Why buy pentax k5

Tones are well recorded over a very wide dynamic range. Above An impromptu shot at an exhibition shows the advantages of the close focus of the kit lens. Right Gentle and subtle female skin tones.

This has simplified weather resistance and is suitable for shooting in the rain. The lens is of largely plastic construction, but is well made and has a metal mount. Controls operate smoothly. The finish is also of a very high standard.

A very nice feature is the Quick Shift mechanism, a clutch system that allows manual focus whilst in AF mode. AF can lock on and then MF used to tweak the final focus position.

This can be very useful, especially in close up and macro work. The lens performs extremely well and far better than many other kit lenses. At full aperture there is some softness, but this soon sharpens up and at mid apertures images are crisp and clean. Smaller apertures bring some fall off in performance, but the lens remains usable. It is a sharp, contrasty lens that will whet the appetite for further Pentax lenses. There is some chromatic aberration in extreme situations and certainly some distortion.

This appears as barrel distortion at wide angles and gradually gives way to pincushion at longer focal lengths. The in-camera software can identify all DA and some FA lenses and remove the distortion. This works incredibly well and totally removes any hint of bending of lines from the kit lens. The processing does slow down shooting, but only for seconds.

The lens can be made to flare, but the sun needs to be right in front of us to make much impact on the image. In general photography flare is not a problem. However, use of the supplied lens hood is always a good idea. Pentax K-5 lens performance: Click on the thumbnails for larger images. The lens focuses usefully close at 0. Clearly a very sharp lens with excellent colour. Above There is some barrel distortion at 18mm. Left The lens is capable of sharp and crisp results. DxOMark provides objective, independent, RAW-based image quality performance data for lenses and digital cameras to help you select the best equipment to meet your photographic needs.

Pentax K Verdict Here Pentax have a camera that is punching very much above its weight. The K-5 can happily take on cameras costing twice as much or more and especially with this fine new sensor will be in a position to challenge any of the APS-C alternatives, at any price.

It offers certain critical advantages over the lower priced K-r, such as higher resolution and weather sealing and in terms of value for money is an extraordinary package in the market place as a whole. In terms of general advantages, Pentax are offering a very compact design that is highly effective. The lenses have always been of the highest quality and there is no doubt that the K-5 will deliver the goods on most levels. Backwards compatibility with thousands of lenses is already well assured.

The quality of colour is exceptional and I suggest that portrait and wedding photographers consider this camera very carefully. Pentax do have some limitations as regards their own telephoto lenses, but alternatives are available from other manufacturers if needed.

In summary, an excellent camera that is very highly recommended. Great performance and excellent value for money. A auto , AF. Photographs taken using the Pentax K Nikon D6 Review. Pentax is well and truly back in the frame Might even sell all my Nikon gear If I currently had the cash I'd be on my way to my local store to get one now! The K-5 looks like a very nice camera. It's nice to see Pentax on the up, and I hope they can regain their former position in the top group of camera makers.

Although I am unlikely to switch from Canon, I would not like Canon and Nikon to have the market to themselves, and some more competition would be good. BobEH 16 The reviewer was clearly impressed. I have a Nikon D90 and K7. I prefer the K7 for landscapes natural history, pictorial work etc. The D90 just works - and very well, so I use it for Social work, Pantomines the official photographer Weddings etc. I just know it wont let me down.

The Pentax gets me better pictures and they are sharper than the Nikon. It was because of the perceived softness of the Nikon that I got the Pentax and have not regretted it. I needed two bodies anyway. I might now get the K5. Slightly used D90 anyone? Thank You to you people on the other side as one from down below I'm fascinated by the power of PENTAX I up graded to Digital some 4 years ago and found that the quality of my Macro Wildflower work took a massive leap forward my club members at home here are often saying how much the improvement in my work since stepping up to Digital.

Pete 20 The Digital Filters quickly produce special effects that would otherwise require you to spend a lot of time in the digital darkroom, although some of them are less useful than others. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your tastes.

These shots of a white ceiling were taken at a distance of 1. And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting or the Red-eye Reduction option caused any amount of red-eye. The Pentax K-5 lets you dial in shutter speeds of up to 30 seconds and has a Bulb mode as well, which is very good news if you are seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 30 seconds at ISO The Pentax K-5 has a Shake Reduction mechanism built into the camera body, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras.

To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with Shake Reduction turned off, the second with it turned on. As you can see, with Shake Reduction turned on, the images are sharper than when it's turned off.

This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether. The Pentax K-5's HDR Capture option only available for JPEGs takes three images with different exposures, and then records a single image that combines the properly exposed parts of each one, expanding its dynamic range.

Here is an example which was shot with the six different modes Off, Auto, On, 1, 2 and 3. Although the K-5 can now microalign images before combining them, allowing hand-held HDR shots to be taken, for best results it's important to always use a tripod to prevent camera shake from blurring the HDR image, and it doesn't work very well for moving subjects.

They are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences. The Pentax K-5 offers seven different Digital Filters, which allow you to quickly apply an artistic effect to a photo before taking it JPEG images only. The Pentax K-5 has a cross processing mode that replicates the effects of cross-processing film.

Here is an example:. This is a selection of sample images from the Pentax K-5 camera, which were all taken using the The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Download Original. This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of x pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 14 second movie is Mb in size. The Pentax K-5 combines the proven design of the K-7 with an exciting new Virtually identical to the K-7, Pentax haven't taken any chances with the design of the new K-5, which is a good thing in our book as the K-7 was and is a great DSLR to use. The only real negative point in terms of handling is the improved but still rather slow contrast AF system which detracts from the Live View mode.

The K-5's image quality is excellent, producing noise-free images all the way from from ISO Noise starts to become apparent at ISO , with a little more noise and smearing of fine detail at the higher settings of and , while the fastest speeds of , are suitable for smaller prints.

The incredible headline-grabbing top-speed of is frankly unusable - Pentax should have followed Nikon's lead and stopped the range at Still, as with the D, very impressive results for a 1. The HDR mode makes it easy to create images with greatly expanded dynamic range, although you don't have too much control over the final effect and you really need to use a tripod to keep things sharp. The D-Range options help make the most out of both the shadows and highlights in a high-contrast scene, while the multi-exposure and creative processing modes and the vast range of digital effects are a nice creative addition.

Making its Pentax debut on the K-7, the inclusion of Full p HD video is sure to generate a lot of interest. Unfortunately, as with most of the other DSLR cameras on the market that offer video recording, it's not the most user-friendly experience, with no handy one-touch recording, reliance on manual focusing, inability to change the aperture or shutter speed during recording, enormous file sizes that quickly fill your memory cards, and the inherent handling quirks of the DSLR format.

While the K-5 doesn't differ all that much from the older K-7, it does add some significant new features which help ensure that Pentax's prosumer DSLR continues to be a very attractive alternative to the Big Two's offerings. All this in a sturdy and relatively compact pro body. In addition to its photographic capabilities, the Pentax K-5 records full p HD movies, either with a built-in mono microphone or an external stereo one. Read the full review ». While the These include higher resolution, more ISO options to 51, with expansion , higher p resolution in movie mode, new point AF system, an improved HDR function, and a much faster 7 fps continuous drive speed.

Latest Reviews Popular Reviews. Download the sample movie. A auto , AF. Digital Filter Rec. Mac OS X Loading comments…. Share Tweet Comment.

Premium 9. Best 6. Flash Off - Wide Angle 27mm. Flash On - Wide Angle 27mm. Flash Off - Telephoto 82mm. Flash On - Telephoto 82mm. Red-eye Reduction. Night Shot. Front of the Camera. Isometric View. Focus modes: AF. At first sight the K-5 is virtually indistinguishable from the K-7 in some markets the K-7 will remain in the Pentax line alongside the K Apart from an additional 'Fx' which stands for 'flex' label on the customizable RAW button and a subtle redesign of the AF switch on its rear there are no readily significant differences between the K-5 and its predecessor the K However, there is more novelty to be found under the hood - the K-5's most notable new component is a The new sensor brings with it a higher maximum sensitivity ISO in expanded mode, the highest on any APS-C camera to date , faster continuous shooting 7.

Also new is a dual-axis electronic horizon now with pitch as well as roll indication and a few extra digital filters and custom image modes. Despite the changes, however, existing K-7 users will no doubt require very little adjustment time if they decide to upgrade to the new model. Although it might appear to be a near-clone of the K-7, the K-5 offers some significant improvements in specification.

Here is a rundown of the key features:. The table below shows the specification differences between the K-5's predecessor, the K-7, and the recently released K-r. Apart from the new sensor, the differences between the K-5 and the older K-7 are quite subtle.

It is clear that Pentax has opted for selective improvements rather than a complete overhaul. Pros: Weather sealing is bullet proof, especially with native WR lenses. Low light capabilities are really good for it's age, noise is salvageable at high iso. Lens selection is more than enough, plenty of 3rd party floating around.

Image quality is plenty, picks up detail very well. On the warmer side of colors. Battery life is VERY good. Shutter noise is very quiet. Cons: Auto white balance is kinda off at times. Auto focus is kinda slow, not always accurate. Focus light is really obnoxious and green. LCD screen is ehhhh, not great. Video is suitable for personal, would not recommend for professional use. Slow buffer on long exposures. Compare the three cameras and center on the queen of hearts and look at the wall behind it.

And also compare the left top checker test pattern in the test scene. What I find so disingenuous and irritating about these otherwise wonderful reviews is dpr's clear bias toward Canon and Nikon. The Pentax line as the most obvious example is held to a different standard, it seems. Take the Pentax K5 review, for example, which is called a "serious amateur's" camera and yet is compared to its "direct competition," the Canon 7D and Nikon Ds, cameras that are for "keen enthusiasts, professionals and aspiring-professionals Apparently Pentax "serious amateurs" are equal to Canon and Nikon "pros and semi-pros.

When asked why, he quotes his understanding of photography as 'recognition, in real life, of a rhythm of surfaces, lines, and values. See gallery. The updates are available for immediate download from the company's website - click through for download links. Is it worth the hefty price tag?

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