[usn ret]

I am not sure where you are located,but you might try a rental for some hands-on experience to get a feel for what the K5 and desired lens would do for you. Hands-on may be the only way to find out it "feels in your hand". I would ask, would you buy a new car or other expensive kit without first trying it on, driving it.holding it or etc????....Cliff

[goldenarrow]

Here is a place that has K-5 and lenses to rent. Never dealt with them, so you would have to ask around for their reputation. Or check an authorized dealer of your choice.

Cameralensrentals.com-Pentax Bodies & Accessories

[yusuf]

Personally I feel you will be disappointed with autofocus especially since your need is sport. Additionally, IS is great but not so effective for longer lens like 200mm.

[gidewey52]

Dtusk -

I could have pretty much written your post. I have all my Canon equipment up for sale now (also a 50D - which I have really enjoyed). The K-5 and the lens road map are sucking me back to Pentax. I left a couple of years ago to go to Canon for the 400mm f/5.6L. So, I will start with the K-5 and the 300 DA* with a 1.4 converter, and continue my birding. Fortunately I kept my Pentax glass and accessories so I'm not starting over fresh.

Good luck.

Jerry

[Dtusk]

gidewey52,

Just wondering have you ever used the K-5 or did you use a different Pentax? If you did use the K5 what is your take on how it compares to the 50D in low light / high iso? How do you find the in camera stabilization? As I mentioned before the football pix I will be taking only make up a small part of my total photography but they are important to me. I would be looking at the k5 and DA*200 for that. If you have any first hand experience using that set up what is your experience with it? How would you say it compares to the 50D with a 200mm f2.8L NON IS?

[RonHendriks1966]

I would be looking at the k5 and DA*200 for that. If you have any first hand experience using that set up what is your experience with it?

Well that is one fine combination, used it for test but instead I bought a Sigma 70-200mm (OS version). I rescently had it again (DA*200) on my camera and that is a fine lens.

I only used it for one weekend (game of volleybal, fieldhockey and a walk), so only a few images.

Manon Flier

[gidewey52]

Dtusk:

Not sure I can answer your questions, but . . .

I'm just an enthusiast, but I used mostly Pentax equipment for 40 years, starting with a Spotmatic then on to an ME Super (which I beat the crap out of). Never used a K-5; I had a K100D for a couple of years (my first digital) then switched to the Canon 50D using the 400mm f/5.6L (birds). I switched mostly for the 400L - great lens. Pentax is now promising a 5XXmm lens this year, just in time for Xmas, so I'm back, especially with the current K-5 pricing. I am also going to be working in the Middle East for a couple of years, and I get the weather sealing as a bonus.

I find that most everything leaves a lot to be desired in low light (for birds anyway). I expected miracles (low light, fast focus) when I went to the 50D and I'm still waiting. Just use your camera - you'll figure out how to get the best out of it. Remember that most of the camera testing is done in controlled laboratory conditions. Shooting a football game in pouring rain or locking focus on a 4" bird through a mass of twigs and branches is not . . . well, you get the point.

Also, I had I talked myself into believing that the stabilization wasn't important for birds - I am now of the opinion it is (even though I use a monopod).

Cheers,
Jerry

[FrancisK7]

The K5 AF system is fine in well lit scenes. It goes down the shitter in low light situations.
I have to say I'm impressed with the ISO5000 shot, I can only get good results that satisfy me with ISO3200 so far in low light situations. Haven't had the need to shoot passed ISO1600 in well lit environments yet.

Did you use Topaz or another denoiser on that ISO5000 shot?

[SuperK5]

Personally I feel you will be disappointed with autofocus especially since your need is sport. Additionally, IS is great but not so effective for longer lens like 200mm.

Here is a possibility. This Sigma lens is fast and I have heard that you can turn off SR on the K5 body and just use the IS built into the lens.
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM for Pentax 589109 B&H

[RioRico]

Folks...I really did not want to start any kind of big huge debate or anything.

Just about everything provokes huge debates here. Try asking about M42-PK adapters or DOF. Don't even mention future FF prospects.

What about the new K-30, which is supposed to be faster AF + a zoom lens like Sigma 120-400mm w/HSM (Amazon comments are an interesting read)? Still cheaper than Canon, just about as good ISO as K-5.

Or wait for the K5 replacement announcement. If you can wait that long. Of course, anything shipped is already obsolete. Such is life.

[steve1307]

Isn't there a 70D coming in September (an upgrade on the current 60D with the best bits of the 7D, 19pt AF, 18MP)

And shortly after that a 7D mk2 is also rumoured and it "might be" full frame with 61pt AF from the 5Dmk3

[Tord]

I have just decreased the number of K-5s we own to one, and that will probably be sold, too. We first each bought a NEX-5N, which is superb in most ways, with the Zeiss 1.8/24, or the E18-200.I use mine with the Zeiss, the wife uses the zoom. But otherwise there are very few lenses on the market. So we (the wife and I) trolled further out, and caught a Nikon V1, and an Olympus OM-D E-M5. The focusing with either of these is super-fast, instant is the word that comes to mind! The sensor in the V1 is pretty small, but the results, either with the Series 1 lenses, or any ordinary Nikon G lenses (those with focusing motors inside, but you need an expensive adapter), are amazing, as long as you can keep the ISO under 800. At 3200 it is more like a compact, if you get my meaning. Post-processing can do wonders with the V1 shots, but they are amazingly sharp as they are. Due to the sensor tiny size a 110mm lens becomes a 200, on a K-5. Or like a 300, on a 35mm film camera.

The OM-D is somewhere between the V1 and K-5, but with far better anti-shake than either, and almost instant focusing. There are masses of the nice lenses for the OM-D, not least from Panasonic, and more are coming from Sigma, and other manufacturers. In low light I think it performs better than the K-5 in every way, but it isn't perfect, that either: It uses a lot of battery power (and no spares are available on the market, yet), and the pictures are heavily processed in the camera, so post-processing doesn't work nearly as well as with the K-5, V1, or the NEX-5N.

Both the V1, and the OM-D, are equipped with superb viewfinders (I love that), and a complete camera set with the V1 weighs a little over a kilo: Flash, body, 10-30 & 30-110 (in 7D terms 27.2-81.6mm & 81.6-299.2mm). These two lenses are some of the sharpest zoom lenses there are on the market, according to independent testers, like Photozone.

The OM-d is newer, and somewhat more costly, but give a sports photographer even more options - as the selection of lenses is amazing! It is rain-proof, like the K-5, but weighs about half as much, and K-5 is one of the lighter APS-C DSLRs there is. Not for guys with really big hands (but the battery grip helps a lot). I'd say a similar kit to the V1 mentioned probably would weigh a bit more, but not nearly as much as a similar kit for a 'normal' DSLR.

In video both the V1 and OM-D are among the very best on the market, with no problems at all, as far as I'm aware. The OM-D is more complex, the V1 excellent for those who want to use manual controls. Using normal Nikon lenses on the V1 degrades the autofocus system a bit, to about K-5 capacity, but it can also do excellent slow motion movies, if you like that!

A few samples of all three: Red Kite | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[SKwan]

We first each bought a NEX-5N, which is superb in most ways, with the Zeiss 1.8/24, or the E18-200.I use mine with the Zeiss, the wife uses the zoom. But otherwise there are very few lenses on the market. So we (the wife and I) trolled further out, and caught a Nikon V1, and an Olympus OM-D E-M5.

I think many people have their own demand or reasons to select a own-fit camera between a FF, APS-C, M4/3, other MILC, DC and between brands!

[panoguy]

The OM-d is newer, and somewhat more costly, but give a sports photographer even more options - as the selection of lenses is amazing! It is rain-proof, like the K-5,

Yes, there are a few lenses for m43 cameras, but that makes me curious... how many available lenses for m43 are also weather-sealed?

[eddie1960]

Yes, there are a few lenses for m43 cameras, but that makes me curious... how many available lenses for m43 are also weather-sealed?

AFAIK only the new kit lens currently. some of the high end e series lenses are but then you are attaching them with an adapter that isn't