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

[Jim Saueressig]

Have they ironed out all the issues with the stained sensors?

I believe they have for the most part, I have checked mine and ran video to heat the sensor and have found nothing on mine yet. I think you are safe unless you get an older one. The only other issue has been a rare scenario where you get FF under tungsten light at a few EV steps and even then it seems to only affect some and only in a situation you basically have to force yourself into. The FF issue appears to be affecting the nikons 7000's and some canons as well though.

I was most impressed with the shot there because usually you wash a lot shooting the sun and especially the ground and in this case it is nearly looking like an HDR shot......

 

[Skip Talbot]

Thanks for the info, Jim.

I've been heavily considering either the k-5 or d7000 along with their midrange counterparts. From the reviews I've read, I've been extremely impressed with the dynamic range, low noise and low light capabilities of these two cameras (since they are using basically the same sensor). I was hoping to get some feedback on whether the additional features of these models would justify the price, which is nearly double the midrange models, for someone entering the DSLR realm for a chasing application. I'll post in the k-5 thread since that's the model I've been researching the most. I'd greatly appreciate suggestions or input from owners of others makes and models as well, however.

So am I getting wrapped up in the details, or would the new features of the k-5 (and d7000) be quite advantageous in a chasing application?

• Improved sensor - This sensor seems like a huge gain for the k-5 and d7000. The noise levels in the images, low light, and high ISO performance look great. The capabilities of this sensor seem like they'd make the k-5 and d7000 very attractive for chasers who usually find themselves shooting in low light conditions (7:30 pm under the RFB).
• Weather sealing - The k-5 features a weather sealed body, which sounds very attractive in a chasing application. I'd love to be able to step out of the van when its raining and grab a shot if I have to and not worry about a few rain drops that hit the camera in the process, or having the camera clogged with dust when I'm hit by gust front. I was planning on getting a nice wide angle lens, but the options for weather resistant lenses seem quite limited, however. Is the weather sealing on the body compromised if I get a lens that is not sealed? Is there a good wide angle zoom that's weather resistant?
• 14-bit Raw Format - I'm not sure if this is just a trivial tech spec, but the addition of two extra bits of pixel depth seems like it would be great for shooting HDR images or pulling some contrast out of really low contrast scenes like a rain wrapped tornado. Does the dynamic range of the camera effectively use these additional bits? Am I really getting extra shades of grey, or just more diverse values in the noise?
• 16 Megapixels - Sure, 12 megapixels is good enough right? But with the increased sensitivity of the sensor, it seems like the increased resolution could really benefit my images. I was planning on shooting with just a good wide lens, so I imagine I'll wind up cropping some of my shots where I couldn't get close enough in time to better frame the shot. The additional resolution seems like it would give me more room to crop.
• 1080-25p Video - When I first started researching these cameras, I thought to myself, "I could care less about video" since I already have a camcorder that shoots 1080-60i. The more I think about it though, it might be nice to supplement my Blu-ray productios with shots from the DSLR, and I'll be missing out if I get something with 720p. I imagine the DSLR is going to produce higher quality video than the camcorder, anyway.
• Additional Auto-Focus points - I don't really know much about this but it seems to be one of the major upgrades. I kind of assumed you set the focus to infinity when shooting storms like you do on a camcorder. Is this a useful addition for storm photography?

So am I off base in thinking that these features would come in handy on the chase? If you guys say something like, "14 bits gives you no additional dynamic range and you'll never use it anyway, the difference between the sensors is trivial, and 16 megapixels gives you no additional quality when cropping" then I might be more inclined to get one of the mid range models. Thanks for any input.

 

[Jim Saueressig]

To me the greatest chase factor is going to be the weather sealing in the rain and dust conditions followed by its dynamic range and low light ability to capture storms in all their highly contrasted glory especially at dusk. The video features are so so in my opinion. There are limited manual controls and you are still limited to about 8 minutes at a time as with most HD dslr's.

You are at a greater risk without weather sealed lenses but even the weather sealed lenses are much cheaper than their non weather sealed Nikon and Canon counterparts. I have usually shot with non sealed lenses and never had a problem yet.

I personally only use the center focus point for all of my shooting.

The dynamic range is most evident to me in the amount of details pulled from dark areas that are in high contrast from the bright areas without blowing the highlights out like normal as well. Example:



I get so many more details from the dark areas while not blowing the sun area out completely. To me this is going to help a load in a storm scenario.

Look up Pentax DA* (note the star) and WR lenses on amazon for what is available in WR lenses and also of note is that they are adding more all of the time and I have read that Sigma is starting up some WR lenses.

 

[Mark Blue]

Your new camera really takes some nice shots that's for sure Jim - it gives me something to aspire to. The one thing I'm realizing now Skip is the expense involved with purchasing a DSLR. The body is one thing, but the accessories are another when it comes to overall investment. Once a guy starts buying the lenses (glass) to cover different shooting scenarios you can get into some serious money in a hurry. Then the accessories such as a shoe mount flash, memory cards, tripod, tripod heads, bag to store everything in - I guess you get my drift with respect to the money involved.

I cannot give you any useful advice on technical features as I'm still learning the ropes. My advice would be to consider the brand you want to buy very carefully, so that in the future any lenses you purchase will still work on a new camera body down the road. Switching brands after buying 2 or 3 lenses would set a guy back a fair amount of money unnecessarily. What attracted me to the Pentax group was their enthusiasm for the "brand" and the photography hobby. I can't really put my finger on it, but there's just something about it that seems different and made me want to be a part of it. Kind of like do I want to own a Porsche, Ferrari, or a Buggati if that makes sense.

 

[Jim Saueressig]

I forgot to add that the in body shake reduction (IS) is another great plus, this and the fact you can use old manual lenses from Pentax is a great deal.

 

[Wes Carter]

I forgot to add that the in body shake reduction (IS) is another great plus, this and the fact you can use old manual lenses from Pentax is a great deal.

I'm a Nikon guy, primarily because I have been since 1985 and have accumulated too much glass and stuff to change now. But for me this is a BIG PLUS. With Nikon, the Vibration Reduction (VR) is built into some of the newer lenses, not the camera body. Pentax putting it into the camera body so that ANY LENS can be used with Image Stabilization (IS) is one of the best ideas ever IMHO. Pentax wins a big one in that category.

I just got the D7000, and I love it. But this is not a D7000 thread, so I'll not get into that. But to address Skip's dilemma, I found this comparison between the two cameras. It appears that neither really runs away as being superior to the other, it's more a matter of which one suits your needs.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Thanks for the input guys.

The d7000 and k-5 seem so remarkably similar in features and performance that I might just make this call based on price. Is there a reason why the k-5 is $250 more expensive (based on B&H and Adorama prices)? Maybe the build of the body and the weather sealing? I feel free to go either way since this is my first DSLR and I haven't bought any glass yet. I'm probably going to stick with a good wide angle zoom for quite awhile. Several chasers I've talked to shoot almost entirely wide, and often as wide as they possibly can. I'll use this camera for other situations, but the primary purpose will be for chasing, so all other functionality for other uses is a distant secondary concern. As a result, I don't think I'd be limiting myself too much with a Pentax line of lenses as opposed to the wider selection of Nikon. I'm not sure there is much incentive with going with the k-5 at this point though. Pentax has a reputation for getting the most bang for the buck, but the k-5, while right at the top of its class with the d7000, is also the most expensive in its class. The midrange models seem much more competitively priced in the Pentax line, but I'm really thinking I could use the features on these new 16mp cameras. Although Nikon's lenses are more expensive, some of the newer third party lenses seem to be performing excellent as well.

 

[Darren Addy]

Thanks for the input guys.

The d7000 and k-5 seem so remarkably similar in features and performance that I might just make this call based on price.

I'll let you be the judge of how similar the high ISO performance is.
http://www.thephoblographer.com/201...-5-vs-nikon-d7000-which-is-better-comparison/

Check out the woodgrain tabletop in the comparison shots at ISO 12,800. IQ at high ISO is, IMHO the most important differentiator between otherwise similar cameras.

 

[Rob H]

I'm actually considering getting rid of the t2i and the 17-40L to get a Pentax. I know I can get great pictures with that setup, but I personally haven't found myself on many scenic NE/KS storms. I always seem to be right up close to the low-light, HP ground-scrapers. Not that I'm complaining, because I'll take whatever storm I can get, but something with even slightly better ISO handling than my t2i and with built in IS would make the difference between amazing pictures and slightly blurry pictures. Nick Nolte has some funny (to me) video of me trying to get a tripod out the back of a car while a tornado is on the ground, in 70mph winds and driving rain. That is *not* the answer I'm looking for with my low-light photography.

 

[Darren Addy]

Field review of the Pentax K-5: Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5.