Originally posted by charliezap Time to upgrade my Pentax K5IIs that I had since 2014 ($450 camera body) I'm not looking for the latest and greatest just one that is a couple of steps above what I have now. There are several in the $1000 range and below.Looking for suggestions from my fellow Pentaxians. The picture here is with the K5IIs with my newly acquired Pentax DA 300mm lens.--Thanks--charliezap.
What aspects of the current camera are letting you down? I have some thoughts below. I have excluded the K-3iii due to costs.
Resolution? APSC 24mp (50% increase in pixels): in these models (KP, K-70, K-3II, K-3); APSC 20mp: K-S1, K-S2
Low Light Performance: Accelerator based bodies provide meaningful high iso improvements - this is more evident in jpg shots but has impact even on Raw files. The best post processing tools like DXO Photo Lab DeepPrime noise reduction can provide similar output but I like the built in accelerator. APSC models with this are: K-70, KP, K-1ii (might be above budget, is full frame which may not fit well depending on your lenses and budget.); K-3, K-3ii, K-S1, K-S2 all have slightly lower low light performance than the K5iis unless you use down sampling to reduce resolution back to 16mp. In my own experience this isn’t a major factor. For example the slight differences between K-5iis and K-3 is not large.
Focusing: k-3, k-3ii, k-70, k-1, k-1ii. All of these improve focusing over the k5iis. I am unclear how the K-S1 and K-S2 stack up against the K-5iis.
Frame rates: The K-70 has a slight bump in buffer performance but about a 1fps drop in continuous frame rates from the current K5iis you have. The K-3 / K-3ii both offer a slight bump (1.3fps) in frame rates and a deeper buffer. The KP offers the same frame rate but a slightly reduced buffer size.
Ergonomics: The KP is more like a film SLR in that the grips are quite different than the K-5/K-3 type. This can be an adjustment for some; for me I found that the KP was something I liked after a week of actual use. The k-3 I still own is a better grip and the top lcd is nice. The KP offers a third control wheel which I find is a huge benefit on that camera. The KP does have a few less dedicated buttons and less features lacking an Infrared Remote control option for example.