K5 or K30

Was that the DWI special? I only just resisted

According to the Pentax UK site the K30 is 12 bit raw whilst the K5 is 14 bit raw (My K10d is of course 22 bit raw- at least a/d conversion) K5 for me so far but waiting for the K30 reviews and hands on before parting with the cash

In practical terms is 14 bit worth more than 12 bit - comparison examples rather than numbers would be preferrable if possible

Yes it was & the price was too good to resist.

Looking on Amazon the K5 cash-back offer ends 5 days before the K30 becomes available

You'll have to wait until someone with both a K20D and K-5 can post an example of the same scene, but I can vouch the extra 12dB of signal to noise makes a huge difference. it's theoretically an extra 2 stops of fun

I done it now. I've ordered a K5.

Got the agreement of the other half so long as I give up smoking, just going out to get my last packet of ciggies.

To be honest I would have got the K5 last August instead of the K-R if I could have. I thought for a long time before deciding against the K30.

When I bought the K-R I said to myself I won't be upgrading for a very long time. So much for that. However when Pentax bring out a DSLR with built in GPS, tilting rear screen and maybe a few more pixels I think I might be tempted again.

Not as far as I can tell, comparing K5/K-01 samples (14 vs 12bit).

The differences become apparent when you're boosting shadows.

Seems to make a difference in lightroom. Images from my GX20 I can increase exposure by 2 stops on the k-5 by 4 stops...

That is a feature I would have liked to see, almost persuaded me to buy another make when I got the K7, but then I thought, something else to be accidentally snapped off Not sure how useful a GPS (Tom Tom) would be in a camera.

Not a TomTom Stan just GPS built in to tag the photos.

I like the idea but suspect it would be a drain on the batteries. A tilting screen would be a good idea, and could maybe convince me to buy.

Meanwhile I'll stick with my non-tilting screen and Qstarz GPS logger. I was tempted by the Pentax one, to cut out the extra tagging work in computer, but decided it was not worth the money to me.

As I'm pretty much in an area of 1 mile radius from where the car is parked when taking photographs I don't have a use for GPS. As yet I've never needed a precise location tagged to a photograph. Of course if I come across a Hoxney Hoard or some such and need an exact location so I can find it again What are the odds of then getting the useful message "Battery Exhausted"

Felt a bit of an interloper before now, having had a GX20 with the 18-55 and 50-200 kit lenses for a few years. Like some on this thread though, I've been tearing my hair out waiting waiting waiting for the K5 to be within my pocket. I'm glad to say that the current offer from Mathers of Lancashire was impossible to ignore any longer - £959 with the 18-135. As they're selling this lens on its own for £489 I'm feeling just a little bit chuffed to say the least. Add the £80 discount from Pentax brings this combination down to £879, unheard of not so long ago (for the UK anyway). Was I to wait any longer for the K30 or the upgraded K5? Either way, not on your nelly! A bird in the hand . . .

That's comparing Samsung vs Sony Exmor and there's a lot more than the bit depth which separates the two sensors.

A comparison of K-01 or K30 vs K5 would compare the same Sony sensor, but one with 12bit and one with 14bit oputput. From what I can tell, the additional 2bits have only a subtle effect on IQ even if your torture test the files.

On that example the K-01 is on the left, the K5 is on the right, both images 400ISO DNG files, with the same amount of fill and brightness added in LR3.

My opinion: To make a thorough comparison between 12/14 bits you'd have to consider the whole 'end to end' process from real world image through to the final output (whether that's a print, projection or displayed on a screen). The raw output is just a small part of that process and you could easily loose the equivalence of those two bits before the light hits the sensor or after the data has left the camera. Only rigorous 'laboratory' comparisons are likely to show significant differences and most of these would get lost in 'real world' images.

As for the K-5/K-30 discussion, for me the choice is down to budget, availability, usability and what your crystal ball tells you about the future.