[pghwarrior23]

Still waiting to see some sample images. Isn't it standard practice to release some sample images from the camera when it is launched? I thought they did this before with the K-7. Definitely did it with the 645. Nikon did it with their launch last week. Where are the images???

[janneman]

Still waiting to see some sample images. Isn't it standard practice to release some sample images from the camera when it is launched? I thought they did this before with the K-7. Definitely did it with the 645. Nikon did it with their launch last week. Where are the images???

Errr, we have conformation of just about anything except for... Does it actually take pictures????

[Unsinkable II]

That's right this camera is up in the 7d and 300ds league not the 7000... the kr is actually more in the 7000 range just like the kx was in the 3100 and5000 range and the km was for 3000 and d60

No matter the K-r's ability, the lack of a second dial firmly places it below the D7000 and in D5000 territory, where hopefully it will do very well indeed.

As for the K-5, if it's aiming at the 7D and D300S, then it's aiming at ghosts. The D7000 effectively killed them at their price points. Nikon's upcoming FF announcement(s?) will in all likelihood cremate their remains. The 7D needs to drop to $1,200 to compete. The D60 to $999. The D300S will at some near point be replaced by something pretty stellar.

Amid all of this, if Pentax get their street pricing right, the K-5 and K-r could really succeed.

[JonPB]

pentaximaging.com lists the K-5 with ISO of 100-6400, expandable to 80-12800. DPReview doesn't list expandable to 80, but the consensus--something that shouldn't be the final answer when it comes to specifications--is with Adam at 100-12800/80-51200.

This doesn't really matter. The camera is what it is, and will be reviewed in production format soon. The sensor will capture what it can, and the software will do with that what it can.

What the spec snafu suggests, though, is a last minute change. Which might say something interesting about Pentax, about the future of Pentax: seems to me that they either panicked and pushed the software in response to competitors, or they made a late decision to pay a premium for select sensors from the manufacturing line that allow for higher sensitivity across the brand. If they start playing me-too, I can't imagine them being successful. But if they're going for a premium product, like they do with lenses, then I'll hoist my next pint in their honor.

As for the lens mount, I'd rather have something designed with some plastic. Good plastic will deform and then return to shape better than most metal, especially magnesium, which doesn't bend readily. A plastic mount might bounce back from a moderate impact where magnesium would sheer off. I don't know the specific point at which the trade-off is optimum, but when I look at the K-5 I think, "they didn't cut any corners with that thing, and so they must have made it like it is for good reasons."

My bottom line: I expect the K-5 will be my next camera. The Pentax ecosystem is what fits my needs best, and this looks to be the nicest camera they've ever made. (The 645D is the most impressive, but even aside from price it isn't what I need.)

[fungiman_md]

Killer feature or not, the K-5 seems like a fine APS-C DSLR, actually one of the best currently availabe and sits nicely as Pentax top offering in this segment.
For me, it shows that I have a sound upgrade path from my K20D (the K-7 was lacking in several aspects) once I decide to upgrade.

Pentax has made a few decisions that looked dubious in the past but now may look much wiser --
* Sticking to the APS-C market and investing in the 645D as their real Pro camera. I was hoping for a Pentax FF, but they have no chance in this market along with the sharks (Canon, Nikon and Sony) and as APS-C sensors are improving vastly - dynamic range and SNR are satisfactory. Want supreme DOF control, resolution and dynamic range? go for the 645D.
* Putting only SD slots in all their cameras even the 645D. It seems now that the SD format is slowly making CF obsolete.

[leeak]

It does look good on paper. I for one won't buy one because it's not full frame, but for those who want a crop sensor it looks pretty good. Both it and the 18-135 are untested so who knows what the actual IQ will be like.

Too bad Nikon has already surpassed the k5 in many ways with the d7000. 39 focus points, 2016 pixel metering, dual card slots, etc. They already had good clean high ISO and fast focus so hopefully Pentax has made some serious improvements in these areas. Things like more focus points and dual slots are things that Pentax needs to step up and include. When shooting 7 frames a second, using SD cards you need 2 of them to keep up, or change the cameras to use faster CF cards instead.

Where are all these naysayers coming from? How can one already judge AF performance, metering, IQ etc on just spec sheets alone? Sure the D7000 has features that K5 doesn't have but the K5 also has SR, 77 weather seals and probably other things that D7000 lacks.

As I am following this thread at work in my office, I can't help but wonder what do you all do for a living that makes you react this way and be so critical of things. Can we at least let the dust settles before making more claims?

[illdefined]

there is definitely something mysterious going on re: K-5's Buffer Size

as DPReview updates their K-5 page (Pentax K-5 Preview: 2. Specifications: Digital Photography Review) they are stating 15 RAW continuous. more importantly, this is also repeated on Pentax's site itself (K-5 - Official PENTAX Imaging Web Site)

EDIT: Pentax's site just CHANGED back to 8. not kidding.

while Imaging Resource (Pentax K-5 Digital Camera - Preview - The Imaging Resource!) and Quesabesde (Pentax K-5: toma de contacto) both *confirm* it's 8 RAW continuos on their preview models, both notably emphasizing it as a "limitation".

is there a selectable 12-bit/14-bit selection (ala Nikon) that affects the buffer, or is Pentax actively changing specs in real-time? is that even possible so close to release?

---

Last edited by illdefined; 09-20-2010 at 10:16 AM.

[Tringle WP]

It doesn't matter how good it is, it's seriously overpriced. It's a dead duck unless they can knock £400 off of the ask.

The UK prices have now been announced - £1700 with the 18-135 lens. A 7D with an 18-135 IS lens costs over £300 less. Who'd even look at it?

[embedded]

I do hope the "Actual Focusing" is as good as Olympus. My K20D is not but then again I have a Katz Eye Screen installed. I also hope the firmware is better than the K20D's because using "motor drive" mode would have a changed exposure per frame. I attribute that to the ARM processor programming. Now the processor will have to be faster so perhaps auto focus and auto exposure will have more cycles for coming to better conclusions. Fortunately the exposure is generally under so detail is preserved and not washed out. (Yes just like Kodachrome......)

Quite frankly the features of the Pentax K-XX series are much better for the price than Canon or Nikon and they are not very Bling but pretty deep and are spoiled by such small feature issues. This is very much like a Mac vs Linux UI discussion. I as a user want the features to "just work".

[fearview]

Guys what is this..? images Electronic Level In-finder display (horizontal only) .. and where is the IR things that we talked about before..?

[embedded]

there is definitely something mysterious going on re: K-5's Buffer Size

as DPReview updates their K-5 page (Pentax K-5 Preview: 2. Specifications: Digital Photography Review) they are stating 15 RAW continuous. more importantly, this is also repeated on Pentax's site itself (K-5 - Official PENTAX Imaging Web Site)

EDIT: Pentax's site just CHANGED back to 8. not kidding.

while Imaging Resource (Pentax K-5 Digital Camera - Preview - The Imaging Resource!) and Quesabesde (Pentax K-5: toma de contacto) both *confirm* it's 8 RAW continuos on their preview models, both notably emphasizing it as a "limitation".

is there a selectable 12-bit/14-bit selection (ala Nikon) that affects the buffer, or is Pentax actively changing specs in real-time? is that even possible so close to release?

You must remember ARM architecture has a 4G architecture limit. Typically you cannot get any more than 1G Ram more typically 512Mbyte ram. So how many images can fit in the left over ram and how fast can it be moved onto the SDHC card? I bet the ad agency or even the software engineers do not know!

[Asahiflex]

The UK prices have now been announced - £1700 with the 18-135 lens. A 7D with an 18-135 VR lens costs over £300 less. Who'd even look at it?

What sort of Frankencamera is that, a Canon 7D with a Nikon VR lens...?

[opiet70]

My two cents:

If the biggest complaint you naysayers can come up with is a typo in the spec sheet I'd say Pentax has done a pretty good job here. It looks to me that Pentax has addressed every perceived shortcoming the K-7 had and produced a camera that can run with the best APS-C cameras from Nikon and Canon.

Combined with a WR 18-135, I don't think the K-5's competitors can touch it. Add some Limited primes and I know they can't.

Pete

Well said. I am anxiously awaiting official tests and pictures - but I am pretty sure there is one in my future. It is a serious upgrade from the K10D

[Kameraten]

...that the very unfortunate button layout of the K-7 on the camera back is retained. This actually nullifies all advances in theoretical AF performance.

[robjmitchell]

Looks like a great camera, If the 18-135WR is any good this will be an absolute hit with outdoor folk, especially considering that other users of other brands think their weather sealing is useless.
Compared to D7000 we get
Full mag body
SR
Dust removal that works
Weather sealing that works
reasonably priced and compact pro lenses
Affordable WR lenses
brilliant set of compact primes at good prices (did anyone see the $1800 nikon 35/1.4G yikes)

Yes the D7000 is a really nice camera, especially next to the cannon 60d, but pentax a significant step up.