[chrism888]

Go for a used Ki or Kii and if you work out its not for you, you'll prob recover most of the outlay

[biz-engineer]

With Pentax, the choice is easy, there is only one current camera model for full frame. K1 II is a no-brainer. The difficulty would be at another level with Sony who have a half dozen of full frame models for sale.

[aaacb]

I like my k1ii. Yes the sensor is about 8 years old but what's there to improve? Newer cameras improve in autofocus and video, i doubt the upgrade would be meaningful given your lenses and I'm expecting it'd cost a lot and take a long time. For me it'd be worth it to buy new or used today, because i like a dslr better and would not want to fiddle with non af adapters to a mirrorless.

[UncleVanya]

Now, I'm tempted to do so in order to get wider shots using existing lenses in close spaces (portraits in interior/studio type photos), and since I have decent set of full frame lenses (FA 31mm ltd, 77mm ltd, 100mm macro, 50mm/1.4, some older FA50, M135, Super Takumar etc)...but does it make sense to get a K1 II at this point? It's been ~four years since the K1 was released... it must be due for an upgrade, right? even an incremental one? The K3-III seems impressive, wondering if that's a better move. Then again, the K-5 has been "good enough" for what I need. Thoughts? Wondering if I should just wait another 6months-year in case a newer K1 is going to be released. Thanks!

While I don’t own the k1 or k1ii I did have one here for a month to try. I found it very good with the primes you mentioned but very bulky with the 24-70 f2.8 which is what turned me off of it. If I’d tried the 28-105 I might have kept the kit. It’s a good camera with well thought out features. And it does liberate the fa 31! The 31 is fine on apsc but really shines on ff.

I strongly suggest if it is possible that you try a k1/k1ii by renting it. Try to get the 28-105 with it if a walk about zoom is something you want, I find the 24-70 f2.8 too bulky and heavy. Since that time my dad has gotten into Sony and to support him I’m shooting Sony also (alongside my Pentax gear). On my Sony A7Riii I use the 24-105 f4 or the kit 28-70 f3.5-5.6 when a walkabout zoom is needed. Dad uses the 24-70 f4 on his A7RII. The high iso performance of the modern full frame sensors (including of course the k1) is rather good and f2.8 zooms aren’t required for the majority of my photos. With your fast primes the 28-105 is a good fit.

As to the future… with chip shortages and production capacity I would anticipate a very expensive launch price for any k1 successor. Modern full frame body prices have skyrocketed to obscene levels. All of my gear is typically used but mint and carefully obtained on deals slowly over time. Even so the stuff is expensive so I understand being reluctant to take the plunge if your gear works well today.

If rental isn’t an option, find a used body to buy and resell if you don’t love it.

[Michaelina2]

Get the K-3 III and don't look back. You know APS-c. You have a lens collection that's oriented to APS-c. The K-3 III will really up your current lens collection's game.

IMHO (I own both) the K-3 III is basically a K-1 Mk II in APS-c format, unchained, on steroids. New is new. There's a (say) 1 year learning curve for both cameras. Since you are going to spend the time and effort anyway, you might as well push the 'new' envelope, eh?

Check out...

MAN BEHIND smc PENTAX ?????: ??????????? Pentax K-3 Mark III ??

I'll be very surprised to learn the K-3 III disappoints.

Cheers and enjoy the season… M.

[texandrews]

Hi all, I've been tempted to upgrade my K-5 to a full frame camera ever since the K1 came out, but never did since I didn't "need" to upgrade as a hobbyist photographer. Now, I'm tempted to do so in order to get wider shots using existing lenses in close spaces (portraits in interior/studio type photos), and since I have decent set of full frame lenses (FA 31mm ltd, 77mm ltd, 100mm macro, 50mm/1.4, some older FA50, M135, Super Takumar etc)...but does it make sense to get a K1 II at this point? It's been ~four years since the K1 was released... it must be due for an upgrade, right? even an incremental one? The K3-III seems impressive, wondering if that's a better move. Then again, the K-5 has been "good enough" for what I need. Thoughts? Wondering if I should just wait another 6months-year in case a newer K1 is going to be released. Couldn't find any rumors about this online... Thanks!

You don't "need" the camera, so let's get that out of the way first thing. You have a decent reason to "want" the camera, though, and so as an owner of one I say you will not be disappointed. It's a terrific camera and will continue to be until it breaks. I've been using my 645Z since 2014 with no end in sight. I anticipate using my K1mkII alongside it for quite a while.

I will be looking hard at the K1mkII's replacement, but mainly on the video side, and because it would be a need, not a want. It is likely to be more expensive, as others have said.

[FozzFoster]

Couldn't find any rumors about this online... Thanks!

here's my opinion:
If you are waiting for a new K-1 'III', it's going to be an expensive piece of kit.
As for an upgrade path, does purchasing an expensive camera line up in that upgrade path?
If not, I would suggest a used K-1 or K-1 II. That would be a beefy upgrade from your K-5 as well.

[DonV]

I would consider a used K1 or K1ii as an alternative, at around $900-1100; especially if I were worried about a future upgrade being something I'd want.

There are two K1s on the trader now, and K1ii have been offered also.

[eles]

You know APS-c

There's a (say) 1 year learning curve for both cameras.

When I switched from APS-C to full frame, I had two lenses, a 28mm and a 55mm, both lenses being old film camera lenses. After switching I think I must have run around for a couple of months commenting to myself (and anyone else who would listen) about how wonderfully wide the field of view was. But as time went on the downsides made their appearance. That 55mm "perfect for portraits at 85mm equivalent field of view" wasn't so good for portraits. Edge aberrations (coma, less than round bokeh, lateral chromatic aberration, etc) that were hidden by the APS-C sensor suddenly were apparent. Vignetting at the edges got worse. Also new full-frame lenses cost more and weigh more, and the camera itself weighs more.

Looking back, would I still switch? Yes, because there are dim light advantages for full-frame cameras, all things being equal. Also I'm considerably more interested in wide angle than telephoto photography. A couple of years ago I tried to photograph some backyard wildlife using a 200mm lens on a full-frame camera, and came away with a bunch of really bad photographs, a huge appreciation of other people's talent and hard work, and the realization that for wildlife photographers APS-C makes total sense.

The K1 is a fantastic camera, in fact was and still is the only camera that ticked all of my check boxes when I shopped for a full frame camera. But it would have been a lot easier if I had gone straight from film camera to full-frame digital without having spent 6 or 7 years using an APS-C camera.

[wadge22]

Given that you want to use older manual lenses, it makes more sense to buy a K-3 III. But I do not own the latest K-3, but reading all the specifications and that it is more suited to manual lenses I guess you must try that one.

That's a pretty good point.
If you often use old lenses without the "A" aperture mode, the newest camera has a much more convenient way to meter those. I would guess we can look forward to that being in the next K1 iteration. That may be another reason to consider waiting, or to consider K3iii instead, as some are suggesting.

[texandrews]

With Pentax, the choice is easy, there is only one current camera model for full frame. K1 II is a no-brainer. The difficulty would be at another level with Sony who have a half dozen of full frame models for sale.

Yes. Sony has really complicated the situation for enthusiasts/amateurs.

[FS1]

I definitely think it would be worth it to add the K1 II - starting for the reasons you mentioned, and for many other reasons given in this thread. I'd personally hang onto the K5 as well for a second (and APS-C focused) body if you can. As many have stated, I also don't think the next iteration of the K1 is 'just around the corner'. In addition to the reasons supplied already, I'll add a few more thoughts...

It would be useful to upgrade to any modern Pentax DSLR from the K5 specifically because:
- In addition to getting faster autofocus speed and additional low-light autofocus opportunities, you'll also get much surer autofocus in some mixed-lighting situations, especially those involving tungsten light.
- You'll lose the AA filter, which will immediately add a degree of sharpness to all your output.

The image stabilization is much improved in recent models, and there are other new options like pixel-shift, additional bracketing options, etc.

And one more thing the K1 II has (that the neither the K5 or K3 III has) is the rear screen that tilts and pivots, which can come in very handy at times.

...since I have decent set of full frame lenses (FA 31mm ltd, 77mm ltd, 100mm macro, 50mm/1.4, some older FA50, M135, Super Takumar etc)...but does it make sense to get a K1 II at this point? It's been ~four years since the K1 was released... it must be due for an upgrade, right? even an incremental one? The K3-III seems impressive, wondering if that's a better move.

_Having worked with PENTAX LX & MX film cameras for 25 years (black & white and reversal film) and also produced b & w prints up to 60 x 40 cm in my own laboratory, I refused to move on to the inferior digital Adobe RGB colour space for 9 years... in 2017 a camera dealer told me on the phone: »All your PENTAX M and A lenses from the 1970s/80s work perfectly on the new professional PENTAX K-1.« He let me try my favourite lenses (SMC M 1.4/50 mm; SMC M 4.5/80-200 mm; SMC-A 4/28~135 mm and others) - and I decided to buy a K-1. After a few months I had learned to operate most of the 3.000 ways the K-1 machine offers to adjust to the colour atmospheres my eyes perceive with truly satisfying results.

_When PENTAX offered the K-1 »Mark II«, I asked Wolfgang Baus (Product Manager & Group Leader Marketing for RICOH IMAGING in Germany, Austria & Switzerland) if he would spent € 500 for (1) ultra high sensivity, (2) »faster« autofocus (a toy which, being a photographer, I don't need at all and hardly ever use), (3) free hand Pixel Shift Resolution. His answer: »No, I wouldn't. But we need to sell as many cameras as possible on the market.« - Now you know the reason for »Mark II«, III, IV et cetera of any camera producer in this excessively capitalistic world.

_A perfectly engineered and extremely well built camera like the K-1 (in this respect: forget Nikon, forget Canon, forget Minolta-Sony and all the rest) needs no »upgrade«. Even in 20 years time any serious photographer will be able to produce thrilling images with it. On 27th Nov 2019, PENTAXs 100th birthday, I was offered a second K-1 body for € 1200 instead of € 1800. Why not try to find a used K-1 in this forum?

_You own very good lenses. Forget APS-C. There's nothing »advanced« and nothing »classic« at all about it - it was / is a huge step backwards in imaging quality, but most amateurs and nowadays even photographers haven't got the eyes any more to perceive this. NEVER K3-III nor any other APS-C model, whatever marketing people might say or print...

_Christmas greetings from Stauferland / Germany with two photographs attached - both taken a few days ago with my 36-year old SMC PENTAX-A 1:4 / 28~135 mm lens... The carline thistle taken with its Macro setting.

[ProfessorBuzz]

Davidphoto, anything you do is going to be a big step up from the K5.
I've bought a lot of "Technology" over the years - and what I've learned is summed up: Buy the best you can that is available *now*
Waiting for a not-yet-in-production item will happen forever - you'll always be second-guessing the future, and you'll never get the benefit of the equipment if you are waiting, and then you get the "Buyer's remorse" of "I shoulda waited for the Pentax K1 Mark MMXCVIII".
Go for it!

You have a great set of lenses, and since you're doing portraits, that 77mm Limited will be a gem on a K1 or K1 Mark II. New camera prices on these are a steal right now, especially when compared to the competition.

[stevebrot]

In regards to easy use of legacy lenses on the K-3III...that is a great feature, but only if one is happy with the crop factor that comes with the deal. If not, the K-1II is a superior solution.

Note: I am not a K-1/K-1II owner, but do shoot 24x36mm format on 35mm film.


Steve