New DSLR - Pentax K5

[GeoffWessex]

After months of rumours, Pentax are releasing the new K5 in a week or so..... apparently it's positioned below the K7, though video fans will see it as an improvement, having 1080px HD.

Without comparing exactly with the K7, it seems to me it's actually better in some respects.

[HinFrance]

The announcement is on Monday. The Pentax forums have the K5 as the replacement for the K7, and priced higher than a 7D or D7000. Still, alas, APS-C. All allegedly.

Max sensitivity is supposed to be 25600.

We shall see. The problem for Pentax is that they have to be way better and cheaper than an equivalent Cankon to sell.

[GeoffWessex]

I agree - though I've seen the specifications in several places so I'm sure it's more than "allegedly".
But you're right, it's not cheap and doesn't compete with the Canikon stuff - it's probably better-built, better weather-proofed etc too, but it's going to take a lot more than that to grad the Canikon addicts. I'm in Canada and you'd really think that only Canon and Nikon made cameras.

[HinFrance]

Alas the UK prices that have been announced are sufficiently wide of the mark to make this a dead duck. A 7D with a 18-135 IS is over £300 cheaper than the similarly equiped K5. The base price (admitedly with kit lens) is also £100 more than a D7000.

It might very well be better than either of them, but hardly anyone will ever buy one.

[GeoffWessex]

Agreed...... only Pentax addicts will even think about it - but not for long. It's $1600 in Canada, without the kit lens, but that's 1000 pounds (or 1190 Euros)..... however you look at it, their marketing department has got it all wrong. To me, they have no choice..... they've got to make cameras that costs less than the Sony, Canon and Nikon equivalents.

I also see that the 645D will be a fraction under 10,000 pounds. What possible market is there for that price? It's far too high to entice anybody but the wealthiest non-professional and it's not going to match what the real professionals want - the Hasselblad.

I really cannot see Pentax surviving in the 'serious camera' market.... unless they get a quality FullFrame camera out quickly, at a price that is better than Canon/Nikon/Sony.

[HinFrance]

Originally Posted by GeoffWessex

I really cannot see Pentax surviving in the 'serious camera' market.... unless they get a quality FullFrame camera out quickly, at a price that is better than Canon/Nikon/Sony.

And this launch doesn't bode well.

We'll have to see what the street price is when the cameras actually arrive.

Although on the Pentax forums there is one 7D user who says he is going to buy one - as well as, not instead of.

[GeoffWessex]

I suppose there's always going to be somebody who wants to add a new camera to their collection.... it would be interesting to see if it can actually improve his photography.

Two things I've learned since using the APS-C (I have a K10)....

1. The small APS-C is no match for FullFrame in image quality or noise/signal ratio, and putting more and more pixels on it has a limit which has now been reached, whatever magical processor is inside,

2. It's impossible to get a narrow and creative Depth of Field without spending huge amounts of money on fast lenses. The standard f/4 and worse on the more reasonably priced lens makes them poor for portraits and many other pictures.

[HinFrance]

I have a K10D and a K20D, and I am happy with hem both. The resolution and higher ISO performance on the K20D is much better than the K10D, but still not anywhere near Cankon's performance.

But they are as tough as old boots, heavy and full of features that I search for in vain on the odd occasion that I find myself using a Cankon of similar cost (5 frame bracketing, multiple exposure to name but two). In short I like them.

You do not need to have faster lenses, necessarily, to get a decent depth of field effect, although I have manged to get a 50mm f1.4 (an old F series lens) and a Tamron 90mm f2.8 into my camera bag.

This picture was taken with a Tamron 28-300 at f8, for example.



I think that realistically FF cameras will be beyond my means for the foreseeable future, so I'll make the most of the APS-Cs for now.

[GeoffWessex]

Yes, I got a very cheap MF Pentax 50mm f/2 lens - bit tricky to focus with my dodgy eyesight but only cost about 20 pounds. I'd really like the DA 55mm f/1.4 Macro but that's $900 (about 500 pounds) .... meanwhile Nikon sell their 50mm f/1.8 - okay not so fast but fine for me - for $160 (about 90 pounds). and their 50mm f/1.4 for $390.

[HinFrance]

You've hit a nail on the head there Geoff - Cankon both do very affordable and more than adequate 50mm lenses, but not Pentax. It's about time they did.

As for the 645D, I think this will be a relative success - like the 645 film camera it gives medium format quality at a fraction of the cost of the competition's offerings. That was why the 645 was pretty ubiquitous in the wedding and fashion worlds. Like the DSLRs the fact that all the classic 645 lenses can be used with the digital version is going to be a boon to the many pros who still have some of these excellent lenses at the back of their cupboards.