[Rick in PA]

Sportsgal501, welcome and enjoy the K5 IIs and trust me you will not regret the decision.

[MikeD]

I'm curious why you went with the K511 instead of the K3

[Wingincamera]

Like you I had started with Canon film, then the Canon 350 XT before going full frame with the 5D. I had good lenses and really liked the quality of the photos. But besides being expensive, this stuff was getting heavier to lug around and I decided to return to a crop camera body. I did the same research, including mirrorless cameras and finally decided on Pentax K-5 II, which was the latest at the time. I sold all my Canon stuff, which allowed me to purchase lens for my Pentax system.

[Sportsgal501]

I'm curious why you went with the K511 instead of the K3

To me the K-3 felt a little heavier than the K-5IIs and I'm looking at getting a Sony with a FPS of 11 in a few months, still keeping it light in the weight department. Plus the battery life of the K-3 is worse than the Canon 7D Mark II.

I'm looking at the Tamron 28-75mm wide, Sigma 17-70mm that I have on my Canon 50D

My list of DSLR Canon gear: Canon Rebel XS, Canon 40D and Canon 50D
I never invested in any Canon glass, over priced and Tamron/Sigma make some pretty good glass for less.

Once I get the right lens I'm sure the skateboarding shots will come around, took me few trial and error shots when I upgraded to the 50D w/Sigma lens.
I've been popped twice with flying skateboards, once in the face and saved my camera and another time in the ankle. Fish eye is asking for disaster, I'll stick to wide or telephoto.

I also shoot street art/graffiti, my lens have to cover both since usually on my way to a skateboarding event, I've passed by some nice street art.


Thank you so much for the warm welcome......and I took this one this morning after photographing some graffiti at the gas station of all places, you never know.

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[FantasticMrFox]

To me the K-3 felt a little heavier than the K-5IIs and I'm looking at getting a Sony with a FPS of 11 in a few months ...

Why are you getting two cameras with high FPS, presumably to do the same job?!

[Sportsgal501]

Why are you getting two cameras with high FPS, presumably to do the same job?!

The Sony is small enough so I can put it in my bag (not camera bag) sometimes during errands, I run across some nice looking street art and I only have my cellphone on me.The 11 FPS is just an added bonus but I'm also considering the Sony Full Frame so I have to wait and see.

[normhead]

Welcome to the forum....

But just a note - a lot of people on these forums don't like DXO, because it is not always "fair" to Pentax. Of course this is debatable and we have both sides here. Anyway, I'm sure the K-5IIs will serve you well! The best part is that you can buy some older, even manual lenses and they will work just fine. Its a good way to get high IQ at affordable prices.

You just have to realize what their ratings mean. When you read a DxO rating, you have to understand, the system with the best low light performance wins. Their rating system doesn't tell you, which is better if you shoot at ƒ5.6 in good light. It just so happens that Pentax doesn't make a lot of really fast lenses, so their products tend to do poorly, and for a landscape shooter, for no good reason. Vampires on the other hand, swear by their ratings. You have to be a dungeon dwelling type personality to use them straight up. People do rave about their software, so they aren't all bad.

I just read a post from a guy who bought a Sigma 30 ƒ1.4 and went straight to a bar to take some shots... DxO's target audience.

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Last edited by normhead; 12-01-2014 at 07:38 AM.

[DeadJohn]

The Sony is small enough so I can put it in my bag (not camera bag) sometimes during errands, I run across some nice looking street art and I only have my cellphone on me.The 11 FPS is just an added bonus but I'm also considering the Sony Full Frame so I have to wait and see.

Welcome to PF. Regarding the planned Sony camera that you will always have with you for street art, consider the Ricoh GR as an alternative. It's small enough to take everywhere, good dynamic range for the deep shadows from NYC buildings, excellent customizable interface. That's assuming you can live with slower FPS and no zoom.

[LeeRunge]

I initially went Pentax as my first DSLR (K7). I then picked up a 7d with 17-50 2.8 to try out Canon. I sold it in 6 months for nearly what I paid during the shortages associated with the tsunami. The only thing I missed from Canon was the autofocus and the fast lens motors. Pentax isn't even close to catching up to those two features yet. Unfortunately you have to pay big dollars to get the best lenses for Canon. If I wanted the same weather sealing as the kit lenses and a K7/5/3 I would need to buy L glass for over 1k a peice.

I've been happy with the K7/5/3 over the years despite a few drawbacks vs the other brands. If I had to start fresh I'd be seriously tempted by the Sony A7's and Fuji XT-1 though. I wish we had the 56mm 1.2 and 23mm 1.4.

[btnapa]

I initially went Pentax as my first DSLR (K7). I then picked up a 7d with 17-50 2.8 to try out Canon. I sold it in 6 months for nearly what I paid during the shortages associated with the tsunami. The only thing I missed from Canon was the autofocus and the fast lens motors. Pentax isn't even close to catching up to those two features yet. Unfortunately you have to pay big dollars to get the best lenses for Canon. If I wanted the same weather sealing as the kit lenses and a K7/5/3 I would need to buy L glass for over 1k a peice.

I've been happy with the K7/5/3 over the years despite a few drawbacks vs the other brands. If I had to start fresh I'd be seriously tempted by the Sony A7's and Fuji XT-1 though. I wish we had the 56mm 1.2 and 23mm 1.4.

I do agree with you on Pentax being behind Canon on some key areas. I was a long time Canon guy who switched to Pentax. I am happy with the K3 and the Limited lenses
I have. Pentax is lacking on fast zooms. Since video is becoming such a big thing, I wish Pentax delivered better video. I am shooting stills for a project and K3 does an excellent job. I may be asked to do some videos too and there I have to look for an entirely new set up as Pentax is not up to snuff.

If I had to start over again, I would look seriously at the newly announced Samsung NX1. Most people would not even give them a second thought. It is funny that a company like Samsung which is by all accounts way behind compared to other camera companies can deliver a killer camera and the two key fast zooms you need for most applications... and Pentax is dragging its feet when it comes to pro class fast zooms to keep or attract pros to the brand.

[FantasticMrFox]

... and Pentax is dragging its feet when it comes to pro class fast zooms to keep or attract pros to the brand.

You're familiar with this guy from the future?

[LeeRunge]

I do agree with you on Pentax being behind Canon on some key areas. I was a long time Canon guy who switched to Pentax. I am happy with the K3 and the Limited lenses
I have. Pentax is lacking on fast zooms. Since video is becoming such a big thing, I wish Pentax delivered better video. I am shooting stills for a project and K3 does an excellent job. I may be asked to do some videos too and there I have to look for an entirely new set up as Pentax is not up to snuff.

If I had to start over again, I would look seriously at the newly announced Samsung NX1. Most people would not even give them a second thought. It is funny that a company like Samsung which is by all accounts way behind compared to other camera companies can deliver a killer camera and the two key fast zooms you need for most applications... and Pentax is dragging its feet when it comes to pro class fast zooms to keep or attract pros to the brand.

We definitively need some new DA* lenses with fast motors to get the most out of the body's AF. Canon/Nikon are way ahead there. And your right about the NX1, it looks really good and has a pretty good set of lenses. The primes are inexpensive. The Camera Store just reviewed it and had good things to say except for the AF. They said the 28mp BSI APS-C sensor is "FF like" in iso performance and the best available for APS-C. So much for more pixels being worse for that!

[btnapa]

We definitively need some new DA* lenses with fast motors to get the most out of the body's AF. Canon/Nikon are way ahead there. And your right about the NX1, it looks really good and has a pretty good set of lenses. The primes are inexpensive. The Camera Store just reviewed it and had good things to say except for the AF. They said the 28mp BSI APS-C sensor is "FF like" in iso performance and the best available for APS-C. So much for more pixels being worse for that!

I really don't care if my Limited lenses are noisy only if they focused accurately. What bothers me is the lenses are noisy and focusing is hit or miss. Forget about low light situations. I am shooting in controlled studio environments and the K3 images are amazing. I tried to shoot some pics at my cousins wedding for fun with my K3 and my FA Limited lenses and combo failed miserably. They had a pro with Nikons covering the event. If I had to shoot weddings again for living, I would be forced to go back to Canon or Nikon. Luckily my wedding photography days are behind me and for the kind of photography I do, I am happy with the still mages of my K3 and the Limited lenses.

[MJSfoto1956]

Their rating system doesn't tell you, which is better if you shoot at ƒ5.6 in good light.

they used to also publish (hidden under many menus) scores for "normal light" instead of focusing only on "low light" scores. Alas, those data are no longer available on their website. Made for some interesting reading not the least of which is that in good light many "kit" lenses performed almost as good (and occasionally better!) than their large-aperture brethren.

M

[btnapa]

You're familiar with this guy from the future?

I know it is coming but when. I am hoping to see prototypes at the upcoming CES show in Vegas. Gotta give it to Ricoh/Pentax. Once they show the prototypes, deliveries happen fairly quickly after that. At least that was the case with the 645Z and the 28-45 zoom lens.