New DSLR - Pentax K5

[Mr Bump]

Originally Posted by HinFrance

Only one more day to go Mr B

If only, H

I was also told that it could be as late as end of Jan due to Belgium having very little new K5 stock. That would make it almost two months since paying lots of dosh for an unusable camera. I must have been particularly wicked in a previous life

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[Sue Allen]

Looking at the various options for older lenses - how well do they perform on digital? In Nikon I used the 80-200mm f2.8 [heavy old push/pull], 75-300 [again metal push/pull, fair bit of CA but with the advantage of a focus limiter] and the 70-210mm D version [brilliant if you get a good one]. I was looking at the 80-320mm which would give a good reach for not much outlay - not bothered over much if its a bit soft wide open - opinions seem to vary over this and other older lenses.

[HinFrance]

Sorry to hear that you might have to wait longer Mr B. Mine also came from Belgium, but was not too long after allowing for the Christmas hols.

Sue, I don't have your budget for lenses, but I do have a couple of old 35mm slr ones. I know you are looking for something really long, but the longest one I have got is a Tamron 80-210AF which I really like. Produces beautiful images, but does need some AF adjustment applied to it on an APS-C (-8 on my K20D and -7 on the K5). And the AF is really quick.

For shorter lenses, the all manual Chinon 50mm f1.7 is a real gem. I also have a Pentax F50mm f1.4 which is also very good.

Off now to charge the K5 battery and get the new firmware installed.

[Sue Allen]

Ah - I blew the lens budget on the 70-200 f2.8 ''
'
So having got the money back for the tcon, which was to have given me the longer option, and having bought the 50-200 for £99.99 to replace the 55-300 which I sold for a fiver short of what I paid for it...I've got a 17-70 [bought s/hand] plus the other two to take me to 200mm 1.5x and not too much left in the kitty to try and get something a bit longer that will focus reasonably quickly and quietly [my only real gripe with the 55-300]. I know some people swear by old lenses while others tell you that they can't compare with new ones as they dont have things like the new coatings on the glass. My own experience has been mixed with regard to Nikkors.

[Mr Bump]

At last the K5 replacement has arrived . Not quite time to break out the bubbly yet - I need to do a sensor check tomorrow - but the 'safe' 395xxxx serial number bodes well.

After two months of no usable DSLR it will be great to get going again after a quick refresher browse through the manual and a few tweaks to settings. Mind you, necessity and commitments have meant putting my Nikon film cameras back to use and I'd forgotten the simple pleasure of using SLRs not festooned with buttons and dials. I'm really glad I hung onto them now.

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[Sue Allen]

Here's hoping you feel it was worth the wait
We start our show season on Saturday in the worst venue for lighting of the year so it will be the first chance to really compare the K-5 with the Nikons I used last year. I'm planning to shoot RAW/JPEG to see how possible it is to adjust the WB effectively but also have the option of playing around with a RAW image later. Hopefully I'll be able to get some stuff outside but it will definitely be a case of upping the ISO inside as it's pretty dim.

Film? That's a bit modern - what's wrong with a good old plate or Daguerrotype?

[Mr Bump]

Originally Posted by Sue Allen

Film? That's a bit modern - what's wrong with a good old plate or Daguerrotype?

I was trying not to give away my age Sue

Good luck on Saturday. I'll look forward to seeing your results. BTW nice shot attached to your post - I'm not particularly knowledgeable on dog breeds but it looks quite like my friend's good-natured lurcher facially.

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[HinFrance]

Sue told you what sort of dog it is - it's a DOGuerrotype.

Glad you've got your new body; shame it was a little late. I've installed the 1.02 firmware on mine and it seems to be working OK.

I've also ordered a pattern grip - this one claims to be water and dust resistant like the pukka item - we shall see.

Although I like the quality and performance of the K5 I do still find it too small for my hands. Ideally it would weight the same, but be the size of a K20D and get the two important missing buttons back - SR on and off and bracketing, whilst keeping the improved left hand side buttons and menu system too.

It's not so much the height of the body and the fact that their is nowhere except under the camera for the little finger to go, but more that there is no molding for the left hand - the left edge of screen is where your thumb goes, meaning that this is always smeared, (if you use the 'alternate' grip as I often do) as well as meaning that there is no space for extra function buttons on that side either.

Overall I am happy with it, and I am sure it will serve me well.

[Sue Allen]

He's a Lurcher with more rthan a bit of Saluki in him. One of 3 brought in by man who had 'found' them - probably rejects from the travelling community as they had obviously never been inside before. One went to the local Greyhound rescue and one is still waiting for a home - this one struck lucky in going to the parents of a member of one of the local training clubs who support us. Seems to have fallen on his feet!

[Mr Bump]

Originally Posted by HinFrance

Sue told you what sort of dog it is - it's a DOGuerrotype.

Although I like the quality and performance of the K5 I do still find it too small for my hands..........It's not so much the height of the body and the fact that their is nowhere except under the camera for the little finger to go, but more that there is no molding for the left hand - the left edge of screen is where your thumb goes, meaning that this is always smeared, (if you use the 'alternate' grip as I often do) as well as meaning that there is no space for extra function buttons on that side either.

DOGuerrotype

Yes, I was surprised too when unpacking the replacement K5. I'm sure the first one I had was larger . I find that a left-hand grip with tip of thumb on RAW/fx button and heel of thumb tucked below body to support works OK with the zoom lens but not with the Limited prime. The latter is hardly bigger than a tcon so there's not much for the left-hand fingers to grip. That's when being able to hold as you describe H would be useful but, as you say, there's then nowhere for the thumb to go except edge of screen. Mind you, I wanted a smaller DSLR so I have to accept compromises. Overall I'm really pleased with it.

The K5 comes boxed with a hard copy of the comprehensive operating manual and a copy on disk. Anyone considering buying the K5 who would like to have a look through the manual first can download it as a PDF from the Pentax USA web site (not Pentax Europe). Go to this link then choose Camera>Digital SLR>K5 then tick the 'Manual' box and Submit. On the next page click Download. I personally prefer using the on-screen version of the manual to peering at the tiny text of the hard copy.

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