Pentax K-5 wins DPReview's "Best APS-C DSLR" Gold Award

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Silver went to the Nikon D700 (if you want to spend $800 more than the K-5).

I have a K-x which is an incredible value at less than $500. Both cameras are Best in Class for high ISO in their price ranges. The real-world shots I've seen with the K-5 are just outstanding.

I just know there is a K-5 out there with my name on it, but so far I have found no corresponding chunk of change with my name on it. :(

Conclusions of the full DPReview is here.
 
Yea I am done buying bodies until there is GPS in them. Stick with the 10-20 on the k-x and the 50-200 on the k200d
 
Well for me Scott this one has the low noise levels that is surpassing some full frames at this time and that has been something I have been wanting worse than GPS. This may make a world of difference for me in regards to not only low light shooting but my astronomy type shots that suffer the worst from noise.
 
Darren, what degree of backward compatibility do these bodies have with old K lenses? I assume they will attach to the camera (!) and probably allow some sort of manually actuated aperture priority TTL metering. Thanks.
 
Pentax recall on the K-5

Gotta love it when "they" hand out awards like this before the camera has had much real world use. (premature) Thought this might be of interest to you Pentax users.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=37577147

Jim, did you mean silver went to the D7000, not the 700? I might add that even before I saw the recall I was reluctant to believe this camera won DP's gold award. After reading the reviews I was surprised to see the specs, most particularly high ISO and the ability to produce sharp pictures. If they can get the issue fixed with the stained sensors this could pull some of the Nikonions and Canon shooters towards Pentax.

Admittedly, when the Nikon D7000 I did not make the jump and upgrade from my D90 right away simply becuase I was worried about the new Nikon sensor versus the Sony sensor that Nikon had been using for many years. Thankfully I am glad I didn't make that jump because of the hot pixels issue and some other tweaks. Of course Nikon has an upgrade but I am still reluctant to move forward until the next batch starts moving in. Maybe it might be time to start really looking at Pentax??? Too bad I have got so much wrapped up in nikkor glass and acc.!
 
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Actually I have been following the stained sensor issue since it began weeks ago, They had already figured out what happened for the most part. The stains are between the filters and the sensor, something from the manufacturing process. My personal guess is that it was some impurities in a bonding agent that became apparent upon drying or heating of the sensor. They had been replacing those units for a while before the recall (as they call it) occurred.

And that was Darren's D700 remark and I assume he meant D7000

Besides the weather sealing being important to me so was Dynamic range:

DxOMark review for APS-C camera 2010 : who takes the lead ?

The Pentax K5 performs well in terms of SNR, but it is even better with respect to dynamic range. The performance is especially impressive at low ISO speeds. Between ISO 100 and ISO 400, the D7000 has exactly the same metrics, but the Pentax K5 takes the lead by providing better DR at ISO 80. And from ISO 800 on, the K5 takes the lead; this tendency is increased from ISO 3200 thanks to the smoothing observed in the K5 processing

The best APS-C in all tested fields

No need for suspense: this new 16.3 MP sensor is simply the best APS-C we have tested so far, sometimes able to compete even with very high-end full-frame cameras.

K5 vs D3x – Dynamic Range: the $1300 APS-C Pentax has a better dynamic range than Nikon’s $9000 full-frame flagship.

The real deal for me is the fact that even the prime lenses are loads cheaper than Nikon and canon and you can still yet use the old lenses.

Pentax recall on the K-5

Gotta love it when "they" hand out awards like this before the camera has had much real world use. (premature) Thought this might be of interest to you Pentax users.

Jim, did you mean silver went to the D7000, not the 700?........... Maybe it might be time to start really looking at Pentax??? Too bad I have got so much wrapped up in nikkor glass and acc.!
 
Okay, Jim, question for you...actually more of me just thinking out loud :) I was just thinking about matching up price for product so to speak, what I mean is How much my Nikon product is worth versus what I could get Pentax wise? All things considering of course.

I currently have the Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm 1.8, Nikkor 18-105 VRII (kit) 3.5-5.6, MB D80 battery pack, 2 ENL-E3 nikon batterys, Nikkor 18-55mm VR (kit) 3.5-5.6

I think roughly I could get $1,100-$1,300 for list. Hmmmm....makes me wonder. Obviously I have been looking at some of the Pentax models since your post, and I know both the K7 and K5 have weather seals. AS you probably already know my Nikon does not which would be a real bonus for me. So I gotta ask, How good are the seals?
 
First keep in mind that it is only truly sealed with weather resistant lenses. WR and DA* (the * is the indicator)
And its weather resistant, not proof.

I think that even the Nikon comparable lenses in the Pentax WR - DA* versions will still be cheaper than the Nikon.

Mine has been real wet at times, nervously at times without the WR lenses but still never had a problem.

I do recommend the K-5 and not the K-7 however as your first one due to the higher noise levels of the K-7 at higher ISO's

For weather sealing, about this good:



Billy Mays wannabe version :) K-7



K-5



Japanese version. LOL



Things to remember.. The Pentax manual video controls have a lot to be desired if you are thinking of using this for video.
 
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Congrats on your new purchase Jim. I'm new to the Pentax crowd but have been toying around with the Kx I bought my wife for Christmas. I'm glad I went the Pentax route and am looking forward to learning the ropes on all of the settings it has. Keep us posted if you capture any killer photos in the near future.
 
Great shot, Jim. I've started researching the various DSLRs, and I am most impressed with the k-5 with its weather sealing, and amazing low light, low noise, dynamic range capabilities. Have they ironed out all the issues with the stained sensors?
 
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