Pentax K-5 Review

Conclusion

The K-5 has set many firsts for Pentax, and has already gotten the Pentax brand mentioned alongside the industry-leaders, Nikon and Canon, all over the web. It is a fantastic DSLR with exceptional image quality, fast autofocus, high sensitivity, a compact and lightweight design, weather-sealing, and shake reduction backwards-compatible with old lenses even from the screw-mount era. We highly recommend it for three groups of photographers: serious amateurs who have sufficient experience with DSLRs to be able to take advantage of all the K-5's features, outdoor photographers who frequently travel and are looking for a complete weather-resistant DSLR system, and professionals who are looking for a camera with high image quality but are on a budget. If you fall into any one of these groups, we feel the K-5 will be the perfect match for you!

In a nutshell, this camera is state-of-the-art. We hope that it sets a precedent for Pentax, and that it continues selling out among retailers, marking the success of Pentax innovation and giving it the recognition it deserves. We also hope you enjoyed reading our review of the K-5, and see also our K-r review.  If you are interested in posting your own review of the Pentax K-5, you can do so via our user camera review database.

Pros

• Superb image quality
• Excellent for low-light photography (ISO 80-51,200)
• Weather sealed
• Easy-to-use interface with many buttons
• Good overall performance
• Compatible with thousands of lenses
• Very reasonably priced
• AF system improved over the K-7

Cons

• Records video in .AVI format
• Poor selection of video framerates
• AF is not as good as that of the competition
• Too small for some hands without battery grip

Rating

We didn't rate the K-5 until we compared it to the Canon 7D. See the ratings below or view the full breakdown.

Buying the K-5

Ready to get your K-5? We recommend <b>B&H Photo</b> and Adorama Camera, two trusted retailers with a great reputation and prompt (and free) shipping.

If you have any further questions about anything related to the Pentax K-5, we invite you to post in our dedicated Pentax K-5 forum! Or, turn to our Pentax specialist from B&H Photo for any pre-sales questions you might have!