[riveredger]

It's not about speed as much as it is about accuracy and low-light performance. Given a dimly lit wedding reception, I'd take the D800 ANYDAY over the Pentax.

At $3000 it is also 3x as expensive. I would hope you would see better AF performance.

[noahpurdy]

At $3000 it is also 3x as expensive. I would hope you would see better AF performance.

I'd take a D7000 over a K-5. That's not unfair when it comes to price (Strictly for AF performance).

[riveredger]

I'd take a D7000 over a K-5. That's not unfair when it comes to price (Strictly for AF performance).

It's all about trade-offs. You would gain AF speed, but lose in-body stabilization, full mag alloy construction and better weather proofing.

[VoiceOfReason]

I'd take a D7000 over a K-5. That's not unfair when it comes to price (Strictly for AF performance).

I've handled both and now I have a K5! The K5 was cheaper too!

[Pentaxtic]

My Craiglist has people selling their Pentax gear to fund for a Full Frame Nikon system.

[Bestzoom]

A lot of Pentax users (myself included) believe 16 or 24 Mpx is enough. The fact is a lot of photographers love to have a higher megapixel FF.
Many reviewers(SB or surprisingly KR) believe 5DIII is a better machine than D800.
However, i will be interested to see the sale of 5D vs D800. I will not be surprised if D800 is leading 5DIII and Canon will perhaps announce one with an equivalent or higher Mpx FF in the coming months.

It has been a wonderful time for me to see the work of a lot of seasoned Pentaxians. Obviously it is sad to see them leaving Pentax.

Poor AF is never a good excuse for any photographer. Maybe you should get an Leica M and try the manual focus and see how many moments you miss in wedding or moving objects.
Coming from manual focus, i can conclude that K5 is fast and accurate (my K5 perhaps) with stationary subjects. The movement blur and out of focus shots are purely my lack of attention and fault. I have an older Canon DSLR and 24-105L (max aperture f4). It is impossible to use in wedding. Certainly large aperture glass helps with AF in dim light.
The Pentax Limited lenses are awesome. You can get slightly better built and marginally better image quality if you get the manual Zeiss or Leica(i have both). There is no AF and the price tag is big!

I love my K5 and the awesome FA31 & FA77.
I don't even use a flash.
All the best to all of you who decide to switch!

[bossa]

In bright light with a well contrasted subject all cameras can focus and lock in roughly the same speed (some still faster than others but not by much that would matter to anyone but a sports photographer). The problem with Pentax is that it hunts and hunts and hunts and doesn't confirm lock in low-light or without a clear subject. The Nikon won't hunt and 99 times out of a hundred it will still lock focus (at the same speed the Pentax does in good light, mind you). That is the crucial difference. The SAFOX system is equivalent to what Nikon used 6 years ago. It's comical, actually.

Well I have a D800E and it does hunt for a few cycles in dim light no matter which lens. I also have no issues with my K5 focusing in dim light either. It's low contrast and fast moving subjects that are the issue.

[Ash]

It's low contrast and fast moving subjects that are the issue.

First condition is a limitation of CDAF, and second condition is a limitation of the AF technology. Something's gotta give...

[Qwntm]

I really am at the point where I could care less about upgrading to anything. Unlike most other digital cameras I have used (D300/D700, 7D/5D2), I enjoy shooting with the K-5, and that's priceless. If I can't get a decent shot with a K-5 and a limited, it's not a lack of MP's or AF that's the problem, that's for sure!

I do look forward to anything Pentax comes out with as it's always nice to get new toys, but the "need" is gone. I went from not enough MP's when I got stuck with Nikon at 12 for a few years, and then I got all the MP's I needed and loathed shooting with the Canon Blob-o-matics. With the K-5 I have the Mp's and a camera I LOVE to shoot with! Life is good again, like with the MX, LX and film good!

[Ash]

And getting to that level of contentment is in itself priceless (and easier on the wallet). I feel I'd get to that stage with a FF body that sports a reliable and fast AF (along with revamped and more reliable DA* lenses!). Well, I'm pretty happy with what I've got too

[philbaum]

I really am at the point where I could care less about upgrading to anything. Unlike most other digital cameras I have used (D300/D700, 7D/5D2), I enjoy shooting with the K-5, and that's priceless. If I can't get a decent shot with a K-5 and a limited, it's not a lack of MP's or AF that's the problem, that's for sure!

I do look forward to anything Pentax comes out with as it's always nice to get new toys, but the "need" is gone. I went from not enough MP's when I got stuck with Nikon at 12 for a few years, and then I got all the MP's I needed and loathed shooting with the Canon Blob-o-matics. With the K-5 I have the Mp's and a camera I LOVE to shoot with! Life is good again, like with the MX, LX and film good!

I agree. The 16mp seems to be a sweet spot - at least in my perception I like the quiet shutter and flexibility of operation. I was able to force some occasional misfocusing last night, by turning down lights in the house till i was shooting at 40K and 50K iso and looking for areas of low contrast. I can live with that I've noticed that when shooting with friends who have Nikons, the assist lights come on earlier than they do with Pentax. That must be for a reason, i.e. we must have got into condiitions where light assistance was necessary. I'm not saying that Pentax is better or Nikon is better, but there are limits to technology. nikon does seem to have the corner on tracking in all brands.

[magkelly]

You know I like the K5 from what I've seen but I'm honestly not quite sure I truly need one. I think it's more of a Pavlovian me see, me want thing, laugh. I actually like the MP range of the K-x. It suits me okay, but I could use just a little more plus some WR because I live in a semi-tropical climate and have to deal with lot of humidity, sand and grit. I do like the AA battery thing though which always makes me wonder if I would really want to go up to the K-5 if I had the $$$. I don't like proprietary batteries much. I have enough ISO, enough MP to do 99% of what I do now. I would like the AF points in the viewer. Seems to me I'd get all that with a K30 for a bit less. They really need to bring it out in more colors though. I keep looking at that camera in metallic blue and seeing it in an iridescent metallic aqua/blue green like a Japanese beetle for some reason, sigh. It just looks like you could actually go there....

[RioRico]

Hmm, cast-off K5s by the droves, begging to be bought. Hmm... to supplement my K20D, such would tempt me 1) if I had money, and 2) if I lacked other priorities. The ISO! The video! Well, mostly the ISO, and smaller size and quieter shutter. A sturdy backup for me.

But K-01 has those too -- it's about like K5 but without mirror or VF, right? And smaller. One of my priorities is a long-needed update of my old Sony DSC-V1, get some fine newish compact. The K-01 mounting my F35-70 or a DA21 might almost be small enough for a cargo pocket.

I wonder how many K5s are being sold by folks who've ridden the same train of thought?

[bass3587]

Since I'm in the market for an upgrade and would like to stay with Pentax I hope to see more K5's in the market. I've had my K-X for almost a year now and I love it but miss some of the features a K5 would bring to the party. Magkelly I'm not sure about this but if you could use AA batteries in a battery grip also with the Lithium Ion battery. Since I'm not into sport photography I think the K5 has plenty of life left. I know I'm the newbie around here but I think it's a great camera in the right hands.

[jstick]

you can use AA batteries in the optional grip. It would be in addition to the on board lithium battery as a back up power supply.