aj37167 wrote:
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I've got 2 Pentax lenses that have served me well on our old film
camera, but I don't know if they will work on a digital body. I was
able to take pretty good pics out on the soccer field that was one
step down from adult size, but will need enough mega-pixels to allow
cropping on the adult size field.
See the Pentax FAQ for lens compatibility information.
http://www.pentaxslr.com/lenses/lensesFaq
"What lenses can be used with PENTAX digital cameras?
All Pentax lenses ever produced can, however there are restrictions when using lenses other than DA, D FA, FA, FA J series lenses. When using D FA or FA lenses the aperture ring must be set to the A (auto) position. A-series lenses are manual focus only. Lenses without the A (auto position) require the user to set the custom function to use non-A position lens. These lenses also lack the contacts to make full use of the 16 segment metering system. PENTAX 645, 67-system lenses and S (Screw mount) type of lenses may be used with an adapter, though some functions may not be available with certain lenses."
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Pentax has their IS "stuff" in the camera body, so new lenses ought
to be less expensive than Canons.
The lines are somewhat different. Pentax has more compact single-focal-length lenses that would be rather useful for, say, street photography and portraiture. Lens-wise, it's not the best for fast-focusing, large-aperture telephoto zooms... but that other systems will offer more of those may be irrelevant to you if you can't fit them within your budget.
Biggest concern, is the delay for that action shot. Not sure if 3
fps helps that or not.
I would argue that C-AF speed, low latency for that first shot, having a clear view through the 'finder matters more, at least for action shots (note -- there are other opportunities, like showing the expressions of players at various times). I presently shoot with a 3 FPS camera that's capable of shooting 12-shot bursts... and a lot can change in that 1/3s.
(It's dark, because it's from a night game on a badly-lit field.)
is the next frame in the burst. Both were taken at 03:11:10 GMT, or 8:11pm local.
The action won't always be as fast during batting, but if you're looking to catch the moment of impact during a kick or something like that, you're still not going to get away with relying too much on 3fps.
What you want is a machine that you'll give you a clear view so you can see the action enough to anticipate, and good-enough AF tracking (especially if you can narrow down who's likely to be a useful subject) and short enough latency that by the time it AFs, the action's not already over. If you're going for stop-motion in less than optimal light, with less than very-bright lenses, high ISO performance may also be quite relevant.
