Hello, [this is a lot longer than I wanted, feel free to skip that part in the middle]
What this thread has somewhat de-volved into is also slightly why I was hesitant to post this kind of thing. I find it funny that some wonder if there is some kind of 'conspiracy' or if I am somehow trolling... even though I posted links to videos of results from using the camera over multiple years. Here are some more, if you don't believe: Father's Uplift (an amazing local mentoring group to children without father's, and for fathers who hope to reconnect with their kids... granted I did not take pic/video from the first half. You have to fast-forward to 4:36 as the video is supposed to summarize their experience, and I was only taking pictures at the ceremony): https://youtu.be/NL1yyV2N7yQ; Calculus Project (my education program, which helps PoCs reach Calculus by their Senior year. All of these photos are from 2015, and shot on my K-5):
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Not that someone should, but you can look at my post history, and you'll see posts dating all the way back to when I first got my K-5 as the first digital camera and big purchase (at the time for me) coming out of college and heard about this forum (and when I considered selling my APS-C kit in 2016 when I first got the K-1, which I eventually just gave to a needy family who has never had a camera of any kind that I work with, a very common occurrence... love that kit!!)... no conspiracy, unless it's some kind mandela effect thing.
For those wondering about the switch... As I have told students, I think most cameras made in the past 6-7 years can be a capable camera and used in certain instance. To respond to some confusion in my original post, by c.a.m: [A couple of statements in the member's post are confusing to me, for example: "The only real way to control things was to switch to single-point, which due to shooting at 2.8 (only while in-doors) made cropping blurry when AF was not quite where you wanted it." I can understand general out-of-focus blurriness, but it seems that the OP might be confounding the single-point focus mode and aperture/depth of field. Or, it might be a question of misfocusing with the focus-and-recompose technique. I'm probably misunderstanding the issue here]. What I was trying to describe here, was how I was not able to feel truly in-control when it comes to capturing a specific moment. Ex: basketball player is driving, and you want to capture the moment they run into someone or make the move at the basket... at that exact moment. Because of the 4fps, I always felt that I couldn't get a feel for the time interval... and the moment captured was more so at the whim of whatever that rate is, as apposed to knowing the moment that is coming up + being able to match that moment to a captured time. In terms of the single-point portion. I used to try and shoot by just letting the camera just AF using all of its points (sometimes it's better, sometimes not as it wouldn't always choose what I wanted)... but sometimes I found that the best way to focus to let that center-point be what its focusing on (the same way one might in a portrait over the eye). It helped give me a little bit more control. The 2.8 depth of field sometimes meant that sometimes where it missed the focus, as I feel the continuous-AF doesn't quite track leading to an individual leaving the initial DoF. Maybe this doesn't explain that scenario, but hopefully this helps explain a little bit.
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In terms of user-error or skill... I will never claim to be the most skilled photographer ever! There are features that I have barely even really taken advantage of (ex: Pixelshift/Astrotracer... though I hope to change this, and do this more... starting with the Upcoming Feb 13 Conjunction. Still need to find a good locale in my area :shameless plug:). I am simply a person who loves to capture moments, and introduce students and individuals to a practice that I love so very much. As I said in the initial post, I love Pentax!! It has been in my life since I was young child, when an estate box randomly showed up to my community center with a K1000 inside of it. I used to love to go around our neighborhood, a bad part of town where people said had a bad reputation, and try to capture its beauty. I talk to students about brand loyalty, and how sometimes that can lead a photographer down a path (though I realize that apparently some people have views on what a 'photographer' is or photography is). I don't think its unreasonable to hope that the only brand of camera that I've ever known in which I have personal sentiment, in this case Pentax, be able to handle these moments (most specifically: sports/wildlife/video... though video less so). And while I don't believe that a camera that shoots 4fps/7fps is suited for this goal, I also do lament that Pentax simply hasn't really kept up with progression of tech. Not blaming the camera or company... just in these realms, I feel something else might meet said need better... for me. Yes, this is my view, and I love the fact that these cameras have met the needs of people here. Myself included (if you remember, my brother's wife had a K-01, my sister a KP... all due to the amazing value! that I helped convince).
I did not hope to bash anything (as I've tried to demonstrate, just how much Pentax has allowed me. Look at my post-history and you'll see my posts about how much I love them, and some of the problems I've had with using them too. Was doing some Macro just a month or so ago), but instead simply give an honest account of a decision for those who might be in my same situation or thought process. And/or see if there are some in the community that has made a similar switch? I feel a lot of Pentax shooters use multiple brands. Its true that I have felt that Pentax tech has been slow to realize, but more importantly Pentax support has been somewhat lacking from 3rd-party. Why not wait for K-3iii?, because at the price of that new camera it feels close to what a new body might be from a different brand... at the cost of having to start new. That is just where I happen to be! and was trying to share my experience... in the Non-Pentax part of this forum. Where I thought this kind of thing is supposed to be... with my thought-process included. I don't think sharing that is bashing. Not to bring John Bloomfield into this, but his video very much captured how I have felt, and I don't think he is bashing it:
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[End]
I want to thank those who have given lens recommendations!! I don't really know that much about Canon-glass, aside from the reputation that goes with it. Considering the 3rd-party support, there feels like there is a sea of options. I jumped at it, due to getting a really great ebay price R6 + 24-105 4-7.1 = @$2400 w/tax. It reminded me, of when I got my K-1 and had to basically build an entirely new lens kit again... starting with the DFA 24-105. Seemed fitting. In terms of investment, I don't really buy lenses like that, where you just buy them all at once. I just add them here and there until I fill out the focal range I want. I know that my next purchase will be the 50 STM 1.8. Though not the top IQ, from the reviews I've seen, it is well worth the $200 or so that it costs (the fact that my current Pentax doesn't have a 50mm is also a plus). Even if I upgrade, it feels no-brainer as it would allow me to experiment with some of the faster aperture capabilities. I want to get a K to RF adapter, if that's possible to transfer over some lenses with MF. After that, I plan to convert my Sigma 35 1.4 Art from K-Mount to EF, and get the adapter. Not sure if anyone has thoughts on if the control ring is worth it? I figured by then, after playing around with the 24-105 focal range, I'll have a better idea of what I want next. EF vs RF. I know that I want something Telephoto, so thank you @surfar for those suggestions. As someone who shoots portraits, I want to get something that will allow me to utilize that eye-AF a little more. Been looking at the AF-Rokinon 85 1.4. I don't know where things will take me after that. As I said, that I plan on keeping my Pentax gear for the more slow times... and I feel pretty good about using my Pentax stuff for Wide-Angle moments. I keep going back and forth about the 35 1.4 convert because I really like it on my K-1 for Astro. Or maybe, like J. Bloomfield states in his video, I might realize that I don't really need all of those different lenses (probably will want something tele though).
Sadly, I haven't really gotten that much opportunities to really test this camera (or really shoot with anything really). Moreso due to my own reluctance to go outside my own apartment really. I have a family downstairs that I interact with heavily throughout the week, and if I get sick, they're bound to get sick too As a teacher, we're pretty close to having our turn come up, so I'm trying to be smart. Learning that my apartment has not really been a locale for my photography... motivation to change. Things will pick up soon though. Kind of funny, that my school is apparently planning on running every sport/event over a 2-3 month span, starting in March or so. [fall/winter/spring all together] Looking forward to seeing how things go then... report back with photos and such, for those who might be interested.
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