K-5iis problem?

I've read that the 5 IIs has a problem with latency in Live View and [quote]-"the camera can only write .avi video files rather than the now-preferred H.264 .mov format. One problem with the .avi format is that without re-encoding, an annoying periodic clicking sound can be heard in many video players (including Youtube). This is caused due to a slight incompatibility between the various codecs being used to play back the files."

Read more at: http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-k-5-ii-iis/performance-and-video.html#ixzz38CK5CgzY
Has anyone had first hand experience of this and might this cause any hiccups when playing back video on a PC.. Thanks.

I have never used LV or video on my K5II, so can't give a first hand opinion, but from my own reading of various reviews and posts it's fair to say that video is not a high priority for Pentax, although the K3 is an improvement I understand.

The K-01, K30/50 used/use a different processor that favours video more, so might be a better choice if video is a higher priority for you and you want to stay with Pentax, otherwise I regret other marques do better, but at a price.

As with most DSLR's from all manufacturers, video is a 'me too' built on I'm afraid.

I don't see any reason to worry about the K5 / II /s or indeed K7 video file format or codecs. There is absolutely no way that anyone would want to be uploading .avi files from these cameras directly to the internet - the files sizes are way too big to be practical - but the same can be said of AVCHD lite or H.264. For any online use you need to re-encode to a new format (MPEG4 is best for the internet I think), and of course you will apply cuts and other edits at the same time - the video will be compressed also to produce managable file sizes for the internet.

The camera recorded video file is just a start point really - its intended to reproduce and store the best quality the camera is capable of - then the user has to decide how to edit the video and output the best format for each intended use. Thats all another subject of course ....

In fact, I prefer .avi from my K7 to the .MTS (AVCHD - Lite) I get from a Panasonic Lumix bridge - .avi is less compressed (and bigger of course) but that means it is easier for computers to work with, less memory required and less processor power to work with it in an editing programme. This results in very smooth working - I find very smooth video as well generally.

AVI is the container. It doesn't directly relate to the compression used by the codec.
Compression is the function of the codec the container uses and can be of a number of standards.
In the case of the K-7 and K-5 the video compression format is MotionJPEG of which there are three quality/compression levels (indicated by asterisks in the video menu).
H.264 can also be used as the compressor for an AVI container. Also WMV3 (Windows Media) or MPEG-4 Part 2 DivX codec and in fact H.264/MPEG-4 AVC can be used in the .AVI container just as .MTS does.
The K-7 and K-5 also encode at a higher bitrates than the later Pentax DSLRs using AVC1/H.264 (the codec inside the .MOV container used by Pentax now). I've seen some really nice footage shot using the K-5/K-5II. The K-7 has a much noisier sensor and also shows what looks like vertical interlacing in some edge detail. (I also see a lot of purple fringing with the K-7 footage, even though the same lenses I use for stills don't.)
I've found that NeatVideo plugin for VirtualDub does quite a good job of cleaning up K-7 video.
Here's a sample of an Off/On comparison of a noisy video I shot with the K-7 in a shaded area using NeatVideo to clean up the noise.
► http://www.zonerama.com/Link/Photo/15016643

Video shot using the recent Pentax DSLRs fall apart quickly in editors. Harder to colour grade and much harder (to impossible) to keep the IQ on re export.

For DSLR video, I'd rather use a K-5II than a K-50, even though there is less manual controls.
(And then there's the better sensor shift SR if you need it when shooting video)
I might even buy one one day

I'm in the same boat but do want the 24p framerate option which unfortunately is not offered on the K5 range.

As above, later models seem to have a lot more compression going on, perhaps intended to favour lower file sizes over image quality. A very weird approach for a company that often tops the image quality scores for stills from a given sensor.

Steve, thanks for that clarification on the video codecs and formats - I was aware that the .avi files were less compressed, but I don't know of any way to determine the specific ratio. K7 video bitrates run at around 39,000 - 43,000 mbps from what I've seen in the file properties box, which is great, giving plenty of leeway for re-encoding and more compression - eg I output my MPEG4s to around 8000 for internet (HD) use, (like Vimeo). K7 framerate is 30fps and my stereo audio is at 32,000 hz 16bit, uncompressed. All in all its quite an impressive spec list really.

Obviously the file sizes are big - but I use a couple of 32Gb cards which is plenty for a few outings I find. Storage longer term is not such an issue now - I've stopped backing up my original cmaera files on hard drives, I just leave them on the computer until finsihed with them and make DL DVD backups. I then backup the output files I create on hard drives.

I'll check out that video link when I can get to a broadband signal. In the meantime I have started to edit some K7 video footage into a demo clip for everyone to see, and I'll I post it soon when ready.

For playing the K-5 AVI files a codec is already built into Direct X.

To save them without too much re-encoding something like the PICVideo
codec would be needed, although it will probably still alter
the edited file slightly. Has anyone tried it?

http://www.accusoft.com/picvideomjpeg.htm

Something that saved the edited clips in the same way
that Womble saves MPEG-2 files (without re-encoding)
would be ideal.

http://www.womble.com/products/

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