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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-14-2008, 10:41 AM
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Probably. If I had more money in the bank I'd be willing to try to overcome it myself. ;-)
If you take the plunge, Ken, I hope you'll report back here in a month and let us know. Perhaps a thread entitled "Wow, I love Sony!" wouldn't get a warm reception here, although I personally am always open to that kind of thing. If you hesitate, I'd be grateful for a PM if you remember me. I always think it's valuable to hear from someone who already knows the Pentax cameras and can give a solid comparison to something else.
Will
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-14-2008, 09:28 AM
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Ken,
I own 'em both, too (K10D/K20D) and have shot thousands of sports photos - mainly volleyball, but also soccer and swimming - with both cameras. I'm not a measurebator. I'm a Roman Catholic and in my church, measurebation is reckoned a sin. So I can't say there is NOT a difference in the auto-focus speed. But I will say that, if there is a difference, I have not noticed it, either with my normal auto-focus lenses (like the Pentax 16-45 f/4 or the Sigma 17-70 macro) or with the Pentax DA* 50-135 f/2.8. I've used 'em all on both cameras. What matters most for both cameras (no surprise here) is light and contrast. Unfortunately I shoot a lot in low light, and both cameras will occasionally hunt, but it's not too big a problem, perhaps because I've learned how to avoid it.
As for your two-camera theory, I will confess that I've given this some thought myself, not because I'm looking for a second camera that will do some specific task better than the Pentax K10D/K20D, but because I think occasionally that I should perhaps hedge my bets and keep a foot in another platform. I do continue to shoot a roll every month with my Nikon N65, but like you, I'm too into digital now to consider that a serious alternative. I love Pentax for what it does and what it costs; but I'm not happy about a couple of the things it doesn't do or doesn't do so well, and as my photography practice grows I worry that in the future I may feel that moving to another platform is the right thing to do.
I'm not sentimental about the brands, definitely not a "Pentaxian". I just want stuff that works (and that I can afford). My impression is that Olympus is making some excellent cameras. But I'm not persuaded that the 4/3 system is a good idea in the long run, and even if it's a good idea, I'm not persuaded it's going to be a successful idea.
So what I've been considering is buying a low-end Nikon digital, like the D40 or the newer D60 (or even the D50, which oddly is older than the D40). But so far, the limitations of these models as compared to the Pentax K20D are so great that I just can't convince myself it's worth spending even $500 or $600.
It would be very cool to be able to own a slew of really good cameras. I'd love to have a Nikon D300, a Canon 40D and even a very good Olympus or Sigma. If I win the lottery, I'll do it. But especially for sports photography or any kind of photography where things happen really fast, you must be able to use the camera intuitively, and that means you have to have developed habits, so you can use the camera without stopping to think about what you're doing. And it's really hard to reach that level of comfort when you're using multiple systems that are quite different. I find it awkward to shoot with the Pentax *ist DS because I'm so comfortable with the ergonomics of the K10D/K20D now that the *ist DS's lack of a rear e-dial is an annoyance. If I use the *ist DS I tend to put it into P mode - but even then, I miss hyper-manual.
So after thinking about it, I'm going to stick with Pentax. It's not perfect for everything I do. In fact, it's hardly perfect for anything that I do. But it's very good at most of what I do, the ergonomics are great, the prices are very competitive, and I know that other brands have their problems, too, even if I don't know exactly what they are.
Will
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