[RFC] Pentax K 50 purchase

H

I've decided to finally buy a Pentax K 50 against all odds and the stigma of Nikkon heritage. The primary use of it will be to take outdoor photos. I do not plan to print them, but eventually I might (upto 11.69 x 16.53 inches). I also take night/star field photos a lot, so a good image stabilization is a must. This is for long term use and I will probably use it for the next 5 years, so reliability (or ASS) is important (and hence weather proof).

I can step down to a K 500 or a Nikon D5200 if convinced enough from first hand users. Being quite familiar with the Nikon family, camera controls are not a biggie and I'll learn them eventually. Regarding lenses, I plan to invest on some good ones later on so all that's important is the camera itself, price is not an issue but I'd rather stay below 50k for the camera and a 18-55 kit lens. There is a very low chance of indoor shooting or portraits; however, some fast moving objects (read: action/sports) are a possibility. Ultimately, something that produce a decent RAW on 16M.

Video, I don't do shortfilms but I'd like to see those hilltops with the most clarity and color preservation.

Pentax!!!
I guess, it's an informed buying decision. May I know what made you to pick K-50 ahead of Nikon's D7000 and Canon's 60D. All the three of them are priced similar.

H

Sensor shift, ISO range, viewfinder and f numbers. I plan to club it up with a telescope later on for some astro photography. The K50 offers a much higher effective ISO range and a sensor based vibration reduction system, which I find are tailor made for the purpose. The D7000 is definitely on my list but the above said features are what I need the most. 60D, I find quite inferior to both D7000 and K50 (I assume you mentioned it because of the weather shielding). K50 also has a better viewfinder using a pentaprism, which I personally prefer.

Price wise, Pentax K-50 Nikon D7000 are at the exactly same spot, however the K50 has [STRIKE]two[/STRIKE] three lenses shipped, an f3.5-5.6mm (twin?), 18 - 55mm and 50 -200mm.

I buy Sensor shift, but
ISO range??? - Don't give too much weightage to this number.
VF - D7000 is slightly better than K50
f-number??? - This is something to do with lens. or Am I not getting something here?
Pentaprism VF - All the three are using Pentaprism.

I don't know much about what one can do with telescope and DSLR. I roughly guess, the same can be done with D7000 too.

Your last line suggests that you're new to the world of camera. If so, take time and do little more research.

Pentax's presence in India is very recent.
Nikon have more lens choice than Pentax.
D7000's battery life is much better than K50

There will be lot more than these in favour of both the cameras. My reply may sound like I am in favour of Nikon, it's just because I haven't come across "anyone" preferred Pentax over Nikon when the price/features are almost the same and I don't know much about Pentax.

I'd definitely go for a K50. I love the weatherproof build and built-in stabilization.

H

I haven't had previous experience with such advanced cameras, just recently started researching on Pentax since it was mentioned a lot on star photography forums (I know quite a lot about astro photography

). I'm not buying anytime soon, probably next month.
All those comparisons are with respect to the kits that comes along with the camera on the links I gave. I was also initially comparing K50 to the D5200, didn't know D7000 used pentaprism too. Should have properly constructed the paragraph, my bad...
The viewfinder on K50 is said to be bigger and brighter than the other cameras, I really need it for the low light conditions. I've fiddled around with D3100 a lot for night photography but it couldn't produce expected results.
It says f3.5-5.6 AND 18-55mm which is basically the same right? (I don't know how they are shown as two on Amazon)
I couldn't find any Indian user who has bought a Pentax and wrote a review about it. It is mentioned on most other forums for the durability and quality, and reading a lot of reviews has made me take the decision. So it's either D7000 or K50, both seems to be same except for the Sensor Shift feature.

Clubbing a telescope and a camera is simple, you just replace the lens with a telescope (there are ports to do that to standard scopes). It basically eliminates all kinds of image stabilizations on other cameras as they are inside the lens assembly using a shiftable lens(or so I'm told). K50, having the stabilization on sensors would be great for this reason. The zoom ranges are upto 180-200x so you can imagine the vibrations it creates with all the weight on the scope.

I understood what you are trying to say...maybe you are the best to decide here ...even I have never researched on Pentax ...and there presence maybe in mumbai kolkata and banglore due to too many photo enthusiast there..
But if telescope and DSLR are on tripod or telescope stand I donno how any vibration may occur ....and basically if it weights more it will vibrate lesser

Both are nice cams, like nac said, Nikon have more lenses, better battery life, video features etc, while Pentax can adapt almost any lens via adapters PLUS you'll get image stabilization for every lens..! Personally I love this feature as someone who use manual lenses a lot.

btw, f3.5 is the aperture for 18mm and till f5.6 for 55mm. There are other fixed aperture lenses that maintains constant aperture throughout the zoom range..which are expensive i think.

R

I have to agree with Sujoy - I don't see how you will have vibration once the camera is on a tripod unless you mean from wind or mechanical vibration from construction work or something like that. Usually, it is recommended that we turn off image stabilisation if the camera is on a tripod (for lens stabilisation) as the image stabilisation mechanism will keep trying to stabilise a stabilised image. Of course this still leaves vibration from the mirror but that is why we have mirror lock and live view.
I have a vague recollection that sensor shift image stabilisation has some limitations which is why high level manufacturers don't like it, but I cannot remember if it depended on the focal length or something else.

[MENTION=21850]raja manuel[/MENTION]: I think he'll be using a tracking mount for astrophotography which could cause vibrations.

(For astrophotography the telescope is usually mounted on a moving mount that tracks the moving stars. It's not still like a normal tripod, so the stabilization will surely come in handy.)

hsr said:
I know quite a lot about astro photography

hsr said:
All those comparisons are with respect to the kits that comes along with the camera on the links I gave.

I re-read your previous post. Wow!!! That's great pricing. Twin lens kit, and wow!!! wow!!! wow!!! Both of 'em are weather resistant. Good feature to go with rugged body. Check the reviews of these lenses too if you're opting for Pentax.

hsr said:
The viewfinder on K50 is said to be bigger and brighter than the other cameras, I really need it for the low light conditions.

Both offer 100% viewfinder. Pentax @ .92x magnification while Nikon @ .95x; If Pentax's is brighter than Nikon, then it may be the quality of the VF, I don't know.

hsr said:
It says f3.5-5.6 AND 18-55mm which is basically the same right? (I don't know how they are shown as two on Amazon)

Yeah, Amazon mixed f number with lens. That f/3.5-5.6 is the number says how wide iris of the lens would open. That's supposed to be 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.

H

Raziel said:
[MENTION=21850]raja manuel[/MENTION]: I think he'll be using a tracking mount for astrophotography which could cause vibrations.

(For astrophotography the telescope is usually mounted on a moving mount that tracks the moving stars. It's not still like a normal tripod, so the stabilization will surely come in handy.)

Yes, this. I live on the 13th floor of a flat so each time someone closes a door on the floor nearby, it shakes and of course it's windy here always. That can matter at those kinds of zoom a lot

The heavier the tripod is, the stable it is. However balance is not exactly achieved when a DSLR is mounted onto it I guess.
K50 also has a feature called 'astrotracer', which when combined with a gps unit can mimic the stars changing positions by adjusting the sensor and thus doesn't require an axial mount or mechanized tripods

hsr said:
K50 also has a feature called 'astrotracer', which when combined with a gps unit can mimic the stars changing positions by adjusting the sensor and thus doesn't require an axial mount or mechanized tripods

Yeah I read about Astrotracer with O-GPS1 and it sounds like a really cool and unique feature for astrophotography.

btw I captured Milky Way with my NEX few months ago.

*farm4.staticflickr.com/3923/14496212368_7712bc4a15_b.jpgMilky Way 2 by Raziel.The.Fallen, on Flickr

Raziel,

Could you tell from where this photograph was taken? Just that I have been looking for location (India) from where one can shoot milky way. And the big spots are sensor noise or overexposed stars?

HSR, That seems like a good feature. Things are adding up for Pentax.
- In body stabilization
- WR lens
- astro tracer
- AA and Li-on compatible
- Focus peaking

[MENTION=125321]nac[/MENTION]: I shot the milky way from my backyard...place here at Kollam, Kerala; quite far from the city. But it works anywhere in the world from a dark location with no light pollution and a perfectly clear moonless sky when the Sagittarius constellation is visible. The big spots are bright overexposed stars. I had no good wide angle lenses so used an old 50mm f1.8 lens which was not great, so the bright stars around the corners got a bit out of shape with the lens curvature. :razz:

H

Duuuuude! I'm from Alappuzha

Sadly I currently live in ekm, the ambient light here is just absurd. There's this petroleum holding area nearby (infopark expressway) that's giving out some sick sodium vapor lamps. I usually go on trips a lot *cough*moonnar and the sky there is just stunning!
Took this with my lumia some time ago (at around 2):
*38.media.tumblr.com/a04b1b6881ca54226fc35238007be0b5/tumblr_mr7go6bh0f1sxbwsyo1_1280.jpg

I like to show off my Lumia so check out Lumia Photography for some shots with it. It's not updated though

Focusing on infinity will be a bit blurry, just below infinity is the right spot, if you're taking with a lens. I'm just jealous of that sky man, I don't get that here ever :/

Lol that was a surprise

Yea I can understand the issue for city dwellers..and yea cool, Moonnar is a beautiful location for night or day shoot..a little Swiz I'd say

been there few times but had no cam at that time..btw, Nice snaps there!....are you a lumia shooter too ? lol me too!.. some of my lumia snaps here Images by Raziel ®: Photos taken with my mobile phone & more
My place is quite far from light pollution but the sky may not be clear always, the weather is crazy..

H

You have OP skills man. Those are damn fine!
I like the non edits more, it's all in the detail

. Haven't taken photography seriously yet, you gave me some solid reasons to start

Thx man, I used to shoot with my lumia until I bought a cam recently..well, it's a hobby for me but it's fun....so yea, grab a cam and jump in!

R

Raziel said:
@raja manuel : I think he'll be using a tracking mount for astrophotography which could cause vibrations.

(For astrophotography the telescope is usually mounted on a moving mount that tracks the moving stars. It's not still like a normal tripod, so the stabilization will surely come in handy.)

Interesting. Is it a motorised mount that turns continuously or is it stop and go?

Raziel said:
@raja manuel : I think he'll be using a tracking mount for astrophotography which could cause vibrations.

If that causes vibration, what's the use of those tracking tripods?

[MENTION=21850]raja manuel[/MENTION]: Yes, it's a motorized mount that turn continuously.
[MENTION=125321]nac[/MENTION]: The vibrations are minute and depends on the quality of the telescope mount. An image stabilization can be helpful in this case to counteract the vibrations.
If you try a long exposure shot of the stars using a normal tripod, even 5 sec exposure can create star trails..elongated egg shaped stars.
Capturing faint deep sky stuffs will need longer exposure times like 30sec and more..A normal tripod will create trails instead of a sharp image.
read more here...
Mounts for Astrophotography

Yeah, I have read about barn door, equatorial mounts when I was trying astro photography. But I didn't know there would be vibration.

Any progress in your research esp wrt Pentax.
Seems like K50 is much cheaper in US. Body only costs south of 30k INR (equiv.). If they offer international warranty, that would be a great deal.

I was comparing K50 against 60D and D7000. But if we go by the pricing, we can pretty much compare against D5200/600D.

H

I have a couple of friends working with helicams, even they blindly suggests a Nikkon D7000 when I say "weather proof, durable, OIS". Pentax cameras are priced at par with their Nikkon counterparts, but the import tax etc. is what it must be that's making these costly here. I have no connections in US to bring one here, maybe UK. AFAIK Pentax doesn't offer an international warranty. Thing is, they even asked me "Do they make DSLRs? Thought they were old.."

I'm just waiting for someone to write a review on it. No second thoughts yet, if everything goes smooth I'll get it by October mid.

Even I was little curious to know if any camera manufacturer offers international warranty after seeing some jaw dropping offers. Like 7D was selling for 750 USD, 6D for 1400 USD.

Look for offers around Navrathir/ before Diwali. I have been seeing some good offers for the last few years around that time of the year.

H

Sadness approaches. I have to move the plans a little bit further, an emergency came up and the funds are depleting. It is either a Nikkon D5200 now or a Pentax K50 later (next year). For the time, I'll settle with a new telescope and my Lumia. This thread is now officially RIP.

It was a nice discussion, learned a little about Pentax DSLRs. If K50 has that price advantage, would be great and would consider it buying...

H

bump
Purchased a Pentax K-500 (16 MP w/ SMC DA 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens & Tamron 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD), a basic tripod and batteries @ 40.1k (28.3k for body+kit lens) from amazon.in

Fingers crossed!

Congrats... First one in this forum (up to my knowledge) to buy Pentax.

Happy clicking. Post your photographs too...

Congrats..now we can have some basic inputs on pentex too ...I got no knowledge about there lens or bodies