Panasonic GX8 or Pentax KS2 for prints.

[jerry1]

Hi all,
Which of these 2 cameras would you choose for shooting jpeg only, and having prints made at say Costco?
Prints no larger than 11X16. Tell me why you would choose one over the other.
Thanks for replying.

[Manfred M]

Before someone can answer that, one would need to know a bit more about your photographic needs; the types of photography you are planning to do, whether size / weight is an important factor, etc. The other question would be why you have narrowed things down to these two specific camera models and not included others.

[jerry1]

Hi Manfred, thanks for responding. My needs/wants are pretty basic. I am looking for a camera that will produce descent jpeg
images, minor raw adjustments ok. I chose these 2 cameras because of lens choices ( not high end lenses ), IS, weather resistance ( rains a lot ), and size. I know KS2 is fairly large. I looked at the Sony a6000, and Lumix XG85. They are TOO tiny.
I want some wall hangers, and I think these 2 would fit my needs.
Thanks.

[dem]

If I wanted to shoot sport or video, I would go with the gx8. If I was interested more in low light or portraiture, I would go with the KS2.

In 90% shooting scenarios either camera will do the job and you will not be able to tell the difference in processed prints.

Have you factored in the cost and availability of the lenses you are going to use? I would start thinking lenses first, then cameras.

http://cameradecision.com/compare/Pa...vs-Pentax-K-S2

[MrB]

I can't answer your question, but here are four points:
The only hint that might be indicative of a cost factor is your statement "not high end lenses".
For weather-resistance both body and lens must be WR - Pentax appears to have more WR lenses.
Is there some reason why you have chosen the K-S2 rather than the more capable K-70?
The price of a GX8 body would fund the cost of a K-70 and 18-135 WR zoom lens.

Philip

[Manfred M]

I own the GX7 and a couple of lenses and have shot with the GX8. It is a mirrorless camera and is much more suitable for shooting relatively still subjects due to the contrast detect autofocus; which is inherently slower than the phase detect system used in a DSLR. I would rate the weather resistance low on both the body and lenses, so shooting it in the rain uncovered would be problematic. That being said, having had the weather resistance fail on a supposedly weather resistant camera body, I would not shoot even a supposedly weather resistant camera / lens combination without taking weather precautions.

The larger sensor in the APS-C Pentax will have a slight advantage when it comes to print quality over the mFT sensor in the Panasonic; although in practice, you'd have to see the prints side by side to pick up any differences. I have made 17" x 22" prints from images taken with my GX7. As both have 20MP sensors, the Pentax should also have an advantage in low light photography, due to larger pixel pitch.

If body size is not an issue, then the Pentax should have another advantage over the Panasonic; there is more physical space on a larger body for the camera designers to put controls on the body rather than having to resort to having to place commonly used functions into a menu driven selection.

Unfortunately, I have no experience with Pentax cameras, so cannot make specific comments on them. Based on your needs, I suspect you would be happier with the Pentax. The one word of caution I would make is with weather resistant lenses on the Pentax; this feature is more expensive to implement, so is likely more commonly used on higher end lenses. If you are looking at the lower end "kit" lenses, make sure that they have this feature before choosing one system over the other.

[Shadowman]

Put both on a tripod and shoot a still image should give you equal performance enough to provide you with a 11" x 16" print, change any variable (subject moves, light changes, etc.) and you might have to make some adjustments on one or both cameras.

[Tringa]

Manfred has summed up the issues succinctly. I won't add much, as I have to declare an interest because I use a Pentax DSLR, except that any Pentax lens with the K mount (ie from about the mid 1970s onwards) will fit and function on current K mount Pentax DSLRs.

How they function is variable some will be fully manual - no electronic connections between the body and the lens, others offer some level of automation. I use a 30+ year old Sigma 70-210 zoom where the focussing is manual but aperture adjustment is controlled by the camera and many of these old lenses are very cheap.

Dave

[davidedric]

Can't usefully comment on your specific question, but if You are considering the Pentax dslr, I would look at the Panasonic G85 ahead of the gx8 - the 16mp vs 20mp makes little real world difference.

Dave

[jerry1]

My thought on ks2 over k70 was I that the k70 was larger??

[jerry1]

I agree on W/R camera and lenses.

[MrB]

My thought on ks2 over k70 was I that the k70 was larger??

The size differences between K-S2 and K-70 are negligible:

http://camerasize.com/compare/#610,677

Philip

[MrB]

....If body size is not an issue, then the Pentax should have another advantage over the Panasonic; there is more physical space on a larger body for the camera designers to put controls on the body rather than having to resort to having to place commonly used functions into a menu driven selection....

Manfred has a point that deserves consideration here. The Pentaxes (K-S2 and K-70) have buttons and dials for controlling all the important features of image capture. I don't know about the workings of the GX8, but I would add that the Pentax camera is very customisable to the user's preferences - the buttons and dials have lots of options that can be set up to the user's liking, and they will be remembered by the camera when it is next switched on. Similarly there is also a high degree of control of the JPEG output - before any shooting, the user can select from a wide range of values for each of the parameters that affect the final appearance of the images. The final JPEG image can then be edited further in the camera, if desired, and saved to the SD-Card as another JPEG image file.

Philip

[Manfred M]

Manfred has a point that deserves consideration here. The Pentaxes (K-S2 and K-70) have buttons and dials for controlling all the important features of image capture. I don't know about the workings of the GX8, but I would add that the Pentax camera is very customisable to the user's preferences - the buttons and dials have lots of options that can be set up to the user's liking, and they will be remembered by the camera when it is next switched on. Similarly there is also a high degree of control of the JPEG output - before any shooting, the user can select from a wide range of values for each of the parameters that affect the final appearance of the images. The final JPEG image can then be edited further in the camera, if desired, and saved to the SD-Card as another JPEG image file.

Philip

Those features also exist on the Panasonic GX8; where there is a high degree of customization available on both the controls and on the JPEG output. If anything, there are more features on the Panasonic, as it falls into the "Prosumer" range (one down from Panasonic's top-of-the-line camera), whereas the Pentax is an entry-level offering.

One other bit of information. The GX8 has been superseded by the GX9, so it is fairly heavily discounted.

[davidedric]

The gx9 is not weather sealed. It seems a bit more sideways than up!

Dave