Buying a dSLR for a wide range of photography (K-7, D90, 7D, other?)

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Shrug, Canon's 18-55 IS kit lens is very capable lens. It's damn sharp. Hell it rivals Canon's 17-55 f/2.8 IS lens. I don't know how good the Pentax is but it's hard to say a kit lens with the same specs will whoop the Canon 18-55 IS...

But you're right about the K-x doing well with noise. I just prefer the lens systems of Canon or Nikon. Plus, if you ever have friends that shoot a certain system, you can trade lenses with them.

but Canon has many lenses that have no Nikon equivalent. This is especially evident in the 70-200 range where the only Nikon offering is the VR f/2.8, which while an awesome lens, is quite expensive, whereas Canon gives photographers 3 cheaper options.

4 now There's the MK1 f/2.8 IS also now. You get anywhere from $600 all the way to $1900. Let's not forget that when you're a budget shooter you can always look at Sigma or Tamron or even Canon's cheaper telephoto zooms like the 70-300 or 55-250 if you are on crop.

 

[randomlinh]

4 now There's the MK1 f/2.8 IS also now. You get anywhere from $600 all the way to $1900. Let's not forget that when you're a budget shooter you can always look at Sigma or Tamron or even Canon's cheaper telephoto zooms like the 70-300 or 55-250 if you are on crop.

I certainly would NOT want to see how a $600 70-200 2.8IS would look...

 

[ElFenix]

Shrug, Canon's 18-55 IS kit lens is very capable lens. It's damn sharp. Hell it rivals Canon's 17-55 f/2.8 IS lens. I don't know how good the Pentax is but it's hard to say a kit lens with the same specs will whoop the Canon 18-55 IS...

prior to the 18-55 IS canon's kit lenses were probably the worst in the industry (well, the 24-105L certainly was arguably the best but it was hardly your typical kit lens). the goodness that is the 18-55 IS probably hasn't filtered its way around the whole internets yet.

the pentax kit lenses had been hit or miss due to QC but since hoya took over they've been more uniformly good.

 

[pdo]

What do you like to shoot? I'm more of a fashion shooter and the Pentax K-X meet my needs perfectly. I certainly wouldn't want to go with Pentax if I were shooting wild life or sports.

 

[compgeek89]

I'm primarily a landscape / random interest photographer that wanted much clearer and better shots. The pentax K-7 has been superb for me. I just acquired a DA* 50-135 which is an awesome lens and makes this camera shine.

 

[arkcom]

If you know how to focus, there are a lot of decent Pentax lenses to be had for cheap. Just the other day I got an old Sears 35mm (Ricoh), with a 50mm f/2, a 135mm f/2.8, and a 2x teleconverter, all for $40. It's not top of the line stuff, but there're plenty of better lenses out there, too.

Somebody earlier said Pentax had no super wide lens, what about the PENTAX DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 ED? It's not cheap, but it exists.

If you can't find something usable in this list, you're doing it wrong - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_K_mount

 

[ElFenix]

careful mounting the ricoh lenses on current pentax bodies, they can get stuck on.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

prior to the 18-55 IS canon's kit lenses were probably the worst in the industry (well, the 24-105L certainly was arguably the best but it was hardly your typical kit lens). the goodness that is the 18-55 IS probably hasn't filtered its way around the whole internets yet.

the pentax kit lenses had been hit or miss due to QC but since hoya took over they've been more uniformly good.

Yeah, unfortunately there's a lot of "legacy opinions" regarding equipment. There's a poster here who likes to say how slow Pentax AF is, yet Pentax's current lineup focuses about as fast as the same-priced competition, although Pentax does lack in predictive-AF.

I've heard nothing but praise for the Canon 18-55 IS from those who have it. It's nice to see that the mfr's are giving folks good lenses.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

careful mounting the ricoh lenses on current pentax bodies, they can get stuck on.

Yup, there's a pin... some people just lop it off.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

What do you like to shoot? I'm more of a fashion shooter and the Pentax K-X meet my needs perfectly. I certainly wouldn't want to go with Pentax if I were shooting wild life or sports.

I shoot local wildlife with Pentax... don't see what the problem is.