[godwine]

I am sure there were plenty of debate on this, but which one is better in what way?

I was told that:

Pentax: Sharpest image
Nikon: Balance in speed and image quality
Canon: Fastest

Is this true? What do you think?

I know there are bigger player out ther like Mamiya and such, but these are not affordable (at least I can't afford them )

Let me know what your opinion is, it may change my purchasing decision. Right now I have plans to purchase a second body, a K10 (So that i can reuse my lenses).

Let me know

[xfraser]

I can't speak for Nikon, don't have one, but between my boyfriend and I we have the K100D, K10D, Rebel Digital, and the 30D, along with several lenses. Both Pentax & Canon have very sharp images (when we focus correctly), both have wonderful image quality (again, when we do things right). The Canon might be a little faster at auto focus, but not by much, and I think that has more to do with the lens than the camera.

My advice is to try to get your hands on each of the cameras you are thinking about, and get the one that feels "right" in your hands.

[jfdavis58]

I am sure there were plenty of debate on this, but which one is better in what way?

I was told that:

Pentax: Sharpest image
Nikon: Balance in speed and image quality
Canon: Fastest

Is this true? What do you think?

I know there are bigger player out ther like Mamiya and such, but these are not affordable (at least I can't afford them )

Let me know what your opinion is, it may change my purchasing decision. Right now I have plans to purchase a second body, a K10 (So that i can reuse my lenses).

Let me know

Took some of my camera/lens cache and splurged: Sturm-Ruger GP-100, 4 in stainless. Great shooter! Built in flash. Spot-on focus at 25 yards with almost negligible DoF. Shutter is a little loud.

Spent a very enjoyable 90 minutes feeding it 158gr lead semi-wadcutters-a variation on B&W. Every shot FLAWLESS!

Really shouldn't have signed in here because I'm tempted to tell you that the Canon or the Nikon or maybe the Holga or Diana is what you want----just to prolong my buzz and make another silly "which one is better/who's'is bigger thread and it's originator GO AWAY!.

Buy one, anyone; they all work! Who knows, maybe even YOU have the talent to make photographs with one!

Hey, that's my opinion, and I'll deny it if you ask...

[RoxnDox]

didja get the infrared option for night shooting? :-)

and I think I'd avoid NYC and those overzealous cops we keep hearing about...

Jim

[godwine]

I am asking people about their experieince with them and try to make a dcision on which one I should get as my secondary camera (or my primary rather0..

xfraser, in your opinion, do you think the K10 stack up to the 30D interms of image quality?

Thanks
Godwine

[Ivan Glisin]

They are all excellent.

The major difference between cameras is in photographers who use them. We can see more better photographs from Canon and Nikon users simply because there are more C/N users compared to Pentax. It is statistics and has nothing to do with megapixels, lens resolution, noise, dynamic range or similar details.

Give three skilled photographers an option to choose the best body+lens(es) from each brand (Pentax, Canon and Nikon) and give them a task to shoot same subject at the same time, then allow them to properly post-process results, and finally print photographs in the same size (large!) in highest print quality available. I can guarantee you won't be able to see absolutely any technical flaws or significant differences in image quality.

Preference for any particular brand has nothing to do with quality of final images comming from any of the modern DSLR cameras and lenses. Look for reasons elsewhere (price, availability, warranty terms, serviceability, accessories available, robustness, durability, ergonomics, owners personality and so on).

[jfdavis58]

I am asking people about their experieince with them and try to make a dcision on which one I should get as my secondary camera (or my primary rather0..

xfraser, in your opinion, do you think the K10 stack up to the 30D interms of image quality?

Thanks
Godwine

Experience, not opinion....

HMMMMM...



Well OK:

Canon, it takes photographs,
Nikon, it takes photographs too,
Pentax, yep, this one works pretty well as well.

Had a Minolta once--seem to remember it worked pretty good. Borrowed a Sigma from a friend--guess what? You got it! Photographs!

Even got the Leica rep to let me fondle an R9 with Digital Module and their f1.0 prime. Made some purty-nice-pitures real easy like.




Starting to get the picture? (pun intended)

The camera is a box and opinions are like tailpipes: everyone has one but only yours is of any significance to you--the rest just smell bad.

Pick the one with the features you want, pick the one that feels good in your hands, pick one with the right price. Hell, pick one because it's your favorite color--All that really matters is your level of talent and breadth of vision. For most folks a pinhole on a shoebox will do the job.


But please, please, please don't start another A vs B vs C debate. And don't try to dictate my involvement and say I should avoid what doesn't interest me---keeping A vs B vs C debates to a minimum does interest me. And when you understand exactly what a camera is capable of releasing from its owner, well, then you will understand the loathing of such ABC debates.

[TaoMaas]

But please, please, please don't start another A vs B vs C debate. And don't try to dictate my involvement and say I should avoid what doesn't interest me---keeping A vs B vs C debates to a minimum does interest me. And when you understand exactly what a camera is capable of releasing from its owner, well, then you will understand the loathing of such ABC debates.

Well, alrighty then...

[MRRiley]

They are all excellent.

The major difference between cameras is in photographers who use them. We can see more better photographs from Canon and Nikon users simply because there are more C/N users compared to Pentax. It is statistics and has nothing to do with megapixels, lens resolution, noise, dynamic range or similar details.

snip.

Check out POTD Statistics -- photographyvoice.com. You will see that Pentax is second only to Canon in total numbers of POTDs. Nikon is a close 3rd. If you look at specific cameras, The Pentax K10D was used to shoot almost twice as many POTDs as the 2nd place Canon. While this does not tell a balanced picture (since I doubt a great deal of pros submit stuff to PV) it does show that in the hands of a skilled amateur the K10D is superior to everything else in its class and even among cameras which many claim to "outclass" it.

Of course if you look at the person with the most POTDs (62 at current count since last fall) he shoots with an Olympus.

Mike

[Artymous]

Check out POTD Statistics -- photographyvoice.com. You will see that Pentax is second only to Canon in total numbers of POTDs. Nikon is a close 3rd. If you look at specific cameras, The Pentax K10D was used to shoot almost twice as many POTDs as the 2nd place Canon. While this does not tell a balanced picture (since I doubt a great deal of pros submit stuff to PV) it does show that in the hands of a skilled amateur the K10D is superior to everything else in its class and even among cameras which many claim to "outclass" it.

Of course if you look at the person with the most POTDs (62 at current count since last fall) he shoots with an Olympus.

Mike

This is also entirely inaccurate in another way..

There was a grass-roots movement among the Pentax communities that got a ton of Pentax shooters to start submitting there in great numbers. Great numbers of submitters means great numbers of picks. I stopped submitting because I was noticing that the quality of a lot of POTDs were starting to fall off significantly, and there were a lot of entries from all brands that were, sometimes, even less than snapshots. There's no doubt that for the most part, the guy running the site is doing his best, but because it's a one-man-show, the subjectivity is just too much of a mark against it for it to be used as *ANY* kind of basis on camera brand "superiority".



To get back to the original post:

The Canon cameras are well regarded as being the "sharpest" due to in-camera processing that produces a very stock-photography type of plasticity. I guess it depends on what you mean by sharp. Canon also has, probably, the best or easiest upgrade path.. so that's something to look at if you feel you ever need to go that way. As for what Canon cameras are best suited for - Sports, Wildlife and Photo Journalism due to availability of long, fast lenses and high FPS rates in their bodies.

Nikon has a very nice upgrade path as well, but the look of their images are a lot less plasticized like Canon. This is a good or bad thing depending on your preference. Lens availability is top-drawer. The real bonus in my view is build quality. Both Nikon bodies and lenses are top-quality and very solid. Canon, in their less-than-top-line bodies tend to be flimsy and plastic-feeling. Nikon is best suited for Photo-Journalism and Studio-Portraiture, due to solid body features that can take rough handling, even at the lower end, and a fantastic flash/wireless system.

Pentax is feature-rich for price. Bang-for-the-buck, you cannot do better than Pentax. They produce images that approach a more "film-like" status right out of the camera, which again is dependent on preference. You can use lenses that are 30 years old with few problems (metering can be an issue sometimes), and build quality is absolutely solid. Drawbacks include not being able to *find* lenses, or being able to pay for them if you do (and I'm talking good, fast lenses here, not M-50mm f/2s), and next-to-no upgrade path whatsoever. Pentax is best suited for Legacy shooting. Natural Light portraiture, Macros, and a viewfinder best suited for Manual Focus.

That's the technical breakdown in a nutshell.. though I leave out a lot of minor stuff, of course.

as jfdavis says.. you'll be able to pull fantastic images out of all three brands, and any other brand on the market. Choosing which camera you get will come down to these major points.. which has nothing to do with the brands themselves, but how one certain brands *feels*:

A) How it fits in your hands - Holding every camera in your price range for more than just 5 minutes. Get a feel for them. You'll find that a camera that fits your hand is going to be a majority decision breaker

B) Shooting Style - What do you shoot most? Portraits? Sports? Journalism? Family candids? Think first about what the majority use of your camera will be, and then look at a system that most compliments that. Does the system have available lenses for your style? Does it have features that would help? Any system can be used for any type of shooting, but some are tailored better for certain styles and can be beneficial to you in the long run if you do some research first.

C) Accessibility - The last and probably least important, but not to be underestimated. Do you have access to equipment from friends and family? It might be a good idea to find out. If you can borrow equipment or possibly buy some off someone for a very good price, this can also be a determining factor. A lot of people choose a brand because they already had equipment from a film camera laying around that they can use on their new digital. Worth a thought.


Anyway, good luck on your decision, and I hope you find the right fit for yourself. Whatever it may be.

[Jonas B]

-snip-
Even got the Leica rep to let me fondle an R9 with Digital Module and their f1.0 prime. Made some purty-nice-pitures real easy like.

Cool. But how did you mount it?



And a comment on this one is welcome as well:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/8969-k10d-light-re...html#post72086

[xfraser]

I am asking people about their experieince with them and try to make a dcision on which one I should get as my secondary camera (or my primary rather0..

xfraser, in your opinion, do you think the K10 stack up to the 30D interms of image quality?

Thanks
Godwine

I would say they are pretty darn close. I can't tell the difference if I don't know which camera it came from.

[MRRiley]

This is also entirely inaccurate in another way..

There was a grass-roots movement among the Pentax communities that got a ton of Pentax shooters to start submitting there in great numbers. Great numbers of submitters means great numbers of picks. I stopped submitting because I was noticing that the quality of a lot of POTDs were starting to fall off significantly, and there were a lot of entries from all brands that were, sometimes, even less than snapshots. There's no doubt that for the most part, the guy running the site is doing his best, but because it's a one-man-show, the subjectivity is just too much of a mark against it for it to be used as *ANY* kind of basis on camera brand "superiority".

SNIP.

True enough Artyste. I wasn't aware of a concerted effort to flood PV but it wouldnt surprise me.

[Buddha Jones]

Until someone can look at a picture and tell what camera it was taken with, it doesnt really matter. Like everyone has said, and I will say it again, the camera is just a tool, you are the artist. I have taken pretty good shots with my cell phone, but you couldnt tell that if I didnt tell you.

[Falcons]

I am a loud and proud Pentax fanboy.

So I say get the Pentax it will make you a photographer. Although canon do make good photocopiers.