DPReview: Pentax K-70 added to studio test scene

**EssJayEff** · 08-24-2016, 04:19 PM - **1 Like**

DPReview Studio Test Scene for the K-70 posted on 8/24/2016.

Imp · 08-24-2016, 05:34 PM

Looks great! This is a compressed screen capture, so only use it for comparative evaluation!

JPT · 08-24-2016, 10:02 PM

The RAW looks fine, but what's amazing is the amount of detail in the JPEGs. Try JPEGs at ISO 25,600 compared to some more expensive 24mp cameras, for example the D750, K-3 ii (switch it normal for a fair comparison) and the Fuji XT2.

**Kevin B123** · 08-25-2016, 02:03 AM

That is an impressive comparison tool, I have not seen it before. Using PS on a tripod, you would go for low ISO anyway. I loaded up the K-50, K-70, K3II and K1 for comparison. On the test chart parts the K-50 is no disgrace, it's only on materials like the hair and hair band sample or the bottle labels that the PS samples really stand out with lots more detail. Then again, I do not have a huge calibrated screen to view them on. If printing large it will certainly show.

quh86 · 08-25-2016, 02:42 AM

very interesting indeed, it seems their goal with the K-70 was to reduce false color noise and they surely achieved that!
at ISO 6400 and 12800 raw color noise in the K-70 is much better handled than with the K-3II and even the K-50 which shares the same sensor with the K-5. Below ISO 3200 the difference is still there but becomes less of an issue.
Still shooting a K-5, i cant help but wonder if there happened something in the algorithm, im never feeling comfortable to go above ISO 1600, as my pictures turn out very blotchy, with lots of wrong color noise, etc.. but here it even seems viable to go as high as ISO 6400 without any major issues...
from what i gathered here on the forums the K-5 is supposed to better the K3 series in low light, but to me it seems the 24mp sensor just gives and edge in detail retention, albeit with slight higher luminance noise per pixel (color noise seems to be becoming a nonissue with the k70 now

), but since pixels are smaller anyways it doesnt seem to matter so much. Is this correct?

The Squirrel Mafia · 08-25-2016, 07:53 AM

Originally posted by quh86

very interesting indeed, it seems their goal with the K-70 was to reduce false color noise and they surely achieved that!
at ISO 6400 and 12800 raw color noise in the K-70 is much better handled than with the K-3II and even the K-50 which shares the same sensor with the K-5. Below ISO 3200 the difference is still there but becomes less of an issue.

Indeed! Pentax really worked on getting rid of the false coloring at high ISO with the K-70. You start to notice the difference at ISO 6400 & it pulls ahead at ISO 12800 from the rest of the recent Pentax APS-C cameras.

I tested some K-50 & K-70 ISO 12800 RAW samples from Imaging-Resource in RawTherapee. Right off the bat the false coloring is almost non-existant in the K-70 sample. After exporting them & even reducing the K-70's jpeg to match the 4928x3264 jpeg size of the K-50, the K-70 retains far more detail with almost no false coloring at all.

If I had the K-70, I'd set the auto ISO from 100 to 25600 & shoot without worries. It's that good. I have the auto ISO on my K-50 set from 100 to 12800, but I really try not to go past ISO 6400. Everything past ISO 6400 on my K-50 gets turned into a black & white image when I post process. I'd be doing that for images past ISO 12800 on the K-70.

6BQ5 · 08-25-2016, 02:45 PM

I think it's interesting that the K-70 is priced lower than the K-3 II yet provides IQ similar to a K-1. Here's what I loaded into the Studio Tool.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/image-comparison?attr18=lowlight&attr13_0=p...77070257338375

Do we have another classic sensor on our hands like we had with the K-5/30/50/500?

gelokrol · 08-25-2016, 11:42 PM

Damn this look GREAT!!
I just compared some of the cameras my friends use, even the professionals, and I can see that K-70 is great step forward!
The low light IQ is a lot better than K-3, it is even comparable to K-1 and EOS 6D - it is worse but still comparable!!

So.. we can guess that K-3II successor will be beased on this sensor, right? Now the question is will it be worth to buy it over K-70 which is so much cheper than most of the competition?

**Rondec** · 08-26-2016, 02:50 AM

Originally posted by 6BQ5

I think it's interesting that the K-70 is priced lower than the K-3 II yet provides IQ similar to a K-1. Here's what I loaded into the Studio Tool.

Studio shot comparison: Digital Photography Review

Do we have another classic sensor on our hands like we had with the K-5/30/50/500?

I don't think it is quite that good. Part of the issue with these sorts of tools is that a 36 megapixel full frame sensor will be viewed at higher resolution than a 24 megapixel sensor. I imagine if you resize the K-1 images you will find that it does look better when printed/viewed at the same size as the K70. The K-1 has similar pixel level noise to a K5, but it has more than twice as many pixels, which ends up making final prints cleaner.

I think the other thing to remember with high iso situations is that the biggest issues usually don't surround noise, but dynamic range. You can fix noise, but if your dynamic range is really bad, the only thing you can do is resort to black and white and even those don't look great.

That said, I am impressed with the images I have seen from the K70 so far and definitely looks like it has progressed from where the K3 was at with regard to noise and high iso shooting ability.

08-24-2016, 04:19 PM - 1 Like	#1
EssJayEff Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: near Saxapahaw, NC Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 969	DPReview: Pentax K-70 added to studio test scene DPReview Studio Test Scene for the K-70 posted on 8/24/2016.

08-24-2016, 05:34 PM	#2
Imp Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Washington, DC Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,749	Looks great! This is a compressed screen capture, so only use it for comparative evaluation! Attached Images

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Dpreview K-70 Real-World Samples	Imp	Pentax K-70 & KF	21	12-30-2020 12:53 AM
Why is K3II worse than Nikon D7200 on Studio scene	Shanti	Pentax K-3 & K-3 II	35	09-08-2015 05:02 AM
PENTAX K-3 II now in dpr's studio test scene comparison tool!	ogunturkay	Pentax K-3 & K-3 II	17	07-20-2015 10:13 AM
Flickr hasn't added k-3 to camera database yet	D1N0	Pentax K-3 & K-3 II	6	10-19-2014 04:51 PM
Petition (vote) for DPReview to REDO their test w/optimized JPG cnfg like othr DSLRs?	m8o	Pentax DSLR Discussion	21	11-27-2007 04:34 PM

08-24-2016, 10:02 PM	#3
JPT Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Tokyo Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,821	The RAW looks fine, but what's amazing is the amount of detail in the JPEGs. Try JPEGs at ISO 25,600 compared to some more expensive 24mp cameras, for example the D750, K-3 ii (switch it normal for a fair comparison) and the Fuji XT2.

08-25-2016, 02:03 AM	#4
Kevin B123 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Hampshire Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,176	That is an impressive comparison tool, I have not seen it before. Using PS on a tripod, you would go for low ISO anyway. I loaded up the K-50, K-70, K3II and K1 for comparison. On the test chart parts the K-50 is no disgrace, it's only on materials like the hair and hair band sample or the bottle labels that the PS samples really stand out with lots more detail. Then again, I do not have a huge calibrated screen to view them on. If printing large it will certainly show.

08-25-2016, 02:42 AM	#5
quh86 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 157	very interesting indeed, it seems their goal with the K-70 was to reduce false color noise and they surely achieved that! at ISO 6400 and 12800 raw color noise in the K-70 is much better handled than with the K-3II and even the K-50 which shares the same sensor with the K-5. Below ISO 3200 the difference is still there but becomes less of an issue. Still shooting a K-5, i cant help but wonder if there happened something in the algorithm, im never feeling comfortable to go above ISO 1600, as my pictures turn out very blotchy, with lots of wrong color noise, etc.. but here it even seems viable to go as high as ISO 6400 without any major issues... from what i gathered here on the forums the K-5 is supposed to better the K3 series in low light, but to me it seems the 24mp sensor just gives and edge in detail retention, albeit with slight higher luminance noise per pixel (color noise seems to be becoming a nonissue with the k70 now ), but since pixels are smaller anyways it doesnt seem to matter so much. Is this correct?

08-25-2016, 07:53 AM	#6
The Squirrel Mafia Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 3,054	Originally posted by quh86 very interesting indeed, it seems their goal with the K-70 was to reduce false color noise and they surely achieved that! at ISO 6400 and 12800 raw color noise in the K-70 is much better handled than with the K-3II and even the K-50 which shares the same sensor with the K-5. Below ISO 3200 the difference is still there but becomes less of an issue. Indeed! Pentax really worked on getting rid of the false coloring at high ISO with the K-70. You start to notice the difference at ISO 6400 & it pulls ahead at ISO 12800 from the rest of the recent Pentax APS-C cameras. I tested some K-50 & K-70 ISO 12800 RAW samples from Imaging-Resource in RawTherapee. Right off the bat the false coloring is almost non-existant in the K-70 sample. After exporting them & even reducing the K-70's jpeg to match the 4928x3264 jpeg size of the K-50, the K-70 retains far more detail with almost no false coloring at all. If I had the K-70, I'd set the auto ISO from 100 to 25600 & shoot without worries. It's that good. I have the auto ISO on my K-50 set from 100 to 12800, but I really try not to go past ISO 6400. Everything past ISO 6400 on my K-50 gets turned into a black & white image when I post process. I'd be doing that for images past ISO 12800 on the K-70.

08-25-2016, 02:45 PM	#7
6BQ5 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Nevada, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,348	I think it's interesting that the K-70 is priced lower than the K-3 II yet provides IQ similar to a K-1. Here's what I loaded into the Studio Tool. https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/image-comparison?attr18=lowlight&attr13_0=p...77070257338375 Do we have another classic sensor on our hands like we had with the K-5/30/50/500?

08-25-2016, 11:42 PM	#8
gelokrol Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Poland, Świdnik Photos: Gallery Posts: 464	Damn this look GREAT!! I just compared some of the cameras my friends use, even the professionals, and I can see that K-70 is great step forward! The low light IQ is a lot better than K-3, it is even comparable to K-1 and EOS 6D - it is worse but still comparable!! So.. we can guess that K-3II successor will be beased on this sensor, right? Now the question is will it be worth to buy it over K-70 which is so much cheper than most of the competition?

08-26-2016, 02:50 AM	#9
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,653	Originally posted by 6BQ5 I think it's interesting that the K-70 is priced lower than the K-3 II yet provides IQ similar to a K-1. Here's what I loaded into the Studio Tool. Studio shot comparison: Digital Photography Review Do we have another classic sensor on our hands like we had with the K-5/30/50/500? I don't think it is quite that good. Part of the issue with these sorts of tools is that a 36 megapixel full frame sensor will be viewed at higher resolution than a 24 megapixel sensor. I imagine if you resize the K-1 images you will find that it does look better when printed/viewed at the same size as the K70. The K-1 has similar pixel level noise to a K5, but it has more than twice as many pixels, which ends up making final prints cleaner. I think the other thing to remember with high iso situations is that the biggest issues usually don't surround noise, but dynamic range. You can fix noise, but if your dynamic range is really bad, the only thing you can do is resort to black and white and even those don't look great. That said, I am impressed with the images I have seen from the K70 so far and definitely looks like it has progressed from where the K3 was at with regard to noise and high iso shooting ability.