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PeterKBurian · 01-04-2011, 02:41 PM - **1 Like**

If you want another perspective about the K-5, check out my Review at

(Adam said it was OK for me to post this)

Review: Pentax K-5 Semi-Professional DLSR
Is this the best Pentax DSLR ever made?

by Peter K. Burian Review: Pentax K-5 Semi-Professional DLSR | Pixiq

Cheers! Peter
Author, Magic Lantern Guide K-7 and other Pentax cameras

elho_cid · 01-04-2011, 04:07 PM

Nice review. What exactly was the problem with flash metering? My first K-5 did overexpose with external flash bounced, but the replaced one meters extremely well. Did you have similar issue?

PeterKBurian · 01-05-2011, 07:17 AM

Yeah overexposure with flash and inconsistent flash exposures.

The first K-5 I had ... early production model ... often overexposed with or without flash. The latest one I had was fine without flash except for overly light highlight areas sometimes (easy to prevent that.)

But it often still overexposed with flash. In P mode where the camera is supposed to set a suitable aperture and shutter speed. So, not user error.

The flash problem was most common on dark overcast days when I was shooting outdoors at a couple of parades.

Peter

Originally posted by elho_cid

Nice review. What exactly was the problem with flash metering? My first K-5 did overexpose with external flash bounced, but the replaced one meters extremely well. Did you have similar issue?

elho_cid · 01-05-2011, 11:55 AM

I see, thanks. You are probably the only reviewer to notice that, I assume not many uses external flash in different situations to test the metering.

psychdoc · 01-05-2011, 12:44 PM

A bit off the subject maybe but I have to say that those are some really beautiful pictures in the sample images in the review.

thoughton · 01-05-2011, 06:51 PM

Originally posted by psychdoc

A bit off the subject maybe but I have to say that those are some really beautiful pictures in the sample images in the review.

That's funny, I was going to say the 1st image and the Live View image looked a bit soft. Decent review though!

PeterKBurian · 01-06-2011, 08:05 AM

I was using the Pentax accessory flash unit when testing the K-5; I assume the built-in flash would have produced similar results. (Perhaps not, since it's so small that it does not produce much light. Unless the subject is quite close to the camera, the photos may not seem too bright. But I used the accessory flash when testing AND shot some scenes with the Nikon D7000 and the Nikon flash unit; the latter were fine.)

By default, the K-5 produces soft images. I find Smart Sharpen in Photoshop or Elements is ideal for getting perfect sharpness. (+1 in-camera sharpening really helps too but sharpening in software provides amazing results.)

Of course, when you downsize an image to Web-use size, it seems to turn to mush. Here is a K-5 photo that is larger (without in-camera +1 sharpening). I DID sharpen it in Elements since there's no point in displaying a soft photo.

PeterKBurian's Album: Pentax K-5 Review photos - PentaxForums.com

PeterKBurian · 01-06-2011, 08:05 AM

Thanks, Doc.

PeterKBurian · 01-06-2011, 08:06 AM

Originally posted by thoughton

That's funny, I was going to say the 1st image and the Live View image looked a bit soft. Decent review though!

The HUGE image file looks great; downsizing it dramatically turned it to mush.

**Rondec** · 01-06-2011, 08:21 AM

Nice review, with good photos. Definitely looks a nice package with a few things that could be fixed in firmware updates.

thoughton · 01-07-2011, 02:57 AM

Originally posted by PeterKBurian

The HUGE image file looks great; downsizing it dramatically turned it to mush.

But the other images in the review look nice and sharp, it's just those two that don't. I don't agree that downsizing (in Photoshop, or Elements) should soften the image. If anything it should increase the apparent sharpness. You can test this yourself by shrinking a slightly out of focus image. The shrunk version will look in-focus.

The culprit might be the enlarge button on your website. If you are uploading at the (only slightly larger) enlarged size, and then letting your webpage shrink it to ~90% of the original size, that could easily cause the softness (because PS or PSE will produce much sharper reduced size images when compared to letting a web server or a web browser perform the same task).

PeterKBurian · 01-08-2011, 07:37 AM

Well, the full size image looks fabulous! And even after I downsized it in Photoshop, it still looked great on my monitor. (Such massive downsizing causes softening of any image unless I use Bicubic Sharper ... and that's why that option is provided by Adobe. But I find that Bicubic Sharper creates an artificial-looking effect so I do not use it.)

After uploading it to pixiq however, it seemed to be much less sharp and detailed ... same with all of the images but a couple of them are more problematic in this respect.

I did downsize the images to the size specified by the webmaster in Photoshop. So, the site is not downsizing them even further.

Such is life.

thoughton · 01-08-2011, 09:16 AM

So on the pixiq site, when you click on one of the images, it grows by about 5-10%. Which size are you uploading, the bigger one or the smaller one?

PeterKBurian · 01-09-2011, 06:49 AM

The larger one. I will need to try uploading even larger files. Perhaps then readers will be able to see the much larger one when they click on it. Will do so tomorrow as a test with my K-% review. P.

p38arover · 05-18-2013, 04:00 PM

Originally posted by PeterKBurian

If you want another perspective about the K-5, check out my Review at

(Adam said it was OK for me to post this)

Review: Pentax K-5 Semi-Professional DLSR
Is this the best Pentax DSLR ever made?

by Peter K. Burian Review: Pentax K-5 Semi-Professional DLSR | Pixiq

Cheers! Peter
Author, Magic Lantern Guide K-7 and other Pentax cameras

Regrettably, the pixiq site is no longer there. Did Peter's review appear elsewhere?

BTW, someone out there in the mail system is eating Peter's K-7 book.

I've ordered it three times from different eBay suppliers and none have arrived.

01-04-2011, 02:41 PM - 1 Like	#1
PeterKBurian New Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 22	ANOTHER K-5 Review If you want another perspective about the K-5, check out my Review at (Adam said it was OK for me to post this) Review: Pentax K-5 Semi-Professional DLSR Is this the best Pentax DSLR ever made? by Peter K. Burian Review: Pentax K-5 Semi-Professional DLSR \| Pixiq Cheers! Peter Author, Magic Lantern Guide K-7 and other Pentax cameras

01-05-2011, 07:17 AM	#3
PeterKBurian New Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 22 Original Poster	Reply re: K-5 Flash Metering Yeah overexposure with flash and inconsistent flash exposures. The first K-5 I had ... early production model ... often overexposed with or without flash. The latest one I had was fine without flash except for overly light highlight areas sometimes (easy to prevent that.) But it often still overexposed with flash. In P mode where the camera is supposed to set a suitable aperture and shutter speed. So, not user error. The flash problem was most common on dark overcast days when I was shooting outdoors at a couple of parades. Peter Originally posted by elho_cid Nice review. What exactly was the problem with flash metering? My first K-5 did overexpose with external flash bounced, but the replaced one meters extremely well. Did you have similar issue?

01-06-2011, 08:05 AM	#7
PeterKBurian New Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 22 Original Poster	K-5 Photos can be SUPERB I was using the Pentax accessory flash unit when testing the K-5; I assume the built-in flash would have produced similar results. (Perhaps not, since it's so small that it does not produce much light. Unless the subject is quite close to the camera, the photos may not seem too bright. But I used the accessory flash when testing AND shot some scenes with the Nikon D7000 and the Nikon flash unit; the latter were fine.) By default, the K-5 produces soft images. I find Smart Sharpen in Photoshop or Elements is ideal for getting perfect sharpness. (+1 in-camera sharpening really helps too but sharpening in software provides amazing results.) Of course, when you downsize an image to Web-use size, it seems to turn to mush. Here is a K-5 photo that is larger (without in-camera +1 sharpening). I DID sharpen it in Elements since there's no point in displaying a soft photo. PeterKBurian's Album: Pentax K-5 Review photos - PentaxForums.com

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01-04-2011, 04:07 PM	#2
elho_cid Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Prague Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,199	Nice review. What exactly was the problem with flash metering? My first K-5 did overexpose with external flash bounced, but the replaced one meters extremely well. Did you have similar issue?

01-05-2011, 11:55 AM	#4
elho_cid Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Prague Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,199	I see, thanks. You are probably the only reviewer to notice that, I assume not many uses external flash in different situations to test the metering.

01-05-2011, 12:44 PM	#5
psychdoc Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bham Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 949	A bit off the subject maybe but I have to say that those are some really beautiful pictures in the sample images in the review.

01-05-2011, 06:51 PM	#6
thoughton Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Saffron Walden, Essex Photos: Gallery Posts: 362	Originally posted by psychdoc A bit off the subject maybe but I have to say that those are some really beautiful pictures in the sample images in the review. That's funny, I was going to say the 1st image and the Live View image looked a bit soft. Decent review though!

01-06-2011, 08:06 AM	#9
PeterKBurian New Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 22 Original Poster	Originally posted by thoughton That's funny, I was going to say the 1st image and the Live View image looked a bit soft. Decent review though! The HUGE image file looks great; downsizing it dramatically turned it to mush.

01-06-2011, 08:21 AM	#10
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,666	Nice review, with good photos. Definitely looks a nice package with a few things that could be fixed in firmware updates.

01-07-2011, 02:57 AM	#11
thoughton Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Saffron Walden, Essex Photos: Gallery Posts: 362	Originally posted by PeterKBurian The HUGE image file looks great; downsizing it dramatically turned it to mush. But the other images in the review look nice and sharp, it's just those two that don't. I don't agree that downsizing (in Photoshop, or Elements) should soften the image. If anything it should increase the apparent sharpness. You can test this yourself by shrinking a slightly out of focus image. The shrunk version will look in-focus. The culprit might be the enlarge button on your website. If you are uploading at the (only slightly larger) enlarged size, and then letting your webpage shrink it to ~90% of the original size, that could easily cause the softness (because PS or PSE will produce much sharper reduced size images when compared to letting a web server or a web browser perform the same task).

01-08-2011, 07:37 AM	#12
PeterKBurian New Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 22 Original Poster	Well, the full size image looks fabulous! And even after I downsized it in Photoshop, it still looked great on my monitor. (Such massive downsizing causes softening of any image unless I use Bicubic Sharper ... and that's why that option is provided by Adobe. But I find that Bicubic Sharper creates an artificial-looking effect so I do not use it.) After uploading it to pixiq however, it seemed to be much less sharp and detailed ... same with all of the images but a couple of them are more problematic in this respect. I did downsize the images to the size specified by the webmaster in Photoshop. So, the site is not downsizing them even further. Such is life.

01-08-2011, 09:16 AM	#13
thoughton Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Saffron Walden, Essex Photos: Gallery Posts: 362	So on the pixiq site, when you click on one of the images, it grows by about 5-10%. Which size are you uploading, the bigger one or the smaller one?

01-09-2011, 06:49 AM	#14
PeterKBurian New Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 22 Original Poster	The larger one. I will need to try uploading even larger files. Perhaps then readers will be able to see the much larger one when they click on it. Will do so tomorrow as a test with my K-% review. P.

05-18-2013, 04:00 PM	#15
p38arover Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Western Sydney, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,084	Originally posted by PeterKBurian If you want another perspective about the K-5, check out my Review at (Adam said it was OK for me to post this) Review: Pentax K-5 Semi-Professional DLSR Is this the best Pentax DSLR ever made? by Peter K. Burian Review: Pentax K-5 Semi-Professional DLSR \| Pixiq Cheers! Peter Author, Magic Lantern Guide K-7 and other Pentax cameras Regrettably, the pixiq site is no longer there. Did Peter's review appear elsewhere? BTW, someone out there in the mail system is eating Peter's K-7 book. I've ordered it three times from different eBay suppliers and none have arrived.

ANOTHER K-5 Review

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