Pentax How do you like your Pentax K-5? And please show us some of your photos!

Thanks BB for starting this thread!

So the K5 arrived on Thursday and I had a chance to take a few photos today. Yes, I have a severe case of CBA and LBA. And I can't find the cure ... so ... I also ended up getting three lenses with the K5 -- the DA21, FA43 and FA100 WR.

I am super impressed with the build of the K5 and all three lenses. First thought about the K5 -- it's bigger than I thought. Definitely a serious camera. Compact ... eh ... maybe semi-compact? I'd seen photos comparing the GH2 and K5, and the K5 appeared to be not too much larger than the GH2. Put them side by side in front of me, and reality sets in. It looks larger and it definitely feels larger. I'd say the K5 is more close in size to the Nikon D7000 than the GH2. That being said, the ergonomics of the K5 are awesome for the most part. So thankful for the ISO button right next to the shutter!

The build of the DA21, FA43 and FA100 are awesome too. The two Ltd lenses remind me of the build of some of my Voigtlander M lenses. Total metal construction, solid, and the slide on cap lined with felt. The screw on hood on the FA43 is one ugly thing though, just like the one in the Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.5, which also has the slide on cap lined with felt. Yikes.

The lens that impressed me the most was the FA100 WR. I can't believe Pentax didn't put a "Star" or "Ltd" on its name. Even though it's three inches in length, its diameter is small, and it's very light. But it's the construction that is most impressive. Solid metal, black matte color, smooth as silk. Very Leica-like construction.

Anyway, more thoughts on the lenses and camera some other time. Here are the first few photos that I took (other than the testing for front focus). All photos taken in RAW and processed through Lightroom 3.3.

K5 + FA43

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K5 + FA43

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K5 + FA43

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K5 + FA43

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K5 + FA43

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K5 + FA43

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K5 + FA100 WR Macro
Focus point was the thingies in the middle of the tulip ... not sure what that's called! Thank you Pentax for SR as this was a handheld macro.

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Very nice tones in those beautiful images. My very first SLR was a second hand Asahi Pentax SL back in 1977 and I have very fond memories of it.
 
Armando, I'm proud of you for accepting your variations of GAS (CBA and LBA). Life is too short to berate oneself for GAS, as long as it doesn't put one in the poor house.;)

How do you envision using this Pentax versus your other cameras? Do you think you'll do some stealth wedding photographs with it? I'm joking, but not really. Very nice colors in these pictures and you found yourself such a lovely model, too!
 
Armando, I'm proud of you for accepting your variations of GAS (CBA and LBA). Life is too short to berate oneself for GAS, as long as it doesn't put one in the poor house.;)

How do you envision using this Pentax versus your other cameras? Do you think you'll do some stealth wedding photographs with it? I'm joking, but not really. Very nice colors in these pictures and you found yourself such a lovely model, too!
 
Hey All,

Well I don't have my K-5 yet but will within a week or two. That said I have handled them a lot and I would say that definitely the K-5 is closer to a GH2 than a D7000. The K-5 is smaller than a D5000. My criteria however are height, width and depth. If I were to use weight as a criteria then yes the K-5 is closer to a D7000. The K-5 feels like a small dense brick in your hands. Up too a point weight doesn't bother me as much as physical size and cameras can also definitely get too heavy for my liking - for example a 7D. What I have always really liked about the G1 I use is the physical size but in all honesty it always felt it to be a bit on the light side for me. It is all in the eyes and hands of the beholder.

Those are great pictures and I have thought about going all primes - and Pentax is the company to do it with - but will still I think opt for mostly zooms since I don't like changing lenses outdoors any more than I must.

Within the flower the purple thing in the middle is a pistil (female plant part) and the brown things surrounding it are stamens (male plant parts).

-Ed-
 
I received my K5 last week together with the DA40 Limited lens. I took a few photos in the evening and was a bit disappointed with them. The following day was incredibly bright and sunny and so I thought it would be a good day for testing. Anyway, bottom line is that I think the lens may be defective so I returned it. I'll be getting my new lens next Tuesday and will hopefully be bowled over and full of the joys of Spring!!! I decided to go for the 35mm 2.8 macro limited as I read many good things about this lens. If the pics are still not good then I'll know it's the camera rather than the lens.
 
It's a darn good thing you tested the lens, Christina! I hope you'll be extremely happy with the new lens.

Ed, keep us posted on the arrival of your small enough Pentax K-5 and be sure to post some photographs after you get to know it.(y)
 
Hey All,

Christilou do post these images and ask for help at Pentaxforums. Some K-5s have front focus issues and some may need calibration for the lens - even though they should be seamless. Also be sure to check for any stains on the sensor. I know that there are these issues with the camera but for me the potential simply overwhelms them but it may take some time to get them all sorted out. Seems the technology isn't perfect - even the D7000 has "issues".

I will let the forum know when I get it.

-Ed-
 
EasyEd, I've read a lot on the Pentax forum regarding the front/back focus issues and the sensor stain. My dealer said his were all new stock so I thought that I wouldn't go looking for problems. A lot of people have said that it only shows up in certain situations and isn't normally a problem. With regard to the front focusing issue, well I have considered that but I used spot focus. It uses a very tiny single box and even when I tried focusing on a bee on some leaves, there was nothing in focus at all. It was just mush! Some pictures look sharp until zoomed in when the mush becomes much more apparent. I may try posting some photos and see what comes up there if the new 35mm lens is just the same, if only to get some advice on how to calibrate (absurd since this is one of the reasons that I shy away from spending big bucks on the Leica 9, the calibration necessary for the lens!!!) Thanks for your help EasyEd :)
 
Thanks BB! We need to start a support group. GAS Anonymous. LOL!

Not quite sure where the K-5 fits in yet. It's without a doubt a very very good camera. Definitely superior to the GH2 and NEX3 in still photos. Better than a M9 at high ISO. Great button configurations. This sounds kind of odd, but the K-5 is just too chunky for me. Its shape is just odd. It's even more odd with pancake lens mounted on its chunky body. I'm probably just being glib. Haha, that's what this girl once called me.

Can't do stealth wedding photos with the K-5 yet. I don't have a long telephoto lens, and would have to get up close and personal!

The lovely model is the significant other. Thankfully, she hasn't asked me yet how much the new camera was. I dodged the question about the M9 several times. But she already knows I have GAS!


Armando, I'm proud of you for accepting your variations of GAS (CBA and LBA). Life is too short to berate oneself for GAS, as long as it doesn't put one in the poor house.;)

How do you envision using this Pentax versus your other cameras? Do you think you'll do some stealth wedding photographs with it? I'm joking, but not really. Very nice colors in these pictures and you found yourself such a lovely model, too!
 
The front focusing issue apparently only happens in low tungsten light situations. Your out of focus phot was outdoors. So it's pretty strange. Hopefully, it was just the lens and nothing else. Firmware 1.03 supposedly fixes the low tungesten light problems. I haven't upgraded the firmware in my K-5 yet though. But I haven't seen any severe front focus in tungsten light yet. And I haven't performed the stain test either. On the other hand, I haven't seen any stains in the normal looking photos I've taken.

Keep us posted when you get your 35 macro in. A lot of people rave about that lens.

EasyEd, I've read a lot on the Pentax forum regarding the front/back focus issues and the sensor stain. My dealer said his were all new stock so I thought that I wouldn't go looking for problems. A lot of people have said that it only shows up in certain situations and isn't normally a problem. With regard to the front focusing issue, well I have considered that but I used spot focus. It uses a very tiny single box and even when I tried focusing on a bee on some leaves, there was nothing in focus at all. It was just mush! Some pictures look sharp until zoomed in when the mush becomes much more apparent. I may try posting some photos and see what comes up there if the new 35mm lens is just the same, if only to get some advice on how to calibrate (absurd since this is one of the reasons that I shy away from spending big bucks on the Leica 9, the calibration necessary for the lens!!!) Thanks for your help EasyEd :)
 
...I have GAS!...

that made me chuckle briefly... :tongue:

:D I've got alot to share about the K5, and I'm glad other members have picked one up too.

RE K5 issues: I heard that 1.03 firmware fixes the ff and bf issues, however Christi, that definately looks like it is the lens. If anyone wants to check if they have any FF or BF issues, then using a tripod (or table) take a photo with normal af (phase detect) then switch to live view and take the photo (contrast detect af). Contrast detect shd always nail focus dead on, and just see if there's in difference in the 2 photos you take. Stain wise, all new cameras shd be stainfree and checked by pentax, it seems most cameras serial numbers beginin with 393 onwards are fine.

35macro sounds a great lens - I think it'll be perfect for christi as she takes a lot of flower photos (i think), its got great contrast and sharpness even wide open.
 
My opinion of the K5: I love it! it has great ergonomics (honestly the most comfy camera I've ever held), crazy good ISO performance, and is built like a tank (without feeling like one as its pretty small and light compared to other dslr's). The thing I like the most about the k5 is that the out of camera jpegs are great (low noise and great colour and contrast), this is a biggy for me as I prefer to do minimum PP where possible (I'm lazy!). Negatives - its lightweight in comparison to other dslr's of its class only, mirrorless cameras are generally atleast 1/2 the k5s weight, no af in video.

A few photos:

out of camera jpg with the 31ltd:

View attachment 34390Friendly Candid by vincechu89, on Flickr

View attachment 34391IMGP0660 by vincechu89, on Flickr

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IMGP0210.jpg by vincechu89, on Flickr

Surprised how the metering handled so many different sources of light (window, laptop screen, lightbulbs above, and light from the mirror to the right)
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IMGP0283.jpg by vincechu89, on Flickr

In this last one, the sky detail looked blown, however careful raw processing brought back the colour and detail - the k5 has amazing dynamic range:

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IMGP0858 Edit from Raw by vincechu89, on Flickr
 
I love my Micro 4/3 kit and can in no way justify adding a Pentax K-5, and yet I find myself strongly drawn towards buying a Pentax K-5, most likely with a 35mm f/2.4 lens.
 
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