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03-16-2012, 09:48 AM - 2 Likes   #1
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Maybe You Better Loook Around....

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 keep looking at all the new models from all the various makers.....all the new mirrorless models...all the new FF....all the new promises of a better shooting experience.....

I keep coming back to the same conclusion after careful review of each one......while they are enticing for various features, none of them overwhelms the K5 and most are sorely lacking when put side by side. Maybe the K5 had a rocky start, but like a champion racehorse it recovered and is out there in the front of the pack if you just take a close look. What's not to like? Not much really. It is a nice size, not much larger than some of the Mirrorless models, it has great high ISO and superb DR. It has a great menu layout and plenty of controls and dials to make shooting easier. The IQ is superb too.....isn't that what we want most? There are tens of thousands of available lenses.....with no adapters needed, and a nice grip and flash units if needed. Then you get to the price........looks like a great bargain to me, for a camera that pretty much does it all and won't require you to take out a 2nd mortgage.

Am I still looking around? Yes, but I am a sick puppy with this madness. However, if I didn't have the K5 already i would make sure I did before I looked at anything else. I know what it does, and it is excellent...the others are just a guessing game until proven.
Regards!

03-16-2012, 10:03 AM   #2
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Well said, Rupert....................

I too am very comfortable with my K5..............I'm getting more and more used to the settings and my histograms are coming out very good the first shot......I've quelled my LBA and have gone for a couple of months without buying a new lens..............and just when things looked stable to me, I got an itch for a better ballhead for my Manfrotto tripod..............I bought a Really Right Stuff BH-40 and an L-Bracket for my K5 last week that set me back the price of an X10............but now I have everything I need.................right?
03-16-2012, 10:03 AM   #3
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Rupert,

I couldn't agree more. I spend too much time looking at cameras and envisioning the possibility of owning different systems than Pentax & K-5. I still have a Canon 1Ds and a couple L lenses that I really should sell off.

But the K-5 images match those from the 1Ds at low ISO and are much better at high ISO. On the whole, the Pentax lenses are as good as the L lenses. While the autofocus may not be quite as nimble, replacing the entire Pentax system with anything equivalent from Canon or Nikon would be expensive and heavy. And I don't need stunning AF for 99 percent of the work I do.

The K-5 is such a pleasure to use.

I guess I'm just stuck

Bob
03-16-2012, 10:21 AM   #4
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I was very happy with my K20, and actually I essentially decided to forgo the K5, until I happened across a pricing error and was able to acquire one new in January for $750. Made a nanosecond decision and bought in for the price.

I like the K5 very much across all fronts. Its just that there are some aspects of the K20 I like so much better - enabling/disabling setting the Bracketing (the button on the back) , the placement of the formatting the SD card in the Menu, and a couple of other minor items.

On the positive side, I do like the movement of the external shutter release to the right hand side so that it does not interfere with a L bracket, the back menu camera setup state & status is wonderful along with the orientation change, the physical size is nice but the K20 was also very nice.

So, I guess forward progress. The sensor's ISO 80, dynamic range and shutter release location are alone worth the upgrade for me.

I have said this before, but I think I am set for a camera body.

If you are spending time drooling over a non-existent camera body - you are not out shooting enough!




03-16-2012, 10:31 AM   #5
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Yes, I agree with both of you, we should be pretty happy and most of us are. The urge to look around is quite natural.....I still have an eye for a pretty girl, but also know I've already got all I need...and more! (Otis made me add that "and more" part...damn sharp Squirrel!) Doesn't hurt to look...even Mrs Rupert acknowledges that......just don't bring any home!

I would be better served if I would concentrate more on the abilities of the K5 and improving my own lack of photographic skills instead of thinking something new would make any real difference. I love my little "Toy X10" , and it provides a lot of fun and joy, but it is not a K5 by any stretch of the imagination.
Regards!
03-16-2012, 10:39 AM   #6
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Funny but I know just what you mean about it coming along with no good reason like the flu. I was tempted to buy a Q at $289 from QVC when I have no interest or need for yet another system! The K5 is still more camera than I can fully use and the K-x is a great backup!
03-16-2012, 10:48 AM   #7
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I get the disease too (if QVC shipped to Canada i'd have a Q on the way, complete impulse) . fortunately they don't and by the time Dan offered to ship it up for me sober second thought took hold

Rupert if i were you with all the great toys you already have i'd let the scikness build until photokina in september. anything out right now will still be there, but there willbe lots more tempting goodies after that

03-16-2012, 11:20 AM   #8
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It seems like a never ending battle, but I am very happy with my K5 as well after upgrading from the K10. The last 6 months have been a spending spree......A K5 w/ a grip, the entire DA ltd. series, a panagor 90mm macro, and X100 plus other little things here and there.....and I wonder why my bank account is dwindling Everything but the X100 was purchased on our marketplace, giving me high quality gear and safe purchasing, while saving a ton of $$$$ of the "brand new" prices. In terms of cameras I am all set....for now at least. K5 with a K10d for backup, both great for any type of photography. The X100 which has the size, performance, quiet shutter and design that make it perfect for nights on the town and street photography. A G11 which is great for wearing on my hip during a hike, or stuffing in my girlfriends purse. Plus a Yashica Electro 35 rangefinder for when I feel like shooting film. I would love to enter the realm of medium/large format photography, but that is a whole new ball of wax.

I know I have what I "need" (probably more than I need) but of course there are still things I "want". A new tripod is high on the list along with a new computer, but in terms of cameras I am all set. The K5 is an awesome camera that still isn't getting the respect that it deserves, but I love it, and I guess that's all that matters.
03-16-2012, 11:23 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
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 keep looking at all the new models from all the various makers.....all the new mirrorless models...all the new FF....all the new promises of a better shooting experience.....

I keep coming back to the same conclusion after careful review of each one......while they are enticing for various features, none of them overwhelms the K5 and most are sorely lacking when put side by side. Maybe the K5 had a rocky start, but like a champion racehorse it recovered and is out there in the front of the pack if you just take a close look. What's not to like? Not much really. It is a nice size, not much larger than some of the Mirrorless models, it has great high ISO and superb DR. It has a great menu layout and plenty of controls and dials to make shooting easier. The IQ is superb too.....isn't that what we want most? There are tens of thousands of available lenses.....with no adapters needed, and a nice grip and flash units if needed. Then you get to the price........looks like a great bargain to me, for a camera that pretty much does it all and won't require you to take out a 2nd mortgage.

Am I still looking around? Yes, but I am a sick puppy with this madness. However, if I didn't have the K5 already i would make sure I did before I looked at anything else. I know what it does, and it is excellent...the others are just a guessing game until proven.
Regards!
I love MY K-5s, and until a successor appears with a much better improved low light capability, i.e in the same leap that the K-5 we4nt from the K20D/K-7 then I'm sticking with them.

My new camera itch is going to be satisfied by the Nokia 808.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/non-pentax-cameras-canon-nikon-etc/176969...ne-camera.html

... as it fulfils a need for discretion which you can't get fron the K-5. Mobile phones are allowed and accepted in places where you never take a DLSR without enormous hassle from jumped up Hi-Viz people
03-16-2012, 11:37 AM   #10
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I've said it often enough - the K5 was the one I was waiting for. My K10d is sold off, my K20d gathers dust, and the K5 just keeps clicking right along. Even though I know that one of these days, the Pentax gods will provide new DSLR temptations (ok so if money were no object I'd have a 645D, Q, and K-01 just because they are cool too) and I will once again have to determine if I just can't live without the next best thing, for now and most likely until another year or more from now, all is good.
03-17-2012, 07:58 AM   #11
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I'm still looking......it's a horrible disease.....but still can't find a camera that matches up with my K5 in the most important factors. If you find one anywhere, just help me out and post it here......and be sure you mention the price and lenses available...and their price.
Regards!

BTW- A friend (and fellow member here) has started a Portrait Studio and is using his K5.......you see anything out there that can do better, be sure to let me know that too.......I hope to be opening a new studio soon myself.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/wssa-pentaxians/discuss/72157629236250624/
03-17-2012, 10:38 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by interested_observer Quote
enabling/disabling setting the Bracketing (the button on the back)
You can set the Raw/Fx button to enable bracketing. Rec mode 5, Button Customization.
03-17-2012, 03:43 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Smeggypants Quote
[The 808] it fulfils a need for discretion which you can't get fron the K-5. Mobile phones are allowed and accepted in places where you never take a DLSR without enormous hassle from jumped up Hi-Viz people
Very good point.

My 'itch' was towards a new RAW shooting pocketable like the Powershot s100 or Q, but may just wait for the Nokia for precisely the reason you suggest. If the 808 camera turns out to be really as OK as it is hyped, then I won't need to carry a P&S as well as a phone. One less piece of kit to carry about, and less general hassles.

In terms of the K-5, I don't see myself replacing it anytime soon. I haven't bumped up against any important limitations or problems with the camera. All I need is more skill and energy as a photographer - and more good glass, of course
03-17-2012, 03:47 PM   #14
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I've look here and there... FF Canon 5D, 2nd hand for the price of a new K5, D700, A850, in the end, I always come to the realization of a few things.
1. I'm really the limitation when it comes to my own photos. So much more can be improved, like improving the photographic eye, understanding/using DOF better (deep as well as shallow); Post process methodology; etc.
Shallow DOF, nice, but not always what I want.
2. Low light ISO is so close to matter. In fact the K5 wins compared to many cameras.
3. Low ISO performance is again too close to really matter.
4. Not worth the size

So in the end, I always come back to the conclusion that the K5 now sits at a sweet spot for the photography that I do.
03-17-2012, 04:06 PM   #15
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one word..Nikon D800....now thats a real head turner..expensive yes $2999 us twice the price of a K5..but I expect 4 times the camera..so on that logic its cheaper than a K5...LOL.......or a D700 at $2200US older but still a great camera ..also a Nikon AFS 300F4...a fantastic lens at only $1000 is a steal.....Nikon 50AFS 1.8 at only $250 US is a no brainier..very sharp...and great contrast... a nikon AFD 60 mm macro for $350..nikon 80-200 F2.8..very sharp..and cheap for $1000 US
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