Narrowed down my search: D5000 vs Pentax K-x?

I've narrowed it down to these two. Which would you recommend and why? I know ultimately I have to make the choice for myself, but in the meantime I would like to know which you would choose and the reason behind it.

Whichever one I purchase I want to also get a good portrait lens for indoor/low light shots. Which lens would you recommend for each? I would like to keep it low in price (ex: was eyeing http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-AF-S-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001S2PPT0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1276476742&sr=8-1 that one if I go with the Nikon).

Thanks.

Might drop by the Nikon & Pentex forums also.
I went with the D5000 for several reasons.
1. Nikon reputation
2. Nikon glass
3. Friend has an older D70 and loves it.
Had mine almost a month, LOVE IT!

--
Coming to you from the beautiful Ozark Mountain Country
where if you're too busy to go fishin', then you're too busy!

p51d007 said:

Might drop by the Nikon & Pentex forums also.
I went with the D5000 for several reasons.
1. Nikon reputation
2. Nikon glass
3. Friend has an older D70 and loves it.
Had mine almost a month, LOVE IT!

--

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Hi

I have a K-x and in Nikon a D50.

I would not get a D5000 (or any Nikon without a af motor) as I can not use my three older screwdrive af Nikkors on it.

If that means nothing to you, make your choice on the ergonomics as that is very personal...I much prefer Pentax ergonomics to Nikon...my D50 feels like a brick to me....go with the one that feels best to YOU if they are close for you.

I prefer the Pentax because I like using all my lenses stabilized, including short fast primes and that is not available with Nikon, the K-x can also use stabilized lenses if you prefer in lens...NINE available from Sigma at the moment.

Regards stabilization , I will hopeully soon be able to do a test between the Vr and the K-x in camera with the SAME lens...I have a Nikon VR kit lens on its way to me ...should be fun comparing....it is enough to know that both ways work and work well but differently ffor different people...I get the same sort of speeds in camera as in lens users get. but much cheaper....even a BROKEN VR kit lens was over $100 to get to me and it climbs steeply from there...even old and very cheap lenses are stabilized for the Pentax.

The K-x is also a little better at high iso (from reviews)...Dxomark has the D5000 SENSOR a little better at high iso, but reviews of the CAMERA have it the otherway)....use Dxomark as an interesting guide only...even cameras with the same sensor score differently.

They both have the same dynamic range but the K-x has a little better colour depth.

They both have there for and against...the K-x is a lttle louder shutter wise and the af point does not show in the viewfinder....but I know where it is anyway as ther are guide brackets....even if using a other than the centre point and can use focus and recompose anyway if I choose...the camera is not THAT loud either.

The Kx viewfinder is brighter than the D5000 with as much information, it shoots at a faster frame rate and the af is quite good....the d5000 would track better but the af speed is very much lens dependant....my slowest combination regards af speed is the D50 and a Nikon 70-300 lens, my fastest the K-x with some short lenses and auto focus adapter. The D5000 has a tilt/swivel lcd.

For ME, the great stabilization with all my lenses and being able to use all my lenses (even my Nikon ones bare...do this at your own risk) and the best high iso available means no contest.

For YOU, go play with them...maybe play with some others as well...get the one that is right for YOU....good luck.

neil

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26884588@N00/

shocktart123 said:

I've narrowed it down to these two. Which would you recommend and why? I know ultimately I have to make the choice for myself, but in the meantime I would like to know which you would choose and the reason behind it.

Whichever one I purchase I want to also get a good portrait lens for indoor/low light shots. Which lens would you recommend for each? I would like to keep it low in price (ex: was eyeing http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-AF-S-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001S2PPT0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1276476742&sr=8-1 that one if I go with the Nikon).

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The lens in the link is the 35mm f/1.8 Nikkor. I have one. It's a great lens but it's not a portrait lens in the usual sense. If you take portraits with a 35mm you have to get pretty close and the perspective gets off. Specifically, noses look big. This is not a big problem if you're taking pictures of babies but most adults, especially adults with big noses, will be portrayed in an unattractive manner.

I would recommend an 85mm for portraits. This is long enough for good perspective and short enough to allow for a fast lens. I don't know of any good 85's for a D5000; the Nikon ones don't work on a D5000. Some people report good results from the 60mm macro, which isn't cheap but at least gives you a good macro lens.

Oh yeah, there's an 85mm micro Nikkor that will work with a D5000 but it's sort of slow.

--
Leonard Migliore

Leonard Migliore said:

Leonard Migliore said:

The lens in the link is the 35mm f/1.8 Nikkor. I have one. It's a great lens but it's not a portrait lens in the usual sense. If you take portraits with a 35mm you have to get pretty close and the perspective gets off. Specifically, noses look big. This is not a big problem if you're taking pictures of babies but most adults, especially adults with big noses, will be portrayed in an unattractive manner.

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I want one of thoise soon for my Nikon...it is a very nice lens

Leonard Migliore said:

.

Oh yeah, there's an 85mm micro Nikkor that will work with a D5000 but it's sort of slow.

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The Nikon 85 1.8 (old manual focus version) is one of my favourite lenses.....on my K-x (do this at your own risk)

Leonard, what lens would you think would be the best to reverse for macro...any brand, price no issue...what would you think would be worth trying REVERSED?

neil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26884588@N00/

I forgot to add that, yes, I will be using the camera mostly for getting shots of my child (9 months old).

I would get a Nikon because the online community is larger, becasue you also have more thrid party lenses and much more litterature on the subject.

Now for the Nikon body, I would get the D90 because of the motor (like someelse mentionned) but also because of the the viewer, much higher res. And forget about the flip screen, I do not miss it one bit.

Max

Leonard Migliore said:

shocktart123 said:

I've narrowed it down to these two. Which would you recommend and why? I know ultimately I have to make the choice for myself, but in the meantime I would like to know which you would choose and the reason behind it.

Whichever one I purchase I want to also get a good portrait lens for indoor/low light shots. Which lens would you recommend for each? I would like to keep it low in price (ex: was eyeing http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-AF-S-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001S2PPT0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1276476742&sr=8-1 that one if I go with the Nikon).

Click to expand...

The lens in the link is the 35mm f/1.8 Nikkor. I have one. It's a great lens but it's not a portrait lens in the usual sense. If you take portraits with a 35mm you have to get pretty close and the perspective gets off. Specifically, noses look big. This is not a big problem if you're taking pictures of babies but most adults, especially adults with big noses, will be portrayed in an unattractive manner.

I would recommend an 85mm for portraits. This is long enough for good perspective and short enough to allow for a fast lens. I don't know of any good 85's for a D5000; the Nikon ones don't work on a D5000. Some people report good results from the 60mm macro, which isn't cheap but at least gives you a good macro lens.

Oh yeah, there's an 85mm micro Nikkor that will work with a D5000 but it's sort of slow.

--
Leonard Migliore

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The 35mm is not a portrait lens, as Leonard notes. But, it is a very nice lens for the money. It is good in low light. And makes a good "normal" lens for the d5000.

For a portrait lens, the Sigma 50mm f1.4 is probably the best, the Nikon 50mm f1.4g is also an option. Both work fine with your d5000. The 85mm length (on film) is considered the normal portrait distance. But, for an APS-C (aka DX) camera such as the d5000, a 50mm gives an effective focal length of pretty close to that (75mm). If you want the classic portrait lens for a d5000 even though it will give you a fairly narrow field of, the Sigma 85mm f1.4 will work on your d5000, and it has the most amazing mtf tables (really crazy sharp).

In compareing and contrasting these two cameras...

The k-x is a better value, but it is not as good a camera. It has some strange ergonomics. The camera dimensionally and weight wise it is not that much smaller than other cameras, but due to a funny hand hold and some other minor oddities in design it feels smaller than it is. I held it in the store, and later checked online to see how small this thing really was, and I was surprised it was actually larger than the Canon and nearly as large as the Nikon I had compared it to. The Pentax and Nikon are both crop factor 1.5, meaning they will use similar sized lenses. So the smaller and more cramped hold is not really a plus for most people. Also, the big shocker was the lack of focus points. It is effectively impossible to with any precision select your focus point. It is not a bad camera. It is certainly capable. It uses a very similar sensor but of course very different electronics behind the actual sensor. According to DPR, it has fairly poor stabilization and some highlight clipping. Not deal breakers for most, but something to take in your consideration.

The d5000 has better performance at the sensor level. Better dynamic range (and no clipping issue), better color depth and a little better ISO performance. Not night and day, but better is better. How important these are to you, only you can decide. The d5000 also has a better AF and metering system. Minor feature until you miss the shot due to the camera not focusing in time (of course not at the same level as a Nikon d300 either). The lens selection on the Nikon is much better. If you have a particular lens you want, odds are greater on a Nikon or Canon mount to find it. This is semi-important because you are likely to stay with a brand once you select one. You can change. I have (twice even). But, most do not. Currently there are roughly 100 lenses available for the Nikon d5000, a little search on the forum will get you that list. As I recall Pentax makes less than 30 lenses (including some duplicate due to weather sealing, and semi-pro vs amature). Upgrade bodies to the k-x is only the k-7. While to the d5000 there are the d90, d300s as DX and d700, d3, d3s and d3x FX (on FX some lenses must be used in crop mode to work). And new camera bodies are introduced at a much faster rate. Not because the pentax guys are mean, but due to market dynamics. Someone with less than 3% market share can not maintain the same development pace as someone with 40%.

Ergonomics is personal, but important. These cameras have fairly dissimilar ergonomics and this should be considered. It is unlikely that both will feel just as good to you.

Always good to hear from the lemming community.

--
StephenG

Pentax K100D
Fuji S3 Pro
Fuji S9600

Can't you disagree with someone without getting hostile and name calling?

neil holmes said:

Leonard, what lens would you think would be the best to reverse for macro...any brand, price no issue...what would you think would be worth trying REVERSED?

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Gee, I don't know. I reverse lenses for convenience; my 24mm AI-S provides a lot of magnification on a bellows and I already have it...

I think that the best lenses to put on bellows are those small, expensive things like Luminars. Lacking that, enlarging lenses like a Rodagon are pretty good. I have a 50mm Componon left over from my darkroom days but I've never tried it for macro; maybe I'll stick it on the bellows and see what comes out.

I normally use an MP-65E for that kind of stuff but it only goes on Canons.
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Leonard Migliore

shocktart123 said:

I forgot to add that, yes, I will be using the camera mostly for getting shots of my child (9 months old).

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The 35mm f/1.8 will do a great job for that. It's also a wonderfully sharp lens for general use and it's much smaller than a zoom.

Think about getting an accessory flash like an SB-600. "Available light" is often too dim to get a good shot, even with a fast lens. If you use your built-in flash, though, it looks pretty horrible. The SB-600 lets you bounce the light off the ceiling to get a pretty natural effect.

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Leonard Migliore

sjgcit said:

Always good to hear from the lemming community.

--
StephenG

Pentax K100D
Fuji S3 Pro
Fuji S9600

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Awww you upset Bjorn....the one who calls more people names than anyone else.

And he is still persisting in making stuff up....while Dxomark is just interesting as a guide , he should at least read it properly...if he did he would see the K-x has better colour depth and the SAME dynamic range as the D5000.

And of course whats good ergonomics for him MUST be good for you.

neil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26884588@N00/

Leonard Migliore said:

neil holmes said:

Leonard, what lens would you think would be the best to reverse for macro...any brand, price no issue...what would you think would be worth trying REVERSED?

Click to expand...

Gee, I don't know. I reverse lenses for convenience; my 24mm AI-S provides a lot of magnification on a bellows and I already have it...

I think that the best lenses to put on bellows are those small, expensive things like Luminars. Lacking that, enlarging lenses like a Rodagon are pretty good. I have a 50mm Componon left over from my darkroom days but I've never tried it for macro; maybe I'll stick it on the bellows and see what comes out.

I normally use an MP-65E for that kind of stuff but it only goes on Canons.
--
Leonard Migliore

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Thanks

The MP-E is kinda what I am aiming at.

Using a 1:1 macro converter with a lens reversed onto it (which I understand is sort of what the MP-E is), I have bellows and extension tubes, again all not used often but i am really starting to like using 1:1 converters with the lens right way around and more so reversed...I like what I am getting from various 50mm or so lenses reversed onto it but while sharp, I know there are better and I am thinking if I have a really sharp lens reversed I will be happier still...How would something like a Contax 45 f2 for the G system go? No focus ring but it has an aperture ring so would that be worth trying?

Guess I will get a few enlarging lenses after all, some seem cheap enough...maybe I will start with a 40mm or 35mm.

Again, thanks

neil

Try to develop your sense of humour. I know I have a great laugh when I read some of your posts, so I should probably thank you.

--
StephenG

Pentax K100D
Fuji S3 Pro
Fuji S9600

sjgcit said:

Try to develop your sense of humour. I know I have a great laugh when I read some of your posts, so I should probably thank you.

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And more name calling..... How sad you must be to be so hostile all the time.
Go take a picture of something pretty. hug someone. Might cheer you up.

I shoot with the pentax k-x and love it. Both the d5000 and K-x cameras use the same sensor designed by Sony. I dont think you can go wrong with any camera you choose.
--
http://www.sammysoliman.smugmug.com/

I think you're going to get a lot of people suggesting whatever they have. There's a lot of name calling and whatnot in these chevy / ford arguments.

As has already been pointed out, both the Pentax Kx and Nikon D5000 use the same basic Extor sensor and should produce fantastic images. There are some differences obviously. I like the selection of Nikon lenses more than Pentax, but would be totally happy with a Pentax.

The only thing I don't care for on the Pentax is that the focus points don't light up to let you know what's being used. For me, this is foolish to be left off and would be a deal breaker for me. On the other hand, if you've never really cared where the points are on a point and shoot, it may make no difference.

It then comes down the the feel of the camera and if the brand has local support. I'd make sure a local ma and pa store carried Nikon before buying a D5000. I make sure they carried Pentax before buying a Pentax. You might well need and desire a store carrying accessories for your brand and there to help if something goes wrong.

Either way, don't pay too much attention to the brand vs brand and name calling. Try them both in a store and know that you can't make a mistake here. Then go out and take great images and enjoy this hobby.

Here's my gal with her Nikon D5000 in the Grand Tetons. We just got back.



Wonderful scenery.





--
Cheers, Craig

Equipment in Plan via Profile

We (wife and I) narrowed our choice down to the same two cameras. I loved them both, especially the D5000's ergonomics. I previously used a Pentax K100d and really liked the button layout too.

Anyway here's why we chose Pentax K-x.

• Price! It's quite a bit cheaper. The kit lens is also very highly regarded.
• Tiny body. This was a big plus for us.
• 4 AA batteries. I bought two sets of Eneloops, they're great.
• Overwhelming positive reviews from every source I could get my hands on.
• Old lenses fit. I have a 50mm (75mm equiv) f/1.7 lens I got on ebay for $40 that I use more than the kit lens. Manual focus and settings forced me to learn to use it.
• Better high ISO, even better than the flagship K-7.
• The main reason - we're beginners, it really made no difference which we chose. They're both good cameras in their price range. In fact they're so similar the differences are hardly worth mentioning.

A couple things I don't like.

• No focus point indicated in the viewfinder... I use center-focus and recompose anyway. It's a minor issue for me.
• When I talk to other photographers at parties and such they invariably ask what type of camera we have and when they hear Pentax we get some blank looks. Big deal right?
• Not as many lenses, especially on the used market. Lenses tend to be more expensive than Nikon counterparts.

Anyhow there's really nothing to dislike about the camera. My wife said the other day, "I love this camera, it always takes good pictures."

If you intend to "go pro" then I would say get a Nikon. Your lens collection will always have value that way. If you're just a beginner with no grand aspirations then the K-x is awesome, period.

Greg

Member said:

The MP-E is kinda what I am aiming at.

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The MP-E is like an albatross around my neck. I use it all the time at work because my work involves putting tiny holes in things and then recording the results. I use a 50D, which is like a gift from God as a macro camera because you can take pictures in live view without having the mirror bang around. But you can't light anything when you're using an MP-E because the lens is huge and it's 45mm from the subject. So all I can do is, essentially, dark-field illumination.

Member said:

Using a 1:1 macro converter with a lens reversed onto it (which I understand is sort of what the MP-E is), I have bellows and extension tubes, again all not used often but i am really starting to like using 1:1 converters with the lens right way around and more so reversed...I like what I am getting from various 50mm or so lenses reversed onto it but while sharp, I know there are better and I am thinking if I have a really sharp lens reversed I will be happier still...How would something like a Contax 45 f2 for the G system go? No focus ring but it has an aperture ring so would that be worth trying?

Guess I will get a few enlarging lenses after all, some seem cheap enough...maybe I will start with a 40mm or 35mm.

Click to expand...

It's not the lenses; I think that reversed 50's or enlarging lenses are quite sharp enough. But you have to stop down for depth of field. Well, when you're doing 5X or 10X and you stop down to f/8, you're really at f/40 or so and diffraction rules. The MP-E certainly is sharpest at f/2.8 (or f/14 at 5X) but the depth of field is essentially nothing. So if you want depth, you have to stack images.

Now your setup becomes important. Everything has to be rock solid and you need some kind of stage to move the camera. Ideally, you have a rack that you can move in, say, 50 micron steps. Because that's your depth of field. I don't like flash because you can't see the lighting when you're setting up. But when you use continuous light, your exposures are quite long and vibration can be a problem.

I'm building a setup with stepper motor controlled stages on a big steel base; the control will take shots every 50 microns or whatever automatically. Then I should be able to take decent macros.

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Leonard Migliore