[zenspector]

Okay, I threw out the following thread on another forum. I have been planning on buying a K7 with 50-135 zoom and 31 or 35 prime for starters, but I wanted to see what others thought. Now is the time for the Pentaxers to explain why I should go with the K7. :
I could use some advice on my DSLR choice. I am still pretty much old school with my photography-shooting 35mm slides and negative film for some forty odd years now. Started with a Minolta SRT-101, moved to an Olympus OM2 (great camera) until I dropped it in a creek in New Zealand in 1980 (still worked for weeks). Then I went Nikon and stayed there until moving to a Leica M6 eight years ago. My gear has to be tough and dependable. I appreciate fine machinery and optics, and I use them well and for a long time. Light weight and handling are also necessary. I began to hate my Nikon F4, no matter how great a body it was, because of the size and bulk. Still have and regularly use an FM body. Now that I am accepting digital, my requirements for gear don't change. After research, I have narrowed my choices down to the Pentax K7 or Nikon 300(300s). I am leaning toward the Pentax, one reason being an photo friend is a long time user and I have access to a lot of great glass which the K7 will accept. Sorry to be so windy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[neogen]

I have a K7 and my friend has a D300s, they are both good actually, but I prefer to K7 for its slim and solid body, and I really love the pentax prime lens (31, 43, 77).

[hcc]

There are a couple immediate differences in favor of the K-7:
- the K-7 is a smaller body and this is an advantage in my opinion in the outdoor, partly because I can use a smaller carry-case (eg top-loader);
- the K-7 is also a lighter body; for me, this is an important feature when I carry the camera with the strap around my neck for a few hours;
- the K-7 is also cheaper;

On the other hand:
- the 300s has better capability for continuous shooting;

I read that the D300s is not a true weather resistant camera , as the K-7. The D300s has sealed buttons but the camera is not classified as WR. The WR of the K-7 is a major feature when you do a lot of outdoor activities and shooting.

I am sure that the both cameras are excellent (based upon reviews), but the D300s was above my budget. I agree also with neogen that Pentax has some nice prime, even if I bougth a Nokton.

Hope that the comments will assist ...

[Pentaxor]

Pentax is an ugly brand. you wont be happy here. thanks for coming by.

[PentaxPoke]

(No doubt this thread gets moved to the DSLR forum)

In terms of size, here is a pic of the k-7 and 300s side-by-side that may be helpful (from DC watch):



In terms of just pure performance and specifications, I really don't think the k-7 is the D300s's equal. Now there is a difference in price, and it sounds like you have several other personal reasons for going with the k-7 that don't depend on performance, so it is a tough call for us.

[Pentaxor]

kidding aside, since you have access to a lot of great glass, I think it would be a perfect fit to your needs. you dont need to spend extra since you have some glasses that suppose to be Pentax fit.

mind if I ask what lenses are those in particular?

(No doubt this thread gets moved to the DSLR forum)

You could have reported it instead of waiting for me to find it. You guys are running me ragged.

Moved to DSLR forum.

OP, Welcome to the forum, please be careful where you start threads, thanks.

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Last edited by Damn Brit; 01-28-2010 at 12:28 AM.

[PentaxPoke]

You could have reported it instead of waiting for me to find it. You guys are running me ragged.

Moved to DSLR forum.

OP, Welcome to the forum, please be careful where you start thread, thanks.

Holy cr@p you are fast! No sooner did I click out of the thread and hit refresh after posting, you had already moved it!

[Rondec]

I think you would enjoy the K7. The D300s will have a lot faster auto focus than the K7. Also, the high end glass on Nikon is really expensive (but they also have more options available). If you have access to some nice Pentax glass, that would certainly help out. Also, if you are interested in small, you won't get much love from the Big 2 camera companies.

[cbaytan]

Okay, I threw out the following thread on another forum. I have been planning on buying a K7 with 50-135 zoom and 31 or 35 prime for starters, but I wanted to see what others thought. Now is the time for the Pentaxers to explain why I should go with the K7. :

Easy question, glass and sensor outcome oughta lead your decision, if you strip this only to glass considering sensors will be almost perfect in the near future and they will exceed the glass resolution power, Pentax is the cheapest way to get great saturated 3D looking pictures, only Leica glass can match with the Pentax. If you like pastel colors, you should go for Canon, but Canon pictures are very flat looking and lot more expensive since every Canon lens has it's own shake reduction (SR) system, you have to pay for it for every sing lens. You get SR with every lens you attached to Pentax even it's a 50 years old. For me if I win the lottery maybe I would go for Leica, but now Pentax is the only choice for me, because of the glass quality. I am attaching below my lot less than 100 bucks worth FA 100-300mm f/4.7-5.8 lens outcome with K200D, hand held, ISO 400 f/8, just cropped&resized, I can't imagine more quality glass costs for almost nothing, go figure. Also I recommend stay away from DA glass except 1 wide angle like 16-45mm or 16-50mm, because one DA lens is necessary for wide angle, but I would get other lenses FF because FF body(ies) is inevitable for Pentax too in the future.

[kent]

3D looking pictures? what's that?

[BBear]

Very tought decision...

I think it should (and it does) depends on your photography.

For instance, if you do mostly outdoor and value size, the K7 is a better choice.

But if you do a lot of flashing, damn... Nikon CLS is a damn good system...

[cbaytan]

3D looking pictures? what's that?

3D means you get more depth-full images, we discussed here before with samples, but I can't find it now. Technically tt's kinda complicated, you can start here.

3d look - Photo.net Pentax Forum

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/530337

[kenyee]

But if you do a lot of flashing, damn... Nikon CLS is a damn good system...

I'd agree and would add sports/weddings to Nikon's camp (their AF system has caught up to Canon's and is even better than Canon's in low light).
So it really depends on what you're using it for. If you have a deep wallet, get the D300s w/ the 24-70 and 70-200 and 14-24 and be done with it (get the D700 body if you can). But be ready to hit the gym for a while. The 24-70 is a bit ungainly w/ its length...

For Pentax land, get the Ltds and the 50-135 and you'll be happy if you like primes and have time to compose/focus. The colors are excellent and holding a 77Ltd against an 85/1.8 makes Nikon users jealous ;-)

[Ivan J. Eberle]

... what a sketchy example of shadow noise the glassware image above exhibits? Not a very ringing endorsement of the K7, at least not to me. Which is disappointing as I've been seriously considering one for the small size and low price, to go with several excellent old Pentax primes I've got laying round gathering dust. I'd have to reconsider if the camera is not capable of better results at ISO 400.
The reason I migrated to being dual-platform by adding Nikon to the mix 5 years ago was lens availability. Sure, Pentax made (probably still makes) some legendary lenses. But the epic exotics are a LOT less available on short notice than Nikon's best offerings. Even Nikon's finest glass is relatively ubiquitous and doesn't get bid up into the stratosphere. My suggestion would be that if you ever need to find a pro lens in a hurry, go with the Nikon. You'll also be able to find them in rental departments if you want to try before buying.
I have the first-gen D300 and it's still impressive, ISO 1600 is quite usable. I understand that 300s gains another stop. This is their DX flagship, and as such it's a system camera with a number of accessories that put it an a whole 'nuther niche than anything Pentax presently offers (for instance, the WiFi transmitter and Camera Control Pro enables remote Live View with most all camera controls accessible from up a laptop networked wirelessly, for on-location remotes)