This is the third weather sealed Pentax I've owned and I'm happy to say that I have full confidence in Pentax's ability to make a camera that I can take anywhere. Rain storms, freezing rain, snow and blowing sand will not slow me down. Other camera owners dive for cover while I get the shots. And it's not just about how rugged the k5 is built - it's comfortable, very customizable, responsive and takes great images, even at iso 25600!
The grip is awesome... it feels attached to my hand and it makes it easier to hold over long periods. Plus, it actually feels lighter than what it is - I think it's how the weight is distributed, but it's what ergonomics is about.
I love how I can reassign what a button does, or what a control wheel controls. For example, if I'm in AV mode (aperture priority), I can assign the the front wheel or rear wheel to change the aperture while the other wheel can control exposure compensation, iso, or nothing at all.
It focuses quickly, does well at tracking and shoots quickly and quietly. This last point is interesting... the k5 is a small camera and Pentax lenses tend to be smaller and lighter than their competition, especially when you look at their prime lenses. I've noticed when using my larger lenses, the people I'm taking a picture of react much differently than when I use smaller lenses. When a smaller lens is on the camera, they are more relaxed and are less likely to know that I'm taking pictures of them. Plus with the camera shutter being very quiet, I can keep taking photos and they are likely not even aware that I'm taking pictures. I love taking candid pictures since peoples reactions are much more natural. The Pentax K5 helps me get these shots.
Taking pictures indoors can be such a challenge - lighting in most areas is very low which presents photographers with many challenges. Often times it means shooting at a large aperture which means the depth of field will be very shallow - one person may be in focus, but the person next to them won't be. Or shutter speed needs to be dropped which means if your subject moves, you'll get motion blur or even if your subject is still, it makes keeping the camera still enough difficult. And another compromise that can be used is to raise the ISO (sensitivity) higher that often induces static or noise to the image. Pentax has addressed these issues head on. First, the Pentax K5 has image stabilization built in, so if you are shooting at low shutter speeds, you are much more likely to get a sharp image. The rule of thumb has been the shutter speed should equal or greater than the focal length (in 35mm equivalence). So if you're shooting with a 50mm lens and since the Pentax has a crop factor of 1.5, it has a 75mm focal length so I should shoot at 1/75th or higher to get a sharp image. But with the k5 I regularly shoot at 1/20th with a 50mm lens without issue. That means I can decrease the aperture for more depth of field and or reduce the iso to decrease noise.
But the amazing thing is how little of a penalty there is for increasing the ISO on the Pentax K5. I found myself shooting in a very dimly lit Tango Dance Studio where I was needing to keep the shutter speeds at 1/100th or more since people were dancing while keeping the aperture set to f2.8 or higher. This meant I had to shoot at iso 25600 and a lot of those shots were absolutely useable! My previous cameras, I was hesitant to shoot at even iso 3200 because the noise became such a problem. But the K5 has such low chroma noise, the noise reduction feature in Lightroom 3 makes images at this high ISO useable. That's one thing I noticed on my uncles Nikon D7000 - at h4 (iso 25600), the Nikon had much more chroma noise than my pictures with the Pentax k5. And chroma noise is much harder to get rid of and makes images much less appealing.
All in all, I'm so excited about having the k5. Indoor or night shooting will be much easier. Macro shooting will be easier since I can raise the ISO so I can either increase the shutter speed or increase the aperture without penalty. When I'm people shooting, I can be stealthier with a smaller camera that is very quiet. My back will be happier when I go hiking because my gear is smaller and lighter. And I don't have to cower away from nature since I know my gear is up to taking most of what mother nature has waiting for me. Pentax has made an amazing camera that is worthy of all the awards its getting. And I know I'm so lucky to own one!
Review by vagrant10 "mh"
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