Upgrade to Canon or Stick with Pentax

[JaneCurrie]

HI All,

I currently operate a Pentax K200D and am considering upgrading to the Pentax K5. I currently have 3 good quality lenses, a 50mm 1.4 prime, 10-20mm wide angle and a 24-70mm 2.8 all sigma brand.

The question I have is do I upgrade to the K5 or should I sell up and switch to Canon. The model Canon I would buy is the 7D.

I am not a professional, just an enthusiast and would greatly appreciate any advice from both Canon and Pentax users.

Kind regards,
Jane

[Tannin]

1: Are you a bird photographer? IF YES - Canon is easily the best choice, Nikon the only other really practical option. Goto 6.

2: Do you want to do extreme macro photography? IF YES - I think Canon is the only choice but someone may correct me if there is a suitable lens available in other mounts. Goto 6.

3: Do you plan to do serious sport photography beyond the "just a hobby" level? IF YES - Canon and Nikon are the only games in town. Goto 6.

4: Do you want to get into architecture, food, or product photography in a way that will require a tilt-shft lens? IF YES - Canon or Nikon. Goto 6.

5: Did you say "no" to questions 1, 2, 3, and 4? IF YES - you can switch brands if you want to, but Pentax will do you very well, so what would be the point?

6 Now that your decision is clear, stop worrying and take some pictures!

[Lance B]

I agree with, Tony (Tannin).

If you do stick with Pentax, the K-5 is a superb camera and Pentax has some of the best lenses available. The K-5 is compact, and beautifully built and the IQ is amongst the best for APS C cameras. I used to shoot Pentax but now shoot Nikon and the only reason I switched was due to the fact that I said yes to some of the questions outlined in Tony's little questionnaire and I wanted a FF camera.

[Kym]

Welcome to the site.

Do you also have a external flash?

Tony is biased

[I @ M]

Stick with Pentax, then if you really need a sideways transition, invest HEAVILY in Nikon. If however you want to migrate backwards, then buy a Canon.


Confused yet?



No?

Stick around a bit longer then and buy hair dye to survive the constant "seemingly correct" advice.

[Kym]

K-5 vs 7D
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cam...rand2%29/Canon

[crf529]

Stick with the K-5, unless you have a specific reason for wanting a Canikon like MASSIVE fast glass (even then, Sigma are releasing more options now) or tilt shift etc, then there's no reason to give up the good thing you've got going.

[Tannin]

K-5 vs 7D
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cam...rand2%29/Canon

Err ... Kym ... no-one takes DXO seriously, you know. These are the same turkeys who said the D200 has less high-ISO noise than a 5D! But hey - Why do things by halves? If you are going to be wrong, why not be wildly wrong?

(DXO, I mean, not you.)

I agree with Tony.

And when Lance and I agree on something, the best thing you can do is take your life savings and bet the whole lot.

[JaneCurrie]

Thanks for all your replies, you've all confirmed what I was thinking anyway...stick with the Pentax, I love my lenses and am familiar with the brand, no real reason to change. Thanks also for the funny comments!

Time to go shopping and then more photographing, yay!

[Tannin]

Hey - off topic a bit, I know, but sort of relevant to this thread - what is the story with Pentax flash? People used to say that Pentax flash was the poor relation and that Canon was a lot better and Nikon better still. But that was quite a while ago. I don't often hear people suggesting that there is much difference between the current Nikon and Canon flash systems nowadays, and I think I vaguely heard somewhere that the Pentax ones are good too now. Anyone have a view?

[Kym]

A couple of flash options... Pentax AF540FGZ which is quite good, and the new Sigma EF-610 DG Super (P-TTL) which has better specs, newer and cheaper.

They both have lots of options, power levels, high speed and wireless.

[JM Tran]

I don't often hear people suggesting that there is much difference between the current Nikon and Canon flash systems nowadays, and I think I vaguely heard somewhere that the Pentax ones are good too now. Anyone have a view?

Nikon flash system rocks for both TTL accuracy and wireless control, Canon is ok but Im still not as happy with it as it should be, Pentax flashes - both the AF540 and AF360 - esp the latter - sucks for TTL accuracy sometimes and nowhere near on par with the 2 bigger brands. If I were to use flashes for Pentax I'd buy the Metz 58, or the latest Sigma.

[ricstew]

I use some old Nikon sb28's on camera and off in manual.........on my Pentax.......love em all....
cheers
Jan

[Evil_Robot_Santa]

Good on you Jane I use the Pentax K200D and have no problems.
I have been around the world more than once and often get comments about how easy the pentax brand is to use.
Love those Signa lens