[AggieDad]

I am in the process of buying my first dslr and the other day I posted on the K-50 forum and learned some things.

Now I see that I can buy a K-5IIs body for $100 more than the K-50 body. Worth it or not?

Thanks.

Don Simmons

[robthebloke]

Yes, for $100 more, it's worth it. Better build quality, quieter shutter, sharper images, and a few more bells and whistles.

The only thing that may count against it, is if you want that $100 to go towards lenses...

[RobG]

I haven't used the K50 but the K5iis is a great camera.

[elpolodiablo]

I have K-5IIs and K-30(essentially the same as K-50). I'd say for $100 more get the K-5IIs, the auto focus alone is worth the difference.

K-30/K-50 is not bad at all, I actually prefer the JPG out of the Prime-M engine in K-30/K-50 and Focus Peaking is very nice for manual focus lenses, auto focus is OK in most situations too. But, I owned the original K-5 for 3.5yrs before I upgrade to K-5IIs, therefore I am immediately at home with the control layout, and with the improved low light AF which actually took care of the only thing that I was not happy with in the original K-5, not to mention the lack of AA filter makes all my lenses look sharper lol.

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Last edited by elpolodiablo; 01-25-2015 at 11:47 PM.

[DSims]

I usually say save the money for lenses, but at this point the prices are so close you should get the K-5 IIs. Unless you need one of the few advantages of the K-50 (like focus peaking), the K-5 IIs is better in nearly every way.

The design of the IIs yields images that are just that much sharper and have a lot of latitude for adjustments in post-processing. The colors may be slightly less rich, however. At least they are compared to the K-5 and K-5 II. But it's still richer than the dulled-down look Canon's adopted in recent years. It's an outstanding camera - I haven't felt the need to upgrade mine yet (got it when they were released).

[geomez]

I've owned a K-5IIs and my wife has a K-30. I'd say go for the K-5IIs. In my opinion, the only thing the K-30 has on the K-5IIs is focus peaking in Live View.

[Na Horuk]

If you are a total beginner, you might want to start with K-50, because its learning curve is not as steep, and invest the difference in good lenses (lenses keep their value better, and can be used even if you upgrade the camera). The K-5IIs is practically pro tier (well, was), so it has some more features, controls, and slightly better overall image quality (no AA filter, 14bit depth).

[Hamiltom]

The K5iis is a bargain for only $100 more.

[TER-OR]

I'm a big fan of the top LCD - it's such a quick way to confirm all your settings. Half the time I can't see all the information in the viewfinder because I have glasses on - and polarized sunglasses are even worse. But with that top screen I can confirm I'm using appropriate settings - or they haven't been bumped etc. I won't own a DSLR without this display.

[redcat]

as a K5 IIs owner, I confirm that it's a superb camera, very sharp, color rich and feel great in hand pair that with a good lens, ex : a sigma 17-50 f2.8, you'll get beautiful images all the time
you can check out some sample photos of mine in the below signature

[Oldbayrunner]

Either way you won't go wrong. I've owned both, after putting the K5 lls in my hands with everything it has to offer I finally felt I found the Pentax camera I can be very happy with for quite awhile. The quietness, output, layout and handling with this camera suits my needs perfectly. As far as the learning curve, IMO with any dslr it is going to seem daunting to most new users of that camera at first and all dslr's have basically the same curve one needs to learn at first, after that the feature and button convenience can make a difference and this camera has that as well as many other things that make it a pleasure to use.

Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your skills mastering any dslr camera, regardless of what you choose take your time learning, don't set your initial expectations too high and happy shooting.

[Mr. A.S.]

K 5 IIs

[AggieDad]

I think the opinion is more than obvious. I will probably order the K-5IIs with the SMC DA 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 ED AL (IF) DC WR Lens and the DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR Lens.

Thanks to all.

[MadMathMind]

If you are a total beginner, you might want to start with K-50, because its learning curve is not as steep, and invest the difference in good lenses (lenses keep their value better, and can be used even if you upgrade the camera). The K-5IIs is practically pro tier (well, was), so it has some more features, controls, and slightly better overall image quality (no AA filter, 14bit depth).

My philosophy is that you can grow into a camera. There's nothing inherently more complicated about the K-5IIs. It does not do less or do things easier than the K50. For example, it's not as though the P mode is missing from the K-5IIs. You can ignore features but you cannot use what is not there. In that respect, it is better to buy more than you understand at the moment because you can always use the camera like the K-50 by simply not using everything.

[geomez]

My philosophy is that you can grow into a camera. There's nothing inherently more complicated about the K-5IIs. It does not do less or do things easier than the K50. For example, it's not as though the P mode is missing from the K-5IIs. You can ignore features but you cannot use what is not there. In that respect, it is better to buy more than you understand at the moment because you can always use the camera like the K-50 by simply not using everything.

I completely agree with this assessment. In addition, I think the K-5 series of cameras is even easier to use than the K-50. It has more of the features visible on the body as buttons and switches, e.g. focus point switch, metering modes, dedicated AE and AF buttons, and dedicated ISO button. These things can be ignored by a beginner, but as you learn to use them and rely on them to execute your vision more efficiently, you'll appreciate these features available to change while looking in the viewfinder, not buried in menus.