I posted this in my other thread:
K-5 in Use (
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but realized it's much more relevant in this old thread -
so for completeness I'll copy and paste the relevant bits here:
I use a compact camera a lot in smaller clubs - but for low available light I much prefer using my dSLR the K-5 (and previously for the past 3 years the K-x).
For backup I usually carry my compact - often I will take shots with the compact as well just to compare.
Over this weekend I took pics of a jazz band in a fairly low light venue - but the difference was mixed lighting - not just different colors but incandescent and LED.
K-5 shot (EXIF attached)
Compare to a similar shot taken on a compact (Canon G15) - EXIF attached -
Note the difference between the details of the pianist in the center of the pictures -
how the magenta (LED) light plays havoc with the K-5 shot.
details 100% crops (EXIF attached)
K-5
Canon G15
Normally for available light (no flash) shots my choice is the
K-5 - because I prefer its rendition and HighISO performance.
This one case because of the mixed lighting the results of the more humble compact was a lot more preferable, to me.
I've pondered this "magenta problem" for quite some time (I started this thread over 3 years ago)
I think I may have stumbled on an explanation of sorts.
The hint was a while back in Post
#185 in this thread - in using "Muted Color".
This would suggest that Pentax dSLRs (at least K-5 and K-x) tend to over saturate some of the colors to cause some of this LED magenta problem (ie: red and blue)
most of the time this is not a problem under more natural lighting - as this would tend to avoid any sickly greenish tint to flesh tones etc.
in fact, I would go as far to say the K-5 and (previously the K-x) have given me some of the very best renditions at the low light jazz club using just AWB (and subtle setting) -
for lots of samples please see
K-5 in Use (
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Kx in Use (
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How do I illustrate this?
Actually I found a possible example at dpReview's comparison studio test images -
in that shot is a test chart of graduated colored panels without any separators
I selected the bottom right corner where the magenta patches were -
I used ISO3200 as that is better but close to the normal ISO I shoot at
but for the Canon G15 compact I used ISO800 as that has a much faster lens at f/1.8, which allows me to shoot at 2 stops lower sensitivity.
(Just for completeness I chose the closest Canon and Nikon dSLRs to compare at the same ISO3200)
Looking at the 100% crop patches one can see how the lowest right most two patches almost merge on the K-5 sample - and the colors are more saturated -
whereas the Canon G15 patches are quite distinct - despite being a tiny sensor in comparison -
Notice how much more saturated the K-5 patches are -
look at the next row up see how much deeper and more saturated those patches are compared to any of the other cameras.
My take is that Pentax dSLRs (at least the K-5 and K-x) tend to saturate images - and that probably aggravates the LED/magenta problem -
but most of the time this is not a problem as it does give us nice rich colors - and most of my shots are very pleasing to me.