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08-04-2013, 09:08 PM   #1
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K5II or K5IIS?

I'm getting close to the day when I pull the trigger and order my K5II and 18-135 lens combo!

But now I'm getting a little undecided...

Last night I had a look at the thread "Post Your K5IIS Pictures Here" and was highly impressed by the pictures posted there, and was wondering if I should rather get the K5IIS...

It's quite a big price difference, so is it worth it? Also, the Adorama site does not offer the K5IIS / 18-135 combo, so I would have to order it as a separate item, which further increases the price.

Decisions, decisions...

08-04-2013, 09:35 PM   #2
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If you plan on using the 18-135mm lens most of the time, you're not going to benefit from the "s" in the K-5 IIs. Sounds like the 18-135mm + K-5 II kit may be the right choice for you at this time.

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08-04-2013, 09:56 PM   #3
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I agree: the best companions for the IIs are the DA* lens.
08-04-2013, 11:19 PM   #4
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.. and DA Ltd lenses are especially good for K5IIs.

08-04-2013, 11:26 PM - 1 Like   #5
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The "S" isn't for the faint of heart. You always have to be mindful of moire and how to compensate.

Having said that, I am loving mine.
08-04-2013, 11:34 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by krebsy75 Quote
The "S" isn't for the faint of heart. You always have to be mindful of moire and how to compensate.
Not wanting to hijack the thread, but I'm in the same boat. I'm thinking of selling the K7 and going for a K5 II or IIs. Is moire a common problem with the IIs? Is there a noticeable difference in sharpness between the II and IIs when using, say, a Sigma 70-200 or FA 100mm macro? Back to you Neville.

Regards
08-04-2013, 11:46 PM   #7
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There is roughly an 8% increase in sharpness with the "S" version.

The "S" is all about control over your photography. If you anticipate moire being in issue within a given situation u must compensate accordingly. This level of control appeals to me. I like the flexibility of not having an AA filter.

This can be an immensely technical subject. And has been covered/explained elsewhere by people much more intelligent than I am. Specifically, Class A and Falcon Eye. The bottom line is that a 16MP cam requires an AA filter as part of its design. The "S" model has been "hacked" so-to-speak which appeals to a subset of users.

Hope this helps.

08-05-2013, 12:38 AM   #8
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From my experience of using the K5iis, on birds photography most of the time but with top lens (FA*600f4, FA*400), the increase of sharpness is visible, moiré could occur on birds Feather but it i sa not-issue, I have observed it on 3 or 4 shots in 10000.
On birds Feather you can't anticipate presence of moiré - the parameters are too complex for that, including spatial periodicity of the Feather patterns, and orientation
Hope this helps
08-05-2013, 12:51 AM   #9
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The standard K5II is a much safer bet if your interest lies with bird photography.

Having said that, I'm not going to dismiss the first-hand experience of the previous poster.
08-05-2013, 12:52 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Neville Quote
Last night I had a look at the thread "Post Your K5IIS Pictures Here" and was highly impressed by the pictures posted there, and was wondering if I should rather get the K5IIS...
There is no way you can spot the difference unless they put up a heavyly cropped one.
It depends on how you present your images and what kind of images you take and the care you spend on them.

to get your feed on the ground, for a print regardless the size you've enough with 6mp at normal viewing distance and the k5 has 16mp, so you already have 10mp headroom.
For normal use there is no benefit, sure when you zoom fully in or look very close to a large print you see a differnce but you do no look at images in such a way

Beside that you need to have a good lens and get a sharp photo to begin with so that mostly means tripod use.
The 18-135 is very decent but not very sharp though so it will do very little to benefit the S version.
08-05-2013, 12:53 AM   #11
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I was put off buying the K-5 IIs because of the £150 (later £160) difference in price vis-à-vis the K-5 II. This I thought to be unfair given that the price differential in the USA was only $100 (about £70). I didn't see the K-5 II as a significant upgrade to my K-5 to warrant buying one. Now I see that the difference in price between the II and the IIs has fallen to £110 which, although too large given the US situation, is a more reasonable proposition. But now I'm holding off buying one because I'm wondering if Pentax is going to bring out a higher-end APS-C (K-3 or call it what you will). If they haven't done so by the end of September I'll probably pull the trigger and get the K-5 IIs which, if I'm honest, is much more camera than I really need.
08-05-2013, 02:26 PM   #12
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then why buy it, why not spend the money in a lens for example?
08-05-2013, 05:42 PM   #13
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We are, most likely, just several weeks away from the introduction of at least one more APS-C Pentax body, which will most likely top the K5IIs in every single aspect.
And will cost the same or very similar.
If nothing else, it would further lower the price of the K5II, and open up new possibilities.
Keep in mind that.
08-05-2013, 11:34 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Anvh Quote
then why buy it, why not spend the money in a lens for example?
Good point, but I don't need any more lenses, either. That's never stopped me buying them, though.
08-06-2013, 10:36 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Neville Quote
I'm getting close to the day when I pull the trigger and order my K5II and 18-135 lens combo!

But now I'm getting a little undecided...

Last night I had a look at the thread "Post Your K5IIS Pictures Here" and was highly impressed by the pictures posted there, and was wondering if I should rather get the K5IIS...

It's quite a big price difference, so is it worth it? Also, the Adorama site does not offer the K5IIS / 18-135 combo, so I would have to order it as a separate item, which further increases the price.

Decisions, decisions...
I upgraded from a K-5 to a K-5IIs. Some of the action photos I'm getting are the sharpest I've ever taken. What does that prove? Very little - it might be better technique on my part, or better auto-focus on both of the K-5II versions, or luck, rather than a sharper sensor on the "s" version..

But I don't care why! I just like my K-5IIs, and I'm happy knowing that it may be significantly sharper, and almost certainly isn't worse, than the K-5II. I am less troubled by the thought that I might have wasted some money buying the "s" version than I would have been by the thought that I may have missed an opportunity to have a sharper camera had I bought the other version. (And I haven't been troubled by moire in over 51,000 shots, although I've spotted it in one of them).

(In fact, I probably wouldn't have upgraded from the K-5 to the K-5II (rather than the K-5IIs) because there apparently weren't enough differences. Then I would have missed out on the better auto-focus).
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