Canon vs pentax : in the long run

[Reptilezz]

Heyah,

im looking at getting my second camera this chistmas and have decided between the canon 7d and pentax k5ii. I do almost exclusively wildlife shots and my main wishes are good noise performance, fast auto focus and good image quality. I know the k5ii has the advantage of image quality and noise performance, but is the autofocus too slow for birds and jumpy animals? Also in the long run would it be wise to go with canon? Or jump into pentax and see what else they have to offer in a few years?
cheers

[ricktas]

if you like shooting wildlife stop looking at the cameras! I am serious! Stop looking at camera bodies.

What you need to do is look at the range of lenses for both brands. Look at the long zooms and the long primes. Most wildlife is just that, wild, and getting close to them can be difficult and a good long lens is what most wildlife photographers use. So skip the camera bodies and look at what lenses both brands offer. If you get a great lens of say 400mm that is going to do wonders for your wildlife photography, and that lens should last your entire lifetime. Camera bodies wear out, newer models come and go. So swap your research on its head and look at the lenses that suit your genre, then look at what each brand offers in those lenses, then choose your brand, based on the lenses, and then your body decision is decided for you.

[BabySwine]

Totally agree with Ricktas as the lenses will be doing the hard work, not the body. Although one thing people do look at for birds etc is the fps (frames per second)as you may want to take a series of shots as it flies past. Even though Pentax doesn't have a full frame camera out yet, the lenses made for APS-C cameras won't work well on the full frame anyway, so don't let that put you off Pentax!!
From a Pentaxian

[Mark L]

There is a current thread asking about the 7d ..... http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?121873-Newby-looking-for-gear-advice

FWIW, if you spend more on lens, you'll get by with something like the 60D. You then have lens that helps you with your wildlife and you have plenty of time to save for your next camera.
Also, before you decide on a camera, please go to a shop and feel it in you hands. Some find different cameras more comfortable to handle.

[Reptilezz]

Thanks for your advise everyone. Ill start looking at lenses and maybe get a 300 or 400mm prime and a second hand body. I think ill get a second hand 7d but i worrie that the noise will be really bad... Can anyone lead me in the right direction here? Is the noise really that bad? And is all the image quality in the lens and not the body?
thanks again for your help

[I @ M]

You seem to be worrying a lot about noise and with the just past and current bodies available it is less of an issue than ever.
Current generation camera, lens, flash and post processing tools are capable of perfect ( or bloody close to perfect ) results when used properly.

Have a look around this forum at some of the bird and wildlife shots done by Richard Hall, LanceB, Mongo, SarNop and some others. They produce drool worthy results with a range of gear from super expensive to almost affordable.

How is your wallet?

I would look at something like a 7D body and the excellent 100-400 zoom that Canon make or a D7000 and the new 80-400 zoom that Nikon make.

[Reptilezz]

Thanks I @ M i forgot about flashes... Last time i went on a bird walk i found the flash very useful for small birds that i could get close to witch seems to be the only time i need a flash anyway. Also does adobe lightroom have noise reduction? And does it impact the details in the image much?
Thanks

[oxygen45]

Lightroom does have noise reduction. Losing detail has never been an issue for me. If everything else is done well I doubt you will have a problem. The only time noise is a problem is landscapes and indoor shots but since using a tripod and having low ISOs available it is hardly an issue. Too many other aspects of photography holding me back to worry about noise.

Have a look at some of the fantastic bird photographers around now. A lot of them using 7Ds and good L glass. I would personally not be concerned about noise until getting close to that level.