[lesmore49]

A few years too early! That's Lieutenant-Colonel John By, an English military engineer who supervised the planning and construction of the Rideau Canal in the 1830s between present-day Ottawa (then Bytown) and Kingston.

I would never have known. BTW, my uncle (deceased) was a Major in the Corps of the Royal Canadian Engineers...from the beginning of WW2 till the early '70's.

[jcsnyc]

I am definitely not a churner..... Have had the K1 for at least 3 years and the K3 well before that. I bought the K3 III after struggling with Birds this year a bit - my photos are not all that bad, but was looking to improve and get better use out of my 300mm....

I got some extra cash from an unexpected work bonus and decided to go for the K3 III - was considering switching to a Canon and lens, but felt like a much bigger purchase since I have A LOT of Pentax lenses.

I appreciate the validation of trying out the friend's Canon and will post my results! And agree there will be a learning curve - so will hopefully pick up tips from my friend who is REALLY good at all aspects of photography.

I've gathered from several forums that quite a few photographers seem to 'upgrade' whenever a new camera 'Mark' is released. I think some folks experience an honest improvement in their photography, at least in terms of focused shots. But the churn -- that's the word for it -- seems to be real. There also might be a bit of "fear of missing out" or fear of being left behind.

Wildlife is not my specialty, but over the years I've managed to get decent shots of animals and some birds, without an animal eye AF function. I'd certainly use it if my camera had it, and I'm sure that some of the new mirrorless models are amazing compared to earlier cameras.

- Craig

[sebberry]

Sounds like the R6 Mk II is working well for him. Which camera was he using previously?

- Craig

Canon EOS 80D

[jcsnyc]

So I got a commitment from my friend to end me a Canon R5 w/ 100-500. Will try in the next week or so....

Still happily shooting the K3 III - I really like this very quick shot from this a.m.

12800 ISO! Got the eye super sharp. Processed in DXO Photolab 6....

(Link to higer res: Robin 12800)

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[gatorguy]

So I got a commitment from my friend to end me a Canon R5 w/ 100-500. Will try in the next week or so....

Still happily shooting the K3 III - I really like this very quick shot from this a.m.

12800 ISO! Got the eye super sharp. Processed in DXO Photolab 6....

(Link to higer res: Robin 12800)

Well done, glad you're enjoying it.

Tip: If you're trying to photograph those birds when they're in amongst the branches, try using the newer extra small focus point that came with a recent firmware update. It helps a lot in preventing focus falling on a leaf instead of the bird.

You Tube

You Tube

K3 III Select Extra Small in Action - PentaxForums.com

[jcsnyc]

Tip: If you're trying to photograph those birds when they're in amongst the branches, try using the newer extra small focus point that came with a recent firmware update. It helps a lot in preventing focus falling on a leaf instead of the bird.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GrgG-aTg24
K3 III Select Extra Small in Action - PentaxForums.com

I have been switching between the super small and spot focusing points - and find that that super small one is a bit more sensitive and tends to wander if I don't get a nice steady lock on the bird's eye. For this one I think I used the larger spot vs. the super small... but plan to keep comparing the two.

I have U2 set up for "Spot" Bird, U1 set up for "flying" bird. I need to work on tightening up the options on the control wheel to go between spot and super small spot. For some reason, I have more trouble using the AF focus on the front and the normal wheel.... slight "learning" curve.

[Mikesul]

This thread should be a sticky. It is very helpful.

[snappyhoffy]

This thread should be a sticky. It is very helpful.

Agreed, I have just reviewed it all again and now it is beggining to make sense (apart from the statue I thought it was Nelson!)