[SimonC]

Well I've failed to win a new camera body so will have to put my hands in my pockets soon, I'm just so cheap

How reliable is the K70? The reason I ask is that the majority on eBay are low shutter count and sold as refurbished? Is it the solenoid issue?

[crossed-up]

Not sure what you were looking to pay, but SRS have new ones for £450 until 3rd January.

[Adam]

Pentax has two lines of cameras- "prosumer" models and high-end models. The latter ones have a shutter count specification, while the former ones don't. The K-70 falls into the former category, but that's not to say that it won't last a while.

[aslyfox]

personally, I would go with an " experienced " member of the K 5 or K 3 family or perhaps a KP if you can find one

but that could be an budget issue

use the forums' reviews under " Camera " for research or the side by side tool -

Pentax K-70 vs. Pentax KP vs. Pentax K-3 II vs. Pentax K-5 IIs - Pentax Camera Comparison - PentaxForums.com

[Bertrand3000]

If I were you, if reliability is your main fear, I would buy either a new K-70, or an used high end model like a K3, K3-ii or KP.

If you buy a K-70, make sure to use it on a regular basis with KA, KAF or KAF3 lenses to "train" the aperture block.

[ramseybuckeye]

Well I've failed to win a new camera body so will have to put my hands in my pockets soon, I'm just so cheap

How reliable is the K70? The reason I ask is that the majority on eBay are low shutter count and sold as refurbished? Is it the solenoid issue?

If they are refurbished I would guess that is the reason.

[Cerebum]

K3ii or KP if you want reliability. The K70 is great and incidences of aperture block are low but do happen. I got a used KP with 290 actuations for £540 from wex

[ragde]

.. make sure to use it on a regular basis with KA, KAF or KAF3 lenses to "train" the aperture block.

What does ".."train" the aperture block .." mean ?

[The Squirrel Mafia]

What does ".."train" the aperture block .." mean ?

The aperture failure seems to happen more in cameras that are not used as often, compared to the cameras that are used more often. This happens less on K-70 bodies, but it might happen.

I'd suggest a used K-3II or a used KP if you're on a budget & want something more reliable, provided that the previous owner took care of it.

[tibbitts]

What does ".."train" the aperture block .." mean ?

In theory if you use the aperture block component, it might fail less. We can argue over how often these fail since Pentax as with all companies won't tell anyone, understandably. There is some debate over the extent to which the problem continues with the K-70. However for those living outside the U.S., a new camera may come with a warranty that would cover it for a reasonable lifetime, so you might not be all that concerned.

I have a K-5 and that's certainly worth considering used, but probably not the K-5iis, mostly because it's priced irrationally in most cases. The original K-5 can be a bargain if you find a lightly used one. Beware there are K-5 issues with autofocusing in some artificial light situations that can't be fixed. And any K-5 won't properly support newer Pentax lenses like the 55-300. I've taped on my K-5 lens release button (the K-5 generation's aperture block equivalent in reliability) and no failures there so far. The iis has no anti-alias (blurring, effectively) filter, which is why it commands a higher price ironically (and did when new, too.) Having compared to a 24mp sensor with no filter (like a K-70), I can tell you the K-70 will produce higher resolution and record more details. However, the difference shrinks somewhat depending on the sharpening you use with the K-5. You can't put details back that aren't there, but you can make the output more similar with sharpening, and there's much more room for sharpening in a K-5 image than a K-70 image. Also consider the lenses you're going to use: if you use inexpensive lenses and/or use f22 regularly, the K-5 and K-70 difference shrinks somewhat. High ISO is simply better on the K-70, if you use that. I like the K-5 body, with top LCD, better than the K-70 body, and the overall K-5 construction is better (quieter, etc.), but I like the articulating LCD on the K-70.

---------- Post added 12-29-2020 at 09:06 AM ----------

The aperture failure seems to happen more in cameras that are not used as often, compared to the cameras that are used more often. This happens less on K-70 bodies, but it might happen.

I'd suggest a used K-3II or a used KP if you're on a budget & want something more reliable, provided that the previous owner took care of it.

So far I've found the pricing on used K-3ii bodies or KP bodies not usually appealing - as with the K-5iis. Obviously there are exceptions.

[othar]

Well I've failed to win a new camera body so will have to put my hands in my pockets soon, I'm just so cheap

How reliable is the K70? The reason I ask is that the majority on eBay are low shutter count and sold as refurbished? Is it the solenoid issue?

Not helpful to your question, but was the winner of the Kp already announced and if so where?
Regards Patrick

[aslyfox]

Not helpful to your question, but was the winner of the Kp already announced and if so where?
Regards Patrick

yes, here it is

The time has come- drumroll please! Per our good old friend the random number generator, our winners are as follows:
Grand prize (KP) winner:
1069 - @TwoUptons
Pentax KP Giveaway - Enter here once per day until December 26th! - Page 72 - PentaxForums.com

T-shirt winners:
990 - @MikeMcE
Pentax KP Giveaway - Enter here once per day until December 26th! - Page 66 - PentaxForums.com
1431 - @DWS1
Pentax KP Giveaway - Enter here once per day until December 26th! - Page 96 - PentaxForums.com
704 - Duplicate for DWS1, so we need to draw 1 more number!
475 - @RobA_Oz
Pentax KP Giveaway - Enter here once per day until December 26th! - Page 32 - PentaxForums.com

Congratulations everyone, and thanks for participating in the raffle! I hope it was an enjoyable experience, and I hope to do more such giveaways in the near future- perhaps featuring another K-3 III (following up on our 2019 giveaway).

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/16-pentax-news-rumors/416430-get-ready-p...ml#post5175603

[DWS1]

I know statistically this doesn't mean anything, but I bought a new K70 about 2-1/2 years ago and have taken over 7,000 images. I have not experienced any problems with it. Sometimes it will sit unused for 2-3 months. It is a very good camera, and works as good as the day I bought it.

[Bertrand3000]

What does ".."train" the aperture block .." mean ?

You have to know that the K-70 use a newer solenoid, much more reliable than the previous one. Like the K-S2 made since december 2015. They can fail, but it is much less likely.

In fact, any part of the camera may fail, but this particular problem is dreaded but perhaps it happens now as rarely as any other failure.

I have a K-S2 (manufactured in 2017), which is the model that came before the K-70, since 3 years, sometimes used extensively, sometimes seldom used, with a shutter count of ~18 700, and it still works fine as new!

A KP or a K-3 cannot have such a failure since the aperture block is of a completely different design.

But when the "bad" solenoids are used, the failure was often (but not always) associated with the aperture block being not used at all for an extensive period of time. Like 6 months without any shot, or using exclusively K, M or KAF4 lenses for such a duration

I'd say that actually making use of aperture block may help preventing this problem. It costs nothing and does not harm the camera, so I think it's better to do it! Actually, unless you use exclusively such lenses (K, M or KAF4), or unless you put your camera in deep sleep for months, you should not worry, as the aperture block will be used anyway.

[stevebrot]

The reason I ask is that the majority on eBay are low shutter count and sold as refurbished?

I suggest purchase from an authorized dealer so that you have the benefit of customer service and warranty. This advice has nothing to do with the reliability of the K-70, but is what my personal practice is. I use eBay a lot, but with the understanding that return for defect will be difficult or impossible and that anything purchased new will be gray market and without warranty.

As for the K-70 reliability...I personally would not hesitate to purchase if I were in the market for a new camera and also was aware of the amazing value the K-70 represents and if its features met my needs. At present, I am not in the market.


Steve