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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

k3 (1 Viewer)

Looks interesting Neil. Have you pre-ordered? :t:;)
hi tom
wish i had the money i think the wife would kill me
make that the wife would kill me
i wouldnt mine a k5ii or a k5iis i am thinking about getting a 1.4x tele converter to go with my da*300 f4 instead of the sigma 150-500
neil
 
I use Nikon gear for my SLR bird photography, but I think the Pentax K-3 looks like a great camera and I applaud Pentax/Ricoh for putting forward a very serious APS-C body, with "pro" features like full metal alloy construction, more capable autofocus, fast shooting with 8.3 fps and ~23 frame raw buffer. Indeed the K-3 resembles the Nikon D300/s upgrade that a bunch of us frustrated Nikon people have wanted forever. Thom Hogan even titled his reaction, "Meanwhile Meet the Pentax D400."

So I wish Pentax all the success in the world with the K-3. As far as I'm concerned APS-C is the ideal format for wildlife--especially birds, and Pentax has an advantage in that their telephoto lenses are designed for the smaller APS-C sensor and thus the lenses can be a little smaller/lighter (560mm = 6.7 lbs). Pentax will probably always have that advantage because I don't think Nikon or Canon will ever make a line of "pro" super-telephoto lenses designed for APS-C. And if Nikon keeps dragging its heels supporting serious APS-C bodies & lenses, who knows, maybe someday I'll switch to Pentax.

Dave
 
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Maybe you should consider switching to micro4/3 instead (lenses can be a little smaller still). If enough did that, maybe we would get that killer birding lens I want (but not if it weighs 6.7 lbs!).

Sorry to interrupt, over and out.

Niels
 
Maybe you should consider switching to micro4/3 instead (lenses can be a little smaller still). If enough did that, maybe we would get that killer birding lens I want (but not if it weighs 6.7 lbs!).

Niels

Niels,
In fact I do have the Olympus E-M5; it is my smaller more portable camera for digiscoping and general "other" photography. I still prefer the 300mm f/4 with the Nikon for hand-held bird shooting, but I was very pleased to read that Olympus is planning a super-telephoto prime lens for micro 4/3 (read here). It sounds like we will have to wait another year or more, but at least they announced it (unlike Nikon and Canon, who never announce anything so far in advance). I hope the Olympus prime super-telephoto is affordable... maybe a 300 f/4 or a 400 f/5.6. It doesn't need to be f/2.8.

But we are digressing from the topic at hand. If I were buying a new set-up today, and I wasn't already invested in Nikon, I'd give the K-3 serious consideration.

Dave
 
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If only Pentax could get a 1.4x teleconverter out, they've been talking about if for years but still no sign of it. I agree the K3 is good move, but they need to get their teleconverter availability up to speed. Currently none of the 3rd party manufacturers make one with autofocus capabilities either.
 
Picked up a K3 a couple of weeks ago and I'm living it. The 24MP allows a good level of cropping and paired with the DA*300mm it's fantastic.
I have already seen quite a few shots taken with the K3 + DA*300mm + 1.4x TC and have to say it looks very good indeed. Think I'll be buying one very soon.
 
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