[Kiwi645hauler]

If Hayden can chime in or PM, I'd be interested to hear. I did take a look at the Southern Cameras website, but it has the K-70 body only listed as more expensive than what Photo Warehouse and Photo & Video International have with kit 18-50, but I'm not sure if that's just standard RRP, as there probably isn't a huge market for Pentax. (I'm assuming Photo Warehouse and Photo & Video International are authorised resellers.)

If it's possible to get $100 back on the lens, it actually looks like a better deal than the body only.


EI do have the KP actually cheaper than Aus, but they're a grey importer, whereas the Aussie vendors I think are authorised, at least over there.


I'm tending to lean towards buying from an authorised reseller, whether here or in Aussie, as I'd expect better warranty support.[COLOR="Silver"]



As a matter of interest, what can you do the Tamron SP AF 70-200MM F 2.8 for?

.

The K-70 has had a very recent price change, i am just a little behind schedule getting the pricing updates done. That 18-55 kit price at the Photo warehouse group (PW & P&V) is ridiculous, I have a suspicion on how they are working their prices to be that sharp, but i wont go into it here.
We have been an Authorised reseller of Pentax for over 45 years now, and at one time we were the biggest Pentax stockist in the South Island . If you purchased from Aussie, the camera would have to go back to CRK in Aussie to be serviced under warranty, as many are aware, IRL won't touch Grey market cameras here without a rather large fee.
As for Tamron price, check your PM's i have responded there.

Hayden

[Kiwizinho]

The K-70 has had a very recent price change, i am just a little behind schedule getting the pricing updates done. That 18-55 kit price at the Photo warehouse group (PW & P&V) is ridiculous, I have a suspicion on how they are working their prices to be that sharp, but i wont go into it here.
We have been an Authorised reseller of Pentax for over 45 years now, and at one time we were the biggest Pentax stockist in the South Island . If you purchased from Aussie, the camera would have to go back to CRK in Aussie to be serviced under warranty, as many are aware, IRL won't touch Grey market cameras here without a rather large fee.
As for Tamron price, check your PM's i have responded there.

Hayden

Thanks. Decisions, decisions... lens or body first ...or just go wild and do both? (In that case, I suspect it might be my wife who goes wild!)

I think I have a legitimate case to claim at least part as a business expense, as I do use my camera for revenue generating activity from time to time.

I have a new book finished and launching officially in a couple of months, and if it sells well, I might even be able to afford a K-1

[zkarj]

I saw that and was tempted, but there are a few things about the K-70 that appeal to me. Wifi, Relatively low noise high ISO.

I thought wifi (on the KP) was going to be the good oil. In a pinch, it's a useful tool – I used it to sort out a self-portrait (aka passport photo) without too many wasted frames – but man, oh man, does it drain the battery!!

For general use, I bought an SD-to-Lightning adapter so I can plug the card into my iPad. As of iOS 12 (coming September) it'll handle RAW transfer. That's something the Pentax app will not handle – you have to develop to (or indeed shoot in) JPEG to be able to transfer and even that's not fast.

[NZ_Ross]

I thought wifi (on the KP) was going to be the good oil. In a pinch, it's a useful tool – I used it to sort out a self-portrait (aka passport photo) without too many wasted frames – but man, oh man, does it drain the battery!!

For general use, I bought an SD-to-Lightning adapter so I can plug the card into my iPad. As of iOS 12 (coming September) it'll handle RAW transfer. That's something the Pentax app will not handle – you have to develop to (or indeed shoot in) JPEG to be able to transfer and even that's not fast.

That is very useful information. Thanks

[richandfleur]

I’ve had a bit to drink tonight, so the following might not read back so well...

In basic terms, photography / exposure wise, we’ve still only got iso, shutter speed and aperture to play with.

After that we’re talking focus point and shot taking aspects such as tripod or sensor shake reduction, or burst rate and buffer size.

To be honest, most of the rest is fluff. WiFi sounds great in certain circumstances, but most often it won’t be used.

Likewise AA simulation sensor shake, which is a nice to have from a sales brochure feature perspective, but I suspect hardly ever used.

It’s easy to be sucked in by the glamorous sales brochures, but really the likes of lower noise at higher iso values is about all we can hope for improvement wise.

I’d love face/eye tracking AF. If Pentax could implement that I’d be right in, but outside of that it’s important to keep a focus on what really matters/ what really impacts on better end images.

[GUB]

I’ve had a bit to drink tonight, so the following might not read back so well...

In basic terms, photography / exposure wise, we’ve still only got iso, shutter speed and aperture to play with.

After that we’re talking focus point and shot taking aspects such as tripod or sensor shake reduction, or burst rate and buffer size.

To be honest, most of the rest is fluff. WiFi sounds great in certain circumstances, but most often it won’t be used.

Likewise AA simulation sensor shake, which is a nice to have from a sales brochure feature perspective, but I suspect hardly ever used.

It’s easy to be sucked in by the glamorous sales brochures, but really the likes of lower noise at higher iso values is about all we can hope for improvement wise.

I’d love face/eye tracking AF. If Pentax could implement that I’d be right in, but outside of that it’s important to keep a focus on what really matters/ what really impacts on better end images.

Na even simpler -- just aperture and shutter. Iso-invariance makes Iso redundant! Mind you I know the 16mp sensor and the K1 are Iso invariant - has anyone done tests on the K3 generation?.
I just wish I could disable all the uneccessary buttons on the K1. Those little sods around the okay button are forever getting bumped. There is a setting to disable them but it disables the OK button too and i need it!
PS totally sober here so no excuses for silly statements!!

[NZ_Ross]

I’ve had a bit to drink tonight, so the following might not read back so well...

PS totally sober here so no excuses for silly statements!!

You guys are not making this easy - do I grab a bottle of wine, have a few glasses, and enter the conversation, or stay sober.....what to do????

[Kiwizinho]

I’ve had a bit to drink tonight, so the following might not read back so well...

In basic terms, photography / exposure wise, we’ve still only got iso, shutter speed and aperture to play with.

After that we’re talking focus point and shot taking aspects such as tripod or sensor shake reduction, or burst rate and buffer size.

To be honest, most of the rest is fluff. WiFi sounds great in certain circumstances, but most often it won’t be used.

Likewise AA simulation sensor shake, which is a nice to have from a sales brochure feature perspective, but I suspect hardly ever used.

It’s easy to be sucked in by the glamorous sales brochures, but really the likes of lower noise at higher iso values is about all we can hope for improvement wise.

I’d love face/eye tracking AF. If Pentax could implement that I’d be right in, but outside of that it’s important to keep a focus on what really matters/ what really impacts on better end images.

I know someone in the local camera club who has upgraded their Fuji body several times, but they apparently only ever shoot in manual mode.

I mostly shoot aperture priority.

The main thing I want wifi for is remote shutter where I can see what I'm taking.
It's not just for selfies, but might be useful for trying to organise a bunch of people in frame, or maybe candid shots, if you don't want people to know when you are going to take a photo, but want to keep an eye on composition.
I'm not really bothered with trying to do image transfer over wifi. It's no big deal to pop the card out and put it in my laptop. The K-70 still has an IR port as well, while the KP doesn't. K-70 doesn't do USB tethering though.
The pixel shift super-resolution could come in handy for landscapes where nothing is moving. It seems to have limited use cases, but where it works, it seems like a cheap way to wring out a lot of definition out of a modest body.
I don't know if I'd classify it as gimmicky or not - it really depends on what kind of images you shoot.
For some people, it's probably useless, for others, a really great feature.
The K-70 has 14bit RAW files which is a step up over the 12bit K-50, and judging by the reviews helps with contrast detail. As a matter of interest, what is the average size of K-70 RAW files?

As GUB pointed out about ISO invariance, ISO doesn't really matter whether it's in camera or in post, except when you need a higher shutter speed.

Speaking of pixel shift, something some technically minded person might be able to explain, is why do high end video cameras use a prism I believe to split RGB off to separate sensors, but not still cameras? It would be expensive I'd imagine, but it is done, and the technology has been around for a while. I imagine it would probably make the 645z look like a featherweight, but I'm curious to know why it's not been tried for ultra-definition still cameras, but is reasonably common in high end video cameras?

---------- Post added 07-24-18 at 05:12 PM ----------

You guys are not making this easy - do I grab a bottle of wine, have a few glasses, and enter the conversation, or stay sober.....what to do????

Alcohol and conversation in the same sentence are an oxymoron for me. The stuff works as a highly effective sedative for me, even in modest amounts, so if I'm every highly conversational and mention I've had too much to drink, I'm probably referring to coffee...

[GUB]

ISO doesn't really matter whether it's in camera or in post, except when you need a higher shutter speed

It still doesn't matter. If you have to use a higher shutter speed than usual say to freeze action, then what you are doing is starving the sensor of light so your signal to noise ratio deteriorates resulting in a noisier image. If you have to amplify that signal by Iso or post processing you end up with a noisier image but both results will be the same. Your shutter speed and aperture choice are the only variables and best practise is the balancing act of DoF vs freezing action vs signal to noise ratio.

[MarkJerling]

You guys are not making this easy - do I grab a bottle of wine, have a few glasses, and enter the conversation, or stay sober.....what to do????

That's an easy one to answer Ross! Cheers!

[NZ_Ross]

That's an easy one to answer Ross! Cheers!

Can't argue with your logic Mark

[MarkJerling]

Can't argue with your logic Mark

When you're up here again, let me know, and we'll share one.

[NZ_Ross]

When you're up here again, let me know, and we'll share one.

That is a very kind offer, and sounds like a good plan...

[zkarj]

I’d love face/eye tracking AF. If Pentax could implement that I’d be right in, but outside of that it’s important to keep a focus on what really matters/ what really impacts on better end images.

I was listening to a description of, I think, N*kon focusing features a while ago and there were modes like "focus on nearest" which was a whole new concept to me as a Pentax shooter.

I almost always have centre spot focusing, but occasionally switch to auto across the frame when it's something difficult to follow like a gull in flight that might twist and turn at any moment. I might use it more if I could give it cues as to what I am aiming for. I dig the face-recognition mode of my iPhone and some Pentax bodies, but as I rarely take photos of people, then it's not terribly useful for me.

[Transit]

...
I just wish I could disable all the uneccessary buttons on the K1.

what Gub said
Just give me a plain vanilla body with a decent top lcd