Pentax FF: Less MP more Image Quality ?

Smeggy I am with you, Give me a small, light FF camera with superb low light capabilities every day, As an ex owner of a Sony A7 and D600 I feel fit to answer,

The D600 was nice but to big and heavy for my needs, the A7 was the perfect weight and size but the picture quality was not what I was expecting and left me wanting for more, in fact both the K5 and k3 in my opinion are much better at higher ISO and gave a better DR.

So like I have said before, the 12mp sensor with superb low light and DR capabilities in a A7 type body, fully weather sealed, with the K-3 spec and Pentax can have my money all day long.

Pentax doesn't make it's own sensors, so has to choose from those made by others & available to them. If they use a very old sensor with lower MP they'll lose out on low light capabilities...
Previous examples suggest to me that they're not going for extra MP at the expense of IQ.
If sensor manufacturers made a new generation of 12MP sensors, I suspect the low light & dynamic range would beat the latest high MP sensors. Unfortunately many still see high MP as the most important factor of a sensor, so it's not likely to happen.

Indeed but, cotnrary to the claim, I wasn't bashing it for being niche, just for being ugly - Aethestics aside I actually like the concept of the K-01, a mirrorless K-5 with focus peaking.

I certainly think there's room for two different models broadly split into lots of MPs for those that like that and have no desire to shoot in low light with smaller apertures and faster shutter speeds

And those who do want the low light capability and extra dynamic range at lower ISOs

In fact is this exactly what Sony are doing? They have their 24mp and 36MP A7 models and now they have a 12MP A7 model.

I hope Pentax are taking note of this.

worth reading the OP petro'

The Nikon D4 at almost $/£6K has . . . 16.2MP. Who needs more?.

And over 400,000 ISO

Personally I agree with the less mp for better iq - I get it and still use my k10 so no issues over the mp race or size of print for me

Of course the k5 beats the k10d for high iso shots.

However, just an observation, we have lost some Pentax users to full frame over the last 12 months or more and the 36mp options appear to be the jump ship option of choice albeit not exclusively - does this not provide an example of where at least some of the money is going

I would like to see Pentax offer a number of ff options such as 12/16/24/and 36mp but let's face it, it is unlikely to happen and one Pentax ff body is all many hope for and if it appears it will never please everyone

A couple of years ago I would have agreed on a lower pixel count ff sensor Pentax body, however as camera processing power in increases this need for smaller sensors is reduced. The processing power on the k-3 shows this increased power in terms of speed and performance. I also think the 24 megapixel Sensor should be considered a minimum if Pentax want to compete with other branded ff bodies. Imagine a 24 megapixel ff 10ffps Pentax body in a k-3 sized body whose not going to want one of those if the price is right???

I think the answer there is, a few will need fill frame, many more will want full frame, but not need it.

The many may have more money than sense and will vigorously defend their decision to move to a FF camera/system, but the truth is, unless you are a serious professional photographer who puts IQ before Mp, you are not likely to need a full frame system..

Sometimes we see the images made by those who have moved to full frame cameras. In some cases, their photography actually gets worse.

So I tend to agree with Peter.

It is possible of course that, dissatisfied with progress, we could put the blame on not having the right equipment, instead of tackling the core problem.

I am not referring here to anyone you guys would know by the way, so no-one need feel offended!

I couldn't agree more

On the issue about Full Frame regardless of number of MP...

As a serious hobby snapper I really have no "need" for anything photography wise Everything I buy to do with photography is on a want basis.

With that in mind I'm not sure of the point of your post Peter - Surely you see nothing wrong with Photography for fun and wanting equipment is part of that fun? Does anyone 'need' a K-3? does anyone 'need' a K-5?

I've never really been bothered about FF, my shooting buddy shoots FF on a Canon 5D MKII and has done though my shooting on K20D, K10D, and currently a couple of K-5's. Comparing shots I never really hankered after FF based on what I saw his Canon produce.

However I have now changed my mind after seeing what the Sony A7/Pentax Ltd Lenses can produce.

I certainly don't have more money than sense and I've no desire to move to another brand from Pentax (a;though if I did have a spare grand I'd probably get a Sony A7 to put my Pentac MF lenses on )

So in the long run if I move to FF it'll be a Pentax model and if and when I do I won't be vigorously defending it.

I'm not too bothered about full-frame, but just one point - well a question actually. Wouldn't more MP benefit someone who wants the advantages of a FF camera with FA lenses, but also wants to keep and use their DA lenses by cropping the image frame?

Philip

I'm not fully convinced by the FF argument at this point. There are some fellow photographers who have moved to FF in the last year or so that have posted on this site and I have been keen to see their FF images on Flickr and other places. I haven't really seen an improvement in IQ over what they were producing with their K-5's, at least not for the types of photography I'm interested in, which means no really high ISO stuff.

I'm not dismissive of FF, but the current Pentax DSLR's can produce some stunning images. I took some pics last year at a festival and the organiser who is a friend of mine has had some large prints done from them for display in a commercial property. I was quite surprised at the quality of IQ on these prints, having only got an A4 printer myself. They look superb in A3 and larger sizes, not a hint of noise, including some taken in pretty dark conditions.

Regards
David

I think you just did Smeg, albeit before the event, not after