Well said David; I also feel that this could be much ado about nothing having had some extensive use of Nikon D810 and a Canon 6D recentlty just to get a real feel for FF .

i needed to get a new second body and eventually went for the K3 II after a comparative test and frankly I ike it much more in terms of handling I also concluded that to get any difference in lens peformance and I Q you would need the very expensive Canon / Nikon Pro lenses then the difference is only Marginal at best and only if you are massively cropping or printing very latge prints.

The Canon/Nikon prosumer grade lenses are definately not better than Pentax standards in build quality or IQ Pound tor Pound and in fact, if you are selective, lenses like the DA*s , the limiteds and the new HD lenses are unbeatable

As far as Ff goes, If I needed that little extra that comes from a big sensor then a 645 would do it anyway and again would be in the same price bracket as the pro Canon/Nikon FFs if you consider the combined lens and body prices.

As I said above , it is a fact that If you are not producing very large printed photos then whilst FF is nice to have it is not essential for IQ

In everything apart from Tracking Focus, eg (BIF) the Canons and Nikons are superior but I have definately not been dissappointed with the new HD 150-450 on this point.

Buying a FF for me now would just be "following product evolution" the same as anything else: when my 10yr old car needs replacing I will buy a newer product to replace it.

Since buying an HD 150-450 and the K3 II I haven't given the FF a thought and I did have a period of frustration at one point, but not anymore.

I have been with Pentax 50yrs + and will happily remain so.

So once again well said David.

Regards

Daronl

See my portfolio ; I have been on a bit of a sojourn with the 150-450; don't use my 300DA * much anymore. There's a good mix of subjects in my Portfolio where I have pushed the lens to the absolute limit, even a landscape.

Also see the dragon fly portrait I entered in the "wings competition" some weeks back - it didn't win but it shows the stunning IQ at the Lense's limits. see also the Owl portrait below it; both are cropped




I was thinking of jumping ship to Nikon because of the continued delay of the Pentax FF and posted the results of an extensive field trial with Both Nikon and a Canon FF super tele zooms and primes as well as the Sigma and Tamron Offers;

However, the 150-450 did it for me "in Spades" it really did consistently outshine the rest conspicuously.

It is also much quicker than the 300 DA* but in that test, whilst it was slower than Canon and Nikon (which were not faster focussing than the Big Tamron, by the way) it was definitely fast enough for BIF.

Frankly the IQ is so good the lens is capable of anything; it is just great to use in the Field even though it is a big beast, as are the others, particularly the higher spec "Canikons" andthe Bigma and Tamron are whoppers too when using them in the field; the lower spec 400 mm zooms from Canikon are a little more compact but the Tamron had better IQ ; the Pentax IQ and build quality was MORE THAN comparable to the expensive versions at about one third of the price

All of them however, need to be "got used to" as using such big lenses needs practice on moving subjects and I find a monopod can be an aid but practice hand holding and when it becomes second nature the Pentax is marvelous.

Hope this helps

Regards

Super result Nigel; very skilful and professional images.

Best Regards

Lovely shot and the branch can be "invisibly removed" easily using a clone stamp in PS

I don't like too much post processing but in this case it is such a great "Autumn Portrait" with lovely colour, composition and subject, it is worth it.

Regards

Stunning

Price by capability is all that matters

Me too Stuey,

But I'll not buy it if it's more than the latest rumoured price £100 plus a free vacation with Kylie.

Seriously, it is a very interesting prospect and will need to be a bit special to out gun those two K3 variants for a photographer who is using big lenses, in particular.
A pro wedding photographer might get a bigger buzz but let's see; evolution in technology seems unstoppable, so we may all have to take the pain, buy the flowers for the wife and grovel for a couple of years.

Regards

Who wants a Canon uh?

Great images, great "bang for the buck" lens, great captures, all good

More Ff Rumours agai!!!

Latest FF Rumours.

Rico / Pentax have today leaked to a Tamron Rep living in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch, that they will be releasing their first FF DSLR, on February 1st 2016 at a guide price of £100.

The camera will be equiped with a newly developed Sony 56 Mp sensor, a built in flash with integrated swivel and bounce capability (Gn 40 at 100 ISO) ; additionally the camera will be equipped with onboard WiFi, GPS and a 15frame per sec' drive/grip

The camera will have 1 TB of built in memory, blue tooth transfer and aidrop printing capability.

It will be shockproof, and fully weather sealed and have a built in IPhone 7s, BBC IPlayer and ITV Player plus Freview HD for users in the Isle of Sky.

Pentax are offering an unconditional worldwide 15 year guarantee for three pounds (£)

UK dealers are bundling it with a free HD 150-450 Pentax zoom, a special edition FF 300 mm prime lens and for an extra £150 a newly developec 10mm to 200mm FF dedicated, rectilinear superzoom will be added to the bundle.

It is rumoured that the first 100 buyers will get a three week photographic holiday in the Amazon, accompanied by Sir David Attenborough, Kylie Minogue and our very own John Riley.

This offer ends on February 1st 2016, one tenth of a second after the first body is sold but anyone being dissapointed will be offered a free copy of what is rumoured to be the the latest book from the Prime Minister entitled "Tales of Student days" or the newly rumoured latest literary offering from Jezza Corbyn " I was a Thatcher Groupie" .

I just thought a positive rumour might be useful in this time of negative FF rumours, given the long labour and anticipated difficult birth of the FF which has gone some way passed 9 months since conception was first announced.

Regards

South Wales Photo Rumour Intelligence and Counter Surveillance (PRICS)

None of this is based on any factual information it is pure rumpor, but it makes more sense than a £/$ 3000 FF from Rocoh/Penta --- I hope ?????