[Clicker]

Seems like you need a Pentax 645D

[mrjamesabels]

I love my K5. The D800e looks amazing for landscape photography which is my favorite. Also, the Olympus OM-D is also pretty amazing too! Either way, I'd never get rid of my K5.

[lightbulb]

Even the Squirrel gets excited in front of the K5!

The true test is if your camera can shoot a handsome Squirrel handheld at 1/160 @ 500mm ISO 2500....one with a "natural tan", I might add! My K5 passes the test every time!

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Let's don't forget, our K5s have that great SR...for every lens we mount! I know a few others that don't, you too?
Regards!

[cbope]

Well, I'm still learning my K-5 but it has really awakened my photography brain which was sleeping for more than 10 years. As my first dSLR, it's been a lot of fun. There is no doubt that I'm the limitation in my own photography, not my K-5. I don't shoot sports, mostly static landscapes and architecture, so I don't want or need millisecond-fast AF. The AF on the K-5 has improved noticeably since firmware 1.01, each one seems to tweak and improve the performance a bit. I'm glad to see Pentax still releasing new firmware for the K-5 even though it has been on the market for a while. In contrast, My Canon G9 never got a single new firmware, not one.

Sure, I would like to see a bit wider range of SMC lenses from Pentax. My current selection is still quite small with two M's, an F macro, a Tokina AT-X Pro and the DA kit lens. I have a number on my shopping list to acquire as finances permit. I'll also be getting three screwmount lenses including a Takumar from my uncle this year. As a long-time Pentax user since the early 80's (ME Super), I love my K-5 so far. It has lived up to my expectations.

[Col]

Maybe a little closer.....I have the new camera itch, no good reason, and no excuse, it's like the flu, it just comes along every so often whether you want it or not.

I hear you Rupert... and true there's nothing that's made me want to replace the K5. My purchase history shows a strong spring itch and this year proved no different. So this year it had to be ebay glass, 10 lenses later I also purchased my first M42 to K adapter. Tried it on my K20D (in case of accidents) and couldn't believe how easy it was to use old glass... so now for a M42 spree?

[NZ_Ross]

Col, you should just run with that :-)

[rparmar]

If you really want to obsess over purchases you should get a mirrorless camera.

Now you can not only delight in three to five new bodies a year, but can feast your senses on all the lenses available in Pentax 110, Leica M, Leica M39, Leica R, Konica Hexar, Olympus Pen, Olympus OM, Contax G, Contax/Yashica, Nikon F, and just about every other lens mount too. The possibilities are, as they say, endless.

[Rupert]

If you really want to obsess over purchases you should get a mirrorless camera.

Now you can not only delight in three to five new bodies a year, but can feast your senses on all the lenses available in Pentax 110, Leica M, Leica M39, Leica R, Konica Hexar, Olympus Pen, Olympus OM, Contax G, Contax/Yashica, Nikon F, and just about every other lens mount too. The possibilities are, as they say, endless.

Yes,that's my dream! Three to five new bodies a year and not a one of them better than my K5 for what I do or want to do. Most, nowhere near as good....and most more expensive when you start mounting all those new lenses.

If you want to go broke, it is an excellent place to start, I agree with that!

Regards!

[rparmar]

But I thought that was the whole point of obsession, Rupert. Did you miss my point?

[cali92rs]

If i could get all the money i spent buying into Pentax back, I would switch in a heartbeat . However, getting 60% of what I paid is not very appetizing.
Don't get me wrong, I love the K-5. It is an awesome camera.

[Docrwm]

If i could get all the money i spent buying into Pentax back, I would switch in a heartbeat . However, getting 60% of what I paid is not very appetizing.
Don't get me wrong, I love the K-5. It is an awesome camera.

Ok, I'm confused. You love the K-5 and "it is an awesome camera" but you'd "switch in a heartbeat" if you could get all your money back?

[Rupert]

If i could get all the money i spent buying into Pentax back, I would switch in a heartbeat . However, getting 60% of what I paid is not very appetizing.
Don't get me wrong, I love the K-5. It is an awesome camera.

I think we can help you out! If you have a like new 31 Ltd for $600 I bet you can sell it within a few minutes right here. If not, it's hard to blame Pentax for your purchases that don't stand the test of time. Most of my Pentax gear is worth as much or more than I paid for it, but I didn't buy it as an investment......anyone that does is a speculator, and that is best left to those with a lot of knowledge and money to lose, because all speculators lose on something sooner or later. This is supposed to be about photography, not investing, sort of like cars are for driving, not investing in for your retirement.
A ton of people have invested their life savings in their homes for retirement.........how's that working out?
Regards!

[eddie1960]

If i could get all the money i spent buying into Pentax back, I would switch in a heartbeat . However, getting 60% of what I paid is not very appetizing.
Don't get me wrong, I love the K-5. It is an awesome camera.

Camera bodies in all brands lose value rapidly, lenses lose a little out of the gate but in general don't lose much. I can't think of a used lens that is 60% less than it's retail.
Consider the devaluation in a camera body the same as you would film cost on a film body. I shoot 12-15000 frames a year on digital. Even if i halved that being more conservative on film the cost of film and processing would be at a minimum enough to buy a new K5 every year and throw the other away. Not a chance i could run on film for the price of digital (12000 pics is about 333 rolls of film, at $9 a roll for the film and processing that is enough to buy a D800 every year)

lenses are the investment, but if you want them to hold their value and even go up better switch to leica

[reeftool]

I'm just beginning with the K5, having upgraded in November from the K10D. I'm pretty impressed overall. It has been all I expected. The dynamic range and high ISO capability was what I wanted in a new body and it has been excellent. The ergonomics are still very good but I prefer the K10D in that respect. It just fits my large hands better. The smaller size and weight have benefits after carrying it on a long day though. I'm always looking at all the cameras too and there just isn't much out there to lure me away right now. Then, there are the lenses.....nobody has anything close to to the Pentax Limiteds. You can go out for a day shooting with a full collection of glass with just a shoulder bag or even your jacket pockets if the weather is cool.

[Rupert]

The more I look, the better my K5 keeps looking....with all the new cameras, you would expect to start feeling a little behind the curve, but if you look closely, this just isn't happening. I see a lot of new cameras with a lot of new problems or limitations that I don't find with my K5.
Sure, those D800's look great, and if I ever go into the Billboard Business and want to spend a small fortune on a new computer fast enough to edit and process those huge files, I'll be getting one!

90% of what I shoot ends up online, where it is very difficult to tell much difference between a camera phone photo and a D4 photo for 99% of those viewing...we're not all photographers, remember! For the prints I do make, the K5 is so close to perfection, it would be a disappointment to spend three times as much, or more to see very similar results in the print sizes I use most often.

Anyhow, that's how I see it...I'm still looking...it's a disease....and if I find something better and at a better price, you can count on me to let you know about it.
Regards!