[DSims]

I will wait it out, but I will uptake the K5 replacement. I won't be too happy, but I will wait and spend the money put aside for the FF on other things. Instead of something that says Pentax, I will buy something that says Kawasaki. It's really up to Pentax. Someone in Japan will be happy.

Go for the green! I had one of the most lowly of Kawasakis in high school and college - a KZ400 with high mileage on it - but it was still a great bike! My favorite story is when I parked next to an old Harley at a track meet. A tough looking guy and his girlfriend were standing there while he kept kicking, trying to start the old hog. I never said a word - I just calmly put on my helmet, gave it one kick, and rode away (it didn't always start the first time, but somehow I knew it would this time - it was just too poetic!). The look on the girlfriend's face was priceless!

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Last edited by DSims; 07-25-2012 at 08:00 PM.

[pinholecam]

No big deal.
Continue to use my K5.
Buy a K5 replacement only when its leaps ahead of it (perhaps in AF and sensor performance) , otherwise, its good enough.
I'll still put my money where my mouth is and support Pentax via other purchases (already got the Q and lenses this year).
So many niffy stuffs to buy and try.

[Wired]

My problem right now is that I'm sure my shutter on my K5 is getting old... For the past 6 months I find myself filling a 32gb card with pure RAW images every other weekend. (sometimes 2) I do a lot of "burst" shooting since I've been shooting concerts... this abuse cannot keep my K5 reliable, so I will be hoping for a K5 followup sooner than later to put my current K5 on backup duty. I don't think I will ever part with her though.... I know her way to well! If the new semi-pro level camera is APS-C or FF I don't care either way. In all honesty, the more I've been shooting and thinking about it... I think I prefer APS-C

Why?

I like the crop factor. I like the working distance I have with my 77mm limited. having to get that much closer to my subject on FF, not to mention the FOV/DOF change it will give me on FF is not really something I'm looking forward too. Sure I love shooting it on my film bodies as well, but I'm not as comfortable with it as I am on a crop body. In fact if I'm carrying both a film body and my K5 I usually got one of my 135mm lenses mounted on my film and the 77mm on my K5. Very similar in terms of FOV/DOF.

That is the biggest one for me. I don't go "ultra wide" I rarely go to the 16mm I can get to with my 16-50 DA*.

Then there is the disadvantage of using APS-C lenses on FF sensor. I don't know the math, but from what I understand... 24mp FF is less than 16mp APS-C. I like making prints. It has become my way of doing gifts, and nothing feels better than hanging up you work at home or at the office. I want to go bigger and cleaner/crisper with my prints. While I do have mostly FF lenses, so in theory this shouldn't affect me much...

Image quality? K5 is pretty awesome, and I doubt I have tapped its full potential... for I see people with K100's and K20's that are doing much better work than me, and those cameras are now "classics". So will a FF make me a better photographer? No. Practice, experience, and discipline will. Gear is just gear. Its the person behind it that matters.

[RobA_Oz]

I don't have the funds to switch right now, I may just go back to film.

I do, but there's nothing that attracts me elsewhere. The D800's performance is obviously brilliant, but I just don't want to get into a camera of that size and weight, or the cost of the lenses to match its performance (and I have read the other threads that talk about this issue). In any event, I wouldn't be switching, but augmenting.

I hauled my K2DMD out of its case the other day, and I just bought an LX from a Forum member, so that's what I'll be doing, too.

[LeDave]

Lots of great reasons you guys! For me, I am sticking with APS-C and not a worry about FF at this moment. I love my K-5 and how it rivals certain FF in high ISO noise levels. I also love the 1.5x crop for the extra focal lengths on lenses. I also love the compact design, and with compact on a Pentax doesn't mean less quality. Pentax offers APS-C bodies that rivals the ergonomical feel of full frames from Canikon. I won't be switching to FF until it drops to 1400 for a brand new body which I won't think will happen until 2016. For that, I will keep my K-5 and try to last it until then, that's if the shutter keeps up! I will gladly buy high-end DA* APS-C lenses even if it's the price of a full frame lens. I know 4 years is a very long way and I do not want to limit my fun and shooting experience just because of the full frame hype that seems to plague this forum. I also do not want to get other people's full frame opinions and thoughts to get in my way of loving my APS-C.

[VoiceOfReason]

I'm quite happy with my K5 because it produces nice images, and I like the longer reach. I have things covered from 10 mm to 300 mm, but would love to go longer, much longer if I could. Right now all I need is glass, not another body.

[kiwi_jono]

Can't see me having the budget anytime soon for a FF anyway. Currently I don't care much about higher Megapixels - even my K-x 12MP is good enough for anything I do.
Budget aside I would love the FF for narrower DOF and lower noise advantages though but on the other hand some fullframe cameras are big ugly monsters (yes I like a small camera).

[jsherman999]

... Instead of something that says Pentax, I will buy something that says Kawasaki.

First $700 takes it!



(2005 KAWASAKI 110, Less than 20 hours on engine. Prob not what you had in mind tho )

[LeDave]

I've always wanted a ZX6R Ninja. I am guessing that is a Ninja in your avatar OE?

[mickey]

I recently bought a K-5, so I'll be using this and also the K10 and invest in some more lenses.
That's my plan that I see for the forseeable future.
I'm more than happy with APS-C and don't believe FF will be coming soon.

[selar]

I would continue shooting with NEX5N

[LeDave]

I would continue shooting with NEX5N

Interesting seeing Sony's mirrorless possibly doing better than their DSLRs.

[Venturi]

Any one who leaves because of lack of full frame should have never entered.

Not exactly a fair assessment, Lowell. Needs change, people grow, etc.

In 2008, when I came back to photography, there wasn't a full-frame option for less than $4K, and spending that much on a completely foreign camera system to test the digital waters would have been - stupid. I'd been using Pentax cameras since 1979 so choosing them was an easy pick over Nikon (Canon has never been an option for me) at triple the price. And, I will still probably pick up a K-5 this year (or maybe its successor if it hits the market before Christmas).

Until about a year ago, the difference in dynamic range across the full ISO range, and the perceptual differences between full-frame and APS-C weren't relevant to me. But, I'm a different photographer today than I was in 2008 when I bought a K10D and then a K20D six months later. There is real value to me now in the perceptual differences that full-frame - and medium format for that matter - provides me. I couldn't care less about getting shallower depth of field, but I can get closer without having to go so wide that distortion becomes an issue. APS-C feels compressed optically to me, and I know that probably isn't even technically accurate. But, there is a palpable difference, visually, between the frame made by an APS-C camera and one made by a full-frame camera, using "equivalent" focal lengths to achieve the same angle of view. I happen to like the look of full-frame.

So yes, full-frame is becoming increasingly important to me and if Pentax chooses to shy away from it then I will have to move on. Oh well, it's been a fun 33 years. I'll keep my existing gear but going forward I'll just be investing in a Nikon system.

[maxfield_photo]

Any one who leaves because of lack of full frame should have never entered.

And how, pray tell, could I have predicted this 30 years ago? APS film wasn't even around then. The only thing smaller than 35 mil back then was 110 and those silly disc cameras from which you could barely enlarge the images to wallet size. I've stuck with Pentax not so much for the cameras themselves, but for the lovely glass. I want to use it the way it was originally intended.

[ElJamoquio]

the cost of the lenses to match its performance

Huh? Pixel density is the same as the k-5. Are you arguing edge performance or something?