I need a new digital SLR camera: could anyone please suggest one?

[Tringa]

I think the Nikon executive Richard quoted was pretty much spot on.

There are excellent cameras from all manufacturers and within any particular range of cameras the differences are often fairly marginal.

James, I can comment on only one of the two DSLRs you are considering - the K5. There may be some photographers that have used both it and the D7000 but I think there will not be many.

However, my final choice when buying my DSLR was between the K5 and the D7000. I decided to buy the K5 because of a certain amount of long standing liking for Pentax (I still own a 35mm film Pentax SLR I bought in the mid 1970s), the few old K mount lenses I own which I knew would (with some limitations) work with the K5 and the in camera image stabilisation (in the future I don't have to buy IS lenses and all the old lenses are stabilised).

I did read the reviews but the differences were not great enough to swing me towards either camera.

If you like the K5 and particularly if you have any good old K mount lenses it would be good buy, but you will get an equally good camera if you buy the D7000 and a much larger dealership. Try to handle both to see how each feels to you. Either way you are going to get a good camera.

Don't know your location but in the UK the D7000 is about 20% more expensive than the K5

Dave

[Manfred M]

I personally would be a bit cautious in buying a Pentax product right now, just because of the recent change of ownership (Hoya sold Pentax to Ricoh) and this type of churn can have a negative impact on the brand and the two companies align their resources and business models. The impact of these takeovers usually take at least a couple if not three years to shake out.

[Tringa]

It is never possible to know what will happen when a company takeover occurs but if you like the look of a Pentax I would not be put off because the change of ownership.

Since the takeover new cameras have been released. The cameras could, of course, have been in the pipeline from an earlier date.

I could be wrong but I can't see the K mount Pentax line being closed down. I certainly did not think after the takeover I would own a camera which would soon have no support.

The problem with Pentax is not with the cameras but with their position in the market. From being a major (if not the major manufacturer) of SLRs in the late 1960s/early 1970s they are now virtually invisible. If you needed a Canon or Nikon body or lens very urgently I reckon you could find one in virtually any major city in the world. Sadly the same could not be said of Pentax.

Dave

[jcuknz]

If the camera is bad when you buy it then you should have answers from the dealer who sold it to you...So assuming the camera is AOK when bought then it seems quite likely you will replace it within five years ... most of my cameras are over five years old and still going strong as I don't trade them in but buy new and give some older ones to family.
I think there is much too much made of the number of lenses each maker makes. Only with a film camera towards the end of my use of film have I had more than one lens for a camera. If Ricoh close Pentax down the cameras bought today will go on 'forever' , the Pentax K is the most popular camera sold these days I read recently People would make generic bits for them most likely if needed.
Personally I went to Panasonic MFT but that might not suit the sports applications the Op stipulates. Though a lot of what a camera can do is how it is used.

[Colin Southern]

If the camera is bad when you buy it then you should have answers from the dealer who sold it to you...

That's certainly the way it was when I was growing up, but these days - more and more - "answers" are provided by support centers in other countries. If something goes wrong we're told to "call this 0800 number".

And if we press the point and tell them that YOU sold it to me - YOU sort it out, all that happens is they put it out the back and 3 weeks later (or more) THEY send it to the support / warranty people.

I think the tide has turned -- I think most product support actually comes via internet forums these days. Not sure if that's a good / bad thing.

[Kurtp]

I bout the Nikon D7000 and have not been sorry. I love my camera and after a year am still learning what the constraints that my camera places on me might be. I am learning lots about what skills I need to bring to the camera to get the most out of it. I am sure that which ever camera you choose you will be happy provided you understand that you and your camera are in a working relationship - a partnership if you will. Your camera is the tool and you will be the artist, together you will create what you will.

[Colin Southern]

I am sure that which ever camera you choose you will be happy provided you understand that you and your camera are in a working relationship - a partnership if you will. Your camera is the tool and you will be the artist, together you will create what you will.

I hope so too, but sadly, we'll probably never know since the original poster hasn't been seen nor heard of for over a year now

[ajohnw]

The problem with Pentax is not with the cameras but with their position in the market. From being a major (if not the major manufacturer) of SLRs in the late 1960s/early 1970s they are now virtually invisible. If you needed a Canon or Nikon body or lens very urgently I reckon you could find one in virtually any major city in the world. Sadly the same could not be said of Pentax.

Dave

There was a lot more choice of which camera to buy in the 60's and 70's and a number of brands were popular. I would say Nikon had the edge after a fashion as most saw them as desirable. Pro's especially due to the guarantee of keeping the mount - upgrade the body and still use your lenses. Canon most definitely not so popular by a large margin. That is probably why they quietly developed digital sensors. Olympus came along in this period with the aim of taking Nikon on directly - especially good optics. OM's did get very popular. In optical terms Nikon and Olympus have similar backgrounds. Microscope people for instance talk about the big 4 - Nikon,Olympus,Leitz,Zeiss. Bit like cameras the order can change according to who you ask.

Ricoh have tried to get a foot hold in the camera market for a long time so buying Pentax makes sense. In some ways - printers etc they are similar to Canon. They do some rather strange things at times see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricoh_GXR

I bought one of their early digital compacts. It was hopeless but being fair many were. I believe they may have organised the sensor in that themselves. 2 earlier digital compacts stick out like a sore thumb, the digital ixus and the nikon coolpix 900 etc. Oddly going on compact cameras I have tried Nikon didn't maintain the quality of the 900 series later on where as Canon did for a much longer period.

It's a fact that digital sensors upset the apple cart for many companies. Most had to find some one to source the sensor. It's the companies that fall behind that tend to really innovate and go down different paths. The Pentax has the lead on making use of sensor based image stabilisation at the moment - they do more with it. It's only software are the buzz words. Sony have developed phase AF on the sensor. That's why manufacturers are drifting that way. M 4/3 sales share seems to be increasing year by year so Nikon come up with the 1 range. I understand Canon is working or even has on sensor phase AF already. What next. One things for sure none of them are currently having the old camera sales good times along with their high profit margins even at the dear end.

John
-

[rpcrowe]

Your needs: these answers are my opinion only and I am sure that there are other photographers who will not agree.

1) Portraiture, Virtually DSLR camera on the market is quite suitable for portrait photography, I like a fairly long lens because I consider the longer focal length more flattering – especially for portraits of females. You do not need particularly fast auto focus for shooting portraits nor do you need razor edge sharpness. I used the Canon 28-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens on a 1.6x camera for many years as my portrait setup. I now use the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens which I dearly love...

2) Landscape Photography, although the fill-frame aficionados might disagree, virtually any DSLR camera is suitable for landscape photography. Using a tripod and shooting at a couple of stops below the maximum aperture will provide surprisingly good image quality even when using a kit lens...

3) Action Photography, now here is where you separate the wheat from the chaff. Shooting action photography (sports, etc.) will require a camera/lens combination with fast and accurate focus capability. That is where you can find the differences between camera/lens combinations. Additionally, when shooting action, longer lenses are often beneficial. While you “could” shoot some action with a kit telephoto zoom (like the Canon 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens) that certainly is not the ultimate for action/sports photography.

You mention: “My personal observation is that although Nikon Nikkor lenses are superior to that of Canon's”. I don’t know which Canon/Nikon lenses you are comparing. This might be true if comparing kit lenses, I have never shot with a kit lens… But, if you are comparing all over lens quality, you could not do much better than any Canon “L” quality lens!

Throwing video capability into the equation really muddies the waters. As with Manfred, I prefer using a dedicated video camera. I can mention one thing though; the Canon STM lenses which are the only Canon lenses with continuous video auto focusing are not (IMO) really top-line lenses for general still photography. I have and occasionally use the 40mm STM pancake lens and find it quite adequate for stills but, certainly no more than that.

Of course, as Manfred mentions continuous autofocus and continuous auto exposure is not the way to shoot professional looking video.

I have not used the Canon 60D nor the Canon D7000. My choice in DSLR cameras, over the last several years, has been the Canon 7D. In fact, I am so happy with the capabilities of the 7D that I bought a second 7D (I usually shoot with a pair of cameras). If I could praise one thing about this camera, it would be the wonderful auto focusing capability. It is great right out of the box but, can be customized to do some really wonderful things. If you cannot get your subject in sharp focus, all else is nil...

OTOH: if you are shooting with a great lens, even an older camera, like the Canon 30D, can achieve very-good to excellent action imagery. I shot the following images with a Canon 30D wearing a EOS 400mm f/5.6L lens. The older Canon 30D is not renowned for its autofocus capability but, the 400mm f/5.6L lens certainly is! The Canon 30D has a burst rate of 5-fps on high and 3-fps on low.









The boats were moving at speeds in excess of 125 mph (~201 kph)...