help me decide...

jmdeegan · 05-11-2010, 06:46 PM

Time is of the essence...don't ask me why but the sudden idea to possibly upgrade my k10d to the k-7 has come up....and i am brainstorming.

First and foremost, i have a K10D. i am used to it, I like it, it has been my one and only dSLR. I do try and be creative, but much of what I do with it are the family shots-my kids at school events and parties primarily.

so here is my situation. 2 really.

I have 2 flash options-the pentax 360 and i believe the other is a sunpak. i had a school fashion show about a month ago which made me come to realize one issue (though this experience will be, i suspect, rare), in that the flash doesn't recycle quickly enough, which also impacts the focus. In a case like this, would I be better served by one of those LED light panel type flashes i've seen?

The second is that their birthday party is this sunday (heres the time-is-of-the-essence part). We had the party last year at the same place-carousel for all children on staten island. Lighting is pretty much blah-its outdoors, old carousel. you don't get a lot of usable light. last year i am pretty sure i forgot my flash. this year i won't (pop up flash just couldnt do much).

But then i got to looking at some pictures--the graininess of some of my darker pictures due to the ISO is noticable, and of course because of the low light, the image also tends to be not as sharp. which led me to think...

should i be looking at a K-X, or a K-7. Not sure that I can really go without the top LCD among other things, but I've heard that the k-X has better low light performance.
i am ok dropping that much on a camera...i'd rather not invest much more in lighting simply because 80 percent of what I've done or would do, is fine with the flashes i have or won't require a flash at all.

sorry if its a little all over....just trying to figure out which move to make....

**davidreilly3207** · 05-11-2010, 08:02 PM

I think you should look at the Sigma flashes. The EF 530 DG super is p-ttl compatible and quite reasonable in cost. I have one and I believe its far superior to the pentax 360.

aliquis · 05-12-2010, 05:44 AM

Does changing body really solve anything? I assume you will still want to have a flash? Though you already had one.

I'd say get the flash, use the fastes prime you have and skip body upgrade another gen?

But don't listen to me I know nothing

(srsly)

jmdeegan · 05-12-2010, 05:56 AM

at least part of the reason for the changing of the bodies is the better ISO and low light performance.

The other added bonus is that i don't need to have both my Flip and the camera at the ready...would have them all in one package, so there's something about having the convenience.

**EsBee** · 05-12-2010, 08:55 AM

For your body upgrade needs, I'd say go with K-7. The K-x is an awesome little camera which in my opinion, makes a superb 2nd/backup body although these days I shoot almost almost exclusively with K-x, thus rendering my K20D as a backup in a way

As for the flash recycling problems, I recently faced the same at a family event with K20D/AF540 but that was because of my poor choice of batteries and lack of preparedness. If you use a p-ttl compatible flash (Pentax AF360FGZ or AF540FGZ or others that I don't know about...) and use the right batteries such as Sanyo Eneloops, and crank up the ISO to about 400, you should be able to lessen the load on your flash and see recycling times of around a couple of seconds, as I have learned afterward.

05-11-2010, 06:46 PM	#1
jmdeegan Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: nyc Photos: Gallery Posts: 564	help me decide... Time is of the essence...don't ask me why but the sudden idea to possibly upgrade my k10d to the k-7 has come up....and i am brainstorming. First and foremost, i have a K10D. i am used to it, I like it, it has been my one and only dSLR. I do try and be creative, but much of what I do with it are the family shots-my kids at school events and parties primarily. so here is my situation. 2 really. I have 2 flash options-the pentax 360 and i believe the other is a sunpak. i had a school fashion show about a month ago which made me come to realize one issue (though this experience will be, i suspect, rare), in that the flash doesn't recycle quickly enough, which also impacts the focus. In a case like this, would I be better served by one of those LED light panel type flashes i've seen? The second is that their birthday party is this sunday (heres the time-is-of-the-essence part). We had the party last year at the same place-carousel for all children on staten island. Lighting is pretty much blah-its outdoors, old carousel. you don't get a lot of usable light. last year i am pretty sure i forgot my flash. this year i won't (pop up flash just couldnt do much). But then i got to looking at some pictures--the graininess of some of my darker pictures due to the ISO is noticable, and of course because of the low light, the image also tends to be not as sharp. which led me to think... should i be looking at a K-X, or a K-7. Not sure that I can really go without the top LCD among other things, but I've heard that the k-X has better low light performance. i am ok dropping that much on a camera...i'd rather not invest much more in lighting simply because 80 percent of what I've done or would do, is fine with the flashes i have or won't require a flash at all. sorry if its a little all over....just trying to figure out which move to make....

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05-11-2010, 08:02 PM	#2
davidreilly3207 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: South Jersey Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 720	I think you should look at the Sigma flashes. The EF 530 DG super is p-ttl compatible and quite reasonable in cost. I have one and I believe its far superior to the pentax 360.

05-12-2010, 05:44 AM	#3
aliquis Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Örebro Posts: 207	Does changing body really solve anything? I assume you will still want to have a flash? Though you already had one. I'd say get the flash, use the fastes prime you have and skip body upgrade another gen? But don't listen to me I know nothing (srsly)

05-12-2010, 05:56 AM	#4
jmdeegan Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: nyc Photos: Gallery Posts: 564 Original Poster	at least part of the reason for the changing of the bodies is the better ISO and low light performance. The other added bonus is that i don't need to have both my Flip and the camera at the ready...would have them all in one package, so there's something about having the convenience.

05-12-2010, 08:55 AM	#5
EsBee Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: National Capital Region Posts: 739	For your body upgrade needs, I'd say go with K-7. The K-x is an awesome little camera which in my opinion, makes a superb 2nd/backup body although these days I shoot almost almost exclusively with K-x, thus rendering my K20D as a backup in a way As for the flash recycling problems, I recently faced the same at a family event with K20D/AF540 but that was because of my poor choice of batteries and lack of preparedness. If you use a p-ttl compatible flash (Pentax AF360FGZ or AF540FGZ or others that I don't know about...) and use the right batteries such as Sanyo Eneloops, and crank up the ISO to about 400, you should be able to lessen the load on your flash and see recycling times of around a couple of seconds, as I have learned afterward.