16.30
Megapixels
PENTAX KAF2 (KAF2, KAF, KA)
APS-C
size sensor
Review Summary: Pentax’s flagship fan DSLR competence not differ radically from a predecessor, yet that’s not indispensably a bad thing. The Pentax K-5 II replaces a camera that was unequivocally well-received, and creates a inestimable alleviation in low-light autofocus. It also switches to a some-more appealing and durable LCD monitor. Unfortunately, a film mode is still unequivocally dated, and a new autofocus complement is a small slower than a one it replaces. Still, a K-5 II packs in a lot of facilities into a solid, weather-sealed, and unequivocally customizable body.
Pros: Compact nonetheless control-rich physique packs in a features; Updated autofocus complement focuses in near-darkness; Fully weather-sealed; Sharp, notation images with unequivocally good energetic range; In-body settlement stabilization; Dual-axis spin with sourroundings correction.
Cons: Can seem intimidating during first; Fewer autofocus points than competitors; Doesn’t take advantage of high-speed UHS-I peep cards; Movie underline set is unequivocally antiquated and record sizes huge.
Price and availability: Available given Oct 2012, a Pentax K-5 II now carries list pricing of around US$1,100 body-only, a full US$500 rebate than a cost during that a prototype creatively launched, and US$100 next a possess launch price. As it did with a progressing camera, Pentax also offers dual enclosure versions bundling weather-sealed lenses. The 18-55mm enclosure now lists during around US$1,250, while a 18-135mm enclosure lists for US$1,450. In all cases, transport pricing is even some-more affordable. As of this writing, we can collect adult a K-5 II body-only for underneath US$1,000, and a 18-55mm enclosure for about US$1,150. The 18-135mm kit, meanwhile, can be had for US$1,350.
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Pentax K-5 II Review
by Mike Tomkins
Preview posted 09/10/2012
Review posted 06/04/2013
For a third true generation, Pentax Ricoh Imaging has defended roughly accurately a same physique for a new Pentax K-5 II digital SLR. That’s not surprising: we weren’t alone in heaping regard on a ergonomics it shares with a progressing K-7 and K-5 models. What is rather surprising, though, is customarily how many else a K-5 II shares with a evident predecessor. The dual cameras are as near-indistinguishable underneath a skin as they are on a outside, with customarily a integrate of pivotal differences.
What’s new? One of these changes aims to answer a common critique of a company’s new SLRs. In a process, it vaults a association to a tip of a tables in terms of low-light autofocusing capabilities — on paper during least. Along with a rested autofocus system, Pentax has also means a K-5 II with an updated LCD arrangement whose worse aspect better-matches a rest of a K-5′s rugged, weather-sealed body. Better still, a new arrangement provides a clearer settlement when sharpened outdoors, with glisten presenting rebate of an issue.
The Pentax K-5 II also bests a prototype by a poignant domain in terms of launch pricing, nonetheless it still a few hundred dollars above stream transport pricing for that camera. And it retains all else that finished a prototype so popular, notwithstanding accompanied by a few things we find ourselves wishing a association had changed.
…and what’s not? Back in late 2010, a Pentax K-5′s settlement peculiarity was unequaled among APS-C SLRs, interjection in no small partial to a Sony settlement sensor during a heart of a design. That same sensor now appears in several competitors, yet a K-5 is still right around a tip of a enclosure in terms of energetic operation and attraction / sound performance. With a sensor and processor unchanged, a K-5 II provides that same good settlement peculiarity and far-reaching attraction operation as a predecessor. It also keep a same quick 7 frames-per-second detonate shooting, and useful facilities such as in-body stabilization with a singular ability to scold for rotation. Unfortunately, it also retains a film mode that rather lags a field, with emasculate Motion JPEG storage, no full-time autofocus, and no control over shiver speed.
Good things come in pairs. Unusually, there’s also a second chronicle of a camera, sole as a Pentax K-5 IIs. This differs in precisely one way: it lacks a anti-aliasing filter found over a settlement sensor in a K-5 II. That change allows rather aloft per-pixel resolution, yet a additional sharpness comes during a responsibility of increasing moiré in subjects with repeating patterns during a scold frequency. (Think things like hair, feathers, fabric, fences, grilles, section walls, and so on.) Since it’s technically a opposite camera, we’ve reviewed a Pentax K-5 IIs separately, yet radically all in this examination is germane to that camera too, with a disproportion of sharpness and a odds of moiré / aliasing. In other words, if you’re meddlesome in that camera, you’ll wish to initial examination this review, and afterwards conduct on over to a Pentax K-5 IIs review for a rest of a story.
Walkaround. Cover a trademark with a fingertip, and from a front there’s simply no approach to tell a Pentax K-5 II detached from a predecessor. That’s no bad thing: a K-5 had good ergonomics, and was positively packaged with outmost controls that meant rebate time sport for options in a menu system. A small red window in a bottom of a comfortably-profiled handhold outlines a plcae of a front infrared remote receiver, with a second placed on a behind of a body. As you’d settlement from a camera directed during enthusiasts, a K-5 II also has a twin-dial layout. Just to a right of a front dial and shiver symbol is a small immature AF support lamp. Also value observant from this perspective are a peep recover button, PC sync terminal, Raw / Fx button, and concentration mode pull that cascade down a left side of a physique behind a lens mount.
There’s no change on a tip of a K-5 II either. All a controls are positioned as they were, including a locking Mode dial with a executive recover button, sitting above a pull used to name a camera’s metering mode. The large, backlit top-deck LCD info quarrel creates it easy to endorse settings yet wasting power–or ruining your night vision–by regulating a categorical LCD panel.
The customarily genuine disproportion from a K-5′s physique is found on a behind panel, and even here you’ll need to be profitable pleasantness to symbol it. Give up? The categorical LCD quarrel is now recessed customarily slightly, where that on a K-5 was flush-mounted. (The Pentax trademark has to pierce onto a physique itself to accommodate this change.) The polycarbonate cover over a LCD quarrel from a customary chronicle of a K-5 has been transposed with gradual potion for a K-5 II, that make it some-more resistant to scratches. Pentax has also switched to a new LCD quarrel that has a same stretch and fortitude as in a progressing camera, yet now has no atmosphere opening between a quarrel and a cover glass. That translates to softened prominence underneath clever ambient light, with rebate glisten and softened contrast. It’s also richer and some-more jam-packed than that in a K-5.
The other categorical disproportion between a Pentax K-5 II and a prototype is found underneath a surface: there’s a mint SAFOX X phase-detection autofocus sensor assembly, replacing a SAFOX IX+ sensor from a K-5. It’s still sincerely closely-related to a progressing design, as a series and form of concentration points is unchanged: there are still eleven points, of that 9 are cross-types supportive to both plane and true detail.
So how does SAFOX X best a progressing SAFOX IX+? Pentax tells us that as of launch, a new sensor public provides best-in-class low-light sensitivity, with a operative operation of -3 to +18 EV during ISO 100. By approach of comparison, a progressing K-5 charity a operative operation of -1 to +18 EV. In use, we found a K-5 II’s autofocus complement unusually sensitive, means to concentration yet a support flare in near-darkness. (Essentially, if we could see a theme by a viewfinder, we could many approaching concentration on it.) Of course, low-light focusing opening is customarily one metric, and even with a new sensor, a Pentax K-5 still lags some competitors. The Nikon D7000, for example, offers a many some-more inexhaustible 39 autofocus points, contra Pentax’s 11–although admittedly, zero of a additional points are cranky types.
All things considered, a Pentax K-5 II is a comparatively middle update, yet it’s easy to disagree that’s no bad thing. Even with a many aloft launch price, a Pentax K-5 seems to have been something of a strike for a company, and a Pentax K-5 II retains all that finished a prototype renouned during a significantly revoke list price, while including a integrate of inestimable tweaks. But how many disproportion have those tweaks finished in a genuine world? Read on…
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Pentax K-5 II Shooter’s Report
by Mike Tomkins
Faced with a choice between a Pentax K-5 II and K-5 IIs to take on a family vacation to Hong Kong, we reached for a K-5 II so as not to have to worry about moiré. You can examination my K-5 IIs outcome in a detached review.
On holding a Pentax K-5 II out of a box, we was greeted by a informed friend. For a third generation, Pentax defended a same earthy design, and that was good news for me — we possess both a progressing Pentax K-7 and K-5, and so we was right during home with a K-5 II.
Everything was as we approaching it, and even a menu complement was near-identical to that in my K-5. If you’re deliberation upgrading from a K-7, you’ll find a few some-more changes as described in a K-5 examination — a rather taller mode dial, an easier-to crack concentration mode selector dial, a better-organized menu system, and a few pointed tweaks to operation here and there, yet you’ll get used to them quickly, and all are certain improvements.
Compared to a evident predecessor, a changes were many some-more slight, yet a new autofocus complement in sold was positively noticeable. It was unequivocally softened in low light — remarkably so. we could accurately tighten concentration yet regulating a support flare over a indicate where we could even see my theme in a viewfinder, and I’ve got flattering good night vision. Pentax says that a K-5 II can autofocus underneath moonlight, and they’re not exaggerating in a least.
In fact, sharpened in Hong Kong — a neon city — it was formidable to find anywhere dim adequate to even plea a K-5 II. It was when sharpened behind home in farming East Tennessee that a extraordinary low-light AF unequivocally became apparent, and proof a point, we tighten myself in a room that was totally dark, save for a light entrance by a quarter-inch opening in a slightly-cracked doorway from an adjacent room that itself wasn’t terribly brightly lit. With a AF support flare infirm a K-5 II still had positively no problems focusing on settlement frames on a wall.
Realistically, low-light autofocus on a K-5 II has reached a indicate where it is no longer an emanate — if we can’t autofocus on your subject, you’re roughly positively going to need to be in live perspective mode customarily to see what you’re perplexing to frame, and with a camera on a tripod to get a serviceable shot.
The Pentax K-5 II, like a predecessor, tends towards rather some-more transparent JPEGs than is customary of an enthusiast-grade camera. Fear not, though, copiousness of customization is accessible — or we can customarily fire raw.
The K-5 II has also been means with an stretched area AF function, one of customarily dual changes we could find in a whole menu system. we saw a same underline formerly on a Pentax K-30, and I’m anxious that they enclosed it on a K-5 II. (But we unequivocally wish Pentax would give this choice to K-5 owners as good — a camera’s hardware is clearly means of ancillary a function, and it would be a good approach of observant interjection for their faithfulness — it’s unequivocally doubtful many K-5 owners will be upgrading to a K-5 II anyway.)
Expanded area AF is accessible customarily in continual AF.C servo mode, and when enabled, looks during a autofocus stretch information of AF points surrounding a one you’ve manually selected. If a stretch for an adjacent indicate is matching to that of your manually-selected point, a K-5 II will let a concentration indicate quickly ramble to a adjacent point, on a arrogance that it’s approaching partial of a same subject.
It’s customarily a current arrogance to make — many of a time you’ve simply slipped your comparison indicate off a theme momentarily — and so a duty creates a conspicuous alleviation to autofocus.
Although a K-5 II’s autofocus complement now has a diffraction lens like that in a K-30, used to revoke chromatic misconception and thereby urge concentration accuracy, we can’t contend we beheld any disproportion in that honour compared to my K-5. we already found that camera to be flattering accurate in my day-to-day usage, once practiced for my lenses.
Really my categorical censure is simply that I’d like to see some-more concentration points and softened continual autofocus tracking — Pentax trails a rivals in these area. Our lab tests did advise that a K-5 II’s autofocus opening is a small revoke than that of a examination K-5, yet we didn’t notice any disproportion in a genuine world. (It’s probable that a K-5 itself has gotten slower with a firmware updates that have been expelled given a review, and I’m simply used to that.) Overall, though, I’m already utterly happy with autofocus on my K-5, and a K-5 II is a conspicuous alleviation in low light.
The K-5 II’s automobile white change mode rubbed even wily lighting like this shot of a Hong Kong Space Museum with aplomb. The outcome here came out customarily as it looked in person.
The K-5 II’s new arrangement is also a accessible improvement. we contingency acknowledge that we wasn’t awaiting a outrageous disproportion from a gapless settlement over reduced glare, yet a quarrel is also significantly brighter, a small some-more color-neutral (the K-5′s looks rather warm, by comparison, nonetheless that’s during default settings — we can adjust it), and colors seemed richer and some-more saturated. The gapless settlement does unequivocally cut down on glare, that is good news — and it also creates a remaining reflections a bit rebate overt given we customarily get one image, not a double-image thoughtfulness we get with a gapped design. There’s also a new contrariety sourroundings for a LCD, that could be accessible if we find a default contrariety doesn’t simulate your final images. (Personally, we customarily left this during a default.)
Pentax says a new cover potion over a quarrel is some-more scratch-resistant, and while we positively didn’t attempt to blemish it, it didn’t uncover even a lightest clean symbol after a poignant time with a camera. My K-5′s polycarbonate cover, by contrast, does uncover some very, unequivocally glorious microscratches — and that’s notwithstanding my treating it unequivocally carefully. (When not in use, it’s stored in a water-tight, padded hard-case. Growing adult in a unequivocally wet sourroundings taught me to yield my cameras with respect, even if they are continue sealed.) we do typically use a shoulder tab around my neck, though, so a LCD approaching got those light outlines from bumping opposite buttons and zippers as we walk. we can’t contend it with certainty, yet it seems approaching there would be fewer — if any — scratches on a K-5 II’s display.
There’s another disproportion between a Pentax K-5 II and a progressing K-5 that’s easy to overlook, yet could be of utterly some significance if you’re new to a system, and devise to build adult your batch of K-mount potion customarily gradually. (Not all of us can means to bombard out for a new camera physique and a garland of new lenses, all in one go.)
The K-5 was accessible body-only, or with a weather-resistant smc Pentax-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR lens. An 18-55mm ocular is flattering many a customary enclosure lens for a consumer-oriented SLR, nonetheless a inclusion of continue sealing is a good touch. For some-more reach, though, Pentax now also offers a transport wizz kit, bundling a smc Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR. (You can see a examination of a transport wizz on a sister site, SLRgear, if we click a link. We haven’t reviewed 18-55mm WR lens, yet we know that it’s optically matching to a non-weather hermetic 18-55mm AL II lens, that we have reviewed.)
The 18-135mm WR enclosure lens turns in a reasonable opening for a price, yet can get rather soothing in a corners, and shows sincerely clever chromatic misconception good into a settlement when zoomed in.
Although we occur to possess both WR enclosure lenses myself, we customarily took a 18-135mm to Hong Kong, along with dual primes — a smc PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited and smc PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited. we left a 18-55mm lens behind simply given it duplicates a coverage of a 18-135mm lens, we was regulating out of room in my carry-on bags, and we don’t check camera rigging in a reason for apparent reasons.
With that said, even yet we brought a 18-135mm lens along for a trip, on many days we left it during home, holding customarily a integrate of primes with me. That’s not my customary duty — I’m customarily some-more of a wizz shooter than a primary shooter, yet we was doing a lot of walking, and a primes finished for a many some-more unstable package. (Plus spending many of my time on Hong Kong streets, we was customarily flattering tighten to my subjects anyway, and wide-angle was a sequence of a day.)
The other reason we mostly shot a primes, though, is that they simply offer softened settlement quality. That’s not to contend a enclosure lenses are bad. At a time of a examination 4 years ago, we felt a non-WR various of a 18-55mm lens incited in a softened opening than you’d settlement for a price, and while a customary of enclosure zooms has softened in a final few years, it’s still a flattering good consumer optic. The newer 18-135mm WR can get flattering soothing in a corners and has high chromatic aberration, yet given a strech and affordable cost tag, it’s not too tough to pardon those flaws. (It also helps that it has unequivocally still autofocus, interjection to a DC motor.)
Neither is in a category of a primes, though, and if we wish to make a many of a Pentax K-5 II’s settlement quality, we suggest going for some higher-quality glass. If we cite zooms and don’t mind some combined heft, demeanour to a DA *-series optics. You’ll need dual lenses to cover a strech of a 18-135mm, and both are utterly incomparable and heavier than that lens alone, yet not unduly so. Thankfully, we can buy a K-5 II physique by itself, if we wish to take this route. If you’re not creation vast prints, though, and you’re looking to a K-5 II some-more for facilities like a continue sealing and plain construction than resolution,the 18-55mm or 18-135mm could be value picking adult in a kit.
Dynamic operation in tender files is a strength of a K-5 II. Getting a shot of this knife-sharpener during work was tough — a steer is singular these days, and drew utterly a crowd. we blew a highlights in a JPEG and couldn’t get tighten for another attempt, yet copiousness of fact stays in a tender file.
One other near-insignificant disproportion we beheld as we updated both cameras to their many new firmware side by side: updating on a K-5 II was significantly faster. (It was also a three-step process, rather than a two-step one.)
Those differences competence unequivocally good be specific to a firmware updates, though, and not to a camera. In fact that seems likely, given that a processor is a same. And other than those differences, we didn’t unequivocally notice many to tell a K-5 II detached from my K-5.
But honestly, I’m glad not to have seen too many disproportion to a earthy design, and in terms of a underlying wiring we consider it’s not a bad call either. My K-5 fits me like a glove, and dual years on I’m still unequivocally happy with it. It has glorious ergonomics, it’s compact, it has flattering good opening for a cost, and some-more importantly it’s quick adequate to hoop sharpened my hyperactive 4 year old.
And even better, it’s intensely customizable. Little facilities of a K-5 that would have angry me — like a arrow keys delinquent to their swap options instead of concentration indicate composition — can simply be altered to fit my preference, not that of a manufacturer.
Given how closely they’re related, those sentiments request to a K-5 II in equal measure. Are there things I’d like to have seen Pentax change for a new APS-C flagship? Sure: pivotal among them for me being tethered shooting, and a some-more clever film underline set. In that area, in particular, a K-5 II is now looking decidedly long-in-the-tooth. With that said, there’s zero poignant adequate to lean me towards shopping another model, though.
Pentax’s continue sealing is a good underline whose significance unequivocally can"t be overestimated. Although we was intensely advantageous on my Hong Kong outing to find customarily one stormy afternoon — a attainment I’m still not utterly certain how we managed — I’ve found myself holding advantage of a K-7 and K-5′s continue sealing distant some-more than we suspicion we would when we bought them. (As my son gets comparison and starts wanting to attend in group sports, I’d suppose I’ll do so even some-more frequently.)
And best of all, a K-5 II — customarily like my K-5 — produces unequivocally good images. (Well, OK: technically great. This photographer is not ashamed to acknowledge there’s still copiousness he can learn to urge his works.) When sharpened in JPEG mode in particular, a K-5 II provides lots of control over a demeanour of images, and a tradeoff between sound and detail.
My HK outing had to end, and so does my time with a Pentax K-5 II. Unlike a predecessors, we won’t be shopping it. That’s no hit on a camera, though: it deserved to be on your shortlist.
Personally, we tend to use JPEG customarily for throwaway shots anyway, yet it’s good to know we can get a demeanour I’m after on those occasions where we run out of label space and have to abandon tender sharpened for a while. And we adore a User modes, that let me save settings we know I’ll wish to remember later. I’ve got a preset for JPEG sharpened that we call Ebay mode, and another called Geoffrey mode for sharpened my son, who’s constantly confused with a default procedure line, requiring me to fire with Sports line. Jumping to those modes when we need them is a snap.
When I’m sharpened in raw, we adore a ability to outlay DNG files that save me converting all we fire — I’m not a large fan of exclusive formats. My images come true out of camera and into Lightroom, and many of a time they need unequivocally small adjustment. (I typically spend some-more time in a digital darkroom fine-tuning my possess framing with a stand apparatus than we spend doing anything else to any image.)
The K-5 II was so like my K-5 in terms of settlement peculiarity that sharpened a same scenes with both cameras side by side, we overtly couldn’t tell disproportion between a two. Its doing too is identical, and in terms of operation it’s scarcely indistinguishable, simply carrying softened in low-light AF and been means with a some-more pleasing LCD that creates me wish to fire in live perspective mode a small some-more frequently. we came behind from my Hong Kong outing with lots of shots we was anxious with, and some genuine keepers. That, during a finish of a day, is a symbol of a good camera, for me.
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Pentax K-5 II Technical Info
by Mike Tomkins
Sensor. For a second true era and a fourth camera indication in a row, Pentax has formed a K-5 II digital SLR around a same 16.28 effective megapixel, APS-C sized (23.7 x 15.7mm), RGB CMOS settlement sensor, with a sum fortitude of 16.93 megapixels. That’s no warn — a chip’s been widely concurred as a good performer, with flattering high resolution, and good energetic operation / sound characteristics.
The Pentax K-5 II offers a extent settlement fortitude of 4,928 x 3,264 pixels. Three lower-resolution options are also available: 3,936 x 2,624, 3,072 x 2,048, and 1,728 x 1,152 pixels.
Processor. Output from a Pentax K-5 II’s settlement sensor is processed by a same PRIME II (PENTAX Real Image Engine II) imaging engine that’s been during a heart of any Pentax DSLR solely a K-30, going all a approach behind to 2009′s Pentax K-7. The settlement is a small long-in-the-tooth now, yet it still does a critical job, and adhering with it for another era rather than switching to a newer PRIME M processor from a K-30 and K-01 has helped Pentax to keep a cost down.
Sensitivity. The Pentax K-5 II provides a flattering inexhaustible customary attraction operation of ISO 100 to 12,800 equivalents, tractable in 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV steps. Its stretched operation goes even further, covering all from an ISO 80-equivalent smallest to a extent of ISO 51,200 equivalent. If you’re sharpened in Bulb mode, though, a extent attraction tip is customarily ISO 1,600 equivalent.
An engaging underline hold over from a progressing Pentax K-5 is that sound rebate settings can be specified on a per-ISO basement for full-stop ISO sensitivities. (The middle 1/2 stop or 1/3 stop sensitivities, if enabled, share a sourroundings with a full-stop attraction immediately next them.) This spin of user control over a tradeoff between sound levels and theme fact opposite a attraction operation is singular indeed, and a absolute apparatus for JPEG shooters.
Burst speed. In a lab, we found a K-5 II’s constraint rate had climbed from 6.5 to 6.7 frames per second, circumference closer to a advertised 7 frames per second rate. At a same time, though, we found a detonate abyss had slipped rather to 28 large/premium JPEGs, or 22 tender / raw+JPEG frames. Both sum are tighten to — yet not quite as high as — those achieved by a K-5. (Note that all of a lab sum are set with a difficult-to-compress aim image, and so in a genuine world, detonate inlet will approaching be rather higher.)
It seems approaching that a pointed boost in speed competence good have brought with it a equally-subtle diminution in detonate depth. Note that given a hardware is fundamentally matching to that of a K-5, we’d settlement that camera to spin in matching figures, if we had a time to retest it. It’s utterly approaching that in a firmware revisions given we tested a progressing camera, Pentax has finished optimizations that have increasing a camera’s detonate rate.
For subjects where a small rebate speed is required, a K-5 II’s Continuous Lo mode captures Best-quality JPEG images during a rather composed 1.6 frames per second for as prolonged as there’s accessible label space. We’d still like to see Pentax offer a ability to name from additional detonate sharpened rates between these dual extremes — there’s simply too many of a opening between a Continuous Hi and Continuous Lo speeds, and as a result, we found we frequently tended to leave a camera set to Continuous Hi mode all a time during detonate shooting.
Shake Reduction. Pentax has defended a same in-body, sensor-shift stabilization complement that debuted in 2009′s K-7 for a new K-5 II. The system, that Pentax brands Shake Reduction, is concordant with all Pentax transmutable lenses constructed to date, and it can scold not customarily for plane and true motion, yet also for revolution around a pivot of a lens barrel. (That capability is no longer unique, however — Olympus now offers a matching underline in some of a mirrorless cameras.) Two degrees of rotational alleviation on possibly side of a executive position is possible, and Pentax claims 2.5 to 4 stops of alleviation is possible.
The obstacle to Pentax’s Shake Reduction record is that we can’t see a effects as we demeanour by a visual viewfinder, as we can with lens-based stabilization systems. If we wish to preview a outcome on a LCD, you’ll need to fire in Live View mode.
Dust removal. The Pentax K-5 II also retains Pentax’s DR II dirt dismissal system, another underline that debuted on a K-7. The complement includes a piezo-ceramic component to quiver a low-pass filter, and subjectively we’ve found matching systems to work noticeably softened than those that rest on simply jolt a sensor with a stabilization system. A dirt warning complement can check for a participation of dirt on a low-pass filter, during a user’s prompting.
Lens mount. On a front panel, a Pentax K-5 II facilities a KAF2 Lens mount, that is also concordant with KAF3, KAF, and KA mountain lenses. Both in-body and in-lens AF mechanisms are supported, as is energy wizz with concordant lenses. Pentax K mountain lenses can also be attached, as can 35mm screwmount and 645/67 middle format lenses regulating discretionary adapters, nonetheless there competence be restrictions depending on a lens form used.
Lens exaggeration correction. The Pentax K-5 II can scold for lens exaggeration and parallel chromatic misconception in-camera when regulating DA and DFA lenses, as good as with several of a company’s FA Limited lenses. When enabled, these corrections do have a poignant disastrous impact on detonate sharpened speed, yet if we fire in Raw mode we can select to request a alleviation after a fact, and so needn’t worry about enabling a corrections pre-capture.
Autofocus. Pentax has also upgraded a K-5 II’s autofocus system, that is now branded as SAFOX X. Compared to a previous-generation SAFOX IX+ complement used in a K-5, SAFOX X has a same indicate count and arrangement — eleven points, of that 9 are cross-types supportive to both plane and true fact — yet there are dual critical differences.
Firstly, a SAFOX X sensor incorporates a diffractive lens component that corrects for chromatic aberration, customarily as seen formerly in a Pentax K-30′s SAFOX IXi+ module. There’s also a mint feature, yet — a newly grown sensor chip that is some-more supportive than that used previously. This allows focusing in lower-light conditions, and Pentax rates a new SAFOX X sensor procedure as good for a operative operation of -3 to +18 EV during ISO 100. By approach of comparison, a progressing K-5 charity a operative operation of -1 to +18 EV.
There’s one other change to autofocus, and again it hails from a K-30. Called Expanded Area AF, this choice functions customarily in continual AF.C servo mode. When enabled, this considers a autofocus stretch information of AF points surrounding a manually-selected point, and will let a active concentration indicate ramble to any indicate that has matching stretch information to your manually comparison point. The arrogance is that these points are approaching saying a same subject, and you’ve simply slipped your comparison indicate off a theme momentarily. It’s a good assumption, and one that creates a conspicuous alleviation to continual autofocus.
Metering. Automatic bearing is achieved pleasantness of a same 77-segment metering sensor that debuted in a K-7. The K-5 II’s metering options embody Matrix, Center-weighted, and Spot modes, selectable around a switch underneath a Mode dial. A full 5.0EV of bearing remuneration is accessible in possibly 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps.
Exposure Modes. Exposure modes in a Pentax K-5 II embody Green (fully automatic), Manual, Bulb, Shutter- and Aperture-priority, and a Hyper Program mode that allows shiver or orifice to be now practiced around a fixed Program exposure. There’s also Sensitivity Priority, and Shutter-and-Aperture Priority. In a latter, a user defines both shiver speed and aperture, and a camera selects an suitable sensitivity. Finally, a User mode allows 5 opposite settings groups to be saved for after reuse, and any can be given a singular name as a memory aid.
The K-5 II also allows we to change a procedure line a camera uses when final bearing variables. In a nutshell, this can tell a camera to prioritize for aloft shiver speeds, shoal or low depth-of-field, MTF (best orifice sourroundings for settlement peculiarity with a currently-attached lens), or to use a default, normal procedure line.
Drive Modes. In serve to a ~seven frames-per-second Continuous Hi and 1.6 fps Continuous Lo modes, a Pentax K-5 II offers a ability to joint two, three, or five-frames with anywhere adult to 2.0 EV between any exposure, set in 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps. (For two-frame exposures, we can select possibly a additional support should be over- or underexposed, with honour to a metered exposure). There’s also a counterpart jail function, and a dual or 12-second self-timer, with self-timer indicator LEDs supposing on both a front and behind of a camera.
A accumulation of remote control modes work with a discretionary cabled or infrared remote units, and these embody customary remote shooting, remote with a three-second delay, and continual detonate remote capture. Additionally, we can set bracketed or counterpart jail exposures to be instituted with a remote control.
Two infrared remote control units are concordant with a K-5 II: a small Remote Control F, and a larger, waterproof Remote Control WP. The former has customarily one button, that trips a shiver (and can optionally perform an AF operation first). The Remote Control WP has an combined advantage over a waterproofing — a Zoom symbol serves as an autofocus symbol on a K-5 II, effectively decoupling AF and shiver operation. This lets we prep concentration when we select forward of tripping a shiver release, so we can be assured you’ve left adequate time to finish focusing before we wish to outing a shutter.
Shutter. Like that in a predecessors, a Pentax K-5 II’s shiver section is means of a extent 1/8,000 second shiver speed, and has a rated lifetime of 100,000 cycles. Minimum shiver speed is 30 seconds, and a Bulb position is also available. Note, though, that Bulb exposures are singular to ISO 1,600 max.
White balance. As good as Automatic and Manual modes, a Pentax K-5 II provides 10 white change presets (Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Daylight Color Fluorescent, Daylight White Fluorescent, Cool White Fluorescent, Warm White Fluorescent, Tungsten, Flash, and Color Temperature Enhancement). This final choice is used to keep and raise a lighting tinge – for example, to raise a sunset.
White change can also be totalled from a neutral target, or a specific tone heat can be dialed in manually, regulating possibly Kelvin or Mired values. Six tradition white change values can be stored in-camera.
Flash. As good as a prohibited shoe and PC hollow for outmost peep and studio lighting connection, a Pentax K-5 II includes a built-in popup flash. Rated during 13 meters / ISO 100, a onboard peep is unvaried from that introduced with a K-7, and offers 28mm coverage and red-eye dismissal capability.
The K-5 II still has X-sync during 1/180 second, offers -2 to +1EV of peep bearing compensation, and can use possibly first- or second-curtain flash.
In Wireless mode, a built-in peep can control churned wireless worker flashes, and can be set possibly to minister to a exposure, or to act customarily as a controller. The Pentax wireless peep complement offers 4 control channels, so adult to 4 camera/flash setups can be used in a same area yet interfering with any other.
Viewfinder. Pentax has defended a same potion prism-type TTL visual viewfinder seen formerly in a K-7, K-5, and K-30 for a new Pentax K-5 II. The finder offers a ~100% margin of perspective and 0.92x magnification, and 4 transmutable focusing screens are available, with a default being a Natural-Bright-Matte III screen. The K-5 II’s viewfinder offers -2.5 to +1.5 diopter composition to support for eyeglass wearers, and has an eyepoint of 21.7mm from a eyepiece frame, or 24.5mm from a exit pupil.
LCD. Another singular disproportion between a K-5 II and a evident prototype can be found in a 3.0-inch LCD display, that still offers about 921,000 dots of fortitude (or roughly 640 x 480 pixels, with any pixel comprised of detached red, green, and blue dots).
The LCD quarrel is now recessed customarily slightly, where that on a K-5 was flush-mounted, and a polycarbonate cover has been transposed with some-more scratch-resistant gradual glass. Pentax has also switched to a new LCD quarrel that no longer has an atmosphere opening between a quarrel aspect and cover glass. The change brings softened prominence underneath clever ambient light, with rebate glisten and softened contrast. Comparing both cameras side by side, a K-5 II’s arrangement is also richer and some-more jam-packed than that in a K-5.
Movie mode. The Pentax K-5 II’s Movie mode, some-more than any other underline of a camera, is now looking decidedly antiquated — disappointing, for a association that initial introduced aperture-control in a movie-capable camera. (Most likely, a processor in a K-5 II, that is hold over from all a approach behind in a K-7, simply can’t yield a some-more complicated feature-set, as we’ve seen softened from some-more affordable Pentax cameras with newer processors.)
Although we can fire during resolutions adult to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, a constraint rate during this extent fortitude is singular to customarily 25 frames-per-second. You’re also stranded with Motion JPEG application in an AVI container, that while charity good quality, produces positively huge record sizes. Although there’s a extent shave length of 25 mins or 4GB, whichever extent is reached first, there’s practically small possibility of reaching a time extent yet surpassing a 4GB record stretch even in 720p mode, let alone during 1080p.
Worse still for consumers and even some enthusiasts who cite not to lift concentration manually, a K-5 II’s film mode still doesn’t offer autofocus during film recording. It also lacks primer control of film exposure, charity customarily a choice of Program or Aperture-priority bearing modes for film shooting. Nor can a lens orifice be altered during recording in Aperture-priority mode, nonetheless this customarily causes a poignant change in liughtness on cameras that do concede a change during capture.
Movie audio is accessible possibly from an inner monaural microphone, or from an outmost mic around a 3.5mm stereo jack, and a Pentax K-5 II still offers no primer control over audio levels during recording. Audio constraint can be infirm altogether, though.
We’ll be adding a notation Pentax K-5 II video research page soon, with discernment on how the
camera handles a accumulation of recording situations, trimming from night sharpened to
rolling shiver tests. Stay tuned!
Dual-axis spin gauge. The Pentax K-5 II sports a dual-axis (side-to-side hurl and front-to-back pitch) spin sensor, and can arrangement a hurl spin on both a viewfinder and tip quarrel standing displays, as good as a behind LCD panel. The representation level, however, can customarily be displayed on a behind panel. Unlike some competing cameras, we can’t regulate a lean sensors manually.
Composition correction. Perhaps a many singular underline of new Pentax flagships is defended for a Pentax K-5 II. When sharpened on a tripod, it is probable to fine-tune your framing by manually determining a position and revolution of a settlement sensor. With Shake Reduction enabled, a sum of dual degrees revolution and 3 millimeters of plane or true composition (one class and 1.5mm on possibly side of a centered position) are available. If a sensor is tilted, a accessible plane / true composition operation competence be reduced by as many as 1mm on possibly side of a centered position, potentially restricting a composition operation to 2mm sum on possibly axis. It’s a unequivocally accessible apparatus if we fire on a tripod much, creation light work of pointing framing.
Self-leveling function. Also interjection to a sensor-shift resource and inner hurl sensor, a K-5 II offers an electronic spin duty that indeed rotates a sensor to a spin position when enabled. The complement can scold for errors of one class in possibly instruction if Shake Reduction is enabled, and if we invalidate Shake Reduction, we double a spin of alleviation probable to dual degrees in possibly direction.
Connectivity. Interface options in a Pentax K-5 II are unchanged: high clarification mini-HDMI (Type C)Â video output, customary clarification NTSC / PAL switchable combination video output, and USB 2.0 high speed information connectivity. There’s also an 8.3 volt DC input, a depot for a connected CS-205 wire release, a PC sync depot for outmost peep strobes, a 3.5mm stereo microphone jack for recording film audio from an outmost microphone, and a exclusive hit on a camera’s bottom for an discretionary battery / mural grip, that accepts a same D-BG4 indication that was used with a progressing Pentax K-7 and K-5.
The Pentax K-5 II also includes dual infrared remote receivers — one any on a front and behind of a camera body, permitting for a shiver to be expelled wirelessly from many angles, regulating a discretionary Remote Control F, or a waterproof Remote Control WP (aka O-RC1) remote. The latter allows not customarily shiver operation, yet also provides for autofocus operation around a detached symbol when used with a K-5.
Unfortunately, a Pentax K-5 II still lacks any official, Pentax-authorized tethered sharpened capability, yet a third celebration solution does exist, nonetheless it doesn’t yield a remote live perspective feed.
Power. The Pentax K-5 II accepts a accurate same D-LI90 lithium ion battery enclosure as a predecessors. The D-LI90 is a 7.2V enclosure rated during 1,860 mAh / 14Wh. Battery life is rated during 980 shots yet peep usage, 740 shots with 50% peep usage, or 440 mins of playback on a assign — unvaried from sum for a K-5 notwithstanding a new autofocus sensor and LCD panel. For studio shooting, or while offloading information around USB, a K-5 II can also pull energy from Pentax’s K-AC50 AC adapter.
Battery grip. The D-BG4 battery hold for a Pentax K-5 II is a same indication concordant with a K-5 and K-7, and comes with dual trays — one for 6 AA batteries, and one for a singular D-LI90 battery. The K5′s battery hold transfers energy by a dedicated, exclusive connection, so we can leave a battery in a camera to double a battery life, and needn’t fiddle to mislay a battery door, as in some competing designs that use a manikin battery. While this settlement is good given we don’t have to worry about a unwieldy building that goes adult into a battery compartments of other camera designs, we will have to mislay a whole hold to change a K7′s inner battery. (Of course, we can leave a inner battery cell empty, and simply place your battery enclosure in a mural grip, so this is of small import in real-world use unless we intend to use both battery bays simultaneously.)
The D-BG4 is continue hermetic like a camera body, and duplicates several controls from a camera’s categorical interface, including a shiver release, front and behind e-dials, a AE-Lock, and a AF button. While a hoodwinked control stretch and blueprint isn’t matching to those on a camera body, it’s matching adequate to keep familiarity. There’s also an On/Off switch, that controls not a camera body, yet rather a mural grip’s controls. The D-BG4 also includes an insert in that to store a protecting caps from a physique and hold terminals when in use, and a lithium ion battery tray serve includes space to store a gangling SD label inside a grip.
Storage. The Pentax K-5 II’s singular memory label container supports Secure Digital cards, including a higher-capacity SDHC and SDXC types, yet doesn’t advantage any advantage from high speed UHS I-type cards. Use of Class 6 or higher-speed cards is endorsed for video capture, or when sharpened high-speed still settlement bursts. Eye-Fi’s Wi-Fi means Secure Digital cards can also be used, yet a K-5 II isn’t an Eye-Fi Connected device, and so doesn’t yield a ability to adjust label settings, etc. in-camera. Instead, setup contingency be finished initial on your computer.
As in a predecessor, a Pentax K-5 II supplements a dense JPEG record format with 14-bit tender files complying with possibly a Adobe DNG or Pentax PEF tender formats.
Pentax K-5 II Image Quality Comparisons
Below are crops comparing a Pentax K-5 II, Pentax K-5, Canon 60D, Nikon D7100, Olympus E-M5, and Sony NEX-7.
NOTE: These images are best peculiarity JPEGs true out of a camera, during default settings including sound reduction. All cameras in this comparison were shot with a unequivocally pointy anxiety lenses.
Pentax K-5 II contra Pentax K-5 during ISO 100
Both cameras here do a matching and glorious job. On a fabric swatch, a K-5 seems to have a bit some-more contrariety in a red fabric swatch yet seems to oversaturate a pinkish fabric customarily a bit some-more than a K-5 II.
Pentax K-5 II contra Canon 60D during ISOÂ 100
The K-5 II is a leader in a fabric swatch comparison with some-more glorious sum in a red area. Again in a black tiled area of a mosaic stand a K-5 II produces softened details. In a bottle crop, a 60D looks cleaner and sharper, yet a Canon is smoothing out some of a credentials hardness and is also oversharpening.
Pentax K-5 II contra Nikon D7100 during ISO 100
Pentax K-5 II contra Olympus E-M5 during bottom ISO
There’s no transparent leader in this comparison. Whereas a E-M5 pulls forward in a bottle, mosaic images and pinkish fabric area, a K-5 II clearly does softened in a red root fabric swatch.
Pentax K-5 II contra Sony NEX-7 during ISO 100
The K-5 II and NEX-7 are flattering tighten overall. The bottle stand and mosaic images demeanour sincerely similar, nonetheless a NEX-7 does a bit softened in a beige tile area of a mosaic crop. On a fabric swatch however, a K-5 II does softened in a red area, while a NEX-7 produces softened fact and tone in a pinkish area.
Most digital SLRs and CSCs will furnish an glorious ISO 100 shot, so we like to pull them and see what they can do compared to other cameras during ISO 1,600, 3,200, and 6,400. Recent advances in sensor record have finished ISO 1,600 demeanour a lot some-more like ISO 100, yet there are still cameras whose peculiarity starts to tumble detached during this setting. We also select 1,600 given we like to be means to fire during slightest during this spin when indoors and during night.
Pentax K-5 II contra Pentax K-5 during ISO 1,600
At ISO 1,600, a Pentax K-5 II and a K-5 seem similar, nonetheless a comparison K-5 seems to do customarily rather softened during producing glorious fact in a dim area of a mosaic image. The K-5 also seems to do softened in a red fabric swatch, producing a some-more conspicuous root pattern, yet both are sincerely abandoned of any glorious details.
Pentax K-5 II contra Canon 60D during ISOÂ 1,600
At ISO 1,600, a Pentax K-5 II and a 60D are matching in a initial span of images. The K-5 II does softened with a mosaic image, while a Canon does softened with a fabric swatch in both fact and tone accuracy.
Pentax K-5 II contra Nikon D7100 during ISO 1,600
As expected, sound is revoke from a Pentax during ISO 1,600, yet a Nikon wins in terms of detail, generally in a red root fabric swatch.
Pentax K-5 II contra Olympus E-M5 during ISO 1,600
The E-M5 does softened in all 3 images compared to a K-5 II. Even yet there appears to be heavier sound rebate in a shade areas of a bottle stand settlement from a Olympus, a sum on a bottle demeanour a bit better. In a fabric swatch, there’s roughly no fact in a red area from a Pentax image.
Pentax K-5 II contra Sony NEX-7 during ISO 1,600
The NEX-7 does softened in a fabric swatch compared to a K-5 II, nonetheless glorious sum start to get mislaid due to sound reduction, and a same goes for a bottle image. The K-5 II still maintains fact in a mosaic crop, though.
Today’s ISO 3,200 is yesterday’s ISO 1,600 (well, almost), so next are a same crops during ISO 3,200.
Pentax K-5 II contra Pentax K-5 during ISO 3,200
At ISO 1600, both Pentax cameras demeanour roughly identical, utterly in a fabric swatches. Both cameras have problem producing any glorious fact in a fabric, nonetheless there is customarily a notation bit of root settlement in a K-5′s image.
Pentax K-5 II contra Canon 60D during ISOÂ 3,200
At ISO 3200, it’s a churned bag here. The Pentax does softened in a mosaic image, yet a Canon does furnish some emergence of a settlement in a fabric swatches.
Pentax K-5 II contra Nikon D7100 during ISO 3,200
There’s a bit some-more tone sound and pellet in a bottle settlement of a D7100, yet a cameras are surprisingly tighten when it comes to glorious fact during this sensitivity. While a K-5 II produces softened fact in a mosaic image, a Nikon is a transparent leader in a fabric swatch.
Pentax K-5 II contra Olympus E-M5 during ISO 3,200
The Pentax wins in a mosaic comparison, yet a Olympus wins in both a bottle and fabric crops with finer fact overall.
Pentax K-5 II contra Sony NEX-7 during ISO 3,200
The Sony here has softened sound control in a bottle settlement and produces many softened fact in a fabric swatch, yet a Pentax does a softened pursuit with sum in a mosaic image.
Detail: Pentax K-5 II contra Pentax K-5 , Canon 60D, Nikon D7100, Olympus E-M5, and Sony NEX-7
Pentax K-5 II
ISO 100
ISO 3,200
ISO 6,400
Pentax K-5
ISO 100
ISO 3,200
ISO 6,400
Canon 60D
ISO 100
ISO 3,200
ISO 6,400
Nikon D7100
ISO 100
ISO 3,200
ISO 6,400
Olympus E-M5
ISO 200
ISO 3,200
ISO 6,400
Sony NEX-7
ISO 100
ISO 3,200
ISO 6,400
Detail comparison. High-contrast sum are mostly crook as ISO rises, so they’re value a demeanour as well. Overall, a Olympus OM-D E-M5 appears to be a leader during all ISO levels. Particularly during ISO 6400, a E-M5 handily bests a K-5 II. Compared to a predecessor, a K-5 II appears a bit worse. The K-5′s blacks are some-more accurate and a crops have some-more contrariety compared to a K-5 II.
Compared to Pentax K-5 IIs
Pentax K-5 II contra Pentax K-5 IIs during ISO 100
Pentax K-5 II contra Pentax K-5 IIs during ISO 1,600
High Contrast Detail
Pentax K-5 II during ISOÂ 1,600
Pentax K-5 IIs during ISOÂ 1,600
The K-5 IIs yields good fact in a Pure lettering, and deeper blacks. Also note a essay next a name being crisper overall, as good as a leaf.
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Pentax K-5 II Print Quality
Excellent imitation peculiarity adult to 24 x 36 inches during ISO 80/100/200; ISO 1600 means of a good 11 x 14 in. print; ISO 12,800 still means to broach a good 4 x 6. (Note: a K-5 II creates conspicuous oversaturation in some colors of a exam images.)
ISO 80/100/200 produces glorious prints during 24 x 36 inches, and is means of wall arrangement images adult to 30 x 40 inches. As remarkable above, a magenta fabric swatch is noticeably oversaturated.
ISO 400 prints remove customarily a teenager volume of fact in a few areas like a mosaic tiles, yet are utterly pointy during 20 x 30 inches.
ISO 800 images still demeanour decent during 20 x 30, yet uncover extrinsic detriment in contrariety in a formidable aim red root swatch and some apparent sound in a murky areas of a target. To be protected we’ll call 16 x 20 good during this ISO.
ISO 1,600 prints during 11 x 14 remove all contrariety fact in a aim red swatch, yet are differently utterly good.
ISO 3,200 creates a good 8 x 10 in. print, again losing all fact in a red swatch yet good in all other areas.
ISO 6,400 prints a good 5 x 7, with customarily teenager pellet in a shadows.
ISO 12,800 prints a good 4 x 6, that still is a good stretch for this ISO.
ISO 25,600/51,200 prints are not serviceable during any stretch and are best avoided.
The Pentax K-5 II with a 16.3-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor yields a good operation of printed images opposite many of a ISO spectrum, producing allied imitation sizes to many of a competitors in this sensor stretch and cost range. Note however that during all sizes and ISO ranges a aim magenta fabric swatch has a conspicuous boost in saturation, and is coloured rather some-more towards purple than a tangible swatch color. Other colors are oversaturated as well.
Testing hundreds of digital cameras, we’ve found that we can customarily tell customarily so many about a camera’s settlement peculiarity by observation a images on-screen. Ultimately, there’s no surrogate for printing a lot of images and examining them closely. For this reason, we now customarily imitation representation images from a cameras we exam on a Canon Pro9000 Mark II studio printer, and on a Pixma MP610 here in a office. (See a Canon Pixma Pro9000 Mark II review for sum on that model.)
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In a Box
- Pentax K-5 II digital camera
- SMC Pentax DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR or SMC Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR lens (if bought as a kit)
- Lithium-ion rechargeable battery enclosure D-LI90
- Battery horse enclosure K-BC90
- Body cap
- Front and behind lens caps (for kits)
- Lens hood (for kits)
- Eyecup FR
- Finder tip for ME
- PC hollow cap
- Hotshoe cover FK
- Focusing shade MF-60 Frame Matte (aka Natural-Bright-Matte III)
- USB information wire I-USB7
- Audio/video wire I-AVC7
- Shoulder tab O-ST132
- Software CD-ROM S-SW132
- One-year singular warranty
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Recommended Accessories
- Protective case
- Extra battery enclosure for extended outings
- Large capacity, high-speed SDHC/SDXC memory card. 8-16GB or incomparable creates clarity if we devise on sharpened lots of HD video. Look for a speed class of during slightest Class 6 for video capture.
- Additional lenses
- External flash
- Additional focusing screens
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Pentax K-5 II Conclusion
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For a final integrate of generations of Pentax’s K-series flagships, as shortly as I’ve returned a examination camera, I’ve left out and bought one for myself. For a change, we won’t be doing that with a K-5 II — a changes Pentax has finished given a K-5 customarily aren’t poignant adequate to clear an evident ascent for a customary K-5 owner. (If low-light sharpened is your bread and butter, though, a K-5 II competence be value your consideration.)
The fact that I’m not upgrading is no hit on a Pentax K-5 II, though. The fact is that after dual years, I’m still unequivocally confident with my K-5. Its inheritor takes fundamentally all we still adore about that camera, and implements a integrate of pivotal changes that make it noticeably softened in specific areas. The autofocus system’s ability to concentration in unequivocally low ambient light feels near-magical — if we could see a theme by a viewfinder, we was roughly positively means to concentration on it — and a new LCD guard is also a small easier on a eye.
If we possess a K-7 or an progressing flagship, a K-5 II represents a unequivocally inestimable upgrade, and it’s unequivocally a no-brainer squeeze unless we can find a K-5 physique for significantly less. For those now sharpened with an entry-level or mid-range Pentax DSLR, or maybe even a compress camera, a Pentax K-5 II competence infer intimidating during first, yet it will offer we many some-more room to grow. And if you’re deliberation jumping boat from another system, a K-5 II offers a lot of crash for a buck, so prolonged as extent resolution, AF sophistication, tethered shooting, and modernized film capabilities aren’t your primary goals. (And admittedly, third-party accessories are also a small rebate common for Pentax than for some of a some-more renouned rivals.)
If you’re deliberation picking adult a K-5, you’re faced with a preference — yet it’s one that competence solve itself unequivocally easily. For a initial time in a Pentax camera, we can opt to buy a Pentax K-5 II yet an anti-aliasing filter, radically trade off a risk of moiré for increasing resolution. In other respects, a Pentax K-5 IIs is matching to a K-5 II, yet given a critical differences in settlement peculiarity brought on by a dismissal of a AA filter, we’ve reviewed it separately. If we know a tradeoff and it still has interest for you, click here and find out if it’s a camera for you.
For a customary modernized pledge or fan who’s happier to live with an antialiasing filter so they don’t need to worry about moiré, a Pentax K-5 II presents a unequivocally appealing option, even if in many respects a settlement is now a integrate of years old. If you’re looking for an enthusiast-grade DSLR, a K-5 II unequivocally merits a place both on your brief list, and on a Dave’s Pick list.
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