Arrived Pentax k-5iis

regbaron · 09-26-2014, 08:34 PM

Originally posted by gaweidert

Welcome aboard. My first DSLR was a Pentax K5. A year later I got a K5-IIs. The K5-IIs gets more of a workout, but I use them both. I am lusting after a K3 but recently purchased a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 and the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 lenses before a quick trip out west. I am pretty happy with them but they were quite a learning curve as I did not do much photography for some 15 several years and I upgrades from a ZX-5n and a PZ-1p. Have been a fan and user of Pentax for over 40 years and it is fun to see that some of my lenses from my Spotmatic II can still perform on my K5's.

If you get LBA, Pentax is the brand of camera to have. Always inexpensive old Pentax glass to be found at flea markets and garage sales. The hunt is part of the fun. Don't shun the old Ricoh glass either The 50mm f 2.0 Rikenon P has a very good reputation too. It performs great and is almost a pancake lens it is so thin.

I like to have the battery grip on mine when I have heavier lenses on the camera and I am shooting hand held. It just gives you more to grip.

I know good glass is important but also expensive,I tend to buy zooms for travel. I have a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and a 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 plus a Pentax DA 1:2.4 35mm.
I also have old manual lenses which I bought back in the early 70s for my Pentax ME Super a Pentax 1:1.7 . 50mm which came with the camera also a Miranda 28mm 1:2.8 also an Itorex 70-210mm 1:4.5,not sure what I would get next. ( any suggestions ).😕

mee · 09-26-2014, 09:11 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by willskywalker93

Weight is not so much a big concern, but is the K5II that much larger than the K-x?

Compare camera dimensions side by side

It is not incredibly much larger.. but larger all around by a small amount that adds up. Still fairly compact though for a dslr..

regbaron · 09-26-2014, 11:11 PM

Originally posted by willskywalker93

Weight is not so much a big concern, but is the K5II that much larger than the K-x?

Yes big enough to make a difference and heavier, without lens with batteries 770grams to 644 for Kx

amrocha · 09-27-2014, 04:59 AM

Great purchase! I've got my K-5II last year and do not regret it. It was a great step up from the K-30 and my white K-x in terms of camera control and shutter sound.
The K-5's are a bit larger and heavier than the K-x but Pentax still gives us a lighter camera than other brands. It's size and weight are considerably smaller than Nikon and Canon counterparts.

**Nakedgun** · 09-27-2014, 05:00 AM

Originally posted by gaweidert

Welcome aboard. My first DSLR was a Pentax K5. A year later I got a K5-IIs. The K5-IIs gets more of a workout, but I use them both. . I am pretty happy with them but they were quite a learning curve as I did not do much photography for some 15 several years and I upgrades from a ZX-5n and a PZ-1p.

Same, here (ZX-5 for me).

Oldbayrunner · 09-27-2014, 05:05 AM

I went from a K50 to the K5 lls and don't regret it one iota, it's a great camera. I put a grip on mine and it fits my hands a lot better, plus I like the added weight and battery life. As a suggestion try getting used to using the back AF button and if you do turn off the half button press. Getting used to locking your exposure and still have the separate AEL is a real convenience.

Also get yourself a set of these to protect your lcd's ... you can find them cheaper on ebay. ACMAXX LCD Protector - Pentax K-5-II

**gaweidert** · 09-27-2014, 07:03 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by regbaron

I know good glass is important but also expensive,I tend to buy zooms for travel. I have a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and a 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 plus a Pentax DA 1:2.4 35mm.
I also have old manual lenses which I bought back in the early 70s for my Pentax ME Super a Pentax 1:1.7 . 50mm which came with the camera also a Miranda 28mm 1:2.8 also an Itorex 70-210mm 1:4.5,not sure what I would get next. ( any suggestions ).😕

I really don't have any suggestions. I never go out looking for anything specific. I just get what "speaks" to me. Poking around at flea markets and garage sales can be a lot of fun that way.

When I am looking for something specific, it can take me months. I did a lot of research earlier this year before finally settling on the Sigma 17-70 and Tamron 70-200 that I finally purchased.

**savoche** · 09-27-2014, 07:57 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by regbaron

I know good glass is important but also expensive,I tend to buy zooms for travel. I have a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and a 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 plus a Pentax DA 1:2.4 35mm.
I also have old manual lenses which I bought back in the early 70s for my Pentax ME Super a Pentax 1:1.7 . 50mm which came with the camera also a Miranda 28mm 1:2.8 also an Itorex 70-210mm 1:4.5,not sure what I would get next. ( any suggestions ).😕

What next? Maybe nothing? I mean, if you're happy with what you have there's no reason to get more lenses. The Tamron, the DA35, and the old 50 are all very good. I don't know the other lenses you have but wouldn't be surprised if they are quite good too.

When you find you want to do things that your current lenses can't do for you then it's time to look for something new.

I have in my past bought lenses "just because" - which can be fun, but it's not healthy for the wallet. I still shop that way from time to time, but now I usually do that only with cheap "vintage" glass. Usually.

Homo_erectus · 09-27-2014, 08:10 AM - **2 Likes**

I love my k5ii. It's a great camera that has served me really well over the last few years. It's got just under 29K shutter releases on it and it's going strong. I do need to clean the sensor though. I suspect that's more a result of me not being careful enough when changing lenses than anything wrong with the camera itself.

Initially I bought a stable of Tamron and Sigma lenses because the price of Pentax lenses seemed too high. And I wanted "fast" lenses. And I hadn't figured out what and how I like to shot so I had no idea which lenses would really be the ones that I needed. Now I have a much better idea and so I recently sold my Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 and replaced it with a Pentax DA* 60-250. The 60-250 is such a fine piece of equipment, it works so beautifully and produces such excellent images, that I'm really regretting spending the money I did on the third party lenses.

**gaweidert** · 09-28-2014, 06:50 AM

Originally posted by Homo_erectus

I love my k5ii. It's a great camera that has served me really well over the last few years. It's got just under 29K shutter releases on it and it's going strong. I do need to clean the sensor though. I suspect that's more a result of me not being careful enough when changing lenses than anything wrong with the camera itself.

Initially I bought a stable of Tamron and Sigma lenses because the price of Pentax lenses seemed too high. And I wanted "fast" lenses. And I hadn't figured out what and how I like to shot so I had no idea which lenses would really be the ones that I needed. Now I have a much better idea and so I recently sold my Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 and replaced it with a Pentax DA* 60-250. The 60-250 is such a fine piece of equipment, it works so beautifully and produces such excellent images, that I'm really regretting spending the money I did on the third party lenses.

I few months ago I purchased the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 after spending a few months torn between it and the Pentax. Finally settled on the Tamron and a Sigma 17-70 instead. On a recent trip out west they served me well. This purchases tripled the number of auto focus lenses that I own. The new Tamron replaced my almost legendary Tamron 70 - 210 f3.5 that I have owned for over 25 years. I absolutely love that lens and it's "macro" capability. Plus one ring to control zoom and focus makes is a very fast handling lens.

It has served me well, but I find that manual focusing on these APS-C cameras a bit of a challenge. Nothing snaps into focus like it does on my old film cameras and focus confirmation is not as accurate as I thought it would be. A trip through Yellowstone last year was a photographic disaster, (Focusing issues on my part as I relied on focus confirmation way too much.)

I passed on the 60-250 lens because if Pentax does announce a full frame camera I need lenses to work with it. Since I already have the Pentax 12-24 DA and the Sigma 17-70 lenses I don't want to spend any more money on lenses that are limited to the APS-C cameras only. Other that lusting after a few of the BIG primes, my next purchase will probably be the Sigma 150 -500 lens.

For me at my age, full frame is more about the viewfinder than image quality as digital imaging quality is approaching that of film even with the APS-C sensors.. I am 63 and have been wearing glasses for 58 years and I have a sneaky suspicion that your eyes don't get better with age. Even with my auto focus lenses, I still find myself switching to manual focus more quite a bit. Having a great viewfinder is very important to me for that reason.

RonakG · 10-01-2014, 05:08 PM

Welcome to the club. I made the same switch a month back. From humble K-x to the beast that is K-5 IIs.

CWRailman · 10-01-2014, 05:45 PM

Originally posted by regbaron

UPS has just delivered my 5iis from B&H,decided to upgrade from k-x which I've enjoyed for a few years now.I am happy with the price of $697 US,$794 Australian which included a D-BG4 grip plus a 64gb SDXC,just have to wait about 6 hrs now for battery charge (very frustrating).will need to get some spare battery's.I Was very impressed with the UPS trackable delivery which took 6 days watching it's journey on their web site to Oz from NY via Kentucky then Honolulu.

Congrats on the new member to your Pentax family. I’m sure you will have many memorable experiences with it.

I usually operate two cameras of similar vintage. Two Pentax ME Supers, two Pentax MX’s, a Pentax *istDS and K-110, now a K-5 and a K-5IIs. I have found the K-5 and K-5IIs provide all the tools I need for my photographic work and they are comfortable to use. In addition the file sizes, while much larger than my previous camera’s, are still manageable. For my type of work that is very important.

Hopefully you will share some of your images with us. I personally am always interested in seeing images from countries I have never and probably will never visit.

amrocha · 10-14-2014, 07:34 PM

Originally posted by willskywalker93

Quiet sounds like a lovely upgrade from my K-x. Enjoy it!

Wait till you see the better LCD and the bigger viewfinder! Definitely a lovely upgrade. It would be hard to go back to my white K-x, in spite of the great images it delivers.

**TER-OR** · 10-17-2014, 11:29 AM

Welcome to the K5'verse. You'll enjoy it, I'm sure - shoot RAW and you'll be able to do a lot of exposure adjustment.

As for its noise, I used my Dad's Sony Alpha 300 and the shutter noise kind of shocked me, I'm so used to the K5.

**csa** · 10-18-2014, 07:54 AM

Originally posted by Dean Bradshaw

Lens Buying Addiction...a disease more common than the Cold for forum members

Cheers
Dean

As evidenced by...
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/250604-how-...-you-have.html

I've been struck by LBA. I've purchased two Pentax lens, and don't even have a Pentax body yet!

I'm seriously now considering the K5IIs, rather than the K50. Hoping there will be some great sales over the Holiday.

09-26-2014, 11:11 PM	#18
regbaron Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 92 Original Poster	Originally posted by willskywalker93 Weight is not so much a big concern, but is the K5II that much larger than the K-x? Yes big enough to make a difference and heavier, without lens with batteries 770grams to 644 for Kx Last edited by regbaron; 09-26-2014 at 11:45 PM.

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09-26-2014, 08:34 PM	#16
regbaron Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 92 Original Poster	Originally posted by gaweidert Welcome aboard. My first DSLR was a Pentax K5. A year later I got a K5-IIs. The K5-IIs gets more of a workout, but I use them both. I am lusting after a K3 but recently purchased a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 and the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 lenses before a quick trip out west. I am pretty happy with them but they were quite a learning curve as I did not do much photography for some 15 several years and I upgrades from a ZX-5n and a PZ-1p. Have been a fan and user of Pentax for over 40 years and it is fun to see that some of my lenses from my Spotmatic II can still perform on my K5's. If you get LBA, Pentax is the brand of camera to have. Always inexpensive old Pentax glass to be found at flea markets and garage sales. The hunt is part of the fun. Don't shun the old Ricoh glass either The 50mm f 2.0 Rikenon P has a very good reputation too. It performs great and is almost a pancake lens it is so thin. I like to have the battery grip on mine when I have heavier lenses on the camera and I am shooting hand held. It just gives you more to grip. I know good glass is important but also expensive,I tend to buy zooms for travel. I have a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and a 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 plus a Pentax DA 1:2.4 35mm. I also have old manual lenses which I bought back in the early 70s for my Pentax ME Super a Pentax 1:1.7 . 50mm which came with the camera also a Miranda 28mm 1:2.8 also an Itorex 70-210mm 1:4.5,not sure what I would get next. ( any suggestions ).😕

09-26-2014, 09:11 PM - 1 Like	#17
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Originally posted by willskywalker93 Weight is not so much a big concern, but is the K5II that much larger than the K-x? Compare camera dimensions side by side It is not incredibly much larger.. but larger all around by a small amount that adds up. Still fairly compact though for a dslr..

09-27-2014, 04:59 AM	#19
amrocha Pentaxian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Catalao GO Brasil Photos: Gallery Posts: 326	Great purchase! I've got my K-5II last year and do not regret it. It was a great step up from the K-30 and my white K-x in terms of camera control and shutter sound. The K-5's are a bit larger and heavier than the K-x but Pentax still gives us a lighter camera than other brands. It's size and weight are considerably smaller than Nikon and Canon counterparts.

09-27-2014, 05:00 AM	#20
Nakedgun Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Southwest Posts: 1,365	Originally posted by gaweidert Welcome aboard. My first DSLR was a Pentax K5. A year later I got a K5-IIs. The K5-IIs gets more of a workout, but I use them both. . I am pretty happy with them but they were quite a learning curve as I did not do much photography for some 15 several years and I upgrades from a ZX-5n and a PZ-1p. Same, here (ZX-5 for me).

09-27-2014, 05:05 AM	#21
Oldbayrunner Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 1,665	I went from a K50 to the K5 lls and don't regret it one iota, it's a great camera. I put a grip on mine and it fits my hands a lot better, plus I like the added weight and battery life. As a suggestion try getting used to using the back AF button and if you do turn off the half button press. Getting used to locking your exposure and still have the separate AEL is a real convenience. Also get yourself a set of these to protect your lcd's ... you can find them cheaper on ebay. ACMAXX LCD Protector - Pentax K-5-II

09-27-2014, 07:03 AM - 1 Like	#22
gaweidert Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Rochester, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,325	Originally posted by regbaron I know good glass is important but also expensive,I tend to buy zooms for travel. I have a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and a 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 plus a Pentax DA 1:2.4 35mm. I also have old manual lenses which I bought back in the early 70s for my Pentax ME Super a Pentax 1:1.7 . 50mm which came with the camera also a Miranda 28mm 1:2.8 also an Itorex 70-210mm 1:4.5,not sure what I would get next. ( any suggestions ).😕 I really don't have any suggestions. I never go out looking for anything specific. I just get what "speaks" to me. Poking around at flea markets and garage sales can be a lot of fun that way. When I am looking for something specific, it can take me months. I did a lot of research earlier this year before finally settling on the Sigma 17-70 and Tamron 70-200 that I finally purchased.

09-27-2014, 07:57 AM - 1 Like	#23
savoche Master of the obvious Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Lowlands of Norway Posts: 18,311	Originally posted by regbaron I know good glass is important but also expensive,I tend to buy zooms for travel. I have a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and a 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 plus a Pentax DA 1:2.4 35mm. I also have old manual lenses which I bought back in the early 70s for my Pentax ME Super a Pentax 1:1.7 . 50mm which came with the camera also a Miranda 28mm 1:2.8 also an Itorex 70-210mm 1:4.5,not sure what I would get next. ( any suggestions ).😕 What next? Maybe nothing? I mean, if you're happy with what you have there's no reason to get more lenses. The Tamron, the DA35, and the old 50 are all very good. I don't know the other lenses you have but wouldn't be surprised if they are quite good too. When you find you want to do things that your current lenses can't do for you then it's time to look for something new. I have in my past bought lenses "just because" - which can be fun, but it's not healthy for the wallet. I still shop that way from time to time, but now I usually do that only with cheap "vintage" glass. Usually.

09-27-2014, 08:10 AM - 2 Likes	#24
Homo_erectus Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 410	I love my k5ii. It's a great camera that has served me really well over the last few years. It's got just under 29K shutter releases on it and it's going strong. I do need to clean the sensor though. I suspect that's more a result of me not being careful enough when changing lenses than anything wrong with the camera itself. Initially I bought a stable of Tamron and Sigma lenses because the price of Pentax lenses seemed too high. And I wanted "fast" lenses. And I hadn't figured out what and how I like to shot so I had no idea which lenses would really be the ones that I needed. Now I have a much better idea and so I recently sold my Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 and replaced it with a Pentax DA* 60-250. The 60-250 is such a fine piece of equipment, it works so beautifully and produces such excellent images, that I'm really regretting spending the money I did on the third party lenses.

09-28-2014, 06:50 AM	#25
gaweidert Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Rochester, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,325	Originally posted by Homo_erectus I love my k5ii. It's a great camera that has served me really well over the last few years. It's got just under 29K shutter releases on it and it's going strong. I do need to clean the sensor though. I suspect that's more a result of me not being careful enough when changing lenses than anything wrong with the camera itself. Initially I bought a stable of Tamron and Sigma lenses because the price of Pentax lenses seemed too high. And I wanted "fast" lenses. And I hadn't figured out what and how I like to shot so I had no idea which lenses would really be the ones that I needed. Now I have a much better idea and so I recently sold my Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 and replaced it with a Pentax DA* 60-250. The 60-250 is such a fine piece of equipment, it works so beautifully and produces such excellent images, that I'm really regretting spending the money I did on the third party lenses. I few months ago I purchased the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 after spending a few months torn between it and the Pentax. Finally settled on the Tamron and a Sigma 17-70 instead. On a recent trip out west they served me well. This purchases tripled the number of auto focus lenses that I own. The new Tamron replaced my almost legendary Tamron 70 - 210 f3.5 that I have owned for over 25 years. I absolutely love that lens and it's "macro" capability. Plus one ring to control zoom and focus makes is a very fast handling lens. It has served me well, but I find that manual focusing on these APS-C cameras a bit of a challenge. Nothing snaps into focus like it does on my old film cameras and focus confirmation is not as accurate as I thought it would be. A trip through Yellowstone last year was a photographic disaster, (Focusing issues on my part as I relied on focus confirmation way too much.) I passed on the 60-250 lens because if Pentax does announce a full frame camera I need lenses to work with it. Since I already have the Pentax 12-24 DA and the Sigma 17-70 lenses I don't want to spend any more money on lenses that are limited to the APS-C cameras only. Other that lusting after a few of the BIG primes, my next purchase will probably be the Sigma 150 -500 lens. For me at my age, full frame is more about the viewfinder than image quality as digital imaging quality is approaching that of film even with the APS-C sensors.. I am 63 and have been wearing glasses for 58 years and I have a sneaky suspicion that your eyes don't get better with age. Even with my auto focus lenses, I still find myself switching to manual focus more quite a bit. Having a great viewfinder is very important to me for that reason.

10-01-2014, 05:08 PM	#26
RonakG Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Bay Area, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 603	Welcome to the club. I made the same switch a month back. From humble K-x to the beast that is K-5 IIs.

10-01-2014, 05:45 PM	#27
CWRailman Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona Photos: Albums Posts: 510	Originally posted by regbaron UPS has just delivered my 5iis from B&H,decided to upgrade from k-x which I've enjoyed for a few years now.I am happy with the price of $697 US,$794 Australian which included a D-BG4 grip plus a 64gb SDXC,just have to wait about 6 hrs now for battery charge (very frustrating).will need to get some spare battery's.I Was very impressed with the UPS trackable delivery which took 6 days watching it's journey on their web site to Oz from NY via Kentucky then Honolulu. Congrats on the new member to your Pentax family. I’m sure you will have many memorable experiences with it. I usually operate two cameras of similar vintage. Two Pentax ME Supers, two Pentax MX’s, a Pentax *istDS and K-110, now a K-5 and a K-5IIs. I have found the K-5 and K-5IIs provide all the tools I need for my photographic work and they are comfortable to use. In addition the file sizes, while much larger than my previous camera’s, are still manageable. For my type of work that is very important. Hopefully you will share some of your images with us. I personally am always interested in seeing images from countries I have never and probably will never visit.

10-14-2014, 07:34 PM	#28
amrocha Pentaxian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Catalao GO Brasil Photos: Gallery Posts: 326	Originally posted by willskywalker93 Quiet sounds like a lovely upgrade from my K-x. Enjoy it! Wait till you see the better LCD and the bigger viewfinder! Definitely a lovely upgrade. It would be hard to go back to my white K-x, in spite of the great images it delivers.

10-17-2014, 11:29 AM	#29
TER-OR Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Dundee, IL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,699	Welcome to the K5'verse. You'll enjoy it, I'm sure - shoot RAW and you'll be able to do a lot of exposure adjustment. As for its noise, I used my Dad's Sony Alpha 300 and the shutter noise kind of shocked me, I'm so used to the K5.

10-18-2014, 07:54 AM	#30
csa Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Montana mountains Posts: 10,133	Originally posted by Dean Bradshaw Lens Buying Addiction...a disease more common than the Cold for forum members Cheers Dean As evidenced by... https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/250604-how-...-you-have.html I've been struck by LBA. I've purchased two Pentax lens, and don't even have a Pentax body yet! I'm seriously now considering the K5IIs, rather than the K50. Hoping there will be some great sales over the Holiday.