[tvrrproto48]

Thanks Guys,
I just bought a K-5 with 15k activation's for under $200. Can't wait for it to get here.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Jeff

[steamloco76]

Thanks Guys,
I just bought a K-5 with 15k activation's for under $200. Can't wait for it to get here.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Jeff

Well done, it’s barely broken in at 15K.
The generic (Chinese) battery grips for the K-7/K-5 are perfectly serviceable and cheap used. You can shoot all day and then some on two D-Li90 batteries.

[aslyfox]

Thanks Guys,
I just bought a K-5 with 15k activation's for under $200. Can't wait for it to get here.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Jeff

consider the ebook

Pentax eBook Holiday 2020 Sale - 30% Off - Deals and Savings | PentaxForums.com

[someasiancameraguy]

Thanks Guys,
I just bought a K-5 with 15k activation's for under $200. Can't wait for it to get here.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Jeff

Merry Christmas! Should post some shots after you get the body

[tibbitts]

Not to worry, the K-5 uses a completely different mechanism, I believe a solenoid instead of a capacitor or something. You can almost be 100% guaranteed not to have that issue. In fact getting a flagship is the best way to avoid the problem. The camera has been out what 8-9 years? with not one reported problem.

No aperture-related failures at all with a K5 that I know of, but those with broken lens release buttons may dispute the "not one reported problem." As may those using - well, attempting to use - AF in tungsten light, which probably accounts for the premium the ii versions carry to this day. And the iis pricing reflects its cult-like stature, so way out of the OP's range. Having said that I have more than one ordinary K5 body and have had no trouble at all with any of them. I do keep the lens release buttons attached (with gaffer tape) securely to the cameras, though, just in case.

So I think an "ordinary" K-5 is the best idea for the OP, with the exception of needing AF in certain artificial light conditions.

---------- Post added 12-25-2020 at 01:49 PM ----------

Well done, it’s barely broken in at 15K.
The generic (Chinese) battery grips for the K-7/K-5 are perfectly serviceable and cheap used. You can shoot all day and then some on two D-Li90 batteries.

My experience with my Chinese grip using AAs is that the battery tray fails so you need to examine a used one carefully if you get one. Or just use the Li90s. I don't use mine any longer. The camera is already big and heavy enough. It's not like the film days where the "grip" was really a winder and actually did something. I do carry plenty of spare batteries. I find that after a few years the charge duration of non-OEM batteries goes from respectable to almost zero, so they have to be replaced fairly often. But they're inexpensive so not the worst thing. For some reason, this year all my 2014-2017 Li90s (including one OEM from... 2013?) seemed to fail at the same time - down to a life of a few dozen exposures or less. So I've bought three different brands of new ones, at about $8 each. I'll be happy to get another 3 years out of them. I find that sometimes even when the K5 shows a full or partly full battery, with old batteries the camera locks up, and removing the battery is the only solution.

[Hawkfan]

If you are indeed at $200 max, then a well cared for pre owned K5 would fit the bill.

[normhead]

Thanks Guys,
I just bought a K-5 with 15k activation's for under $200. Can't wait for it to get here.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Jeff

It's still a top notch camera after all these years. Good choice.

Someone complained about the AF in tungsten light. That was corrected in the K-30 by adding an extra element, but I have to wonder, where does one find tungsten light? Tess has over 60,000 exposures on her K-5 without ever encountering tungsten light. I've been wondering this since the "problem" was first discussed.

[tvrrproto48]

Well the K-5 arrived a few days ago. Looks brand new other than a tiny scratch along the edge of the battery release lever. Map Camera went out of their way in packaging and shipping. Free 2nd day air from Japan. AND then I discovered there was nothing wrong with my K-30. Check the thread to find out.
K-30 internal battery / capacitor replacement for clock

Read more at: K-30 internal battery / capacitor replacement for clock - Page 2 - PentaxForums.com

[tibbitts]

It's still a top notch camera after all these years. Good choice.

Someone complained about the AF in tungsten light. That was corrected in the K-30 by adding an extra element, but I have to wonder, where does one find tungsten light? Tess has over 60,000 exposures on her K-5 without ever encountering tungsten light. I've been wondering this since the "problem" was first discussed.

I assume, but could be wrong, that the problem applies equally to any light with roughly the color temperature of a common tungsten light bulb. If someone photographs outdoors by natural light I don't think the issue will come up, although the overall limited focusing accuracy of my K-5 does come up all the time. Basically I try to use live view or manual focus whenever possible. I find manual focus through the viewfinder isn't accurate enough for me with lenses faster or slower than about f2.8, even with long-throw film-era lenses. I can sometimes manually focus my 60-250 f4 also, but not shorter or slower lenses. With a 50mm I can't focus accurately enough to use f1.7-f2.

[BryantCP]

I assume, but could be wrong, that the problem applies equally to any light with roughly the color temperature of a common tungsten light bulb. If someone photographs outdoors by natural light I don't think the issue will come up, although the overall limited focusing accuracy of my K-5 does come up all the time. Basically I try to use live view or manual focus whenever possible. I find manual focus through the viewfinder isn't accurate enough for me with lenses faster or slower than about f2.8, even with long-throw film-era lenses. I can sometimes manually focus my 60-250 f4 also, but not shorter or slower lenses. With a 50mm I can't focus accurately enough to use f1.7-f2.

Interesting, I don't recall very many complaints about "limited focusing accuracy" of the K-5. I think that Hoya did correct most of the problems attributed to the K-5 by the time production ended. My K-5 was purchased new just 2 or 3 months before the introduction of the K-5 II (s) versions and has not had any issues other than the tungsten light issue. Focusing accuracy has not been an issue with mine.

[tibbitts]

Interesting, I don't recall very many complaints about "limited focusing accuracy" of the K-5. I think that Hoya did correct most of the problems attributed to the K-5 by the time production ended. My K-5 was purchased new just 2 or 3 months before the introduction of the K-5 II (s) versions and has not had any issues other than the tungsten light issue. Focusing accuracy has not been an issue with mine.

For a long time I would have said that viewfinder AF wasn't a problem for me too (although I rarely deal with tungsten light), it was really only after I:

- obtained higher-resolution and faster lenses
- did careful comparisons between all 3 focusing modes: manual live view, magnified, live view, and viewfinder AF

that I became somewhat disenchanted with viewfinder AF. It's not like I would have necessarily said that the viewfinder AF was off just looking at one image, because most of my pictures appeared reasonably sharp. It was only in repeated comparison testing where viewfinder AF wasn't producing results as consistently sharp as live view. I don't have other brand dSLRs I've used for more than quick trials so I can't compare the K-5 with them.

I don't know about the K-5 tungsten issue being resolved. Just from what I'd read I'd thought it was a hardware problem that couldn't be fixed with firmware. I didn't think there were any changes to related hardware during the K-5 production run but could be wrong.

Ironically, I've also decided that diffraction is less of a practical issue than I'd thought (maybe somewhat due to the aa filter and 16 vs. more mp), but that insufficient depth of field when images are viewed at higher magnifications is more of an issue. So ultimately some of the added sharpness from alternative means of focusing may be lost for me now due to more often using smaller apertures.

Also some of my issues with viewfinder AF may be due to my inability to select a single microfocus adjustment that works at various focal lengths. Except for my macro lenses, all my lenses are zooms. Presumably the new K-3iii will have a more sophisticated adjustment capability with multiple adjustments available at various focal lengths.

[BirdDude007]

Congrats on the K5, that thing is built like a tank. I've had mine for approximately 10 years, it was my only camera and I pretty much beat on it but it held up good, never an issue. Still have it too, my wife uses it and just loves it, she doesn't even want to upgrade to my extra K3. I most likely will never let it go...

[normhead]

Congrats on the K5, that thing is built like a tank. I've had mine for approximately 10 years, it was my only camera and I pretty much beat on it but it held up good, never an issue. Still have it too, my wife uses it and just loves it, she doesn't even want to upgrade to my extra K3. I most likely will never let it go...

I let one go... now we're buying another, an upgrade form the K-5 to the K-5ii. I'm seriously thinking that for some uses, I'll take the older K-5 once my wife starts using the newer one.