[kman42]

Hi guys, I'm looking to upgrade from my K5ii, and considering the 3 cameras in the title. There's a lot of overlap with specs & features so I'm hoping someone can shed some light.

My primary photography styles are landscape, astrophotography, macro, and shots of my kids.

My reason for upgrading: I'm happy with the general image quality of the K5ii, but the AF is frustrating with my kids, and the lack of any screen articulation is a bit of a pain with macro and astro shooting. Its also a bit heavier than I need, and the auto white balance could be better (I used to shoot exclusively RAW, but with less free time to post process I'm trying to move to JPEG shooting).

Budget is a major factor. Currently for used prices in Australia, the K70 and K3 are the same price at $600. The KS2 is a lot cheaper at $450.

I was initially set on moving to the K3 for the better AF. I would also appreciate the bigger screen, and the better white balancing. I have no use for some of the features like battery grip, headphone port and dual card slots.
The KS2 is very tempting at the better price point and lighter body. Aside from AF, it has the improvements that I'm looking for with the screen and WIFI connectivity. I don't think the battery life would be an issue.
However, its unclear how long exposures can be achieved with the KS2.

I guess my primary questions are:
1. How can I do long exposures (eg 10 minutes) with the KS2? If this cannot be done, the KS2 is useless to me.
2. Aside from slightly higher MP count, are there any advantages in the K70 to justify the higher price over KS2?
3. Is the AF performance in K70 improved over the KS2?
4. What is the white balance/JPEG performance like on the KS2 compared to the K70 or K3?
5. How does the AF performance compare in the KS2/K70 vs the K5ii?
6. What is the high-ISO performance on the KS2 like, compared to K5ii nd the others?

[JohnX]

This doesn't answer your specific questions, but broadly speaking the only upgrade is to the K3 - flagship model to flagship model.

Good as the other two models might be, both are consumer models and unlike the K3 prone to aperture block failure.

[clackers]

Go the K-3, Kman!

On top of all its features, it's simply more robust than the other two. Its autofocus is clearly superior, it does tracking.

[ChristianRock]

If you want to upgrade your AF, none of them. The KP will have better AF than the K-S2 and K-3. The K-3 would not be too far behind, but all reviews point to the KP having better AF.

And the K-S2 is supposed to have the same AF as the K-5II, so I can't see that as being your choice, regardless of the long exposure issue.

More specifically:

1. How can I do long exposures (eg 10 minutes) with the KS2? If this cannot be done, the KS2 is useless to me.
(See here how to accomplish that)

2. Aside from slightly higher MP count, are there any advantages in the K70 to justify the higher price over KS2?
(14-bit RAW, pixel shift, better high ISO performance, SP protection on sensor to help repel dust and dirt, among others)

3. Is the AF performance in K70 improved over the KS2?
Someone who has had both can better answer that but from what I gather - not that much.

4. What is the white balance/JPEG performance like on the KS2 compared to the K70 or K3?
(White balance gets improved with each new version so the K-3, being from 2013, would be the worst I think. But I like JPEGs from K-S1/K-S2 a lot better than the 24MP sensor in the K-3. Have not had K-70 or KP, but I think they're very improved over the K-3.)

5. How does the AF performance compare in the KS2/K70 vs the K5ii?
(Probably about the same. From what I am told the K-S2 has the same AF as the K-5II.)

6. What is the high-ISO performance on the KS2 like, compared to K5ii nd the others?
(K-5II will be slightly better than K-S2, better than K-3 and worse than K-70 and KP, which would have the best high ISO of all except the new K-3 III)

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Last edited by ChristianRock; 11-22-2021 at 03:48 PM.

[caliscouser]

K-3 is heavier though and doesn't have a flippy/tilty screen.

I'm not sure how much more a KP is but I would go for that as it check all your boxes.
Second choice would be the K-70, it gives you pixel-shift and better high-ISO and resolution over K-S2
Metering and AF is basically the same between K-5ii, K-S2 and K-70.

KP has improved AF, better AWB and better metering (and better JPGs IMHO) than the K-5ii, K-S2 & K-70.
K-3 improves the metering and AF too but you don't get a moveable screen.

[AfterPentax Mark II]

Hi guys, I'm looking to upgrade from my K5ii, and considering the 3 cameras in the title. There's a lot of overlap with specs & features so I'm hoping someone can shed some light.

My primary photography styles are landscape, astrophotography, macro, and shots of my kids.

My reason for upgrading: I'm happy with the general image quality of the K5ii, but the AF is frustrating with my kids, and the lack of any screen articulation is a bit of a pain with macro and astro shooting. Its also a bit heavier than I need, and the auto white balance could be better (I used to shoot exclusively RAW, but with less free time to post process I'm trying to move to JPEG shooting).

Budget is a major factor. Currently for used prices in Australia, the K70 and K3 are the same price at $600. The KS2 is a lot cheaper at $450.

I was initially set on moving to the K3 for the better AF. I would also appreciate the bigger screen, and the better white balancing. I have no use for some of the features like battery grip, headphone port and dual card slots.
The KS2 is very tempting at the better price point and lighter body. Aside from AF, it has the improvements that I'm looking for with the screen and WIFI connectivity. I don't think the battery life would be an issue.
However, its unclear how long exposures can be achieved with the KS2.

I guess my primary questions are:
1. How can I do long exposures (eg 10 minutes) with the KS2? If this cannot be done, the KS2 is useless to me.
2. Aside from slightly higher MP count, are there any advantages in the K70 to justify the higher price over KS2?
3. Is the AF performance in K70 improved over the KS2?
4. What is the white balance/JPEG performance like on the KS2 compared to the K70 or K3?
5. How does the AF performance compare in the KS2/K70 vs the K5ii?
6. What is the high-ISO performance on the KS2 like, compared to K5ii nd the others?

Unfortunately you omitted the KP and K-3 Mark II from you wishlist. The K-3 Mark II has GPS and Astrotracer built in! The KP has faster AF and that is great with kids or animals.

[MikeMcE]

I’m going with the flow, the KP is what the Dr ordered


Hang up and DRIVE!

[rr1736]

The K3 is a great camera. A KP would be an acceptable upgrade , if you could find one, but the KS2 and the K70 have been know for Aperture failure. I have a K3 with over 150,000 clicks and it just keeps on going

[kman42]

Thanks for the responses everyone, unfortunately the KP is WELL out of my budget at $950... I realise it would solve all my problems but I can't justify it.
The K3ii doesn't really interest me for the higher price. I have a tracking mount which is better than the astrotracer.
I have read a couple of threads about long exposures with the KS2 - including the link above - but it doesn't give me full confidence of a solution.

[ramseybuckeye]

Have you used the camera comparison tool?

[vector]

I would throw in another vote for a K3 or K3II. Better build, better handling, better AF, decently priced used right now.

[shiner]

Of the three the K-70 would have the best IQ and a flip screen but the K3 controls would be more familiar to you as well as the same battery.

[stevebrot]

The K-3 or K-3II would be the upgrade. The K-S2, while a fine camera with abilities beyond your K-5, lacks flagship features that you will likely miss. The K-70 is everything the K-S2 is not, but still does not match the flexibility of the K-3.

I have considered purchase of the very cool K-70 for low-angle work, video, and second camera to the K-3, but not as a replacement.


Steve

[The Squirrel Mafia]

My reason for upgrading: I'm happy with the general image quality of the K5ii, but the AF is frustrating with my kids, and the lack of any screen articulation is a bit of a pain with macro and astro shooting. Its also a bit heavier than I need, and the auto white balance could be better (I used to shoot exclusively RAW, but with less free time to post process I'm trying to move to JPEG shooting).

I have a K-3II with a the DA 55-300mm & I can tell you that the keeper rate with kids is not that great. The K-3II & KP pretty much have the same AF system. It's a hair better than the K-3, but not by much.

If you want to track your kids a bit better, maybe the K-3III will do & even then you still might not get that many keepers with that camera. But yeah. It's way pricier.

On the plus side, astrophotography is just too stupid easy with the K-3II body. I'd say that it's the one thing that it's really good at. All you need to do is turn on GPS, turn on astrotracer, calibrate it, set on tripod, set to bulb, use live view to focus on stars, & use a remote contro to catch the stars perfectly. No star trails if done correctly.

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with the K-70 & K-S2. They basically use the same AF system that's already in your K-5II. Not to mention that those 2 cameras control the aperture with a solenoid that could potentially fail.

[Thagomizer]

Assuming you haven't done this yet, you can see what other people have done with the bodies you're considering.

K-S2: Post your K-S2 Shots Here - PentaxForums.com

K-70: Pentax K-70 photo samples - PentaxForums.com

K-3 and K-3II: K3 sample shots ... post here ! - PentaxForums.com

Lens selection will be important of course, but seeing actual use images will give you some sense of real-world performance that spec sheets might not.

Speaking personally, I really enjoyed the K-S2, even though it did come down with aperture block failure. I upgraded to the KP (rather than the K-70) for a trip North because of the battery grip, better cold weather performance, and the better build (i.e. no aperture block problem). I did notice an increase in image quality with the KP, but the K-S2 was very good to start with. IQ for the K-70 is supposed to be similar to the KP.

Good luck with your decision!