[mashy]

I’m looking to upgrade from my k-r, main thing I’ll be using it for is product photography (clothes I’ve sewn) which mostly goes on social media/blogs. Then a bit of landscape while on hols etc.
I’ve been using my iPhone for a while as it’s just simpler but a few months ago went back to my trusty k-r and there’s just such a huge difference!
However, I’m getting annoying with the process of uploading to my computer then to my phone. I’ve tried a wifi card, but been finding the app frustrating.
So I’ve been looking to upgrade to maybe the ks-2 as it has integrated WiFi and nfc. Does this work well??
I also like the idea of the flippy screen as I need to take photos of myself and that would be very practical.
My budget isn’t huge so I’m looking at a second hand ks2, is there anything I should be looking out for? Is there a shutter count above which it would be considered unreliable? Is there another Dslr in the same used price bracket that would be better?

My husband has been suggesting I should just buy a brand new canon/Nikon as I can get the features I want for the same price as a second hand ks2 and ‘that’s what everyone has’ but I don’t agree. I have 7 Pentax lenses now, admittedly I don’t use them all regularly, but I also prefer the feel of Pentax.

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Last edited by mashy; 08-21-2020 at 05:49 AM.

[The Squirrel Mafia]

I hate to be blunt, but in your case, a phone probably works better as far as the ease of taking photos & uploading immediately. This is the one area that just about all cameras fail, including Canon & Nikon. Some cameras offer NFC, WiFi, apps, & other similar things that supposedly make it easy to transfer photos, but often times, they're too clumsy. If you want to avoid the whole using the computer thing, using a phone is a better choice.

The K-S2 is a nice camera, but the only possible issue with it would be a possible aperture motor failure. Do a search for that & you'll see what it is. The K-30 & K-50 seems to have the most failures, followed by the K-S2, K-S1 & then the K-70. Not every single camera fails, but there are some out there that have & others eventually will.

[ChristianRock]

Just to throw in a totally different perspective... a used K20D will be very cheap, it has a great sensor in the lower ISOs and you can use a tethering cable which transfers the pictures automatically to the computer. Since you probably have a studio to take product pictures, that might be an option.
A K10D would work well too, but I think for product use the K20D would work better. And the K20D sensor is - in my humble opinion - still unbeatable for portraits and skin tones.
I think I might even still have the tether cable for the K20D that I used to have (the buyer wasn't interested). If I can find it I'd send it out for free, if you are interested.

The wi-fi in the K-S2 can be a bit frustrating because you need to set the computer to use the K-S2 as its wi-fi network, so when it comes time to post something, you need to go back and forth between your home wi-fi and the K-S2 (I have a "mostly broken" K-S2 someone gave to me, that I have sued to play with the wi-fi, which is one of the few things not broken with the camera right now...).

[mashy]

I hate to be blunt, but in your case, a phone probably works better as far as the ease of taking photos & uploading immediately. This is the one area that just about all cameras fail, including Canon & Nikon. Some cameras offer NFC, WiFi, apps, & other similar things that supposedly make it easy to transfer photos, but often times, they're too clumsy. If you want to avoid the whole using the computer thing, using a phone is a better choice.

The K-S2 is a nice camera, but the only possible issue with it would be a possible aperture motor failure. Do a search for that & you'll see what it is. The K-30 & K-50 seems to have the most failures, followed by the K-S2, K-S1 & then the K-70. Not every single camera fails, but there are some out there that have & others eventually will.

I get what you’re saying about using the phone, and although I thought my phone (iPhone7) took good photos, it wasn’t until I took some with the k-r that I realised that it actually makes a massive difference, even if they are only really viewed on phone screens. At the moment I am taking pics with the dslr, transferring them via as card adapter to laptop, then transferring them to my phone via airdrop.
I’ve tried a WiFi SD card but that takes forever, was hoping that the WiFi or nfc direct from the camera would be quicker.
I don’t really mind the WiFi hopping , it’s mostly the time taken to upload photos.
Sounds like I’m better off just sticking with the k-r for now.

[stevebrot]

My budget isn’t huge so I’m looking at a second hand ks2, is there anything I should be looking out for? Is there a shutter count above which it would be considered unreliable? Is there another Dslr in the same used price bracket that would be better?

If your budget is within reach of a new low-level Nikon or Canon, you might want to consider a new K-70. The K-S2 is a fine body, but the similar K-70 is more so with very competitive recent pricing. As for how well the various features work on either camera, the detailed reviews here on Pentax Forums are helpful.

Pentax K-S2 Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

Pentax K-70 Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

In regards to aperture control issues with the K-S2 or K-70, neither model has been fully immune to reports of such, though neither is particularly prone either. There are members who will reliably caution against purchase of both models. If you are concerned, do a Web search for "Pentax K-S2 aperture control" or "Pentax K-70 aperture control". The frequency of the problem with those two models is about the same as on your K-r. (Expect a major thread hijack on this. )


Steve

[luftfluss]

I’m looking to upgrade from my k-r, main thing I’ll be using it for is product photography (clothes I’ve sewn) which mostly goes on social media/blogs. Then a bit of landscape while on hols etc.
I’ve been using my iPhone for a while as it’s just simpler but a few months ago went back to my trusty k-r and there’s just such a huge difference!
However, I’m getting annoying with the process of uploading to my computer then to my phone. I’ve tried a wifi card, but been finding the app frustrating.
So I’ve been looking to upgrade to maybe the ks-2 as it has integrated WiFi and nfc. Does this work well??
I also like the idea of the flippy screen as I need to take photos of myself and that would be very practical.
My budget isn’t huge so I’m looking at a second hand ks2, is there anything I should be looking out for? Is there a shutter count above which it would be considered unreliable? Is there another Dslr in the same used price bracket that would be better?

My husband has been suggesting I should just buy a brand new canon/Nikon as I can get the features I want for the same price as a second hand ks2 and ‘that’s what everyone has’ but I don’t agree. I have 7 Pentax lenses now, admittedly I don’t use them all regularly, but I also prefer the feel of Pentax.

Here's a page from the K-S2 review that covers its WiFi capabilities: Pentax K-S2 Review - Wi-Fi Features | PentaxForums.com Reviews

FWIW, I've owned a K-30, K-S2, and currently a K-70 and have never experienced the aperture block failure referenced by The Squirrel Mafia.

[arkansawyer]

I have a K-S2 bought new just over a year ago and I love it. Wonderful colors and imagery for the closeout price. That said, it's the oldest model that supports Pentax Image Sync, and I spent much of yesterday being somewhat frustrated by the connection drops (while waiting for hummingbirds to appear). It is nice to have live preview on my android phone and remote shutter release, and it does work most of the time. Just seems glitchy.

Usually I prefer to setup and take my photos then when the series is done, offload to computer via sd card or usb tether. This applies to product shots as well.

All that said, remote shooting works fine as long as connection remains active, and I've learned to get it to work when I want it to. But it's a different screen to save to your device - so no instant gratification there.

[mashy]

Just to throw in a totally different perspective... a used K20D will be very cheap, it has a great sensor in the lower ISOs and you can use a tethering cable which transfers the pictures automatically to the computer. Since you probably have a studio to take product pictures, that might be an option.
A K10D would work well too, but I think for product use the K20D would work better. And the K20D sensor is - in my humble opinion - still unbeatable for portraits and skin tones.
I think I might even still have the tether cable for the K20D that I used to have (the buyer wasn't interested). If I can find it I'd send it out for free, if you are interested.

The wi-fi in the K-S2 can be a bit frustrating because you need to set the computer to use the K-S2 as its wi-fi network, so when it comes time to post something, you need to go back and forth between your home wi-fi and the K-S2 (I have a "mostly broken" K-S2 someone gave to me, that I have sued to play with the wi-fi, which is one of the few things not broken with the camera right now...).

The k20d does look good, but it doesn’t have the flippy screen which I saw as a definite advantage of the ks2. The tethering cable does sound like a good shout though, and maybe I can try that with my current camera as I think I might have one. I think that unless the WiFi/NFC worked well it probably isn’t worth the upgrade at this point. Although a flippy screen would still be useful for when taking pics from a tripod on top of a table for example.

[ChristianRock]

The k20d does look good, but it doesn’t have the flippy screen which I saw as a definite advantage of the ks2. The tethering cable does sound like a good shout though, and maybe I can try that with my current camera as I think I might have one. I think that unless the WiFi/NFC worked well it probably isn’t worth the upgrade at this point. Although a flippy screen would still be useful for when taking pics from a tripod on top of a table for example.

The studio tethering option via cable is in the K10D and K20D, and maybe also the orignal *istD. Cameras newer than the K20D don't have it, so you can't do it with the K-r, definitely.
Flippy screen - if you can immediately review the picture on the computer, do you still need the flippy screen?

[jatrax]

Its probably because I'm so old but I don't understand why you need to transfer the photos to your phone? If they are being posted on social media or your blog why not do the post from the laptop and save that step? I'm sure I am missing something obvious that a younger person would instinctively get.

I would think it would be easier to manage your image library on the laptop anyway.

[UncleVanya]

Is the goal is to get the picture to your phone and then upload to whatever platform? In those cases the iPhone itself is quick and easy, but my experience using Panasonic and Olympus cameras with WiFi and NFC is that you can certainly use a camera as the source for social media photos in the field. However it is also my experience that it's a little more cumbersome. A WiFi or USB sdcard reader is another option that works with any camera.

To clarify, the problem I have experienced is that you have to make the effort to connect to the camera, find the file, transfer it, and possibly edit it before you send it to social media. The now defunct eyefi system had a great feature where jpgs could automatically be transferred which I used with my k3 by setting my second slot to small jpgs and my first slot to raw - this gave me a readily available stream of online sized images if I wanted to upload anything. Sadly eyefi isn't a workable solution anymore.

Looking online I found this article: The Best Cameras for Instagrammers (2020 Buyer's Guide)

The thing I want you to take from the article is that it seems all of the non-phone cameras use the same methods for getting the pictures out to the social media sites, they transfer them to a phone or computer using WiFi or NFC. The ks2 is not any less capable than the cameras listed. Some cameras in the past used apps to move pictures directly to social media channels. But direct integration is poor at best and keeping client software updated and relevant is hard for camera manufacturers.

In the end, if using a DSLR is your wish I think the ks2 or k70 etc may just work for you. Read the detailed reviews on the experience of using those features and decide if it's right for you.

[mashy]

The studio tethering option via cable is in the K10D and K20D, and maybe also the orignal *istD. Cameras newer than the K20D don't have it, so you can't do it with the K-r, definitely.
Flippy screen - if you can immediately review the picture on the computer, do you still need the flippy screen?

I'm just in the process of installing: http://pktriggercord.melda.info/.Which works with k-r.
I'm quite happy with the quality of my current camera, was mostly looking to upgrade for convenience. If I could see directly what I'm taking picture of rather than trial and error that would be more convienient to me.

---------- Post added 08-21-20 at 10:13 AM ----------

Its probably because I'm so old but I don't understand why you need to transfer the photos to your phone? If they are being posted on social media or your blog why not do the post from the laptop and save that step? I'm sure I am missing something obvious that a younger person would instinctively get.

I would think it would be easier to manage your image library on the laptop anyway.

Honestly, I just find it quicker and easier on my phone.

[ChristianRock]

I'm just in the process of installing: http://pktriggercord.melda.info/.Which works with k-r.
I'm quite happy with the quality of my current camera, was mostly looking to upgrade for convenience. If I could see directly what I'm taking picture of rather than trial and error that would be more convienient to me.

Interesting, did not know that.

[arkansawyer]

Its probably because I'm so old but I don't understand why you need to transfer the photos to your phone? If they are being posted on social media or your blog why not do the post from the laptop and save that step? I'm sure I am missing something obvious that a younger person would instinctively get.

I would think it would be easier to manage your image library on the laptop anyway.

FWIW - I tend to use my laptop for photo management but I copy to my phone to post online, primarily because my posts are to Instagram first which then feeds to a facebook page. If you've never tried to post to Instagram from a laptop/pc, it IS possible but not at all user-friendly. Doing from the phone gives me lots of options plus the auto-posting to FB (and other feeds if I choose).

Depending on other uses (ebay or online store, etc.), phone apps may or may not be user friendly than PC browsers. But again - for me, the majority of sharing I do hit the phone then the internet. It's also useful out in the field. I can turn on image sync to download the selected photos to my phone, then turn off wifi to save battery and post some pics - later on in the day, I'll download to laptop.

[PocketPixels]

I own and love my K-S2 (in white it is so, so gorgeous), and it does indeed have built-in WiFi. However, transfering a 20.2 megapixel image over WiFi is no joke.

I can, if I wish do the following:

• Turn on WiFi on my K-S2
  • Turn on both WiFi and 4G LTE data on my Android Galaxy J3 phone
  • Open Ricoh Image Sync
  • Connect phone WiFi to Camera WiFi
• Take three or four photos using either camera buttons or phone interface
  • Transfer photos over to my phone
  • Transferring
  • Transferring
• Upload photos to Social Media using 4G Data so as not to break WiFi Connection to camera
  • Uploading
  • Uploading
  • Uploading
  • Camera falls asleep because I haven't taken a picture in several minutes (WiFi connection breaks)
  • Uploading
• Uploaded! People comment on how nice my photo is.

That's about the length and width of it. Honestly, I find the process quite frustrating. Absolutely, my Pentax lenses outperform my phone camera. But yeesh, not a fun or fast process.