[opsafari]

Why the 16mil pixels and not like Sony a65 and up with 20mil pixels. When i bought my Spotmatic and later MX the standard lens was 50mm f1.4 and they were great. My sun is using the 50mm on his Canon with an adapter to shoot video and he is crazy about the lens! Currently have 2 K20 bodies and I have problems manual focusing and rely on the auto focus, the new K-500 and K- 50 might have better auto focus but only 4mil pixels more than the K20. I will have to wait for an update to more pixels. However, is it important? Friend bought a a65 and o boy "my camera has more pixels than yours" is still echoing!!

[Cynog Ap Brychan]

However, is it important?

No, it's not important, unless you are going to aggressively crop, or produce very large prints. Some of my best photographs were taken with the 12 MP Nikon D3 - they show incredible detail. My 16 MP K-5 has more than enough resolution for me. Just tell your friend "yes, but mine has better pixels than yours!"

[Rondec]

Why the 16mil pixels and not like Sony a65 and up with 20mil pixels. When i bought my Spotmatic and later MX the standard lens was 50mm f1.4 and they were great. My sun is using the 50mm on his Canon with an adapter to shoot video and he is crazy about the lens! Currently have 2 K20 bodies and I have problems manual focusing and rely on the auto focus, the new K-500 and K- 50 might have better auto focus but only 4mil pixels more than the K20. I will have to wait for an update to more pixels. However, is it important? Friend bought a a65 and o boy "my camera has more pixels than yours" is still echoing!!

Are you serious or, are you being facetious? The 16 megapixels sensors match up very well against the sensors in the K20/K7, delivering more resolution, better high iso, and a lot more dynamic range.

If you look at DP Reviews' studio comparison shots, you are hard pressed to see much resolution difference between the K5 IIs and the Nikon D7100 or Sony A65. There are certainly reasons to buy those cameras, but more megapixels is a pretty poor one in my opinion.

[Fogel70]

This is not universally applicable.

That the K500 will be delivered with AA batteries is the case in England, whereas in Germany it will be delivered with rechargable battery.

PENTAX K-500 - Starke Performance, starker Preis - PENTAX RICOH IMAGING DEUTSCHLAND GmbH

That is interesting, and also that Pentax.de has a MSRP of €499 on the K-500 with kit lens, which is €100 lower that indicated in press release from Pentax. K-50 kit is also €100 lower MSRP.

Edit: Now I can't even find the press release with €-prices anymore, so maybe it was some error. And I guess that euro price would be a bit lower than USD.

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Last edited by Fogel70; 06-14-2013 at 04:52 AM.

[mee]

I'm joining this conversation way late, but...

I actually think the k-500 is a great idea. It may very well have the best image quality among actual entry-level cameras. it should definitely have the best viewfinder, and maybe the best controls. it could be the best entry-level on the market.

I see this as the biggest positive (for Pentax) to these as release announcements.. this means (especially if Pentax gets floor space) more novices picking up Pentax cameras.. which hopefully means a larger userbase that could possibly build (slowly) over time.

Targeting the lower end is the best thing for Pentax... regardless of the mouths on PF screaming for FF or flagship products (which,yes, are useful to the company too). There is always a fresh supply of novice users.

The other thing this does is makes production cheaper by using more of the same parts between camera bodies... they can drop the price lower and compete more with the established market. Win-Win for both Pentax and Pentax users. :c )

[Fogel70]

The other thing this does is makes production cheaper by using more of the same parts between camera bodies... they can drop the price lower and compete more with the established market. Win-Win for both Pentax and Pentax users. :c )

It will probably only be K-500 that they cut price on for competing with price on other entry level cameras. On K-50 they will probably be able to keep up the price longer than they did on K-30. But that is a good thing IMO, as it make more profit for Pentax, and K-50 has many advantages over other cameras it competes with.

[Docrwm]

It will probably only be K-500 that they cut price on for competing with price on other entry level cameras. On K-50 they will probably be able to keep up the price longer than they did on K-30. But that is a good thing IMO, as it make more profit for Pentax, and K-50 has many advantages over other cameras it competes with.

That is one of the advantages of having multiple layers of cameras - maintaining more price stability in the higher end cameras and only playing the value sales game, primarily, with the entry-level camera (and of course at the end of life-cycle for each).

Pentax now has almost an entirely new lineup of camera bodies
MX1 - Q7 - K500 - K50 - K5II/IIs

The Q10 and K30 are listed as still in production/not discontinued. Given that the Q7 has better specs and there is nothing I can see that the Q10 does better (other than offer a 5.5 crop factor) and the Q7 is priced lower the Q10 is probably not going to last as a viable option, but we shall see. The K30 has style on its side but the ISO performance of the K50 is better. If they are gearing up for production of a new High-End prosumer or FF body too (not to mention the 645DII) then the K30 may only last as long as available stock already on hand.

[miroshi]

Well new cameras are here. Now if I have to choose between k-50 and k-5IIs which to buy? Is there some compare?

[IchabodCrane]

That is one of the advantages of having multiple layers of cameras - maintaining more price stability in the higher end cameras and only playing the value sales game, primarily, with the entry-level camera (and of course at the end of life-cycle for each).

Pentax now has almost an entirely new lineup of camera bodies
MX1 - Q7 - K500 - K50 - K5II/IIs

The Q10 and K30 are listed as still in production/not discontinued. Given that the Q7 has better specs and there is nothing I can see that the Q10 does better (other than offer a 5.5 crop factor) and the Q7 is priced lower the Q10 is probably not going to last as a viable option, but we shall see. The K30 has style on its side but the ISO performance of the K50 is better. If they are gearing up for production of a new High-End prosumer or FF body too (not to mention the 645DII) then the K30 may only last as long as available stock already on hand.

May I ask where it's stated the Q10 and K-30 are still in production?

[cali92rs]

Well new cameras are here. Now if I have to choose between k-50 and k-5IIs which to buy? Is there some compare?

Pros:

Price - K50
14Bit output - K5iis
Weight - K50
Mag Body - K5iis
Colors - K50
Focus Peaking - K50
Potential Image Sharpness - K5iis
Top LCD - K5iis
Top Shutter Speed (1/8000s) - K5iis


It really is a tough decision...depends on what you find important.
If you have lenses, and the money, I would go with the K-5iis.
If you have a lot of manual focus lenses, focus peaking really comes in handy, so you may want to go with the K-50.
If you have no lenses, I would get the cheaper camera and get a lens or two.

[ogl]

Pros:

Price - K50
14Bit output - K5iis
Weight - K50
Mag Body - K5iis
Colors - K50
Focus Peaking - K50
Potential Image Sharpness - K5iis
Top LCD - K5iis
Top Shutter Speed (1/8000s) - K5iis
.

K-5 - Better dust removal system, much better.
Focus Peaking is the simplest version of focus peaking between another brands. It works, but it could work better.

[cali92rs]

K-5 - Better dust removal system, much better.
Focus Peaking is the simplest version of focus peaking between another brands. It works, but it could work better.

Better dust removal? I havent heard that...the sensor shakes faster?

Regarding focus peaking, maybe, but he identified 2 choices, he didnt ask about other systems. If you open it up to different systems, then you can write pages on the pros and cons.

[Kunzite]

The K-5 family uses an "ultrasonic" dust reduction system, instead of the old SR-based one.

Just borrow the cameras for an hour or so; there are differences beyond what a quick glance at a spec list could reveal. It only takes one single frame with each camera to get started

[RonakG]

I see this as the biggest positive (for Pentax) to these as release announcements.. this means (especially if Pentax gets floor space) more novices picking up Pentax cameras.. which hopefully means a larger userbase that could possibly build (slowly) over time.

Getting floor space is the biggest challenge for Pentax. This announcement is a step in right direction but far from done.

I managed to convince this guy on another forum to consider Pentax K-30 with the Nikon's he was interested in.

Thank you for all the help. I spent a few hours last night reading reviews of the various cameras. The consensus seems to be that the Pentax K-30 and Nikon 5200 have the best low light capabilities of the cameras in my price range. The Nikon 3200 was not as good as the K-30 and the Sony A57 and A58 both seem inferior in low light capabilities. So I am definitely going to go with either the K-30 or 5200.

Few hours later -

Just to follow up, I ended up at a best buy and they did not have the Pentax K-30 but they did have the 5200 as I expected they would. I bought the 5200, a camera case, and a 32gig memory card.

Sigh...

[Docrwm]

May I ask where it's stated the Q10 and K-30 are still in production?

I said " production/not discontinued." and you can find lists of discontinued on the Pentax official websites. As for production, Pentax has said that the Q10 will stay in the lineup on their overview of the Q7 on their websites.