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06-24-2012, 07:07 PM   #1
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I tried a canon and hated it.......

I was thinking of switching because I am really getting into wildlife photography and all I ever see is white lenses so I borrowed a 7d and a 70-200 2.8 to try and after a day I could not stand the thing. It was really heavy especially with the grip. and the menus and all the buttons make it harder to use and what the hell is with the control wheel its not comfortable to use. Pentax smokes them in the handling department.

Though one thing I did notice was the AF rocks and kicks my K5s but but I would sooner put up with a slow AF and miss a few shots then have to use the Canon body.
Now if Pentax would just come out with some proper wildlife lenses.

after 2 days it just made my Love my K5 even more.

06-24-2012, 07:23 PM   #2
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See if you can borrow a sigma 70-200 2.8 goes well with the K5
06-24-2012, 07:43 PM   #3
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Yeah ... aren't we all waiting for that 560mm lens from Pentax?

I am waiting until the said lens is released, wait for reviews, and then decide if tht will be my next purchase or ... a Sigma 500/4.5 !!

From my personal experience, I can say that anything less than 300mm for wildilfe isn't worth it. Unless you have some very good skills at the "approach".

JP
06-24-2012, 07:46 PM   #4
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The times I have handled Cannon or Nikon my thoughts were Why would anyone lugg this heavy camera around all day? I like nature shooting and the light weight of Pentax is a huge plus. Out of all my lenses there isn't a single white one. I do have to admit that about half are m lenses tho

06-24-2012, 07:46 PM   #5
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I use the DA*300 for birding check out my pics here Flickr: coreyhkh's Photostream

I think for 50% of the time the 300 is perfect but the rest and for some wildlife like bears a 300 would not be great.

The only problem I have with the sigma is that its not weatherproof.
06-24-2012, 07:48 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by coreyhkh Quote
I was thinking of switching because I am really getting into wildlife photography and all I ever see is white lenses so I borrowed a 7d and a 70-200 2.8 to try and after a day I could not stand the thing. It was really heavy especially with the grip. and the menus and all the buttons make it harder to use and what the hell is with the control wheel its not comfortable to use. Pentax smokes them in the handling department.

Though one thing I did notice was the AF rocks and kicks my K5s but but I would sooner put up with a slow AF and miss a few shots then have to use the Canon body.
Now if Pentax would just come out with some proper wildlife lenses.

after 2 days it just made my Love my K5 even more.
Just spend the money and get the Sigma 500/4.5 if you are serious about it.
A friend of mine did and got even more fantastic shots than ever before (he was using a DA*300 before this)

Check out birds shots done by KenGoh in this forum.
06-24-2012, 07:48 PM   #7
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Save up for the Sigma 500 4.5 - it will blow your socks off. Combo of the Sigma 500 and pentax 60-250 is excellent. I sill haven't put the Sigma 500 on a tripod. I don't thnk I could hand hold the equivalent but faster Canon or Nikon lens.

06-24-2012, 08:52 PM   #8
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I would agree with pinholecam and Bob (from Aus):

I have only "touched" and tried a couple of shots with someone else's Sigma 500/4.5 and if one is serious about birding (such a me), and the experience (results) was just out of this world.

I will still wait and see what this supposedly "upcoming" 560/5.6 from Pentax will be and then decide.
That gives me time to save some $$$.

JP
06-24-2012, 09:09 PM   #9
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I've used the same camera, and the control wheel really bothers me. The nice thing indeed about the 7D is the autofocus kind of shows the focus plane in the VF, I like that feature a lot. It seems like everything except for menu navigation and shooting mode is set up alright, it's just those two take me like 30 seconds to do anything with.

I'm happy with my K20D.
06-24-2012, 10:58 PM   #10
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Personally, with Canon, it either seems they're wayyy to heavy, or they feel cheaper than you would ever imagine.

Girlfriend has a 40D, and that thing is like a lead weight, and due to it's shape is really awkward to use, and my brother has a T1i, which feels like I might break it if I merely scroll a wheel too fast. Both of them have way too many strangely placed buttons. And the 40D's scroll wheel...thing...whatever it's called...feels quite strange to use, and doesn't really offer more than a standard E-Dial.(Other than the ability to take up all the space they could put important stuff in)

Nikon is a bit better IMHO - Better high ISO, much better handling, and better IQ overall for their sensors. Even then, I still like my K-5 way better than my old Nikon.

In regards to faster AF on the 7D - Doesn't surprise me too much, Canon definitely knows a thing or two about micro-motors...they haven't made a lens that lacked one since the 80s.(Thus, no screw driven lenses, they're all "Electro-Focus" lenses.) You'll never see a 7D+"L" Lens shot that will outdo a Pentax or Nikon shot with similar glass though. Know why? They insist on using their own sensors, which apparently, they don't know how to tweak all that well.(Well, relative to Sony Corp.)

I think you'd be happier with a Pentax 60-250 though(Or a Tamron/Sigma 70-200). Maybe coupled with a Bigma, for when you need that extra reach.
06-25-2012, 01:07 AM   #11
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Corey, yea the Canon is a lot more cumbersome than the k-5. The 7D is a much better built camera. Mine is anyway. I have a couple of k-5's and both are suffering from poor switches and low light AF is horrible. I looked at your gallery. You are shooting small birds. The 300 is to small for those kind of birds in my opinion. The 70-200 is a joke for those birds. If I were you I would go after the Sigma 500 if you want to stay with Pentax. I've seen a couple of guys here that shoot that gear and it is not a bad combo.

Last edited by garyk; 06-25-2012 at 01:13 AM.
06-25-2012, 01:59 AM   #12
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at a wedding this weekend i was requested to take some snaps with canon t something. i put it in m mode and couldnt figure out how to adjust from there so p mode popup flash and seems thats what it was designed for
06-25-2012, 03:02 AM   #13
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how do you use a fixed focal length such as 500 mm in wildlife? I mean, doesn't zoom matter? it's not like you can zoom in and out with your feet with such huge lens, like when you're using a 50mm prime.
06-25-2012, 03:58 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Crosshair Quote
how do you use a fixed focal length such as 500 mm in wildlife? I mean, doesn't zoom matter? it's not like you can zoom in and out with your feet with such huge lens, like when you're using a 50mm prime.
If the K-5's RAW image is close to being good, you can "zoom" it to fill the frame using the crop tool in LR4.1, or some other pp software package that fits your preference. As such, I find little (say, zero) need to acquire a lens larger than the beautiful DA300/4.

Works for me...

Last edited by Michaelina2; 06-25-2012 at 04:07 AM.
06-25-2012, 05:06 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Eulogy Quote
Personally, with Canon, it either seems they're wayyy to heavy, or they feel cheaper than you would ever imagine.

Girlfriend has a 40D, and that thing is like a lead weight, and due to it's shape is really awkward to use, and my brother has a T1i, which feels like I might break it if I merely scroll a wheel too fast.
I saw this picture on another site. It's of a T2i, and its owner wanted to know if it was a common problem. To my shock, several people responded with "Oh, yeah, happens all the time. Just glue it back on."



Lower end Canons don't just feel fragile and cheap, they actually are.

I'm so freakin' glad I didn't go Canikon a year ago. With the budget I had, I would have ended up with cheap plastic crap. My K-r, while very much entry level, has served me very well, and feels substantially better in build quality.
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