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K5 @ ISO 25600

Mannesty
Posted 16/07/2011 - 09:07 Link
I think this is about as high as I would go and still expect to get some usable web images. C & C always appreciated.

All shot at ISO 25600 with the K5 + DA* 60-250mm. #3 @ f8, the rest @ f4.

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Peter E Smith - flickr Photostream
Edited by Mannesty: 16/07/2011 - 09:17
Mike-P
Posted 16/07/2011 - 09:11 Link
They look fine on my mobile but will be interested to see them on my monitor when I get home.
Mannesty
Posted 16/07/2011 - 09:20 Link
Thanks Mike. I think at these high ISO speeds, the images are suited to being reproduced in smaller sizes so your mobile is a good example.
Peter E Smith - flickr Photostream
Smeggypants
Posted 16/07/2011 - 19:43 Link
they are fine at the size posted in this thread.

if anything is going to convince those without a K-5 to sell their grandmother/mother/partner to get one then this is it!!!
[i]Bodies: 1x K-5IIs, 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
coker
Posted 16/07/2011 - 22:16 Link
"That is remarkable".
You can quote me........
I'm a K7 owner!

Roger.
The more I look, the more there is to see!
K10D
Posted 17/07/2011 - 01:48 Link
Smeggypants wrote:
they are fine at the size posted in this thread.

if anything is going to convince those without a K-5 to sell their grandmother/mother/partner to get one then this is it!!!

Fair comment but what if others don't shoot at or need high ISO?

I don't have a K5, yesterday I was at a West Australian Pentax shoot at an RAAF Museum. Two of the guys were using K5's which helped in the low light. I used my K7. I also used a D7000 and D700. The D700 had no issue with high ISO and the 14-24mm f/2.8. I used the 24-70mm f/2.8 on the D7000, also at high ISO. I used the 16-50mm SDM on the K7 with a flashgun.

The guys were a bit stuck with FOV issues as the widest lens they had was the 15mm (21mm on cropped). They don't use third party glass.

I think the images in the OP are more than good enough but lets keep our feet on the ground. Those that have K5's should just use them and try not to give the impression to others that it's a must have piece of kit.

There are other camera's out there that work very well at high ISO and have faster glass to match (at a price).

A camera is a tool and nothing more. For those like me that also use other makes alongside Pentax, it's no different than having various tools on the garage shelf.

Surely, making an image is more important than the tools used to make it?
So K10's, K7's et al will always be capable cameras.

Best regards
Inspiration is rarer than a plate glass camera.....
Algernon
Posted 17/07/2011 - 08:59 Link
For a Pentax only user any of the Pentax cameras with good High ISO
capability is a must. The K20D is almost unusable with a 300mm lens
for birds in the shade at 400ISO. A K-x as a second camera would
probably work.

In a few years we will look back and say how did we manage to
struggle along with cameras that couldn't handle anything over
400ISO.
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber

Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff

Algi
K10D
Posted 17/07/2011 - 11:57 Link
Algernon wrote:
For a Pentax only user any of the Pentax cameras with good High ISO capability is a must. The K20D is almost unusable with a 300mm lens for birds in the shade at 400ISO.

Not if you don't use high ISO.

There are plenty of forum members that don't need high ISO.

Just a mute point but I don't recall Nikon or Canon forum members who have the top high ISO models telling the rest of the clan that to not have that top model is a disadvantage.

Best regards
Inspiration is rarer than a plate glass camera.....
MarkD
Posted 17/07/2011 - 12:25 Link
Well I am fortunate enough to have joined the K5 club after a trip to SRS on Saturday morning.
I must say it is a very different beast to my K20. After a very limited play yesterday i took a quick shot of the moon trying to peek through thick cloud cover. It was hand held in green mode and auto ISO and I was stunned by the short exposure and low noise of the image at 3200 ISO. On my K20 that would have needed a tripod and about a one second exposure.

It has the level of low light performance that was only available about three years ago with some £3k+ full frame cameras and very fast glass. Let’s not forget this is still a £1k camera and my K20 cost half as much and it's ISO performance is light years ahead of anything I could achieve with film. However, noise at anything over ISO 400 with the K20 is an issue. Many people don't need to go there but if you do your prayers have been answered with the K5.
With this sensor Pentax finally has a camera that can match anything Canon and Nikon produce ( in APS-C), and arguably exceed them in features such as in body shake reduction and backwards compatibility to name but two.
Pentax has been playing catch up for a while, but now they are definitely in photo finish territory. Brilliant camera!
.........all the gear, no idea!
Me super, MX, LX, K5,DA 18-55WR, DA 17-70, DA 55-300, DA40 Ltd, FA50 1.4, Samsung D-Xenon 12-24,Samsung 100mm macro M50 1.7(x3), M28 3.5, M35 2.8, M100macro f4, M135 3.5(+others)
Edited by MarkD: 17/07/2011 - 12:31
K10D
Posted 17/07/2011 - 13:05 Link
Congratulations on your purchase Mark.

Best regards
Inspiration is rarer than a plate glass camera.....
Algernon
Posted 17/07/2011 - 13:07 Link
K10D wrote:
Not if you don't use high ISO.

400ISO isn't high. I used to use 400ISO film 30 years ago

K10D wrote:

Just a mute point but I don't recall Nikon or Canon forum members who
have the top high ISO models telling the rest of the clan that to not
have that top model is a disadvantage.

They seem to insist that you need FF to me
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber

Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff

Algi
Gwyn
Posted 17/07/2011 - 13:17 Link
I don't think it is is Peter's intention to insist that the K5 is superior to all other cameras at high ISO. I think his aim is to show what the K5 is capable of at high ISO. A very different thing.
Nowhere do I see him telling others that there cameras are no good, or that they are at a disadvantage to him.

These are not as good as his other high ISO photos but still pretty impressive.

Can't stand the way the bass player holds his bass btw - great for funk and slapping but for blues it look very cramped. I could never hold my bass that high anyway, nature wouldn't allow it for one thing, and it is just plain uncomfortable for another.
I hope the concert was a good one.
Mannesty
Posted 17/07/2011 - 13:50 Link
You're right on all counts Gwyn. I'm not intent on evangelizing the K5 and denouncing all others. I made this experiment for myself and others who might be interested in high ISO images from a real live situation, rather than meaningless test shots. Pushing the envelope if you like.

Agreed, these are not as good as many of the shots I got on the night because I didn't leave the ISO at 25600, I just wanted a reasonable cross section to choose from using that setting to see for myself what could be achieved and to show them here for anybody who was interested. I don't do brand bashing.

At a couple of the venues I've shot at recently there was a pro news 'tog ( www.simplynetworking.es & www.simplyfotos.es ) Who was using a Nikon D3 and shooting at ISO 6400, as I was for some of the time. I think I'm as pleased with my images as he was with his.

It was a good evening, but a brit blues band in Lorca (not much expat population there) does not attract as many people as they would have hoped, and ended early after 90 minutes. It was still a very good set though.
Peter E Smith - flickr Photostream
K10D
Posted 17/07/2011 - 14:26 Link
Gwyn, Peter,

My comments were based on Smeggy's "being without a K5" statement only.

Algi,

I didn't say that 400 ISO was high. In the context of the thread, I take high ISO as being that which the K5, D7000, D700, D3, D3s, D3x and EOS 1 Mk IV are capable of.

Also, as previously mentioned in previous threads, backwards lens compatibility is not unique to Pentax as "Nikon AI" lenses from 1959 will work and meter on my D700 and D7000, even matrix metering. My K7 wont matrix meter my M and A series lenses. That said, why would I want to even try with any system?

Best regards
Inspiration is rarer than a plate glass camera.....
Algernon
Posted 17/07/2011 - 14:46 Link
I never go above 800ISO, but I see a massive difference. The amount of under/overexposure you can pull back is unbelievable. Smeggy managed 6 stops I've managed 1.5 stops which was from almost black to correctly exposed. On the K20D anything dark just went very noisy when you tried to lighten it by even a small amount. The D7000 should be the same. Pity it hasn't got in-body SR for the older lenses.

Even at 400ISO the camera picks stuff up in the shadows that just wouldn't be there on the K20D. I still like using the K20D in bright light at 100-200ISO
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber

Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff

Algi
Edited by Algernon: 17/07/2011 - 14:47

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