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Author Topic: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]  (Read 13242 times)

Pelao

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #20 on: November 27, 2010, 09:51:45 am »

Being a Pentax and Canon user, I'd like to point that the real reason one could swich to Canon is not because of fashion. If you are not pro, why would you need to swich to Canon or Nikon D3?
But what Pentax does not have today, is a full system of pro camera+optics+accesories.

Canon has features that really need pros, their gear distribution is examplary, accesories are made by a huge amount of manufacturers.
Full frame is not really an option for pros except some niches like journalism (1DMK4).
AF from Nikon seems to be 1000 years-light better, that is why a lot of sport photographers are using the D3,
Low light capabilities of the FF sensors has nothing to do with what the very good Pentaxes can offer. Take some pics in a dark church with your K5 and take the same pic with pushed isos with a full frame camera and the differtences are not subtle but real.
Canon is full of pro optics that are lacking in the Pentax line.
When and if Pentax goes Full Frame, wich current optics will be suitable? very little indeed.

There are some artifacts in video that are resolved with the 5D2. Video is also very basic. Accesories are expensives.

So Pentax, yes, great, I truly love it, but...it just depends on where your needs are. I use my Pentax for the fun with manual vintage optics, but I do not use it in lands of the 1D or 5D s. It simply does not compeat. IMO.

If there are no Pentaxes in the studios or stadiums it is for a reason.

I have been reading this thread with interest. I am at that point where my main camera, a 5D, is wearing out after years of hard use. I don't have a lot of lenses, and most would sell for good prices if I were to switch. So I am taking some time to consider options.

I am in two photographic worlds. At work photography is part of my profession - both the making of and the use of images. Personally, photography is a deeply valued creative activity. At work we have Nikon and Canon, the latter being relatively new to our team, mainly because of the 5D2 video. We have shot some TV ads with this gear.

So this post resonates with me. Assuming that the Canon and Nikon gear is easy to use, reliable and has good output, the pro depth and backup is important at work. My teams travel the world, and we need stuff that works, and which has support.

The K5 has attracted my attention at certain levels. The weather-proofing, the IBIS, the reasonable range of basic lenses, and the legacy options. The latter has become of interest to me since purchasing a GF1 and experiencing some great older lenses.

I am more than delighted by the output from my 5D. For the landscape photography I love so much, and some of the portraiture I am starting to enjoy, the FF does, to my mind, offer advantages. So I will want FF, and I will want the level and range of glass I currently enjoy, as well as the range of supporting tools.

A new camera is unlikely to make my images better. It may offer some more opportunities. So I am not in a rush to move on unless my 5D really falls apart. But I have pretty much rules out the K5, in spite of seeing attractions. A Pentax FF might see me reconsider, but it's only a might.

I am more likely to look at a D700 successor or 5D3.
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tetsuo77

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #21 on: November 27, 2010, 01:54:58 pm »

I do understand your points, which WERE true until very recently, and were the result mainly of serviceability and, truth to be told, brand hype. But then, it came the 645d, and excuses are starting to seem bit.banal, to be honest. Only stuff to put you off: service and video capability, and speed for sports. The big d is as bulky as the canons and Nikons are, and on a studio environment not really a problem. You still can use the vertical lens system for it. Think something more similar to the LEica solution, but being able to use the biggest lenses all throughout the system.
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dkoons

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #22 on: November 27, 2010, 11:07:42 pm »

  My initial  concern on the Pentax was in lenses. After some suggestions on this list, I realized what few lenses I need. I once had a  35mm sigma with a 28-105 zoom, we bought it at the birth of our son and used it so much that the pop up flash was about "smoked out". I used only a 80mm on my Hasselblad for the first 3 yrs and did fine. My real issue was what to buy to obtain the  quality I had in medium format film. Secondly was a knee jerk reflex when I price the FF cameras. I appreciate the input on the pentax system, now the hard part is deciding if a crop sensor will suffice, or if I will kick myself for not going FF. Dan
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Justinr

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #23 on: November 30, 2010, 04:10:45 am »

I was in the studio yesterday doing portraiture with the Mamiya and ZD back. This has produced some excellent results for me in the past but it is slow and unreliable in operation so I switched to the K10 which fired away on the button producing images that were quite acceptable but much more consistently and an awful lot quicker. No doubt as large prints they will not compare to the Mamiya which is not a problem in this particular case and indeed in very few cases nowdays. So does anybody want to buy my beloved Mamiya kit whilst I spend the money on a K5 and just a couple of extra lenses instead?

Attached photo is one taken on Pentax
« Last Edit: November 30, 2010, 04:28:04 am by Justinr »
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John Camp

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #24 on: November 30, 2010, 02:25:16 pm »

I currently have four camera systems, and I'm determined to get down to one or two. I travel a lot, and compactness is important. I tried Leica, but it's not working for me, and I'm going to sell it off. And the fact is, I'm tired of dragging my Nikon system around -- the D3 and the D300 are great cameras, but for what I do, there's not much that can't be duplicated by the K-5, which I've had for a couple of weeks now. The biggest problem with Pentax, IMHO, is the lack of a flash system as sophisticated as Nikon's. If I were a company like Hoya, I'd find a way to make the Pentax (accidentally?) compatible with the Nikon flash system...I suppose if you need huge fast glass, then you'd also need to go to either Canon or Nikon, but that's way more specialized than anything I will ever need. I guess the ultimate answer is to understand what you need, and then buy to that standard, and that's what I'm trying to do.

So the K5 (which has really fine high-ISO abilities and enough resolution for my style of printing) will compete with the Panasonic m4/3 as my camera of choice: I have a GH1 and a GF1, with several lenses (most recently added the 100-300) and I'm looking forward to the GH2 this spring. If the GH2 is as good as Michael has said it is, I may leave the Pentax behind, too. But I do like the Pentax; it's compact, handy, and has exceptional image quality. IMHO, it's right there with the D3 in quality, and it's much easier to move around the county. I have a fairly complete system in the overhead bin right now...

JC

JC



 
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Justinr

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #25 on: December 01, 2010, 01:51:56 pm »

Begs the question that with an iso of 12800 are vast'n'fast lens going to go the way of dinosaurs? I guess the two big boys will still make them for those who like a bit of bling.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2010, 01:54:30 pm by Justinr »
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spqr

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #26 on: December 01, 2010, 11:13:33 pm »

Begs the question that with an iso of 12800 are vast'n'fast lens going to go the way of dinosaurs? I guess the two big boys will still make them for those who like a bit of bling.

I tend to agree. I was using the Pentax K20D (I've been Pentax since my Yashica died in 95) for a couple of years and I quite enjoyed it, but the K-7 was sort of disappointing and I was seriously considering a brand switch to Nikon or Canon, with a strong consideration for the 5D mark II. Then Pentax announced the K-5 and it looked interesting, but I was still considering the switch. Then I started seeing images from it and the idea of a switch stopped there. This was an APS-C camera that was approaching the output quality of a full frame, with top notch high ISO capability, all packaged in a camera body that I already knew I loved. So, I bought it, knowing that Henrys would take it back if reality didn't live up to the Internet, especially if I was then looking to buy a more expensive option.

Then I shot this:



ISO 20,000. Well, the K-5 is something you can pry from my cold, dead, hands. At least until Pentax tops it, anyways. As for fast glass, I'm now less worried about it as a result, though I haunt Craigslist for the old, and excellent, Pentax lenses that appear there every now and then. I'm just an amateur and if I can squeeze this out of the K-5, I'm all good, I don't need a monstrous lens just get an additional stop or two of light.
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Justinr

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #27 on: December 05, 2010, 04:50:55 am »

The K10 is also remarkable in how it deals with mixed lighting, the photos in this gallery are pretty much straight from the camera. I was using a Metz as well but relying as much on a high iso as I was flash to preserve colour and atmosphere. If the K5 can also do this at much higher sensitivity, as it would appear to do in your photo spqr, then I most certainly want one to!

- Pallas Players
« Last Edit: December 05, 2010, 04:53:35 am by Justinr »
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spqr

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #28 on: December 05, 2010, 12:11:18 pm »

The K10 is also remarkable in how it deals with mixed lighting, the photos in this gallery are pretty much straight from the camera. I was using a Metz as well but relying as much on a high iso as I was flash to preserve colour and atmosphere. If the K5 can also do this at much higher sensitivity, as it would appear to do in your photo spqr, then I most certainly want one to!

- Pallas Players

I know what you mean, it was that kind of result that convinced me to make the jump from the K20D before the new year. That shot I took was without flash too, though I obviously had to do noise reduction and sharpening in post processing, it cleaned up very well. Personally, I found the K-5 to be a huge jump from the K20D and I found the K20D to be a solid upgrade from the K10D, so I think you'll find that if you make the move, it's a very worthwhile one.
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Pelao

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Re: The Pentax System [dedicated to dkoons]
« Reply #29 on: December 20, 2010, 02:19:47 pm »

For what it's worth, dpreview ( http://www.dpreview.com/  ) has it's full K-5 review available.

They score it a lintels higher than the D7000.  :o:)

Your mileage may vary.

« Last Edit: December 21, 2010, 07:42:30 am by Pelao »
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