K5ii versus Sony A77

If your using Pentax you don't want to read about other brands PERIOD
Most of the stuffs made up or imagined anyway.

It's better to get to know what the Pentax gear is capable of.
Unfortunately very few people seem interested in that
I haven't seen any comments on how the new f/2.8 focusing points
in the K-5ii improve MF via the Green Hex light for instance
or what could be done to improve out of gamut yellows and reds.

No one seems interested in how zooms actually focus and what
can be done to speed things up...... it's easier to moan


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Pleased as I am with my current Pentax equipment, I certainly don't consider myself shackled to the brand. I bought my K5 because at the time it was by fair consensus the best dslr of its kind, better than the Nikon D7000, its close rival. If I was buying now -- assuming I had not been seduced by 'full frame' -- I might go for the Nikon D7100. If I were buying at the end of 2013, it might be the fabled Pentax K3. But actually I'm not sure any of these camera-centric decisions is/would be 'right'. At least as important is the lens line-up, including the willingness of third parties to adapt their lenses to a particular mount. Pentax's offerings suit me fine, but I might have reservations if I needed long lenses. And it is always a little troubling to be with a brand that is in other than the top two slots, for (as Pentax has seen) consolidation is a likely fate, with the instability and disruption to planning it entails in the short term, whatever the longer-term benefits. I am happy to shoot with Pentax equipment, but it is not in my DNA

No other forum I use bans posts about other manufacturers equipment, however it is usually in another section eg 'the other car', or in this case 'the other camera'. I'm in china at the moment and banning discussion or links seems vaguely familiar.

Pentax cameras have many advantages which is why we use them, any comparison or discussion of other makes will show this. It is also good to be aware of the disadvantages. Someone considering purchasing a pentax camera and reading this forum will certainly read a more informed comparison here than elsewhere.

Just tools at the end of the day!


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Try sedatives Algi, it's a camera forum not a religion. People will be people.

Best regards

It surprises me too. I also feel a reluctance to talk details about what our cameras (OUR cameras specifically) are capable of right now.

Look at the 'Checklist' thread - it should have been clear to anyone who read the detail and thought about it that it was much less to do with a rigid approach to photography, and much more to do with considering the unique controls and customisations our PENTAX cameras offer, and how those features might aid and support different styles of photography.

Why the reluctance? Are we scared that discussing our cameras controls somehow distracts from the spontaneity and creative freedom that some claim comes on top of all? There's no need for that to be the case - the two go hand in hand, one supporting the other.

That may be because, however much we like our cameras and admire the technological achievement they represent, they are different from their close competitors in the photographs they allow us to take only in marginal ways.

What are these unique controls and customisations that are so significant, and (by implication) absent on other cameras? Perhaps I need to return to the instruction book, but I can only think of a very few, as often as not balanced by 'innovations' on other cameras that are not on Pentax models.

It's a good job Pentax don't make Skateboards!

All the Pentax Skateboard Users would be complaining
"This board doesn't travel in a straight line when I go
down a slightly sloping path with it.. it veers off to the
left and I have trouble stopping it.. sometimes I go into
a tree and get a bloody nose!.. other times I fall off and
hurt my bum!" "Pentax should put a steering wheel
and brakes on it plus some sort of bum padding"

Letter from Pentax...... Ask a 10 year old how to use a Skateboard

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Well here's a fairly typical post from a skateboarding forum:


Sound familiar?

Seems differences in equipment actually does have a bearing on performance, even in the skating world. Of course people need to fully explore the kit they already have and learn to use it properly. But that doesn't mean there isn't ANY benefit in looking at what other kit offers.

Ricata wheels? Would a Pentax board go in straight line
and not drift to one side with them on! Next time I see
a 10 year old jumping a double decker bus I'll ask him if he
uses Ricta wheels... He'll probably say "Dunno"

It's worth remembering that a large percentage of the successful
photographers of the past 60 years had only one camera usually
with just a 50mm lens and never looked at other makes even though
the specifications were superior. It was of course the Leica and
one of my favourite users was Ralph Gibson who got along fine
with just the camera and probably one lens. I went to a talk
he gave in at the Adelphi in Liverpool about 1977.

Worth looking over his stuff...
http://www.ralphgibson.com/

There's a very interesting 2 min. video on this
page .....

http://www.ralphgibson.com/store.html

and for $9,500 you can buy a Signature Leica MP

Quite a few videos also on Youtube.

I also remember BB King saying who is favourite Blues Player
was and the interviewer said..... He only plays 5 notes!
To which BB replied..... But he own's those 5 Notes!

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Thankyou Algi! I have been well and truly schooled.

One question though - if kit really doesn't matter, why are you shooting with a K5 rather than an istDS from back in the day? Or for that matter, a manual SLR with just a 50mm?

Cos I'm a Jack of All Trades and Master of None!
Far too many interests beyond photography.

I've never really been that bothered about Digital it's just
a snappers tool to me, it replaced Polaroid, but is still like
a piano that's out of tune. It's annoying that it's so hard to
fathom out the dark parts that no one else seems to bother with,
such as how to accurately focus with the Green Hex/Focus Trap.
I do like to tinker though and the K-5 is quite good for that

I've still got my darkroom and two enlargers + Macbeth Densitometer
that I paid £500 for years ago when I was really into the Zone System
using Koni Omega 6x7, which I still have. I never use B&W now
too much bother finding materials. I still use the Pentax Spotmeter
from time to time. There were a lot of knowledgeable people
about prior to digital. Perhaps they've all taken up
painting

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Despite being a Pentax user for many years I have regular experience of using both brands, using a K5/Sigma 17-70/Pentax 55-300 for 'serious' work lol, and a Nex5n/Sigma 30mm for walkabout/street photography and for times and events when I'd prefer a smaller inconspicous camera, and sometimes I've gone out with both together and I hate to admit it but the Sony can produce some outstanding image quality for what is really a pared down Dslr, especially across the centre, so much so it would be my choice if I to keep only one camera.

Obviously other users will own a K5 or variant with say, the FA 31mm or DA 35mm and this too should produce outstanding results, so I would say keep an open mind, the grass might be greener (or not!).

One last point about the Sony (or any Sony), a flip screen really does give you the reach and the low down.

Just to let you all know as per my previous posts on this topic, my Sony A77 has now been sold this weekend to pay for a new fence

It was a choice of my Pentax gear or Sony gear, so to sum up, Pentax is better then a new fence, I bet you don't read that everyday in a camera review summary.