[LBo]

Hi everyone and greetings from central Missouri...

I've been researching the new K-5 II and IIs models on the Pentax forums for a few weeks now, so I thought I'd finally say hello and introduce myself. After 6 years with my trusty K10D, I'm finally ready to step up to something with a little more resolution and, more importantly, much better low-light performance. I'm still on the fence as to whether I should go the II or IIs route, or even pick up the original K-5 for that matter. Decisions, decisions, decisions... However, since this is just the introduce yourself forum, I suppose the best thing to do is save the bulk of my upgrade fever ramblings for the K-5 forum.

A little bit more about me... I've had a passion for photography ever since high school when my mom gave me her Minolta X-570 (I guess she finally grew tired of me borrowing it all the time, haha). I love and appreciate all various forms of photography, but I think landscape and macro photography is what initially sparked my interest. Recently I've been having a go at low-light and night photography as well as HDR photography. HDR photography in particular has been a lot of fun, but I still have a lot of learning to do on the post-processing side... I really want to get good at producing realistic, tone-mapped images.

I guess that's about it for now. I'm looking forward to getting to know some fellow Pentaxians around here.

Cheers,
Lee

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[LBo]

By the way, the EXIF focal length data on the first image is incorrect... It was actually shot with a manual focus, 85mm prime. (Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 to be precise... a fantastic lens for the price IMO.)

[TER-OR]

Welcome aboard. I learned on my Dad's all-manual Minolta back in High School in the early 80s myself. I moved from the K10 to K5 last year, and it's been a boon to my photography mojo - it is a big increase in capability. You won't go wrong with any of the flavors, of course the K5 Classic is least expensive.

I'd like to have the K5 IIs, myself, for macro detail. Next model, maybe, I can't justify a switch from the K5 right now.

[LBo]

Thanks TER-OR, nice to meet you.

So regarding stepping up from the K10 to K-5, was there a noticeable improvement in autofocus over the K10? From everything I've read so far, the latest K5 II and IIs models offer a pretty significant improvement in low-light AF over the original K-5. Can the same be said about going from a K10/K20 to the K-5?

If the K-5 is the same type of major improvement over the K10 in terms of AF and low-light capability, then I may just save some $$ and do that instead of purchasing a newer K-5 II / IIs model. I suppose ignorance would be bliss in that case, so long as I don't accidentally wander into a camera store and ask to play with the latest and greatest. Haha. Other than the AA-filterless design for the IIs and the improved low-light AF accuracy, there doesn't seem to be a lot of other compelling reasons to get a K-5 II or IIs.

[LBo]

Hmm... I see a used K-5 at Adorama for $699. It's been given a "D" rating which I guess would be the equivalent of a "9+" or "10" rating by B&H (little / no signs of wear). I also found a used K-5 (rated a 10) for $760 at B&H. The Adorama listing says it includes battery, charger, manual, and box, but the B&H listing just says "box". I may have to make a few phone calls tomorrow... :-)

[TER-OR]

Yes, the K-5 is a massive improvement all-around. The Autofocus is quicker and reliable as long as you know the focus points are big. I keep mine in center-focus pretty much exclusively and just watch for where it selects before I snap the shutter. It's better in low-light, but these cameras do need light to focus - there's no radar or lasers! The only thing I miss on my K-10 is the dedicated shake-reduction switch. Really, though, that's not much of a problem, if I mount on a tripod it's usually in a situation I'm using the timer.

The one big thing I noticed on this upgrade to K-5 was that the Tamron 70-300 zoom which served me very well on the K-10 was terrible on the K-5. That lens still focused extremely well, but purple fringing was much worse on the K-5 - it made me buy a used DA 55-300. Everything else performs as well or better.

I would think a used K-5 around $700 would be hard to resist. I waited for the first price drop on the K-5, it expensive but I get a helluva lot of use out of it. I have a sling-type strap which hooks into the tripod mount and can slide - so the camera hangs at my hip and I can just swing it up and not worry about it falling off my shoulder. I tend to take it more often than not when out walking dogs at times of year when there are interesting critters around. For these excursions, I usually have the 18-135 attached - which I bought this year (also used) because I felt I needed at least one weather-sealed lens. We have been caught in the rain a couple of times and I don't worry about this lens.