D7000 or Pentax k-5

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Martin
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I'm looking to buy a dslr within the next few days and have narrowed my choice down to these 2 models had a good look at the Nikon this morning but won't be able to check out the Pentax until tomorrow.

The D7000 felt great in my hands and I liked the layout of the function buttons, the quoted fps did not seen achievable and the buffer seemed to fill up in no time.

From what i have read the auto focus on the Nikon is superior with the Pentax AF being described as sluggish.

My interests are landscape and eventually wildlife, I consider myself at advanced beginner level.

Due to pending holidays I need to make a decision soon and would welcome comments from anyone who has compared these two models.

Thanks in advance

Martin
 
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I'm a nikon man :D so nikon :)

Mate here has it and he loves it.
Just need to get decent glass too - Think he has a tamron. 24-105 f3.5-f5.6 ::: EDit : Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 XR

However.... try the pentax too as it may feel better to you (besides its fun to handle all the cameras).

Landscape could be wide or normal lens... wildlife is a telephoto 300mm + probably. Depending on pocket funds.

I can recommend the tokina 11-16 ultra wide. I don't have zooms so can't comment on the best/crispest of those.

For telezoom have a look at 70-300 (cheap and more expensive models - more expensive has better iq I think) or 80-400 or sigma 50-500.
Again depends on funds. Flickr should have a load of shots for iq - not sure anyone posted a 30/35mm/50mm and the 400/500 mm so you can appreciate the zoom.
 
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Thanks for that was thinking of Nikon 16-85 or Pentax 18 - 135 as walk about lenses
 
Wildlife could be a problem with the Pentax, longest prime they do is the 300mm f/4 and would need to look at Sigma for anything more albeit prime or zoom

One of the main reasons I switched to Canon, shame because they make nice cameras especially the K-5 or so i'm told
 
Hi. I've just upgraded from Nikon D5000 to the D7000 & I love it! I've never been dissapointed with my D5000 but D7000 produces fantastic photos. I'm 100% sure that you'll be making the right decision.
Good luck!
 
Previously AF speed has been a pain on Pentax but the K-5 is much much better ... There are a LOT more Nikon users on here (everywhere apart from Pentax forums actually :) ) than Pentax so you will get more D7000 recommendations. The K-5 is better made and fully weather sealed, the D7000 has faster af and long lenses.

Yes, Pentax long prime range is abysmal but it depends on whether you can see yourself spending a few thousand on a Nikon lens to get longer than a 300mm f4. If the answer to that is yes then go for the Nikon. I use a 50-500mm Sigma or a Pentax 300mm f2.8 with 2x converter for wildlife.

I use my K-5 with the 18-135mm when I go walkabout and its a great combo but no doubt the D7000 is as well.
 
Wildlife could be a problem with the Pentax, longest prime they do is the 300mm f/4 and would need to look at Sigma for anything more albeit prime or zoom

One of the main reasons I switched to Canon, shame because they make nice cameras especially the K-5 or so i'm told

Pentax 250-600mm f5.6 zoom no good then? :thinking:

EDIT: Discontinued, sorry!
 
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I had a D3 for a short period, fab camera but too heavy for general walkabouts, sold this and bought a d7000 and even though the image quality was fab, felt a bit plasticky in comparison and could not get used to the ergonomics and button placement. I wanted something small, good build and top notch image quality so went ahead the bought the pentax k-5, very happy so far . excellent build quality and ergonomics are very good. I only have 2 primes for this the 43mm limited and 70mm limited and have just bought a 31mm limited which I should have in hand by tomorrow. the image quality and colour rendition is amazing with the 2 lenses I currently have. The only problem I'm experiencing is the af accuracy which is not as good as the nikon d7000. and don't forget the camera has in body image stabalization which works quite well at slow shutter speeds.
you can check out pentaxforums for more advice
 
The superior AF has to be a huge consideration you will shoot wildlife....things like better build quality of the K5 are great but is that something that will really benefit you ?!?! The Nikon D7000 is pretty well built. The twin card slots are a great peace of mind and the superior battery life is worth having too.

The worst thing about the D7000 is the buffer without a doubt but if you are doing something where you really need to rattle off 20 shots you can switch to JPG Fine...it will shoot 10 RAW before hitting the buffer.

Regardless of all that the real killer has to be the fact that you can will have no problem getting hold of second hand lenses for the D7000 and I suspect the glass (especially the high end stuff) in the Nikon range will hold it's value much better than the Pentax glass. That makes the D7000 a significantly cheaper ownership proposition in my mind.
 
Given how second hand pentax stuff is hard to come by, I would imagine it does hold it's value pretty well?
 
Word is that Pentax have made a major step forward with the AF on the K-5. Other advantages - weatherproof and in body image stabilisation. Nice colours and contrast.

As others have said the lenses stop at 300mm but Sigma and tamron make longer and second hand Pentax ones are available.
 
I've heard pentax are having massive financial issues at the moment so beware of this, IF they did go down you will have invested into a dead system, I have a D7000 which is great, the AF is a little off with real fast moving objects and the buffer is a pain sometime but other than that it is a great camera. There is also a mass of lenses that are available for it for reasonable value.

Jake
 
Just to throw in a wildcard......Have you looked at the Sony a580? Same sensor as the d7000, bigger buffer (albeit in a cheaper body) for half the price.
 
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I'm biased as I got the D7000, upgraded from the D70, and really like it. Huge ecosystem you'll be buying into as well.

I'm wondering where this better build quality is in the Pentax as some here seem to make out it is very obvious. Have held the two I came away with a different feel but hey ho.

Ultimately it is all about how it feels to you, and which you prefer to handle.

PS. What memory card did they use for demonstrating the D7000? My Sandisk extreme pro's seem absolutely fine in handling speed etc.
 
Did you really meant to say 'Unfortunately' ;-)
 
I'm biased as I got the D7000, upgraded from the D70, and really like it. Huge ecosystem you'll be buying into as well.

I'm wondering where this better build quality is in the Pentax as some here seem to make out it is very obvious. Have held the two I came away with a different feel but hey ho.

Ultimately it is all about how it feels to you, and which you prefer to handle.

PS. What memory card did they use for demonstrating the D7000? My Sandisk extreme pro's seem absolutely fine in handling speed etc.
k5 all metal
Chassis_and_seals.jpg

d7000 not all metal
nikon-d7000-chassis-500.jpg


i would love to see which one survives better in the rain.
i found the af speed to be as quick as the d300.
 
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Interesting photos, but how does that demonstrate better build quality either way?
 
Possibly, but not necessarily. The only factual conclusion one can draw is that one is full stainless steel, and the other a combination of plastic and alloy. That does not mean one has better built quality than the other. You cant even infer that one is stronger than the other without specific tests.

But yes if water sealing is important then go for the d300s :p
 
Try them all and see which you prefer. A580 is half the price but it does feel a bit cheap in the plastics department. Think the sigma 50-500 is available in all fits including pentax so it makes no odds really unless you have mega bucks for primes when nikon will probably have the greatest choice.

Can't beat picking them up and having a go.
 
The Pentax looks like a really serious bit of kit, and the ergonomics are thought to just be perfect, which is half the reason for buying a camera. Forget ISO, lenses, build quality, battery life etc etc, if you can't work your way around a camera easily and access functions with speed then you may as well use a point and shoot.
 
the k5 has better sealing the the d300 and d700, my gx20 has better sealing than my nikon gear.
and i would put steel over plastic anyday.

Umm... well that would depend on their respective lengths/thickness's and the kind of stress you put on them.

Polycarbonate is a pretty indestructible plastic and would survive (in it's original shape) in allot of cases where steel wouldn't, but it lacks rigidity, which would make weather sealing very difficult (explains lack of weather sealing on 60D), that's why I believe the D7K has partial magnesium alloy, to act as bracing and stiffen up the body.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsls5ZPCUnE
 
Have to admit a bias here as I have used Pentax SLRs in the past.

Most of the good points about the K5 have been made but there is one other. Any K mount lens will fit a K5. There will be a loss of some or all of the auto functions but this may not be important and there is a chance of picking up some old but good lenses quite cheaply.

Dave
 
Pentax 250-600mm f5.6 zoom no good then? :thinking:

EDIT: Discontinued, sorry!


It's fantastic, just not that easy to find! (y)

Wimberley_3.jpg



Always find that these threads are not that useful as you will always get biased answers! Best advice I can give is to actually hold them and try them out to see which one feels better for you then work out what it is you actually need. Ergonomics and feel play a lot larger part than you think. TAV mode on the K-5 as an example is great for wildlife shooting.

One point that is always mentioned is that there is no new lens above 300mm in the Pentax range (the 600mm F4 is still available on special order though), so you are restricted really to Sigma lenses or 2nd hand for anything over 300mm.

One thought though, if you really do find yourself in a position to actually spend £7k or so on a 600mm F4 would an extra £800 for a body really hurt if you bought the Pentax?

And as for Pentax being in financial difficulty, blah blah etc.etc. don't forget that they are owned by Hoya and their 2011 Q1 results show that 'Pentax Imaging is their most profitable part with an operating margin of 22.3%'

Good luck and I hope you find what is best for you!
 
Have you tried the pentax in your hands yet?
It's worth doing. It's a fantastic camera (build quality/weather sealing/sensor performance wise), but when I had a look at my mate's I found the grip shape really uncomfortable. All angles in the wrong places for me.
My friend, however, loves the grip shape. Ergonomic preferences are a very personal thing.

Unlocker, I'm going to have to show that lens picture to my pentax shooting friend. He always tells me he thinks it's funny that canon make their big lenses white, now I have a come back :D
 
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Many thanks to all of you I really appreciate your comments, tomorrow I shall be the proud owner of one of these camera's.

Then its straight down to North Pembrokeshire for 2 weeks holiday and to give my new toy a run out.
 
By coincidence, I got to hold a D7000 today. Took me all of about 20 seconds to go "yuck, the controls on this thing is a complete mess" and hand it back. In particular, the shooting mode double-dial disaster is just rubbish, and the back is a mess. Makes you wonder if Nikon are trying to drive buyers to their pro bodies by ergonomics as well...The K5 by comparison is far more intuitive and clear to use. And before I get accused of bias, I'm about to sell-up and move to Nikon, but not because of the D7000!
 
What do you mean by the double-dial disaster? The two control wheels? If so it just shows how different people are as to me that was what attracted me to it. And I find the buttons on the back are perfectly place to move focal point, love it when my focus button is remapped to the ae-lock etc...

But guess we all like different things.
 
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