K30 upgrade to K3?
Posted 06/12/2014 - 14:05 - Helpful Comment
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Hi Barrie
OK, I have not shot a K30 or k50. however I have shot with the following Pentax cameras over the years K10, K7, K5, Kills, K3.
The K3 will give you increased MP so greater ability to crop. ISO wise you will be fine unto about ISO 1200, beyond this ISO range you will need to spend time in post addressing noise, but if your exposures are good you can push the ISO to 1600.
The K3 is the best Pentax by far in poor light in terms of AF and speed.
In relation to Ice Hockey what are you using lens wise? From my experience a lot of the above questions will also be dependent on lens choice too.
The price of the K3 is starting to fall now, so second hand K3s are also more attractive price wise. Personally I would wait and see what Pentax will show in Jan at the CES show will be where all new models will be promoted.
Regards
Fletcher8
OK, I have not shot a K30 or k50. however I have shot with the following Pentax cameras over the years K10, K7, K5, Kills, K3.
The K3 will give you increased MP so greater ability to crop. ISO wise you will be fine unto about ISO 1200, beyond this ISO range you will need to spend time in post addressing noise, but if your exposures are good you can push the ISO to 1600.
The K3 is the best Pentax by far in poor light in terms of AF and speed.
In relation to Ice Hockey what are you using lens wise? From my experience a lot of the above questions will also be dependent on lens choice too.
The price of the K3 is starting to fall now, so second hand K3s are also more attractive price wise. Personally I would wait and see what Pentax will show in Jan at the CES show will be where all new models will be promoted.
Regards
Fletcher8
Fletcher8.
Posted 06/12/2014 - 15:02
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Thanks for taking the time to reply Fletcher8, the lens used depends on the rink and my position to the ice but typically be either the DA* 50-135, 60-250, occasionally the DA 10-17 fish-eye makes it way on to the body for a bit of fun. I appreciate the DA* are not the fastest of lenses to focus, but I tend to get a much higher hit rate in the brighter rinks than some of the darker ones.
From my understanding, your original K5 is probably the nearest you have owned to a K30 from the sensor point of view. How much a difference do you think the sensor makes in the K3 by comparison?
From my understanding, your original K5 is probably the nearest you have owned to a K30 from the sensor point of view. How much a difference do you think the sensor makes in the K3 by comparison?
My Flickr account, constructive criticism welcome.
Posted 06/12/2014 - 15:34 - Helpful Comment
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Barrie, in honesty I would say in terms of ISO the Kills & the K3 are very, very close, as the K3 has more MP, the noise is slightly enhanced, but the K3s extra MP and AF make a really big difference.
If you go from a K30 or K50 to a K3 you will see an improvement in relation to the sensor, but thats only part of the improvement. The K3 can see in the dark, well far better than any other camera I have used so far., The AF is a lot better and more accurate too, although this also depend on the lens used.
The DA* 50-135 is a lovely lens, but I found it to slow for a lot of work, but it can deliver, you just have to work harder. not used the DA* 60-250, but I love the DA* 200 and DA*300. I also have FA* 80-200 which is a very nice lens and faster than any of my DA* lenses. Fran uses the Sigma f/2.8 70-200 probably the fastest of all the lenses we have. I can see why the fish eye could be great fun in Ice Hockey
We did some speed skating stuff a few years ago as we were granted access, we found panning worked well as we were unable to use flash, although it was easy to follow the movement. I think if I were to shoot Ice Hocky, I would try to pre focus on certain areas prior to the action.
Don't know if this is of any use, but we use back focus button for AF and then trip the shutter, personally have more success with this approach when shooting action. TAV mode also works really well for difficult lighting and action photography as you can set shutter and aperture and the camera adjusts the ISO, helping to keep exposures accurate which will help keep noise at bay at higher ISOs.
If you go from a K30 or K50 to a K3 you will see an improvement in relation to the sensor, but thats only part of the improvement. The K3 can see in the dark, well far better than any other camera I have used so far., The AF is a lot better and more accurate too, although this also depend on the lens used.
The DA* 50-135 is a lovely lens, but I found it to slow for a lot of work, but it can deliver, you just have to work harder. not used the DA* 60-250, but I love the DA* 200 and DA*300. I also have FA* 80-200 which is a very nice lens and faster than any of my DA* lenses. Fran uses the Sigma f/2.8 70-200 probably the fastest of all the lenses we have. I can see why the fish eye could be great fun in Ice Hockey
We did some speed skating stuff a few years ago as we were granted access, we found panning worked well as we were unable to use flash, although it was easy to follow the movement. I think if I were to shoot Ice Hocky, I would try to pre focus on certain areas prior to the action.
Don't know if this is of any use, but we use back focus button for AF and then trip the shutter, personally have more success with this approach when shooting action. TAV mode also works really well for difficult lighting and action photography as you can set shutter and aperture and the camera adjusts the ISO, helping to keep exposures accurate which will help keep noise at bay at higher ISOs.
Fletcher8.
Posted 07/12/2014 - 12:06 - Helpful Comment
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Barrie
I use a K3 and K30 as a backup. I had a K5 but sold it to help fund the K3, (hardly ever used the K5 once I bought the K30) I had the K30 but the AF was streets ahead of the K5 which is why I kept it. From experience the crop from the K3 can be greaater than the K30 because of the mp size. I don`t think the AF is much if any faster. Noise at high ISO can be an issue with the K3 at low light levels but Iv`e not had a real issue with it. To be quite honest I have to check the EXIF info to check which body I used especially with the DA300* or the 18-270 hanging off the front.
I use a K3 and K30 as a backup. I had a K5 but sold it to help fund the K3, (hardly ever used the K5 once I bought the K30) I had the K30 but the AF was streets ahead of the K5 which is why I kept it. From experience the crop from the K3 can be greaater than the K30 because of the mp size. I don`t think the AF is much if any faster. Noise at high ISO can be an issue with the K3 at low light levels but Iv`e not had a real issue with it. To be quite honest I have to check the EXIF info to check which body I used especially with the DA300* or the 18-270 hanging off the front.
Enjoy life
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52 posts
15 years
Newport,
South Wales
I predominantly shoot wildlife and Ice hockey, frequently crop the image quite hard in the edit and shoot with high iso to get a fast shutter speed.
I am trying to work out if I would I notice much difference if I switch from the K30 to a K3 considering noise vs pixel density? additionally how much of an improvement is AF in low-ish light found in indoor ice rinks? your opinions would be appreciated.