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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 11-05-2016, 05:51 AM

Pentax K3 with better lenses or K1 starter kit?
Posted By Alex645

Replies: 15
Views: 2,633

Lots to consider with a budget.
a) Good lenses will typically see use on at least 3 generations of cameras. So for the long term, it would be wiser to get the K3 if that affords you better glass.
Keep in mind, if you expect him to eventually upgrade to FF, youʻll want to get FF optics with the K3.
b) For sure, the K1 is better for portraits with less inherent depth of field, better dynamic range, and ability to crop. Also I have found flagship cameras to have a longer practical usage life (not just actuations, but will take longer to becoming obsolescent).
c) On the K3, the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM A Pentax is considered the sharpest lens with that sensor, but I think that focal length is too short for most portrait and even full body work. In general, the Pentax primes are superior and the Pentax smc DA Star 55mm F1.4 SDM would be my first choice.
d) Zooms for the K3, Iʻd go with the Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO HSM C Pentax.
e) If you opt for the K-1, the kit options are either with the 24-70mm f/2.8 or the 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6. The 24-70mm is superior in IQ, speed, and dof, but the 28-105mm has the longer focal lengths for portraits, nearly 1/3 the price, and almost 1/2 the weight. On a K-1 for his usage, Iʻd favor the 28-105mm.

You are an awesome brother to consider and get this for yours. However, from personal experience, I have found that gifts are not valued like gear you buy for yourself. I donʻt know your brother, but this is from my own personal experience. I mention this only in that you may want to consider getting gear different than your own so that you two can swap and borrow from each other or if one of you moves on to other interests, the other doesnʻt have redundancy.

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 11-05-2016, 04:01 AM

Pentax K3 with better lenses or K1 starter kit?
Posted By nitehntr

Replies: 15
Views: 2,633

the K3 is very good but the K1 is better. especially at higher ISO's i have both and use them somewhat interchangeably but reach for the K1. i have shot my grandsons sports indoors (flag football and basketball) with both and the K1 is by far the better body for available light. i can use much higher ISO's. the frame rate is slower but the quality more than makes up for it and makes me time my shots better like in the film days when it was one shot at a time.

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 11-05-2016, 05:04 AM

Pentax K3 with better lenses or K1 starter kit?
Posted By BigMackCam

Replies: 15
Views: 2,633

For long telephoto work, the K-3 is a better choice, period. You would have to crop significantly on the K-1 to get the same field of view, and the resulting images would be at a lower resolution. The K-3 also wins in terms of size, weight and cost (even though the K-1 is compact and attractively-priced compared to most full-frame cameras). If you really don't need a full-frame camera, why pay for one and carry the size / weight penalty? I have the K-3 as well as a non-Pentax full-frame camera. Often I choose to take my K-3, simply because it's more practical to carry round all day.

With that said, in almost every other sense, the K-1 is clearly a "better" camera - bigger sensor, higher resolution, greater dynamic range, better high ISO performance, shallower depth of field at equivalent focal lengths with the same aperture, better AF, improved shake reduction, articulated screen, pixel shift resolution, GPS and astrotracer and more. I have some (though not all) of those benefits on my full frame camera too, yet still I often go with my K-3 just because it's easier to carry around.

In some ways, I think the ideal setup is to have a K-1 and a K-3 (or K-3II), so you can carry both when required, or pick one or the other depending on the situation. But where there's a choice of buying one or the other, I think it depends to some extent on your priorities and requirements as to which one is "best" :)

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 11-05-2016, 05:40 AM

Pentax K3 with better lenses or K1 starter kit?
Posted By Pentax Syntax

Replies: 15
Views: 2,633

I own both the K-1 and the K-3 and use them both extensively. For telephoto, I agree with BigMackCam since the K-3 has higher resolution at the APC crop sensor size. Since you mention portraits specifically, I would probably go with the K-3 and better lenses. The K-1 at 36 MP is a harsh test for full frame lenses and many fail to perform as they did on film. The new Pentax lens lineup 15-30, 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8 are pricey and are probably more than your brother would like to spend. I use the 28-70 FA* and 80-200 FA* lenses on my K-1 and they perform well but they were both close to $1500 professional quality lenses. OTOH, the Pentax 50 FA 1.4 becomes a beautiful ~75mm equivalent portrait lens on the K-3 and the results are outstanding. It is only in the landscape arena where I see the K-1 pulling ahead. The K-1 has slightly snappier autofocus than the K-3 but for portraits that is not relevant since I almost always go to manual focus to catch eye highlights in the large aperture narrow FOV. You can't go wrong with either.....or both!

Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 11-03-2016, 06:58 AM

K-3 Discontinued at B&H
Posted By csa

Replies: 15
Views: 2,658

I'm very happy I got my K3 about a year ago; absolutely love it! Sad that it's discontinued, however.:(

Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 11-03-2016, 07:24 AM

K-3 Discontinued at B&H
Posted By DW58

Replies: 15
Views: 2,658

My new K-3 from B & H arrived Tuesday. Have thoroughly enjoyed my first ever dslr, a K-50 but really looking forward to exploring the capabilities of the K-3.

Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 10-31-2016, 06:51 AM

24 megapixel vs 16 megapixel image quality for macros
Posted By normhead

Replies: 40
Views: 11,278

The larger the format the narrower DoF and the more work you have to do managing your focus plane.

But it can be done....
Some fall wild flowers... K-3 and FA 50 macro..

And a bee...

It can be successfully done, and you can increase your resolution, but perhaps not as dramatically as you might think. The Increase in MP may be a 50% increase between 16 and 24 Mp, but the resolution increase in MTF is more like 20% After about 6 MP the law of diminishing returns sets in pretty rapidly.

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 10-30-2016, 05:43 AM

Are we really THAT rare?
Posted By jgnfld

Replies: 7,241
Views: 988,388

I just recently had the experience someone mentioned I think on this thread a while ago. Was out hiking when rain came. Passed a person who looked surprised/concerned that I had my camera out. Told him. "It's OK, it's a Pentax!"

Is it sinful to feel smug sometimes?

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 10-21-2016, 06:10 PM

K-1 or K-3 for birding
Posted By normhead

Replies: 173
Views: 17,131

Having set up my K-3 with a DA*200 ƒ2.8 and a K-1 with a Tamron 300 ƒ2.8, shooting for the same DOF , shooting Blu Jays from my blind, the K-3 out performed the K-1 in every conceivable way. Subject detail, noise, colour rendition. And the weight penalty for using the K-1 and 300 2.8 is 4.5 pound. Not to mention the practical situations like the burst rate making image acquisition twice as fast on the K-3. That's very important with small birds where a "pose" may no last more than a second. The was virtually no difference in speed of AF.

My test

I did some testing today... tripods set up maybe 2 feet apart both in the blind, taken at approximately the same time.....

One taken with the K-3 and DA*200 ƒ2.8
One taken with the K-1 and Tamron SP AF 300 f2.8

To normalize DoF, the K-3 was shot at ƒ5.6 and 400 ISO
The K-1 was shot at ƒ8 and 800 ISO

The surprise from that was the K-3 had better noise and contrast.

But enough of the web sized comparisons what about the pixel peeper you all say.

The K-3 produced more subject magnification and a cleaner image and more vibrant colour. Not what I expected.

OK, so it's only one test... but, so far in my testing.... 1 for the K-3 as a birding camera, 0 for the K-1.

Meanwhile my K-3 combination wights 1745 grams, (3.84 pounds).my K-1 combination weighs 3675 (8.1 pounds. More than 4 pounds difference.

And the size difference is equally obvious.

So the question becomes, for birding, are you making a mistake thinking a K-1 will be an improvement.

The following images are split between K-1 and K3 images, can you even tell the difference. What is there in the bottom images that could be worth carrying an extra 4 pounds of weight, 8 pounds instead of less than 4, that will make it worth your while?

The advantages of the K-3, faster burst, deeper buffer, and a much lighter lens to get the same FoV.

But if you get lucky, if you carry the heavy gear, if you can get shot off at an appropriate time, essentially if you get lucky, you can get a better image with a K-1.

K-1 and F 1.7x AF adapter on a Tamron SP AF 300 . 510mm ƒ4.5
ISO 3200, ƒ7.1, 1/400s

The one image I can point to where the K-1 images paid me back for the extra work. I'm sure printed to 50x60 this will be an awesome image. Anyone know someone who wants a 50 inch x 60 inch image of a Nuthatch.... I don't. And this is selected from the 250 images I've taken with both the K-3 and K-1 since I got the K-1. So once out of 250 keepers, which probably represent over 1000 images if not more, i felt the K-1 gave me something the K-3 couldn't.

If everything else is right, you have good light, focussed in the right place etc, you get the bird framed the way you want, your lens is long enough (the big) etc. etc, etc, the K-1 is better, but not in every circumstance as in whatever conditions produced the first two posted images. So far for an average shooter like myself with a reasonable amount of shooting under my belt, I take the K-3 out to get a new birds or to capture something specific. I take the K-1 out when I'm feeling lucky.

If worst comes to worst, if you're a birder, and you have your 500mm lens on your K-1 and you're too far away, just put your K-3 on the back of the big lens. It's not much different than having a 50% longer lens in your bag, and the whole system will weigh less. You might get your shot. Anything the K-3 does, the K-1 does smaller.

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 10-10-2016, 05:44 PM

BH not offerening extended warranty anymore?
Posted By C_Jones

Replies: 16
Views: 1,703

In case anyone needs to know, a buyer does not need to purchase a Pentax extended warranty from the same seller as they bought a Pentax DSLR from. You can buy the warranty from another seller within the time period requirement, hold on to the receipt, and you are set.

Forum: Lens Clubs 01-16-2014, 11:19 AM

DA Limited Zoom Club
Posted By Crooski

Replies: 1,029
Views: 231,746

Original is very sharp
Sun and Shadow

Forum: Lens Clubs 01-13-2014, 11:47 AM

DA Limited Zoom Club
Posted By Crooski

Replies: 1,029
Views: 231,746

Very nice lens, good contrast warm colors, sharp
and a beautiful out of focus rendering

Here are a few round the village

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 09-04-2016, 01:48 PM

Question about Pentax as a brand
Posted By wielandrew

Replies: 73
Views: 8,278

You would have several options. All have approx. 100% fov pentaprism viewfinders. All are weather sealed.

K-50 - $430 w/kit lens (discontinued)

650g / 850g w/kit lens

16.3 MP

K-S2 - $527 / $647 w/kit lens

678g / 878g

20 MP, AA filter-less

Articulating LCD

K-70 - $647 body only

688g / 888g

24 MP, AA filter-less

Articulating LCD

K-3 - $700 body only (discontinued)

816g / 1016g

24 MP, AA filter-less

Magnesium body

K-3 II - $847 body only

799g / 999g

24 MP, AA filter-less

Magnesium body

>What about the menu system and shooting modes?

For Pentax they are all very similar. All of these cameras have two control dials and a significant amount of customization available. The main differentiator of the K-3 is the magnesium body.

>I am a little bit skeptical about the shake reduction feature.

I have only heard good things about Pentax's image stabilization. Perhaps more importantly lenses without VR built in can be smaller, lighter, and cheaper. For example the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 for Pentax vs. your version with VR (VC):

$499 (INT $237) vs. $649 (INT $370)

74 x 84mm vs. 80 x 94mm

430g vs. 570g

I've read that the VC version is optically inferior

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 09-04-2016, 04:39 AM

Question about Pentax as a brand
Posted By pathdoc

Replies: 73
Views: 8,278

Hi and welcome.

What we would recommend for you depends on what sort of shooting you do and how much money you have to spend (the flagship full-frame K-1 is roughly US$1800 new, body-only; the entry level bodies are less than half that; clearance models lower again), whether you are prepared to buy used, etc, and then there are lenses to buy (again, what do you shoot and what focal lengths would you need to replace in swapping systems?).

Switching systems is an expensive proposition, and while we're always eager to welcome more photographers into the Pentax fold, it's not a decision to be taken lightly. I went from a Nikon digital bridge camera to one of the early Pentax DSLRs (when the Nikon was stolen!!) before many of the current features were introduced, and I found the Pentax a delight to use, but I eventually had to update to a newer model (I have the K-5, which was a flagship model when I bought it in 2012), and the things I enjoy about the Pentax system are:

1) Weather resistance, when fitted with a lens +/- external flash (as needed) which have the same capability; it means I can be out in light rain or mist for a short time without having to worry too much.
2) Back compatibility with the entire range of legacy Pentax lenses (with small workarounds for the earlier manual lenses; they are trivial for a more experienced photographer).
3) In-body shake reduction, so that EVERY lens I put on the camera has stabilisation (right back to the M42 screwmounts with an adapter).
4) I find the ergonomics very pleasant, but this is such an individual thing that I hesitate to speak for others.

Downsides:
Autofocus and DSLR videography are widely described as Pentax weak spots when compared against other DSLR makers, but depending on the shooting you do, this MAY not be relevant. This has only occasionally been limiting for me, and then with a significantly older body (4 years) shooting under difficult circumstances. Lens choices are also fewer, but others may look at the Canon and Nikon lineups and say they have too much choice.

For full-frame, the choice of modern, digital-era full frame lenses is currently limited and they are mostly expensive f/2.8 zooms, but there is a broad range of film-era AF lenses, a couple of which are still made, plus 50mm and 100mm macro primes which are excellent.

For APS-C, there is a very good range which should suit the needs of most photographers (and the crop factor is 1.5 rather than 1.6, so that you get a little extra field of view with any given focal length).

Insofar as mirrorless APS-C are concerned, I have heard almost entirely good things about Fuji - that they do what they do really well - but in my eyes, the advantage of mirrorless seems to be for people who shoot light, short, wide-angle prime lenses designed for that system; once you are much past short tele, the advantage evaporates and you are almost better off using a DSLR. YouTube user "The Angry Photographer", for example, was as far as I can tell once exclusively a Nikon SLR/DSLR shooter but now uses Fuji a lot in certain particular circumstances and runs both systems in parallel. He has a lot to say about "mirrorless hype", his general philosophical thrust seeming to be that merely being mirrorless does not make a digital camera better, but Fuji mirrorless digital cameras are high quality pieces of kit that in some circumstances for some of his shooting are better than any of his DSLRs; ergo he bought and uses them.

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 09-04-2016, 03:47 AM

Question about Pentax as a brand
Posted By roti

Replies: 73
Views: 8,278

Hi,

I am a canonian, thinking about switching brands.
I started with 350D back in 2007 then switched to the 500D. I mostly shoot during my travels, so I value the portability of my camera. I also almost never use the flash, so often I find myself needing more ISO (with 500D I try to stick to ISO 800 as much as possible, and in worst cases go to ISO 1600; it's maximum, ISO 3200, is a pain). I don't have many lenses, so I am considering a switch now.

I looked a lot at the new hot stuff in town: mirrorless. They are an intriguing proposition (with Fuji beeing on top of my list), but I am still not convinced of the portability they promise. Canon 500D + Tamron 17-50 (non VC) weighs almost 1000g. Fuji X-T10 with Fujinon 18-55 F2.8 weighs a little over 1000g. So where is the flange focal range advantage here? Sony's A7 seems to have the same "problem".

Besides that, I am used to an optical viewfinder. I like it, and I am a little bit afraid to switch an electronic one. I read a lot about them, and while it's true I haven't tried one extensively, I can't imagine them beeing better as the optical ones. So for the moment I am thinking to stick to DSLR.

It would seem there are only three companies to choose from, when it comes to DSLR: Canon, Nikon and Pentax. Sony is going mirrorless (and I don't like them anyway :)). I generally like my Canon, I guess many would reccomend not to switch. I haven't made up my mind yet, anyway, but I also did not shoot extensively with anything else or shared experience with somebody else.

What I miss in my current camera:
- high ISO
- weather sealing/high quality construction
- viewfinder who covers the entire picture

What I would like in my new camera:
- good construction and/or weather sealing
- more portability (less weight, smaller size)
- no articulated screen (I believe it shortens the life of the camera, as it will eventually break)

I was initially thrilled when I saw Canon releasing the 100D, but sadly they positioned it even lower than the current entry-level xxxDs, and clearly targeted at beginners. Yes, this camera is an excercise, maybe they come up with a new model that will be targeted at a different audience, but that hasn't happened yet. I also considered the 6D for a while, thinking to give up my portability requirement in favour of high ISO, but I'm not convinced yet that this is a good trade off for me. I also need to look closer at the lenses, as I may end up carrying way more than the 250g, which is the weight difference between 500D and 6D. Size is also becoming uncomfortable with 6D.

One thing I don't like about Canon is that they started to have too many products, and they have to leave out features from certain models, to prevent them from canibalizing on higher end ones. This is the case with 100D, 80D and 6D. Strangely, 80D, 7D Mk II and 6D are all similarly priced.

Apparently Nikon is generally better than Canon at high ISO, but that's only from several reviews I read.

Canon's are almost all manufactured in Japan, which I consider a good thing. This is not the case with Nikon.

So, one day I decided to have a look at Pentax, and this brings me here. I was surprised to see weather sealing and viewfinder with full coverange even in the entry levels (which are more expensive than Canon's because of that). I guess this is because Pentax does not have to worry so much about the entry levels cannibalizing on their flagship products. Or maybe they just want to offer something that the big guy's don't (at least not in the entry levels). Either way it's a good thing.

So, my questions to you are:
What Pentax would you reccomend for me?
What are your general views and oppinions on Pentax as a brand? What's keeping you with Pentax, and what annoys you?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Cheers,
Razvan

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 09-04-2016, 05:02 AM

Question about Pentax as a brand
Posted By deus ursus

Replies: 73
Views: 8,278

I find my K-5IIs to be very portable, although it's probably not as light as your 500D. Even though it's an advanced dslr, it's very compact, and with a 50 or a 35 mm lens attached to it, it almost fits into the pocket in the side door in my car. I believe with a 40 mm pancake it actually will fit into the pocket. Its compactness also makes it a joy to shoot with. It's almost like shooting with a film slr.

So if you can get hold of a used K-5/K-5II/K-5IIs I can highly recommend it. You get a very capable, very compact body for what you pay for a less capable entry level body. :-)

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 09-04-2016, 07:13 AM

Question about Pentax as a brand
Posted By aleonx3

Replies: 73
Views: 8,278

As a brand, I think Pentax/Ricoh DSLR has a greater value offer than Canikon. If you have a chance to handle one, you will feel the difference in the camera built and ergonomics. Depending on your budget, you can get either a k-S2 (entry level APS-C), or a k-3 II (mid-tier APS-C) or k-1 (high-end FF). Or alternatively, if you can get older models (new or used) k-5II or k-3, they are quite nice and certainly adequate for most types of shooting styles. As for the lens, you can get the DA 16-85 or 16-135 (both WR) or primes depending on your interests and needs.

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 09-04-2016, 07:27 AM

Question about Pentax as a brand
Posted By UncleVanya

Replies: 73
Views: 8,278

Pro:
Size (apsc bodies in particular)
Dedicated Apsc lens selections
Menus make sense photographicly
Feature rich top to bottom of line
Small high quality primes
Value relative to price
Superb ergonomics
Shake reduction is great

Con:
SDM failure rate seems high
Focusing can be slower
Focus tracking of moving subjects
3rd party lens availability
Fast aperture choices limited
3rd party support lags
Mediocre repair facility (usa)
Ok but not stellar jpgs ( use raw)

What I would recommend is giving more details on budget and type of photography. I would suggest you give details on existing lenses and what you may want to change about your kit.

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-29-2016, 06:27 PM

Anyone else miss the K200D?
Posted By ChristianRock

Replies: 1,163
Views: 205,158

You are right, that was a typo. Having the K-r, I should know better :)

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-29-2016, 12:42 PM

Anyone else miss the K200D?
Posted By mohb

Replies: 1,163
Views: 205,158

Sorry my mistake.:o

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-22-2016, 06:17 PM

Anyone else miss the K200D?
Posted By northcoastgreg

Replies: 1,163
Views: 205,158

My K200D is now used only for close-up photography, where AF is not very useful and 10 MP is plenty, with lens like the F 85 f2.8 soft and the K 50 f1.2. But the other day I had been out photographing some flowers when, unexpectedly, I stumbled upon a nice sunset. So the K200D got another chance to show it's stuff as a landscape camera. Shot with the K 50 f1.2:

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-17-2016, 08:17 AM

Anyone else miss the K200D?
Posted By ogl

Replies: 1,163
Views: 205,158

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 05-31-2016, 02:05 PM

Anyone else miss the K200D?
Posted By Jonathan Mac

Replies: 1,163
Views: 205,158

I decided to take my K200D out for a while this evening and I have to say it felt weird using it again instead of the K3. Having the Katzeye was great but I noticed the reduced responsiveness and the worse screen. Still, it was good to use it again, even if just for a few shots.

IMGP2508a by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

IMGP2367a by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

IMGP2370a by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 03-31-2016, 12:13 PM

Anyone else miss the K200D?
Posted By MiLKMAN

Replies: 1,163
Views: 205,158

I agree with john5100, K200D autofocus could be better, especially with large aperture lenses.

Pentax K200D + Sigma 35 Art

Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 03-30-2016, 11:27 AM

Anyone else miss the K200D?
Posted By john5100

Replies: 1,163
Views: 205,158

paulh - Thank you for the nice comments

Volley - well done!

I think the CCD does rich colors really well.

Veteran's Day Photo Walk LeMay Museum by John Rudolph, on Flickr

Sunday Photowalk LeMay Museum by John Rudolph, on Flickr

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