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03-18-2011, 11:46 AM   #1
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K5 HAS made me a better photographer!

We always see people say "well, it's a fine camera, but it won't make you a better photographer." I think I can make the argument that the K5 has indeed made me better.

I have a notoriously unsteady hand due to genetics and as a result, have to be careful about what I shoot without a tripod (not much). SR obviously helps but it is far from a cure-all for me. I have noticed, though, that since I started using my K5, my keeper rate when shooting hand-held has increased dramatically. I'm not sure if I should attribute this more to increased AF accuracy or improved SR functionality. I've even thought about the possibility of this new AF system just being fast enough to achieve focus before I have the chance to screw the shot up. To be honest, I don't really care what it is, it's workin' for me! 100% crops in Lightroom to check for critical focus are spot-on about 95% of the time. I get giddy when I look at them. This happens with every lens I've tried so far, but I've got several more to test. I've also yet to find a lens that needs any micro-adjust.

Tripod-shot results were always fine with my K7, so no inherent focusing errors with that body are at play here. Plus, I didn't get worse when I got my K7, so I really don't think there were any other problems with that body, either.

Needless to say, I'm a pretty happy guy. Anybody else having a similar experience?

03-18-2011, 11:55 AM   #2
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That's great!

Technology might not directly improve the artistic merit of your (or anyone else's) photographs, but it certainly does break down barriers to getting the shot you wanted.

Shaking, darkness, and moisture are no match!
03-18-2011, 02:00 PM   #3
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Those of us who suffer from afflictions such as ET (effective tremor) are constantly looking for camera technology that can help us overcome our deficiencies. I can previsualize all I want, form a good judgment about a kind of shot, set up (or find) the right conditions, and understand camera settings all I want--but if I am shooting handheld (and often I am), then I am at the mercy of forces I cannot control and that can ruin my shot.

I agree that the technology of the K5 helps. But it could be even better, and we look forward to further technological advances that make our photographic lives more productive.
03-18-2011, 02:41 PM   #4
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No, it hasn't

I know exactly what you mean but I realized that I'm still the same old me--maybe improving, but slowly. OTOH, my photographs are definitely better with the K-5

03-18-2011, 04:20 PM   #5
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Thats great to hear Doglover, that you are happy with your K5 as well.

I know this is totally different to your affliction but Confidence and Belief are two other factors that can make a big difference. I know a lady who took terrible photos with a Fuji S5600 P/S and she was convinced it was the camera. I tried it out and showed her it wasn't and tried to teach her a few basic settings for better shots but she insisted she needed a real camera and bought a Canon 400D twin lens kit. Within a week she was taking stunning photographs and has not looked back. She has had photographs printed in Camera mags, won competitions and just totally stunned me. She still to this day insists it was the camera. lol
03-18-2011, 09:24 PM   #6
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That's really great DL - wonderful to hear that not only is the camera a brilliant piece of equipment but it's enhancing people's lives too.
03-18-2011, 09:42 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Nobbys Nuts Quote
Thats great to hear Doglover, that you are happy with your K5 as well.

I know this is totally different to your affliction but Confidence and Belief are two other factors that can make a big difference. I know a lady who took terrible photos with a Fuji S5600 P/S and she was convinced it was the camera. I tried it out and showed her it wasn't and tried to teach her a few basic settings for better shots but she insisted she needed a real camera and bought a Canon 400D twin lens kit. Within a week she was taking stunning photographs and has not looked back. She has had photographs printed in Camera mags, won competitions and just totally stunned me. She still to this day insists it was the camera. lol
She makes a pretty compelling argument that it is the camera! In my case there is no question that the K5 is helping me to get consistently better shots. (Perhaps I should say it's letting me get the shots with less effort on my part.) The only question is what aspect of the K5's performance is helping me the most.

03-19-2011, 01:03 AM   #8
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Ei ole hyvä kuvaaja, jos osaa kuvata ilman jalustaa. Vaan se joka osaa käyttää jalustaa.
03-21-2011, 01:42 PM   #9
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Glad to hear DL. While technology helps, it is the photographer who makes the major difference!
03-22-2011, 04:47 PM   #10
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Me - not.

It's the ist DS that taught me how to shoot and with K-5 it just became easier to do. K-5 hasn't made me a better photographer nor ever will.

Zig
03-22-2011, 09:46 PM   #11
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You probably made K-5 a better camera than it actually was.
03-23-2011, 12:44 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by Fontan Quote
You probably made K-5 a better camera than it actually was.
You're too negative about the K-5, not just here but in other threads on PF. Are you perhaps acting like a sour grape because you can't afford to buy one?
03-23-2011, 01:00 AM   #13
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QuoteQuote:
You probably made K-5 a better camera than it actually was.
I think, as a k5 owner for some months,I can say positively you have no idea of the qualities of this camera, and such negative comments are totally out of place.
Give it up, pleeeeeeeeease! It has been going on for months and all and sundry are totally sick of it.
03-23-2011, 05:32 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Fontan Quote
You probably made K-5 a better camera than it actually was.
Fontan,
I dunno whether you're talking to me or to topic-starter. If I'm concerned then lemme break it down:
- K-5 is a great camera
- in order to grow up and become a better photographer you - particulary - need to learn how to fail and the harder you fail the better. The best scenario is to go with film since you'll be limited to 24-36 exposures and you'll get the results only after darkrooming, not right away on the backside LCD
- the more you sweat in times of peace the less you bleed in war (C) George S. Patton; with ist DS you don't have that huge FPS rate, you're limited with dynamic range (even shooting in raw), you don't have image stabilization (aka SR) and on, and on. K-5 just forgives you lot's of mistakes and it takes a photo - but such photo just doesn't look any good. And you don't know what's wrong - thus it doesn't force you go studying photo techniques.

N.B.:
ist DS taught me how to shoot hand-held: I can get an acceptable result shooting down to 1/2 sec with 28mm@APC-S (=42mm effective) with no SR or tripod. There's no way that smbd started with K-5 will get these skills - but don't get me wrong, K-5 is a very good cam to be moved to after you're 100% done with basics.

QuoteOriginally posted by creampuff Quote
Are you perhaps acting like a sour grape because you can't afford to buy one?
Dude,
if I were moderator you'd get a yellow card. A gentleman well brought up person does not talk like this.

Zig

Last edited by Siegfried; 03-23-2011 at 08:26 AM.
03-23-2011, 07:41 AM   #15
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To me, K-5 is not, by any stretch of imagination, a great camera. It is a fine camera, a tad better than K-7 in certain situations, but not by much. On the other hand, K-7 was a great leap from K20D. Yes K-5 is what K-7 should have been, but you cannot expect a company to hit a home run every time. Progression of K-5 from K-7 is nothing more than how K20D went from K10D. As far as I am concerned, istD, K10D, and K-7 are historically speaking more important cameras than K-5.

K-5 is not a bad camera, but the fact remains that the reputation is stained amongst many (obviously not among fanboys, and that is perfectly alright). It is not a crime to criticize a camera. It is the criticism that propels products to be better on the next cycle. I can tell you that Pentax is not happy about this camera. There are people who lost jobs within that company because of the sensor issues. They still have not resolved all the issues. K-7 did not have this much problems. As a product of Japan, this is not to their standard. Far from it.

Oh, this Creampuff person. This is the second time she insinuated that I cannot afford K-5. I am not sure what she gets out of saying that repeatedly. Is it a crime in your neighborhood to be poor? If it is, I apologize on behalf of all the people who cannot afford K-5. Not everybody who cannot afford K-5 dislike K-5. That is called stereotyping. BTW, she really needs to get this out of her head, because I have a 645D, which I think is a great camera in terms of IQ, but needs some work as a MF camera.

Last edited by Fontan; 03-23-2011 at 07:48 AM.
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