paddlerdon Loc: lakeville mn

I am considering a new camera and would appreciate thoughts from anyone with practical experience with the Nikon D7100 and the Pentax K5 iis (if there is such a person). I do mostly landscape photography and use an Olympus M 4/3 system. The D7100 and K5 are at the price point I want to be and seem to have the specs I need. ( Hopefully I am not putting too much trust in DXOMark) That said, on paper the Pentax has a little better Dynamic range but the Nikon has better ISO. I would love to hear any real experience on how much these differences (dynamic range and ISO) really are in these 2 cameras.
Additionally anyone have real experience with the sigma 17-50 2.8 in either camera case. Lastly I am not finding an obvious choice of a super long telephoto (wildlife) for the pentax, any suggestions? (think comparable to the tamron or sigma 150-600 for Nikon)
thanks,
Don

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

The D7100 (D7200 newer version) and the K5's share the exact same Sony sensor, but the difference in processors is what causes the differences in specs you are finding.
As for long lenses for Pentax? That's tough. Sigma made their 150-500mm lens in Pentax mount, but dropped the mount when they upgraded to the 150-600mm models. Pentax makes their own 150-450mm WR lens that is quite good, but lacking some range compared to other selections out there., and its quite pricey for the range it offers. The Nikon mount always has, and always will, offer more selection than the Pentax mount, unfortunately.
Good luck.

paddlerdon Loc: lakeville mn

Thanks "Shooter" point of clarification, is the D7000 sensor the same as whats in the K5? (They are both 16 MP where the 7100 and 7200 are 24 MP) Which brings another question, I've read opinions that think 16MP is the sweat spot for APS-C sensors, wondering others thoughts on that. I could have stated my original question more clearly, are the slight differences in Dynamic range and ISO between the D7100 and K5 noticeable to the human eye?

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Thanks for pointing out my mistake. Yes the D7000 and K5 share the same sensor. The Nikon D7100/7200 share the same sensor as the Pentax K3's. The difference between 16 and 24MP is easily seen at 200% viewing size, but not so much at 100%. I have 24"x36" prints hanging in my gallery taken with the D7000 and they look great. One is a head shot of a bison and it's so sharp at that size that you can count his nose hairs with no visible pixelization at all. I used a D7000 for four years, completely wore one out and replaced it with the same model. I shoot a D500 for my crop sensor body now and love it.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

I felt there was something wrong in your previous post too. Age and pixel count and model. But yes, a number of Pentax and Nikon cameras are similar (as pairs). Good you caught it and fixed it.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Do note there are many older or vintage Pentax lenses out there. Same with Nikon. You don't need to have new.