[cbope]

What features are actually less than the K3 for the K-S2?

K-S2 also lacks the better AF and metering systems from the K-3, plus no battery grip accessory.



Despite these, I think Ricoh hit it out of the park with the K-S2. This makes the Canikon competitive offerings look stale in comparison, especially Canon.

[jedie]

Made a collage: K-S1 vs. K-S2:

(Think, K-S2 looks bigger than K-S1 but isn't really bigger...)

[kenspo]

Made a collage: K-S1 vs. K-S2:

(Think, K-S2 looks bigger than K-S1 but isn't really bigger...)

K-S2 isnt a direct upgrade of the K-S1..It suppose to be a step up..Similar, but still different..A bit like Canons 750/760..

*Edit: Bad comparison, but i hope people still get my point.

[Danas_Anis]

The EM-5 II aperture control during recording is a joke though. You have to touch yourself through the menu on the touchscreen to use the touchscreen for aperture control... the dials are disabled.

My bad, not the best composition of sentences. What I meant is that Olympus did recognized the critique of their video mode and dramatically improved it by implementing a far superior codec which if I remember correctly records 50mbs bitrate and is All I-Frame which result in superior video quality which should be almost on par with Lumix GH3 which was praised by filmmakers until GH4 came to the market.

In general I like the controls setup of pentax for video except for two few things like aperture wheel disabled, focus peaking lack while recording, sensor shift shake reduction disabled for video, and while in video mode, the screen could show what you actually get, as of yet Pentax live view adapts to lighting conditions and you don;t really see what you will begin to record until you hit record button. Hopefully some of these were addressed in KS-2 and new DSLRs yet to come from Ricoh Pentax.

Since KS-2 has a mic port, I no longer see a reason to exclude Sensor Shift shake reduction for movie mode, it could be optional feature. Because since we now can connect external mic the noise caused by the Sensor Shift Shake Reduction is no longer an issue. The external mic can be located so it woudln;t capture these sounds. This actually could have been done once K-3 emerged.

Maybe it would be possible to tell Ricoh that if enough people would gather to speak about it.

So my hopes are that in the K-S2 we would find a better video codec than what we have in older models. Hopefully the upcoming FF and maybe K-3 successor could also offer 4K to be in the competition for 2015/2016

[shiner]

Man, this thing is grand! I'm thinking of replacing my two beloved K-01s with a K-S2 already!!

[kadajawi]

Yeah I don't know, for me, I don't use the video feature of the cameras, just trying to understand what they are doing. I'm sure this is a test for them to eventually include of 4K video in the DSLR.

Hm. Pentax doesn't have to test this. At some point the Fujitsu Milbeaut will have 4K support. At that point Pentax will add 4K to their next camera. They won't be developing it themselves, they can't, and they shouldn't. Improved video functionality and quality comes courtesy of Fujitsu and Sony, Pentax' responsibility is to make a good interface and firmware for it, and to make full use of the hardware they have available.

My bad, not the best composition of sentences. What I meant is that Olympus did recognized the critique of their video mode and dramatically improved it by implementing a far superior codec which if I remember correctly records 50mbs bitrate and is All I-Frame which result in superior video quality which should be almost on par with Lumix GH3 which was praised by filmmakers until GH4 came to the market.

In general I like the controls setup of pentax for video except for two few things like aperture wheel disabled, focus peaking lack while recording, sensor shift shake reduction disabled for video, and while in video mode, the screen could show what you actually get, as of yet Pentax live view adapts to lighting conditions and you don;t really see what you will begin to record until you hit record button. Hopefully some of these were addressed in KS-2 and new DSLRs yet to come from Ricoh Pentax.

Since KS-2 has a mic port, I no longer see a reason to exclude Sensor Shift shake reduction for movie mode, it could be optional feature. Because since we now can connect external mic the noise caused by the Sensor Shift Shake Reduction is no longer an issue. The external mic can be located so it woudln;t capture these sounds. This actually could have been done once K-3 emerged.

Maybe it would be possible to tell Ricoh that if enough people would gather to speak about it.

So my hopes are that in the K-S2 we would find a better video codec than what we have in older models. Hopefully the upcoming FF and maybe K-3 successor could also offer 4K to be in the competition for 2015/2016

That is true. They AFAIK handed it to people in Hollywood, and at least one DoP making TV shows, and asked for feedback. Something I wish Pentax would do.


IIRC I-frame is higher bitrate than 50mbps, the 50 mbps is IPB. IMHO IPB has better quality, despite lower bitrates, because it can compress more efficiently. To get All-I down to a certain bitrate you need to throw away more data, because the whole picture needs to be in the file for each frame, rather than just the changes to the last one. Makes All-I much easier to edit though.


I wouldn't be surprised if that disabled focus peaking during recording is because the CPU isn't fast enough. Maybe it does the focus peaking to the original video stream, so if you are recording video you'd be recording it with the focus peaking markings.


Several of the cameras that had sensor shift disabled had a mic in, one of them even a headphone out to monitor the audio! The excuse of noise makes no sense, because what little is there can easily be worked around. And yes, optional feature of course, as it used to be. I have the feeling they are afraid that people would notice the noise in their audio recordings and then think the sound isn't good. It's like when Panasonic made one of the original LX cameras and even the raw photos had some massive lens corrections going on (well, they made Adobe etc. implement in a fixed, non-removable way). If people would see just how much that lens distorts... Hopefully Pentax is looking at Olympus. At the way they market their EM-5 Mk II. How SR is one of the highlights of that camera, and how that is received.


I really don't know what we can do, in the last interview Adam asked them why it was deactivated, and they said noise. It's been deactivated for some 3, 4 years now, so they had enough time of people complaining about it's removal.

[Not a Number]

The announcement on the PF homepage says they're shipping in April? But both B&H and Adorama have them penciled in for the end of the February? Maybe I just don't understand what I'm reading. February seems like huge advance to start asking for pre-orders on a product that ships in April, but... c'est la vie.

The Imaging Resource Hands-on Review says the kits will ship in March (Standard Black, White and Graphite Grey with orange bottom) and the additional colors will ship in April.

Pentax K-S2 Review: Hands-On Preview

[Rafe]

Is the K-S2 sensor identical to that of K-S1?

[jedie]

Is the K-S2 sensor identical to that of K-S1?

IMHO, yes.

And here a side compare:

[kenspo]

I was told, that it wasnt the same sensor..But i was too into drooling over the FF, so maybe i missed something..maybe another pro-level aps-c? haha

[severalsnakes]

The Imaging Resource Hands-on Review says the kits will ship in March (Standard Black, White and Graphite Grey with orange bottom) and the additional colors will ship in April.

Pentax K-S2 Review: Hands-On Preview

Perfect! (Gives me a little more time to bulk up my savings account!) Thanks for posting.

My birthday is in April, and April 25 will be my 2-year anniversary with the K-30. It's all coming together. ;-)

[totsmuyco]

I was told, that it wasnt the same sensor..But i was too into drooling over the FF, so maybe i missed something..maybe another pro-level aps-c? haha

Are you hinting on something? Will it be announced on CP+?

[kenspo]

Are you hinting on something? Will it be announced on CP+?

No, sorry..Not that i know of..Was trying to be funny!

[totsmuyco]

Yes I know. Thanks for lighting up pentaxforums.com.

[JPT]

Japanese retailers show the availability for March 6th.