K-5 has simply best IQ between DSLR Pentax ever made

planedriver · 10-20-2010, 11:17 AM

Pentax already proved itself in the high iso and dynamic range territory with the K-x..still it looks like high iso is the main interest of the possible future users of this camera..

..but there are other thing as well..and good to see that DR is now mentioned..

..but there is also low iso IQ, and as this is digital photography we should talk about RAW headroom as well..(which is not very good with the K-x neither is the low iso IQ-but that is more or less a question of personal taste)

Andras

Eruditass · 10-20-2010, 01:14 PM

Originally posted by planedriver

Pentax already proved itself in the high iso and dynamic range territory with the K-x..still it looks like high iso is the main interest of the possible future users of this camera..

..but there are other thing as well..and good to see that DR is now mentioned..

..but there is also low iso IQ, and as this is digital photography we should talk about RAW headroom as well..(which is not very good with the K-x neither is the low iso IQ-but that is more or less a question of personal taste)

Andras

K-x has one of the highest DR at low ISO and thus RAW headroom.

Granted, the metering doesn't always make use of the headroom at the highlights, but you can certainly EV COMP it.

jsherman999 · 10-20-2010, 02:36 PM

Originally posted by filmamigo

I have read complaints on some Nikon forums, about Nikon using cheap/crude anti-aliasing filters on the D90 and D7000. If that is true, Nikon is knee-capping their potential image quality to protect more expensive camera models. It's exactly the kind of behaviour that bugs me about Nikon ... and that Pentax seems less willing to engage in.

.

Not just their image quality, they keep the AF motors out of the sub-d90 bodies, forcing those customers to buy af-s lenses, they kept AF-adjust out of the D90 and below (although the D7000 now has it.) It's really irritating for anyone who might like to buy a feature-rich, small aps-c Nikon body.

If the k-5 AF-lock speed can match the D7000, I'd say the k-5 is clearly the better camera.

.

deadwolfbones · 10-20-2010, 02:49 PM

Having used it yesterday and today, I can say the focus lock on the K-5 is the fastest on any Pentax camera I've used. It's really, really quick.

Hard to say if it's faster than my D700, as that one seems to depend heavily on the lens used.

leeak · 10-20-2010, 03:59 PM

Originally posted by deadwolfbones

Having used it yesterday and today, I can say the focus lock on the K-5 is the fastest on any Pentax camera I've used. It's really, really quick.

Hard to say if it's faster than my D700, as that one seems to depend heavily on the lens used.

So are you suggesting that the K5's AF performance is close to the D700's?

deadwolfbones · 10-20-2010, 04:21 PM

Originally posted by leeak

So are you suggesting that the K5's AF performance is close to the D700's?

Like I said, the D700's AF performance is heavily dependent on which lens is used. AF-S lenses are ridiculously quick, but they don't depend on the body as I understand it. With screwdrive lenses, I think the performance is pretty close, probably still favoring the D700 by some margin, but I haven't done any real tests or even shot them back to back yet.

FullertonImages · 10-20-2010, 04:45 PM

Originally posted by pxpaulx

By sub-par, I can only guess you mean the 'K-mount' scoring curve

Yeah. K-mount is an automatic 25 point penalty. IT's an additional 20 point Penalty if that K also appears in the product name. That might be why the W90 is doing pretty well...

jsherman999 · 10-20-2010, 06:35 PM

Originally posted by leeak

So are you suggesting that the K5's AF performance is close to the D700's?

I doubt it, especially in low-light. But that's not something I'd expect, either. Seriously, I'd be happy if Pentax put out a camera that matched the D80 in AF speed (my K20D does not, with any lens combo on either body.) Asking the K-5 (or D7000, etc) to match a D700 or D3 AF lock is not realistic.

.

leeak · 10-20-2010, 06:44 PM

Originally posted by jsherman999

I doubt it, especially in low-light. But that's not something I'd expect, either. Seriously, I'd be happy if Pentax put out a camera that matched the D80 in AF speed (my K20D does not, with any lens combo on either body.) Asking the K-5 (or D7000, etc) to match a D700 or D3 AF lock is not realistic.

.

I'm still using my D80 and it's fast enough for me. The K5 would intrigue me even if it matches AF performance of the D80. A week later we still don't know how the K5 AF in low light. Let see how this plays out ...

telfish · 10-20-2010, 07:22 PM

Originally posted by leeak

I'm still using my D80 and it's fast enough for me. The K5 would intrigue me even if it matches AF performance of the D80. A week later we still don't know how the K5 AF in low light. Let see how this plays out ...

Well I can confirm that it will focus in complete darkness! The Focus assist lamp comes on and the AF locks on pretty quickly.

In normal low light it depends on the lens used. I have owned all the K series since the K10. The K-5 is the best in AF speed by a fair margin. It seems to be quicker than my Wife's D90 though I have no idea how that camera rates in the Nikon lineup AF wise.

Terry

leeak · 10-20-2010, 07:44 PM

Originally posted by telfish

Well I can confirm that it will focus in complete darkness! The Focus assist lamp comes on and the AF locks on pretty quickly.

In normal low light it depends on the lens used. I have owned all the K series since the K10. The K-5 is the best in AF speed by a fair margin. It seems to be quicker than my Wife's D90 though I have no idea how that camera rates in the Nikon lineup AF wise.

Terry

Thanks Terry, both D90 and D80 has the same AF module and not as fast as the D3/700, D300, or the D7000, but faster than K10D, K20D, and Kx. Not sure how it compares with K7.

K10D<K20D<Kx<D80,D90,D5000<K5<D7000<D300,D700<D3

Haha, how dare I rank them?

jsherman999 · 10-20-2010, 08:44 PM

Originally posted by telfish

Well I can confirm that it will focus in complete darkness! The Focus assist lamp comes on and the AF locks on pretty quickly.

In normal low light it depends on the lens used. I have owned all the K series since the K10. The K-5 is the best in AF speed by a fair margin. It seems to be quicker than my Wife's D90 though I have no idea how that camera rates in the Nikon lineup AF wise.

Terry

If this is true, then that's incredible news, because the D90 focuses very fast for an aps-c camera - much faster than my K20D. I bought the D90 basically to shoot the Sigma 50-150 HSM and get very fast response for kid shooting, etc.

If the K-5 matches the D90 in AF, we're talking about a knockout camera here, with no significant weakness AFAIC. (so far.)

Terry, any way you can spend some time with the D90 + K-5, shooting around the house, in low light? Just shoot, shoot, shoot, try to get a feel for AF lock with both cameras. Are there any situations where the K-5 is frustrating you or hunting when the D90 does not? Also, what lenses are being used here?

Thanks!

.

ogl · 10-20-2010, 08:45 PM

As for buffer, by the way...

D7000 has 10 NEF in 14-bit mode (NEF (RAW), Lossless compressed, 14-bit) at ISO100.
K-5 has 9 PEF in 14-bit mode (checked by users already).

It's not a difference.

ogl · 10-20-2010, 08:48 PM

Originally posted by jsherman999

If the K-5 matches the D90 in AF, we're talking about a knockout camera here, with no significant weakness AFAIC. (so far.)

.

My friend (with Canon gears) said that AF-C of K-5 is almost the same as Canon 40D/50D. It's not MARK, but already semi-pro level.

jsherman999 · 10-20-2010, 08:59 PM

Originally posted by ogl

My friend (with Canon gears) said that AF-C of K-5 is almost the same as Canon 40D/50D. It's not MARK, but already semi-pro level.

My experiences with the 40D/50D were not stellar - pretty fast AF 'lock', but even in AF-S equiv, focus-priority equiv, center point, I had an unsatisfying number of missed shots, just slightly off. I tried two borrowed 40Ds and a 50D, using the 50 1.8 and some zooms.

I'd rather have it match the D90's AF, no offense to Canon shooters.

.

10-20-2010, 07:22 PM	#40
telfish Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: NY Posts: 407	K-5 af Originally posted by leeak I'm still using my D80 and it's fast enough for me. The K5 would intrigue me even if it matches AF performance of the D80. A week later we still don't know how the K5 AF in low light. Let see how this plays out ... Well I can confirm that it will focus in complete darkness! The Focus assist lamp comes on and the AF locks on pretty quickly. In normal low light it depends on the lens used. I have owned all the K series since the K10. The K-5 is the best in AF speed by a fair margin. It seems to be quicker than my Wife's D90 though I have no idea how that camera rates in the Nikon lineup AF wise. Terry

10-20-2010, 08:44 PM	#42
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	Interesting Originally posted by telfish Well I can confirm that it will focus in complete darkness! The Focus assist lamp comes on and the AF locks on pretty quickly. In normal low light it depends on the lens used. I have owned all the K series since the K10. The K-5 is the best in AF speed by a fair margin. It seems to be quicker than my Wife's D90 though I have no idea how that camera rates in the Nikon lineup AF wise. Terry If this is true, then that's incredible news, because the D90 focuses very fast for an aps-c camera - much faster than my K20D. I bought the D90 basically to shoot the Sigma 50-150 HSM and get very fast response for kid shooting, etc. If the K-5 matches the D90 in AF, we're talking about a knockout camera here, with no significant weakness AFAIC. (so far.) Terry, any way you can spend some time with the D90 + K-5, shooting around the house, in low light? Just shoot, shoot, shoot, try to get a feel for AF lock with both cameras. Are there any situations where the K-5 is frustrating you or hunting when the D90 does not? Also, what lenses are being used here? Thanks! .

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10-20-2010, 11:17 AM	#31
planedriver Inactive Account Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Velence, Hungary Posts: 664	Pentax already proved itself in the high iso and dynamic range territory with the K-x..still it looks like high iso is the main interest of the possible future users of this camera.. ..but there are other thing as well..and good to see that DR is now mentioned.. ..but there is also low iso IQ, and as this is digital photography we should talk about RAW headroom as well..(which is not very good with the K-x neither is the low iso IQ-but that is more or less a question of personal taste) Andras

10-20-2010, 01:14 PM	#32
Eruditass Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,207	Originally posted by planedriver Pentax already proved itself in the high iso and dynamic range territory with the K-x..still it looks like high iso is the main interest of the possible future users of this camera.. ..but there are other thing as well..and good to see that DR is now mentioned.. ..but there is also low iso IQ, and as this is digital photography we should talk about RAW headroom as well..(which is not very good with the K-x neither is the low iso IQ-but that is more or less a question of personal taste) Andras K-x has one of the highest DR at low ISO and thus RAW headroom. Granted, the metering doesn't always make use of the headroom at the highlights, but you can certainly EV COMP it.

10-20-2010, 02:36 PM	#33
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	Originally posted by filmamigo I have read complaints on some Nikon forums, about Nikon using cheap/crude anti-aliasing filters on the D90 and D7000. If that is true, Nikon is knee-capping their potential image quality to protect more expensive camera models. It's exactly the kind of behaviour that bugs me about Nikon ... and that Pentax seems less willing to engage in. . Not just their image quality, they keep the AF motors out of the sub-d90 bodies, forcing those customers to buy af-s lenses, they kept AF-adjust out of the D90 and below (although the D7000 now has it.) It's really irritating for anyone who might like to buy a feature-rich, small aps-c Nikon body. If the k-5 AF-lock speed can match the D7000, I'd say the k-5 is clearly the better camera. .

10-20-2010, 02:49 PM	#34
deadwolfbones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Santa Fe, NM Posts: 7,451	Having used it yesterday and today, I can say the focus lock on the K-5 is the fastest on any Pentax camera I've used. It's really, really quick. Hard to say if it's faster than my D700, as that one seems to depend heavily on the lens used.

10-20-2010, 03:59 PM	#35
leeak Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 245	Originally posted by deadwolfbones Having used it yesterday and today, I can say the focus lock on the K-5 is the fastest on any Pentax camera I've used. It's really, really quick. Hard to say if it's faster than my D700, as that one seems to depend heavily on the lens used. So are you suggesting that the K5's AF performance is close to the D700's?

10-20-2010, 04:21 PM	#36
deadwolfbones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Santa Fe, NM Posts: 7,451	Originally posted by leeak So are you suggesting that the K5's AF performance is close to the D700's? Like I said, the D700's AF performance is heavily dependent on which lens is used. AF-S lenses are ridiculously quick, but they don't depend on the body as I understand it. With screwdrive lenses, I think the performance is pretty close, probably still favoring the D700 by some margin, but I haven't done any real tests or even shot them back to back yet.

10-20-2010, 04:45 PM	#37
FullertonImages Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 883	Originally posted by pxpaulx By sub-par, I can only guess you mean the 'K-mount' scoring curve Yeah. K-mount is an automatic 25 point penalty. IT's an additional 20 point Penalty if that K also appears in the product name. That might be why the W90 is doing pretty well...

10-20-2010, 06:35 PM	#38
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	Originally posted by leeak So are you suggesting that the K5's AF performance is close to the D700's? I doubt it, especially in low-light. But that's not something I'd expect, either. Seriously, I'd be happy if Pentax put out a camera that matched the D80 in AF speed (my K20D does not, with any lens combo on either body.) Asking the K-5 (or D7000, etc) to match a D700 or D3 AF lock is not realistic. .

10-20-2010, 06:44 PM	#39
leeak Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 245	Originally posted by jsherman999 I doubt it, especially in low-light. But that's not something I'd expect, either. Seriously, I'd be happy if Pentax put out a camera that matched the D80 in AF speed (my K20D does not, with any lens combo on either body.) Asking the K-5 (or D7000, etc) to match a D700 or D3 AF lock is not realistic. . I'm still using my D80 and it's fast enough for me. The K5 would intrigue me even if it matches AF performance of the D80. A week later we still don't know how the K5 AF in low light. Let see how this plays out ...

10-20-2010, 07:44 PM	#41
leeak Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 245	Originally posted by telfish Well I can confirm that it will focus in complete darkness! The Focus assist lamp comes on and the AF locks on pretty quickly. In normal low light it depends on the lens used. I have owned all the K series since the K10. The K-5 is the best in AF speed by a fair margin. It seems to be quicker than my Wife's D90 though I have no idea how that camera rates in the Nikon lineup AF wise. Terry Thanks Terry, both D90 and D80 has the same AF module and not as fast as the D3/700, D300, or the D7000, but faster than K10D, K20D, and Kx. Not sure how it compares with K7. K10D<K20D<Kx<D80,D90,D5000<K5<D7000<D300,D700<D3 Haha, how dare I rank them?

10-20-2010, 08:45 PM	#43
ogl Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sankt Peterburg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,382 Original Poster	As for buffer, by the way... D7000 has 10 NEF in 14-bit mode (NEF (RAW), Lossless compressed, 14-bit) at ISO100. K-5 has 9 PEF in 14-bit mode (checked by users already). It's not a difference.

10-20-2010, 08:48 PM	#44
ogl Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sankt Peterburg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,382 Original Poster	Originally posted by jsherman999 If the K-5 matches the D90 in AF, we're talking about a knockout camera here, with no significant weakness AFAIC. (so far.) . My friend (with Canon gears) said that AF-C of K-5 is almost the same as Canon 40D/50D. It's not MARK, but already semi-pro level.

10-20-2010, 08:59 PM	#45
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	Originally posted by ogl My friend (with Canon gears) said that AF-C of K-5 is almost the same as Canon 40D/50D. It's not MARK, but already semi-pro level. My experiences with the 40D/50D were not stellar - pretty fast AF 'lock', but even in AF-S equiv, focus-priority equiv, center point, I had an unsatisfying number of missed shots, just slightly off. I tried two borrowed 40Ds and a 50D, using the 50 1.8 and some zooms. I'd rather have it match the D90's AF, no offense to Canon shooters. .