Which Pentax Camera Has The BEST Colors?

Dartmoor Dave · 04-23-2023, 12:26 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Ian Stuart Forsyth

this was done sometime ago with the 654d and 645z camera who's sensors are CCD and CMOS and from 2 different manufactures and IR test scenes

645Z on top and 645D below? I could be wrong because I've never used either of those cameras, but the bottom half has a characteristic CCD look.

I see a significant difference in those skeins of yarn despite everything you've done to try to eliminate it, and it's hard to ascribe that difference to anything other than the sensor. It might not look like a huge difference in that sort of comparison, but over thousands of shots the flatter look of CMOS ends up -- for me at least -- becoming a major issue. Certainly the differences in the greens in that comparison would start driving me nuts over time, because green is a major element in most of the photos I take.

All I'm saying is that for me personally, purely on the basis of my own individual colour perception and photographic priorities, I see enough of a colour rendering difference in the sensors used in different cameras that it's a significant factor for me. I don't understand why some people find that so controversial. Are they upset by the thought that we don't all see colours the same way?

**MiguelATF** · 04-29-2023, 01:56 PM

Originally posted by Fenwoodian

YouTube video

Robin Wong declares in the above video that the cameras with the best colors he's used are the Pentax K-01 and the Canon 5D Mk1 (Classic).

I own both of these cameras, and love the colors that they produce. But I have to say that the 5D beats any other camera I've owned (including the legendary Fuji S5 Pro) when it comes to skin colors.

As far as my opinion on the many Pentax digital cameras I've owned, my clear favorite when it comes to overall color rendering is the K10D with its' CCD sensor. I've never owned the 645D, but from the images I've seen from it, I expect it would be my favorite if I owned it.

Which Pentax camera is your favorite from a colors standpoint?

For me, it's a tossup - between the three Pentaxes I used to have, and the one I have right now.
The three older ones were a K200d, a K-01 and a KP. All three of them created image files with superb colors.
The one I have now, a K-S1, is currently undergoing Solenoid replacement surgery for a case of ABM, but in the limited amount of photographs I've taken with it, it's obvious to me that its digital files are more than equal to those of my other, former Pentaxes. It's worth mentioning that with all of these cameras, I was shooting in RAW and then doing varying bits of processing (via Lightroom 6.14, the last standalone version of LR). None of them were perfect SOOCs, they all needed various bits and pieces of tweaking.

At the risk of being sacrilegious, I have to add that the best SOOC colors I've ever gotten from any modern digital camera have been in one or two Fujis. I think the Fujifilm color engineers are mad geniuses, and what they come up with, especially in the newer iterations of their X-Trans sensors/engines, is (still) mind-blowing to me.

**luftfluss** · 04-29-2023, 02:38 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by MiguelATF

At the risk of being sacrilegious, I have to add that the best SOOC colors I've ever gotten from any modern digital camera have been in one or two Fujis. I think the Fujifilm color engineers are mad geniuses, and what they come up with, especially in the newer iterations of their X-Trans sensors/engines, is (still) mind-blowing to me.

What's funny is I've seen a number of Fujians claim that their older X-Trans bodies produce better colors than the newer 24/26/40MP ones.

Maybe this all tells us more about the nature of humans than the nature of sensors.

traderdrew · 04-29-2023, 03:26 PM

I just stumbled upon this thread. When I was looking at the menu on my K-3 iii, I swore I saw a place in the menu for skin tones and yes, I just found it in the "Image Process Settings" Section 6. Maybe that helps.

HoundFrog · 04-29-2023, 04:34 PM - **1 Like**

I must confess, there's something about K20D's colors. Greens especially, perhaps. I suspect that has something to do with the sensor's vendor (Samsung). I even thought recently about getting a K-7 (Samsung sensor too), but decided it's not worth it giving I have a K20D already.

MrB1 · 04-29-2023, 11:07 PM

Originally posted by luftfluss

Maybe this all tells us more about the nature of humans than the nature of sensors.

+1

Philip

**ProfessorBuzz** · 04-30-2023, 10:55 AM

Originally posted by Serkevan

I'm with Bill here. It took me a long time to get the K-1 to give me pretty skin colours - the K-7 just worked.

The Canon 5D had amazing skin colours as well - the 6D is a touch worse.

Agree with you on the 6D - it was my least favorite, and now long gone. The 5D MK IV was meh.
As far as the K1 goes, I'm undecided - it is better than most of the Canons.
The 645Z is superb.

john5100 · 05-04-2023, 04:16 PM - **3 Likes**

I've owned the Canon 5D, and the color from the 5D Classic is excellent. The other one that I love is the Pentax K200d. Further, everyone said these cameras are terrible in high ISO and they are not at all!

Canon 5D

Carrie Fisher Tribute and Memorial by John Rudolph, on Flickr

Carrie Fisher Tribute and Memorial by John Rudolph, on Flickr

K200D

Big and Rich with Gretchen Wilson by John Rudolph, on Flickr

Fenwoodian · 05-19-2023, 06:15 PM

Originally posted by john5100

I've owned the Canon 5D, and the color from the 5D Classic is excellent. The other one that I love is the Pentax K200d. Further, everyone said these cameras are terrible in high ISO and they are not at all!

.
I totally agree! I currently own 4 copies of the Canon 5D classic. It produces the best colors of any CMOS sensor camera I have ever owned.

Straight Out of Canon 5D "Classic" - A | From JPG, "standard? | Flickr

Straight Out of Canon 5D "Classic" - B | From JPG, "standard? | Flickr

**Rondec** · 05-20-2023, 02:54 AM

I think it depends not only on the camera (sensor), but also on the lens used. There are some lenses that have really odd color casts. My FA 135 f2.8 is a very nice lens as far as sharpness goes, but it has an almost magenta color cast which is hard to correct. Probably the truest colors come from the DFA *50 and 85, but the FA limiteds are a little better.

For cameras, I like the K-1 the best followed by the K-01. I do shoot RAW and so results are tweakable depending on what I am seeing.

mikeSF · 05-28-2023, 10:51 PM - **1 Like**

Whenever I've switched from CCD to CMOS bodies, I've noticed the flatter looking output of the latter.
I still get excited when I look thru SOOC RAWs from my 645D, now long gone.

05-04-2023, 04:16 PM - 3 Likes	#38
john5100 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 1,725	I've owned the Canon 5D, and the color from the 5D Classic is excellent. The other one that I love is the Pentax K200d. Further, everyone said these cameras are terrible in high ISO and they are not at all! Canon 5D Carrie Fisher Tribute and Memorial by John Rudolph, on Flickr Carrie Fisher Tribute and Memorial by John Rudolph, on Flickr K200D Big and Rich with Gretchen Wilson by John Rudolph, on Flickr Big and Rich with Gretchen Wilson by John Rudolph, on Flickr Last edited by john5100; 05-04-2023 at 04:23 PM.

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04-23-2023, 12:26 AM - 1 Like	#31
Dartmoor Dave Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Dartmoor, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,890	Originally posted by Ian Stuart Forsyth this was done sometime ago with the 654d and 645z camera who's sensors are CCD and CMOS and from 2 different manufactures and IR test scenes 645Z on top and 645D below? I could be wrong because I've never used either of those cameras, but the bottom half has a characteristic CCD look. I see a significant difference in those skeins of yarn despite everything you've done to try to eliminate it, and it's hard to ascribe that difference to anything other than the sensor. It might not look like a huge difference in that sort of comparison, but over thousands of shots the flatter look of CMOS ends up -- for me at least -- becoming a major issue. Certainly the differences in the greens in that comparison would start driving me nuts over time, because green is a major element in most of the photos I take. All I'm saying is that for me personally, purely on the basis of my own individual colour perception and photographic priorities, I see enough of a colour rendering difference in the sensors used in different cameras that it's a significant factor for me. I don't understand why some people find that so controversial. Are they upset by the thought that we don't all see colours the same way?

04-29-2023, 01:56 PM	#32
MiguelATF Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Somewhere in Southern Oregon Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 464	Originally posted by Fenwoodian YouTube video Robin Wong declares in the above video that the cameras with the best colors he's used are the Pentax K-01 and the Canon 5D Mk1 (Classic). I own both of these cameras, and love the colors that they produce. But I have to say that the 5D beats any other camera I've owned (including the legendary Fuji S5 Pro) when it comes to skin colors. As far as my opinion on the many Pentax digital cameras I've owned, my clear favorite when it comes to overall color rendering is the K10D with its' CCD sensor. I've never owned the 645D, but from the images I've seen from it, I expect it would be my favorite if I owned it. Which Pentax camera is your favorite from a colors standpoint? For me, it's a tossup - between the three Pentaxes I used to have, and the one I have right now. The three older ones were a K200d, a K-01 and a KP. All three of them created image files with superb colors. The one I have now, a K-S1, is currently undergoing Solenoid replacement surgery for a case of ABM, but in the limited amount of photographs I've taken with it, it's obvious to me that its digital files are more than equal to those of my other, former Pentaxes. It's worth mentioning that with all of these cameras, I was shooting in RAW and then doing varying bits of processing (via Lightroom 6.14, the last standalone version of LR). None of them were perfect SOOCs, they all needed various bits and pieces of tweaking. At the risk of being sacrilegious, I have to add that the best SOOC colors I've ever gotten from any modern digital camera have been in one or two Fujis. I think the Fujifilm color engineers are mad geniuses, and what they come up with, especially in the newer iterations of their X-Trans sensors/engines, is (still) mind-blowing to me.

04-29-2023, 02:38 PM - 1 Like	#33
luftfluss Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: NJ Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,627	Originally posted by MiguelATF At the risk of being sacrilegious, I have to add that the best SOOC colors I've ever gotten from any modern digital camera have been in one or two Fujis. I think the Fujifilm color engineers are mad geniuses, and what they come up with, especially in the newer iterations of their X-Trans sensors/engines, is (still) mind-blowing to me. What's funny is I've seen a number of Fujians claim that their older X-Trans bodies produce better colors than the newer 24/26/40MP ones. Maybe this all tells us more about the nature of humans than the nature of sensors.

04-29-2023, 03:26 PM	#34
traderdrew Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Florida Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 640	I just stumbled upon this thread. When I was looking at the menu on my K-3 iii, I swore I saw a place in the menu for skin tones and yes, I just found it in the "Image Process Settings" Section 6. Maybe that helps.

04-29-2023, 04:34 PM - 1 Like	#35
HoundFrog Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Prague, Czechia Posts: 598	I must confess, there's something about K20D's colors. Greens especially, perhaps. I suspect that has something to do with the sensor's vendor (Samsung). I even thought recently about getting a K-7 (Samsung sensor too), but decided it's not worth it giving I have a K20D already.

04-29-2023, 11:07 PM	#36
MrB1 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2013 Location: Hertfordshire, England Posts: 845	Originally posted by luftfluss Maybe this all tells us more about the nature of humans than the nature of sensors. +1 Philip

04-30-2023, 10:55 AM	#37
ProfessorBuzz Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 1,903	Originally posted by Serkevan I'm with Bill here. It took me a long time to get the K-1 to give me pretty skin colours - the K-7 just worked. The Canon 5D had amazing skin colours as well - the 6D is a touch worse. Agree with you on the 6D - it was my least favorite, and now long gone. The 5D MK IV was meh. As far as the K1 goes, I'm undecided - it is better than most of the Canons. The 645Z is superb.

05-19-2023, 06:15 PM	#39
Fenwoodian Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,875 Original Poster	Originally posted by john5100 I've owned the Canon 5D, and the color from the 5D Classic is excellent. The other one that I love is the Pentax K200d. Further, everyone said these cameras are terrible in high ISO and they are not at all! . I totally agree! I currently own 4 copies of the Canon 5D classic. It produces the best colors of any CMOS sensor camera I have ever owned. Straight Out of Canon 5D "Classic" - A \| From JPG, "standard? \| Flickr Straight Out of Canon 5D "Classic" - B \| From JPG, "standard? \| Flickr

05-20-2023, 02:54 AM	#40
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,663	I think it depends not only on the camera (sensor), but also on the lens used. There are some lenses that have really odd color casts. My FA 135 f2.8 is a very nice lens as far as sharpness goes, but it has an almost magenta color cast which is hard to correct. Probably the truest colors come from the DFA *50 and 85, but the FA limiteds are a little better. For cameras, I like the K-1 the best followed by the K-01. I do shoot RAW and so results are tweakable depending on what I am seeing.

05-28-2023, 10:51 PM - 1 Like	#41
mikeSF Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: East Bay Area, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,622	Whenever I've switched from CCD to CMOS bodies, I've noticed the flatter looking output of the latter. I still get excited when I look thru SOOC RAWs from my 645D, now long gone.