[Vagydarnuor]

Good day!
I need your help folks..
Should I go for k-3 mk2 with 55mm kit lense or k-s2 and spend more money on better lense? I'm begginer and on a task to shoot beatiful Lithuanian nature hehe.

Any advice is appreciated!

[Parallax]

Moved to the proper forum.
As the sticky at the top of General Talk says: "Photography related threads do not belong in Gen Talk"

[FantasticMrFox]

Good day!
I need your help folks..
Should I go for k-3 mk2 with 55mm kit lense or k-s2 and spend more money on better lense? I'm begginer and on a task to shoot beatiful Lithuanian nature hehe.

I'll offer a third option: get the K5 II or K3 and a better lens.

The K3 is currently being offered for an absolute bargain price and it is almost identical to the K3 II. It is tougher, has better image quality and some other features the K-S2 lacks, but should not be any more expensive. If you want it even cheaper, the K5 II is another option. It is not quite as modern as the K3, but also very advanced and should have similar image quality to the K-S2.

I don't know the exact price difference between a K3 II and a K3 or K5 II in Lithuania, but it should enable you to get a better lens.

[paulh]

KS2 and the DA18-135 would be a great starter system

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Last edited by paulh; 04-22-2016 at 08:05 AM.

[loco]

The KS2 is a very capable camera and a good one to learn on.

Do you mean the 55-300mm lens? There's nothing wrong with that lens other than it can be slow focusing. I would suggest you get the KS2 with the 55-300 for wildlife and maybe another wider zoom for landscapes. The DA 18-135 is a very good walkaround lens that works well for landscapes.

Practice and learn the camera and then decide whether you need more lenses. You'll learn from practice which focal lengths you use most and whether or not you need to expand your lens collection.

[i5_david]

I do it wrong all the time... I love the process of photography and pressing the shutter and enjoy the walking around and using the camera. So I would go with the K3 mk II since I would have more fun using the Cam (additional to this would be a tammy 17-50 2.8 - i used this setup for years with K5 II).



This video was a kinda eyeopener for me in regarding gear, haha. This dude is humilating me with a hello kitty smartwatch camera (640x480) with every shot he takes :P

You Tube

You Tube

[LensBeginner]

Always go for good glass first, if budget is limited.

[UncleVanya]

K-3ii and KS-2 are very similar in image quality. Do you need or want wi-fi or an articulating screen? If so then KS-2. Do you need an onboard flash? If so KS-2. Do you need dual SD cards? If so then K3ii. Do you need a battery grip, then K3ii.

[W.j.christy]

Good day!
I need your help folks..
Should I go for k-3 mk2 with 55mm kit lense or k-s2 and spend more money on better lense? I'm begginer and on a task to shoot beatiful Lithuanian nature hehe.

Any advice is appreciated!

When you say you're a beginner, how much of a beginner? The K3, K3II and K5II all are advanced/professional cameras where as the KS-2 is an advanced enthusiast camera with features that are geared more towards those with less experience.


If you are comfortable with manual mode and understand the basic fundamentals of exposure, I would recommend you go with the K3, K5 II and spend the extra money on a good glass. I would only recommend the K3 II if you don't need an onboard flash (which I use all the time on my K3) or are planning on getting into astro-photography. The pixel shift is nice but as I understand it, its a little picky about the situations that it works well in and isn't usable in most types of photography.


If you are a true beginner, I would recommend the K-S2 as it will be more "Beginner Friendly" while allowing a lot of room to grow and improve.


Keep in mind the best camera with the best glass will still produce a bad image if the person behind the camera and glass doesn't know how to use it.

[Vagydarnuor]

I do know how manual focusing settings work and needs to be setuped, although It would take me some time to set it up.. If I buy a camera I would probably keep it for 6-10 years.. So if by a chance I'll become an advanced nature photographer, is it possible ks2 would be to low for me? And k3 is like an open space to grow?

[UncleVanya]

I do know how manual focusing settings work and needs to be setuped, although It would take me some time to set it up.. If I buy a camera I would probably keep it for 6-10 years.. So if by a chance I'll become an advanced nature photographer, is it possible ks2 would be to low for me? And k3 is like an open space to grow?

There is little practical difference but there is a slight advantage in image quality on the K3.

KS2 has 12 bit raw, K3 has 14 bit raw
KS2 has one SD card slot; K3 has two.
KS2 has 20mp, K3 has 24.
KS2 does not have Pixel shift; K3ii does, K3 does not.
KS2 does not have a battery grip; K3/K3ii does.
KS2 has wifi for immediate viewing sharing of photos via phone or tablet; K3/K3ii does not have this.
KS2 has a tilting articulating screen, K3/K3ii does not.
KS2 has an on board flash - the K3 does also, the K3ii does not.
KS2 can't control a PTTL wireless off camera flash without adding a Pentax Flash like the 360 or 540 to the hotshoe. The K3ii is similar. The K3 can use the onboard flash to control other PTTL flashes.


It is unlikely that any of the features of the K3 series will make or break photos you take. However there are some tradeoffs that make one a better fit than the other for some purposes. If you shoot weddings you might want the K3 series for the dual SD card slot alone - since you get the chance to write to both simultaneously and if an SD card were to go bad you would not lose your shots of this once in a lifetime event.

If you needed to share photos immediately for publicity or other reasons the KS2 (or K1) wireless features might be best.

If you need to do macro work on the ground then the titling screen may be worth more than any other feature since it allows you to stand above and look down and compose the shots.

If you need to make super high resolution landscape photos with no movement of the subject (low/no wind, no moving people etc) then Pixel Shift (K3ii) may be a required feature.

Loads of details behind these decisions...

[gatorguy]

The K3 is currently being offered for an absolute bargain price and it is almost identical to the K3 II. It is tougher, has better image quality and some other features the K-S2 lacks
I don't know the exact price difference between a K3 II and a K3 or K5 II in Lithuania, but it should enable you to get a better lens.

Note that the K-S2 has features the K3 doesn't too. Either would be a good choice IMHO, but in my case the lesser weight, wi-fi/NFC connectivity, and the articulating screen work better for me than the relatively smallish increase in pixel count and burst speed of the K3.

[WPRESTO]

K3 is one of the top APS-C cameras.
For images I post here on PF, no one can tell if I've used my K3, K5 or K20. In fact, I think very few notice when I post an image taken with a Panasonic shirt-pocket P&S (and I've posted many taken with one, including macros). So you don't necessarily need a K3 to get a fine image. Fine skill trumps fine equipment 90% of the time.
For nature & wildlife you're likely to need or want a long tele and a macro - the 55-300, which can be obtained used at bargain prices, is a fine first choice for tele, much better than it has any right to be for the price.
Much more expensive, but sometimes available at a good price used, both the 50~500 and 150~500 Sigma zooms are really good and extremely versatile, but heavy (you cannot expect anything else once you get to 400mm)
If you're planning to do macro, a tilting screen can be very useful - - many small subjects, flowers and bugs, are at knee level and lower and commonly look better if the camera is pointed horizontally rather than downward.

Note added later:
Pentax-mount macro lenses are available, either new or used, in focal lengths from 15mm to 200mm. The most versatile focal length is in the 90 to 105mm range. Almost any macro in this range, AF or manual focus, from Pentax, Tamron, Sigma, Vivitar or Tokina will provide excellent IQ when stopped down from f5.6 to f11, which is usual for macro work. The bargain lens second hand is almost any version of the Tamron 90mm macro, but best to have one with an "A" setting. Sometimes a second-hand Pentax 100mm f4 SMCA macro can be found at similar bargain prices. Lenses without the "A" setting can be used, but you can only use manual exposure via the "green button" on the camera, and using flash is considerably more difficult (flash is commonly used for insect macros).

[gatorguy]

I do it wrong all the time... I love the process of photography and pressing the shutter and enjoy the walking around and using the camera. So I would go with the K3 mk II since I would have more fun using the Cam (additional to this would be a tammy 17-50 2.8 - i used this setup for years with K5 II).



This video was a kinda eyeopener for me in regarding gear, haha. This dude is humilating me with a hello kitty smartwatch camera (640x480) with every shot he takes :P
Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera Challenge - Gary Tyson - YouTube

What an eye-opener for me too. Thanks for the link!

[Andy Fern]

The KS-2 has one quality that probably sets it apart from the K3 and the K5. It is smaller. Small enough (well with the right lens attached) to take anywhere without a second thought. I have grown to like its compactness and ruggedness and the feature set is not seriously lagging behind the other two.