New to PENTAX, could use help....

The Squirrel Mafia wrote:

tonyreidsma wrote:

I don't know anything PENTAX so please pardon my noob questions:

• What SONY would compare to the K50?

I'm not trying to be cheap, just trying to find some kind of comparison for me to know what to expect.

I have a fair selection of PENTAX legacy glass, and I like the selection of glass available for wedding work. The glass for SONY full frame is just killing me, so I'll keep the A7S bodies for shooting video.

Sorry for all the questions, and I really appreciate any feedback you can provide.

Tony

The K-50 is similar to the A58, but it has a 100% accurate pentaprism OVF, 1/6000 shutter speed, weather sealed, 2 control dials, & a few other features that the A58 doesn't have.

However, if you plan on shooting quiet places like weddings & stuff, the shutter is pretty loud. It's not like, "OMG A GUN JUST WENT OFF!" loud, but it's loud enough to notice across the room when all is silent. I don't think any Pentax camera will be as silent as your Sony A7s, though. But if you need a dirt cheap camera that you can shoot in just about any kind of weather condition, the K-50 is hard to beat. As long as you have a WR lens attached to the body, you can shoot just about anywhere, except underwater. It's weathersealed, not go diving with it waterproof. Hahaha!

As far as image quality goes with the K-50 goes, I will shoot to ISO 6400 & only post process ISO 800 to ISO 6400 RAW files that I like. The high ISO OOC jpegs lose some fine detail. ISO 100 to 400 I don't bother post processing unless I'm trying to get a super detailed 24x36 print & even then I don't gain that much. Full frame will always spank an APS-C camera at higher ISO, so just keep that in mind, but this little 16MP Sony sensor is pretty capable.

Why is the K-50 cheap? Maybe 'cause Pentax is trying to get a ton of them out there to get Pentax known? I have no idea, but it is the cheapest DSLR available at the moment. It's almost a too good to be true kinda thing, but it is true. It was released in 2013, so it is a little older, but still very capable camera. The video does suck. Still are where this camera excells.

The K-3, K-3II, older K-5IIs, K-5II, & K-5 have quieter shutters that can be used in quiet places.

That's the main thing I loved about Pentax K5; the almost noiseless shutter, and the menu system. That it, even at base ISO, had quite a lot of noise, wasn't nice at all, and the way Pentax handles reds is awful (later models are better, but far from the best in class).