Pentax K5

[mr.si]

Hi all,

I am still looking to get my first DSLR and am wanting to future proof myself so I don't get a basic body and then want more soon after.

I was originally considering Nikon and canon (obviously) but then thought about other brands and I have been reading good things about the Pentax K-5 and there are good prices for it with a kit lens.

Does anyone here use one?
Can I challenge anyone to put me off going down this route?

Thanks,
Simon

 

[Mike.P]

I had the K-5 and at the moment use a K-5II. The original K-5 is a fantastic camera (especially for what it costs) but lags behind Canon and Nikon with regards to af speed and Pentax also have a smaller range of lenses (although what they do have are excellent quality). If you are looking for a small high quality weather resistant camera with excellent ISO performance and dynamic range then I would recommend it immediately but if you are after a speed monster for very fast moving subjects they look at Canikon.

Put it this way, I have a k-5II and a Canon 7D .... if I am going out to photograph very fast moving subjects that need lightning fast accurate autofocus tracking then I pick up the Canon, for anything else it's the Pentax.

If I had to choose just one camera it would be the K-5II but it depends how far YOU want to go ... as for future proof, after the K-5II/s there is presently nowhere to go with Pentax but with Canikon you have a couple of full frame options.

 

[Tringa]

I would not put you off a K5, but then I have one.

Because there are newer Pentax models the K5 is a good deal at present (about £530 for a K5 and the WR 18-55mm kit lens from that place in Watford). It is a lot of camera for the money.

The Pentax dealership is smaller than that of Canon or Nikon and there are few lenses, however focal lengths from 10mm to 300mm are catered for by Pentax, actually the range goes up to 560mm but that one comes with a big price tag. There are also third party lenses in the K mount.

Add to that,
any Pentax K mount lens from about 1975 onwards will fit. The vast majority need to be manually focussed but many allow the aperture to be controlled by the camera, and
in-body IS so any lens is stabilised which helps with the old lenses and means you don't need to buy the image stabilised versions of any third party lens.

I like the K5 a lot and find it very easy, but go and handle one, and models from other manufacturers too, and see what you think.

Dave

 

[D4rr3n]

Neither would I. But then I'm a canon user who knows little about modern Pentaxes.

In the days of film I used several different makes and found something to love about them all. I use canons not because "they're the best!" but because they're the best for me . . . . at the moment.

Buy the camera you like (love?), you will take far better pictures with a camera you enjoy using. As Dave said, go have a fondle and see what you like and don't be bullied into thinking canikons are the only way to go!

Darren