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03-06-2012, 11:34 PM - 8 Likes   #1
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I swear these things are indestructible.

Since I seem to have taken it upon myself to be the community jackass who tortures photo gear to find out what kind of abuse stuff can take, I have to say...

I'm beginning to think it's not possible to break a K-5.

Most recently, I was doing a video shoot this weekend, on a day that was far windier than I would like for a video shoot. But that's the day the project I was filming was happening. Like a smart kid, I left my camera unattended on a tripod, during a lull in the wind, not thinking that off course the wind was going to kick back up and blow over my setup. Which it did. Blew it right over, and rather forcefully. Tripod was at full height, so we're talking about a pretty legit impact. The camera landed on the left side, and snapped the mic plug right off, and left the male end still plugged into the input. There are pretty hefty scratches in the battery grip, camera body, and the hood of the lens, which was actually a Tamron 28-75/2.8. The mic input is definitely looser than it used to be, but it's still in place, still allows you to plug in and out a mic, and still transmits sound to the camera. Other than that and the scratches, it's totally fine. I used it all day yesterday for another all day video shoot, on another windier than I'd like day; but I paid closer attention to my tripods...

In other escapades, I spent a whole day shooting the dirt road/mountain bike section of an adventure race from the back of a truck, until my whole camera was brown with fine dust, and there wasn't a black spot left. Then spent the whole next day shooting in rain to clean things off. The day after that, we were shooting the kayak section of the race from the back of jet skis, and my friend Sam, who also uses a K-5 got dumped by his driver and swam with his K-5 and 18-55WR for about 10 second before he got back on the jet ski. Continued shooting for the rest of the day and the camera still works.

And there have been countless other small to medium sized bumps, drops, scraps, dunks and drips in the last 18 months since I got my first K-5. I've used my two as my sole workhorse cameras since then, and have put them not only through the tests of durability, but also the test of delivering, having shot over 50 editorial print pages with them, including 15 magazine covers, as well as a few commercial and editorial video projects; and boy do they deliver. Killer results in print and on screen.

Just thought that amongst all the internet nit-picking, pixel peeping and harsh criticisms we all love dish out on our cameras, I would share some stories from the field about how much these cameras kick ass. Be proud, Pentaxians. I've seen Canon 1D's crack their housing from 18 inch drops and Nikon D3's go dead after getting lightly splashed.

Cheers!

Ben


Last edited by FullertonImages; 03-07-2012 at 09:03 AM.
03-06-2012, 11:50 PM   #2
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Great testimonial for the durability and weatherproofing of the K-5, TFS!
03-07-2012, 12:06 AM   #3
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Good, it was about time positive stories like this got 'published' over here!

Last week, as I was shooting in a restaurant's kitchen, one of my K5 got 'baptized' with hot Beurre Blanc!
I cleaned the body and the FA 77mm with a cloth wetted with SPITACID, which is a Ethanol - Isopropanol - Benzylalcohol based kitchen disinfectant solution.
The only 'issue' now is that when I look thru the viewfinder I can still smell the butter (for which I am not complaining at all) and the focussing is 'buttery soft' now!
When going from the cold kitchen to the hot kitchen, and back again, the gear gets wet by condensation all the time, no problem for the K5!
03-07-2012, 12:14 AM   #4
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Wow thats amzing, I love my k-5 too much to even get it anywhere near those kinds of situations, but its good to know that if I accidentally get into those it will be able to survive it.

03-07-2012, 12:53 AM   #5
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It is great to hear this. I am happy just to be able to take my k20d to the beach.
03-07-2012, 01:09 AM   #6
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Thanks Ben - your post made me smile! LOL

I think that Pentax makes a pretty strong DSLR and they are often underrated. Even with my K-x it has taken a fall out of my camera pack (a disadvantage of having two ways to get get to your camera is you can forget to zip one way up when you are putting it in the other way - doh!) on to concrete complete with DAL 55-300. That was 18 months ago and no apparent ill effects - even cosmetic.

When I grow up I'm going own a K-5!
03-07-2012, 01:14 AM   #7
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Wow. My K-5 hasn't seen quite that degree of abuse yet, but it has been pounded by several torrential rainstorms over here in Malaysia-- without skipping a beat.
(Those of you who've been to/lived in Malaysia or Singapore will know how heavy it can rain here...)

Truly a go-anywhere, do-anything camera.

03-07-2012, 03:30 AM   #8
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Thanks guy, great stories that really show off the K-5.
My *ist-DL was my first digital and I love it to bits, but now I've got a K-5 I'm totally over the moon.

It's a smashingly good camera.
03-07-2012, 04:34 AM   #9
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Wow! That's quite a beating! The K5 does feel like a little tank. Every other brand always seems to feel flimsy after handling a Pentax.

So... When the Pentax FF body arrives, how would I go about "accidentally" destroying it for insurance purposes then? (I'm kidding of course!)
03-07-2012, 06:07 AM   #10
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Nice to hear positive points being made about Pentax dSLR's for a change. The ruggedness of the K-5 was one of the prime reasons for my purchase. I crew on sailing/racing yachts so cameras get bashed around in heavy seas or strong winds and salt spray gets everywhere. Not a problem for my K-5 and DA18-55 WR combo, just clean off the lens filter now and then. Shame the DA 55-300 is not a WR though.

Last edited by Lower-41; 05-17-2012 at 11:47 PM.
03-07-2012, 09:11 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Clavius Quote
Wow! That's quite a beating! The K5 does feel like a little tank. Every other brand always seems to feel flimsy after handling a Pentax.

So... When the Pentax FF body arrives, how would I go about "accidentally" destroying it for insurance purposes then? (I'm kidding of course!)
You might have to get a steamroller. Or maybe just re-badge a D7000 and break that.

But seriously, you're right. One you get used to the build quality of the K-5/7, almost everything else really does feel like a toy. Sometimes at work, I need to use a 5DmkII, so I can tether into Lightroom. (I don't like to do it, the files aren't nearly as good as the K-5 files IMO.) Every time I change the battery, I blown away by the fact that I could literally just rip the battery door of if I wanted to, and that it is most definitely not weather sealed. Same goes for the CF card door. And the same goes for the D7000 if you've ever held one. The whole build just feels cheap to me. I'm not trying to entirely slam either of those cameras, they both do certain things really well. But when it comes to build quality and weather sealing, there just not even a comparison to be made to the K-5.
03-07-2012, 09:59 AM   #12
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Nice to see this thread. Sort of a relaxation after eying the D4 article on Dp®. So sad...
03-07-2012, 10:39 AM   #13
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nice stories

All the top end Pentax cameras have been pretty durable. My K10 and K7 both have seen dousings with beer and general bashing about in mosh [pits when i've been shooting for reviews and not an issue, I just make sure i get them cleaned off before the beer get's sticky (i carry a cloth and a bottle od water in my bag when i know this is the kind of show it will be)
my tripod has dumped the camera in the snow before as well no issues (snow is a softer landing mind you)

Old film cameras could be just as durable, my first camera a Zenit dropped from 30feet above the ice at a hockey game, bounced of the net and landed on the ice. small dent in a corner no other issues used it for another 2 years
03-07-2012, 12:02 PM   #14
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Merci

Bonsoir Ben,

Thanks for your post ... and thanks to the other members as well.

I'm very happy with my K-5 and good to be reassured that "it can take a licking and keep on ticking!" Remember the old Timex ads ...

Allez et salut, J Frog
03-08-2012, 09:58 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by eddie1960 Quote
nice stories

All the top end Pentax cameras have been pretty durable. My K10 and K7 both have seen dousings with beer and general bashing about in mosh [pits when i've been shooting for reviews and not an issue, I just make sure i get them cleaned off before the beer get's sticky (i carry a cloth and a bottle od water in my bag when i know this is the kind of show it will be)
my tripod has dumped the camera in the snow before as well no issues (snow is a softer landing mind you)

Old film cameras could be just as durable, my first camera a Zenit dropped from 30feet above the ice at a hockey game, bounced of the net and landed on the ice. small dent in a corner no other issues used it for another 2 years
Yes, it's quite nice to have a camera that's "washable", isn't it? I've used the same tactics when shooting near saltwater spray. The bodies may be nearly waterproof, but saltwater or beer will sure gunk things up.
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