Pentax Dilemma

[Brendan O'Connell]

Hi all,
I mostly shoot nature (willdife and landscapes). I have been looking into Pentax for about a year now because of the quality you get for the price you pay, as well as the amount of WR options they offer. I have a pretty low budget (around $1100). My primary choice would be the K3, but at its pricepoint I could actually get a K50 and some more lenses. Based on any experience y'all have with Pentax, which would be a better option: K3 and their middle of the line telephoto lenses, or the K50 with better glass (say the 50mm 1.8 or 100mm WR macro)? I already have the 55-300 WR from a time it was on sale with B&H.

Another option would be a Canon 7D Mark I. The only issue I have with this is that Canon doesn't make any WR lenses (at least none that the commonwealth can afford).

Thanks! Suggestions are much appreciated!

 

[tirediron]

I can't speak from first-hand experience, having been away from Pentax since the mid 1980s, BUT... in general, a lower-end body with higher-end glass will usually yeild a better result than the reverse. As far as weather-resistance goes, really, if you want that degree of protection, protect the WHOLE unit. I always have a couple of packages of camera condoms in every bag I own.

 

[Brendan O'Connell]

I can't speak from first-hand experience, having been away from Pentax since the mid 1980s, BUT... in general, a lower-end body with higher-end glass will usually yeild a better result than the reverse. As far as weather-resistance goes, really, if you want that degree of protection, protect the WHOLE unit. I always have a couple of packages of camera condoms in every bag I own.

Thanks for the info!

 

[goodguy]

1100$ is an excellent beginning.
Pentax makes very good cameras, it is not as popular as Canon or Nikon, my knowledge of Pentax is very limited.
Frankly for this amount I would get the Nikon D5300 with 18-55mm VR and 55-200mm VR
Maybe have enough even to get the Nikon 50mm 1.8G for portrait and low light photography.

BTW not sure what you mean by WR ?
Is that Pentax inbody vibration reduction system ?

 

[Brendan O'Connell]

1100$ is an excellent beginning.
Pentax makes very good cameras, it is not as popular as Canon or Nikon, my knowledge of Pentax is very limited.
Frankly for this amount I would get the Nikon D5300 with 18-55mm VR and 55-200mm VR
Maybe have enough even to get the Nikon 50mm 1.8G for portrait and low light photography.

BTW not sure what you mean by WR ?
Is that Pentax inbody vibration reduction system ?

Thanks for the insight. WR = weather resistant

 

[chuasam]

Yes but you're never going to find friends you can just borrow lenses from

 

[AceCo55]

I started off (dslr's) with Pentax but in the end the lack of lenses or the time it took for Pentax mounted lenses to come onto the market was just too frustrating. I waited for 18 months to get a Pentax mount 70-200mm f2.8 Sigma lens.
If I had been with Nikon or Canon, I would have had access to their huge range of lenses and lenses from the independents (eg Sigma, Tamron) as soon as they were made.

I ended up with Nikon simply because of one lens they had and Canon didn't have an equivalent.

I would seriously think through the "lens availability issue" - if you can live with less possible lenses and can wait for Pentax mounted lenses, then you will find Pentax to be fine cameras. If it's likely to be an issue, you will find Nikon and Canon to be fine cameras.

 

[iolair]

I own and use the K-3 professionally; it's a great camera and compared to lesser Pentaxes has a more comfortable grip, higher burst rate and dual card slots ... you need to decide how important those are to your shooting. (For paid work, I consider dual card slots essential).

The 50mm f/1.8 is cheap and sharp, but I don't see the focal length being that useful for landscapes and wildlife.

 

[limr31]

Remember too that Pentax DSLR bodies are compatible with a wide range of K-mount legacy lenses if you're willing to focus manually, so that can increase your pool of possible lenses that might be available to you more cheaply. I've only had experience with the K-5 (with digital Pentax, anyway), which is better than the K-50 but not as advanced (and presumably not as expensive) as the K-3. Is that a possibility?

Also, where are you looking to buy? Have you looked at KEH for used bodies? You might be able to find a K-3 AND the lenses you want and stay within your budget.

 

[DarkShadow]

Landscape any of the above will do but wildlife and your budget K-3 hands down. It has a buffer to back up the rest of its performance with 27 focus points 24 of them Cross type, 8.3 Fps,2 Card slots,92 weather seals and even inside the door of the card slots is a decent chunk of rubber. The 24 MP sony sensor is excellent and raw files clean up real nice from any noise. Add the good glass and its a winning combo.

I might sound biased but its the best Crop Sensor Camera I ever had and I had Canon and Nikon JMHO.

 

[Brendan O'Connell]

I own and use the K-3 professionally; it's a great camera and compared to lesser Pentaxes has a more comfortable grip, higher burst rate and dual card slots ... you need to decide how important those are to your shooting. (For paid work, I consider dual card slots essential).

The 50mm f/1.8 is cheap and sharp, but I don't see the focal length being that useful for landscapes and wildlife.

Thanks everyone, I got my K-3 in a couple weeks ago along with the 55-300, 35 2.4, and 50 1.8 from adorama. Iolair, since you shoot with the K-3 professionally, you may be able to offer some help with this: I've been wanting to shoot some sunsets at home using HDR. In order to do this manually in PP, I need to spot meter for my exposures, correct? I have not yet figured out how to do this...is it possibly on the K-3?

 

[iolair]

Thanks everyone, I got my K-3 in a couple weeks ago along with the 55-300, 35 2.4, and 50 1.8 from adorama. Iolair, since you shoot with the K-3 professionally, you may be able to offer some help with this: I've been wanting to shoot some sunsets at home using HDR. In order to do this manually in PP, I need to spot meter for my exposures, correct? I have not yet figured out how to do this...is it possibly on the K-3?

I'm not sure what you're asking; to create an HDR from a single RAW file or multiple JPEGs isn't dependent on any particular metering mode.

Anyway, to change the metering mode, hold down the metering mode button to the left of your viewfinder (it has the trash can icon next to it too) and turn the back e-dial to cycle between scene, centre-weighted or spot metering.

 

[Brendan O'Connell]

Thanks everyone, I got my K-3 in a couple weeks ago along with the 55-300, 35 2.4, and 50 1.8 from adorama. Iolair, since you shoot with the K-3 professionally, you may be able to offer some help with this: I've been wanting to shoot some sunsets at home using HDR. In order to do this manually in PP, I need to spot meter for my exposures, correct? I have not yet figured out how to do this...is it possibly on the K-3?

I'm not sure what you're asking; to create an HDR from a single RAW file or multiple JPEGs isn't dependent on any particular metering mode.

Anyway, to change the metering mode, hold down the metering mode button to the left of your viewfinder (it has the trash can icon next to it too) and turn the back e-dial to cycle between scene, centre-weighted or spot metering.

I've seen videos where people will say "expose for your highlights, expose for the foreground, expose for the shadows", etc. using spot metering. Thanks