[Srhphoto]

Hello everyone. I've just joined the forum and this is my first post in this part of the forum. I'm after some advice, as I am yet to buy into the Pentax system.

I used high end Canon semi professionally for many years, before moving to m4/3 around 4 years ago and shooting purely for enjoyment. I'm now in a position to go back to a DSLR system, and am extremely interested in the K5 II and K5 IIs. I am a very keen photographer, but have no intention of doing anything other than taking pictures for pure enjoyment. I tend to shoot mainly family portraits and landscape / cityscapes. I'm starting from scratch, and am looking for this to be the start of building up a new system.

I understand the differences between the two cameras and have read / watched many reviews, but what I'd be really interested to hear real world experiences. There's a straight £100 difference body only between the two models here in the UK, and I want to know if that would be money well spent. The K3 would be a huge stretch for me financially, but might be doable. Would it be worth it?

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide :-)

Cheers,

Simon.

[savoche]

Welcome to the forum! I have neither of those cameras, just the K-5 and K-3. From that experience I would get the s. I'm not sure I would pay that much extra, though. From what I see it's hard to spot the difference between the IIs and the II after applying a round of unsharp mask. No personal experience, though.

Is the K-3 better? Yes, in almost every way, but mostly by small increments. A lot of small improvements and a few bigger ones. Is it worth the extra money? Since I have one I suppose I believe it is, but my head says a K-5II is more bang for the buck. Rather invest the extra in some nice lenses.

I suppose you have read the review here as well? Review: Pentax K-5 II / IIs - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

[hilda4sea]

K5II or K5IIs - that is the question.


I´m owner of K5IIs (before K5) and the image quality from K5IIs is most, most better than from K5. The images are very crispy, clear and with plenty details. With top quality lenses I need not sharpen in PP.
The K5Iis is for me 1st choice. Moiré is very marginal and rare problém.

[devouges]

K5II or K5IIs - that is the question.


I´m owner of K5IIs (before K5) and the image quality from K5IIs is most, most better than from K5. The images are very crispy, clear and with plenty details. With top quality lenses I need not sharpen in PP.
The K5Iis is for me 1st choice. Moiré is very marginal and rare problém.

I second Hillda4Sea ! ! !

I had a K10d and now I have a k5iis... and it is light years ahead. I do a lot of birding and I have to do a lot of cropping, so the iiS is a big plus for me.

Moiré has NEVER been a problem....

The most I ever do in PP is just re-framing. Once in a while balancing light, but not often.

I love my K5iiS....

[Adam]

Hello everyone. I've just joined the forum and this is my first post in this part of the forum. I'm after some advice, as I am yet to buy into the Pentax system.

I used high end Canon semi professionally for many years, before moving to m4/3 around 4 years ago and shooting purely for enjoyment. I'm now in a position to go back to a DSLR system, and am extremely interested in the K5 II and K5 IIs. I am a very keen photographer, but have no intention of doing anything other than taking pictures for pure enjoyment. I tend to shoot mainly family portraits and landscape / cityscapes. I'm starting from scratch, and am looking for this to be the start of building up a new system.

I understand the differences between the two cameras and have read / watched many reviews, but what I'd be really interested to hear real world experiences. There's a straight £100 difference body only between the two models here in the UK, and I want to know if that would be money well spent. The K3 would be a huge stretch for me financially, but might be doable. Would it be worth it?

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide :-)

Cheers,

Simon.

I think our review (linked in the second post) sums things up fairly well. It's interesting that in the UK, the price difference is still that big. With that said, if you don't mind spending the extra cash and don't expect to be doing much architectural/textile photography, then you might as well go for the IIs.

Just to throw it out there: the K-3 has the best of both worlds, as it can compensate for moire mechanically and via in-camera post-processing. I would certainly recommend the K-3 over the K-5 if you can afford it.

[Kozlok]

From what I've seen, if you can't afford top-shelf lenses, then you probably won't see a difference.

Of course, in Pentax an old Manual Focus 50mm/1.4 or 1.7 IS a top-shelf lens that anyone can afford, so there's that.

Do try to get the kit with the 18-135. It's a pretty great do-all lens. Love mine even though I have much better glass in the bag.

I understand the differences between the two cameras and have read / watched many reviews, but what I'd be really interested to hear real world experiences. There's a straight £100 difference body only between the two models here in the UK, and I want to know if that would be money well spent. The K3 would be a huge stretch for me financially, but might be doable. Would it be worth it?
.

I upgraded my K5 bodies to K5IIs bodies last winter. Had about 240K exposures on two bodies. Key for me was, better low light AF (theater) and a slightly sharper image. I did not need more resolution. Sold one K5 and kept one for a backup. Occasionally, I will shoot with all 3 bodies. The incremental difference is discernible but I am always pushing the edge of exposures.

If the extra 100 extra gets you a better lens, put the money there. Skip the kits lens and get something like a Tamron 28-75/2.8, very good for portraits & landscape.

[Digitalis]

Moiré has NEVER been a problem

I agree - I work with top-of-the-line lenses from Pentax and Sigma. Moire has appeared in some of my images, but it is easy to control.

The K5IIs produces excellent image quality. The only drawback to owning one is as soon as you put a high quality lens on it, you won't settle for anything less.


Pentax K5IIs - SMCP-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited @ f/4 + Wireless AF540FGZ

[hilda4sea]

If you will the IQ benefit from K5IIs or K3, you need only top quality lenses. With kit lens you lose the best from image quality.

[Srhphoto]

Thank you for the replies so far, and for the welcome to the forum community :-)

I'm looking to buy into the Pentax system, so see this as a long term investment. I won't have the finances available to buy the very best lenses straight away, but they can come with time. I do however want to get the best possible body I can to make sure I can get the very best out of whatever lenses I end up with.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Srhphoto]

Oh, another thing :-).

There's been a few comments about the kit lenses. Between the 18-55 and 18-135, which has the best IQ? If I were to want a decent wide angle, what is the best in Pentax mount from both OEM and third party?

Cheers,

Simon.

[kh1234567890]

I understand the differences between the two cameras and have read / watched many reviews, but what I'd be really interested to hear real world experiences. There's a straight £100 difference body only between the two models here in the UK, and I want to know if that would be money well spent.

I was in a similar position. I searched hard for any real evidence that the K-5iis was somehow better, but was not able to find any, beside the few contrived studio test shots taken with a particular very sharp lens. To this day I'm still waiting for anyone to show me that real life shots taken with the K-5iis are somehow sharper or better than those taken under identical light conditions and using the same lens with the K-5ii.

If you can find the K-5ii cheaper than the K-5iis, spend the cash difference on a better lens instead. I did.

[BrianR]

I went for the k5iis over the k5ii. I found this link https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/53-pentax-dslr-camera-articles/230206-k5i...ce-tested.html helpful at the time. The price difference between them was much lower in my case (under $100 Canadian). I doubt either one would make you sad though.

[savoche]

There's been a few comments about the kit lenses. Between the 18-55 and 18-135, which has the best IQ? If I were to want a decent wide angle, what is the best in Pentax mount from both OEM and third party?

As for kit lenses, my experience is that the 18-135 is notably better than the 18-55. The edge sharpness of the 18-135 isn't the best at the long end, but the centre sharpness is quite good even at 135mm. My experience is very similar to the test just published here on Pentax Forums - you'll find it on the the main page.

Best wide angle? You will find a good deal of fans of the DA 15 Limited (with good reason, I'd say!). But there are several alternatives; the DA 12-24, DA 10-17, Sigma 8-16, DA 14, Samyang 10/14/16, Tamron 10-24, Zenitar 16, FA 20... It all depends on your priorities, whether it is sharpness, size, colour, rendering etc that is most important.

Short story, I find the DA 15 to be my favourite. It's a tiny lens, and renders beautifully. Vibrant colours and practically immune to flares. Not necessarily the sharpest lens out there, though, nor the fastest. But it's always with me.

[kh1234567890]

The DA15 - a great lens - is a bit wide for everyday shots. The DA21 is better for that. As for the kit zoom - it all depends on what bundle deal you can find, the DA18-55 WR can be quite reasonable if you get a good one. And it is smaller, shorter and lighter than the DA18-135, if that matters to you.