[officiousbystander]

KPs still available here. Out of your budget though. However if you sign up to the newsletter you get a further 5% off your first purchase. I know nothing about the Camera Box so can't vouch for them. But Trustpilot reviews look good.
https://thecamerabox.com/products/pentax-kp-silver-body-24-32-ultra-compact-...04642421&_ss=r

[Des]

if you had roughly $500-700 to spend on a Pentax camera body (new or used), and reliability was the MOST important factor, what model would you choose?

K-3
K-3ii
KP (you might have to look around for one in this price range, but it should be possible - mine cost around $US600 new in 2019)
Personally I would choose the KP for its better high ISO performance (and third wheel and tilt screen). But while it's a solidly built camera the K-3 series have a longer shutter life expectancy.

[DWS1]

I would chose a KP. Very reliable, better sensor and low light performance than the K3, K5, and the articulated screen. My guess is some used ones will hit the market soon as the new K3iii gets in more hands. I've had a K70 for over 3 years with no problems, but because of the aperture problems with the K50/K30 and the K70 uses the the same mechanism, the thought of it happening although rare is still in the back of my mind.

[pericombobulation]

Thanks for the replies, everybody. My last Pentax was a K-S2, which was a fabulous camera and I am an utter idiot for selling it. But that's beside the point, LOL! My last travel lens was the excellent Sigma 17-50 2.8, which I also stupidly sold. I'd probably either buy another one or maybe give the equivalent Tamron a try. Or maybe the Pentax 18-135, although I briefly owned one in the past and thought it was kind of "meh" at the time, but maybe I didn't keep it long enough to give it a fair trial.

I guess I've got some thinking to do, and lurking on the marketplace. Thanks for reminding me about the K-70's fully articulating screen, a feature which I loved on the K-S2. I really wish I had bought a new KP a month or so ago, when they were running around $650 or so. Now they jumped to $1000 or so new, which is out of my budget.

[Sandy Hancock]

A second hand K-3 (or K-3 Mark II) should fall in your price bracket.

They are rock solid, reliable performers with plenty of image quality for all but the most fussy.

[caliscouser]

New or lightly used KP. The form factor and weight is good for travel, particularly with the Limited lenses.
The tilt screen is nice as well plus it has the flash for emergency snapshot duty, and has Wi-Fi.

[koolimy]

How old is too old for you? I recently went through a similar situation because my first camera, a K-30 died only a month after I bought it. I perused the forums to see what cameras have what problems, and I concluded that an older camera, such as the K-20D would be the best regarding reliability. Below are my thoughts on the reliability of various models. Note, this is really just my perception of the various faults of the various models and is nothing close to an actual study of the reliability of each model. Also, there just is not enough information regarding the older models, such as the K-20D, so it could just seem like the newer models are less reliable, when that is not actually the case.


1. Pentax K-30, K-50, K-70, K-S1 and K-S2 (K-30 series): Aperture solenoid problem. Seems to be quite a common problem. There seems to be a fix available, and it seems like it is possible to use a camera with the solenoid problem if you only use manual settings. My K-30 died due to electrical gremlins and mirror flop. When I tried to get a problem diagnosed, the people diagnosing the problem told me that I had an issue with the motherboard. I do not know if my K-30 had the aperture problem.


2. Pentax K-r, K-5, maybe K-3: Electrical gremlins and mirror flop. There seem to be a few reviews talking about the reliability problems of the K-r, and a few forum threads dedicated to electrical problems and mirror flop. A lot of problems seem to be related to batteries and electricity delivery. There are multiple threads regarding the K-5 mirror flop problems and a few youtube videos. I think Pentax issued a statement hear on the forums regarding the K-3 mirror flop problems. I didn't look too much into the K-3, I just noticed the statement here on the forums. The newer pro bodies (K-5 and beyond) don't seem to have the aperture solenoid problems, however. I can attest that my K-30 had the electrical gremlins, although I am not sure if other people suffered similar problems w/ their K-30 series cameras.


3. Pentax K-01: Shutter problems.


I hypothesize that Pentax used some systems from previous small cameras, such as the K100D when they were making their small but powerful cameras such as the K-r, etc. Maybe problems developed because the K100D was optimized for AA batteries while Pentax moved on to the rechargeable batteries we see now in other cameras. Of course, this is only my opinion based on reading forum posts and I have no knowledge of electronics or camera operations at all. Take this opinion with a huge grain of salt.


Nonetheless, at $500-$700, you can likely buy 2 or 3 of any of these bodies. Also, probability wise, unless more than 50% of a certain camera line has problems, odds are that your camera will be reliable. As to my K-20D, I have only had it for about a month, but it seems pretty reliable. Crossing my fingers that it doesn't develop any problems.

[leekil]

2. Pentax K-r, K-5, maybe K-3: Electrical gremlins and mirror flop. There seem to be a few reviews talking about the reliability problems of the K-r, and a few forum threads dedicated to electrical problems and mirror flop. A lot of problems seem to be related to batteries and electricity delivery. There are multiple threads regarding the K-5 mirror flop problems and a few youtube videos. I think Pentax issued a statement hear on the forums regarding the K-3 mirror flop problems. I didn't look too much into the K-3, I just noticed the statement here on the forums. The newer pro bodies (K-5 and beyond) don't seem to have the aperture solenoid problems, however. I can attest that my K-30 had the electrical gremlins, although I am not sure if other people suffered similar problems w/ their K-30 series cameras.

I don't think there are any serious electrical gremlin or mirror flop issues with the K-5 and K-3. Though there was a K-3 issue that they would do a free fix for, but I don't think many people had it, and I don't know how many people actually got it fixed.

[clackers]

Secondhand KP or K-3 would be my recommendation, Pericombobulation (easier just to call you 'Bob', I think!).

[koolimy]

I don't think there are any serious electrical gremlin or mirror flop issues with the K-5 and K-3. Though there was a K-3 issue that they would do a free fix for, but I don't think many people had it, and I don't know how many people actually got it fixed.

Regarding the K-3, I didn't read up on anything, I just saw the notice posted on here regarding a fix for the mirror flop issue, so that's why I talked about it. I do remember back in the day that there was quite some talk about the K-5 mirror flop issue. I even remember seeing videos showing what exactly the mirror flop looks like. A search on these forums would likely show quite a few threads talking about the mirror flop problem. As I said, this is just my observations from forum posts so I have no idea how prevalent these problems were. It is very likely that the K-5s out there in the wild don't have mirror flop issues, just based on probability alone. I just wanted to give my 2c as I was in the exact same position looking for a reliable camera, and thought the OP could use some of this information when choosing his next camera.

[stevebrot]

Regarding the K-3,

Some early serial number K-3s had what is loosely called "runaway mirror" where the mirror would simply take off and cycle without shutter action until the camera was shut down. The problem was corrected on affected cameras under warranty by a low-level firmware reflash that required a service visit and partial disassembly. A number of owners here took advantage of the fix. At one point, a firmware update (v1.11) included a sentry routine capable of detecting the runaway state and "failing" the exposure attempt as a response. My K-3 is in the affected serial number range, but I have never had evidence of my camera having a problem.

As for mirror flop, that is a strange behavior where the mirror would "flop" a couple of times at end of the shutter cycle. The K-5 and several lower tier models were affected, though I don't remember the cause or whether there was ever a fix.

Google returned a good size list...

Google Search: Pentax Forums | Pentax K-5 mirror flop


Steve

[wkadruje]

Used KPs (as people start selling theirs to get k3iii). KP gave me big upgrade over k-30 a while ago, and I decided to forego k70 completely because of the extra dial (my other camera is Fuji) and had nothing but great time using it

[Wasp]

It's a close call. The KP has a later model sensor that gives better IQ, especially in low light. The K3 II has a shutter life of 200 000 clicks, double that of the KP. It also has dual card slots. So the K3 II should be more reliable. Any used K3 would be pretty long in the tooth by now, so I would give it a miss. Unless you can find a closet queen for a good price.

[RobSpain]

Regarding the K-70, and having read many posts with regard to reliability issues, it seems to me that constant use of the camera is best. Some owners have reported problems with low shutter counts, whereas I saw one post where the owner has notched up over 100k photos with it! The new K3 iii looks a great camera, but is three times the price of a K-70. Is it 3 times a better camera? It's all about budget.

[LittleSkink]

my thoughts would be KP or K3ii - I looked at both recently myself

K3ii is slightly older (lesser high ISO capabilities) but handles really nicely with everything in the right place

KP lacked top LCD and feels / handles rather differently (which didnt suit me but may suit you), has amazing low light capabilities beyond K3ii

either would be a very capable choice