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03-27-2018, 03:01 AM   #1
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K3 vs A6500, to switch or not to switch

Hi,
I've been shooting Pentax for 4 years now and I love the K3, but now that I have 1,5 kids I'm thinking about Sony A6500 for its eye-focus and light weight, the K3 is perfect for low pace shooting but i'm having bad time following my kid and keep focus pin-point to her eyes
Have anyone try the A6500 and how is it compared to the K3 ? any downside that i should be aware of ?
Thanks in advance for any inputs

03-27-2018, 03:18 AM - 9 Likes   #2
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Dump the money into the college fund for your kids and make do with the K-3
03-27-2018, 05:05 AM - 1 Like   #3
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I think you want some photos of the kids running around, but I think they would rather you put the camera away and play with them.

On the other hand, not sure which lens you are trying to use, some follow much better than others.
03-27-2018, 05:28 AM - 1 Like   #4
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I gave my wife the Sony 6300 for Christmas, I shoot with a K-3. The Sony is a very nice camera and it is much smaller and lighter. My kids are 20 and 16, so I don't have to case them around to photograph them any more, but I can see the advantages of a light, mirrorless camera. I think the single biggest draw back on Sony is the cost of the lenses for them. Once you move away from the consumer/kit lenses, they are very pricy. Do you feel like you are missing shots with the K-3?

03-27-2018, 06:03 AM - 2 Likes   #5
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I don't need to photo children moving around and I don't know the A6500, but I used to have the A6000. I exchanged it for a second Pentax DSLR. Although the Pentax are bigger and heavier, I simply find the controls, ergonomics, and balance of the Pentax bodies (K-3 and K-70) so much more pleasurable to use.

Cheers.
Philip
03-27-2018, 07:24 AM - 2 Likes   #6
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I went to your flickr page and see that you have wonderful taste in your pictures and composition. You have great lenses also - eg. FA Limiteds.
I also noticed that even posed pictures with your FA 31 didn't nail the focus on the eyes, suggesting, I think, that the lens needs some adjustment for front focus. The pictures still look great and honestly a bit of softness (but not too much) in such kind of pictures is actually pretty flattering. But of course, the ability to have good focus on eyes is something that is necessary when doing portraits.

So, the A6500 might be an option, but I would also consider a K-1II if the algorithm changes made in the AF system pay off in the reviews. I think for your type of photography you would benefit from a FF camera and you already have the lenses for it... another option would be the A7III that just came out which has the fantastic A9 AF system. You could use your Pentax FA Limiteds with an adapter and I hear people saying that the focus peaking and EVF makes it really easy to focus manually.

A co-worker of mine has the A6000 and the A7II, which is why I don't suggest the A7II. He complains about it all the time regarding its AF system, and has been trying to sell it locally for a few months now... He says the A6000's AF system is perfect for people pictures and is very fast and accurate - something he complains that his A7II isn't. But of course he has his eyes on the A7III now...

So what I'm trying to say is that if you do go with the APS-C Sony line, you could easily get something like an A6300 and test the waters. That's if you don't want to go FF and try either the K-1II or the A7III.

I want to add that while I'm in a much lower league regarding the quality of the pictures I take and probably expectations, I have been able to make my Pentax DSLRs work going all the way back to the K20D/DA 35 2.4 combo that I used a lot to take pictures of my 3 little kids. Then I added a K-r and F 50 1.7 and after a learning process was able to get that to work as well. Now with the K-S1 and Sigma 30 1.4 Art (plus the aforementioned lenses, and a few more along the way...) I'm also being able to get focus most of the time. But like I said, my expectations are probably lower and if I don't get a good picture one day, there's always next day. But I usually do get at least a few keepers and most of the time the ones I'm not happy with are more due to not being able to get the right composition or light or something like that.

Good luck!
03-27-2018, 07:25 AM   #7
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dont chase them... be near them, sit on the floor, or small chair.... Predict where they're movin, caption when they're still, or most still, choose aperture f 8 if they're fast, to avoid blur from small depth of field...
..
Also speed - push your iso to 3200 even 4500 and 9000 would work if you have enough light to slightly overexpose with that highest values... Don't be afraid of using it. ( I have custom NR - and my settings are minimal processing of NR in 4500 and 9000 )

In daylight you can get everything tack sharp - with 1/200 aperture f 8, and let's say around iso 800-1600...

If you have lens with slow AF ( like zoom or something ) - you can get best results by manual focusing, with red indicator lightning when you're in focus... With f8 you will probably be in sharp focus every time. ( AC Focus confirmation red dot is available from menu - and it lights in OVF )

03-27-2018, 07:29 AM - 1 Like   #8
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My own experience with Sony is limited to the older NEX series and the A6000. I find the menu's incomprehensible, but I suspect in time I could figure them out. I haven't tested eye focus modes on any cameras - too many years of single point AF (since the PZ-1). However I do have some Panasonic experience, my own use is more limited but my friend who is a grandpa has fallen in love with the 4K stills mode on the GX85. It "looks backwards in time" and even before you press the shutter release it is recording (keeping a few seconds before the shutter is released). His action shots of his grandkids are awesome - showing the power of this mode. Closed eyes, wrong facing etc are abundant in the initial 4K capture and then he can pick the best frames to extract. I highly recommend this type of feature for anyone who is trying to capture kids or cats or similar squirmy animals up close. The 4K mode does lose overall resolution compared with full stills mode. It also can overheat the camera (but he hasn't run into this).

I have used my GX-7 (16mp, with AA filter) for some all around shots and found it pretty good. It isn't as good as the K-3 of course, but the delta is not as big as people want to make it out to be. (Except where the sensor is past the useful range etc).

Last edited by UncleVanya; 03-27-2018 at 07:34 AM.
03-27-2018, 07:33 AM - 2 Likes   #9
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I'd go with Sony if you need a smaller body, super fast AF with FPS. EYE AF tracking is brilliant and very effective.
03-27-2018, 07:44 AM - 3 Likes   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by redcat Quote
Have anyone try the A6500 and how is it compared to the K3 ? any downside that i should be aware of ?
I have not used the 6500 but have owned and used the A6000. I tried to get pix of my nieces ages 2 and 5 and my K3 just refused to focus. It was very frustrating to use the Pentax system for that situation. I have since graduated to the K1 which is slightly better but no match for what the Sony can do.

I also got my brother into the Pentax system with a K5IIs to photograph his young kids. He loved the photo quality but did not like the focusing system nor did he like the lack of autofocus in video. He bought an A6000 and loves it.

Ergonomics and overall handling goes to Pentax hands down. But the focusing goes to Sony by a wide margin. If I had to photograph kids running around and I wanted to have a high rate of keepers, I would opt for the Sony. On the DSLR side Sony is matched by Nikon. I have used many of the Nikon bodies and they work circles around Pentax bodies when it comes to focusing speed and tracking, etc.

Why am I using Pentax? For the type of shooting I do, landscapes, studio and product photography, it gives me the most bang for the buck. If my photography involved moving objects and lots of action stuff, I would probably look at another system. I recently shot a Fuji XT-2 and was surprised with the image quality. And yes the focusing system was miles ahead of my K1. And I was not even shooting a moving object. I shot a bunch of stationery items and the Fuji nailed the focus whereas the K1 struggled.

I better stop now. I think I have done to much TMI. Bottom line if you want a fast focusing, tracking system, Pentax is not it.

Last edited by btnapa; 03-27-2018 at 07:47 AM. Reason: add
03-27-2018, 09:24 AM - 1 Like   #11
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The KP or K70 are better at focusing than your K3, and they are lighter and a little more compact. A K70 is quite inexpensive, particularly since you don't need a lens, so it might be worth a shot before you jump ship.
The other camera to consider is a Fuji, as mentioned by btnapa. My son has an X-T2 and it has very good autofocus. It also has a much better user interface than the A6500. If you shoot video then both the X-T2 and A6500 are vastly superior to any Pentax.
03-27-2018, 10:38 PM - 1 Like   #12
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Like you. I am seriously researching the A6500 myself.
I have narrowed it down that I am a wedding photographer.
Which means AF is very important to me. I have gotten to the point where I dont need to go through similar shots in hope of getting a sharp picture.
I need to get it when I want it. Initially the interest came when the A7III was released. Why? Because I was thinking of getting the K-1 before. But the two are the same price range. At least in my country.
I also do not need the size of 36 MP files. My K-3 eats up enough space. I think you dont need a 36MP camera to to photograph your kids.
Yes the lenses are expensive. But Tamron is releasing mid year a new 28-75 f2.8 FE lens. And I am getting it.
As to whether I buy the A6500 or the A7III will depend if I get it from here or the US. Cost difference.

See my thread Shooting two systems. - PentaxForums.com
03-27-2018, 11:10 PM - 2 Likes   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Culture Quote
See my thread Shooting two systems. - PentaxForums.com
My dealer knows the trick. The last time I got into a different system thinking I'd shoot two systems , I ended up selling all of my old system and buy a lot of lenses for the new system (Pentax K1). Now, I went for a lens exchange for the same system and the dealer show cased me the A7 III, because he knows that if I buy that new camera I will need lenses, that will generate a lot more revenue for the dealer as opposed to if I would only fine tune my existing system. Chances are, if you get into a second system, you get into a lot more expenses than you have originally though, that has to be compared to the benefit vs keeping your existing system and using it at no cost.
03-27-2018, 11:48 PM - 1 Like   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by biz-engineer Quote
My dealer knows the trick. The last time I got into a different system thinking I'd shoot two systems , I ended up selling all of my old system and buy a lot of lenses for the new system (Pentax K1). Now, I went for a lens exchange for the same system and the dealer show cased me the A7 III, because he knows that if I buy that new camera I will need lenses, that will generate a lot more revenue for the dealer as opposed to if I would only fine tune my existing system. Chances are, if you get into a second system, you get into a lot more expenses than you have originally though, that has to be compared to the benefit vs keeping your existing system and using it at no cost.
Noted. And I guess i understand your point. But you have to decided if missing the shot is less important if you continue to stick camera that is missing an important feature for you.
03-28-2018, 01:01 AM - 1 Like   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Culture Quote
Like you. I am seriously researching the A6500 myself.
I have narrowed it down that I am a wedding photographer.
Which means AF is very important to me. I have gotten to the point where I dont need to go through similar shots in hope of getting a sharp picture.

I also have find difficult to nail focus every time I need... It drives me nuts
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