Originally posted by mee The EVF just makes it easier to manually focus. Mainly due to being able to zoom in through the viewfinder and also have the focus peaking in the viewfinder. Plus the view itself seems larger. It's a really pleasant experience. So all those things combined could be the reason for the sharper focusing.
On the autofocus side it's going to be sharper simply due to the way mirrorless cameras handle focusing. Similar to liveview on a DSLR (but much faster than Pentax liveview!). It's generally more accurate. And usually no need for micro-adjustments on the mirrorless. If you haven't dialed in your lenses on the K-1 that might be a reason for some of the sharpness differences.
AF accuracy
is a big benefit of mirrorless cameras, for sure - especially those beyond the very first generation models, since they usually benefit from PDAF sensors integrated into the imaging sensor (I'm not sure if Panasonic is using on-sensor PDAF yet?)... and being able to focus manually with absolute accuracy through the viewfinder - whether using focus peaking or magnification (personally, I prefer the latter) - is extremely useful and highly dependable.
Originally posted by mee Nikon colors are much different from Pentax. That's one thing I noticed when I first started using a Nikon body. That said, I think Nikon tends to saturate the yellow channel more than Pentax. But overall yes they are quite nice. And the many profiles that are embedded into a NEF really give a lot of creative options on this. At high ISO the K-1 has a bit of purple cast once you get into extreme levels. The Z7 doesn't. That said, Ricoh resolved this with the K-1 II. So maybe that's also another of the reasons?
I can't speak from personal experience, but it sounds like Nikon has done a great job with profiles. Whether embedded, third-party or user-created, profiles are what give us the default colour rendering in raw development before we embark on our adjustments. That's why I've made such a big deal of profiling in response to the OP.
Originally posted by mee Yet you're running into a buzzsaw of hardcore Pentaxians here. So you're not going to get many takers to agree with you, maybe beyond me.
Originally posted by mee But man don't expect a lot of positives here for the Nikon. The people here love Pentax and hate Nikon! They'll deny it but proof is in the subtle word pudding!
So, if we challenge the OP's findings, we hate Nikon - and if we say we don't, we're lying? You don't leave "
the people here" much scope for debate, do you, David?
I think eight members have responded in the thread thus far, one of whom is you, and four of the others haven't challenged the OP's claims. Of the remaining three (the "
buzzsaw of hardcore Pentaxians", I presume
), @UncleVanya and I shoot multiple brands, both DSLR and mirrorless, and are generally positive about our various systems. Neither of us has criticised Nikon as a brand, the Z7 specifically, or the OP's choice of lenses (Voigtländer... what's not to like?), and we haven't claimed Pentax is in any way superior. We could hardly be labelled "
hardcore Pentaxians"
I certainly don't hate - or even mildly dislike - Nikon or any other brand, and there's plenty I can criticise about Pentax (and every other brand / system). Whilst I personally enjoy shooting DSLRs more than mirrorless, I can - and
do - happily shoot both for different applications and use cases. I even shoot Sony's old A-mount SLT platform, with my Hasselblad HV. Each has advantages and disadvantages; none is perfect in every respect.
It's clear from reviews and user opinions that the Nikon Z cameras - despite some criticisms (which every brand and model receives from some quarters) - are excellent, with some awesome OEM and third-party glass to choose from. I would be happy to own and shoot with them
For that matter, I'd be happy to own and shoot pretty much any of the systems currently available from any of the well-known brands. At this point in the evolution of digital photography, all of them are, frankly, amazing. Which one is better than another, or best overall, depends on the individual photographer's use-cases, preferences, tolerances, likes, dislikes and budget.
I agree with your points on focus accuracy and manual focusing through the viewfinder. If those are critical requirements, and the photographer is happy to use an EVF (many clearly are, myself included), they're probably better served with a recent mirrorless system. On-sensor PDAF comes with its own compromises, of course; but they're perfectly acceptable, IMHO, if AF and MF accuracy are high priorities.
Colour reproduction remains entirely within the control of the photographer. Embedded and third-party profiles might provide nicer colours (depending on one's preferences) with one system or another "out of the box", but user profiling can replicate or replace these to produce whatever the photographer wants (including matching the output from other systems and profiles). That the OP likes the combination of his Voigtländer lenses and whichever profile (or JPEG style) he's using is a both a happy and convenient coincidence. The same colours can be reproduced from his other cameras and lenses through profiling
Last edited by BigMackCam; 08-30-2021 at 02:23 AM.