[kayasaman]

Hi guys,

first up thanks so much to the great people who tried to help me previously when looking outside of Pentax for a dedicated "action" system.

I'm starting a new post here as this is somewhat different from the last post though a slight continuation yet deviation....


Just to recap for anyone who didn't actually see the previous posting. I had settled on a Nikon D500 mainly for it's AF taken from the D5 and higher continuous 'burst' rate then my K1 ii.
I love the K1 ii like I said previously, but for wildlife and moving objects it doesn't work very well. Using my FA*300 I have about a 1 in 13 picture hit rate with the AF. My issues are simply that the lens choice isn't long enough and the camera itself is just way too slow and AF too inaccurate.
I initially bought the K1 for astro imaging as no one else offers Astro Tracer. Through trying different things I started to really enjoy wildlife and macro; the K1 ii works really well for macro with my Irix 150mm though it is a little difficult to position accurately on bugs. Maybe due to the weight.

For some reason though I am finding my Pentax lenses a little softer then my Irix and Samyang lenses. It's a little weird but the K1 is still a beast when it comes down to MF and static subjects, sort of like having a portable version of a medium format system in a sense.


Today I was about to order the Nikon D500. I made of list of lenses that I wanted with it too:

Sigma 60-600mm Sports
Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm
Tokina ATX-i 11-20mm
Venus Optics Laowa 100mm Macro 2:1
Venus Optics Laowa 25mm Macro 2.5-5:1


Unfortunately the place that I found that still claimed to have the D500 in stock turned out to be a scam with no store or anything resembling that someone actually is present in the building. Though the website looks good :-/
Nikon have also officially discontinued the D500 so it is looking unlikely that I will be able to grab it new with 0 miles on the clock (shutter).


As I don't want to panic and blindly go for another model/system without being informed first I thought I'd try and get everyone's thoughts on where to go from here. Ideally I want to look at an APS-C sensor for the bit of extra reach that it gives.


From what I have looked at and been recommended previously additionally, the Canon R7 could be an option, also the Fuji X-H2S could be another option as the specs look like it's a monster.

The Canon R7 seems to have the most compatibility and/or alternatives to the lenses I selected to use with the now unavailable Nikon, the Fuji has the better "on paper" specs.

As far as I can see, the lens lineup for Fuji is a little bit of a limitation from a focal length perspective. They have a dedicated 150-600mm lens but not the 60-600mm which has more reach, Tamron makes an 18-300mm with a Fuji mount but no idea if the X-H2S is supported yet as it's not listed on the website.

As an equivelent to the Tokina, Fuji does have two wide angle models: and 8-16mm and a 10-24mm

Currently the macro lens choice seems limited to only a 60mm and 80mm, will it have enough focus distance for skittish bugs?


For the Canon, I guess all the lenses I selected are available if there is an EF to RF mount adapter. How well it will work is a different story though, it seems like Nikon even brought a new version if it's FTZ adapter....



This has currently really messed up my thought train as which direction should I go into now? [eek]


If only there would be a beast of a Pentax created with similar lens options. like a K3 IV with AF as good as the top line Nikon and Canon dedicated sports cameras and as wide a lens choice :-(


Canon or Fuji?? <sigh>

[gatorguy]

Hi guys,

first up thanks so much to the great people who tried to help me previously when looking outside of Pentax for a dedicated "action" system.

I'm starting a new post here as this is somewhat different from the last post though a slight continuation yet deviation....


Just to recap for anyone who didn't actually see the previous posting. I had settled on a Nikon D500 mainly for it's AF taken from the D5 and higher continuous 'burst' rate then my K1 ii.
I love the K1 ii like I said previously, but for wildlife and moving objects it doesn't work very well. Using my FA*300 I have about a 1 in 13 picture hit rate with the AF. My issues are simply that the lens choice isn't long enough and the camera itself is just way too slow and AF too inaccurate.
I initially bought the K1 for astro imaging as no one else offers Astro Tracer. Through trying different things I started to really enjoy wildlife and macro; the K1 ii works really well for macro with my Irix 150mm though it is a little difficult to position accurately on bugs. Maybe due to the weight.

For some reason though I am finding my Pentax lenses a little softer then my Irix and Samyang lenses. It's a little weird but the K1 is still a beast when it comes down to MF and static subjects, sort of like having a portable version of a medium format system in a sense.


Today I was about to order the Nikon D500. I made of list of lenses that I wanted with it too:

Sigma 60-600mm Sports
Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm
Tokina ATX-i 11-20mm
Venus Optics Laowa 100mm Macro 2:1
Venus Optics Laowa 25mm Macro 2.5-5:1


Unfortunately the place that I found that still claimed to have the D500 in stock turned out to be a scam with no store or anything resembling that someone actually is present in the building. Though the website looks good :-/
Nikon have also officially discontinued the D500 so it is looking unlikely that I will be able to grab it new with 0 miles on the clock (shutter).


As I don't want to panic and blindly go for another model/system without being informed first I thought I'd try and get everyone's thoughts on where to go from here. Ideally I want to look at an APS-C sensor for the bit of extra reach that it gives.


From what I have looked at and been recommended previously additionally, the Canon R7 could be an option, also the Fuji X-H2S could be another option as the specs look like it's a monster.

The Canon R7 seems to have the most compatibility and/or alternatives to the lenses I selected to use with the now unavailable Nikon, the Fuji has the better "on paper" specs.

As far as I can see, the lens lineup for Fuji is a little bit of a limitation from a focal length perspective. They have a dedicated 150-600mm lens but not the 60-600mm which has more reach, Tamron makes an 18-300mm with a Fuji mount but no idea if the X-H2S is supported yet as it's not listed on the website.

As an equivelent to the Tokina, Fuji does have two wide angle models: and 8-16mm and a 10-24mm

Currently the macro lens choice seems limited to only a 60mm and 80mm, will it have enough focus distance for skittish bugs?


For the Canon, I guess all the lenses I selected are available if there is an EF to RF mount adapter. How well it will work is a different story though, it seems like Nikon even brought a new version if it's FTZ adapter....



This has currently really messed up my thought train as which direction should I go into now? [eek]


If only there would be a beast of a Pentax created with similar lens options. like a K3 IV with AF as good as the top line Nikon and Canon dedicated sports cameras and as wide a lens choice :-(


Canon or Fuji?? <sigh>

I understand that you are not including the K3III for consideration.

I'd mention that since you had decided the D500 was what you wanted that the K3III's focus speed and reliability is at least it's equal, plus a larger sensor, dynamic range, IBIS, and low-light performance all far exceeding what the D500 can offer. The resolution of the DFA 150-450 on the 26MP Pentax is going to get you in the general ballpark of the resolution you'll get from the Sigma 600 on a 21MP Nikon, and it will be easier to hold steady and/or locate your target. Oh, and the K3III is a far smaller body than the D500. Jus'sayin...

Figure out what lens range you want I suppose and go from there. BTW, the R7 may not be available to you until the first of next year, but it looks like it could be a fine choice depending on your intended use. Note too that the initial AF claims about it being taken from the R3 is not actually accurate, and there seems to be some variation in AF speed and results depending on which telephoto lens was used. I might give it a few months for user reviews before going all in on a new system and lenses.

[The Squirrel Mafia]

If I were stuck between the Fujifilm or Canon for action, I'd lean more toward the Canon.

Yes. The K-3III is not quite the Nikon D500 many were hoping, but it's fairly close.It does have a lot of features that the D500 lacks, but if you're looking for ultimate AF performance, the D500 is still the DSLR to beat. Maybe the K-3IV will be better than D500 on every AF performance & buffer level. You'd figure that by the time the K-3IV arrives, it would be able to beat a +-12 year old camera by then. My guess is that the K-3IV will arrive sometime in 2026 to 2028, if Ricoh is still keen on making APS-C cameras by then.

And yeah. The K-3III needs more fast focusing lenses & the future K-3IV even more so. There are very few at the moment. A lot of lenses are screw driven or have older SDM & DC motors that don't move that quick. Hopefully Ricoh continues making updates to the current lenses & starts releasing more fast focusing telephoto options. I'm hoping that the entire DA* lineup gets updated with faster focusing AF motors whether it be PLM, DC, or newer SDM.

[kayasaman]

I understand that you are not including the K3III for consideration.

I'd mention that since you had decided the D500 was what you wanted that the K3III's focus speed and reliability is at least it's equal, plus a larger sensor, dynamic range, IBIS, and low-light performance all far exceeding what the D500 can offer. The resolution of the DFA 150-450 on the 26MP Pentax is going to get you in the general ballpark of the resolution you'll get from the Sigma 600 on a 21MP Nikon, and it will be easier to hold steady and/or locate your target. Oh, and the K3III is a far smaller body than the D500. Jus'sayin...

Figure out what lens range you want I suppose and go from there. BTW, the R7 may not be available to you until the first of next year, but it looks like it could be a fine choice depending on your intended use. Note too that the initial AF claims about it being taken from the R3 is not actually accurate, and there seems to be some variation in AF speed and results depending on which telephoto lens was used. I might give it a few months for user reviews before going all in on a new system and lenses.

Heya gatorguy :-)

Nice to hear from you again!


The K3 iii is attractive and yeah for sure I know guys who have them and our own bdery who reviewed it for PF. Definitely I trust his judgement and views. The K3 iii also has Astrotracer version 3 which I am hearing great reviews about.


All that makes it really attactve *but* I am worried about the AF and burst rates. Previously experimenting with my K1 on high burst mode, the camera just locks up for around 2 to 3 minutes to empty the buffer. It is a common complaint among K1 users. Yes given the K3 iii has been designed with speed in mind, I hope it now includes as advanced AF with 3D tracking and different AF zones like the Nikon's and Canon's.

I also maybe misunderstanding the interaction between focal length and sensors but isn't the focal length defined by the sensor ratio (equivalent to 35mm multiplied by focal length)? That means that a 600mm lens used on a 1.5x crop camera would be 900mm while the 450mm Pentax would only give you 675mm.


Like I mentioned my lens choice are these focal lengths:

Sigma 60-600mm Sports
Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm
Tokina ATX-i 11-20mm
Venus Optics Laowa 100mm Macro 2:1
Venus Optics Laowa 25mm Macro 2.5-5:1

I guess for Pentax that makes it:

da*11-18mm
da 18-270mm

** nothing similar to the Sigma 60-600mm. Only DFA 150-450mm

That's just a little worrying is all....


Also like I mentioned previously, my Pentax lenses seem a little soft when compared to my Irix and Samyang lenses. I just find that the Pentax lenses don't have the clinical razor sharpness of the others. I'm not sure if it's the K1's AF making them like that or their design is meant to more 'artistic' or 'photogenic' then a science probe style?


Maybe it's just the samples that I have but these points are definitely of concern to me, otherwise it would be a no-brainer to nab a K3 iii. I love the ergonomics of the K1 and the K3 is quite similar now with the addition of joystick too.

[gatorguy]

If I were stuck between the Fujifilm or Canon for action, I'd lean more toward the Canon.

Yes. The K-3III is not quite the Nikon D500 many were hoping, but it's fairly close.

I had hoped to have a D500 to test against the K3III this week, but missed out by just a few dollars. I strongly suspect I'll find the much smaller K3III has better AF performance overall, images and crop-ability much better, way better low-light capabilities, and the buffer sizes a complete non-issue. As a wildlife photographer, I've yet to have any need to fill the buffer on a K3III and don't think it will ever be a problem.

Tell you what tho, even an old used D500 is still going for close to a $1000, and the 600 Sport Sigma is an expensive lens if new, well more than I paid for my DFA150-450. I' have been able to find a used copy for about $1400 but won't pull the trigger until I get a D500 to go along with it. No intention of keeping either camera or lens after the fact.

Camera gear in general is now being priced out of affordability for everyone but the most committed.

[biz-engineer]

I'd mention that since you had decided the D500 was what you wanted that the K3III's focus speed and reliability is at least it's equal, plus a larger sensor, dynamic range, IBIS, and low-light performance all far exceeding what the D500 can offer. The resolution of the DFA 150-450 on the 26MP Pentax is going to get you in the general ballpark of the resolution you'll get from the Sigma 600 on a 21MP Nikon

1) Pentax K3 III sensor is not large than Nikon D500, its the same size.
2) Nikon D500 doesn't have IBIS, but the lenses are stabilized for the Nikon, providing both stabilized viewfinder image and stabilized image even at 600mm
3) Nikon D500 has 145 AF points plus dedicated AF processor, K3 III has 101 AF points sharing CPU resources with the rest of the camera
4) K3III AF tracking capability is not at least equal, D500 AF tracking is superior.
5) DFA 15-450 is 3x zoom, f5.6 in the long end. Sigma 600 f4 is a prime lens will deliver superior sharpness.

[Mbaez]

Hi guys,

first up thanks so much to the great people who tried to help me previously when looking outside of Pentax for a dedicated "action" system.

I'm starting a new post here as this is somewhat different from the last post though a slight continuation yet deviation....


Just to recap for anyone who didn't actually see the previous posting. I had settled on a Nikon D500 mainly for it's AF taken from the D5 and higher continuous 'burst' rate then my K1 ii.
I love the K1 ii like I said previously, but for wildlife and moving objects it doesn't work very well. Using my FA*300 I have about a 1 in 13 picture hit rate with the AF. My issues are simply that the lens choice isn't long enough and the camera itself is just way too slow and AF too inaccurate.
I initially bought the K1 for astro imaging as no one else offers Astro Tracer. Through trying different things I started to really enjoy wildlife and macro; the K1 ii works really well for macro with my Irix 150mm though it is a little difficult to position accurately on bugs. Maybe due to the weight.

For some reason though I am finding my Pentax lenses a little softer then my Irix and Samyang lenses. It's a little weird but the K1 is still a beast when it comes down to MF and static subjects, sort of like having a portable version of a medium format system in a sense.


Today I was about to order the Nikon D500. I made of list of lenses that I wanted with it too:

Sigma 60-600mm Sports
Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm
Tokina ATX-i 11-20mm
Venus Optics Laowa 100mm Macro 2:1
Venus Optics Laowa 25mm Macro 2.5-5:1


Unfortunately the place that I found that still claimed to have the D500 in stock turned out to be a scam with no store or anything resembling that someone actually is present in the building. Though the website looks good :-/
Nikon have also officially discontinued the D500 so it is looking unlikely that I will be able to grab it new with 0 miles on the clock (shutter).


As I don't want to panic and blindly go for another model/system without being informed first I thought I'd try and get everyone's thoughts on where to go from here. Ideally I want to look at an APS-C sensor for the bit of extra reach that it gives.


From what I have looked at and been recommended previously additionally, the Canon R7 could be an option, also the Fuji X-H2S could be another option as the specs look like it's a monster.

The Canon R7 seems to have the most compatibility and/or alternatives to the lenses I selected to use with the now unavailable Nikon, the Fuji has the better "on paper" specs.

As far as I can see, the lens lineup for Fuji is a little bit of a limitation from a focal length perspective. They have a dedicated 150-600mm lens but not the 60-600mm which has more reach, Tamron makes an 18-300mm with a Fuji mount but no idea if the X-H2S is supported yet as it's not listed on the website.

As an equivelent to the Tokina, Fuji does have two wide angle models: and 8-16mm and a 10-24mm

Currently the macro lens choice seems limited to only a 60mm and 80mm, will it have enough focus distance for skittish bugs?


For the Canon, I guess all the lenses I selected are available if there is an EF to RF mount adapter. How well it will work is a different story though, it seems like Nikon even brought a new version if it's FTZ adapter....



This has currently really messed up my thought train as which direction should I go into now? [eek]


If only there would be a beast of a Pentax created with similar lens options. like a K3 IV with AF as good as the top line Nikon and Canon dedicated sports cameras and as wide a lens choice :-(


Canon or Fuji?? <sigh>

Easy answer: get the Canon.

[kayasaman]

If I were stuck between the Fujifilm or Canon for action, I'd lean more toward the Canon.

Yes. The K-3III is not quite the Nikon D500 many were hoping, but it's fairly close.It does have a lot of features that the D500 lacks, but if you're looking for ultimate AF performance, the D500 is still the DSLR to beat. Maybe the K-3IV will be better than D500 on every AF performance & buffer level. You'd figure that by the time the K-3IV arrives, it would be able to beat a +-12 year old camera by then. My guess is that the K-3IV will arrive sometime in 2026 to 2028, if Ricoh is still keen on making APS-C cameras by then.

And yeah. The K-3III needs more fast focusing lenses & the future K-3IV even more so. There are very few at the moment. A lot of lenses are screw driven or have older SDM & DC motors that don't move that quick. Hopefully Ricoh continues making updates to the current lenses & starts releasing more fast focusing telephoto options. I'm hoping that the entire DA* lineup gets updated with faster focusing AF motors whether it be PLM, DC, or newer SDM.

That's totally the point that I'm trying to make and really worried about with Pentax. A friend who also has a K1 ii and is able to borrow the 150-450 is also complaining about the hit-ratio on it. He says that it misses more then it hits with about a 1 to 10 ratio.

On the other hand my FA*300 is screw driven, I actually purchased it for MF use in astro then what I call linear photography. Given AF is slow but the acquisition accuracy is awful unfortunately. More often then not the subject is blurred unless those few occasion where I get lucky with lighting ( lots of bright light on target) and the target is large enough.


Looks like the stock is expected in July for the Canon R7. How well it will work though is another story. Many people seem to be happy with the EOS80 but then many here have warned me against the EOS90.


If there was a current equivalent to something of the D500's caliber it would be awesome!

---------- Post added 06-28-22 at 07:44 AM ----------

1) Pentax K3 III sensor is not large than Nikon D500, its the same size.
2) Nikon D500 doesn't have IBIS, but the lenses are stabilized for the Nikon, providing both stabilized viewfinder image and stabilized image even at 600mm
3) Nikon D500 has 145 AF points plus dedicated AF processor, K3 III has 101 AF points sharing CPU resources with the rest of the camera
4) K3III AF tracking capability is not at least equal, D500 AF tracking is superior.
5) DFA 15-450 is 3x zoom, f5.6 in the long end. Sigma 600 f4 is a prime lens will deliver superior sharpness.

Actually I was looking at the 60-600mm Sigma zoom which is f4.5 to 6.3

---------- Post added 06-28-22 at 07:49 AM ----------

I had hoped to have a D500 to test against the K3III this week, but missed out by just a few dollars. I strongly suspect I'll find the much smaller K3III has better AF performance overall, images and crop-ability much better, way better low-light capabilities, and the buffer sizes a complete non-issue. As a wildlife photographer, I've yet to have any need to fill the buffer on a K3III and don't think it will ever be a problem.

Tell you what tho, even an old used D500 is still going for close to a $1000, and the 600 Sport Sigma is an expensive lens if new, well more than I paid for my DFA150-450. I' have been able to find a used copy for about $1400 but won't pull the trigger until I get a D500 to go along with it. No intention of keeping either camera or lens after the fact.

Camera gear in general is now being priced out of affordability for everyone but the most committed.

Not sure which Sigma everyone is talking about here... there's a 500mm prime which yeah is expensive. the 60-600mm Sport is a lot cheaper then the DFA 150-450mm. In my region in Europe something like $700 less for the Sigma over the Pentax.


It might be a matter of what everyone says and just grab the Canon R7 over the Fuji X-H2S. It's around $1500 cheaper from the prices that I've seen too.....


This is still giving me a headache lol as I'm in uncharted territory here!

---------- Post added 06-28-22 at 07:54 AM ----------

Also quickly to add that I think I've read that the Sigma's don't work very well on Canon's R series using the EF to R adapter? I may have misread or misunderstood this though as I'm not at all familiar with Canon stuff...

[UncleVanya]

I’m a Sony A7R3 user as well as Pentax KP. I don’t shoot a lot of action but I keep up with the basics of the models that are useful for action in the Sony camp. If you’re open to it I can point you to an article that tries to quantify bird in flight performance across mirrorless systems:

https://mirrorlesscomparison.com/best/mirrorless-cameras-for-birds-in-flight/

The test results tell you about this one user’s results and may not be fully representative of all factors but it should help.

[c.a.m]

4) K3III AF tracking capability is not at least equal, D500 AF tracking is superior.

Would it be fair to ask for a reference or link to a credible test that demonstrated this claim?

- Craig

[luftfluss]

Somewhat related to the OP's query, over at Optyczne.pl (the Lenstip folks) there is a comparison among the K-3 III, Fuji X-T4, and D500. Unfortunately, there is no English translation from Polish, but the DeepL translator is pretty good IMO.

Specifically with regard to resolving power, the D500's sensor seems to be better than its nominal 20MP specification would indicate.


"The resolution of the matrix (or, more precisely, the resolution of the matrix plus the optical aberration-corrected good lens) is determined with the MTF50 function, and the measurements are taken on unsharpened RAW files that were converted to TIFF format with the help of dcraw software. We took the images using two lenses: Pentax HD DFA* 50 mm f/1.4 SDM AW and Sigma A 35 mm f/1.4 DG. The highest results we obtained are presented in the chart below. "

Translated with DeepL Translate: The world's most accurate translator (free version)


"On the one hand Pentax is the weakest in the above comparison, on the other hand - the difference between it and X-T4 is small. It's worth reminding that Fujifilm's mirrorless camera uses a sensor with a very similar pixel count to that of the K-3 III. Nikon D500, on the other hand, stands out - its sensor, not quite "only" 20-megapixel, generates the highest results in our chart. Of course, the issue of optics used in the test is not without significance. The inquisitive will notice that the K-3 III is slightly weaker than its predecessor, equipped with a 24-megapixel sensor.

Let's take a look at the graphs generated by the Imatest program. We don't see any traces of RAW sharpening, as evidenced by the fact that the profile on the black and white border is devoid of local extremes. The Nyquist frequency response values for individual components exceed 20%, which is typical for cameras without AA filter."

Translated with DeepL Translate: The world's most accurate translator (free version)



Of course, the comparison presented above is flawed by the use of different lenses, however the fact that the D500 and Fuji X-T4 both used the Sigma Art 35/1.4 and the D500 topped the Fuji in resolving power is an indication, I think, that the D500's sensor is more severely tuned to provide resolving power than some other APS-C sensors.

[kayasaman]

I’m a Sony A7R3 user as well as Pentax KP. I don’t shoot a lot of action but I keep up with the basics of the models that are useful for action in the Sony camp. If you’re open to it I can point you to an article that tries to quantify bird in flight performance across mirrorless systems:

https://mirrorlesscomparison.com/best/mirrorless-cameras-for-birds-in-flight/

The test results tell you about this one user’s results and may not be fully representative of all factors but it should help.

As someone who helped me choose the K1 in the beginning it's really nice to see you again :-)

Honestly, I am open to anything at this stage providing that my lens focal length wishes are covered. Because of the discontinuation of the D500 I feel totally lost and like a headless chicken right now as I spent a long time researching lenses available and even read the manual of the body several times to see how it could fit in to my needs.

Thank you :-)

---------- Post added 06-28-22 at 08:59 AM ----------

Somewhat related to the OP's query, over at Optyczne.pl (the Lenstip folks) there is a comparison among the K-3 III, Fuji X-T4, and D500. Unfortunately, there is no English translation from Polish, but the DeepL translator is pretty good IMO.

Specifically with regard to resolving power, the D500's sensor seems to be better than its nominal 20MP specification would indicate.


"The resolution of the matrix (or, more precisely, the resolution of the matrix plus the optical aberration-corrected good lens) is determined with the MTF50 function, and the measurements are taken on unsharpened RAW files that were converted to TIFF format with the help of dcraw software. We took the images using two lenses: Pentax HD DFA* 50 mm f/1.4 SDM AW and Sigma A 35 mm f/1.4 DG. The highest results we obtained are presented in the chart below. "

Translated with DeepL Translate: The world's most accurate translator (free version)


"On the one hand Pentax is the weakest in the above comparison, on the other hand - the difference between it and X-T4 is small. It's worth reminding that Fujifilm's mirrorless camera uses a sensor with a very similar pixel count to that of the K-3 III. Nikon D500, on the other hand, stands out - its sensor, not quite "only" 20-megapixel, generates the highest results in our chart. Of course, the issue of optics used in the test is not without significance. The inquisitive will notice that the K-3 III is slightly weaker than its predecessor, equipped with a 24-megapixel sensor.

Let's take a look at the graphs generated by the Imatest program. We don't see any traces of RAW sharpening, as evidenced by the fact that the profile on the black and white border is devoid of local extremes. The Nyquist frequency response values for individual components exceed 20%, which is typical for cameras without AA filter."

Translated with DeepL Translate: The world's most accurate translator (free version)



Of course, the comparison presented above is flawed by the use of different lenses, however the fact that the D500 and Fuji X-T4 both used the Sigma Art 35/1.4 and the D500 topped the Fuji in resolving power is an indication, I think, that the D500's sensor is more severely tuned to provide resolving power than some other APS-C sensors.

This might have been because the D500 was basically built as a cropped sensor Pro camera system with many features from the top level D5.


Though what is important is reality and field usage, how does the system work in the real-world.

For me the important things that I am interested in is burst speed. buffer size, buffer speed, AF accuracy. If I can link that with a good coverage lens like the Sigma 60-600 Sports zoom, things will be great ;-)

[The Squirrel Mafia]

For me the important things that I am interested in is burst speed. buffer size, buffer speed, AF accuracy. If I can link that with a good coverage lens like the Sigma 60-600 Sports zoom, things will be great ;-)

If your main concern in AF & buffer performance for relatively "cheap", there's really nothing like the Nikon D500 at the moment. A used D500 would probably be your best bet. Problem is finding one. They're still pricey & a lot of them have very high shutter counts.

The Canon 7D Mark II also has very good AF performance, but I still think that the D500 has better AF & better IQ. The K-3III would be 3rd in line, but you already know the AF & buffer limitations in the body & the lack of fast focusing K-mount telephoto lenses.

Outside of the D500, you'd have to step up to a Sony a1, a9II, Nikon Z9, or a Canon R3 to get similar D500 performance, but you're gonna pay a lot to play. Speed & accuracy costs money. How fast & accurate do you want to go?

[biz-engineer]

Actually I was looking at the 60-600mm Sigma zoom which is f4.5 to 6.3

Arhhh that's not good. The bottleneck of the camera system is the weakest element. High quality lens should be use on flagship camera body.

[gatorguy]

1) Pentax K3 III sensor is not large than Nikon D500, its the same size.
2) Nikon D500 doesn't have IBIS, but the lenses are stabilized for the Nikon, providing both stabilized viewfinder image and stabilized image even at 600mm
3) Nikon D500 has 145 AF points plus dedicated AF processor, K3 III has 101 AF points sharing CPU resources with the rest of the camera
4) K3III AF tracking capability is not at least equal, D500 AF tracking is superior.
5) DFA 15-450 is 3x zoom, f5.6 in the long end. Sigma 600 f4 is a prime lens will deliver superior sharpness.

1> I meant to say larger resolution sensor. 21mp Nikon and 26mp Pentax.

2> Not all lenses for the D500 would be stabilized, or equally as effective even when they are. It's dependent on the lens manufacturer. Every lens mounted to the Pentax is stabilized.

3> The Pentax includes a high-capacity RGBIr image sensor with approximately 307,000 pixels, to provide more accurate tracking of subjects in motion. The D500 does not.

4> Fact? Nope, you're guessing. At the moment I'm guessing with the D500 just as I said, but not with the K3III. Let me know your experience when you actually use either camera.

5> Wrong. The Sigma Sport is a zoom, 150-600 5.6 to 6.3