Please help me think through a possible system change. (cross post) Thanks!

SlamDesi wrote:

I think Henry has summarized your questions quite well. I love my K5-IIs but, when I got to the point of being able to afford a better camera, the molasses pace of Pentax production entered into my decision. I, too, went with a Sony A7R3. If you're wanting an optical viewfinder and ergonomics, this isn't the one for you. I sold it to my son for his real estate photography business and he likes it. I bought the A7R4a while it was on sale and, the ergonomics issue had been fixed as well as an enhanced LCD and viewfinder. I'll still add an L-Bracket to it at some point to fill in the vertical space and give my little finger a place to reside. As for the rest of the Sony camera.... it's quite amazing and I'm not sweating the EVF vs the OVF issue. Learn to trust it and enjoy the Live View on Steroids. My K5-IIs will be good enough for inclement weather hiking - at least until it gives up the ghost.

Just curious about your experience, since I'm in the same boat as a lot of people... I took an SD card to WorstBuy and played with an A7RIV (not the A model) and only managed to get off a few shots before the only battery they had died. I intentionally was shooting high iso in dimly lit corners of displays in the store just to see what the noise looked like.

When I got home, I couldn't believe the color noise even as low as ISO3200, it was like my K1 at 10,000... I had shot RAW, and ACR wasn't up to the task of making it worth a darn and I had to flip to my Topaz DeNoise. That worked a treat... thought it's not really ideal, as even as good as Topaz is, it still tends to smear things a bit in certain situations...(like the fine print on labels in the store ended up looking more like Klingon glyphs than English text)

BUT... I was also sorely disappointed because I was thinking a major advantage of 61MP would be more crop ability, but if I can't crop as much as I was hoping because of noise, then that kinda sucks. Maybe it's a lot better at base ISO?  I dunno, I can (and DO) crop my K1 shots down to 100% magnification pics and get very clean usable images when I have to, and I am thinking that wouldn't be the case with the higher MP Sony sensors. Any word on how the lower 45MP sensor handles this? If it weren't for Pentax infinitely slow release of new product (like the K1-MkIII), and the existence of the Sony G200-600mm and faster A/F over on the Sony side, I wouldn't even be considering any of this.

But, this is the world we live in and I'd be silly not to keep my options open. Part of me is considering a hybrid Pentax/Sony system in the future (Sony for long Tele daylight action, Pentax for everything else with my LTD primes etc), but the cost of keeping both, and the reality of probably favoring one system over another while one collects dust, makes me super hesitant. Another option is that LAKE Sony to PK adapter for my short primes on a Sony body, and just grabbing the G200-600mm for a Sony body like the A7IV or RV, keeping my existing Pentax glass... but that also seems like I'd just get sick of adapters knowing me, and I'd eventually end up fully Sony. Ugh... Sometimes reality sucks. Come'on Pentax, throw us a bone and leak some K1-III info before we do something stooopiiid! Heh heh.

Joking aside, I'll probably remain in paralysis by analysis mode for a while longer, but  ya never know, Black Fridays are always a dangerous time of year.