[adr1an]

Surprised no one mentioned K10d's had dodgy on board flash with capacitors known to self destruct prematurely... Also rendering AFAssist gone...

[Rupert]

You're a tough sell Class A, but I am not selling K5's, just shooting with one.
I can recall many years ago.....many years ago.......when my older cousin told me about sex. Disgusting!.....sure, those things are fun to look at and even play with a little if you are the doctor and she is the nurse......but go in there with my tool...no way! What's so neat about that?

In time, you will get the K5, and you will understand why we are excited...and you will be just like us....and I will be among the first to welcome you aboard!
Best Regards!

[Clavius]

@Class A

Those are indeed reasons not to buy a K5. What if it happens to you? I assume you also NEVER travel by airplane? I know of a few incidents with those machines too. And I guess owning a car is absolutely out of the question!

Sorry, I'm just kidding of course. But I do hope you understand my point.

[philbaum]

Photographers create magic, not tools. Magical images have been created with
the K100D. I really don't get this "I cannot be without my K-5 for a day /
it is magical" business. It is just a DSLR. A bit better than the K-7 but no
one declared their love affair with a K-7 like posters do with the K-5. In the
vast majority of scenarios a K-7 is not worse than a K-5, yet some K-5 owners
romanticise about the K-5 as if it were a revolutionary product. What's all
that about?

ClassA, if you haven't been convinced by all the professional reviews out there, including DXO's measurements, then so be it, stay with whatever camera you decide on. But i think my K5 is magical, and if that makes you uneasy - then thats really your problem to deal with.

And i'm so tired of that cliche about photographers take pictures, not tools. Of course photographers do the creative part, but i don't know of many photographers that don't like to have competent tools for their work. For the kind of low light theatre work I do, the K10 and K20 just couldn't handle it, the K5 has and i've gotten more than a few compliments for it. Give up the K5 - no way.

Now back to taking pictures.

---

Last edited by philbaum; 08-03-2011 at 02:15 AM.

[Class A]

I assume you also NEVER travel by airplane?

I travel by airplane a lot.

This is not about avoiding any risk. But when I have the choice between adding a reliable lens to a camera that satisfies most of my needs or taking a gamble with a camera that seems to have some unresolved manufacturing problems at the moment, my choice was relatively easy.

I don't see the problem with that decision. I don't see a problem with acknowledging a few issues with the K-5 either. I don't know why people get so hung up about someone not jumping up and down in excitement over the K-5. Add to that that I've been writing numerous times that I want to get myself a K-5 some time later and then colour me puzzled about all the "What's wrong with you?" messages.

ClassA, if you haven't been convinced by all the professional reviews out there, including DXO's measurements, then so be it, stay with whatever camera you decide on.

I'm convinced that the K-5's SONY sensor is the best APS-C sensor out there at the moment. I'd love to use it. But its low noise level / high dynamic range rarely are necessary. Not in too many situations the difference between the K-5 and the K-7 (not only regarding the sensor, also including different AF performance, etc) will be relevant.

The difference in the vast majority of cases will certainly not make a K-5 shot "magical" where a K-7 shot would have been only "OK".

I am fully acknowledging the great performance by the K-5's sensor, but I don't understand why it should suddenly make a camera "spectacular".

But i think my K5 is magical, and if that makes you uneasy - then thats really your problem to deal with.

It doesn't make me feal "uneasy". I don't have a problem with anyone here. I just asked why people are calling their K-5 "magical" just because its dynamic range is higher than that of the K-7 and its AF is a bit better. These two aspects don't make a camera "magical" in my book, so I was curious what it might be.

Now if you are doing a lot of extreme low-light photography then of course the K-5's sensor is a godsend. I completely understand anyone being super happy with its increased performance in this context. Most people don't do extreme low light on a regular basis, though but still call the K-5 "magical" and what not. That's what I was curious about.

And i'm so tired of that cliche about photographers take pictures, not tools.

I didn't use that particular cliché. In any event I meant that if an image is magical then credit should go to the photographer, not the gear. I'll be the first to acknowledge that better gear makes it easier to create good shots and that some shots are only possible with good gear. However, you cannot seriously claim that one and the same photographer will create "so so" shots with a K-7 and "magical" shots with a K-5 in the vast majority of photographic context.

Frequent extreme low-light photography is a different matter and that's a response that makes me understand why someone can be very enthusiastic about their K-5.

[Clavius]

Well, I call the K5 "magical", because the camera makes me feel like I am cheating. The dynamic range and high noiseless ISO's made a lot of things VERY easy.

Fact is, you don't hear the satisfied owners as much and as loudly as the ones who aren't. Which gives the public a wrong picture about the actual fault ratio. I almost didn't buy my K5 because of all the negativity on this very forum. Luckily, my copy holds up very well. I do a lot of macro picture stacking. Easily 150 photos to get 1 single picture. So my shutter count is insanely high for the 4 months that I own it. It only froze on my once, whilst using firmware 1.1. After upgrading to 1.3, it never froze again. That's the only issue I've had with it.

I'm following this thread so I'm well informed if my copy ever starts mirrorflopping. Speaking of which... That was the topic...

[Rondec]

I travel by airplane a lot.

This is not about avoiding any risk. But when I have the choice between adding a reliable lens to a camera that satisfies most of my needs or taking a gamble with a camera that seems to have some unresolved manufacturing problems at the moment, my choice was relatively easy.

I don't see the problem with that decision. I don't see a problem with acknowledging a few issues with the K-5 either. I don't know why people get so hung up about someone not jumping up and down in excitement over the K-5. Add to that that I've been writing numerous times that I want to get myself a K-5 some time later and then colour me puzzled about all the "What's wrong with you?" messages.


I'm convinced that the K-5's SONY sensor is the best APS-C sensor out there at the moment. I'd love to use it. But its low noise level / high dynamic range rarely are necessary. Not in too many situations the difference between the K-5 and the K-7 (not only regarding the sensor, also including different AF performance, etc) will be relevant.

The difference in the vast majority of cases will certainly not make a K-5 shot "magical" where a K-7 shot would have been only "OK".

I am fully acknowledging the great performance by the K-5's sensor, but I don't understand why it should suddenly make a camera "spectacular".


It doesn't make me feal "uneasy". I don't have a problem with anyone here. I just asked why people are calling their K-5 "magical" just because its dynamic range is higher than that of the K-7 and its AF is a bit better. These two aspects don't make a camera "magical" in my book, so I was curious what it might be.

Now if you are doing a lot of extreme low-light photography then of course the K-5's sensor is a godsend. I completely understand anyone being super happy with its increased performance in this context. Most people don't do extreme low light on a regular basis, though but still call the K-5 "magical" and what not. That's what I was curious about.


I didn't use that particular cliché. In any event I meant that if an image is magical then credit should go to the photographer, not the gear. I'll be the first to acknowledge that better gear makes it easier to create good shots and that some shots are only possible with good gear. However, you cannot seriously claim that one and the same photographer will create "so so" shots with a K-7 and "magical" shots with a K-5 in the vast majority of photographic context.

Frequent extreme low-light photography is a different matter and that's a response that makes me understand why someone can be very enthusiastic about their K-5.

There are many settings where the K5 really does shine in comparison to the K7. The biggest area where I see it is in situations where your subject is strongly backlit. These photos with the K7 invariable end up underexposed with regard to the subject with highlights blown out. Often there is considerable noise when you try to bring up the exposure. The K5 is just much more able to handle these situations.

In addition, the ability to push iso is not just about being able to shoot in low light settings, it is also about being able to freeze motion. When my kids are running around, shots of 1/60 second just turn out a blurry mess. Being able to bump iso to iso 6400 if necessary often solves that problem.

I continue to use my K7, but I must confess that there are no situations where I prefer it to the K5.

[adr1an]

Hey guys.... Good News for you all.. Maybe...

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/1601886-post57.html

Which infers either Japan is blindly swapping boards - or they have since identified and rectified some component... or a fault in the assembly process.

If it doesn't repeat itself - one can assume that they have fixed the problem and the issue will subsequently be limited to a 'batch'..

Or they have fixed it... with an equally 'broken' board... but at least it was fixed.

In 12 days.

[photocanadian]

Next time I see a picture you took that I like I will make sure to compliment your camera

(it's a K5, after all)

How would Shakespeare feel if everyone admired the pen he used, and not the man himself .... Or Mario Andretti and his steering wheel ... Or Bill Clinton and his .... you get the point

Cheers.

(I have shot with a K5, albeit not mine. Good cam, far from heavenly)

ClassA, if you haven't been convinced by all the professional reviews out there, including DXO's measurements, then so be it, stay with whatever camera you decide on. But i think my K5 is magical, and if that makes you uneasy - then thats really your problem to deal with.

And i'm so tired of that cliche about photographers take pictures, not tools. Of course photographers do the creative part, but i don't know of many photographers that don't like to have competent tools for their work. For the kind of low light theatre work I do, the K10 and K20 just couldn't handle it, the K5 has and i've gotten more than a few compliments for it. Give up the K5 - no way.

Now back to taking pictures.

[Rupert]

Hard to find a K5 shooter that doesn't use some very enthusiastic terms to describe his camera. Magical, dreamlike, whatever.......it is only the non-K5 owners that seem to find nothing "magical" about it.....ever noticed that?

I haven't seen a single K5 owner that wants to repeal taking the plunge and go back to playing doctor and nurse. Just saying......
Regards!

[sagiboy]

The truth is...K5 is a fine camera....I give you that.. but all of us suckers who bought this $1600 Pentax, are finally realizing that it was a money 'bit' over spent...

[Clavius]

And i'm so tired of that cliche about photographers take pictures, not tools. Of course photographers do the creative part...

Very true, photographers do the creative part... But that creativity is limited to the capabilities of their tool. In that respect, the K5 gives the photographer way more creative freedom then the other tools.

[Rupert]

The truth is...K5 is a fine camera....I give you that.. but all of us suckers who bought this $1600 Pentax, are finally realizing that it was a money 'bit' over spent...

Really? I paid $1200 and feel like I cheated someone.
Regards!

[sagiboy]

Good Old Rupert...lucky again....!!!!!

[sagiboy]

I would say even my K7 no less of a wonderful camera. I bought it around the same time as my K5 3 months ago. In fact, after using the K5 for some days I even put up my K7 for sale, thinking all I need is the K5, but now My K5 is gone for repair for shutter problems and is on "parts Hold' for over a month. In the meantime, I took my K7 out, and came back with amazing results....!!!! It is really a great camera, forget about those who complain about High ISOs..You dont need an ISO 3200 on a sunny day like this...??!!! Im keeping this baby..oh Yeah...I dont miss my K5 anymore..I got a 7D and a D7K to take care of all my high ISO needs....oh yes..I know I know K5 is the best performer when it comes to high ISOs...but whats the use...the sucker is dead...torn apart in surgery room waiting for an organ.......!!!

My $1600 could have gone towards something else...or better still waited for the next BIG Pentax......

Thanks heaps!

I won't deny that I'm craving for a K-5 but you are right, the K100D is sufficiently good for me almost all of the time and I'm having heaps of fun with it. Great little piece of equipment and it never needed anyone to create a "No K100D complaints -- Only K100D praise here" thread.

Snofox, your post made my day.
Thank you!!!