Pentax K-5 in-depth review (DPR)

http://www.dpreview.co​m/reviews/pentaxk5/

Nikon D7000 Overall score 80%
Canon 7D Overall score 84%
Canon 60D Overall score 79%

Nobody can seem to get over it's excellent shadow detail. Now I see why.

Gold award from DPReview. Congrats to Pentax for finally catching up (and surpassing) the big two.

996gt2 wrote in post #11473828
Gold award from DPReview. Congrats to Pentax for finally catching up (and surpassing) the big two.

dpreview rates the year old 7D 1% higher than the Pentax K5. If the K5 had the 19 point AF of the 7D it probably would have surpassed it.

Another great camera from Pentax. What they really should be working on are lenses though. Their "limited" series is pretty cool, but if they want to compete with Canon they need to start making some nice fast primes and fast zooms as well. It seems like the best autofocus lenses for their cameras wouldn't be their own, but Sigmas.

Howzit wrote in post #11474722
dpreview rates the year old 7D 1% higher than the Pentax K5. If the K5 had the 19 point AF of the 7D it probably would have surpassed it.

They've caught up and surpassed Canon/Nikon in APS-C image quality, but I agree that they need to introduce a higher end AF system to match Canon and Nikon.

996gt2 wrote in post #11476932
They've caught up and surpassed Canon/Nikon in APS-C image quality, but I agree that they need to introduce a higher end AF system to match Canon and Nikon.

You have to pixel-peep to find any difference in IQ. It's getting very hard to find a DSLR these days that's less than great.

Congrats to Pentax for releasing a great camera. I'm impressed. However, I'm no less impressed with the 7D or the 60D or the 550D.

...pick any DSLR and you cant go wrong.

996gt2 wrote in post #11476932
They've caught up and surpassed Canon/Nikon in APS-C image quality, but I agree that they need to introduce a higher end AF system to match Canon and Nikon.

How do you figure? I'm not seeing any meaningful differences at any aperture between the 7D, D700 and k-5

tkbslc wrote in post #11477264
How do you figure? I'm not seeing any meaningful differences at any aperture between the 7D, D7000 and k-5

Shadow detail and ISO above 3200. There is no denying the Sony sensor is ahead here. Really nice but for most of little practical use. Not enough to change systems but maybe enough for someone looking for their 1st DSLR.

...like you said, no meaningful differences...

tkbslc wrote in post #11477264
How do you figure? I'm not seeing any meaningful differences at any aperture between the 7D, D700 and k-5

I assume that by aperture you meant ISO?

Well, the sensors used in the K5 and Nikon D7000 have extremely low read-noise, which means that much more detail is captured in the shadow portions of the picture. This means that you can successfully recover a picture even if it's severely underexposed (say, 5 or 6 stops). If you try doing something like that with a 7D, you'll get major banding.

Apart from the ability to recover underexposed images, the low shadow noise also results in better dynamic range, since you can lift the shadows in an otherwise well-exposed image without much increase in noise (in the dark areas). This means that it is less necessary to resort to HDR when capturing a scene with a lot of dynamic range.

These new sensors are very good at high ISO as well...at least a match for the latest APS-C Canon sensors. Dpreview has stated that RAW files from the K5 are quite usable up to ISO 25,600 when exposed properly. Imagine that...usable ISO 25,600 from an APS-C sensor!

rjx wrote in post #11472317
http://www.dpreview.co​m/reviews/pentaxk5/

Nikon D7000 Overall score 80%
Canon 7D Overall score 84%
Canon 60D Overall score 79%

Pentax should count their lucky stars DPR didn’t include video in that rating or that body would have rated considerably lower.

For some reason Pentax still cannot get their arms around how to do video properly.

Wayne

According to DPreview the D7000 isnt even in the same league...

D7000 - Mid range
K5 - Semi pro

So that means the D7000 would have gotten an even lower score if they went head to head in the same range..

Phew, My 7D is safe by 1%.I don't have to upgrade yet!!

I gotta be honest. I am surprised Pentax still exists. There is absolutely no reason to buy a Pentax unless you already own lenses in that mount.

The K-5 is rather pricey, but if I had to get a fresh kit now (without 8 EF-mount lenses as baggage), it's a very viable option, not to mention pentax has some amazing lenses for crop, like the 31/1.8, 77/1.8 and 50-135