Just received K5 - initial impressions

Having just received my new K5 today my first impressions are:

High Iso is way ahead of K20D - ISO6400 is probably equivalent to old ISO1600

Shutter noise is greatly reduced - definitely a good thing

Body wise I must admit I find the K20D more comfortable, especially the R/H grip

Electronic level will be very useful, I've set it to function only with the RAW/FX button though

Personally I'm glad the IS lever has gone, I was always catching it on the K20D and turning the IS off.

Menu system a definite improvement over K20D

That's it for now...I'll post further thoughts once I've managed to take a few photos!!

Just for info I bought it from SRS and manufacture date is March 2011 so shouldn't be any sensor issues - I'll check for certain tomorrow though

Simon

I bet your like a kid with a new toy

Reduced shutter noise is fantastic, its great sitting in a Bird Hide and frowning upon the C&N users with their clacking shutters, I never really noticed how noisey some cameras could be till I got the K5

And methinks your going to really like that electronic level for landscape work.

Interested on your thoughts about the ISO Simon, it is the main reason why my debit card is twitching, but only 2 stops better than the K20?
Would love to see some comparison shots sometime.
Hope you enjoy it.

Davex.

I think it's more than 2 stops better as I never used anything higher than ISO1600 on the K20D as I didn't find the results too pleasant - Iso12800 looks perfectly useable on the K5 too, haven't tried any higher yet

Ordered mine on the same say as you simon but seeing as I'm across the shugh, I'm hoping that an extra day to deliver is all thats needed. Have already charged my spare old K7s battery so I'll not even have to wait on the battery charge...which is nice

As regards Electronic level. On my K7 it wasn't true to the horizon on my copy anyway. Everyone happy with it on the K5?

I would say the K-5 is 3 stops better than the K20D

Bet you come back in a few weeks and say how much nicer the K-5 is to hold compared to the K20D.

Agree with your comments about the grip, I find my little finger just slips off the bottom, and preferred the K20 in that respect.

I agree with this but must say I think I would rather part with my little finger than with my K5.
I would also say it is not the extra stops with the ISO it is the better quality of image you get at high ISO with this sensor.

ISO performance difference between the K20 & K5 will depend on what type of photography your doing, I reckon for general snaps the ISO will be four to five times better but for images that have a lot of fine detail three stops over is about maximum.

Personally I find at higher ISOs is might be a 3 stop or more improvement, but down at the lower end it's closer to two stops (eg 400 ISO on a K20D looks similar to 1600 on a K5 in my experience, those are my maximums on auto-ISO anyway).

I much prefer the K5 ergonomics. When I upgraded from the K100D Super to the K20D I was quite dismayed at how large and unwieldy the K20D was. The K5 is a pleasant reversion to the K100D size.

Add the cheap chinese grip .. its worth the money just to cure that problem even if you never use the horrible spongy shutter button.

Whilst with my small hands I don't have a problem I did find the grip on the limited edition to be much more comfortable.

Chris @ SRS was going to see if Pentax would do it as a retro fit for the normal K-5. No word on that so I assume the answer was no

Did the Special have a different grip Gwyn?

Yes it has an extra finger indentation, which is more comfortable. So you have you index finger on the shutter and then your middle and ring fingers have indentations. The little finger just fall naturally in the right place then.

I would seriously consider changing the grip were Pentax to offer it at a good price.

Edit - you can see the difference on the Pentax website photos: Special and normal. See the extra indent on the special?