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Need help deciding Kr or...


12 years 6 months ago - 12 years 6 months ago #149077 by JDrake

I'm interested in buying a new camera, a Pentax Kr. Currently I have a Lumix with a digital zoom, but can't change any lenses. I used to have a Pentax way back in my High School days (early 70's). I belong to a photography club and the leader is pro Nikon and when I told him I was thinking about a Pentax, he about fainted dead away. :catfight: He says I should get a Nikon D3100. But one of my good friends, who is a Canon person, has a Canon XS and swears :thumbsup: by it. I have been reading reviews from "snapshot and DPreview", and anything else I can find.

Some of the things I like about the Pentax, any lens ever made can be used. Even though "Snap shot says Pentax has only 90 some lenses, Pentax says all their lenses. The Kr shoots significantly faster, has good battery life, lighter, well you can read all the good points at the above review places, their just to many to list. But one of the biggest things I like about the Kr, is the battery. Yes it has the stock battery, but it also takes 4 AA batteries. And the four AA batteries boost the life to around 2000 shots, compared to the 450 from the stock battery. None of the other camera can do that. And I buy AA's at Costco 50 at a time. Beside if I'm traveling and forget my charger, I can stop and buy AA almost anywhere.

I know this is the Pentax forum and we are all for Pentax right?:cheers: Really what do you think? My budget is around $600. I may even has some lenses left over from high school somewhere I might be able to use.
Photography is a partnership. Equipment is very important, but the true vision comes from the photographer.
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12 years 6 months ago #149089 by Towcestermark
Batteries - Canon batteries are copied by lots of Chinese factories and as most of them are the same for DSLR's they come in a $6 a piece. So you can have as many batteries as you want for a Canon very cheaply. Check out Ebay for Canon DSLR battery and see for yourself. Anyone that has a Canon and says that the battery ran out - well, shouldn't be out there..!

Lenses - As Canon has over 85% of the DSLR market the lenses are relatively inexpensive and upgrades are in easy steps from the kit lens, usually 18-55mm. It only starts to get expensive when you go pro, which I presume that you're not ready for just yet.

Camera - For your budget you would be looking at a Canon XS/Rebel/500D which is an excellent all rounder and will suit most situations until you start to grow in your photography.

Anyway, that's my view, it's a little bit biased because I'm Canon all the way. Good luck with choosing. Whichever one you go for, you'll find yourself immersed in a whole new world
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12 years 6 months ago #149108 by Baydream

Towcestermark wrote: Batteries - Canon batteries are copied by lots of Chinese factories and as most of them are the same for DSLR's they come in a $6 a piece. So you can have as many batteries as you want for a Canon very cheaply. Check out Ebay for Canon DSLR battery and see for yourself. Anyone that has a Canon and says that the battery ran out - well, shouldn't be out there..!

Lenses - As Canon has over 85% of the DSLR market the lenses are relatively inexpensive and upgrades are in easy steps from the kit lens, usually 18-55mm. It only starts to get expensive when you go pro, which I presume that you're not ready for just yet.

Camera - For your budget you would be looking at a Canon XS/Rebel/500D which is an excellent all rounder and will suit most situations until you start to grow in your photography.

Anyway, that's my view, it's a little bit biased because I'm Canon all the way. Good luck with choosing. Whichever one you go for, you'll find yourself immersed in a whole new world

Pentax makes a good product and image stabilization in in the camera so lens can be less.
I use a Canon XSi and bought a battery pack/grip from B&H (Zeikos) that holds 2 standard batteries and seems to go forever (plus the grip has a "sleeve" that lets you use AAs.It has performed flawlessly but does add weight to the unit.
Our club members shoot every brand and when competition time comes around, you can't tell what they shot with.
Use what feels comfortable in your hands and has controls that make it easier for YOU to use.
Good luck. (I still have my old rock-solid Pentax ME Super).
Shoot, learn and share. It will make you a better photographer.
fineartamerica.com/profiles/john-g-schickler.html?tab=artwork
Photo Comments
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12 years 6 months ago #149114 by butterflygirl921
It's all about which camera you like and is your preference. Don't be afraid to go around to electronic stores or camera stores and pick up the display camera and play around with it. See if you really like it. Remember it's not the camera that makes the picture it's the photographer.
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12 years 6 months ago #149515 by JDrake
Thankyou for all your input.
Photography is a partnership. Equipment is very important, but the true vision comes from the photographer.
,
12 years 6 months ago #149689 by icepics
Since you already have Pentax lenses that might be a good option. I don't think the brand matters so much, people just seem to have their own preference for various reasons. I looked at Pentax but bought a Ricoh since their system seemed to meet my needs best. I guess the down side is if you go with a different brand you might end up w/more expense because you may want lenses (assuming it comes as a kit as most do and the kit lenses seem to be limiting.)

I had a Canon autofocus film camera I traded in because it was getting too hard to find a battery for it, so I can see where the kind of battery a camera takes could make a difference. If you're travelling then something that takes AA batteries might work for you better.

I think it can help to get others' opinions but in the end seems best to go with what works for you - might as well buy something you're happy with.
Sharon
Photo Comments
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12 years 6 months ago #149711 by MKRHamden
i recently bought the Pentax Kr. I too had a Pentax back in the day (it still sits nearby in its camera bag waiting to be used.)

I couldn't afford the Nikons out there that had what I wanted so I decided to go with what I knew. My little K-1000 got me through 10 years of working for small newspapers and so I figure the Kr will be as dependable (I hope).

So far I like the pictures I'm getting. I just need to learn how to really use the thing :)

Good luck!
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12 years 6 months ago #153303 by rob vorderman
Hi Jan,

As an Olympus shooter I almost fainted too :ohmy: ( I guess I didn't try to hard because I still can send you this reply:) )

So here we go, you drive a Ford and I drive a Dodge :lol: :lol:
There is nothing wrong with the KR. If you can stretch your budget try for the K-7 and I know you'll be happy with either one of them

Rob.
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12 years 6 months ago #156918 by JDrake
I want to thank everyone for your input, but my finances have changed to the point that I'm going big. Now I'm going to get the K5!
I was so sure about getting the Kr, that I went to bed knowing that I would wake up with one in my hands. Circumstances have changed and I want what the K5 has to offer. :drool: Weather sealing, 16.3 megapixels, 7fps, HDR, and a host of other things which put this camera right up with the big boys of Nikon and Canon. In fact in some aspects it surpasses them. And like I mentioned before, I already have some lenses that I can use. Just have to wait till the end of this week before I finally get the K5.
Photography is a partnership. Equipment is very important, but the true vision comes from the photographer.
,
11 years 7 months ago #251072 by stschemb
Good choice. My K-r has a tedious front-focusing problem which seems to be very much common among K-r users. The latest release of the firmware did not solve the problem and even if the camera has a nice fine AF tuning I can't get rid of the nasty flou effect even with the tuning set to extreme values. I'm pretty sure that teh K-5 is not affected, so good choice.
As for me, if also the next firmware release (expected for January 2013?) will not solve the issue, I will ABANDON Pentax.
With regret.
Kind regards,
Stef
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