Pentax K 5 is the flagship APS-C digital SLR model for Pentax. Externally, it’s quite identical to its predecessor K-7. Ití’s the changes under the hood which mainly distinguish K-5 from K-7, which effectively works on the shortcomings of the previous model. The latest Pentax model is aimed at enthusiasts who are looking for top notch image quality along with rugged weather proof design. Let’s figure out what makes this top of the line DSLR from Pentax a worthy competitor and whether its a significant upgrade from its predecessor K-7.

From the outside

K-5 comes packed in a very strong, magnesium clad, stainless steel body, just like the K-7. The rugged design makes it a durable companion. Also, the design is fully weather sealed and cold proof, which means it can resist water, snow, fog, sand, dust etc to deliver best performance in extreme field conditions, and not just in studio.

Despite relatively smaller size, K-5 features a lot of physical controls. The camera sports a 3 inch screen at the rear with 921,000 dots of resolution for detailed image review. The various types of ports (HDMI, AV, remote release, DC power) are on the sides protected by rubber covers. For storage, the camera uses Secure Digital (SD) memory cards (including SDHC and SDXC types. One of the big advantages of somebody upgrading from the previous model (K-7) to K-5 is that all its accessories are compatible with K-5 as well.

What lies beneath?

The K-5 includes a high resolution 16.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor, 7fps burst rate and a wide ISO sensitivity range of 80 to 51,200 equivalents. The K-5 comes with latest generation of company’s SAFOX phase detection auto-focus module (SAFOX IX+). The 11 point SAFOX IX+ auto-focus system sports a dedicated AF lamp and a light wavelength sensor. The module intends to yield enhanced low-light focusing along with accurate and more stable Auto Focus. The ISO range is vastly improved with the new sensor. The standard range is 100-12800, which can expanded to 80-51200 with an increase mode.

Both the sensor and auto-focus system ensure a speedy and solid performance. The high-speed burst mode is quite amazing with 7 frames per second. It’s an improvement over 5.2 frames per second burst mode of K-7. The maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 second lets you capture the fastest action without motion blur.

Image and video quality:

Pentax K-5 16.3 MP Digital SLR with 18-55mm Lens and 3-Inch LCD (Black) Average Rating: 63 total customer reviews...

Pentax K-5 has excellent image quality throughout the ISO range to 3200 with outstanding detail and great dynamic range. The camera comes with a wide range of custom image modes and digital filters for special effects, which will let you be creative while capturing images.

While the video quality of the K-5 is quite good, the options are quite limited and flexibility is absent. However, k-5 has improved a bit from k-7 in this department. The video modes are easy to use, and the resolution and frame rates can be changed easily from the settings menus. But, while various choices for resolution are there, frame rate options are quite limited. Sadly, continuous video auto-focus is also missing. The camera can record videos at resolution like 640 X 480 (25/30 FPS), 1280 X 720 (25/30 FPS) and 1920 X 1080 at 25 FPS only. Pentax K-5 supports use of some of its filter effect functions while recording a video, which will put your creativity to work.

Final thoughts…

K-5 is an extremely well designed and rugged DSLR with excellent image and video quality, high resolution, good low-light performance and expanded ISO range. The camera offers a great option for outdoor photographers who need a weather proof and rugged camera to survive the tough conditions. However, the limited digital lens selection would be something to consider while purchasing K-5. The camera is not cheap and is comparable to equivalent Canon and Nikon models, which would make the competition difficult for Pentax K 5.

Following is a summary of pros and cons of the camera, which will help you in your buying decision:

Pros:

• Weather-sealed, rugged magnesium/stainless steel body
• Superior image quality at wide ISO range
• Speedy 7 fps burst rate
• Excellent battery life
• Native support for both Adobe DNG and Pentax PEF RAW files
• Wide range of in-camera image processing and special effects filters
• 3-inch screen has high resolution and gives a detailed view

Cons:

• Limited choices of lens
• Zoom lens is bit noisy
• Video setting options are quite limited
• Price is slightly on the higher side

The Original Post is Located Here: Pentax K-5

k-5

K-5 preserves memories, and memories are what remain long after people are gone.

That is why people stress so much importance on having a camera wherever they go. They want the memories to stay alive so that they show it to other people and share that moment with them.

Of course, another point would be which camera. People want to preserve their memories nicely, clearly and yet not pay a heavy price for it. They do want something very good, but not at the cost of everything else they have. Hence, choosing which camera is a very important decision.

Important Features:

The K-5 comes with a lot of major improvements. Some of its most important features are:

1. The K-5 has an ISO sensitivity of 80-51,200 and a 1080p HD movie mode.
2. It has a limited in-camera movie editing feature and a 16.3 CMOS server.
3. The K-5 also comes with a socket for external microphone unit and a shake reduction system.
4. It has an improved hand-held function and continuous shooting up to 7fps.
5. The K-5 also has a100% viewfinder coverage and a 3in, 921k pixel LCD screen which accounts for better view ability.
6. It has a very accurate 77 segment metering system to capture images in difficult lighting.
7. The K-5 has a fast shutter speed (1/8000) which captures even the fastest action.
8. A customized RAW/Fx button makes it easy for easy access for common shooting settings.

Pentax K-5 16.3 MP Digital SLR with 18-55mm Lens and 3-Inch LCD (Black) Average Rating: 63 total customer reviews...

Which Camera?

The Pentax K-5 is the new and one of the best cameras from the Pentax stable. It is a little similar to the K-7 in design but the K-5 has its differences. In fact, K-5 is almost indistinguishable from the K-7 but when one tends to take a closer does one realise how different they are. One can compare for themselves its features with the other cameras online but a gist of them is given below.

Design

We have already talked about as to how the K-5 is similar in design to the K-7 and photographers will have absolutely no problem in adjusting to the other one. There have been a few tweaks though to make it easy for the user. These may not be readily visible, but one may realise it when one starts using the K-5.

However, the Raw button can perform various other functions which improves usability and the resolution on the screen is also higher (16 megapixel) which makes it easier to read the information on the screen.

Operation

The operation of the K-5 is more tuned keeping in mind the experienced photographers and one needs to go through the manual to realise its full potential. Most of the K-5 buttons perform more than one function which tends to be easier for the photographer. The menu is easily navigable but it might take some time for beginners to get used to it.

Lens

The K-5 has very good features in its lens like the shake reduction in which the image sensor allows for a sensor-shift stabilization of the image. The K-5 also has a dust removal system which can be controlled manually or adjusted at a specific time. Unlike previous models, the dust removal system of the K-5 is highly effective but the major drawback is that it can increase the time between manual cleanings.

Performance

The K-5 has an excellent performance when it comes to an SLR. The shutter speed is very good for an SLR and play to record is extremely fast as well. The K-5 uses a custom lithium-ion battery and battery life is much better when compared to other similar models.

Price

The K-5 comes at a price of around 68,000 /- generally but it varies from the distributor and the region or country where it is bought. On average, the K-5 costs $1300 and upwards.

When it comes to capturing a precious shot or when it comes to storing memories, the K-5 leads the pack. It is one of the best pieces of equipment to click photographs and store them. The K-5 is a vast improvement over other cameras in this segment and Pentax has done a fabulous job with it. It comes with so many added features along with being very user friendly. On top of that the K-5 is not over-priced and is worth every penny.

K-5 is a camera worth considering.

Pentax K-5 16.3 MP Digital SLR with 18-55mm Lens and 3-Inch LCD (Black) Average Rating: 63 total customer reviews...

The Original Post is Located Here: Capturing memories with the K-5

pentax k 7

Pentax has been a common name in the photography world since 1952, for the release of great cameras. The release of pentax k 7 was a redefining moment for the company, as this camera incorporates various incredible features of all their previous underrating SLRs digital line plus some enhancements and upgrades.

Design

The K-7 weighs 670g and measures 130.5×96.5×72.5mm in size. With K-7, Pentax added the dust, cold and weather resistant body plus an environment seal making it possible for photographers to work comfortably in any weather. The K-7 has been designed with a magnesium-steel alloy body plus a stainless-steel frame. The mixture of materials in its skeleton has made it possible for the camera to resist cold to as low as 10 degrees.

The rugged build quality of K-7 is inherited from its predecessors K20D and K10D. K-7 has brought back the squared blocky shape which was used by the old SLR film. Compared to its predecessors K-7 is marginally smaller as compared to K20D and up to 33% smaller than Nikon D300. This camera is 9% lighter than Canon EOS 50D and 22% lighter than Nikon D300. The shutter on this camera boasts at a maximum speed of 1/8000sec.

Features of pentax K 7

Pentax K-7 14.6 MP Digital SLR with Shake Reduction and 720p HD Video with DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL Weather Resistant Lens Average Rating: 34 total customer reviews...

The display

The camera comes with a 3.0 inches LCD view which has 921,000 dots resolution which is an improvement from the previous models and it makes the live-view feature easy to use. The screen also has various levels of color and brightness for easy correction making sure that your image looks as it should.

Performance

Before the release of pentax K-5, k-7 is the fastest pentax ever built shooting at a top speed of 5.2 fames/second (14 RAW/DNG, 15 RAW/PEF or 40 JPEGs). Although its performance is lower than that of Canon 7D and Nikon D300S, K-7 is has the capability to exceed the expectation of many photographers.

The SAFOX VIII and the wide frame auto-focus system feature the 11 sensor points, which is also present in the pentax K-5. Pentax has improved the AF system by the addition of light source on the data range. This makes it possible for this camera to shoot professional motor sport images.

K-7 uses the maker’s classic-K mount and has been designed for supporting legacy lens. This camera can handle all the pentax-K mount lenses comfortably. These lenses made by pentax are the best in the market. K-7 works perfectly with the DA 40mm f/2.8 and the weather-sealed zoom lenses the pentax DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED WR and the DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR.

The pentax K 7 has the capability of capturing HD videos at 1536×1024, 1280×720 or 640×416 resolutions at 30 f/s. To record the audio sound with the video; the K-7 comes with an external Microphone-terminal. This records a superb quality sound as compared to the internal microphone. The HDMI port on the pentax K 7 makes it possible for you to view the videos on your HD television.

To capture perfect quality images, this camera has a High Dynamic Range mode for capturing images. This high dynamic range mode captures 3 images and combines them inside the camera to help bring out the background details like the highlights, mid-tones and shadows also helps widen the image exposure range.

The camera has an inbuilt lens correction tool which adjusts the lenses electronically reducing lens lateral-chromatic aberration and distortion saving you time, which you might, spend on the computer making this changes. This camera also embeds your copyright information on the meta-tag data on each image, thus making it easy for you to prove ownership of the pictures.

Fast High quality image-reproduction

For fast image production, the K-7 features the pentax-real-image engine (PRIME) II, which is an upgrade to the original PRIME as an imaging engine. This engine offers fast data processing speed for high quality pictures with more color rendition accuracy. It also offers high speed transmission of movie data.

This camera also features the newly developed CMOS-image sensor measuring 23.4×15.6mm, and the high speed 4 channel images data readout. The sensitivity of this sensor has been increased from ISO 100 to ISO 6400 which reduces the noise effects.

pentax K 7 comes with the sophisticated 77-segment multi-pattern metering-system which improves the light metering accuracy. This system improves the exposure control accuracy by analyzing the type of data transmitted from the cameras sensor.

Other features includes RAW button which switches the single action of image file-format, sensitivity-priority mode, hyper manual function and the hyper program function.

Pentax K-7 14.6 MP Digital SLR with Shake Reduction and 720p HD Video with DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL Weather Resistant Lens Average Rating: 34 total customer reviews...

The Original Post is Located Here: Pentax k 7 Review

Pentax K5

Pentax has entered into a very competitive market with its Pentax K5 digital SLR camera.

This model is designed for serious photographers who want to get hold of their first professional camera. It is a digital SLR camera that offers all the features one can find in cameras placed in this category. In fact, in terms of higher ISO and APS-C, it surpasses its competitors. The basic design of K5 is based on its predecessor Pentax K7. While Pentax K-5 carries all those features available in the K7, some additional features and upgrades have been added. Camera buyers looking for advanced features, reliability and ease of use will find that this camera fulfills all their requirements.

Pentax K5 has a very light weight magnesium alloy body with stainless steel chassis. It is weather and dust resistant and can be used under most climatic conditions. It can be used in almost -10 deg temperature. Just after holding the camera, the person realizes how solid the camera is, even though it is a compact sized camera. With good grip, the camera is easy to handle and nestles nicely in the palms. This results in pictures that are sharp and clear. All the main function buttons and dials are within easy reach of the photographer. The stop down aperture can be set with a single press of a button while looking through the viewfinder. The viewfinder shows 100% coverage with the magnification of 0.92x. The camera body weighs 670g and for power it uses a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery.

Pentax K-5 16.3 MP Digital SLR with 18-55mm Lens and 3-Inch LCD (Black) Average Rating: 63 total customer reviews...

The LCD screen on the Pentax K5 provides all types of information like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, condition of battery, remaining frames in the memory card, and other details. While the camera is made specifically for photographing pictures, it can also be used for video recording. For shooting movies, the Movie Camera icon mode must be selected. With the help of X locks, the speed of shutter can be fixed for flash synchronization. In the high-speed mode, the Pentax K5 can shoot at a very fast 7 frames per second. In the movie mode it can record videos at 25 fps. Its advanced metering system with 77-segment is comparable to best in its class. Depending on the lighting present in parts of an area in the picture, the metering system can identify the correct combination of settings.

The Pentax K5 comes with a 16.3 MP CMOS sensor. It offers the maximum sensitivity when it comes to ISO adjustment. In fact, its ISO can go up to 51200 which is maximum that has been incorporated in any APS-C camera. For video recording, users have access to 1080p resolution that can record high-quality HD video. This camera is also optimized to take advantage of the wide range of lenses already available from the company. The updated feature of SAFOX IX+ AF system is very good in color detection and offers improved speed.

Photographers used to K7 will find the upgrades easy to understand and follow because the Pentax K5 is based on that camera body. The body material and the dimensions are almost same, only the look of Pentax K5 is flashier. The camera ISO range starts from 80 and goes up to 51200. Some limited number of basic editing features can be done in the camera itself. For the video recording facility external microphone can be attached. Users can use the internal mono or external stereo voice recording features.

The pictures taken from Pentax K5 are very sharp and clear because there is advanced shake reduction feature that detects and corrects vertical, horizontal and rotational shakes. Users can choose DNG or PEF RAW files. The camera also offers night scene HDR feature. This Pentax K5 produces the best quality digital images at a very high resolution. The digital noise is suppressed to the maximum extent and kept to a minimum.

Pentax K-5 16.3 MP Digital SLR with 18-55mm Lens and 3-Inch LCD (Black) Average Rating: 63 total customer reviews...

With all these superior technical features, the Pentax K5 gives the best performance. Before taking the picture, various modes and settings can be fixed within seconds. There are a number of digital filters available for this camera. At the same time, while the video recording facility is available, there are not that many video recording features.

Photographers looking for exceptional quality digital images can choose Pentax K5 to photograph all types of subjects.

The Original Post is Located Here: Wide Range of Features and Specifications Available in Pentax K5