[pingflood]

Hello,

Going to go back to shooting some Pentax after a loooooong hiatus (though I am keeping some specialized Canon gear as well as my Leica stuff). Was tempted by the K-3 and K-3II but have now spent a couple of days reading up on what Pentax have been up to since my departure. And to be honest, I don't see what I would miss out on with a K-50. The main intent of this camera is to replace a Sony RX10 (which is technically competent but I hate shooting with) as a "general purpose" camera for travel, some family/kids photos, ebay auction shots and other things my other gear isn't well suited to. Looking at the K-50 vs the K-5 or K-3 it looks like I still get weather sealing, Astrotrac support (though the K-3 II will work without the external GPS), shake reduction etc. Sure, the K-3 has more capable autofocus, but I have a 7D+500L for birding and that's really the only shooting I do that puts high demand on AF performance.

So looking at maybe picking up a K50 + 18-135 kit since they are very affordable. The sensor looks excellent (same as K-5 II right?), it has the dual controls and all the other stuff I'd want.

Any reason why I should fork out more for a K-3 II? The price difference would be around 5000 SEK for the K-50+18-135 vs 9000 SEK or so for K-3 II + the same lens. Since I want a one lens setup for most shooting (might add a fast 35/50 equiv down the road) the 18-135 seems to be the ticket.

Cheers!

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Last edited by pingflood; 12-29-2015 at 05:33 AM.

[Oldbayrunner]

For what you are describing using it for it would work fine however the new KS2 offers an articulating screen and more resolution. What you may not like with either of those is, both have a noisier shutter and shake reduction. The K-50 drove me crazy with that so I changed to a K5 lls and have now added the K3 ll.

[pingflood]

For what you are describing using it for it would work fine however the new KS2 offers an articulating screen and more resolution. What you may not like with either of those is, both have a noisier shutter and shake reduction. The K-50 drove me crazy with that so I changed to a K5 lls and have now added the K3 ll.

Shutter noise isn't a major concern so no worries there. The K-S2 looks interesting (and yeah, the screen is nice), but I can get a K-50 + 18-135 for less than a K-S2 body alone around here... the K-S2 is available only with the 18-50 from what I can see and that lens isn't getting a lot of praise (and it really is too short of a range for me).

[Imp]

Nope, no problems! Go ahead and get that! Pentax doesn't really make any "entry level" cameras.

[pepperberry farm]

I recently replaced my K-50 with a K-3; I shot with the K-50 for a year and have nothing bad to say about it.


Dual wheels, great dynamic range, takes great shots... and the 18-135mm is an amazing, versatile lens -- enjoy them!

[Scintilla]

The sensor looks excellent (same as K-5 II right?)

I'm not sure about that; the K-50 won't give you ISO 80 (or 14-bit raws, but that's a property of the ADC and not the sensor, right?), and the K-5ii seems to afford you a full stop more dynamic range at low ISOs. Compare at sensorgen.info: K-50 ~ K-5iis

That said, here is an example of how much I was able to push a shot from my K-30 (basically the same camera as the K-50 but looks cooler). This wouldn't hold up in a print, but for 1280x848 it's fine.

[MGBMAN]

FYI
Beware the K50 aperture block issue.

Shawn

[Oldbayrunner]

FYI
Beware the K50 aperture block issue.

Shawn

UH, where are you coming up with that. Per your other post regarding the issue others who actually own and use a K50 are stating not so many issues have happened with their cameras. Coupled with doing a web search on this so named issue there is one report of a user at DP review posting aperture problems with a K30 that had sat for a few months. So please enlighten us Pentax daily dslr users on where you are getting this information and how wide spread a problem it is.

My K50 was a really good camera but I came from a system where my models were more of the K5/K3 with top cds, very quiet shutters and shake reduction so I changed to what I was more used to. Other than that I enjoyed my K50.

[pepperberry farm]

20,000 shots with a K-50 this year and no aperture block problem - I think this has been shown to be an isolated problem at best....

[MGBMAN]

UH, where are you coming up with that. Per your other post regarding the issue others who actually own and use a K50 are stating not so many issues have happened with their cameras. Coupled with doing a web search on this so named issue there is one report of a user at DP review posting aperture problems with a K30 that had sat for a few months. So please enlighten us Pentax daily dslr users on where you are getting this information and how wide spread a problem it is.

My K50 was a really good camera but I came from a system where my models were more of the K5/K3 with topl cds, very quiet shutters and shake reduction so I changed to what I was more used to. Other than that I enjoyed my K50.

Wow,I did not think I would get attacked in such a manner.
Check out posts from luma for example,maybe few so far but it is in fact an issue.
I am just pointing this out to the op to consider,I am in fact thinking of puchasing this camera.

Just on a journey like everyone else
Thanks-Shawn

[The Squirrel Mafia]

The K-50 is the best bang for the buck DSLR camera at the moment. There is nothing available from Nikon, Canon, or Sony that can match the K-50's features at the same price point. You can't go wrong with the K-50.

I'm amazed at the large prints that I can get out of this camera. I just did a test print of an ISO 6400 image that I really liked. I normally don't shoot at ISO 6400, but I had to resort to using that ISO it when I was doing some random candid shots of some guests at my dimly lit home. I didn't want to blind them with the flash. A lot of the shots came out great, but one in particular of my nephew & niece goofing off came out really awesome. I processed the RAW file in RawTherapee using the LMMSE democaising & turned it into a black & white TIFF image. I did a large 24"x36" print just for poops & giggles. The print turned out amazing! The noise grain is really fine & it reminds me of old school ISO 800 film. It has a very charming look to it. Mind you that this is an ISO 6400 image processed out of a 12bit RAW file being printed at a large 24"x36" size from the 16MP Sony sensor! That's pushing the sensor limits to the maximum! I'm pretty happy with my K-50.

[KDD]

Pentax K-3/3ii is HIGH-END.

Pentax K-50 is MID-RANGE.

Pentax K-500 is ENTRY-LEVEL.

[Theov39]

I have had the K50 for 3 months and so far it has been great. The image quality is amazing and it's such nice camera to use. For the intended usage you describe it will be more than adequate. Also have the 18-135 lens and it is great. A significant upgrade over the standard 18-55 kit lens.

You really only need the K3 if you need/want the pro-body features of the K-3 and more buttons for direct access to some features.

[yucatanPentax]

Wow,I did not think I would get attacked in such a manner.
Check out posts from luma for example,maybe few so far but it is in fact an issue.
I am just pointing this out to the op to consider,I am in fact thinking of puchasing this camera.

Just on a journey like everyone else
Thanks-Shawn

I didn't read that as an attack, but rather a request for further information documenting your statement:

FYI
Beware the K50 aperture block issue.

That makes it sound like there is an issue with all cameras, or an eventually-developing issue, or a common issue, etc.
Yet I haven't experienced it yet with my K-30 (same aperture mechanism) in thousands of shots.

So, whatever issue there is certainly seems to be limited limited to a relatively few cameras for unknown reasons. Since all DSLR mfr's have similar defect rates [Panasonic (4%), Canon (5%), Sony (7%), Pentax (7%), Nikon (8%), and Olympus (8%)], people are going to run into a problem somewhere and complain, justifiably.

But what you don't see is the 93% who never have a problem with their camera. So (to me, personally) if there is an "issue", to really be a big issue, it has to be happening to over 7% or whatever the average defect rate is. And aside from "X" number of justifiably unhappy people, it doesn't seem to affect everyone.

Just me, personally, something doesn't justify a "The Issue" statement unless any given problem is widespread. Thus, Oldbayrunner's request for more info. I, too, would like more info. Is there more which shows this is a huge problem, widespread, and causing a high percentage of K-30/K-50 failures? Owning a K-30, I'm very interested. But I have to say I have not had one issue with this in several years and thousands of images.

[Davidparis]

UH, where are you coming up with that. Per your other post regarding the issue others who actually own and use a K50 are stating not so many issues have happened with their cameras. Coupled with doing a web search on this so named issue there is one report of a user at DP review posting aperture problems with a K30 that had sat for a few months. So please enlighten us Pentax daily dslr users on where you are getting this information and how wide spread a problem it is.

My K50 was a really good camera but I came from a system where my models were more of the K5/K3 with topl cds, very quiet shutters and shake reduction so I changed to what I was more used to. Other than that I enjoyed my K50.

It was a concern at one point with the K-30 first and then the K-50 as it shares the same mechanism. We've read the odd story from time to time, too often for comfort, but in fact the problems appear rare and sporadic. Example, with my trusty K-30, never had a problem. I would even consider a K-50 for my son...and not worry about it.