[newmikey]

Now that I've had the camera for a couple of months and am nearing 3K shots with it under a huge variety of circumstances, here are my disappointments (very few) and thrills (enough to adore the beast)

Disappointments:
-Not really specifically K-70 but more in general, pixel-shift. I had expected a great deal of it but after having experimented in a number of different circumstances, the difference is not worth it for me. Less noise? A bit, yes. More detail? Almost imperceptibly so, yes. Nothing orgasmic though.
-Battery-life: not really a disappointment as I was pre-warned. Nothing a couple of spares cannot handle but still...
-LCD screen (and yes, you'll see it under thrills as well): less useful than I had initially expected and a bit hard to see in bright sunlight - no biggie though

Thrills
-Form factor: really good grip even without a grip if you'll pardon the pun
-LCD screen: the way in which it is articulated actually helps with portrait-oriented shots as well as with low (close to ground) and high(overhead or straight up super-wideangle shots) shooting. One of the many reasons I chose the K-70 over the KP
-High-ISO performance. Whole new world for me. I regularly used up to ISO3200 on the K-5 IIs with individual exposures up to ISO6400. With the K-70 ISO8000 is my new "acceptable standard" and is still reasonably clean after a bit of work now and I've spiked to ISO12800 at times. Noise cleans up in post pretty darned well too (NeatImage or DarkTable)
-Long timed exposures up to 20 minutes in B(ulb) mode: I was worried at first I couldn't use my remote timer due to the different remote connector on the K-70 but this covers all of my requirements. It was a bit hard to locate at first but now that I found it (press green button on top and set exposure time) it works absolutely brilliant for long, timed exposures with an ND1000 and ND64 filter
-Image quality: a highlight for me, the camera just delivers it in bucketloads
-Instant settings menu screen: this one really surprised me as it is really useful both with- or without liveview. It softened the loss of a few hardware knobs and dials coming from the K-5 IIs

All in all, I'm a very happy camper! Oh, and did I ever mention my skepticism about non-fixed aperture zooms? No longer applicable since I got the 16-85mm, super versatile range as well as excellent sharpness - my new best friend - and it has 72mm filterthread which means it takes all of my Haida's.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I've been using and enjoying my K-30 since 2012, but I'm having a hard time deciding between the K-70 and the KP.

The KP is nice, but I wish it had a deeper buffer. If it did, my decision would be much easier. It seems like maybe my money would be better spent on the K-70 since it seems to have image quality pretty dang close to that of the KP.

[Adam]

-LCD screen (and yes, you'll see it under thrills as well): less useful than I had initially expected and a bit hard to see in bright sunlight - no biggie though

Doesn't the K-70 have the outdoor view setting? This lets you greatly brighten the screen during the day, or darken it at night, to make it easy to see. You can map this option to the raw/Fx1 button for easy adjustment.

I regularly make use of the +1 setting (+2 is too bright in most cases), and I enable the histogram in playback mode since you can't judge the expose as well when the whole image is brightened.

The KP is nice, but I wish it had a deeper buffer. If it did, my decision would be much easier. It seems like maybe my money would be better spent on the K-70 since it seems to have image quality pretty dang close to that of the KP.

The K-70 essentially delivers the same image quality, just doesn't offer as high of a top ISO. With the current difference in price, I'd probably go for the K-70 as it is a better value, and IMO the grip is more comfortable. Later on, you'd then be able to upgrade to whatever replaces the K-3 II, which should have a big buffer.

[newmikey]

I think the camera store is the wrong place to find the kind of product you are looking for...

[DrawsACircle]

It is possible to adjust the screen brightness - I have assigned the Raw/Fx1 button as mentioned by Adam, works fine :-)

[Murfy]

thank you, my K-3 needs repair and trying to decide to repair t or just spend a few hundred more and buy a k-70. Lower ISO is so tempting. The LCD screen looks nice. I think this review may sway me towards the k-70. I know it's a downgrade from K-3, but for my needs, it seems fine.

[NS_Sailor]

I like newmikey have had my K70 for about 3 months and have done a lot of experimenting with it. A great step up from the K500
I like the idea of being able to control the camera via Wifi with my Smart phone. Great option when you happen to have to be in a group shot and want to control the camera too
I do miss not having wireless control my AF-360 Flash from the camera as I could with my Kr & K500

[reh321]

The K-70 essentially delivers the same image quality, just doesn't offer as high of a top ISO. With the current difference in price, I'd probably go for the K-70 as it is a better value, and IMO the grip is more comfortable. Later on, you'd then be able to upgrade to whatever replaces the K-3 II, which should have a big buffer.

I was seriously thinking of purchasing a K-70 to replace my K-30 {purchased used-like-new just 27 months ago} before my K-30 has aperture-control issues, and then I saw the following this morning

Well, don't forget, the green solenoid sits also in the K500, K-S1, K-S2 and K70.
We have the first K70's failing in Germany! One person I know personally, but the choice was repair on warranty, which I understand. I even had offered to repair it for free because I could then present photos.

This sort of consideration upsets decision making. I am not anti-Pentax - in fact, I have generally been supportive of Pentax, because I believe the aperture-control issue is probably much less common than one would believe from the K-30 & K-50 Forum - but right now I barely have the funds to purchase a K-70. In choosing between K-01 and K-30, I chose K-30 because of viewfinder issues ... and because I was unaware of the aperture-control issue. Now, I may just sit on the market sidelines - taking pictures with what I have but not spending any money - until I have a clearer view of what is going on in Pentaxville.

[Adam]

I was seriously thinking of purchasing a K-70 to replace my K-30 {purchased used-like-new just 27 months ago} before my K-30 has aperture-control issues, and then I saw the following this morning This sort of consideration upsets decision making. I am not anti-Pentax - in fact, I have generally been supportive of Pentax, because I believe the aperture-control issue is probably much less common than one would believe from the K-30 & K-50 Forum - but right now I barely have the funds to purchase a K-70. In choosing between K-01 and K-30, I chose K-30 because of viewfinder issues ... and because I was unaware of the aperture-control issue. Now, I may just sit on the market sidelines - taking pictures with what I have but not spending any money - until I have a clearer view of what is going on in Pentaxville.

Not sure if you can rely on this information- failure rates among the K-S1, K-S2, and K-70 are virtually unheard of alongside all of the K-50 incidents. This was supported by a survey we recently did.

If you have your heart set on the K-70, go for it, maybe wait a few months to see if you can get a deal, and opt for a 3 or 5-year third-party warranty to supplement the manufacturer's.

[reh321]

Not sure if you can rely on this information- failure rates among the K-S1, K-S2, and K-70 are virtually unheard of alongside all of the K-50 incidents. This was supported by a survey we recently did.

If you have your heart set on the K-70, go for it, maybe wait a few months to see if you can get a deal, and opt for a 3 or 5-year third-party warranty to supplement the manufacturer's.

Thank you for a reasonable answer. My K-30 is still working, afterall, so I don't have to do anything this afternoon.