[Rupert]

Got my K5 yesterday afternoon, and have only had limited time to give it a try, but I will give you my first impressions and add more later.

I have a model shoot this afternoon, it should be a good test of portrait shooting.

I have a lot of work to do to get my color and other settings like I want, but I will get there in time....

*I am impressed with the focus speed and accuracy with the Bigma in use, it has never performed like this before. In medium light, it does no hunting at all, and in the past it was like a coon hound. My faster lenses are just like lightning at focus, way faster than my K20D.....did I say "way faster"? Yes,I did!

*The overall feel of the camera is superb.....a few little niggles...the SD Card must be extracted by a Licensed Dentist, or with forceps by a Pediatrician. I just use a pair of vise-grips.

*Menus are extensive, but not hard to navigate once you get the pattern down.

*Just from a tiny bit of usage, I'm with Al, this is may not be a wedding shooter in extremely low light......but I seldom shoot in very low light, and anything moderately lit is a breeze. Not sure anything else but a high end camera would do better? At EV2 I have had no problems at all, and haven't really tested lower, but those were very good, with no focus issues. I have loaded 1.03, but the ones I took before that were almost as good, except for one lens, the Sigma 17-70...now it works near perfect.

*I was most worried about the flash problem of overexposure when in the bounce position....checked it last night and it worked in all positions flawlessly.Exposure was better than with my K20D by far...more consistent.

*Otis is not all that pleased, he wants a camera that sounds like a canon when it fires.....a real canon,with smoke and fire.....but I am loving the quiet sound.

General Opinion at this early stage.......This is indeed a fine camera, and worth the step up for me. The high ISO is simply amazing, and I haven't even fully explored the possibilities, but shot some fully usable 12,800 in my shop, and was impressed. It will be a long time before I "outgrow" this camera.

If you have been contemplating the K5, STOP! Just go ahead and buy it, you have no idea what you are missing! If you can't trust Rupert, you can't trust anyone, I am no Fanboy, but I already love this camera....and might be one before the day is out.
Best Regards!

First quick Squirrel shots...

ISO 1600
[IMG] [/IMG]

ISO 400 (Otis is working undercover and can't show his face today)
[IMG] [/IMG]

[dcmsox2004]

do you have to compensate otis for his modeling work?????
rupert, are you using jpegs or raw? asking as i just got my new k-5, and shoot jpegs... and curious as to what iso noise reduction settings you are using.... thanks, dave m

[JohnBee]

Thanks for the words of encouragement!

[Rupert]

do you have to compensate otis for his modeling work?????
rupert, are you using jpegs or raw? asking as i just got my new k-5, and shoot jpegs... and curious as to what iso noise reduction settings you are using.... thanks, dave m

No noise reduction yet, just what the default setting is on. I am shooting Jpegs, but will switch to RAW+ today, my standard shooting setting.

Otis is a difficult subject, he used to be easy until he discovered he could get paid for his work......and now the price just keeps climbing with every new request for him to pose. He says he learned how to get rich by eating the Wall Street Journal every week......says it tastes like walnuts!

Great camera,(too mild a word) I hope I am up to using it properly...but suspect I'm not.
Best Regards!

[blackcloudbrew]

I thought Otis just works for peanuts...

[Col]

I thought Otis just works for peanuts...

He appears to have gone to seed

[Rupert]

I thought Otis just works for peanuts...

That was before he ordered me the K5.....now he says that since he upgraded me, he should get only the best too. Only fancy Gourmet Nuts for Otis now! He wants no part of corn or sunflower seeds, and peanuts must be Honey Roasted. I can see this was an expensive upgrade......
Best Regards!

Off to the "Studio" to shoot Shelby with my new K5! Should be another fun day.....and she is cheaper than Otis, only Pizza and Hot Wings!

[JeffJS]

Welcome to the club, Rupert! Otis is going to have to lower his fee. Once he realizes that before he can go through all of his Diva tantrums about posing, you already have the shot. Squirrel paparazzi....

[snostorm]

are you using jpegs or raw? asking as i just got my new k-5, and shoot jpegs... and curious as to what iso noise reduction settings you are using

Hi Dave,

I shoot jpegs primarily. Though mainly a birder, I've been stuck inside since getting my K-5 in Dec due to a brutal winter, old age, some lower joint problems, and lack of interesting birds during the winter months in my area.

Here's what I've found works for me up to about ISO 10000 so far. . . I've turned High ISO NR OFF completely, set image processing to Natural with all the settings at 0, except for Sharpening, which is set to -4.

I found that with these settings I got a base image that was very close to a RAW file converted without any other processing on a well exposed image (of course DR is limited by the 8 bit files, and there's significantly less headroom for highlight and shadow recovery compared to RAW). I do whatever image processing to my taste in PP and use Topaz Denoise 5 and then Topaz InFocus or Focus Magic in PSPP X2 mainly to process the files. I normally shoot Jpeg *** Quality, but the jury is still out on that until I get to shoot more birds. I doubt that I'll be changing my mind much, but this is how I plan to start the season.

I found early on that I didn't like what the in-camera jpeg engine did with any degree of sharpening as it added to the noise to a surprising degree at even moderate ISO levels, and I found the High ISO NR too destructive to fine detail at higher ISO.

I've attached a few high ISO images as examples.

The cat was at ISO 12800 using a DA 18-250 (which has strangely become one of my favorite indoor lenses with the K-5!) at 200mm wide open (f6.2) in available light. The turtle was at ISO 10000 with a Sigma EX 180 f3.5 Macro DG APO wide open, and the snake was with the same lens at ISO 2500, all using the mentioned settings, cropped and PP'd to taste, and resized for posting.

Of course YMMV -- but this is working for me so far. . .

Scott

[interested_observer]

Model release? Would not want you to get sued...

[qtopplings]

Rupert, I am very glad that you finally saw the light. Can I just say this, totally in jest and with all sincerity?

I TOLD YOU SO!

Seriously, congrats on the purchase. I hope it gives you as much enjoyment as it's given me.

[jva59]

Thanks, Rupert. I think this was the push I needed. I'm days away from upgrading to the K-5.

[dexmus]

...

incredible images there. Unbelievable for 10000 ISO...Whatever you do in PP NR definitely works!

cheers,

Abhi

[explosive]

Welcome to the club Rupert. Glad you're enjoying it so far...

[Smeggypants]

Yup welcome to the K-5 Club Rupert!! Fantastic Camera!!!