[vsmouli]

I had bought K10D soon after it was released. Had lot of fun with that camera. Though I had not explored every little feature in that camera, following two things bothered me a lot

1) Auto focus was not accurate - I heavily depend on auto focus when I shoot humming birds, (which are permanent resident of my back yard).

2) The shutter noise. This used to scare the hell out of the hummers.


So decided to go for K-5 and already sold my K10D. I keep reading lot of things (good and bad) about K-5. Of all, my biggest concern is about the feedbacks from many people about K5's auto focus (particularly a video feedback of a guy who compares Nikon 7000D and K5). People say it has definitely improved a lot since K10D, but not great. Sometimes this dreadful thought of selling off whole pentax system that I have and move on to new Sony-a77/Nikon keeps crossing my mind.

Also, what if I end up with a K-5 that has stained censor?. Even after rebate, it is still a lot of money....

Has anyone had similar confusion? Any suggestion?

Thanks

Mouli

[Chaos_Realm]

I had bought K10D soon after it was released. Had lot of fun with that camera. Though I had not explored every little feature in that camera, following two things bothered me a lot

1) Auto focus was not accurate - I heavily depend on auto focus when I shoot humming birds, (which are permanent resident of my back yard).Mouli

With the K-5 you should be able to bump up the ISO and reduce the aperture giving a bit of tolerance to focal accuracy. And if you use lenses with quick shift use the AF to get close then minor adjust with manual and Catch in focus should get you a reasonable number of keepers. But remember its as hard as shooting sports so you shouldn't be expecting miracles.

2) The shutter noise. This used to scare the hell out of the hummers. Mouli

From what I have heard then new pentax's K-7 and k-5 are very quiet compared to their competitors, although having never shot with anything else I will leave this as just speculation.

So decided to go for K-5 and already sold my K10D. I keep reading lot of things (good and bad) about K-5. Of all, my biggest concern is about the feedbacks from many people about K5's auto focus (particularly a video feedback of a guy who compares Nikon 7000D and K5). People say it has definitely improved a lot since K10D, but not great. Sometimes this dreadful thought of selling off whole pentax system that I have and move on to new Sony-a77/Nikon keeps crossing my mind.

Also, what if I end up with a K-5 that has stained censor?. Even after rebate, it is still a lot of money....Mouli

K-5 sensor stain issues have been sorted out long ago for new camera's, and if your buying second hand you just need to make sure with the seller it doesn't have it. This shouldn't even be of concern IMO.

Has anyone had similar confusion? Any suggestion?Mouli

My only suggestion is. enjoy the k-5 Its a fantastic camera!

EDIT: Oh and one more thing. If you still find the shutter noise to be too loud, you can try wrapping a towle around your camera, or there are things you can buy that are designed to do exactly that. they are called Blimps or something of that nature.

[vsmouli]

Thanks Chaos_Realm for the suggestion.

[Chaos_Realm]

This sound blimp thing got me interested. It's still pretty costly, ($100+) and requires a bit of DIY if your into that.... But it seems to work like a charm in the video he posted at the bottom.

Check this out HERE for the guide

Direct video link is HERE

You are worried, not confused. You want assurance you bought the right thing. Go ahead and search on Nikon D7000 focus issues and see all the Internet noise there. Modern DSLRs are really complex, ruggedized PC's with some very tricky electo-mechanical interfaces. All brands have quirks and issues. I've had things happen that required cycling power and / or removing the battery. Rarely and no rhyme or reason. Since 2007, I've had a K10, two K20's and now two K-5's. I did indeed scare Hummingbirds with the K10. The K-5 is very quiet. As far as auto focus, if I had understood catch in focus, I would have used that for Hummingbirds with a single point of focus with the K10. I shoot a lot of ballet & dance in really difficult lighting and do okay with the K-5s. The ISO improvement has made all the difference.

Having worked for the IBM PC company and then Lenovo, I can tell you that bad parts get into supply chains. Years ago, short lived electrolytic capacitors cost mfr's of PC's, Monitors, Motherboards and Routers many millions of dollars in warranty claims and none of them had skimped on QC. Dell was in denial, got sued and paid dearly. I had an MSI motherboard and a Linksys router fail for the very problem. Sometimes, you have to shut down a laptop and remove the battery. Sometimes, Sony batteries caught fire in laptops. I still use a desktop and laptop and a router and deal with the problems as they arise.
Still buy Sony TV's.

[octavmandru]

K5 is as silent as it could be. My k-20 is thunder compared to it. More silent then my ME-Super.
AF is truly fantastic improvement. It depends a lot on the lens used, of course. But is dead accurate and locks in an instant. Using AF-C with great confidence.
AF Tracking is OK, I guess. Probably not as good as Nikon, but OK.
FPS is GREAT. it's like carrying a machine gun in a small package.
Metering is finally useful, even in dull/overcast weather.
I am able to trust on AWB.

Get it. Coming from K10, K5 is light years ahead. Even K20 is no match.
I honestly think this is the best option on the current market for a semi-pro.

Octav

[vsmouli]

This sound blimp thing got me interested. It's still pretty costly, ($100+) and requires a bit of DIY if your into that.... But it seems to work like a charm in the video he posted at the bottom.

Check this out HERE for the guide

Direct video link is HERE

Thanks for the suggestion. But too expensive and time consuming, I think I should go with K5 instead.

[vsmouli]

Thanks for taking time and giving some confidence boosting stuff onK-5

[vsmouli]

Thanks Octavmandru

[Rupert]

Imagine that you bought a Ford F150 truck, one of the top selling vehicles in the world. Then imagine that you were on an F150 truck Forum....where you would hear from every owner on the Forum about every little or big problem they encountered. In no time, you would begin to think the F150 was not a good vehicle of choice. Meanwhile, in the real world there are millions of F150's performing daily, near perfectly. Forums squeeze all the information in a tight knot...but do not necessarily represent a true picture of what happens in the real world.

Now, if independent reviews by major truck magazines and websites known for their testing abilities find these same problems consistently, and rate the F150 as questionable, you have more credible information to make a sound decision.



Getting the picture......? The K5 has received outstanding and glowing reports from almost every reviewer and tester out there. Mainly because it is a fantabulous camera, with amazing abilities at a very affordable price. Heck, even those with problems reported here don't want to let their K5 go, because it is amazingly wonderful! Just read the posts here........even those with problems love the K5, just not their particular problem....and keep in mind that most like me have no problems at all!

As in anything, the decision is up to the buyer, but if you just use some very simple logic and the facts provided, the K5 is the camera to own, without a doubt. At the current price, it is a steal, but you won't know that until the first time you crank up the ISO and get a shot that you never ever got with what you previously owned. Then you too will be amazed....and that is not all of the K5, it is just the beginning. The faster focus and very quiet shutter may mean you are not even aware of your first K5 shot.....it might be that different for you from your K10D.

Best Regards!

[TER-OR]

I upgraded from K-10 to K-5 this year. The hummingbirds don't seem too concerned about me, but motions will startle them. This time of year the young ones will perch right near me to give me a good looking over. If I already have the camera up, I can get a shot or two. If I have to raise the camera it may startle them. I've never perceived them being spooked by the noise. Usually they're more concerned with chasing one another and raising a ruckus.

You'll enjoy the K-5. Use center-focus and metering and go get some good shots.