[wolfdog]

I am looking to move up to a KD20 or the K 7. Have a ist Ds. Shoot landscape ,wildlife, the grand kids, brids,about anything that looks like it needs a picture taken.
What do you think about the two cameras.

Thanks for any help.

[Adam]

Why not get a current camera such as the K-30 (used it will be close to the price of the K-7)? Even better image quality than the other two!

[VisualDarkness]

I would say that for the small extra cost for the K-5 instead of a K-7 you get a way more versatile camera when it comes to image quality in the same casing. K-7 is decent as long as you stay out of higher ISO but you feel much less restricted with a K-5.

[Docrwm]

Those are going for $350-450 used. The K-30 is a better camera in a lot of ways, especially if you want focus peaking (which is great for manual focus lenses). BNIB from an AD they are going for $500ish these days.

[SteveM]

I found the K5 to be a huge step-up from my K-7 and the price has been dropping since the K5II and K5IIs were released. The K30 is a great camera but after also having a K-m / K-x / K-r for my wife, I find it's worth spending the extra $100 or so for the higher end camera.

[Al_Kahollick]

I am looking to move up to a KD20 or the K 7. Have a ist Ds. Shoot landscape ,wildlife, the grand kids, brids,about anything that looks like it needs a picture taken.
What do you think about the two cameras.

Thanks for any help.

I've never used a K7, but I don't think you could go wrong with either. If you want to shoot video you'll need the K7, if you're only interested in still photos, go for the K20, it's a fine camera and probably can be found for less $$$. be forewarned though, it is a bit larger and heavier than the *ist family.

[sergysergy]

K5 are getting ridiculously cheap...I would get a 2nd hand one.

[SpartanD63]

As others have said, if you're considering a K7, go with the K5 or the K-30. You can't lose with them. (They're both great cameras)

[Kerrowdown]

You can afford to spend a bit more on your camera, because all your existing lenses will still fit, so your actually saving money not spending it.

[Just1MoreDave]

Between the K20D and the K-7, I chose the K-7. The K-7 introduced the current chassis, viewfinder, shutter, 77 segment metering, rear LCD and button layout that Pentax used for the K-5, K-5II, K-5IIs and I think K-30. It's magnesium alloy, really great for comparing with your brother-in-law's consumer-grade Canon. It's a lot smaller and lighter than the K20D, but not quite as small or light as the *ist DS. The K-7 sensor is slightly different than the K20D, modified to make video and live view work, just slightly worse at high ISO noise. I like the size, LCD, metering and live view advantages. I never use the video, burst mode or other differences. It is a worthwhile upgrade over the *ist DS.

The unofficial forum rule is to take what you're willing to spend and add 20%. If you can do that, the K-5 takes all the great stuff from the K-7 and adds a great sensor. When the K20D and K-7 were new, the biggest complaint was that the Samsung sensor was not great at high ISOs. It was worse than the lower-tier models like the K-x and K-r. Some people bought K-x or K-r models as second cameras just for that high-ISO performance. The K-5 sensor is even better at high ISO settings than the K-x and K-r. That kind of range is really useful for some shots. There are some other upgrades between K-7 and K-5: newer AF system, higher burst mode, better video, more USER modes - but the ISO difference really dwarfs those. It is really worth the cost difference, especially at used prices.

The K-30 is a great midrange model with the huge advantage that you can get it new. You have to look really hard for the few features left off the K-5 series to make it midrange. The really important stuff is there: sensor, viewfinder, two dials, etc. The K-5/K-30 decision is a really hard choice to make.

[Ken T]

I would go with K30

[wolfdog]

Thanks everyone for your input.Gives me somethings to think about before I do anything,Thanks Mike

[ripit]

I have recently upgraded from and ist-ds to a k-01 (same sensor as the k-30). The high iso performance (how well it will work in low light, how clean high iso images look) is worlds better. I haven't had the camera long but I don't think I would object to using the new camera at iso 6400 (I have even started playing with higher iso's), where on the ist-ds I didn't really even like using iso 800. The images are better all around.

It would seem the k-30 performs much better in low light than the 2 you are looking at (which can be very beneficial even in normal room light, especially if you don't have a bunch of fast glass). If that matters to you, its a big + for the k-30.

DxOMark - Compare cameras side by side

If money is tight, you might want to consider the k-01 with 40mm kit lens as they are dirt cheap (if you can still get one). Do be aware that there are some significant shortcoming of the k-01 (to me at least) but I still think it was worth the money (especially since I got a $250 and the camera for $360). Pictures look great in low light even at high iso, but its not that great at auto focusing in low light (it will sometimes fail to focus at all). The ist-ds is a little better overall in its ability to lock focus in low light and its a rather old model camera. Of course you can manual focus but it has no focus conformation. It does have focus peaking and focus zoom which helps but I would rather have focus conformation. Under good conditions, it seems to focus faster than the ist-ds despite having to go back and forth, but in less than ideal conditions, its much slower. I think it was defiantly worth the money though a k-30 would have been nicer if I could afford it. I don't have any auto focus primes either so getting the 40mm cheap in the deal was a big plus to me also.

[jpaulb]

I recently bought a used K5 from a forum member what an upgrade from my *ist DL.
Paul