Pentax K-5 II / IIs Review

Moire: Real World Examples

When shooting buildings or other man-made objects, as opposed to landscapes, you run a greater risk of seeing moiré.  After about a week with the camera, we found its first manifestation.  Here is the full scene:

Real-world moire scene

While the pattern in the roof of the crooked tan building isn't fine enough to provoke moiré, if you look a little to the left, you'll be able to spot some on the roof of the silver building behind it!  Here is the 100% crop from the K-5 IIs:

Pentax K-5ss: Moire

Here is the same crop from the original Pentax K-5:

Pentax K-5: No moire

Both photos were taken using the FA 77mm F1.8 Limited lens at F5.6 and ISO 100.

Here is another photo at F5.6 in which moire was clearly visible. The full-sized versions and K-5 II comparisons are available here, later in the review.

Moire 2

100% crop:

Pentax K-5 IIs Moire 2

While the presence of moiré will make little or no difference in web-sized versions of these particular photos, those considering the K-5 IIs should keep in mind that moire may sneak into your photos unexpectedly.

Verdict on Moiré

We find that the risk of moiré is low to non-existing in most situations, especially when shooting anything that's non man-made.  Where moire is present, chances are it will not have a significant effect on the final product unless your whole photo consists of an extremely fine texture (if you make a living of photographing clothes and textiles the K-5 IIs is not for you, but for the rest of us the increased risk of moiré is a small price to pay for the improvement in resolution and clarity).  In addition, the risk is only high when shooting at fast apertures.  Thus, even if one has the K-5 IIs, moiré can be averted by stopping down should you notice it in an earlier photo.

Cacti, like textiles, are apparently not K-5 IIs-friendly!


facebook.com/PentaxForums PentaxForums @PentaxForums News | Reviews | Forum

Support Pentax Forums Donate to Pentax Forums Support Pentax Forums