K1 II and Best cameras for landscape photography in 2021 article

Meh, that article is nothing but a listicle.

I like some of the cameras there, but the analysis of each re landscape shooting is non existent.

Some factors I would have considered important would have included things like weatherproofing; seemed that would merit more than a mere mention. To some GPS is a great feature for landscape. HDR shooting.

And the old "limited lens" canard, which is really quite indefensible since we're talking landscape here, where manual focus is easy.

And what about night shooting? nothing in the list can touch the K-1 cameras, or even their APS-C cousins, for say Milky Way shooting with Astotracer. And with yeah, say a manual lens.

Geez. I think there are problems with their judgments on some of the others as well. In short, not at all helpful as a guide to landscape equipment.

DuncanM1 wrote:

I downloaded the test images for the K1 II and the Nikon Z7II and the Pentax in pixel shift mode is just completely superior and yet the Nikon gets the nod as best camera? What gives? I can understand that for action shots the Nikon might be better, but for landscape resolution is king and the Pentax is far, far superior.

Which test images did you evaluate? Were they from DPR's studio comparison tool?

Pixel shift has its uses in close range still life, macros, landscapes and architecture. I am not convinced it will provide more resolution for subjects that are far away, due to atmosphere/air turbulence in between camera and subject that will smear details.

DuncanM1 wrote:

I downloaded the test images for the K1 II and the Nikon Z7II and the Pentax in pixel shift mode is just completely superior and yet the Nikon gets the nod as best camera? What gives? I can understand that for action shots the Nikon might be better, but for landscape resolution is king and the Pentax is far, far superior.

I haven't used the Z7 but have a K1ii. I do use pixel-shift for landscapes when i take a tripod, and there is a big difference imho.

Also Pentax ergonomics and landscape features are great for landscapes, especially at night.

• Leds illuminate the body so you can find your way aroud without using your phone
• you can adjust the screen illumination so you don't destroy your night vision. You even have "red mode"
• the screen articulation is awesome
• you have pixel shift
• you have astro-tracer
• you have build quality and weather sealing
• and horizon correction,
• and composition adjustment (shift)

it's a long list of features that set the Pentax K1ii apart. Analyzing the sensor output by doing a "fair" comparison (ie not using any of the above features) doesn't cut it for me.

I tried to shoot the night sky with a friend's Fuji once... it has a very capable sensor and good lenses, but it felt like i was using a spoon to cut my steak.

Gary Martin wrote:

All the cameras mentioned are strong contenders, and the reason they chose the Nikon is simple: they prefer the DR advantage of an ISO64 setting over the value of pixel-shift. That would be my opinion as well, although the K-1 has more than enough dynamic range for my needs as is. Your Mileage May Vary.

They obviously haven't seen the DR advantage of a pixel-shift image, which is FAR above the DR of ISO 64.

LightBug wrote:

DuncanM1 wrote:

I downloaded the test images for the K1 II and the Nikon Z7II and the Pentax in pixel shift mode is just completely superior and yet the Nikon gets the nod as best camera? What gives? I can understand that for action shots the Nikon might be better, but for landscape resolution is king and the Pentax is far, far superior.

Which test images did you evaluate? Were they from DPR's studio comparison tool?

Pixel shift has its uses in close range still life, macros, landscapes and architecture. I am not convinced it will provide more resolution for subjects that are far away, due to atmosphere/air turbulence in between camera and subject that will smear details.

you're unlikely to run into air turbulence problems until you reach long focals lengths, of 200mm ish about, in my opinion.

miles green wrote:

LightBug wrote:

DuncanM1 wrote:

I downloaded the test images for the K1 II and the Nikon Z7II and the Pentax in pixel shift mode is just completely superior and yet the Nikon gets the nod as best camera? What gives? I can understand that for action shots the Nikon might be better, but for landscape resolution is king and the Pentax is far, far superior.

Which test images did you evaluate? Were they from DPR's studio comparison tool?

Pixel shift has its uses in close range still life, macros, landscapes and architecture. I am not convinced it will provide more resolution for subjects that are far away, due to atmosphere/air turbulence in between camera and subject that will smear details.

you're unlikely to run into air turbulence problems until you reach long focals lengths, of 200mm ish about, in my opinion.

Not necessarily.

I've run into problems with much wider lenses on some days. It manifests as those horrid green squigglies all along say a distant horizon line. And it doesn't happen if there's more turbulence, because there's no sharp line, and doesn't happen if the air is clear and still, as in lots of my desert shots. But it can happen, and for me it's more annoying than for things I can more easily fix in post like water and foliage, which often I don't care about being sharp.

I didn't mention it earlier, but even Tony Northrup, no fan of Pentax in general, said the K-1 was maybe the best landscape camera out there. I still agree. And one of the other ones I like, the 5Dsr, didn't even make the list (it does show up in other listicles, just not here).

robgendreau wrote:

miles green wrote:

LightBug wrote:

DuncanM1 wrote:

I downloaded the test images for the K1 II and the Nikon Z7II and the Pentax in pixel shift mode is just completely superior and yet the Nikon gets the nod as best camera? What gives? I can understand that for action shots the Nikon might be better, but for landscape resolution is king and the Pentax is far, far superior.

Which test images did you evaluate? Were they from DPR's studio comparison tool?

Pixel shift has its uses in close range still life, macros, landscapes and architecture. I am not convinced it will provide more resolution for subjects that are far away, due to atmosphere/air turbulence in between camera and subject that will smear details.

you're unlikely to run into air turbulence problems until you reach long focals lengths, of 200mm ish about, in my opinion.

Not necessarily.

I've run into problems with much wider lenses on some days. It manifests as those horrid green squigglies all along say a distant horizon line. And it doesn't happen if there's more turbulence, because there's no sharp line, and doesn't happen if the air is clear and still, as in lots of my desert shots. But it can happen, and for me it's more annoying than for things I can more easily fix in post like water and foliage, which often I don't care about being sharp.

Sure, if there are large differences in air temperature, is can be seen sooner. I have found that on hot summer days, i will get a sharper shot if i walk the water, rather than shoot over 5 meters of hot sand that is just in front of the water. That said, this is a real phenomenon, not some aberration created by the equipment, so it should be in the picture. I've got lots of sunset images with squigglies! 

My point is that air turbulence is an argument against the usefulness of pixel-shift as much as it is against high res sensors and long lenses.  In other words, not a very good one.

I didn't mention it earlier, but even Tony Northrup, no fan of Pentax in general, said the K-1 was maybe the best landscape camera out there. I still agree. And one of the other ones I like, the 5Dsr, didn't even make the list (it does show up in other listicles, just not here).

I remember that episode.

miles green wrote:

robgendreau wrote:

miles green wrote:

LightBug wrote:

DuncanM1 wrote:

I downloaded the test images for the K1 II and the Nikon Z7II and the Pentax in pixel shift mode is just completely superior and yet the Nikon gets the nod as best camera? What gives? I can understand that for action shots the Nikon might be better, but for landscape resolution is king and the Pentax is far, far superior.

Which test images did you evaluate? Were they from DPR's studio comparison tool?

Pixel shift has its uses in close range still life, macros, landscapes and architecture. I am not convinced it will provide more resolution for subjects that are far away, due to atmosphere/air turbulence in between camera and subject that will smear details.

you're unlikely to run into air turbulence problems until you reach long focals lengths, of 200mm ish about, in my opinion.

Not necessarily.

I've run into problems with much wider lenses on some days. It manifests as those horrid green squigglies all along say a distant horizon line. And it doesn't happen if there's more turbulence, because there's no sharp line, and doesn't happen if the air is clear and still, as in lots of my desert shots. But it can happen, and for me it's more annoying than for things I can more easily fix in post like water and foliage, which often I don't care about being sharp.

Sure, if there are large differences in air temperature, is can be seen sooner. I have found that on hot summer days, i will get a sharper shot if i walk the water, rather than shoot over 5 meters of hot sand that is just in front of the water. That said, this is a real phenomenon, not some aberration created by the equipment, so it should be in the picture. I've got lots of sunset images with squigglies!

My point is that air turbulence is an argument against the usefulness of pixel-shift as much as it is against high res sensors and long lenses. In other words, not a very good one.

I didn't mention it earlier, but even Tony Northrup, no fan of Pentax in general, said the K-1 was maybe the best landscape camera out there. I still agree. And one of the other ones I like, the 5Dsr, didn't even make the list (it does show up in other listicles, just not here).

I remember that episode.

Ah, good point. Heat waves in the desert are features, not bugs