Originally posted by cxdoo But why would Pentax do this, unless there is a good reason for it? It's not like decent video would eat into their other offerings.
Well... yes. Exactly. Why. Cluelessness? Ignorance? I think I've read dpreview criticise the noises SR makes during video in the K-5, and ever since the functionality was gone. Could it be that? Pentax does cite noise as a reason for removing IBIS from video, and when they can figure out a way to make it quieter, they'll put it back. Or do they mean noise as in it heats up the sensor, which introduces noise in terms of lower image quality, and something was lost in translation? The K-3 is indeed less noisy. But I would have said that's because of a newer sensor. Sony must have fixed heat issues with their sensors because in their cameras the sensor is always on, always working... A hint that dpreview or other reviews did indeed influence Pentax could be that lack of manual controls were criticised, the next camera had it. Lack of buttons... Pentax went overboard and put on an unnecessary switch, sacrificing still handling. Automatic gain control was criticised... Pentax went and installed a headphone jack plus manual gain control in the K-3... a very, very video feature, utterly pointless for anything but video, and it cost them a redesign of the case, additional hardware inside the camera, etc. I can't remember having read that IBIS is not working for video anymore, and that that is a bad thing, though I didn't look for that. Perhaps cause reviewers are used to not having that feature?
If the official explanation is indeed the real reason... they really should test their cameras in real life. My videos at most exhibit something that I'd describe at static noise... if that comes from the IBIS, I can easily live with it (though I do hear some noises and feel the movement in my hands, but in the video it's rather quiet). It's simply a very small issue IMHO, and if really necessary, if you really care, you can work around it by attaching an external microphone. Pentax might even make a small microphone that sits on the hot shoe without sticking out as much as a RODE for example, and that is isolated a bit from the camera. For cases where the in camera audio is indeed good enough, but the SR disturbs, you can still deactivate it.
I've got 3 friends who are into photography, and have spent a lot. One doesn't care about video, he's been with Canon for ages and has plenty of toys. I doubt he will ever switch. The other two do though. One has started with a Canon EOS 40D, then bought a Nikon D7000 (or D7100). I recommended him a K-5, but he thought the D7x00 has video AF, so he picked that one. Of course then he discovered that video AF is absolutely pointless on that camera. The next step was a Sony a7S... because of video. He wanted a camera with IBIS, but the K-5 is outdated by now, and Olympus suffers from poor high ISO performance and not so good dynamic range. Pentax doesn't offer IBIS anymore. So the Sony it was, plus a Glidecam-like rig. He travelled all the way to Thailand with it, from Europe. Using a Glidecam is not easy btw., it did frustrate him. At least high ISO is ridiculously good, image quality too of course, and the AF works. Another one started with a Nikon D40, and then wanted to upgrade. He went for a GH3, thanks to size/weight, lenses (he likes birding/wild life, so a small sensor helps you get small lenses with high focal lengths), and video. Both of them aren't filmmakers, they just want to take good video during holidays for example. A Pentax K-3 with SR and maybe a bit better video performance could have attracted them. Pentax didn't offer it, so no sale.