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09-05-2011, 03:13 PM   #1
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250 picture review of new K5

I just got a new K5. It is a fantastic camera. I can't think of an appropriate superlative.

Ergonomically it is one of the best two best cameras I have ever touched or used. The exposure comp and ASA buttons are easy to find and use with your index finger. The placement of the replay buttons is by the left thumb. The mode dial movement lock prevents the resetting of the mode whenever the camera is put in or removed from my camera bag ( a constant issue with my K20 and K10). The AF and AE lock buttons are easy to find with the camera held up to my face. It is a great improvement. The size of the camera is just perfect. The decrease in size from the K20, though small is just enough to make a major difference in the handling, being able to reach every control (except the mode dial) while in shooting position. The large replay screen is great. The way the camera feels and operates is same magnitude step up from others as was my Canon F1N AE compared to every other film camera I had touched or used before.

The image quality is extraordinary. The first morning after I got the I rushed outside and took a picture with very bright eastern sky and deep shadows. The image only blew out in a very small portion of the sky ( I used the camera in portrait mode, half the frame was sky). The deepest shadows (total black to my naked eye) had RGB values in the range of 4-6 for each color. After using my K10 and K20 I thought this would be impossible. Gradational color changes are very nice. The images are just as sharp as with my K10 and K20. The higher ASA settings have less noise than the K20. I have not yet found the upper limit of acceptability for the ASA, but I am sure it will be more than I expected. I only shoot raw, so I have not looked at the jpegs.

There are cons:
o The SD card slot. Who designed that? A sadist? I have small hands and fingers and can't reach the half ejected card.
o The camera battery takes six hours to charge. Why so long?
o The new camera (with a high serial number) needed a firmware upgrade. That is not making it easy for the customer.
o The camera froze after 20 images, with a freshly charged battery and 1.01 firmware.
o My 50-135/2.8 lens cannot be fully corrected in the AF tuning. It would need a setting of 11 or 12 on the 10 point system. It was addressable on my K20 and K10 (thru debug).

The first two issues should have been caught early in the design phase. The third issue should have been addressed also. Why ship cameras that you know have problems and you already have the fixes? The fourth, stuff happens.

Most of this is small, except the fifth issue. I paid a lot for this camera and the 50-135/2.8 lens. I expected better than this. I am calling Pentax Tuesday .

In conclusion, WOW!

oops! forgot to fix exposure issues with older style lenses! (edit)


Last edited by lmd91343; 09-05-2011 at 03:19 PM. Reason: new point
09-05-2011, 05:01 PM   #2
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As for issue #4, I would update the firmware before writing it off as broken. Tony3d seemed to think his K-5 was a failure, until he updated his firmware. That might stop the camera from freezing.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-5-forum/157745-k5-seems-ok-after...re-update.html
09-05-2011, 07:36 PM   #3
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I updated the FW out of the box to 1.03. Froze 5 times over the course of a few weeks, but not for the last couple months.
09-05-2011, 07:44 PM   #4
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#2, the long battery recharge time, is most likely by design to help prolong the battery's life. Yes it's frustrating when you first unpack your K-5 and want to get started, but in practice I can't imagine it would really be an issue.

09-05-2011, 07:46 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by dgaies Quote
#2, the long battery recharge time, is most likely by design to help prolong the battery's life. Yes it's frustrating when you first unpack your K-5 and want to get started, but in practice I can't imagine it would really be an issue.
This is probably true - quick recharge tends to rip apart LI-ON structures and reduce the battery life considerably.
09-05-2011, 08:09 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by lmd91343 Quote
o My 50-135/2.8 lens cannot be fully corrected in the AF tuning. It would need a setting of 11 or 12 on the 10 point system. It was addressable on my K20 and K10 (thru debug).
If the lens needed that much AF adjustment on all your cameras, I would actually think it's the lens that needed calibration.
09-06-2011, 03:48 PM   #7
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New firmware sounds right. It has been ok since I upgraded to 1.11. I have taken 250 images since.

09-06-2011, 03:51 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by pop4 Quote
If the lens needed that much AF adjustment on all your cameras, I would actually think it's the lens that needed calibration.
It was adjustable to "perfect" on my K20 and K10. Two out of three ain't bad. (sic)
09-06-2011, 04:04 PM   #9
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Wheres the 250 picture review?
09-07-2011, 10:23 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by pop4 Quote
If the lens needed that much AF adjustment on all your cameras, I would actually think it's the lens that needed calibration.
Fixed it!

Spoke to Matt at Pentax support. He suggested that I use the camera's reset AF fine focus adjustment then enter new adjustments. It worked! The absolute value of the fine adjustment for each lens was lowered.

I can only guess is that when the software was written there must have been a base offset to be added to each lens value. The programmer must have just declared the memory and not initialized it. When the program was loaded into the memory/data, whatever garbage was in that cell remained. It was not set to the proper value. The reset must have explicitly put a zero in that memory cell. I have chased that one once or twice.
09-08-2011, 05:47 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by lmd91343 Quote
Fixed it!

Spoke to Matt at Pentax support. He suggested that I use the camera's reset AF fine focus adjustment then enter new adjustments. It worked! The absolute value of the fine adjustment for each lens was lowered.

I can only guess is that when the software was written there must have been a base offset to be added to each lens value. The programmer must have just declared the memory and not initialized it. When the program was loaded into the memory/data, whatever garbage was in that cell remained. It was not set to the proper value. The reset must have explicitly put a zero in that memory cell. I have chased that one once or twice.
This is *very* valuable information!
*Many* people have been asking help on this problem here on this forum.
Can you please explain in detail what you did, when you: "use the camera's reset AF fine focus adjustment"?

I cannot find a "camera's reset AF fine focus adjustment" on my K-5.
On my K-5, custom settings C-4 the line BELOW item 27 is the "Reset" all personal settings. Did you use that?
Or did you select "1" (turn off AF-adjustment) in C-4 item 26?
Or did you do something else?

Thanks, Bert
09-08-2011, 12:27 PM - 1 Like   #12
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Bert,

You must already have entered fine tune values previously

1) Page C4 item 26 right arrow (must have value "2")
2) Item 2 right arrow
3) "Reset" bottom of screen

4) Re-enter all the lenses
09-08-2011, 12:41 PM   #13
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Also Matt told me that the "Apply all" and "Apply one" values are additive.

If you have +10 in the "all" field and +10 in the "one" field, the total adjustment is +20. Therefore it is possible to adjust for lenses greater than +10 or less than -10. Of course the "all' adds to all the lenses.

If the fine focus can't be adjusted, I'd save the bad value, then do the reset. If that didn't work I'd enter values in both the "all" and "one" categories. I only had to do the reset and re-enter. I did not touch the "Apply all" field.
09-09-2011, 12:45 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by lmd91343 Quote
Bert,

You must already have entered fine tune values previously

1) Page C4 item 26 right arrow (must have value "2")
2) Item 2 right arrow
3) "Reset" bottom of screen

4) Re-enter all the lenses
Ok, it is clear now, I'll try it this evening at home.

QuoteOriginally posted by lmd91343 Quote
Also Matt told me that the "Apply all" and "Apply one" values are additive.

If you have +10 in the "all" field and +10 in the "one" field, the total adjustment is +20. Therefore it is possible to adjust for lenses greater than +10 or less than -10. Of course the "all' adds to all the lenses.

If the fine focus can't be adjusted, I'd save the bad value, then do the reset. If that didn't work I'd enter values in both the "all" and "one" categories. I only had to do the reset and re-enter. I did not touch the "Apply all" field.
This is not what other posters have been saying in the past.
However, if you have this information from Pentax, let's assume it is true.
If I have time, I'll test it this weekend.

Thanks a lot!!

Bert

PS I wonder if this all works the same with my K-7...
09-09-2011, 11:49 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by lmd91343 Quote
Fixed it!

Spoke to Matt at Pentax support. He suggested that I use the camera's reset AF fine focus adjustment then enter new adjustments. It worked! The absolute value of the fine adjustment for each lens was lowered.

I can only guess is that when the software was written there must have been a base offset to be added to each lens value. The programmer must have just declared the memory and not initialized it. When the program was loaded into the memory/data, whatever garbage was in that cell remained. It was not set to the proper value. The reset must have explicitly put a zero in that memory cell. I have chased that one once or twice.

Thank you for sharing this information!
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