is pentax suitable for sports/ birding?

[remark13]

Hi all,
Looking to jump into purchasing first dslr and I like the pentax k50 and of course k3, but am concerned in reading multiple reviews that pentax may not be the best choice for some of my shooting, specifically, teen soccer, wildlife/birds and capturing those kids. I also enjoy landscape and macro. Love the 100% view finder and weatherproofing. did post general questions regarding purchase in other section, but no one with hands on use had info regarding pentax usability. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[table1349]

Frankly no. Not from my point of view. Not with the lenses they currently have. Not much in the way of long fast glass needed for sports or long for birding. When you buy a DSLR you are not buying a camera, you are buying a system. Look at the overall offerings of the various systems from all the major manufacturers. You will see why two of them are the common choice.

 

[KmH]

Another issue with Pentax and the long focal lengths needed for sports and birding is the use of in-the-camera image stabilization (IS), instead of in-the-lens IS.

In-the-camera IS lacks sufficient room to move as much as needed when using long focal lengths.

Image stabilization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sensor-shift

. . . In-body image stabilization requires the lens to have a larger output image circle because the sensor is moved during exposure and thus uses a larger part of the image. Compared to lens movements in optical image stabilization systems the sensor movements are quite large, so the effectiveness is limited by the maximum range of sensor movement, where a typical modern optically stabilized lens has greater freedom. The required sensor movement (both speed and range) increase with the focal length of the lens being used, making sensor-shift technology less suited for very long telephoto lenses, especially when using slower shutter speeds because the available motion range of the sensor quickly becomes insufficient to cope with the increasing image displacement.. . .

 

[petrochemist]

Pentax is not ideal, but it's certainly quite capable of both sports & birding. I was at the touring cars over the weekend and the problem I had with my old K7 was that the only lens I brought for it was too long. Using the Sigma 150-500 I couldn't fit the whole car in whilst panning at the hairpin.

This shows all I could fit of the typical Touring car:
http://www.pentaxuser.co.uk/photo/too-close--74351/large

The Bigmos has it's own image stabilization too, just have to remember to turn the in camera SR off..

 

[pez]

For birding, there are plenty of lenses available for Pentax, and plenty of folks are using the system to this end. For examples, peruse the images and discussion in this thread. I don't personally have a lens longer than 300mm (+ TC), but I never use that kind of reach without at least a monopod. Not sure why anyone would attempt "slower shutter speeds" with "very long telephoto lenses", either- especially when current sensors can be pushed to high ISO with good results. If money is no object, you can probably find a Pentax FA* 600mm f4 for sale, and there is a new lens in that range- but there are plenty of Sigma offerings in K-mount.

 

[petrochemist]

Not sure why anyone would attempt "slower shutter speeds" with "very long telephoto lenses", either- especially when current sensors can be pushed to high ISO with good results. If money is no object, you can probably find a Pentax FA* 600mm f4 for sale, and there is a new lens in that range- but there are plenty of Sigma offerings in K-mount.

As with other photography longer shutter speeds are useful to capture subject movement. I got a few decent shots of wheels at 1/90s and ~500mm (Handheld panning - since I couldn't get all the car in I went for details) I'll see if I can get examples on-line tonight.

 

[pez]

Not sure why anyone would attempt "slower shutter speeds" with "very long telephoto lenses", either- especially when current sensors can be pushed to high ISO with good results. If money is no object, you can probably find a Pentax FA* 600mm f4 for sale, and there is a new lens in that range- but there are plenty of Sigma offerings in K-mount.

As with other photography longer shutter speeds are useful to capture subject movement. I got a few decent shots of wheels at 1/90s and ~500mm (Handheld panning - since I couldn't get all the car in I went for details) I'll see if I can get examples on-line tonight.

Panning is a different thing, for sure. I was referring to the Wiki reference in a post above. When panning, IS is generally turned off, so there is zero issue of sensor shift vs. optical stabilization in that case.
But post some of your motosport pix!

 

[petrochemist]

Panning is a different thing, for sure. I was referring to the Wiki reference in a post above. When panning, IS is generally turned off, so there is zero issue of sensor shift vs. optical stabilization in that case.
But post some of your motosport pix!

Many IS systems have a special mode for horizontal panning which helps a lot.
I added a link to my first post showing all I could fit from the hairpin, it's the only pentax shot from the session I've got on-line yet (at Pentax User). The others will have to wait I don't have the password for my Flickr account on the laptop where the images are. There are a few of my older motorsports shots here: cars, bikes, boats most of which would have been using Pentax.

 

[remark13]

Never an easy answer, I have read and heard so many negatives regarding the pentax system, with AF, lack of lenses etc that it somewhat unnerving since I have only been trying to eek out as much as possible from my point and shoot. So I hear you and see some of the fine details (thx petrochemist) caught by the pentax system which I am happy to see as I do keep leaning towards that company for some reason. BUT being completely new to being able to control all of the aspects to get a great shot (though I do play with the settings in my point and shoot) will I be able to get acceptable results with pentax as I learn? I have gotten lucky enough to capture some birds in flight (lucky to live on a river, so lots of birds of prey) and even a red tailed hawk take down a crow that was harrassing them -- chased him to the tree where he had crow for lunch . So while I am willing to take many failed shots of birds I would hate to completly miss the action with my son's soccer team. Thank you all for your valuable input.

 

[remark13]

Of course without spending a small fortune in glass at the outset. Thx again

 

[IronMaskDuval]

For that price, why not get a refurbed d7000? It's weather proof, it's fast and it's proven.

 

[pez]

D7000 is a fine camera, and if you find one for a decent price, go for it! But you won't be disappointed with the Pentax system in the least, despite the dire warnings of Canikon fans. Pentax offers some unique control features on their bodies that we like a lot, and the ergos are superb. Perhaps the latest glass isn't the great deal it used to be (it's still great glass though!), but you can find excellent used Pentax glass for cheap- all stabilized. I know it's a hard decision- glad I don't have to make that one again any time soon, lol.

 

[pez]

At least Pentax has a sense of humor these days...

 

[table1349]

At least Pentax has a sense of humor these days...

At least Canon's sense of humor goes for the whole hog, not just the feet.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

I've been using my K30 for birding, and coupled to a Sigma 150-500 lens I've found it to be considerably more than adequate for the task quite frankly. The results, in truth, tend to say more about my technique on the day than the quality of the images I've taken with the K30/Sigma rig. On a good day they're as good as anything I could take with a £4000+ paparazzi special...and on a bad day I may as well have tried using a box brownie whilst wearing a blindfold!!