[Codazzle]

Hi forum,

First off, not sure where this topic belongs, so I thought I'd put it here.

I'm just wondering what people's opinions are of the K-3, Nikon df and Sony a7.

Some background info;

For my current line-up of bodies, I've had a K-5 for about 3 years (maybe longer?), and a K-01 for two years. I have a lot of decent Pentax glass which I love (FA31, DA*55, 40mm ltd, DA 10-17mm fish-eye, the surprising 18-135mm, lots of manual primes). Not to take anything away from the terrific K-5, but for the past year, my K-01 is basically my goto camera, with the K-5 only coming out when weather is a concern - or I might need "better" autofocus (which is still not great).

I love the K-01. It looks like a huge P&S, but takes almost K-5 images. My friends/family/people are seemingly not intimidated by the K-01, making it much easier to get candids, it's a blast to shoot with, and it has awesome results. However, it's quite evident there will probably never be a successor.

Lately I have found myself itching for a new body. Obviously I don't NEED a new body, I'm merely a hobbyist. But we all know that feeling Also, I would keep all my Pentax stuff regardless of if i bought into a new system.

Primarily, where I'd like to see improvements is shooting indoor in low light without a flash. Size is another priority for me. I've grown accustomed to Pentax and their small size. I also liked K-01's unique styling, love-it or hate-it, as people felt more comfortable around it. I could care less about video. I'm not terribly concerned about megapixels at this point. I have a pretty decent budget, but price is still a factor.

I've narrowed it down to three front runners, and I'd like any and all input from the forum, and other suggestions


PENTAX K-3

PLUSES TO ME:
-The logical progression. From what I've read, the K-3 is fantastic. Great images, improved autofocus from the K-5, great price, I don't need any other lenses. Increased resolution, though I doubt I could utilize it

MINUSES TO ME:
-Not sure if will notice an upgrade to a K-3 in my images. I don't really pixel peep. Might as well wait for the K-3 succesor. As lame as it sounds, its not "exciting" merely making an upgrade


NIKON Df:

PLUSES TO ME:
-Based on reviews, reputation and word of mouth, this is a low light monster. Great ISO performance. Great sensor. Not really small compared ot the K-5, but small compared to other FF's. Decent AF. Unique styling should help with how I like to shoot. Lots of lens options, some even reasonably priced (AF 35mm f/2 is what I have my eye on)

MINUSES TO ME:
-Expensive. I have zero Nikon lenses. Larger in size than my other options. Lowest megapixels out of the three options (though it shouldn't matter to me)

Sony a7 (and other a7's)

PLUSES TO ME:

-Size. Great in low light (based on reviews). Tilting LCD. SIZE! Can use my Pentax lenses with an adapter. Expensive, though less than Df

MINUSES TO ME:

-I lose AF with adapter. Might lose size advantage with an adapter. Limited lens selection. Lenses that do exist are expensive. a7 with best low light performance is also their "video" camera. I actually like having video in the Df


With all this being said, I'm wondering if anyone has any input to help me with my decision making. Or if anyone had any other suggestions or additional insight into the cameras I listed

Thanks forum!

Cody

[jimr-pdx]

You also lose all-lens stabilization with the other options, which adds to the minuses. I really like my K-5 IIs but every week someone posts a shot that the K-3 makes easy, like the multiple-exposure variations. And I miss focus peaking from my K-01 (does the Df have peaking?). It hurts us, yes precious it does

[GateCityRadio]

I went with a Sony A7. But I still have all of my Pentax Gear.

These are my Pros and Cons being K5 user and getting the A7:

Pros:
The 55/1.8 is a great lens, its super sharp and has been compared to the zeiss otus 50/1.4. I would put that on the list as the first native lens to buy.
Size/Weight, Its small and super light compared to my gripped K5
Low Light, this thing is great in low light, hardly any noise that I can tell as high as 3200iso...and what is there can be taken out in post.
WIFI/NFC/Apps, Has built in WiFi and NFC to connect it to your phone. Has Apps for android so you can control it from your phone and view the pictures on your phone/tablet. Has apps for the camera itself, I've never messed with them though.
Focus Peaking/Magnification in the EVF, These are great for manual focusing, although I'm still getting used to using them...more on that in the cons.
Adapters, you can adapt any lens to work with it, if you are willing to lose some functions of the lenses.
Full Frame and I like the Sony colors SOOC.

Cons:
Very few native lenses available. I'm personally waiting for an 85mm.
The available lenses are slow-ish. The constant f-stop zooms that are available are F4. The fastest native lens right now is the 55/1.8, although a 35mm/1.4 is in the works.
SLR lens sizes with adapter, kind of defeats the purpose of the small camera size.
The EVF, its different than the OVF so it takes some getting use to. Some people claim that the EVF gives them headache or makes them sick. The focus peaking is a good starting point when it comes to manual focusing, but on lenses with shallow DOF I wouldn't rely on it. Then you have to magnify, to me manual focusing takes too many steps to get right.
Battery life, it sucks...get a few spare batteries.
Light Leaks with cheap adapters. My M42 adapter had serious light leak issues that were evident at high ISO. Make sure you get high quality adapters.
No SR, at first a lot of my pictures were blurry
Sony's raw format is funky, I had to update my ACR to a newer version to edit them.

The A7 is a great camera, I really like it a lot, but don't expect it to replace your K5 for serious work just yet. I bought mine basically to use for fun, to try my pentax glass on FF, and street photography. My K5 is still king when it comes to portraiture and serious work. In your line-up I see it taking the place of your K-01, since the A7 has a viewfinder and you may be use to focus peaking already, idk the differences between the pentax and sony versions of focus peaking.

[robjmitchell]

Buy the camera that goes with the glass you want, simple as that.
Since it sounds like you wan't minimum APS-c High ISO, yet a small form factor, Pentax + ltd is logically the way to go. I'd have a peak at fuji if mirrorless appeals. But what you make up for in the camera you gain in the size of those fast lenses.

[GateCityRadio]

It sounds like to me that you're happy with the K-01, why not stick with it and buy some more limited primes to play with instead of a new body?

[johnmflores]

Lately I have found myself itching for a new body. Obviously I don't NEED a new body, I'm merely a hobbyist. But we all know that feeling Also, I would keep all my Pentax stuff regardless of if i bought into a new system.

Have you tried a topical ointment? Hydrocortisone? Much cheaper.

[Codazzle]

It sounds like to me that you're happy with the K-01, why not stick with it and buy some more limited primes to play with instead of a new body?

I am very happy with my K-01. And picking up an extra limited is also an option I'm considering.

The main lens I was considering was the FA77. However, the main drawback I see with it is it may be too long indoors for me, as I don't use the DA*55 much indoors anymore. Also, I don't know if I'm in outside low-light conditions enough for it to be worth it (or perhaps my lens limitation is what makes me stay away from low light outdoors).

Another option was the FA43. But I already have a DA40. Once I got my FA31,the DA 40 didn't get much use, even though I claim size is a priority to me! I'm not sure if it was extra stop the FA31 had, the shorter focal length, or the 3x price premium I paid for the FA31 (I think it was a combination of all 3). Maybe I feel like I'm hitting some limitations with my K-01, but it's probably my skills rather than the camera

You also lose all-lens stabilization with the other options, which adds to the minuses. I really like my K-5 IIs but every week someone posts a shot that the K-3 makes easy, like the multiple-exposure variations. And I miss focus peaking from my K-01 (does the Df have peaking?). It hurts us, yes precious it does

A massive Pentax plus that I definitely considered, but forgot to list!

I went with a Sony A7. But I still have all of my Pentax Gear.

These are my Pros and Cons being K5 user and getting the A7:

Pros:
The 55/1.8 is a great lens, its super sharp and has been compared to the zeiss otus 50/1.4. I would put that on the list as the first native lens to buy.
Size/Weight, Its small and super light compared to my gripped K5
Low Light, this thing is great in low light, hardly any noise that I can tell as high as 3200iso...and what is there can be taken out in post.
WIFI/NFC/Apps, Has built in WiFi and NFC to connect it to your phone. Has Apps for android so you can control it from your phone and view the pictures on your phone/tablet. Has apps for the camera itself, I've never messed with them though.
Focus Peaking/Magnification in the EVF, These are great for manual focusing, although I'm still getting used to using them...more on that in the cons.
Adapters, you can adapt any lens to work with it, if you are willing to lose some functions of the lenses.
Full Frame and I like the Sony colors SOOC.

Cons:
Very few native lenses available. I'm personally waiting for an 85mm.
The available lenses are slow-ish. The constant f-stop zooms that are available are F4. The fastest native lens right now is the 55/1.8, although a 35mm/1.4 is in the works.
SLR lens sizes with adapter, kind of defeats the purpose of the small camera size.
The EVF, its different than the OVF so it takes some getting use to. Some people claim that the EVF gives them headache or makes them sick. The focus peaking is a good starting point when it comes to manual focusing, but on lenses with shallow DOF I wouldn't rely on it. Then you have to magnify, to me manual focusing takes too many steps to get right.
Battery life, it sucks...get a few spare batteries.
Light Leaks with cheap adapters. My M42 adapter had serious light leak issues that were evident at high ISO. Make sure you get high quality adapters.
No SR, at first a lot of my pictures were blurry
Sony's raw format is funky, I had to update my ACR to a newer version to edit them.

The A7 is a great camera, I really like it a lot, but don't expect it to replace your K5 for serious work just yet. I bought mine basically to use for fun, to try my pentax glass on FF, and street photography. My K5 is still king when it comes to portraiture and serious work. In your line-up I see it taking the place of your K-01, since the A7 has a viewfinder and you may be use to focus peaking already, idk the differences between the pentax and sony versions of focus peaking.

Thanks for your in-depth experience with the Sony! I don't use MF a whole lot on the K-01, so I'm not used to the focus peaking. I think the first con you list is my biggest fear of getting an a7. Furthermore, getting an a7 with a decent prime is the same price as the Df with a prime (maybe not as good?), and then there are no affordable options afterwards. Part of the reason I may opt for a pricey camera right now is I have some OT money coming my way and all my responsibilities are accounted for Who knows when that will happen again?! A Df has some affordable options for lenses, as well as friends with FF Nikons to mooch from . The Sony, however, I might not use in proportion to my investment as I may not have money for the lenses I want in the future. (another Pentax plus)

Buy the camera that goes with the glass you want, simple as that.
Since it sounds like you wan't minimum APS-c High ISO, yet a small form factor, Pentax + ltd is logically the way to go. I'd have a peak at fuji if mirrorless appeals. But what you make up for in the camera you gain in the size of those fast lenses.

I browsed at the Fuji's, perhaps I should take a deeper look at them. But the more I type, the more the Pentax makes sense

Have you tried a topical ointment? Hydrocortisone? Much cheaper.

Do they have that at camera stores?


I suppose this may all be moot if I go to the camera store and I hate the way the Nikon and Sony feel in my hands. But too much information is never bad

[Codazzle]

After mulling over advice, I decided to pick up an FA43 from the market place and pair it with my K-01. Quite a bit smaller than the FA31. A little bigger than the DA40, but faster. Considering I'll probably sell the the DA40 with this pick up, this route will cost me a little over 10% of the new brand route, and still have the money if I decide to still pick up a new body.

Still might start hunting for an FA77 :P

[kadajawi]

How about a white, pink, red, blue, ... K-50? Maybe those are less intimidating too?