[morenjavi]

Well, now you are all making me second guess my decision to wait for the K1iii and buy the K3iii! It truly came down to that or the Z6ii. (I'm still learning how to use the K3iii, and waiting for new SD cards, so no images yet).

But you bought the K3-iii yet, didn'tyou? Then, go ahead! I'm sure you'll enjoy the camera. In the end, a new camera does not make us better photographers.
I was considering Fuji cameras seriously. It's curious, but all the Fuji cameras seem to share the same core features, just the body is a bit different. As an example, the X-T4 + 16-80 f/4 could meet my needs too, and it cost less than 2k€, and weighs much less. The X100V is a nice semi pocketable camera, with leaf shutter!... I love the look of Fuji cameras, but I have no idea if I would get used to the dials.

Well, I took my decision and the Z6II has been shipped, I hope to receive it tomorrow or the day after.
Know what ? I contacted the store and they don't have the 24-120/4 in stock (I have to wait until March), so I'll will receive a camera without lens
Well, I could buy a cheap adapter for Pentax K lenses to test the camera, I still have a couple if manual lenses with aperture ring.

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Last edited by morenjavi; 02-21-2022 at 05:13 PM.

[cls]

But you bought the K3-iii yet, didn'tyou? Then, go ahead! I'm sure you'll enjoy the camera. In the end, a new camera does not make us better photographers.

I did! I wish I could have the K3iii and the Z6ii side by side. It would be a fascinating experiment controlling for subject, settings and skill. Alas. Still figuring out the menu and settings, having only done some test images. I'm hoping to get it outside with some wildlife in the next week or so once I wrap my head around it. It is a major leap from the K20D! My first impressions are it is a solid machine, it has a dense menu and options that could really effect the outcome of image capturing, but is quite capable if you know what you are doing. I have some learning to do!

[LeeRunge]

Well, now you are all making me second guess my decision to wait for the K1iii and buy the K3iii! It truly came down to that or the Z6ii. (I'm still learning how to use the K3iii, and waiting for new SD cards, so no images yet).

I wouldn’t stress over it. Either of them shouldn’t hold you back for getting good results. Just use what you like and which has the lenses in the price range you want.

I wouldn’t mind a K-3iii but my longest Pentax Lens is a 60-250 and it’s pretty slow to focus. So I’d probably go D-500 and use my Sigma 150-600 if I needed more out of a telephoto combo. That’s about the same price as just the K-3iii body and about 1 fps less in speed, slightly better AF and a much larger shot buffer.

K-3iii would have a nicer viewfinder though. I really wish Tamron or Sigma would build one of the 150-600’s for Pentax.

[surfar]

I really wish Tamron or Sigma would build one of the 150-600’s for Pentax.

Dont hold your breath on that one!

Third party glass for K mount is over for Sigma,Tamron,Tokina for the short term.The market is too small.

When/IF? CaNik finish with Dslr,maybe Pentax bodies grow in popularity(?),then thats the only scenario that a 150/600 might come.

However, RicoTAX may develop something too?

[LeeRunge]

Dont hold your breath on that one!

Third party glass for K mount is over for Sigma,Tamron,Tokina for the short term.The market is too small.

When/IF? CaNik finish with Dslr,maybe Pentax bodies grow in popularity(?),then thats the only scenario that a 150/600 might come.

However, RicoTAX may develop something too?

If I need more performance I’ll probably just stick a D500 or Z50 on the 150-600 rather than mess with limited options for telephoto for Pentax.

I basically use my K-3 and 50-250 the most because I really like that lens, despite it being very very slow for action and the K-3 AF-C is terrible. Still love the lens though. Someday I may be able to adapt it with a Z adapter with AF though. I use my Sigma 8-16 also fairly often. I just stick the Z-5 with 24-200 and the K-3 with 8-16 in my tank bag on moto trips. AF doesn’t matter much with super wide angles.

[repaap]

If I need more performance I’ll probably just stick a D500 or Z50 on the 150-600 rather than mess with limited options for telephoto for Pentax.

I basically use my K-3 and 50-250 the most because I really like that lens, despite it being very very slow for action and the K-3 AF-C is terrible. Still love the lens though. Someday I may be able to adapt it with a Z adapter with AF though. I use my Sigma 8-16 also fairly often. I just stick the Z-5 with 24-200 and the K-3 with 8-16 in my tank bag on moto trips. AF doesn’t matter much with super wide angles.

My DA16-50SDM and 55 doesperform quite a bit better with K-3III. The thing is that hunting is gone. This makes them also quicker. I have DFA*70-200 for action and it does perform very fast for action. But it is faster lens than DA*60-250 with aperture but also with AF. I had K-3 and AF with that was all over the place. Unusable in events IMO, especially when you compare it to modern cameras, even with similar lenses.

[Biff]

Interesting thread re the Z6 and alternatives. A low use Z6 with 24-70 came up for sale locally and I'm tempted to try it. Seems like a good price. But I already hae KPs and lenses and a D500 I haven't used much yet. Start fresh, ignore Z6, some combo? Maybe better to ignore temptations but at $1300 it looks interesting.

[LeeRunge]

My DA16-50SDM and 55 doesperform quite a bit better with K-3III. The thing is that hunting is gone. This makes them also quicker. I have DFA*70-200 for action and it does perform very fast for action. But it is faster lens than DA*60-250 with aperture but also with AF. I had K-3 and AF with that was all over the place. Unusable in events IMO, especially when you compare it to modern cameras, even with similar lenses.

I’m renting a K-3iii in a few weeks to give it a go. Already planning to use one of my DJI drones with Litch to make a zig zag flight path to test the AF compared to the K-3. The drone can fly at 31mph/50km/h. Should make a good bird sized target. I have a DJI Spark and a Mini 2, both are very small.

[morenjavi]

Interesting thread re the Z6 and alternatives. A low use Z6 with 24-70 came up for sale locally and I'm tempted to try it. Seems like a good price. But I already hae KPs and lenses and a D500 I haven't used much yet. Start fresh, ignore Z6, some combo? Maybe better to ignore temptations but at $1300 it looks interesting.

My travel to Z cameras started with the same 'temptation', a lightly used Z6 + standard zoom for a very affordable price, a lot of bang for the money.

[Biff]

My travel to Z cameras started with the same 'temptation', a lightly used Z6 + standard zoom for a very affordable price, a lot of bang for the money.

Thanks for the reply. And it seems like it stuck as I see you've ordered a Z6II.

[repaap]

I’m renting a K-3iii in a few weeks to give it a go. Already planning to use one of my DJI drones with Litch to make a zig zag flight path to test the AF compared to the K-3. The drone can fly at 31mph/50km/h. Should make a good bird sized target. I have a DJI Spark and a Mini 2, both are very small.

Wowza!

[morenjavi]

I did! I wish I could have the K3iii and the Z6ii side by side. It would be a fascinating experiment controlling for subject, settings and skill. Alas. Still figuring out the menu and settings, having only done some test images. I'm hoping to get it outside with some wildlife in the next week or so once I wrap my head around it. It is a major leap from the K20D! My first impressions are it is a solid machine, it has a dense menu and options that could really effect the outcome of image capturing, but is quite capable if you know what you are doing. I have some learning to do!

Great. Enjoy your camera!

[Eyewanders]

A useful thread here, and one I wish I'd seen a week or two previous.

I just recently went for a nicely priced Z7 used kit which just arrived this afternoon. Will be spending ample time with it in the coming days. I'd nearly purchased an Alpha numerous times in the past but I just simply never got on with them (after plenty of attempts). Even have a couple AR and PK to E adapters in the office because I was so certain I'd wind up with one eventually and my sister-in-law with an A73 was curious about much of my glass. At any rate, the time finally was right now that the Z9 is in folks hands - hard to believe the Z7 is as old as it is already.

For my part, this was always largely an endeavor to improve film scans, with the added benefit of having a mirrorless and the ease of adaptability. Thus far it's been overall a good experience (already described very well in this thread by others, and accurately). I've certainly had my Nikon menu system/button place gripes and Pentax-does-this-better curses, but those are growing pains. I too find it similar in feel/build to the K-5 and K-3 bodies, though slight shorter and a bit more angular. The button and dial placement aren't quite right with the grip for me and I found myself with a bit of cramp after some time, but that can be addressed.

I think this should work out very well, and it's a pleasure to use my Takumars, and even far more so my Hexanons (for the first time on digital). One of the first shots with one of my favorites here.




Z7 | Hexanon UC AR 28/1.8

[morenjavi]

Hello.
I have recently tested an interesting adapter: K&F Concept PK/DA-NIK Z.
It's a 'dump' adapter without any electronic. It's made of metal and it looks sturdy.
It has a ring to control aperture. So it's adequate if you have a lens without aperture ring and want to use it with your Z camera.
The aperture ring have 7 positions, so you just can have an idea of what is the lens aperture.



Here you have the adapter attached to my DA *50-135 (the last piece of Pentax equipment I still own).
The adapter is quite stiff and the first times it's difficult to turn it on the Pentax side,

I tested it on my Z6 II.
On camera, the best settings to use are: manual focusing and M mode. In M mode you use the front dial to control speed, also you can select AUTO ISO and exposure compensation.
One of the advantages or mirrorless can be seen here, when you select AUTO ISO: the camera exposes correctly without any info about the lens. You can dial exposure compensation if you want, and also you can turn the aperture ring and the camera will calculate a correct exposure for you, in real time.
Focusing is quite easy if you turn on the focus peak feature. Also you can use some button to see image at 100% to nail focus if you want. But in general focusing correctly and exposing correctly is an easy task.
PSA modes work, but you can only use the front dial to control exposure compensation and also select ISO AUTO on/off. Not very useful.

About handling this DSLR lens, is not very comformable with a Z6II if you want to use it hand held, but if you just want to use with a tripod, to take some landscape pics, then you can use it and it's a great experience.

This is not a FF lens, and it doesn't fill the sensor if you select FX mode, but it works great if DX mode. You can get about 10-12Mpix, that it's not a huge resolution, but can be enough for high quality video.

I'm not sure if I'll keep the adapter, because I'm selling the lens. I just wanted to know if I could use my DA with my Z camera. Anyway it's not a expensive toy.
It's late and I haven't any interesting subject to photog, but I can confirm that you can take pictures with the adapter, no issues, as sharp as this lens can deliver.

Regards.

[Eyewanders]

Hello.
I have recently tested an interesting adapter: K&F Concept PK/DA-NIK Z.
It's a 'dump' adapter without any electronic. It's made of metal and it looks sturdy.
It has a ring to control aperture. So it's adequate if you have a lens without aperture ring and want to use it with your Z camera.
The aperture ring have 7 positions, so you just can have an idea of what is the lens aperture.



Here you have the adapter attached to my DA *50-135 (the last piece of Pentax equipment I still own).
The adapter is quite stiff and the first times it's difficult to turn it on the Pentax side,

I tested it on my Z6 II.
On camera, the best settings to use are: manual focusing and M mode. In M mode you use the front dial to control speed, also you can select AUTO ISO and exposure compensation.
One of the advantages or mirrorless can be seen here, when you select AUTO ISO: the camera exposes correctly without any info about the lens. You can dial exposure compensation if you want, and also you can turn the aperture ring and the camera will calculate a correct exposure for you, in real time.
Focusing is quite easy if you turn on the focus peak feature. Also you can use some button to see image at 100% to nail focus if you want. But in general focusing correctly and exposing correctly is an easy task.
PSA modes work, but you can only use the front dial to control exposure compensation and also select ISO AUTO on/off. Not very useful.

About handling this DSLR lens, is not very comformable with a Z6II if you want to use it hand held, but if you just want to use with a tripod, to take some landscape pics, then you can use it and it's a great experience.

This is not a FF lens, and it doesn't fill the sensor if you select FX mode, but it works great if DX mode. You can get about 10-12Mpix, that it's not a huge resolution, but can be enough for high quality video.

I'm not sure if I'll keep the adapter, because I'm selling the lens. I just wanted to know if I could use my DA with my Z camera. Anyway it's not a expensive toy.
It's late and I haven't any interesting subject to photog, but I can confirm that you can take pictures with the adapter, no issues, as sharp as this lens can deliver.

Regards.

I have a Fotodiox adapter of the same nature, also with a ring for aperture control, though it is step-less and with and incredibly short throw making it quite fiddly. It does work though and reasonably well. I've not tried my 50-135 on it but I've used it a number of times with the DA*300 which *does* cover fullframe incidentally. Far from ideal for the type of birding work I normally do on Pentax with that lens, but I didn't hate the experience and got a few quite decent shots on more than one occasion having it out.

This was one of those shots:



Nikon Z7 | Pentax DA*300/4, Fotodiox PK-AR Pro