[BirdDude007]

Well folks it has been one week now that I have had my K-5 and I absolutely love this piece of equipment. Now-I am no pro at photography, in fact I still consider myself a mere novice, however I will be doing my first paid gig tomorrow, it is a small paying gig with some friends but it's a gig non the less, wish me luck.
After a year and two months handling my K-x and relearning photography on a DSLR I finally bit the bullet and got a new K-5, and am not regretting it one bit.
I have spent most of my time this last week studying the manual and playing with all the new settings on my camera and so today I actually went out with my wife (she sported the K-x) on a little nature walk/photo shoot. This is a whole new thing that we have discovered that we like doing together. It was cloudy today and actually I like shooting in overcast weather. I packed my total mixmatched bag of lenses along and took many shots utilizing most all of them. I really want to put my Old Vivitar lenses through the motions and I am actually impressed with them.
Now back to the camera, this thing has all the buttons and controls right where I need them, I can actually find my way around this camera a lot easier than I did with my K-x, although I still feel that the K-x is an outstanding camera and we will keep it no matter what.
I really like how solid this thing feels in my hands, how quiet it is, and how easy it is to use, it doesn't make me any better of a photographer, but it makes everything easier for me as a photographer.
One of the most useful things I found with this camera was (believe it or not) the LCD screen on top of the camera, I find that I use that mostly, other than that I use the VF read out, I never really use the rear LCD but for chimping my images.
I STILL take just as good of images I did with my K-x, but I notice the images are a little bit better for quality compared to the other camera, however my wife strives for perfection and she is actually putting out some mighty fine images with that K-x.
I like how this thing fits my hands just perfectly, how I can go right to the last place I was in the menu anytime I want, love the front and rear e-dials, the dedicated ISO buttons, love what seems a lot faster and accurate focus, the higher resolution (even though I could live without it if need be, it really slow my computer down a lot more with the larger files) I love the weather sealing although I havent put that to the test yet.
This camera Hands down blows away the K-x, bu tlike I said before- the K-x is STILL a very important part of my equipment, my wife is really figuring that little camera out quickly and I know once she picks up my K-5 she will realize the need for her to have one as well. In fact I am actually pushing for her to get one especially since they are on sale now. She is actually in agreement but we just left it up to her to make that decision, I hope she decides to get one so that with two K-5s we should always have one around as a back up, and we can also get our daughter started in photography with the K-x.
This camera is an excellent piece of equipment and is the perfect tool for pushing your imagination in photography, if you are thinking of moving up to one then I strongly reccomend it, you wont regret it. I wouldn't just sit around waiting for the next big thing to come along seeing as it is probably a year out til production and even then since it will be a first run of a model you will most likely be sending it back in for repairs on issues they most likey will overlook in production, when all the while in the meantime you could be out there taking pictures with a proven tool that even now is more affordable than it ever was.
Just my two cents.
Here are a couple of pics, keep in mind I am just a mere novice at this~

[Docrwm]

Love that last photo. Glad that you love your K5, mine is a lot of fun too.

[Welfl]

That is an excellent review, as written from the perspective of a photography enthusiast instead of an extremely technical "professional." Your praise of the K-5 is very much like mine, as I have studied it in detail, and also -- at least -- a couple thousand photos produced by it (here and on Flickr) for more than a year now. It has never failed to destroy every competitor to which I have compared it.

Thank you.

P.S. And gosh dang it too. Your story has made it very difficult for me to keep waiting (possibly past the $999 sale) for the K-r replacement (aka a "K-5 Lite"), which will have focus peaking and better video capabilities.

[BirdDude007]

Love that last photo. Glad that you love your K5, mine is a lot of fun too.

Thank You, that was a product of a little PP in Lightroom, there is one thing I really hate about these forums and that is how "out of focus" my images end up looking when they are uploaded in here, the original image really pops with how crisp the focus is, the uploaded images in here do the originals no justice IMO.

[lammie200]

...there is one thing I really hate about these forums and that is how "out of focus" my images end up looking when they are uploaded in here, the original image really pops with how crisp the focus is, the uploaded images in here do the originals no justice IMO.

I am having the same issue, so I hardly ever post photos. I am sure that there is something that I am doing wrong in photoshop. I haven't given up, but I also haven't found the time to get it right. Kinda wish I knew how to use the program better, because I want to share more of my pics on this forum.

[BirdDude007]

That is an excellent review, as written from the perspective of a photography enthusiast instead of an extremely technical "professional." Your praise of the K-5 is very much like mine, as I have studied it in detail, and also -- at least -- a couple thousand photos produced by it (here and on Flickr) for more than a year now. It has never failed to destroy every competitor to which I have compared it.

Thank you.

P.S. And gosh dang it too. Your story has made it very difficult for me to keep waiting (possibly past the $999 sale) for the K-r replacement (aka a "K-5 Lite"), which will have focus peaking and better video capabilities.

Ha Ha thanks, I find the more I use the K-5 the more I enjoy it and actually look forward to using it and trying out new things on it.

I could imagine you could wait for the K-r replacement if you really need things like the focus peaking and if you use the video, but this camera is way more than adequate for what I need it for, I don't know what focus peaking is(so I guess I dont have a need for it) neither do I ever use the video on this thing(maybe I should at least try it out to see if it works)
You will also most likely be paying top dollar for the K-r replacement which will most likely be near the same price of a K-5 (now) so I guess that would be a tough decision for you. For me it is a no brainer, a top of the line APSC camera that puts many other makes to shame for under $1k? Thats a done deal for me.

[BirdDude007]

I am having the same issue, so I hardly ever post photos. I am sure that there is something that I am doing wrong in photoshop. I haven't given up, but I also haven't found the time to get it right. Kinda wish I knew how to use the program better, because I want to share more of my pics on this forum.

You arent doing anything wrong as far as I can see, I have tried do many different things to get my images to post clearer but with no luck. It irks me to see that other images that people post in here are awesome in clarity and quality. The only thing I think it could be is something to do with the forum resizing them in their format of Jpegs. Ya when your original image on your computer is compressed to a JPEG format we all know that they lose a little quality, when those same images are resized when they are uploaded in here they are even compressed a lot more, thus creating a crappy image.
I am a member of some other forums and NON of them have the display problems like I have in here, I literally have torn my last two hairs out in here trying to figure out how to get my images to upload and display a likeliness as to how the original image was made. I will never get that time or hair back that I wasted over this issue

[Welfl]

I don't know what focus peaking is(so I guess I dont have a need for it) neither do I ever use the video on this thing (maybe I should at least try it out to see if it works).

Focus peaking helps you to attain perfect focus with old manual lenses. It is a feature that, so far, only the K-01 has among Pentax cameras, although other camera companies, such as Sony, also have it. If you use the LCD on the back of the camera to compose a picture, the area that is in perfect focus will be outlined in white. Ned Bunnell, president of Pentax USA, produced this short video to show how it works:

Vimeo

It shows the LCD on the back of his K-01 as he is manually adjusting the focus on the lens. You can see the in-focus area moving back and forth as he turns the lens' focus ring. Prior to February 1, I had never heard of focus peaking, and I sometimes wish I had never heard of it, because it made my formerly EASY decision to buy a K-5 -- when it became affordable -- much harder than it should be. For me, with all of my old lenses, focus peaking is an amazing invention. Pentax could probably easily add it to the K-5 with with a firmware update (that's what Sony did last summer with two of their NEX cameras), but will Pentax do it? I don't buy this modern attitude that it is okay to abandon support for your products as soon as the replacement model is ready to come out.

As for video: I could actually live without it in a still camera, since I want the K-5 mostly for the sake of taking stills; however, if I am going to pay that much for a camera that has video capabilities, I would like them to be practical to use. From 1974 to 1989, I took nothing but photographs. From 1989 to about 2002, I did mostly video, so I have a fondness for both formats.

You will also most likely be paying top dollar for the K-r replacement which will most likely be near the same price of a K-5 (now) so I guess that would be a tough decision for you.

You're right. That's the dilemma I'm in right now. I would love, love, love the weather-sealing and tank-like construction of the K-5, but, if I ever buy one, I will probably never test it even in a light drizzle. However, I must admit that here in western Nebraska, when the wind blows in the spring and fall, it's sometimes almost like the Dust Bowl days of Dirty Thirties. We had one of those days last week.

[panoguy]

I am a member of some other forums and NON of them have the display problems like I have in here, I literally have torn my last two hairs out in here trying to figure out how to get my images to upload and display a likeliness as to how the original image was made. I will never get that time or hair back that I wasted over this issue

Ha! Glad you like the camera - it will serve you well for a long, long time. BTW, I like your shot of the barbed wire, but I'm not a big fan of the haloed HDRs...

Here's the secret to sharp(er) images on PForums: host your own (on your own site or Flickr or Smugmug) and don't upload them to this site. Also, resize your images in Photoshop to be the exact size you want them to be here before you upload them anywhere. Image resizing automatically done on a server to an already small-ish JPEG (with Imagemagick or GD or whatever) will never be as good as resizing the original to the intended size and then compressing it to a JPEG.

[lammie200]

...The only thing I think it could be is something to do with the forum resizing them in their format of Jpegs. Ya when your original image on your computer is compressed to a JPEG format we all know that they lose a little quality, when those same images are resized when they are uploaded in here they are even compressed a lot more, thus creating a crappy image. ...I literally have torn my last two hairs out...

That's when I have the issues. It is all about resizing. Luckily I still have all my hair - one of my brothers doesn't like that fact though!:ugh:

...Here's the secret to sharp(er) images on PForums: host your own (on your own site or Flickr or Smugmug) and don't upload them to this site. Also, resize your images in Photoshop to be the exact size you want them to be here before you upload them anywhere. Image resizing automatically done on a server to an already small-ish JPEG (with Imagemagick or GD or whatever) will never be as good as resizing the original to the intended size and then compressing it to a JPEG.

Thanks for the tips. I'll give that a go next time around.

[panoguy]

Here's another tip for sharper images when prepping them for the web. If you use Photoshop, before you commit to the new size in the Image -> Image Size.. dialog, change the resizing "method" to Bicubic Sharper, and sharpen as it shrinks!

[BirdDude007]

Ha! Glad you like the camera - it will serve you well for a long, long time. BTW, I like your shot of the barbed wire, but I'm not a big fan of the haloed HDRs...

Here's the secret to sharp(er) images on PForums: host your own (on your own site or Flickr or Smugmug) and don't upload them to this site. Also, resize your images in Photoshop to be the exact size you want them to be here before you upload them anywhere. Image resizing automatically done on a server to an already small-ish JPEG (with Imagemagick or GD or whatever) will never be as good as resizing the original to the intended size and then compressing it to a JPEG.

Wow! good eye on the "HDR" I really didn't mean for that to come out like that, I had a hell of a time trying to get the detail in the clouds to show in lightroom, guess I need to learn a lot mor in LR.

Yes I do use PS and am still learning about resizing images, I imagine it would make sense to resize the images to the size I want them to be in here that way it doesn't get resized when I upload it. Thanks for the info.

[crewl1]

Just link the pictures from flickr instead of attaching them here. Use the share function as bb code. They will appear sharp.

[BirdDude007]

Just link the pictures from flickr instead of attaching them here. Use the share function as bb code. They will appear sharp.

Huh? Share funtion? bb code? dunno what all that is, can you please enlighten me?

[crewl1]

I'm sorry I thought you mentioned having a flickr account. If you don't have one consider getting one.
You upload your pictures there and then link to them so they appear in the forum posts by pasting the appropriate code like so.