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10-15-2019, 12:20 PM   #1
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Pentax K5 (and Oly EM-5) to Sony A7?

So I currently still shoot with a Pentax K5 a few years ago I purchased a used OMD EM-5 as well. I love both cameras but hate having to switch based on my needs. I use the Pentax when I am going to shoot outdoors (think the beach, hiking, etc) and the OMD when I am doing more urban photography or going to social events. I am very interested in the Sony system. I currently don't shoot enough to make a major financial investment in a newer camera, but KEH has some good prices on the original A7 that might be a good entry point into the Sony world? Anyone have any thoughts on how the A7 has held up. Remember I am still shooting a K5 which is even older than the Sony and largely happy except for the bulk/weight.

10-15-2019, 12:26 PM   #2
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The only thing I can mention is the cost of lenses. Sony FF lenses are a bit on the pricey side.
10-15-2019, 01:00 PM   #3
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The original A7 is not a camera to use in inclement weather. Even the improved A7 MkII that I own doesn't have the level of weather resistance that Pentax's WR bodies offer. Also bear in mind that the original A7 doesn't have in-body stabilisation, which can make a big difference if you're shooting hand-held in less than ideal light and want to keep ISO down. Battery life isn't great either.

That said, if you can find one cheap enough and live with its limitations, it's still a great camera capable of excellent results. But your K-5 is a far better camera for shooting in rougher conditions...
10-15-2019, 01:10 PM   #4
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Do you consider A7R? The same matrix as in K-1, and I don't think it's much more expensive in comparence with A7. 36 megapixels is a big thing

10-15-2019, 01:24 PM   #5
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The Sony A7 and A7II look like great value at the moment. The big difference between the two is IBIS on the A7II. I am toying with the idea of going E mount myself. With an adapter, all my K mount glass will work.
10-15-2019, 04:21 PM - 2 Likes   #6
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I have owned the A7II and currently shoot with the A9. The A7 isn't really a camera that I would recommend. The A7II is the first of the Sony bodies where I think Sony had most of the bugs worked out and with the latest firmware it's a pretty solid camera for its age. I would probably look at upgrading your Olympus system instead of switching to a new system. You can pick up a used OMD-EM1 MK2 for less than switching systems and the OMD-EM1 Mk2 is a much better all around camera. For comparison, an Olympus OMD EM1 Mk2 is going to rival a Canon 1DIII in terms of performance and that is more than capable of professional results. The Sony A7 will give you great image quality if your subjects don't move or you are using a lot of manual focus glass.


Unless you are going to use 3rd party glass like Samsung, switching to Sony with Sony glass is going to be expensive and unless someone is paying you to take pictures it's hard recommend that switch. If you just "want" to go full frame and the money isn't an issue, then that is a different conversation.
10-15-2019, 04:38 PM   #7
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I will back Winders opinion,plus look at the k-3(1) too.Keep in mind that the K-1(1) is on the used stage and is rated for 300k actions.(yes,heavier and bigger but exceptional)

Used prices will drop when Em5 mk3 is available and K-new.It doesn't hurt to wait.

---------- Post added 10-16-19 at 10:40 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Scottie137 Quote
Pentax K5 (and Oly EM-5)
2 great Brands to use.

10-15-2019, 11:31 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Scottie137 Quote
So I currently still shoot with a Pentax K5 a few years ago I purchased a used OMD EM-5 as well. I love both cameras but hate having to switch based on my needs. I use the Pentax when I am going to shoot outdoors (think the beach, hiking, etc) and the OMD when I am doing more urban photography or going to social events. I am very interested in the Sony system. I currently don't shoot enough to make a major financial investment in a newer camera, but KEH has some good prices on the original A7 that might be a good entry point into the Sony world? Anyone have any thoughts on how the A7 has held up. Remember I am still shooting a K5 which is even older than the Sony and largely happy except for the bulk/weight.
If you're not interested in full frame, a Sony A6400 with the new Sony 16-55mm f2.8G might be a good combination as an upgrade from Oly and K5. I've played a little with this combo last weekend at a marathon event. It has a lot better tracking than both K5 and Oly and the Sony lens is very good optically and I was impressed by the size of it. It's small and light. You'll have an equivalent FOV of 24-82mm which is very handy.
10-16-2019, 03:13 AM   #9
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Thank you for all the thoughtful replies! I did not realize that the A7 didn’t have IBIS, not sure how I missed that in the reviews. Is anyone else shooting with the Sony A series bodies that wants to chime in? I don’t worry about weather sealing as much these days. I may just keep my K5 with the weather sealed 18-55/55-300 combo just in case. The Oly is a wonderful little camera that I really enjoy using, but feel the micro 4/3s system is self limiting and IMO has a distinct lack of mid tier decent glass ($200-$500 range), and I am not convinced the sensor size can really continue to keep pace with the APS-C and Full Frame sensors of the world. Though with what smart phone sensors are doing these days, maybe I am wrong?


10-16-2019, 05:48 AM   #10
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I still use an original A7 as a digital body for my old Pentax (and other) manual focus lenses. I don’t normally use focus aids, except for magnification when there is time. The EVF is pretty good for judging sharpness, which is how I’ve focused SLRs for 50 years. So I don’t care about its autofocus limitations or lack of IBIS, as I never had them in cameras. Once the camera was set up the way I like it I haven’t messed with the menus, so they don’t bother me either.
But my main camera is a Leica M10 rangefinder, also without the fancy features, so I’m an odd duck anyway.
10-16-2019, 06:33 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Scottie137 Quote
Thank you for all the thoughtful replies! I did not realize that the A7 didn’t have IBIS, not sure how I missed that in the reviews. Is anyone else shooting with the Sony A series bodies that wants to chime in? I don’t worry about weather sealing as much these days. I may just keep my K5 with the weather sealed 18-55/55-300 combo just in case. The Oly is a wonderful little camera that I really enjoy using, but feel the micro 4/3s system is self limiting and IMO has a distinct lack of mid tier decent glass ($200-$500 range), and I am not convinced the sensor size can really continue to keep pace with the APS-C and Full Frame sensors of the world. Though with what smart phone sensors are doing these days, maybe I am wrong?


10-16-2019, 10:15 AM   #12
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Thanks, intellectually I know this about modern cameras, and honestly I am not really looking to change to improve my photography, more to scale down to one system and stick with it. It does help to be reminded that image quality is not really a major factor whichever way I go.


10-16-2019, 10:45 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Scottie137 Quote
Thanks, intellectually I know this about modern cameras, and honestly I am not really looking to change to improve my photography, more to scale down to one system and stick with it. It does help to be reminded that image quality is not really a major factor whichever way I go.

I don't own or shoot with Olympus, but I know some pros who do. If you already have m4/3 equipment that is the direction I would go. EM5 III was just announced and the EM1 III is probably not far off. Going to be some good deals on used bodies.



10-17-2019, 10:00 AM   #14
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I went through this when I was looking for a second camera after Samsung moved out the mirrorless camera market leaving me with a dead mount and my K-3 started acting up.

I first bought a Fuji XE-2 which I liked in some ways (Fuji colors) but the lenses were way too expensive for me as a second system.

I was seriously considering a A7, but I found a few things out that turned me off on the A7. I wanted to use my old lenses but found out that the E-mount while you can adapt Pentax mount, you can not control aperture nor focus through any mount adapter. This means I would have to buy another set of full frame lenses which again was too expensive for a second system.

One think you might considers that your EM-5 is weather sealed, so you could keep that for all your uses. While EM-5 and EM-1 Olympus bodies now have weather sealing, finding a cheap weather sealed lens for M43 is difficult. The Olympus 12-50 kit lens is not highly rated, and everything else is quite expensive f2.8 zooms.
10-17-2019, 10:07 PM   #15
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A7 is a nice camera and a huge update from K5 (except IBIS). It's so cheap now that you should go for it. EVF is awesome for manual focus and eye focus is brilliant (for the price). Obviously, AF is not as good as the new Sony camera but still better than K5.

It is also one of the lightest FF camera (all the new Sony cameras with IBIS are at least 200gms heavier). I now moved to A7RIII but I kept original A7r because it feels so light compared to A7RIII.

Last edited by yusuf; 10-17-2019 at 10:12 PM.
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