Should I switch to Pentax?

[simonedward]

Thank you very much Detritus and others for putting me on the right track for buying a Pentax lens. I have the K-5 and the 43 ltd lens and the DA 21. Looking to buy another, maybe the 77 FA or the 31 ltd, although I think maybe the 31 is too much in between the two I already have.
Anyone know if the 70 DA is good compared to 77?
Thanks a lot for any help.

 

[le petit prince]

Thank you very much Detritus and others for putting me on the right track for buying a Pentax lens. I have the K-5 and the 43 ltd lens and the DA 21. Looking to buy another, maybe the 77 FA or the 31 ltd, although I think maybe the 31 is too much in between the two I already have.
Anyone know if the 70 DA is good compared to 77?
Thanks a lot for any help.

I have what you have: DA21, FA43 and DA70.

Now using a FA77 on loan as well. I think both DA70 and FA77 have their pros and cons. Just google "DA70 vs FA77" and you'll get tons of useful discussion links. I feel it's a matter of budget, for me, they're pretty close in quality!

 

[neon2]

nay... leave pple to do their own research and make an informed choice.

this is not a forum inhabited by FLAO.

we should keep it that way and let our pictures do the talking

This is what makes us different

Seldom are there 'air-ware' and 'air-statements' made here.
We try to give 'meat' to our views and sample picts if need be.
Other places there will often be "once you try it, you won't look back"; "X vs XXX just no comparison" type air statements.

Sorry, I don't think you'd get the "Go Pentax, You Can't Go Wrong" line in here...

And hopefully never ever... That is just so lame for me..

Chill guys, I was just joking around. :bsmilie:

 

[detritus]

Chill guys, I was just joking around. :bsmilie:

i think we all can appreciate the occasional lighter moment and humour

i just feel that its important to be balanced in our assessment. pentax has many strengths - WR, small, wonderful primes, great backward compatibility, excellent design and user interface, relatively smaller than other brands. the cameras from the K-X onwards also have excellent low-light, high ISO performance.

but there are also some weak areas and pentax's service offerings may not suit everyone.

no point to mindlessly poison and instead of creating a new convert, u create a disgruntled user who realises too late that the camera doesn't suit his / her needs :bheart:

 

[pinholecam]

Chill guys, I was just joking around. :bsmilie:

No probs.
Wasn't taking it seriously actually
Just using it as an opportunity to take a jibe at those Air-ware sellers from other forums

no point to mindlessly poison and instead of creating a new convert, u create a disgruntled user who realises too late that the camera doesn't suit his / her needs :bheart:

:thumbsup:
Well said.

 

[JohnTaylor]

da18-55 wr?

The 18-55mm WR completely slipped my mind!

It's second hand for around $130, instead of $1300 for the 16-50mm f2.8.

But would 18mm be wide enough for a landscape photographer?

That's why I had the 16-50mm in mind.

 

[neon2]

i think we all can appreciate the occasional lighter moment and humour

i just feel that its important to be balanced in our assessment. pentax has many strengths - WR, small, wonderful primes, great backward compatibility, excellent design and user interface, relatively smaller than other brands. the cameras from the K-X onwards also have excellent low-light, high ISO performance.

but there are also some weak areas and pentax's service offerings may not suit everyone.

no point to mindlessly poison and instead of creating a new convert, u create a disgruntled user who realises too late that the camera doesn't suit his / her needs :bheart:

I think you sent most of the pentaxians nodding furiously away with agreement.
Now you just rekindle my temptation of buying a K-5. I am trying hard to resist after trying the Silver K-5 at SLRR. Oh man! The silver K-5 just rocks!

 

[MarineX]

i think diff... if ts wants to change should simply change it now than to invest more $ on a brand that you might already hv lose faith in.

i was once a canon user too.

 

[detritus]

The 18-55mm WR completely slipped my mind!

It's second hand for around $130, instead of $1300 for the 16-50mm f2.8.

But would 18mm be wide enough for a landscape photographer?

That's why I had the 16-50mm in mind.

for a thousand bucks, i can overlook 2mm. wouldn't u? :bsmilie:

just kidding... i know that at the wide end, every little bit counts. but i'm not really a landscape person so that's never bothered me too much.

in terms of practical usage, i recall an outing some time back when we went to the helix bridge to take pictures of MBS. FW was using the 18-55, i was using the 16-50.

same location, similar composition but his pic was nicer than mine ;p so i think its not just a matter of "wide enough".

 

[sunnycamera]

here is one my recent shot with my DAL 18-55mm at 18mm, it covered half of the bay from esplanade

at 18mm. (as 28mm in term of full frame.) ND8+ND4 filter at night f8 30sec ISO 200

 

[Iliveinalightbox]

Oh okay more and more convinced that a switch is worth while . Price wise is it better to just go straight for a k-5 or the k-7? Considering an update is coming next year

 

[MarineX]

Oh okay more and more convinced that a switch is worth while . Price wise is it better to just go straight for a k-5 or the k-7? Considering an update is coming next year

nothing beats K-5

 

[MarineX]

here is one my recent shot with my DAL 18-55mm at 18mm, it covered half of the bay from esplanade

at 18mm. (as 28mm in term of full frame.) ND8+ND4 filter at night f8 30sec ISO 200

alil too dark... imo.

 

[elavan]

use an exposure table..in this case it can easily run up to 120s in bulb mode :bsmilie:

 

[detritus]

Oh okay more and more convinced that a switch is worth while . Price wise is it better to just go straight for a k-5 or the k-7? Considering an update is coming next year

K5.

K7 is a generation behind and lags in terms of high ISO performance.

 

[aosis]

yes. SLR Rev is decent. i must confess, its been some months since i last browsed at TK. at that time, they still had some pentax.

TK no longer carry.

 

[JohnTaylor]

Oh okay more and more convinced that a switch is worth while . Price wise is it better to just go straight for a k-5 or the k-7? Considering an update is coming next year

Totally agree K-5, not k-7.

I see my K-5 as a long term camera. I feel it's obsolete-proof for a few years for me, since it has more than enough pixels, is weather proof, has a great sensor and decent movie function (although it's not auto focus). It has more features than I know what to do with. Any further improvement in my photos will come from my technique and experience, not from camera whizz-bang-techno-stuff

While I am just an enthusiast, I think it would take one heck of an jump in features to make me spend another 1.5-2k on the "K-3" (what I imagine the K-5 replacement will be called )

 

[simonedward]

thanks le petit prince. did you try the 31mm? Would you consider it given the lenses you have already? I find my 43 hit and miss, sometimes taking beautiful shots, sometimes poor, but that maybe because I am not so good at photography.

 

[banana0ne]

K5.

K7 is a generation behind and lags in terms of high ISO performance.

Since when we use high ISO on Landscape? K-7 is fine if you go below 30 sec of exposure... above 30 sec you'll need a lot of patience for the long shutter NR which cannot be disabled...

 

[ranchy]

Oh okay more and more convinced that a switch is worth while . Price wise is it better to just go straight for a k-5 or the k-7? Considering an update is coming next year

K7 is a good camera, however, the K5 is a even better camera. Technology has improved much on the K5. The improvements includes faster AF, better focusing at Night, Choosing Focus Priority or Release Priority, More controls over your camera Settings (For example, more USER Setting,5 instead of 1, Slow Shutter Speed NR could be off - Think this is one of the important thing for most users), better High ISO performance. It's more a All-rounder than K7. But at base ISO and if you are into Landscape only, K7 does it jobs perfectly.

If budget is a constraint, KR will be a good option for you have to have a feel of Pentax before you start investing too much in it.. It's even cheaper than the K7. ;p