Originally posted by ElJamoquio FWIW, I can't really imagine a substantial improvement in the 'body' of the K-5 (which is a large part of the reason I have a K-5 instead of a d7000).
I agree. The one thing I really like on the D7000 though and would love to see on a Pentax DSLR is a display of the AF configuration on the top LCD. That would be very handy for how I shoot. I wonder if there will be any difference in the top LCD layout of the K-5II, or menu or VF info display for that matter.
I'm pretty lukewarm about these products. I suppose a K-5II or K-5IIs could make a nice second body, especially since the battery and grip will be interchangeable, but the price is going to have to come down fairly fast to be much of a temptation. Sticking with the same body design is actually a plus in my book but I would've really liked to have seen smaller and more AF points, de-crippled mount, along with 30 and 60fps video. I'm curious what differences there will be with customizing the RAW/FX button, the website touts some customization but doesn't specify what exactly. I've always thought that being able to trigger Catch-in Focus with the RAW/FX button would be useful. Getting to have it work as the green button would be great too. I wonder how long until a downloadable manual will be available so we can find out the little differences without having to wait for reviews. Having the spot metering "float" with the selected AF point is another thing I think would be useful. I saw someone on a blog mention a reciprocal shooting mode that could be very cool. I would like to see that feature customizable in the e-dials and green button. I say all this to make the point that there are lots of little things that can be changed, and that can mean a lot, without changing the body. Some small button reconfigurations could be useful/acceptable too but not without their being detractors who prefer the layout to stay exactly the same. Often accidentally activating the LV button has been what's frustrated me the most. Having a dedicated switch, instead of the OK button, for switching between AF point selection and the WB/flash/drive mode/custom image on the four-way controller could possibly be easier to use in practice. That still trips me up from time to time. How about dual, or even triple, AF assist lights? That wouldn't require a body change. I'm afraid that the list of tweaks, both major and minor ones, on this iteration of the K-5 could have been much longer than it is in reality, and hence the fairly widespread disappointment.
I would think that there's room above the K-5II for a higher-end APSC but I'm not certain of that. I'll be waiting to see what materialize on that front, as well as on the FF front, along with hoping that Pentax figures out that they aren't going to sell many lenses or grow their customer base with their moronic maximum assured pricing.