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02-24-2013, 04:18 PM   #1
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Upgrading from K-r: K5 or K5IIs?

I am upgrading from my K-r which I generally love except for its loud shutter and poor focus in low tungsten light (my workaround is LiveView). I am an enthusiast who prefers street / urban shooting, but I do a lot of other stuff as well (see below).

I know there are rumors about a new flagship in April, but I don't want to wait. It could turn out that the model is not available until June, and we won't hear from users until July....

So I could go K5IIs or go with a K5 and a lens. (Right now I have an assortment of A and Takumar lenses. In the autofocus world I have the DA 35 2.4, DA 21 Ltd. FA 50 1.4, DA 70 Ltd, and Tamron 18-250. )

A few other points
- Not worried about moire
- No sports other than kids' soccer / baseball
- Not a birder at this point
- I use autofocus 2/3 or even 3/4 of the time
- I don't do landscapes a ton, though occasionally I get the tripod out
- The K5 gives me a shot at adding a lens I don't have, like a macro lens or a WR lens. Though I am not in a huge rush to get either
- Low light focusing of K-5IIs could be a benefit for dusk street photog
- Both cameras are going to give me a good boost from the K-r, especially in ISO.
- My everyday carry street photog camera is an Olympus E-PL3. Great size, quiet shutter, and tilt screen.

- Adorama has K5 at $739 and K5IIs at $1197. Is the $450 difference worth it given the above?

Thanks for any thoughts.

02-24-2013, 04:28 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by Basset Quote
I am upgrading from my K-r which I generally love except for its loud shutter and poor focus in low tungsten light (my workaround is LiveView). I am an enthusiast who prefers street / urban shooting, but I do a lot of other stuff as well (see below).

I know there are rumors about a new flagship in April, but I don't want to wait. It could turn out that the model is not available until June, and we won't hear from users until July....

So I could go K5IIs or go with a K5 and a lens. (Right now I have an assortment of A and Takumar lenses. In the autofocus world I have the DA 35 2.4, DA 21 Ltd. FA 50 1.4, DA 70 Ltd, and Tamron 18-250. )

A few other points
- Not worried about moire
- No sports other than kids' soccer / baseball
- Not a birder at this point
- I use autofocus 2/3 or even 3/4 of the time
- I don't do landscapes a ton, though occasionally I get the tripod out
- The K5 gives me a shot at adding a lens I don't have, like a macro lens or a WR lens. Though I am not in a huge rush to get either
- Low light focusing of K-5IIs could be a benefit for dusk street photog
- Both cameras are going to give me a good boost from the K-r, especially in ISO.
- My everyday carry street photog camera is an Olympus E-PL3. Great size, quiet shutter, and tilt screen.

- Adorama has K5 at $739 and K5IIs at $1197. Is the $450 difference worth it given the above?

Thanks for any thoughts.
Get the k5. Image quality would be very similar to k5IIs, and is very much a significant upgrade from kr.

K5 + da35mm macro would also hold its value better than just k5IIs body alone when k3 is announced. Reason being lenses don't get outdated by a newer model so easily, and k5 is already priced low. When you want to upgrade again in a few years' time, the difference between the resale prices of k5 and k5IIs probably won't exceed $100-150
02-24-2013, 05:04 PM   #3
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I agree- get the K-5 and spend the difference on lenses!

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02-24-2013, 06:12 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
get the K-5 and spend the difference on lenses!
That is what I did. Well, half of it anyway. I'm still sorting out the lenses half, however. I upgraded from k100dS to a used K5, which is real nice, but I have to get used to all the external buttons. Keeping the k100dS, though.

02-24-2013, 08:44 PM   #5
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I would go with the K5. Yes, its almost 3 year old technology, but I think that its going to be a classical workhorse. The price is excellent, and 40% more for the IIs is probably not worth the premium right now. Its really difficult to beat the K5 at its current price.

02-24-2013, 08:53 PM   #6
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But isn't the K-5 II better for AF in tungsten light?
02-24-2013, 09:29 PM   #7
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Not good enough reason to warrant paying more than 50% extra IMO

02-25-2013, 10:15 AM   #8
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Thanks for the input. I ordered the K5.
02-25-2013, 10:19 AM   #9
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You will love having two control wheels and never want a DSLR with only one again!
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