[Russell-Evans]

....but it still doesn't make me feel better about $2200 worth of lenses breaking during warranty-

I'm sure people got tired of my SDM posts, but this was the reason I kept posting; get the word out, get heard above the deniers, so that people knew about the risks before buying the lenses. It was too late for the early adopters, but hopefully those that kept an open mind started buying extended warranties.

Did you pay for the 50-135mm with a credit card and does that credit card automatically extend the warranty?

Thank you
Russell

[opiedog]

I figure if I go slow with my LBA, and just get the basics, a switch wouldn't cost me too much. Or maybe I'll wait a bit to see if the AF system improves....but it still doesn't make me feel better about $2200 worth of lenses breaking during warranty- which is the main reason I'm worried about the Pentax name....but a Nikon will cost a fortune to repair....but but but.... Ah, who knows?

i had the 50-135 for about a week but returned it because it was broken during shipment. i also found the SDM silent but lethargic.

i bought a sigma 50-150 f2.8 HSM II instead and it works wonders with my Km and now my Kx.

I find my Kx coupled w/ the sigma 50-150 works well for kid sports. i've taken my daughter's sporting events, basketball, softball and soccer with good success.

will the high end canon's and nikons be better? most likely so, but that's also a big investment.

pentax's SDM is quiet but not fast. i find Sigma's HSM MUCH better. K20's AF is not good for sports. Kx's is better suited.

I'm hoping that during Photokina this year, pentax will show us a MUCH improved AF.

As i've mentioned before, NO MORE SAFOX VIII pleazzzee!
Give us an f2.8 sensitive center point sensor and predictive AFC that works.

pentax's AF WILL improve. how long will it take? who knows.

your SDM lenses are optically excellent, the SDM is another matter.


YMMV

[felixkh]

OK. I've been a Pentax girl since my first camera. Loved them and their lenses. In the last 6 months, my DA*16-50 has had motor replaced, and then had to have focus mechanism "adjusted" (stopped auto focusing completely) Now it works fine, but my DA*50-135 is starting to squeek - which is how the 16-50 started. It is 6 months out of warranty. Pentax Canada says they will "look at the situation" Here's hoping they cover it.
So basically, I really want someone to remind me why I loved Pentax so much. I do a lot of sports photography for hockey and soccer (my kids teams, not professionally) and I've never been totally happy with the speed of AF.
Watcha think? Should I sell off my system -K20d , 16-50(2.8), 50-135(2.8), 12-24(4)
and switch to Nikon???

I had the K20D with the DA*16-50/2.8 and upgraded to the K7 with a much faster AF. I have tried sports and it catches well IMHO.

The K20D's AF is admittedly much slower. Why not just get a K7 to replace the K20D?

[simico]

Slight hijack...

i bought a sigma 50-150 f2.8 HSM II instead and it works wonders with my Km and now my Kx.

That's good news for me, I was thinking about getting that lens

pentax's SDM is quiet but not fast. i find Sigma's HSM MUCH better.

I guess it depends on the lens. Last week I compared my DA 17-70 with a fellow local pentaxian's brand new Sigma 17-70 (the new 2.8-4 OIS HSM version) and the HSM on that lens is not faster at all.

[opiedog]

Slight hijack...



That's good news for me, I was thinking about getting that lens



I guess it depends on the lens. Last week I compared my DA 17-70 with a fellow local pentaxian's brand new Sigma 17-70 (the new 2.8-4 OIS HSM version) and the HSM on that lens is not faster at all.

from what i've read, Sigma has 2 "types" of HSM. one goes to the consumer grade lenses like the one in my 18-50 f2.8-4.5 and also for the 17-70, 18-250 and the "EX" level lenses gets the better one (HSM II). 50-150 also has a quick-shift focus which is neat!

can't remember where i read it, but someone mentioned that the HSM in their consumer grade lenses are like canon's micromotors. quiet, but not any faster

[tarsus]

I don't usually get involved in this kind of thread, but bashing Pentax as sport is unfair, counterproductive and what is said is generally untrue. Strongly suggest you Google "Nikon complaints" and "Canon complaints." Oh look, they're not perfect either. I won't counter each and every complaint with the exception of the knock on sports shooting. Pentax does just fine on sports shooting IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT! Yes, caps and exclamation point. Sports shooting is a specialized skill that takes patience, knowledge and has a learning curve. I routinely shoot published sports pictures with a Kx and Tamron 18-250. Changing systems does not equal knowing how to do it.

[Wheatfield]

I don't usually get involved in this kind of thread, but bashing Pentax as sport is unfair, counterproductive and what is said is generally untrue. Strongly suggest you Google "Nikon complaints" and "Canon complaints." Oh look, they're not perfect either. I won't counter each and every complaint with the exception of the knock on sports shooting. Pentax does just fine on sports shooting IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT! Yes, caps and exclamation point. Sports shooting is a specialized skill that takes patience, knowledge and has a learning curve. I routinely shoot published sports pictures with a Kx and Tamron 18-250. Changing systems does not equal knowing how to do it.

A faster, more responsive camera/AF system shortens the learning curve tremendously.
I suppose all those big white lenses attached to top end Canons we see at the sidelines of sporting events are all shooters who don't know what they are doing?
I get really tired of reading this sort of crap post. One could as easily say one could take a Yugo and win a Formula 1 race with it, as long as one knows how to drive.
It may be true, but I kinda have my doubts that it's realistic.

[tarsus]

"really tired of reading this sort of crap post" Really, really, really? A Yugo driver with great skill would beat a Formula One car driven by an beginner.

[aleonx3]

I had the K20D with the DA*16-50/2.8 and upgraded to the K7 with a much faster AF. I have tried sports and it catches well IMHO.

The K20D's AF is admittedly much slower. Why not just get a K7 to replace the K20D?

I agree, just upgraded from K10D to K-7. My DA* 16-50 just behaves like a different lens and AF speed is very responsive in low light (in a party). Additionally, with the K-7 I have more room in the iso range without major compromise in image quality.

[aleonx3]

Did you pay for the 50-135mm with a credit card and does that credit card automatically extend the warranty?

Thank you
Russell

No, I didn't buy that lens with my credit card; but I did check with the credit card first before I purchase my camera from the US. They said yes. The additional year is added on after the manufacturer warranty expires. Of course, you pay first and get reimbursed by the credit card company.

[kytra]

One can dig a hole with a shovel or with a digging machine. The end result is the same but the easyness of doing it is very different.

I love my K7 and Kx and I did some experiments with in-flight birds and other fast moving objects, they work ok. Fact is that Canon (and lately Nikon as well) systems are more adapted and addressed to fast action shooters - long fast zooms IN PRODUCTION, continuously improved AF systems, faster AF motors.

Sorry for saying that, but the Pentax zooms, although excellent optically, suffer both from the point of view of speed and reliability to the extent of being a non-option for pro shooters especially when long zooms are compulsory.

[Wheatfield]

"really tired of reading this sort of crap post" Really, really, really? A Yugo driver with great skill would beat a Formula One car driven by an beginner.

I'd say bullshit, but that would get me brigged, so we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

[MRRiley]

Mokey... I know you are getting a lot of sarcastic relies but the simple truth is, none of us know if you should switch. Only you know that or are in a position to make a decision whether you know what you really want/need or not.

Mike

p.s. you might have gotten a totally different response from me if you'd said you were considering Canon (UGHHHHH!) LOL

[JohnBee]

I routinely shoot published sports pictures with a Kx and Tamron 18-250. Changing systems does not equal knowing how to do it.

Are "you" implying that sports shooters pay premiums to compensate for their shooting skills?
I can't convey my reaction to your post in typing, but it was likened to a first rate comedy

[tarsus]

Are you implying that your post makes no sense?