d7100 with 18-105 said he will take $700. Based on all of this feedback I am leaning more on k3 still but taht is a great deal.
12-25-2014, 08:28 PM   #22
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If you do a lot of video then get a Canon 70D. Otherwise, D7100 vs K-3 is a coin flip... or one of the individual camera's strengths decides it for you.

12-26-2014, 11:37 AM - 1 Like   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by tampamiketaylor Quote
Thanks man, good points.

I read that the video on the K3 is horrible, but looking at sample on youtube it does not look so bad. I really do not take alot of videos but will take some of the family and karate dojo for their website. I think my video needs are more basic, but should I have any concerns on K3 and video? Also, the guy that has the d7100 with 18-105 said he will take $700. Based on all of this feedback I am leaning more on k3 still but taht is a great deal.

You should be just fine with basic video on the K-3. The video quality of the K-3 is really not bad at all, it's just a shame that the SR causes odd jitters in movie mode when you pan and that focus peaking disappears when you start recording. Hopefully Pentax can fix these issues with a firmware update.
12-26-2014, 11:48 AM   #24
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Thank you!

QuoteOriginally posted by dborked Quote
You should be just fine with basic video on the K-3. The video quality of the K-3 is really not bad at all, it's just a shame that the SR causes odd jitters in movie mode when you pan and that focus peaking disappears when you start recording. Hopefully Pentax can fix these issues with a firmware update.
12-26-2014, 06:49 PM   #25
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QuoteOriginally posted by aleonx3 Quote
I agree with everything you said here. except, Nikon, although all of it is about camera/glasses, is owned by Mitsubishi, which is another conglomerate.
Like you, I never warm up to Nikon, I own a D70 (not a fair comparison, as it is old - same time as k10D), the menu system is all over the places. With the exception of Sony, all camera makers are pretty much set on its own camera ergonomics - depends on which one you are used to.... go from there. IMHO, the Pentax, the menu, button layouts are more user oriented and more convenient, of course, YMMV.
I did not know that about Nikon. Thank you for the information.

Going with Pentax decision was partially for technical excellence and a bit nostalgic for me. My first camera was an MX which was stolen a few months after I purchased it. After Pentax, I made my rounds with Nikon film cameras followed by a brief Fuji S1 stint then Canon digital all the way until my switch to Pentax last year.

I really can't say bad stuff for Canon or Nikon as image making tools. I used both systems for years for paid work so I can't knock them too much. After all, every system has its plus and minuses.
12-26-2014, 08:12 PM   #26
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After long deliberation, I also chose a K-3. Reasons (in order) being in body stabilization, better IQ, and weather sealing. Canikon has the market by name, but not by features IMHO. I honestly can't imagine the K-3 being any better given the price point.
12-28-2014, 08:45 PM   #27
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I also struggled but pulled the trigger today for a K-3 (I have a D7000 as well as a K30). It bugged me that the pentax still lags in predictive focus and the flash system isn't up to snuff (not that I've done any CLS-type work), but the K3 seemed to have so many pluses. I was thinking of waiting for its successor but I doubt the advantages would justify the five or six hundred dollar premium you would have to pay when it launches compared to what you can get the K3 for today.

BTW, one thing that particularly bugged me about the D7100 is the issue of banding in the shadows that Thom Hogan and others have reported for the Toshiba sensor used in that camera. It doesn't show up in normal processing but if you really push the shadows it can.
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