[arkacom]

For me, not so great deal. This week i bought at local store in Lithuania for 2414LTL + shipping (about 900USD).
I guess this is worldwide tendency.

[Welfl]

I wouldn't expect a K-5n starting for anything less than 1200 nor anything more than 1400.

The $1,199 is very reasonable considering all the features that should be in it, but $1,399 may be a little more than I feel comfortable spending, but that is only because I don't have anything personally meaningful or memorable to photograph anymore. For me, photography is now only an excuse to get out of the house.

Since that is your theory, do those prices include the basic kit lens, or is that body only?

As for the possible Canon-style approach, I don't know enough about Canon's style to have a comment.

[BirdDude007]

I have found other places wher I could get a K-5(well actually the wife did) for around $900 I think these cameras will settle around that price without going back up, especially with rumor of replacement models. two weeks ago I bought my K-5 for $1069 and I am extremely happy with the deal, however the minute it goes under $800 then I will immediately jump on one for my wife to upgrade too.......I have a feeling that time is coming.

[monochrome]

I have found other places wher I could get a K-5(well actually the wife did) for around $900 I think these cameras will settle around that price without going back up, especially with rumor of replacement models. two weeks ago I bought my K-5 for $1069 and I am extremely happy with the deal, however the minute it goes under $800 then I will immediately jump on one for my wife to upgrade too.......I have a feeling that time is coming.

The market price will be dependent upon whether Pentax builds another run of K-5's or lets the existing warehouse stock run out. Once there are no more to ship from stock the price will return to $1299 and stay there - maybe go even higher.

[BirdDude007]

The market price will be dependent upon whether Pentax builds another run of K-5's or lets the existing warehouse stock run out. Once there are no more to ship from stock the price will return to $1299 and stay there - maybe go even higher.

Cool!.........still worth it at that price IMHO

[jeffshaddix]

I have found other places wher I could get a K-5(well actually the wife did) for around $900 I think these cameras will settle around that price without going back up, especially with rumor of replacement models. two weeks ago I bought my K-5 for $1069 and I am extremely happy with the deal, however the minute it goes under $800 then I will immediately jump on one for my wife to upgrade too.......I have a feeling that time is coming.

Yeah I've seen other ~$900 deals, but I jumped on this one since it was the first that was from an authorized dealer. The other ones were sometimes known to ship the international version with possible warranty problems.

It's hard to say what the price will do from here. Most are expecting a jump April 1st, but if a replacement model comes out soon, it'll surely drop again. If just a "K-z" style camera comes out, I'd expect the price to stay higher until mid summer.

One thing's for sure, Camera Land was clearing out their inventory with this sale, and I doubt they'll get more.

[farhagh]

Unlike what is told by some (including Adam) I do not believe the price will really go up; remember even the $1199 was a temporary discount, and the price was supposed to go back up afterward. So, I guess it is on its way down and we'll see these type of prices every now and then, and more often. Personally I believe it'll stabilize at 800 in a few months, but that 100 will not worth waiting if you want one and have the money.

[jeffshaddix]

Unlike what is told by some (including Adam) I do not believe the price will really go up; remember even the $1199 was a temporary discount, and the price was supposed to go back up afterward. So, I guess it is on its way down and we'll see these type of prices every now and then, and more often. Personally I believe it'll stabilize at 800 in a few months, but that 100 will not worth waiting if you want one and have the money.

I just did a bit of research, unless I'm mistaken, K-7 launch price was $1299, and K-5 launch price was $1699. The lowest I saw the K-7 new at an official price was $768 a couple months before K-5 announcement - that's 59% of original price. The $999 price seems similar to the K-7 situation, and sure enough $999 is 59% of the original K-5 price.

I'm not saying it won't drop lower (it probably will in cases like Camera Land), but I do think this is the lowest stable/official price we will see, and I expect a K-5 replacement announcement in a couple months (before Photokina).

[glanglois]

I think K-5 was $1,599 at launch. Too late for me to dig out the receipt. You could be right.

[jeffshaddix]

I think K-5 was $1,599 at launch. Too late for me to dig out the receipt. You could be right.

Looks like you're right. It was expected to be $1699, but the first B&H listing was $1599. That puts the current $999 price at 63% of the starting price, so there goes my theorem.

[Popeye.Tom]

It arrived Friday. Anyone else receive theirs?

Well, I had a moment of buyer's remorse when I read about the K-3 Fool's joke, but then reminded myself that this was still light years more capable than my K100d and I'd not have the clams for a new FF...

That said, prompt shipping from Camera Land. No damage of any kind to the box or contents - nice to see the savage baggage handlers had the day off!

I can see that I've got a bit of a learning curve and some practice to get in before I'm conversant with all of the options. Surprisingly heavy, I'm going to want to get a battery grip for it to feel more secure - only my middle and ring finger fit on the grip. Surprising how the lack of that vestigial digit on the grip feels less than comforting!

Weather was pretty nasty here in S. Oregon over the weekend & I still had a welding project to finish. I hope to get some play with it in over the week and maybe next weekend.

Cheers!
PT

[jeffshaddix]

Hey PT, I got mine last Friday. New in box as advertised.

I have to say the sensor is stunning me. I didn't expect much of an improvement over the K20D/K-7 sensor in terms of detail, but it's definitely there, as well as the beefy DR boost and SNR; good times!

Some things I didn't expect:

The dust reduction system, which is supposed to be the same as the K-7, is two orders of magnitude quieter. I have to put my ear to the camera to hear it now.

The auto-rotate feature in playback mode doesn't work as well as it did on the K-7. It used to rotate the images appropriately as I turned the camera to portrait mode. Now it just stays fixed as if I'm viewing in landscape mode. Weird that Pentax had this right with the K-7 and messed it up on the K-5.

I seem to be experiencing uncorrectably bad front focusing from the phase-detect autofocus system, but it appears to be due to a combination of low/tungsten light. I thought Pentax fixed this with firmware updates (I updated to 1.13), but it appears not, and Falk's blog backs this up.

The SR system stays active much longer and locks quicker than the K-7, good job on this.

Overall I'm impressed. I'm not convinced yet that my AF issue is "normal" or needs CRIS to look at it, but since almost all of my shots are using manual focus and just the focusing screen, I'm not too worried about it. Plus, if it's just a low light tungsten issue, I can deal with that. Again, the sensor performance is eye opening to be sure. I'm happy with the purchase.

PS, I got fooled by the K-3 announcement as well. I do wish for a FF announcement, but I'm in no condition to drop $2.5k+ on a FF body right now. I'd give it a couple years to wait for a crazy deal like this one.

[awaldram]

If your k5 still mis focuses in red light post fw 1.03 then its faulty

Unfortenatley I suspect Falks 'report' has meant many with a faulty colour sensor believe the low light focus issue is normal.

[jamarley]

I'm happy to say I received mine right on time, tho I had to tell FedEx to hold it at one of their stores as nobody was going to be home to sign for it. I haven't had a whole lot of opportunity to use it. I'm still recovering from a severely broken wrist, so I've been spending a lot of time in therapy. And this week my dog tore his ACL and needs surgery. Never a dull moment, huh?

Judging from the raves here I look forward to getting back to my normal routine with the best that Pentax can offer in this price range!

And yeah, I was a fool too on the fool day. Only 2 things kept my buyer's remorse in check - 1) I knew I probably couldn't afford a FF and 2) thankfully saw from the comments that it wasn't true.

Other thoughts:
It seems like every generation Pentax improves the build quality.
This is THE quietest SLR, digital or film, I've ever used.
The file sizes are really huge - gonna need some bigger cards - I won't settle for less than a Class 10, but if anyone wants to chime in on reliability vs. value I'd love to see your responses.

[jeffshaddix]

If your k5 still mis focuses in red light post fw 1.03 then its faulty

Unfortenatley I suspect Falks 'report' has meant many with a faulty colour sensor believe the low light focus issue is normal.

Do you have any info on people sending their camera to CRIS to get this fixed? I started a seperate thread here, and I'd appreciate your input:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-5-forum/181222-k-5-low-tungsten-light-front-focus-issue-latest-firmware-send-cris.html

Jamarley, I use Delkin cards with good success. Great value!