Dslr gurus- new camera time

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower
Looking more at the specs of the Pentax it seems like a really great camera. In fact, all of the features it has at that price is a bit offputting. How did they do that? Is the quality up to snuff? Its hard without someone really putting it through testing. So far all of the opinons are just those of the forum users.

I'm thinking Pentax is trying to severly underprice competitors in an attempt to get more market share and get more people to seriously look at Pentax. You for instance, at first only looked at Nikon and Canon, but once you heard about the Pentax with its feature set at it's price point, began really considering it. I'm thinking Pentax might even be taking a hit (or close to one) by selling the camera at this price.

That would be pretty cool if it was true. I think that they need to put a bit more of their marketing muscle into it.

One negative thing i'm finding right now as I look further into it is the glass available for the Pentax. My f/1.8 is invaluable for indoor and night shots and I can't find anything similar (without getting extravegently high priced).

You can get a 50mm f/1.4 AF for like $160 AR brand new.

Please show me where or give me a part number. I did not find such a lens. What i have seen is more in line with what JulesMaximus stated.

Yep, I just checked again. I counted a total of 26 lenses in the Pentax SLR/DSLR camera lens lineup and at least half of them were primes and I counted zero fast zoom lenses.

Canon has about 60 lenses in their lineup with many fast zooms and an excellent selection of primes. I only looked at Canon lenses here...I did not include 3rd party lenses like Sigma, Tokina or Tamron.

I'm sure Nikon has an equally impressive number of lenses available for their film and digital SLR cameras too.

 

[arrfep]

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower
Looking more at the specs of the Pentax it seems like a really great camera. In fact, all of the features it has at that price is a bit offputting. How did they do that? Is the quality up to snuff? Its hard without someone really putting it through testing. So far all of the opinons are just those of the forum users.

I'm thinking Pentax is trying to severly underprice competitors in an attempt to get more market share and get more people to seriously look at Pentax. You for instance, at first only looked at Nikon and Canon, but once you heard about the Pentax with its feature set at it's price point, began really considering it. I'm thinking Pentax might even be taking a hit (or close to one) by selling the camera at this price.

That would be pretty cool if it was true. I think that they need to put a bit more of their marketing muscle into it.

One negative thing i'm finding right now as I look further into it is the glass available for the Pentax. My f/1.8 is invaluable for indoor and night shots and I can't find anything similar (without getting extravegently high priced).

You can get a 50mm f/1.4 AF for like $160 AR brand new.

Please show me where or give me a part number. I did not find such a lens. What i have seen is more in line with what JulesMaximus stated.

50 f1.4 for $170 AR

PLUS plenty of other high quality lenses, PLUS IIRC you can use any Pentax lens ever created on all current Pentax bodies PLUS you shouldn't count out third party lenses.

PLUS....the new pancake lenses. Throw the 21mm and 40mm lenses in your pocket and with the weathersealed body and the shake reduction lessening the need for a tripod you've got pretty much the best travel SLR package ever.

And I'm not even a Pentax user. But the K10D is making me consider selling my 30D.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Originally posted by: arrfep

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower
Looking more at the specs of the Pentax it seems like a really great camera. In fact, all of the features it has at that price is a bit offputting. How did they do that? Is the quality up to snuff? Its hard without someone really putting it through testing. So far all of the opinons are just those of the forum users.

I'm thinking Pentax is trying to severly underprice competitors in an attempt to get more market share and get more people to seriously look at Pentax. You for instance, at first only looked at Nikon and Canon, but once you heard about the Pentax with its feature set at it's price point, began really considering it. I'm thinking Pentax might even be taking a hit (or close to one) by selling the camera at this price.

That would be pretty cool if it was true. I think that they need to put a bit more of their marketing muscle into it.

One negative thing i'm finding right now as I look further into it is the glass available for the Pentax. My f/1.8 is invaluable for indoor and night shots and I can't find anything similar (without getting extravegently high priced).

You can get a 50mm f/1.4 AF for like $160 AR brand new.

Please show me where or give me a part number. I did not find such a lens. What i have seen is more in line with what JulesMaximus stated.

50 f1.4 for $170 AR

PLUS plenty of other high quality lenses, PLUS IIRC you can use any Pentax lens ever created on all current Pentax bodies PLUS you shouldn't count out third party lenses.

PLUS....the new pancake lenses. Throw the 21mm and 40mm lenses in your pocket and with the weathersealed body and the shake reduction lessening the need for a tripod you've got pretty much the best travel SLR package ever.

And I'm not even a Pentax user. But the K10D is making me consider selling my 30D.

Thanks for the link, thats the sort of thing i was looking for. It is out of stock, though, which makes me wonder if its out of production because i can't find it anywhere else.

It does sound like your a fan already! It reminds me of whats going on in my own head-there are so many reasons why it seems like such a great choice.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

I'm actually thinking of getting the Nikon D40 when it comes out...

 

[arrfep]

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: arrfep

50 f1.4 for $170 AR

PLUS plenty of other high quality lenses, PLUS IIRC you can use any Pentax lens ever created on all current Pentax bodies PLUS you shouldn't count out third party lenses.

PLUS....the new pancake lenses. Throw the 21mm and 40mm lenses in your pocket and with the weathersealed body and the shake reduction lessening the need for a tripod you've got pretty much the best travel SLR package ever.

And I'm not even a Pentax user. But the K10D is making me consider selling my 30D.

Thanks for the link, thats the sort of thing i was looking for. It is out of stock, though, which makes me wonder if its out of production because i can't find it anywhere else.

It does sound like your a fan already! It reminds me of whats going on in my own head-there are so many reasons why it seems like such a great choice.

Honestly, I would guess that it's out of stock because of how popular Pentax's new dSLRs have been and there's been a rush on good primes. From what I heard, B&H sold out of their whole stock of 100 or so dSLR's on the first day. And since the 50mm prime is what most people often get for a first lens...I'd say it's safe to assume it's not being discontinued.

Also, I'm not sure if you're familiar with www.keh.com but they have an excellent selection of used lenses. I've purchased there before and have been happy. Their "like new" lenses often look new, and the "excellent" lenses look like new.

And you are right. I am a fan of the K10D. To be honest I am awaiting further reviews...and then I will seriously consider switching. But anyway. Good luck. Photography is one of those hobbies where unfortunately it is easy to get carried away with the Gear-itis. Always wanting something new.

 

[Fike]

To me high ISO performance is the holy grail of digital cameras including SLRs. The Canon cameras own quality at ISOs above 800. That gives you extra stops to stop action or take photos in low light. I have used a 50mm 1.4 in a dark bar and gotten nice shots of a music act playing. That is unbeleivable.

As for getting good poster sized prints, try using qimage ( http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage/ ). It does much better rendering and sharpening for large prints. I am printing 13" x 19" with 8MP. Check around at reviews. Most users agree that it is superior to photoshop printing. I know that sounds unbeleivabl for a $75 software, but I have done it. I currently use it to print stitched images tath are 13" x 60". Great shots result.

Reasons to replace your 300D DSLR: better viewfinder, higher ISO, better ergonomics
Reasons that are not very good for replacing 300D: more pixels, better image quality

6MP of 300D is darn good. You should be able to do excellent 11x14 images with that camera. If they look bad, they either have bad focus or poor exposure. It is tempting to think buying a new camera will make you a better photographer or printer. You have a fantastic camera body now. Invest in practice and good lenses. your lenses are kind of on the crummy end, except for the 50mm 1.8 which is an okay lens.

let the flames begin....

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: arrfep

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower
Looking more at the specs of the Pentax it seems like a really great camera. In fact, all of the features it has at that price is a bit offputting. How did they do that? Is the quality up to snuff? Its hard without someone really putting it through testing. So far all of the opinons are just those of the forum users.

I'm thinking Pentax is trying to severly underprice competitors in an attempt to get more market share and get more people to seriously look at Pentax. You for instance, at first only looked at Nikon and Canon, but once you heard about the Pentax with its feature set at it's price point, began really considering it. I'm thinking Pentax might even be taking a hit (or close to one) by selling the camera at this price.

That would be pretty cool if it was true. I think that they need to put a bit more of their marketing muscle into it.

One negative thing i'm finding right now as I look further into it is the glass available for the Pentax. My f/1.8 is invaluable for indoor and night shots and I can't find anything similar (without getting extravegently high priced).

You can get a 50mm f/1.4 AF for like $160 AR brand new.

Please show me where or give me a part number. I did not find such a lens. What i have seen is more in line with what JulesMaximus stated.

50 f1.4 for $170 AR

PLUS plenty of other high quality lenses, PLUS IIRC you can use any Pentax lens ever created on all current Pentax bodies PLUS you shouldn't count out third party lenses.

PLUS....the new pancake lenses. Throw the 21mm and 40mm lenses in your pocket and with the weathersealed body and the shake reduction lessening the need for a tripod you've got pretty much the best travel SLR package ever.

And I'm not even a Pentax user. But the K10D is making me consider selling my 30D.

Why would you sell your 30D for this relatively new and unknown camera? Gear-itis? Is there something about your 30D that you just can't live with?

I can understand someone who has no lenses and is just getting into this considering the Pentax but unless you're made of money or the brand you are with now suddenly started making crap I don't understand why you'd change.

I certainly didn't consider any other brands when I decided to buy a new DSLR last month. My reason for that was solely based on the fact that I have invested more money in Canon lenses than the cost of the camera body itself. It would have to be a huge and I mean huge step up (improvement in gear) for me to consider changing to Nikon or any other DSLR kit. Sure I could sell my lenses but I'd still take a substanstial loss. It's just not worth it. I'm sure there would be things I'd like about the Pentax and things I would dislike. I can see lens selection being up there on the list of dislikes though.

Sure you can use any Pentax lens made but many of those are manual focus only. I do like and use manual focus lenses but I also like and use autofocus lenses too. My eyes aren't what they used to be and autofocus is nice to have (which is one of the reasons I dislike the Rebel series DSLR cameras with their tiny viewfinders).

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Fike
To me high ISO performance is the holy grail of digital cameras including SLRs. The Canon cameras own quality at ISOs above 800. That gives you extra stops to stop action or take photos in low light. I have used a 50mm 1.4 in a dark bar and gotten nice shots of a music act playing. That is unbeleivable.

As for getting good poster sized prints, try using qimage ( http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage/ ). It does much better rendering and sharpening for large prints. I am printing 13" x 19" with 8MP. Check around at reviews. Most users agree that it is superior to photoshop printing. I know that sounds unbeleivabl for a $75 software, but I have done it. I currently use it to print stitched images tath are 13" x 60". Great shots result.

Reasons to replace your 300D DSLR: better viewfinder, higher ISO, better ergonomics
Reasons that are not very good for replacing 300D: more pixels, better image quality

6MP of 300D is darn good. You should be able to do excellent 11x14 images with that camera. If they look bad, they either have bad focus or poor exposure. It is tempting to think buying a new camera will make you a better photographer or printer. You have a fantastic camera body now. Invest in practice and good lenses. your lenses are kind of on the crummy end, except for the 50mm 1.8 which is an okay lens.

let the flames begin....

I agree with you. Better lenses are quite often a better investment than a new camera body.

I would only add that you will benefit from faster startup times and higher FPS with the 30D over the 300D. Those were also compelling reasons, for me at least, to make that change.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: arrfep

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower
Looking more at the specs of the Pentax it seems like a really great camera. In fact, all of the features it has at that price is a bit offputting. How did they do that? Is the quality up to snuff? Its hard without someone really putting it through testing. So far all of the opinons are just those of the forum users.

I'm thinking Pentax is trying to severly underprice competitors in an attempt to get more market share and get more people to seriously look at Pentax. You for instance, at first only looked at Nikon and Canon, but once you heard about the Pentax with its feature set at it's price point, began really considering it. I'm thinking Pentax might even be taking a hit (or close to one) by selling the camera at this price.

That would be pretty cool if it was true. I think that they need to put a bit more of their marketing muscle into it.

One negative thing i'm finding right now as I look further into it is the glass available for the Pentax. My f/1.8 is invaluable for indoor and night shots and I can't find anything similar (without getting extravegently high priced).

You can get a 50mm f/1.4 AF for like $160 AR brand new.

Please show me where or give me a part number. I did not find such a lens. What i have seen is more in line with what JulesMaximus stated.

50 f1.4 for $170 AR

PLUS plenty of other high quality lenses, PLUS IIRC you can use any Pentax lens ever created on all current Pentax bodies PLUS you shouldn't count out third party lenses.

PLUS....the new pancake lenses. Throw the 21mm and 40mm lenses in your pocket and with the weathersealed body and the shake reduction lessening the need for a tripod you've got pretty much the best travel SLR package ever.

And I'm not even a Pentax user. But the K10D is making me consider selling my 30D.

Why would you sell your 30D for this relatively new and unknown camera? Gear-itis? Is there something about your 30D that you just can't live with?

I can understand someone who has no lenses and is just getting into this considering the Pentax but unless you're made of money or the brand you are with now suddenly started making crap I don't understand why you'd change.

I certainly didn't consider any other brands when I decided to buy a new DSLR last month. My reason for that was solely based on the fact that I have invested more money in Canon lenses than the cost of the camera body itself. It would have to be a huge and I mean huge step up (improvement in gear) for me to consider changing to Nikon or any other DSLR kit. Sure I could sell my lenses but I'd still take a substanstial loss. It's just not worth it. I'm sure there would be things I'd like about the Pentax and things I would dislike. I can see lens selection being up there on the list of dislikes though.

Sure you can use any Pentax lens made but many of those are manual focus only. I do like and use manual focus lenses but I also like and use autofocus lenses too. My eyes aren't what they used to be and autofocus is nice to have (which is one of the reasons I dislike the Rebel series DSLR cameras with their tiny viewfinders).

I'd probably say weather sealing, in-body IS, 10 MP, and a bigger viewfinder. You get so defensive when someone hates on Canon.

 

[kalster]

K10d looks interesting. I had a *ist dl and good number of lenses till my dslr kit was stolen . I wonder if k10d will support canon's usm type focusing (motor driven) on the lenses. that will help with AF speed on the *ist dl (i know its lower end and has only 3 af points) was slow

I am getting an xti ,now that I have no lenses or anything pentax anymore, manual focusing will be hard i am sure since the viewfinder will not be as good, but i want good AF speed and less noise at higher iso;s

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: kalster
K10d looks interesting. I had a *ist dl and good number of lenses till my dslr kit was stolen . I wonder if k10d will support canon's usm type focusing (motor driven) on the lenses. that will help with AF speed on the *ist dl (i know its lower end and has only 3 af points) was slow

I am getting an xti ,now that I have no lenses or anything pentax anymore, manual focusing will be hard i am sure since the viewfinder will not be as good, but i want good AF speed and less noise at higher iso;s

1 fast center focus point > multi AF points crap

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
I'd probably say weather sealing, in-body IS, 10 MP, and a bigger viewfinder. You get so defensive when someone hates on Canon.

Fair enough.

I don't think I was being defensive. It was a valid question.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Fike
To me high ISO performance is the holy grail of digital cameras including SLRs.

Agreed. Extrapolate this into the future. With better tech I'm thinking we can get ultra-sensitive, ultra-low-noise sensors. Imagine ISO 25,600! Lenses can then be lighter, cheaper, and still be bright enough for almost any situation. The only reason to get a bright lens at that point would be for the DOF affect, which could probably be created in photoshop CS10 or whatever

I'd probably say weather sealing, in-body IS, 10 MP, and a bigger viewfinder. You get so defensive when someone hates on Canon.

I take my gear in the rain and sand all the time when I'm using it. If my body can take it, I want my camera to be able to keep up. I had significant downtime and a bit of financial loss the last time I had to send my XT in for repair because sand got inside the body, under the buttons (jamming them), under the scroll wheel (jamming it), etc. Luckily that was on the last day of my trip. If it would have been the first day, like I had originally planned, I would have had to buy a NEW body out in Colorado.

I also once got hit by a rouge wave in Washington that was about twice my height. I immediately tucked my camera underneath my jacket and luckily it was ok, but if I hadn't reacted in time, I don't think a non-weatherproofed camera would have survived.

In-Body IS is a huge plus. The word is that it works very well on long telephoto lenses too, contrary to what some people believe. When will Canon do such a thing? Probably never to nowhere in the near future because that would hurt their ultra-expensive sales of IS lenses.

10MP, dust vibration, and a bigger, brighter viewfinder are a lot of bonuses too.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: kalster
K10d looks interesting. I had a *ist dl and good number of lenses till my dslr kit was stolen . I wonder if k10d will support canon's usm type focusing (motor driven) on the lenses. that will help with AF speed on the *ist dl (i know its lower end and has only 3 af points) was slow

I am getting an xti ,now that I have no lenses or anything pentax anymore, manual focusing will be hard i am sure since the viewfinder will not be as good, but i want good AF speed and less noise at higher iso;s

1 fast center focus point > multi AF points crap

The new K10D now supports fast USM-like focusing.

As for the number of AF points, that really depends on use. I always want more AF points. The 1D series of cameras are littered with them, which makes them great for tracking things like moving planes, racecars, birds in flight, animals galloping. It's hard to do that with just one AF point, or seven for that matter.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99
I'm actually thinking of getting the Nikon D40 when it comes out...

There was a thread on the D40 before and I think the general consensus was that the camera was for soccer moms who don't know or don't care about photography.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Fuzzy-

I just looked through your pictures, and i must say, they are absolutly beautiful!!! Well done buddy.

I wish they would just get on with the reviews. Like i said this is a christmas gift and i need to make a decision before too long or else it'll be a next year thing.

 

[imported_Mike]

Save some money and get the XT or D70 and finally get yourself some nice glass.

 

[yhelothar]

K10D FTW
Sure Canon has slightly better noise at 1600+, but Pentax has the shake reduction, which helps for 2-3 stops, much more effective than having a tad lower noise for low light shooting.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: SKORPI0
Canon EOS 400D, Nikon D80 and Sony Alpha A-100 Comparision

I'm in the same situation. Thinking of upgrading my almost 2 year old 300D (6mp) to a 10 mp digital SLR.

There was a thread in dpreviews that compared the noise level at ISO1600 between the K10D and the Sony Alpha, and the K10D won hands down.

To be honest, I have not had a real issue with 1600 on the A100, and from what I've seen the K10D is a little less noisy, but also tends to lose a little more detail. In most situations, my A100 has been fine.

Full-size ISO 1600 image from my A100.

All I did was bring it into Adobe Camera Raw (CS2) and save it as a quality 10 JPG. I didn't make any adjustments.

I have some that I shot in the snow last night and I'll share those too once I get home and can pull them onto my computer.

That said, the Pentax looks like an exceptional camera. I don't regret my Sony, but if I had it all to do over again, I would certainly give the Pentax very strong consideration.

ZV

Full-size ISO 1600 image from my 30D

This was shot at dawn with the lens stopped down to 13 hand held.

So? I never disputed that Canon was better for low-noise. What I do dispute, however, is the currently popular idea that Canon has the only useful ISO 1600 shots.

ZV

 

[kalster]

Sorry to thread crap

Can someone recommend a good 'not so expensive' wide angle zoom lens for Canon . My Pentax gear was stolen and I got a great deal on the xti , I got the xti and the 50mm 1/8 II lens. I am looking for a good wide angle zoom lens.(17-40 or 12-24 something in that range) I understand sigma and tamron's are cheaper than canon lenses (but sigma's have some quality issues?).If its hard to get a good zoom lens in the focal length range for less than 300-350 I wouldn't mind getting a good wide angle prime lens as well,I mostly want to shoot outdoors (at least for now)

 

[Fike]

the 17-40 F4 L is a fantastic lens. It generally can be had for $6xx.

 

[Fike]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
K10D FTW
Sure Canon has slightly better noise at 1600+, but Pentax has the shake reduction, which helps for 2-3 stops, much more effective than having a tad lower noise for low light shooting.

shake reduction is great when you are only photographing static subjects, but for any kind of sports, action or wildlife, shake reduction will still result in a blur. Try shooting a soccer game or a flying bird at a 20th of a second and you will get poor results, but at 3200 ISO and a 100th of a second, you are golden.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: kalster
Sorry to thread crap

Can someone recommend a good 'not so expensive' wide angle zoom lens for Canon . My Pentax gear was stolen and I got a great deal on the xti , I got the xti and the 50mm 1/8 II lens. I am looking for a good wide angle zoom lens.(17-40 or 12-24 something in that range) I understand sigma and tamron's are cheaper than canon lenses (but sigma's have some quality issues?).If its hard to get a good zoom lens in the focal length range for less than 300-350 I wouldn't mind getting a good wide angle prime lens as well,I mostly want to shoot outdoors (at least for now)

Sigma 10-20mm. No quality issues. You've not going to find any in the $300-350 range.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: kalster
Sorry to thread crap

Can someone recommend a good 'not so expensive' wide angle zoom lens for Canon . My Pentax gear was stolen and I got a great deal on the xti , I got the xti and the 50mm 1/8 II lens. I am looking for a good wide angle zoom lens.(17-40 or 12-24 something in that range) I understand sigma and tamron's are cheaper than canon lenses (but sigma's have some quality issues?).If its hard to get a good zoom lens in the focal length range for less than 300-350 I wouldn't mind getting a good wide angle prime lens as well,I mostly want to shoot outdoors (at least for now)

So what's your price range? $300-350? You're not going to get a wide Canon lens in that price range besides the kit lens, not even a prime.

As far as 3rd party, Tamron 17-35 f/2.8-4, which is a pretty decent lens for less than $300. Just get the Canon 17-40 f/4L. You're going to end up with it anyways sooner or later.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: SKORPI0
Canon EOS 400D, Nikon D80 and Sony Alpha A-100 Comparision

I'm in the same situation. Thinking of upgrading my almost 2 year old 300D (6mp) to a 10 mp digital SLR.

There was a thread in dpreviews that compared the noise level at ISO1600 between the K10D and the Sony Alpha, and the K10D won hands down.

To be honest, I have not had a real issue with 1600 on the A100, and from what I've seen the K10D is a little less noisy, but also tends to lose a little more detail. In most situations, my A100 has been fine.

Full-size ISO 1600 image from my A100.

All I did was bring it into Adobe Camera Raw (CS2) and save it as a quality 10 JPG. I didn't make any adjustments.

I have some that I shot in the snow last night and I'll share those too once I get home and can pull them onto my computer.

That said, the Pentax looks like an exceptional camera. I don't regret my Sony, but if I had it all to do over again, I would certainly give the Pentax very strong consideration.

ZV

Full-size ISO 1600 image from my 30D

This was shot at dawn with the lens stopped down to 13 hand held.

So? I never disputed that Canon was better for low-noise. What I do dispute, however, is the currently popular idea that Canon has the only useful ISO 1600 shots.

ZV

Just offering a counterpoint is all.