K-5 So Far..

[motox]

After almost 12 mths, of owning the k5, I'd rate it 6/10
+ too come....

[pixy]

Interesting, do you want to elaborate,the general consensus rates it highly.

[VladM]

You should try and get hold of some good Pentax limited lenses.

[Cage]

I've had my K5 since Xmas and I'd rate my experience so far as 9/10.

The only times my shots are not to my liking is because of my inadequacies, and not the cameras.

I agree with VladM that you should try a good prime lens on it.

I don't know whether you are aware of it, but there is a Pentax specific forum with a wealth of info and helpful hints, camera and lens reviews, and help forums. http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/ Have a look at the K5 photo posts.

[lanegd01]

I love my k5 but with damage to my wrists it is a bit heavy. I used it in a complete downpour and it performed really well. Got to love that!

[Kerrie]

I was going to mention lenses too......my kr improved when I got some Ltds

[arthurking83]

The type of lenses on a camera should have no effect on the rating of a camera!

Using various lenses to rate the camera is really rating the lens, or camera/lens combination.

Camera performance is reliant only on one thing!!... camera performance.
A camera can be assessed based on the use of different lenses and then graded accordingly, but are you really rating the camera or the individual lenses used?

And to add further to the advice of trialling a prime lens of some type, don't limit yourself to only Pentax primes too!
eg, Sigma's 85/1.4, and 150/2.8 Macro hold their own against just about any other lens of similar type and performance.
50/1.4 is also a great lens to work with.

[Kerrie]

I agree. I lov my little 35mm f2.....and it's the older FA lens.

My sigma 28-105 f2.8 isn't bad either, when I apply myself to take a decent shot with it.

Funny though, the sigma f4 zoom i had was horrid on my camera. Not sharp.

a $900 lens is going to be a little different to a $390 one though, one would think....on any camera.

[VladM]

In his original post, Motox did not elaborate why he rates the K5 so low.
Is it the body itself (the process of taking the picture), or the final output from the lenses used?
Looking at the lenses listed, he has a selection of kit quality zoom lenses with fairly average IQ, so my conclusion is that these are not a great mach for the body like the K5.
I only have a K20, and even on that I find a significant difference between using a kit lens, and a good prime (or a high end zoom).

[JM Tran]

You havent really owned or truly experienced Pentax until you have owned Pentax Limited lenses.

Damn I miss them.

[Cage]

I love my k5 but with damage to my wrists it is a bit heavy. I used it in a complete downpour and it performed really well. Got to love that!

A comment I posted in another thread which may also assist you.


Have you thought about using a lightweight tripod or a monopod?

I probably shoot about 90% of the time with a carbon fibre tripod.

Cheers

Kevin

[anon]

I've been very happy with my K5 so far,
I upgraded about a year ago from a Samsung GX20 (Pentax K20D Clone)
which was my first DSLR.

I'll focus mainly on the negatives of the K5, because for me there are a lot fewer negatives than positives,

Compared to the Samsung I prefer the Pentax in most respects,

I preferred the Samsung interface, and the stabilisation switch,
And the Samsung worked better with my Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro lens
But all in all I'm much happier with the K5

As for the 90mm focus issue, I think it's because the screw drive on the K5
seems significantly faster to me than the screw drive on the GX20,

Great on a heavier lens like the Tamron 70-200mm F2.8, in-fact based on
my experiences with the 70-200mm on the K5 and reviews of it on other cameras,
it seems to overcome the mail objection to that lens (very slow focusing times)

But it seems to be too much for the Tamron, hurling it forwards or backwards with enough
energy that the momentum moves the camera out of focus, causing the camera to refocus
and start the whole process again, result the 90mm can thrash back and forth a while when
trying to focus on the K5.

The only other negatives that leap to mind are more Pentax issues than K5 specific issues,
the lack of support for tethered shooting, and seeing third party lenses that I'd like that are
available for only Canon and Nikon. Still the back catalog of K mount lenses,
and shake reduction effectively with every lens make it great when you're starting on a budget.

I'd give the K5 a 8/10

I'd really like to hear more specifics of why motox rated it 6/10...

Regards,
Anon

[GerryK]

Thanks anon for your critique. I currently have a K20 which works well and have been thinking about getting a second body. My options had been getting another K20 or getting a K5. Looks like the K5 could be the go & the current body becomes the secondary.

[anon]

My pleasure,

Initially I was thinking of using my Samsung GX20 as a second body,
But there were too many small differences that made changing back and forth,
And the improvements of the K5 meant that it was the body I was choosing for almost all my shots.
and the type of shooting I'm doing doesn't need a second body (nice tho it might be)
So my brother got the Samsung...

Now-days, much as I might miss the physical switch for stabilisation,
the only times I miss the Samsung are when I'm shooting macro.
(Hoping to resolve this with a sigma macro lens...)

Hopefully the K20 is much more like the K5 so there is less issue switching back and forth between bodies.

Regards,
Anon

[Rattus79]

I have truly fallen in love with my k5

DR is key here. 11 stops?? Brilliant.

I too (coming from the k10) miss the IS Switch. But you get used to not having it.
I've also had the mirror lock up on me once. I had to remove the battery and it all went back to norm again after. But that was just once.

[anon]

Thanks Greg,

Glad to see I'm not the only one missing the physical switch.
Interesting you mention the mirror lock up and battery removal issue,
I've had that happen to me once too, but on the Samsung G20X not the K5...

Regards,
Anon

[squizzytaylor]

I picked up my K5 about 2 months ago now and am very impressed, going from KX/K200 to the K5 has been an absolute pleasure, mine is pretty well permanently mated with a Tamron 70-200 2.8 so the weight of the camera is the least of my worries, I have been considering sending either the k200 or Kx to my sister and at this stage I will probably give her the KX as I find the K200 and K5 have a very similar feel and are both weather resistant. Only problem so far has been the K5 locking up occasionally however this was apparently due to the aftermarket battery/grip I purchased, a new genuine pentax battery and grip have solved the issue.

GT

[anon]

Most of the mirror lock up issues I've heard of seem to relate to batteries, I have the original Pentax battery that came with the K5 and 2 Pearstone batteries (half the cost of the genuine, and I'd say 80-90% as good going from gut instinct), and the genuine Pentax grip, and so far have not had any lock up issues with the K5, but then again I tend not to run the batteries into the ground. And the occasion it happened with the Samsung (original battery) the battery was low.

It might be that the after market batteries don't put out as much voltage or current as the originals.
Sorry to hear you had to throw money at the problem.

The Tamron 70-200 F2.8 seems to make a great partner for the K5.

Regards,
Anon.

[Kym]

8.5 / 10 here.
I'd like more frame rate and even better ISO performance :p

I have a grip and 4 batteries - I never let them go flat, because I need the AF performance on the 50-500 when birding.
I.e. fully charged will AF much faster then near flat.
Landscape etc. never had mirror lockup

[anon]

Thanks,

I might start charging a bit more often if it has a noticeable impact on AF,
(I was wondering a while ago why the AF on my 150-500 seemed a bit sluggish,
I didn't have the grip on that day, and the batteries were probably only half charge)

Regards,
Anon.

[Rattus79]

Mine had the original pentax battery in when it locked up. I believe it still had a decent charge in it when it happened too, but I'm not so good at charging religiously. My k10 went flat during the cerermony on my own wedding day .....

I got to say that I'm really quite happy with the frame rate available, but what I'd really like is the ability to shoot time-lapse movies in movie mode so as to not wear out the shutter mechinism. I figure 1080P is a high enough resolution for what I need movie wise and saves having to crop and resize every image in a timelapse.
I swear somehing like this can be added with just a firmware update. ....