[pres589]

The K-5 II and IIs are kind of next-gen beyond the K-r. The low light / high-ISO performance of the K-5 series is quite good even by today's standards and the II/IIs have improved autofocus performance. It's also proven to be a very reliable body (not that the K-r isn't, it's just that the K-5 series seems especially well built / tough).

The price difference should, however, help you get better glass, to the point that you might get a used DA 50 1.8 in good condition for what you save going with a K-r over a K-5 II/IIs. That lens is nothing to sneeze at and on crop provides a very useful field of view as well as light grabbing well beyond general purpose zoom lenses can provide.

A used DA 50 1.8, a used Sigma 24mm f2.8 AF or a Pentax 18-55 WR, and a K-r or K-5 II with a couple new batteries should come in well under the budget you mentioned if I remember right. That kind of kit should give you a good taste of what life with a crop Pentax DSLR is like.

[surfar]

ps: next to kr, there is also the k30 as an option, which is weather sealed and has bigger viewfinder i believe. But i never held that camera..

Very capable as is the K50,but a gamble to buy due to the apeture failure problem.I got that happen to a K-50 i owned.

[Francisco Carneiro]

Finally and after all, I am inclined to get a KR with the 18 55 kit zoom and a nice affordable prime.
I'd say a 50mm prime, but does it makes sense to buy one if I can use the helios and tessar with an adapter? That's a question...!

Other than that, my "strategy", first of all is not to spend much money, have fun, learn with fun, play with the KR and Fuji with all the lens I got.
Later is later. We'll see.
I think I am reaching the point where I can say that I know what I am doing, I have a picture of the general context. So the choices can be done, and they'r done!
I can spend peanuts and get a lot, buying the right stuff and without selling stuff, without changing of direction.
All this was very intense, lots of work, but this is all thanks to you guys, from this wonderful forum.
I want to thank everybody without exception, for being so reactive and helpful and for taking the time to answer with such good information and advice.

The threat keeps going on... What a threat!

[SSGGeezer]

KP at ISO 10,000

Attached Images

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[mikesbike]

The K-r is a nice little camera. I had one as my junior little DSLR for a number of years, my smaller alternative to my K-5 IIs. I finally gave it to friends, in perfect condition, and they like it. This was after I bought its replacement- the KS-2. I got a good deal on it, since the K-70 was coming out. Big difference for little money. For just one thing, the K-r has the smaller, dimmer, cheaper pentamirror VF, a better quality one, but still it is the typical amateur-oriented VF. The KS-2, however, has the pro-style glass pentaprism VF and 100% coverage of the frame, and very good magnification. It also has both finger and thumb separate control dials, which are great for a number of reasons, including access to the wonderful exclusive Pentax Hyper System. It is even better for low light/higher ISO with fine results. It is also of WR construction. And 20mp vs.12mp. No comparison between the two cameras! The K-S2 is clearly superior in every way! At the time of its entry into the Pentax lineup, as the K-r disappeared, Pentax became the only brand to offer these high-end features in their full lineup, even entry-level.

I still have my K-S2, and still enjoy shooting with it, in addition to my K-5 IIs and my KP! It remains my smallest DSLR, remarkably compact for all it offers, especially with the super-compact 18-50mm kit lens, which has quiet, accurate AF and WR construction! I can actually fit this ensemble into a large jacket pocket. Imagine that- a full-featured DSLR with a zoom lens!

[Francisco Carneiro]

KP at ISO 10,000

Man, don't do this to me, this camera is beautiful.
Very balanced overall. My favourite, I think.

---------- Post added 11-30-18 at 03:02 PM ----------

KP at ISO 10,000

well... not bad...

---------- Post added 11-30-18 at 03:12 PM ----------

KP at ISO 10,000

The light in this photo is beautiful

[mikesbike]

The KP is the ultimate in imaging for APS-C! Haven't even gotten into pixel-shift imaging yet, and much more!

[Francisco Carneiro]

Hello,

Today I received the Helios 44, so I could practice a litle bit, indoors, nothing interesting, just to understand how it works with the different modes and how it feels.
Trying to find balanced settings.


I think I prefer the M mode. This can be accurate and it is simple.
But not necessarily easy!

I was shooting in very low light, weak hiden electric light, indoors, night. Extreme conditions for the XE1.
My indicator finger pushes the fn button, at the top right and I can adjust ISO with the thumb.
Then I can adjust the shutter with the thumb.
The aperture ring of the helios is totally turnned to the right, closed as It can be. I open it a litle just to get somemore light in the EVF, so I can focus better.
Once focused, I close the aperture and shoot.

Under these conditions,

difficult to see the litle screw contours and can't use shutter below 60, otherwise it's impossible to have a focused subject.
Helios has a short turn to focus, it makes difficult to get an accurate, sharp object. The screw is lithe and my eyes are struggling.

If I give it more light moving the shutter, it gets washed, not beautiful.

With conditions of this kind, either I give up shooting in manual, either I buy a new camera. Or I simply look for better conditions.

Well, it's very rare to shoot in this situatuion, for me.

Even so, I could use :

- A better EVF where I can magnify a small part of the subject, ( allways in manual mode) Does it exist?
- Stabilisation!!!

I can imagine, for exemple, when I am focusing in macro, that the subject is a mosquito.
I want to be able to "zoom" on one leg to focus the hair in the leg - if the mosquito has hair - then I shoot!

What cameras do that?


As soon as I can, I will go out to shoot with daylight and will share my experience. It will be more rewarding, for sure...

[grispie]

I want to be able to "zoom" on one leg to focus the hair in the leg - if the mosquito has hair - then I shoot!

What cameras do that?

i'd think all cameras can do that these days, no?..

[Francisco Carneiro]

I mean, to zoom in the focus area, so that area will be more zoomed than the rest of the picture.
For ex, a litle rectangle in the middle of the picture, or a circle. Within the circle, what you see is zoomed. That's a great feature.

I had a Nikon, (don't remember what camera it was), a long time ago, a film camera, that did that. You never get tired of focusing.
It's very confortable.


I am still playing with the helios on the Fuji XE1 and Fuji XM1, all settings manual.
Never used the XM1 screen to focus, in manual. I was not expecting, but it works very well.

I can imagine the advantages of a big screen. This way is good for stands. This is all new for me.
I used to shoot in Automatic mode, with my Nikons. Allways.

I'm begining to be used. Helios can be very sharp, but it's not easy to get perfect focus. Training, training...

[Francisco Carneiro]

Hello again,


I found a camera that has the following features :

- Very pretty, retro styled

- Very small, very light

- Weather sealing
- Stabilisation 5 axis
- 16MP but can do 40MP in a specific situation - and with a stand, no subject moving

- 1/8000 max Shut speed, electronic shutter 1/16000
- Shutter silence, (electronic)
- Good video quality
- Very good ergonomics, mechanical comands, I like it, not necessarily better, but I like it.

- Excellent manual focus - as they say in forums
- Good range of lens, when adapters are not called, litle light lens
- Optional grip
- Good low light behavior
- Excellent long exposure settings/performance
- Good colors, simulations, etc, like any camera today.
- Excellent large, clear viewfinder, DSRL like.


- Affordable !! Better deals new than used.
- Very good service, in France.


Better than Fuji XE3 image? Of course not, but good enough for me, specially when I know very well how to use it.
24MP? No, but I can live with 16MP, specially when I have good Focus and state of the art stabilisation.
Menus seem to be a litle confusing, but I will adapt to that.

[pres589]

So what is it?

[grispie]

it's olympus..

[Francisco Carneiro]

So what is it?

grispie guessed.

Olympus OMD5

It is not better than Pentax, of course. But it is better for me I guess.What do you think?

---------- Post added 12-04-18 at 09:17 AM ----------

grispie guessed.

Olympus OMD5 Mark II

It is not better than Pentax, of course. But it is better for I guess.What do you think?

https://www.cameralabs.com/olympus-omd-em5-mark-ii/


Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Review ~ ROBIN WONG

[pres589]

I have no opinion due to no first-hand experience. The physical size looks good. There is an appeal to having a camera that is more "classically sized" than something like a Pentax K-r or K-5, etc.