[Tommot1965]

I just sold my K7 recently and ordered the K5 from B&H. The better ISO capability was the deciding factor, but not because I particularly take pictures in low light situations. I needed the improved capability because of a family hand tremor. Being able to up the ISO and the higher shutter speeds it allows, helps balance out the tremor. I don't want to be tethered to a tripod or monopod all the time. The K7 is a great camera, but its dynamic range was frustrating at times, even with bracketing exposures. The dynamic range of the K5 is said to be much better. And to keep the K5's issues in perspective, the documented problem of shutter blurr with the K7 does not seem to be hampering it's resale value.

I too was nervous about the problems, but it was either the K5 or having to move over to Nikon and their VR lenses. I love the Pentax glass that I have and that was what made me stick with Pentax. If the focus issue turns out to be a manufacturing defect, Pentax will have to make good on the cameras or face an unpleasant market response for their lack of response. I thought long and hard about the Nikon D700. If I'd sold all my Pentax gear I could have swung it along with a couple of zooms, a dedicated macro lens and a fast 50mm. Two things made me go with the K5. One was that the K5, even with having dx sensor, matched up image wise with the D700. The other reason was that most of Nikon's primes do not have VR and I doubt their VR zooms (the ones that I could afford at least) can match the image quaity of the Pentax's limited lenses. I'm not saying that $1468 is not a large amount of money, it is, but when you compare it to the cost of the D700 ($2349 at B&H) and the cost of the Nikon lenses to replace what I already have with the DA* zooms and the FA limiteds it was a no brainer. Spring is almost here on the West coast and I want to be camera ready to greet it :-)

for a minute I thought you may have been leaving Pentax...you are in for a treat for the low noise High ISO images that the K5 can produce...also the the DR that you can drag out of a RAW file in PP......for me the K5 has one short coming..that is so outweighed by its plus's its not funny......be nice to see some of your images when your new K5 hits the doorstep

FWIW..im been shooting at 12800, and with a little PP noise reduction , im able to produce a image that as good as the K7 at ISO 1600 this is the very reason why I upgraded to a K5...and it didn't disappoint me , thank god ...

[GaryH]

Great camera . Go for it.

[Bramela]

And I will support GaryH in that +++.

[loveisageless]

From reading the recent posts here, I'm feeling more optomistic about my decision. It is too bad that Pentax hasn't formally addressed the FF issue, even if only to say that they are aware of it and they are working on it. The implication of their silence is that it might be a hardware issue with the camera and that they are not prepared to replace the affected units (too many out there already). If that is the case, they will have an uphill battle on an almost vertical plain to gain market share or reassure retailers that they will stand behind their products. On the other hand, if the FF issue doesn't matter to one's shooting style, their will be some really great bargains to be had on refurbished (sensor issue) K5s before long.

[LEON]

you can see here how spring seems through the K-5
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-5-forum/123731-no-more-tests-jus...ml#post1394273

[WerTicus]

The issues are minor... I do suffer from the FF issue and the stain issue and out of 1200 wedding shots 3 were out of focus and only one shot out of 5000 now have shown a stain issue.. The 2nd shooter had a 5d mk2 and out of 900 shots 8 were out of focus... so its better than a 5d mk2 for focusing.

[30v iPentax]

Osta vaan K-5 saat koko rahalla kameran.

[Ash]

The issues are minor... I do suffer from the FF issue and the stain issue and out of 1200 wedding shots 3 were out of focus and only one shot out of 5000 now have shown a stain issue.. The 2nd shooter had a 5d mk2 and out of 900 shots 8 were out of focus... so its better than a 5d mk2 for focusing.

These are actually quite good stats - unless there's a big difference between the shooting style/technique of the 5D user over your own. Quite testament that the K-5 can hold its own in AF performance.

[loveisageless]

Well, I'm reporting back on the K5 purchase. The camera arrived yesterday afternoon. Test shots at the sky and a piece of white paper taped to the wall, showed a consistent spot in the upper left quadrant of the frame. I tried dust mapping to see if it could confirm it as dust, but it did not register any dust. The spot became more pronounced from f/11-f/22. It could have been a spot of dust, but if it was it would not dislodge with my blower. I can't do a sensor cleaning due to shaky hands and it would cost $60 to have it done locally. I didn't feel I should have to pay to get a brand new camera's sensor cleaned, so I contacted B&H and asked if they would exchange it, which they agreed to do. I had also done some low light autofocus test shots with the 77mm ltd. There did not appear to be BF/FF issues, but the pictures were not sharp either. I used a tripod to rule out my shaky hand as a cause. Earlier today, after I dropped off the camera for shipment, I read Falcon's paper. I am feeling very discouraged. I contacted B&H and asked for a refund instead of an exchange. I think i'm just going to sit this one out for a bit and see whether Pentax will offer effective fixes for the autofocus and flash issues. The camera doesn't perform to specifications, as it is. Please Pentax/Hoya say something soon about these issues, otherwise I will have to leave for Nikon land. I'm just not willing to pay for a product that doesn't work properly.

[vasyllaw2]

Well, I'm reporting back on the K5 purchase. The camera arrived yesterday afternoon. Test shots at the sky and a piece of white paper taped to the wall, showed a consistent spot in the upper left quadrant of the frame. I tried dust mapping to see if it could confirm it as dust, but it did not register any dust. The spot became more pronounced from f/11-f/22. It could have been a spot of dust, but if it was it would not dislodge with my blower. I can't do a sensor cleaning due to shaky hands and it would cost $60 to have it done locally. I didn't feel I should have to pay to get a brand new camera's sensor cleaned, so I contacted B&H and asked if they would exchange it, which they agreed to do. I had also done some low light autofocus test shots with the 77mm ltd. There did not appear to be BF/FF issues, but the pictures were not sharp either. I used a tripod to rule out my shaky hand as a cause. Earlier today, after I dropped off the camera for shipment, I read Falcon's paper. I am feeling very discouraged. I contacted B&H and asked for a refund instead of an exchange. I think i'm just going to sit this one out for a bit and see whether Pentax will offer effective fixes for the autofocus and flash issues. The camera doesn't perform to specifications, as it is. Please Pentax/Hoya say something soon about these issues, otherwise I will have to leave for Nikon land. I'm just not willing to pay for a product that doesn't work properly.

As I thought. I am waiting for hardware/software fixes and a price drop to $1100-1200 tax in. Having said this, I would have never thought of Pentax if not for K-5.

[Chex]

Ordered my K-5 last Monday, just got it today as it was back ordered. No problems noticed yet, and I have been trying to find sensor stains etc. so far so good!
I would say go ahead and get the K-5 and get shooting. If you are waiting for "problems" to be fixed now, you might has well wait a long time for a price drop too. As soon as the sensor stain issue was brought up, I would imagine their QC got a lot more stringent to stop it from continuing. Firmware can usually handle the rest!

[Hound Tooth]

Can't believe you people. Major defects still in need of fixing, and you're all encouraging people to buy the damn thing. What incentive will Pentax ever have to fix the defects?

"Bah, everyone's still buying the K-5, we can just leave the defects in place. In fact, let's make the next model MORE defective! And charge more for it too!"

I bought a K-5. Got nailed with:

- sensor stains (sent it in for replacement, without camera for 3 weeks)
- faulty electronic level (sent it in for replacement, without camera for another 3 weeks)
- flash over-exposure
- FF issue in low light (got rid of the damn thing once and for all)

And yet you people sit there and encourage some poor sap to justify this travesty. Maybe you're all still trying to justify wasting your money by making other people waste their money too.

[GregK8]

- I have a clean sensor
- My electronic level is spot on
- I rarely do flash work, and when i do it's generally a manual setup
- I don't do any low light work to speak of that triggers the FF issue

And compared to the K20D I used to own:
The K-5 is a huge step up in terms of high iso performance (which by the way i use to get decent DoF and a fast shutter speed during sporting events, not to work in extremely low light levels)
Huge step up for raw buffer and fps, again, important at sporting events
Better interval shooting functions
Way faster AF along with countless other improvements that work fine

And I don't have enough money to replace all my Pentax glass with CaNikon equivalents. So I'll happily overlook the two remaining faults that have no effect on me to have the capability to get a lot of shots I could never get with my previous camera. I didn't waste one penny.

Am I supposed to boycott a camera that works perfectly for me because it doesn't meet your needs?

[loveisageless]

I've been giving it some more thought tonight and am leaning toward trying another K5 body in exchange for the one I've sent back. Absent the sensor stain, the other two issues with the camera are not ones that I would come up against very often. I don't think its necessarily denial on members' part, but maybe they have taken stock, as I have been doing today, and have done a opportunity cost/benefit analysis of the camera's weaknesses and strengths for their intended use. The Pentax lenses alone make it worth doing so. I'm not letting Pentax off the hook. If asked about the K5, absent Pentax fixing its flaws, I would recommend that they think about how they would use the camera and whether the flaws would ruin their enjoyment of the camera and/or negatively affect their livelihoods as photographers.

[30v iPentax]

Tulee jo kohta kuukausi, kun lähetin K-5 eniimäisenkerran huoltoon. Toinenkin kerta sama K-5 ja sama tahraongelma on kestänyt jo pari viikkoa. Tuntuu että tekevät kiusaa, kun sanoin etteihän sitä vikaa korjattukkaan ekalla kertaa.