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08-25-2011, 06:29 AM   #46
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QuoteOriginally posted by Philoslothical Quote
Sony. I will not forget the rootkit fiasco. Nor their draconian attitudes towards DRM in general. I will not forget the negligent loss of thousands upon thousands of customers' payment information and personal data, over and over again this year. I also will not forget the cheap quality of their other consumer electronics that I did use before the whole rootkit thing.

People often say to vote with your wallet, and while it isn't realistic to think that this is a practice likely to bring down a corporation, or even get their attention, it is good for one's own peace of mind. They're on permanent boycott for me.
+1

(As an IT weenie, I'll never forget the rootkit fiasco either.)

R

08-25-2011, 06:43 AM   #47
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In reading over this thread, I was really looking at Sony for my purchase. A few months ago, I went through a decision process that led me to buy a k-x. Here is what this old red neck did, with emphasis on getting a 300mm telephoto setup for taking bird pictures:

1. Decided to move away from a super-zoom (older Panasonic 4mp 12x zoom with built in Leica lens) to DSLR.
2. Identified and narrowed down candidate list to Nikon, Canon, Oly, Pentax, and Sony.
3. Decided that I wanted the image stabilization in the body. Hence, that dropped out Canon and Nikon. Plus that eliminated those two higher cost options. I lusted over their 300mm telephoto options, but, the cost!
4. Of the 3 remaining, I was leaning heavily at one point to Sony, mainly because they had this older Konica-Minolta legacy and some sort of arrangement with Zeiss for various lenses. Example: Sony Distagon T* 24mm F2 SSM, as reviewed at Sony Distagon T* 24mm F2 SSM Lens Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
5. But, after cruising various forums, like this one, chose Pentax mainly because of my computations of price/performance. I got a brand new k-x with the 18-55 and 55-300 kit lens for about $600. That worked for my budget, and at the same time gave me very usable kit lenses.
6. My overall gut feeling was that while Oly was considered pretty good, I could not discern anything they had over the Pentax. Plus, I felt that Pentax, being an older camera company from way back, had a longer track record than Sony. Not hating on Sony here, but just to say I thought Pentax to be better.

Since I got my camera, I have taken quite a few bird shots, landscapes, and close-ups --- yielding very good (not great) pictures. To be honest, if I shoot the 18-55mm kit lens at the 35mm focal length, and stay with f6-f8 territory, the pictures are pleasing. Bird pics at 300mm, f8 are very good.

As it turns out, I found out after my purchase, that I could use all kinds of legacy lenses, like the M42 lenses, albeit in manual mode. Even tried an old Nikkor non-AI 28mm f3.5! Of course, I could get a Zeiss or Leica lens if I wanted, with Leitax adapter in the case of Leica-R and certain older Zeiss lenses.

All in all, as I look back, I do not regret the Pentax choice.
08-25-2011, 10:33 AM   #48
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QuoteOriginally posted by TaoMaas Quote
I'm saying that Pentax has never really cracked that crowd of professional photographers, even during the days of film when they were a major player.
The Pentax 6x7 was a very major player in the professional studio market, well ahead of the RB series, and probably pretty close to Hasselblad.
08-25-2011, 09:57 PM   #49
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QuoteOriginally posted by Blue Quote
The fact is, Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Ricoh and Leica have been in photography for a long time. Sony got into by buying the Minolta line without the name (Konica-Minolta kept it).
A slight clarification: Sony has been in imaging for quite a while also, just not so long in still photography. Sony has made video gear since 1961 and digital cameras since 1981, long before buying Minolta's camera operation. Whatever else is said about Sony, they're not newcomers here.

08-26-2011, 04:43 AM   #50
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QuoteOriginally posted by Wheatfield Quote
The Pentax 6x7 was a very major player in the professional studio market, well ahead of the RB series, and probably pretty close to Hasselblad.
Right! That's what I was saying...that Pentax's foothold on the pros was in their MF cameras, not their 35mm. Even at their peak, when Pentax was selling more entry level 35mm cameras than most any other manufacturer, they barely cracked the small camera professional ranks.
08-26-2011, 06:03 AM   #51
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QuoteQuote:
The problem with that is that Pentax has traditionally not had much luck in getting the most visible pros to use their gear. Folks like news photographers, sports photographers, wedding photographers, etc... Most of Pentax's pro users were medium format folks, shooting the 6X7 or 645.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the sixties the Spotmatic was one of the workhorses for the photojournalists who covered a.o. the war in Vietnam. I guess the ruggedness we now find in the K7/K5 has its gens from that camera.
08-26-2011, 06:07 AM   #52
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Another thought-process leading to Pentax

Altovintner, I was interested in your thought process. You wrote,

". . . 2. Identified and narrowed down candidate list to Nikon, Canon, Oly, Pentax, and Sony.
3. Decided that I wanted the image stabilization in the body. Hence, that dropped out Canon and Nikon. Plus that eliminated those two higher cost options. I lusted over their 300mm telephoto options, but, the cost!
. . . 5. But, after cruising various forums, like this one, chose Pentax mainly because of my computations of price/performance. I got a brand new k-x with the 18-55 and 55-300 kit lens for about $600. That worked for my budget, and at the same time gave me very usable kit lenses.
6. My overall gut feeling was that while Oly was considered pretty good, I could not discern anything they had over the Pentax. . . .
All in all, as I look back, I do not regret the Pentax choice."

My experience is comparable to yours. In my case I started with Oly simply because as a hiker I used the Oly 35RC Rangefinder for years. Its build-quality impressed me. So when I tiptoed into the DSLR world I tried a couple of beginner Oly cameras but then began using the Oly E-1. While the 2003-vintage E-1 has been surpassed in many ways, it is still being used because it produces excellent photos in decent light and it has unsurpassed build-quality, something I value as a hiker. If I inadvertently slide down a slope, the Oly E-1 is better to have in my hand than those brands you rejected (or my Oly E-XXX cameras).

After becoming more serious about photography than I anticipated, I decided to get something of the same or similar build-quality and with a comparable viewfinder that possessed some of the modern innovations. It was then when I went through a thought-process similar to yours. Both Canon and Nikon have expensive and heavy Pro cameras that would handle the weather and potential knocking about that I experience with my E-1, but I couldn't justify the cost. I'm never going to try to make money with photography.

And so after much investigation I ended up getting a K20d. Is the build-quality as good as the E-1? Perhaps not, but it's pretty good, and the viewfinder of the K20d is as good or better. While I'm not exactly a birder, I like to be able to photograph them if I encounter something interesting on a hike; so I've been using the Pentax-DAL 50-300. I recently bought the Sigma 28-300 thinking I'd like the 28-50 mm range from time to time, but haven't managed as many keepers with it as with the Pentax. As to my Oly glass, it doesn't have the inexpensive range of glass that Pentax has (somewhat thanks to Sigma & Tamron). The choices are more limited. I've been using the Zuiko 18-180mm lens on the E-1. If I want to get out to 300mm I will have to buy their 70-300mm Zuiko lens; which Amazon has at present for $368. I'm sure I would get good photos in the upper range, but I notice that with my Pentax lenses, even though I like being able to get out to 300mm, I spend most of my time in the lower ranges. The 70-300mm Zuiko lens doesn't have any lower ranges, and on a hike I don't like carrying around (or changing in bad weather) an extra lens.

I'll probably get the 70-300mm anyway, especially since I ordered an Oly advancement over the E-1, i.e., an E-3, but I expect to continue to use (and perhaps prefer) my K20d, add Pentax glass, and when the prices drop on eBay a K-5, because as someone wrote the K-5 is much much better at high ISOs than the K20d, & when I start on an early-morning hike, I am in high-ISO country. I doubt that my E-3 will be much of an improvement over my E-1 at High ISOs. I've gotten some useable photos at 1600 ISO with the E-1 & K20d thanks to Lightroom 3, but not many. I look forward to getting a K-5 one of these days. As to getting an Oly E-5, it would take their coming out with a new "pro" camera for the E-5's price to drop (on eBay) far enough for me to want one, and I'm not sure that's ever going to happen.

08-26-2011, 06:39 AM   #53
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QuoteOriginally posted by RonHendriks1966 Quote
O wow, you are so wrong at this. K-5 is way better then K20D at any iso-setting.
You forget that benjikan does mostly studio work, so f/8 to f/11 lighting most of the time, and not very much low key lighting.

The K-5's dynamic range is more relevant for landscape and wedding shooters. I haven't seen much written on Sony's new sensor's dynamic range yet, but I'm going to be surprised if they can do the pull black cat out of a black frame trick...
The other thing is the next generation will probably bring a new body since Pentax seems to keep the body for two generations.
08-26-2011, 06:50 AM   #54
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QuoteOriginally posted by TaoMaas Quote
Right! That's what I was saying...that Pentax's foothold on the pros was in their MF cameras, not their 35mm. Even at their peak, when Pentax was selling more entry level 35mm cameras than most any other manufacturer, they barely cracked the small camera professional ranks.
Yeah, somehow I skipped reading the post where you said that.
Sorry.
Nikon and Canon have always ruled the postage stamp pro market, Pentax never saw 35mm as being any more than an amateur format and never pursued the 35mm pro market.
I suspect they made a heck of a lot more money that way in the film era, but it has come back to haunt them in the couple of decades or so.
The long, slow demise started right around the time AF SLRs were introduced and Pentax fell behind by a couple of generations almost immediately.
08-26-2011, 07:06 AM   #55
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QuoteOriginally posted by Historicity Quote
Altovintner, I was interested in your thought process. You wrote,

". . . 2. Identified and narrowed down candidate list to Nikon, Canon, Oly, Pentax, and Sony.
3. Decided that I wanted the image stabilization in the body. Hence, that dropped out Canon and Nikon. Plus that eliminated those two higher cost options. I lusted over their 300mm telephoto options, but, the cost!
. . . 5. But, after cruising various forums, like this one, chose Pentax mainly because of my computations of price/performance. I got a brand new k-x with the 18-55 and 55-300 kit lens for about $600. That worked for my budget, and at the same time gave me very usable kit lenses.
6. My overall gut feeling was that while Oly was considered pretty good, I could not discern anything they had over the Pentax. . . .
All in all, as I look back, I do not regret the Pentax choice."

My experience is comparable to yours. In my case I started with Oly simply because as a hiker I used the Oly 35RC Rangefinder for years. Its build-quality impressed me. So when I tiptoed into the DSLR world I tried a couple of beginner Oly cameras but then began using the Oly E-1. While the 2003-vintage E-1 has been surpassed in many ways, it is still being used because it produces excellent photos in decent light and it has unsurpassed build-quality, something I value as a hiker. If I inadvertently slide down a slope, the Oly E-1 is better to have in my hand than those brands you rejected (or my Oly E-XXX cameras).

After becoming more serious about photography than I anticipated, I decided to get something of the same or similar build-quality and with a comparable viewfinder that possessed some of the modern innovations. It was then when I went through a thought-process similar to yours. Both Canon and Nikon have expensive and heavy Pro cameras that would handle the weather and potential knocking about that I experience with my E-1, but I couldn't justify the cost. I'm never going to try to make money with photography.

And so after much investigation I ended up getting a K20d. Is the build-quality as good as the E-1? Perhaps not, but it's pretty good, and the viewfinder of the K20d is as good or better. While I'm not exactly a birder, I like to be able to photograph them if I encounter something interesting on a hike; so I've been using the Pentax-DAL 50-300. I recently bought the Sigma 28-300 thinking I'd like the 28-50 mm range from time to time, but haven't managed as many keepers with it as with the Pentax. As to my Oly glass, it doesn't have the inexpensive range of glass that Pentax has (somewhat thanks to Sigma & Tamron). The choices are more limited. I've been using the Zuiko 18-180mm lens on the E-1. If I want to get out to 300mm I will have to buy their 70-300mm Zuiko lens; which Amazon has at present for $368. I'm sure I would get good photos in the upper range, but I notice that with my Pentax lenses, even though I like being able to get out to 300mm, I spend most of my time in the lower ranges. The 70-300mm Zuiko lens doesn't have any lower ranges, and on a hike I don't like carrying around (or changing in bad weather) an extra lens.

I'll probably get the 70-300mm anyway, especially since I ordered an Oly advancement over the E-1, i.e., an E-3, but I expect to continue to use (and perhaps prefer) my K20d, add Pentax glass, and when the prices drop on eBay a K-5, because as someone wrote the K-5 is much much better at high ISOs than the K20d, & when I start on an early-morning hike, I am in high-ISO country. I doubt that my E-3 will be much of an improvement over my E-1 at High ISOs. I've gotten some useable photos at 1600 ISO with the E-1 & K20d thanks to Lightroom 3, but not many. I look forward to getting a K-5 one of these days. As to getting an Oly E-5, it would take their coming out with a new "pro" camera for the E-5's price to drop (on eBay) far enough for me to want one, and I'm not sure that's ever going to happen.
Hello Historicity. Thanks so very much for sharing your thoughts and experiences about Oly and your Pentax.

It does indeed sound like we went through similar thoughts and decisions. I have not had experiences with Oly, but have heard a lot of good things about them.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s I used Nikon and three Nikkor lenses as an amateur. I really loved those experiences. Pics that I took with my Nikkor 50mm f1.4 were nothing less than excellent. Now that I have gotten back in the SLR game, again as an amateur, I have enjoyed my re-charged hobby.

I am fortunate enough to live in a beautiful area in New Mexico near wilderness trailheads. Plus nature abounds here with the deer, elk, turkey, bears, mountain lions, countless species of birds, awesome scenery. Heck, it probably should be a crime to not be interested in photography here!

As a retiree who is rapidly approach frail elderly status, I probably would have been happy with any of the other choices as well. But, at the end of the day, I ran into an opportunity to get the Pentax kit. That same setup with Canon or Nikon would have cost at least $200 more. I recall that both Olympus and Sony offerings would have cost me more as well.

One last thing that I have not mentioned that gives me pleasure: in a great sense, I am being sort of a rebel going with Pentax. A lot of birders that I know seem to feel that if you do not have $25,000 of Canon equipment, you are not serious. Ha, Ha!
First, I am not a serious birder; just an occasional old guy interested in getting a few decent bird shots. Second, I do not have that kind of money. Even if I did I would not spend it.

Be well,
08-26-2011, 07:29 AM   #56
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QuoteOriginally posted by andre-mz5 Quote
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the sixties the Spotmatic was one of the workhorses for the photojournalists who covered a.o. the war in Vietnam.
You could be right, but I don't think so. I think the Nikon F was the camera of choice. Spotmatics were selling like crazy, but it was to the state-side folks.

What kind of cameras did photographers use during the vietnam war? - Yahoo! Answers
08-29-2011, 07:13 PM   #57
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We have 3 Nex-5's at work for shooting training sessions on video (in a AC cooled room). THey shoot great video, for about 10 minutes, then shut-down due to overheating. Sony makes great un-finished products! Once we noticed this I checked and the same issues happen with their SLR's. My 2 cents, I don't trust Sony products will perfrom as advertised, and my Pentax has never failed me rain or shine (ok SDM is getting weak, but still works).
08-29-2011, 07:24 PM   #58
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QuoteOriginally posted by buzzinhornet Quote
We have 3 Nex-5's at work for shooting training sessions on video (in a AC cooled room). THey shoot great video, for about 10 minutes, then shut-down due to overheating. Sony makes great un-finished products! Once we noticed this I checked and the same issues happen with their SLR's. My 2 cents, I don't trust Sony products will perfrom as advertised, and my Pentax has never failed me rain or shine (ok SDM is getting weak, but still works).
He seems to be disagreeing with your assessment of movie time.

Sony NEX-5 - a guided tour | Photoclubalpha

"Here you can see the second shutter release, marked MOVIE. Press this and there is no waiting – filming starts immediately, so you either need to be in Continuous AF mode, or have pre-focused using the main shutter release. A second press ends the take. Unlike almost every other HD Video 1080p capable model yet made, the NEX5 will shoot continuously without clip length limits, up to around 29 minutes (filesize limit)."
08-29-2011, 08:59 PM   #59
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QuoteOriginally posted by zxaar Quote
He seems to be disagreeing with your assessment of movie time.

Sony NEX-5 - a guided tour | Photoclubalpha

"Here you can see the second shutter release, marked MOVIE. Press this and there is no waiting – filming starts immediately, so you either need to be in Continuous AF mode, or have pre-focused using the main shutter release. A second press ends the take. Unlike almost every other HD Video 1080p capable model yet made, the NEX5 will shoot continuously without clip length limits, up to around 29 minutes (filesize limit)."
If video is critically important, go straight to the Panasonic GH2. I recently shot a three hour interview in 45, 90, and 45 minute segments. Camera didn't skip a beat, and it all fit on 1.5 16Gb SDHC cards.
08-30-2011, 01:50 AM   #60
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wait for the k-3 or whatever uses the same sensor as the a77 that is due in feb... it will out perform the a77 im sure just like every other pentax camera that uses a sony sensor has.
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