Is K30 "better" then the K5?

bossa · 07-12-2012, 07:51 PM

Well, my Nikon D800E has gone off to Nikon Australia for a few weeks for focus therapy. So I went and bought a K-5 from my local store for 1050. I don't mind so much as I only paid 250 more than I sold my last two and that will get me a warranty for a year. I did try the K-30 (black) and thought it was a winner. Focus Peaking and the fast LCD were very impressive. I'd have bought it if it were 14bit and could take a grip. I can see how a VF is not necessary with smaller lenses and in lighting conditions that aren't too bright. I think the K-5 replacement will be an impressive camera frankly.

nulla · 07-12-2012, 09:42 PM

Originally posted by junototoro

Some Australian stores price k-30 at AUD$759 but all Australian stores still price k-5 at A$1100 ... OMG!

Teds Cameras have the K-5 at $999.95

Pentax K - Digital SLR Cameras - Ted's Cameras

Bossa ... which company had the K-30 in stock?

bossa · 07-12-2012, 09:57 PM

Camera House $899 with a 50-200 (I think that was the lens.. I handled a K-5 that had one too) That was definitely the price as Steve the Salesman told me they were 'normally' $999

I was quite impressed and almost bought it. I'll wait for the K-5 replacement though as I have a grip for the K-5's I sold so I wanted to use that with the larger lenses.

bossa · 07-12-2012, 10:41 PM

I have only managed to take one photo with the new K-5 to date as I suffered the dreaded lock-up 3x. That was using eneloops in the 3rd party grip. I'm charging up the LIon battery now and will update the firmware (with the battery in the body). I hope this is not going to be a regular issue as I only had that happen 2x in a year with 2 K-5's.

WerTicus · 07-13-2012, 12:47 AM

I think: No

The K-5 is still a better camera.

Mainly because of the 14bit vs 12bit RAW.

Thus the K-5's image quality is ultimately superior.

Plus it has a better body with top LCD.

K-30 has focus peaking which is cool, but it does not work during video when you actually want it and MAYBE improved auto focus but this is not tested.

Sandy Hancock · 07-13-2012, 12:53 AM

Good thing you hung on to some of those sweet lenses Steve

frank · 07-13-2012, 03:34 AM

Originally posted by Chex

Today I was down at a local Camera Shop and the Pentax Rep for the area came through.. I handled the K-30 with a DA 17-70 on it.. Ergonomically the K-30 is FAR FAR Inferior to the K-5.
button placement has been changed and the green button placement is awkward and ridiculous, the camera feels slightly smaller and the grip side seems very squared and made for very little hands. Of course the K-5 has the Fully alloy body, but in hand that is simply a weight difference.. just the feel of the K-5 in hand FAR exceeds the K-30.

Hmm, I've played both together for sometime, I don't feel ergonomically K30 is too much inferior to K5. As a matter of fact, The grip on K30 is a bit narrower, but a bit deeper too. it feels more secure due to the 'sticky' rubber used, and the more prominent thumb rest on the back, especially when a bigger lens (like Tamron 70-200/2.8) is mounted. Of course it's just my personal feeling.

The back LCD screen looks a lot better on K30 (menu or photos), the 4-way button placement is the same as K-01, so we can't say it's changed.

Overall I don't think the ergonomic difference is as FAR as you said here.

frank · 07-13-2012, 03:37 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by Anvh

K5 has much more buttons and a magnesium body, ...

How many more buttons are you talking about?

bossa · 07-13-2012, 04:00 AM

Originally posted by Sandy Hancock

Good thing you hung on to some of those sweet lenses Steve

I couldn't bring myself to buy a D7000. This wasn't planned BTW and I am disappointed to have had to buy anything at all at this time. I expect to be without the D800 for at least 2 weeks... up to 4 I was told.

slackercruster · 07-13-2012, 04:57 AM

I got a K-01. Does not look any better than a K-x, from quick compares of the pix. (monitor viewing, not large print viewing)

slackercruster · 07-13-2012, 04:58 AM

Originally posted by frank

How many more buttons are you talking about?

I like the K5 look a little better. The K30 has a sharp front to it.

dane.dawg · 07-13-2012, 05:50 AM

Still looking for some info on the k-30s AF speed compared to the K-5s in good light ?

Chex · 07-13-2012, 10:44 PM

Originally posted by bossa

I couldn't bring myself to buy a D7000. This wasn't planned BTW and I am disappointed to have had to buy anything at all at this time. I expect to be without the D800 for at least 2 weeks... up to 4 I was told.

I need to get a hold of a fast wide lens to check my D800.. but I just checked my ENE-LI 15 battery and I'm very glad mine is not on the recall list.. if mine needs the focus adjustment I be going crazy without it.. I'd be begging to borrow my friends backup D200 on weekends! lol.

bossa · 07-14-2012, 12:50 AM

Originally posted by Chex

I need to get a hold of a fast wide lens to check my D800.. but I just checked my ENE-LI 15 battery and I'm very glad mine is not on the recall list.. if mine needs the focus adjustment I be going crazy without it.. I'd be begging to borrow my friends backup D200 on weekends! lol.

If you're going to read reviews of lenses make sure you read the D7000 reviews as that sensor will hint at the issues for lenses on D800 (unlike the D3x etc). The Photozone review of the 28 1.8G on D3X was a rave but the exact opposite on D7000. Diffraction on small pixels and high density sensors will kill a lens that's not quite there. That's one reason I bought another K-5. The FA31 and FA77 are very nice on that sensor.

I'm hoping that any issues with my D800E get sorted before I get it back.

Santoku · 07-14-2012, 08:41 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Chex

Today I was down at a local Camera Shop and the Pentax Rep for the area came through.. I handled the K-30 with a DA 17-70 on it.. Ergonomically the K-30 is FAR FAR Inferior to the K-5.
button placement has been changed and the green button placement is awkward and ridiculous, the camera feels slightly smaller and the grip side seems very squared and made for very little hands. Of course the K-5 has the Fully alloy body, but in hand that is simply a weight difference.. just the feel of the K-5 in hand FAR exceeds the K-30.

Today I was able to handle both the K-5 and K-30 at a local shop and while I am not as emphatic as Chex, I too found the K-5 to be ergonomically a better fit for my hands. I love the depth of the grip of the K-30 and it's "stick", however it requires pulling my shutter finger "back" towards the shutter, or holding the grip in a more shallow fashion. With the K-5, my shutter finger is naturally on target. Likewise, the rear wheel needs to be manipulated at the first knuckle of my thumb with the K-30, wihle the K-5 falls naturally under the meat of the thumb itself. I also find the placement of the K-30's Green Button and EV adjustment awkward, whereas the K-5's EV and ISO buttons naturally fall under my fingers without fumbling for them. As a K-x owner, one of my bugs is the shared button with Flash and Delete. I can't count the number of times I am quickly trying to delete a photo only to miss-time and flip up the flash instead. The K-30 shares the Delete and LiveView button. I can only imagine I would be initiating LV instead of deleting in similar circumstances. The K-5 has dedicated buttons for many functions, rather than shared functions. Overall, I find the K-5 to be more comfortable and better laid out for my hands.

I was able to put my Sigma DC 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 and EX 50-150mm f/2.8 HSM II on both bodies. I snapped off a few handheld RAW shots at the short and long end of each lens, at a few different aperture's with constant shutter and internal NR shut off. The K-30 shoots RAW in DNG and the K-5 was recording in PEF. In my subjective experience, the K-5 tends to under-expose slightly relative to the K-30, and where aperature and shutter were the same, the K-5 at times opted for a higher automatic ISO (take this with a grain of salt). I did find the K-5 IQ to be a bit sharper at higher magnification and the noise to be smoother and more uniform. I also found this with the photos from image-resource, however I was using shake-reduction on both bodies, hand-held. Does the K-5 provide better shake-reduction ? This might account for the "sharper" images according to my pixel peeping. One would need to turn shake reduction off and use a tripod to rule this out, however the general patterns seemed to be the same as i what I have seen online. In terms of autofocus, both bodies were quite quick relative to my K-x. While the K-30 "seemed" to be potentially quicker, I can't objectively establish this to be so. I did like the focus peeking feature of the K-30. The K-30's shutter sound is quieter than then K-x, but louder definately than the K-5.

I will look forward to a more professional review from PF that is apparently coming out hopefully next week.

07-12-2012, 09:57 PM	#198
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Camera House $899 with a 50-200 (I think that was the lens.. I handled a K-5 that had one too) That was definitely the price as Steve the Salesman told me they were 'normally' $999 I was quite impressed and almost bought it. I'll wait for the K-5 replacement though as I have a grip for the K-5's I sold so I wanted to use that with the larger lenses. Last edited by bossa; 07-12-2012 at 10:21 PM.

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07-12-2012, 07:51 PM	#196
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Well, my Nikon D800E has gone off to Nikon Australia for a few weeks for focus therapy. So I went and bought a K-5 from my local store for 1050. I don't mind so much as I only paid 250 more than I sold my last two and that will get me a warranty for a year. I did try the K-30 (black) and thought it was a winner. Focus Peaking and the fast LCD were very impressive. I'd have bought it if it were 14bit and could take a grip. I can see how a VF is not necessary with smaller lenses and in lighting conditions that aren't too bright. I think the K-5 replacement will be an impressive camera frankly.

07-12-2012, 09:42 PM	#197
nulla Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 1,560	Originally posted by junototoro Some Australian stores price k-30 at AUD$759 but all Australian stores still price k-5 at A$1100 ... OMG! Teds Cameras have the K-5 at $999.95 Pentax K - Digital SLR Cameras - Ted's Cameras Bossa ... which company had the K-30 in stock?

07-12-2012, 10:41 PM	#199
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	I have only managed to take one photo with the new K-5 to date as I suffered the dreaded lock-up 3x. That was using eneloops in the 3rd party grip. I'm charging up the LIon battery now and will update the firmware (with the battery in the body). I hope this is not going to be a regular issue as I only had that happen 2x in a year with 2 K-5's.

07-13-2012, 12:47 AM	#200
WerTicus Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Perth Australia Photos: Albums Posts: 1,514	I think: No The K-5 is still a better camera. Mainly because of the 14bit vs 12bit RAW. Thus the K-5's image quality is ultimately superior. Plus it has a better body with top LCD. K-30 has focus peaking which is cool, but it does not work during video when you actually want it and MAYBE improved auto focus but this is not tested.

07-13-2012, 12:53 AM	#201
Sandy Hancock Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,275	Good thing you hung on to some of those sweet lenses Steve

07-13-2012, 03:34 AM	#202
frank Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,202	Originally posted by Chex Today I was down at a local Camera Shop and the Pentax Rep for the area came through.. I handled the K-30 with a DA 17-70 on it.. Ergonomically the K-30 is FAR FAR Inferior to the K-5. button placement has been changed and the green button placement is awkward and ridiculous, the camera feels slightly smaller and the grip side seems very squared and made for very little hands. Of course the K-5 has the Fully alloy body, but in hand that is simply a weight difference.. just the feel of the K-5 in hand FAR exceeds the K-30. Hmm, I've played both together for sometime, I don't feel ergonomically K30 is too much inferior to K5. As a matter of fact, The grip on K30 is a bit narrower, but a bit deeper too. it feels more secure due to the 'sticky' rubber used, and the more prominent thumb rest on the back, especially when a bigger lens (like Tamron 70-200/2.8) is mounted. Of course it's just my personal feeling. The back LCD screen looks a lot better on K30 (menu or photos), the 4-way button placement is the same as K-01, so we can't say it's changed. Overall I don't think the ergonomic difference is as FAR as you said here.

07-13-2012, 03:37 AM - 2 Likes	#203
frank Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,202	Originally posted by Anvh K5 has much more buttons and a magnesium body, ... How many more buttons are you talking about?

07-13-2012, 04:00 AM	#204
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Originally posted by Sandy Hancock Good thing you hung on to some of those sweet lenses Steve I couldn't bring myself to buy a D7000. This wasn't planned BTW and I am disappointed to have had to buy anything at all at this time. I expect to be without the D800 for at least 2 weeks... up to 4 I was told.

07-13-2012, 04:57 AM	#205
slackercruster Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: NE, USA Posts: 1,302	I got a K-01. Does not look any better than a K-x, from quick compares of the pix. (monitor viewing, not large print viewing)

07-13-2012, 04:58 AM	#206
slackercruster Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: NE, USA Posts: 1,302	Originally posted by frank How many more buttons are you talking about? I like the K5 look a little better. The K30 has a sharp front to it.

07-13-2012, 05:50 AM	#207
dane.dawg Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,436	Still looking for some info on the k-30s AF speed compared to the K-5s in good light ?

07-13-2012, 10:44 PM	#208
Chex Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: The 'Stoke, British Columbia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,678	Originally posted by bossa I couldn't bring myself to buy a D7000. This wasn't planned BTW and I am disappointed to have had to buy anything at all at this time. I expect to be without the D800 for at least 2 weeks... up to 4 I was told. I need to get a hold of a fast wide lens to check my D800.. but I just checked my ENE-LI 15 battery and I'm very glad mine is not on the recall list.. if mine needs the focus adjustment I be going crazy without it.. I'd be begging to borrow my friends backup D200 on weekends! lol.

07-14-2012, 12:50 AM	#209
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Originally posted by Chex I need to get a hold of a fast wide lens to check my D800.. but I just checked my ENE-LI 15 battery and I'm very glad mine is not on the recall list.. if mine needs the focus adjustment I be going crazy without it.. I'd be begging to borrow my friends backup D200 on weekends! lol. If you're going to read reviews of lenses make sure you read the D7000 reviews as that sensor will hint at the issues for lenses on D800 (unlike the D3x etc). The Photozone review of the 28 1.8G on D3X was a rave but the exact opposite on D7000. Diffraction on small pixels and high density sensors will kill a lens that's not quite there. That's one reason I bought another K-5. The FA31 and FA77 are very nice on that sensor. I'm hoping that any issues with my D800E get sorted before I get it back.

07-14-2012, 08:41 PM - 1 Like	#210
Santoku Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Saskatoon, SK Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 131	Originally posted by Chex Today I was down at a local Camera Shop and the Pentax Rep for the area came through.. I handled the K-30 with a DA 17-70 on it.. Ergonomically the K-30 is FAR FAR Inferior to the K-5. button placement has been changed and the green button placement is awkward and ridiculous, the camera feels slightly smaller and the grip side seems very squared and made for very little hands. Of course the K-5 has the Fully alloy body, but in hand that is simply a weight difference.. just the feel of the K-5 in hand FAR exceeds the K-30. Today I was able to handle both the K-5 and K-30 at a local shop and while I am not as emphatic as Chex, I too found the K-5 to be ergonomically a better fit for my hands. I love the depth of the grip of the K-30 and it's "stick", however it requires pulling my shutter finger "back" towards the shutter, or holding the grip in a more shallow fashion. With the K-5, my shutter finger is naturally on target. Likewise, the rear wheel needs to be manipulated at the first knuckle of my thumb with the K-30, wihle the K-5 falls naturally under the meat of the thumb itself. I also find the placement of the K-30's Green Button and EV adjustment awkward, whereas the K-5's EV and ISO buttons naturally fall under my fingers without fumbling for them. As a K-x owner, one of my bugs is the shared button with Flash and Delete. I can't count the number of times I am quickly trying to delete a photo only to miss-time and flip up the flash instead. The K-30 shares the Delete and LiveView button. I can only imagine I would be initiating LV instead of deleting in similar circumstances. The K-5 has dedicated buttons for many functions, rather than shared functions. Overall, I find the K-5 to be more comfortable and better laid out for my hands. I was able to put my Sigma DC 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 and EX 50-150mm f/2.8 HSM II on both bodies. I snapped off a few handheld RAW shots at the short and long end of each lens, at a few different aperture's with constant shutter and internal NR shut off. The K-30 shoots RAW in DNG and the K-5 was recording in PEF. In my subjective experience, the K-5 tends to under-expose slightly relative to the K-30, and where aperature and shutter were the same, the K-5 at times opted for a higher automatic ISO (take this with a grain of salt). I did find the K-5 IQ to be a bit sharper at higher magnification and the noise to be smoother and more uniform. I also found this with the photos from image-resource, however I was using shake-reduction on both bodies, hand-held. Does the K-5 provide better shake-reduction ? This might account for the "sharper" images according to my pixel peeping. One would need to turn shake reduction off and use a tripod to rule this out, however the general patterns seemed to be the same as i what I have seen online. In terms of autofocus, both bodies were quite quick relative to my K-x. While the K-30 "seemed" to be potentially quicker, I can't objectively establish this to be so. I did like the focus peeking feature of the K-30. The K-30's shutter sound is quieter than then K-x, but louder definately than the K-5. I will look forward to a more professional review from PF that is apparently coming out hopefully next week.