[gatorguy]

I'm not sure if you can do this but I'm curious. Can the subject recognition be turned off on the Nikon? It would be interesting to see how both cameras do when using only the AF system with no Subject Recognition assistance.

I don't know. I'm way more familiar with the menus than I was a week ago after reading just the manual. Lots of YouTube advice and some of it seems more reliable than others ( of course), but I don't recall anything about that specifically. I'll check it out.

[gatorguy]

That’s a hard pill to swallow given the relative cost differences. I hope the k3iii come out on top given the price of admission. Obviously the ability to use Pentax glass is a major factor in deciding which of these to buy.

New there's very little differences in price. B&H currently wants $1599 for the D500 and $1699 for the K3III..

Well-used the D500 still commands a premium from some sellers. Obviously being the older camera, and more sold to begin with, it's easier to find used D500's than used K3III's, but it's still not a particularly inexpensive camera even with 100K plus activations. There's a few somewhat rougher ones out there under $1000, but it's uncommon. That said I do expect the prices to continue dropping.

[Larrymc]

I'm seeing much the same between the D500 and K3III so far. Obviously the Pentax has some features and customization the D500 lacks, but my initial feeling is both cameras are excellent for wildlife. Fast to lock focus and admirable tracking.

The 20MP compared to 26MP makes less difference than many might assume. But the difference in body size is notable, and might be reason to opt for the more compact K3III if space is at a premium, ie backpackers, day hikers, travelers.

Thanks for doing this comparison. Its great to see your affirmation of the Mk III especially considering all the "its a good camera but it doesn't hold up to the D500" statements I've seen. keep up the good work!

[gatorguy]

Thanks for doing this comparison. Its great to see your affirmation of the Mk III especially considering all the "its a good camera but it doesn't hold up to the D500" statements I've seen. keep up the good work!

I did get out this morning for a couple of hours, still too sticky and hot even early morning to stay too long, so my plan is to get more this one vs. that one later today if things go according to plan.

[UncleVanya]

New there's very little differences in price. B&H currently wants $1599 for the D500 and $1699 for the K3III..

Well-used the D500 still commands a premium from some sellers. Obviously being the older camera, and more sold to begin with, it's easier to find used D500's than used K3III's, but it's still not a particularly inexpensive camera even with 100K plus activations. There's a few somewhat rougher ones out there under $1000, but it's uncommon. That said I do expect the prices to continue dropping.

I’m seeing much lower prices used for the d500 than you appear to be finding. Many appear in excellent shape with low shutter at 900-1000 as their sold price. The US dollar strength may have an effect as some of these are from Japan. The k3iii is going for $1300-1400 used - which is a considerable premium over the d500 - but that’s mostly due to supply I would expect. Many more d500’s in circulation. I’m not saying the d500 is a better but - I can’t give a strong opinion as I have never shot either camera and I’m not a frequent bird in flight (BIF) wildlife shooter. But I am happy to hear the k3iii is holding its own and then some.

[Kobie]

That’s a hard pill to swallow given the relative cost differences. I hope the k3iii come out on top given the price of admission. Obviously the ability to use Pentax glass is a major factor in deciding which of these to buy.

It also depends on what you determine "on top" means. AF, burst rate and deep buffer aren't the only things that matter to some if not most.
Built in interval shooting with auto compositing the final image, AA filter simulator and 5.5 stops of SR at 85 mm. Plus the ergonomics, the color science and high iso color accuracy of the Pentax can all be deemed as being "on top" even though it may be a hair short in AF.C tracking and a much smaller buffer (but a faster burst rate).

[gatorguy]

I’m seeing much lower prices used for the d500 than you appear to be finding. Many appear in excellent shape with low shutter at 900-1000 as their sold price

Hmmm... Looking at Ebay just now I see 6 used "buy it now" D500 bodies priced under $1000. There's more than 75 used ones priced north of that, and the majority are listing at $1250 and higher, some MUCH higher.

As for now there really is not a practical price difference between a new D500 and new K3III. Used prices are always in flux. We've all found bargains for some expensive thing we want (loving my Pentax 15-30 ), but they're the exception and not the rule. IMHO "cheap D500's" are the exception.

Oh and mine was an example of that exception.

[gatorguy]

I mentioned earlier that I got out at daybreak today after all, but like yesterday out of the field by 9am.

The findings from yesterday were supported by today's events. In low contrast situations and/or very small subjects the Nikkor 55-300/D500 combo has been likely to fail. The Pentax 55-300/K3III pairing is very likely to succeed. Not a major point, but it does support indications that the new Pentax AF is another step up from the best Nikon offers in DSLR's. Where there's still room for improvement is in tracking. The D500 may fail to find and focus on a subject, but when it does it's also more likely to hold focus as well. My Pentax K3III actually performed great at tracking. At times the past two days I've run off bursts of a dozen BiF shots all 100% in focus. But there's been other times it's one day one follow3ed by a half dozen great focus images, but then another boner thrown in, The D500 is more consistent. I rarely had every long burst all in focus, but as a rule they were 90% there or better. Fortunately it's still early in life for the K3III and firmware further improving focus/tracking performance is expected.
That's not to say tracking on the K3III is not up to par. On the contrary it's SOOO much better than any Pentax to date, and at most times equals the D500. But tracking specifically still goes to the D500 in this round. There's more to it though.Wwhen it comes to AFS I'm finding just the opposite, at least with these lens pairings. In this weekend's wildlife shoots the Pentax kit has been more consistent at locking focus on the intended subject rather than the bush in front or the tall grass just behind as the D500 did a bit too often for me.

Anyway, I still have yesterdays mish-mash to go through and ribs ready to come off the grill. The following shots are from today's adventures. Why not yesterday? Those are still coming, but with a better idea of what I wanted to accomplish and a very cooperative set of subjects today, I was able to do more accurate side-by-side comparisons with images taken just a few seconds apart. I have more, just not tonight.

EDIT, Important mention:
On the resting dragonfly below I did manually focus to get the Nikkor 55-300 in range, something it was not able to do in Group AF. No sooner had I put it back on autofocus to take the shot it immediately went right back to the background instead. I rechecked both cameras and the K3III repeatedly located and focused on the dragonfly, perhaps failing once in several attempts, but where the D500 continued to fail. This could be down to the Nikkor 55-300 or the camera AF system itself. Too early to know.

[gatorguy]

Also, may I ask for some BIFs at ISO 25600...?



K-3 MkIII+DA*300/4+HD1.4TC, native lighting, handheld, Highlight Weighted Metering, minor crop/post-processing, ISO 25600, LR Classic+NIK5...

Cheers... M

Oh I do have one or two of those! It's common for me to be out and about just before and shortly after the sun rises, and you know man with a camera, LOL. Try anything at least once, then 20 times more just to check. Now I'll have to do 25 since you've proved it can be done! Impressive sir.

In fact I think I've posted one of those already in the "Show us your 150-450 photos" thread, but I don't think it was a clean and well-lighted as yours. In the set of photos above I did take the Armadillo at ISO 51200, 15 minutes before sunrise. Had I run it though Topaz, especially if I'd been thinking (Duh) and lowered the shutter speed and closed down the aperture to F8 as was my intent, I'm pretty certain the image would have been darn good.

EDIT: a three-four minute Topaz brushup.

[UncleVanya]

Hmmm... Looking at Ebay just now I see 6 used "buy it now" D500 bodies priced under $1000. There's more than 75 used ones priced north of that, and the majority are listing at $1250 and higher, some MUCH higher.

As for now there really is not a practical price difference between a new D500 and new K3III. Used prices are always in flux. We've all found bargains for some expensive thing we want (loving my Pentax 15-30 ), but they're the exception and not the rule. IMHO "cheap D500's" are the exception.

Oh and mine was an example of that exception.

Quite true that demand fluctuations can change prices. Buy it now is an aberration however and not a way to gauge what’s actually selling without adding a filter for sold. Looking at sold d500 items with the condition used:

Of the 73 sold items that are body only; 2 were < $800, 1 was 80k shutter count, the other was 2k. I consider these to be outliers. 7 were between $801-900 in various condition - mostly very nice. Shutter count carried but none appeared to be dogs. Again these seem like outliers. 21 appear from $901 to $1000. For the most part these all are reasonable shutter count and quite a few were low counts. 16 show up from $1001-1100. 11 from $1101-1200. 5 are from $1201-1300. 3 are from $1301-1400. 4 from $1401-1500. 5 from $1500+ but three of those were with lenses despite the search for body only. 1 was with a grip.

K3iii… two bodies. $1300, $1399. Clearly priced higher likely due to age and supply being so low.

[Rondec]

Hmmm... Looking at Ebay just now I see 6 used "buy it now" D500 bodies priced under $1000. There's more than 75 used ones priced north of that, and the majority are listing at $1250 and higher, some MUCH higher.

As for now there really is not a practical price difference between a new D500 and new K3III. Used prices are always in flux. We've all found bargains for some expensive thing we want (loving my Pentax 15-30 ), but they're the exception and not the rule. IMHO "cheap D500's" are the exception.

Oh and mine was an example of that exception.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

I do think that while these are both flagship APS-C cameras, the price of the Nikon is tempered by the fact that Nikon has signaled that they aren't supporting the mount long term. It doesn't make the D500 chopped liver by any means, but it does mean that it is a little tougher to compare prices. There are people who are dumping their F mount gear, worried that they will be stuck with it, even though there are still new D500s for sale still. Beyond that, used D500s tend to be older, even if they don't have many shutter actuations. The D500 came out a little over 6 years ago and I'm a little more careful buying a camera that is four or five years old, even if the shutter count is low -- there's a lot of stuff that can go wrong with a camera other than the shutter giving out.

---------- Post added 07-31-22 at 06:42 PM ----------

Quite true that demand fluctuations can change prices. Buy it now is an aberration however and not a way to gauge what’s actually selling without adding a filter for sold. Looking at sold d500 items with the condition used:

Of the 73 sold items that are body only; 2 were < $800, 1 was 80k shutter count, the other was 2k. I consider these to be outliers. 7 were between $801-900 in various condition - mostly very nice. Shutter count carried but none appeared to be dogs. Again these seem like outliers. 21 appear from $901 to $1000. For the most part these all are reasonable shutter count and quite a few were low counts. 16 show up from $1001-1100. 11 from $1101-1200. 5 are from $1201-1300. 3 are from $1301-1400. 4 from $1401-1500. 5 from $1500+ but three of those were with lenses despite the search for body only. 1 was with a grip.

K3iii… two bodies. $1300, $1399. Clearly priced higher likely due to age and supply being so low.

The D500 is 6 years old and is now part of what will soon be an orphaned mount. The used market is going to be a bit different from the K-3 III which is still relatively new and seems like will continue to be supported by Pentax for a while yet.

[RollsUp]

Related to that it would be nice if there was an in-between CL and CH on the Nikon. Constant Low is just a little too slow for my liking, and Constant High is unnecessarily fast for BiF. I ended up with more photos to cull than wanted. I'll dive back into menus
and see if there's something there to lower the burst rate on CH.

You can choose anywhere between 1 and 9 fps for CL in Menu > Custom Setting > d. Shooting/display > a1.

[UncleVanya]

The D500 is 6 years old and is now part of what will soon be an orphaned mount. The used market is going to be a bit different from the K-3 III which is still relatively new and seems like will continue to be supported by Pentax for a while yet.

I agree. That’s exactly the reason the d500 prices are falling and why some will go there for their sports/wildlife fix since the lenses are also discounted. The k3iii is a higher resolving modern dslr with a fantastic ovf. No argument here with the paper specs. I have no axe to grind I expect value wise the k3iii new is a better bet. Used for someone without Pentax or Nikon glass that’s a more difficult question and revolves around specific personal factors - it’s good to see a strong review of the two head to head.

[clickclick]

Good thread, and appreciate the work involved to do this. It always sounds so simple to just compare a couple cameras, lenses etc., but actually doing it and reaching meaningful conclusions can be tricky. Lots of variables involved. Good job, and look forward to your continued impressions.

[The Squirrel Mafia]

The results are interesting so far.