New Camera Choice

I'm in the market for a new camera but can't quite make up my mind. Having sold my K5 my thoughts were to progress to a K5 IIs which I notice SRS currently have on a bank holiday special at the very attractive price of £725.00. However, they are also selling the K30 at £419.00 at which price also makes it a very worthy contender for consideration.

So my question is; has anyone had any hands-on experience with both the K5 IIs and K30 who are willing to share their opinions of them?

Lots of hands on experience with the K-5IIs. A truly magnificent camera - apologies to Smeggy for the hyperbole but I really mean this.

Mine has proved itself over and over again in all shooting situations. Don't worry about moire - it is a non-issue in 99.9% of real world shots. AF accuracy is awesome, IQ is awesome compared to any other camera I have owned or used.

My vote would be K-5IIs with no hesitation.

Regards
David

Thank you ver much David, that's just the sort of positive recommendation I'm looking for to help me justify the extra cost of K5 IIS.

I have only just got my K-5IIs -still learning about it but I would recommend one. You can get it here

http://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/Pentax_K5-IIs_Digital_SLR_Camera_Body


for a deposit of £394.50 and then £32.87 per month, interest free over 12 months if that helps take some of the sting out of it , total £789 - that's what I did

The objective evidence shows that there's little different in image quality between the K-5IIs and the K-5II/K-5. David's self admitted hyperbole is just what it is ... hyperbole

Even his own shots show this ...... as you can see here

https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/images-of-the-mediterranean-43482

Also ...


You can compare K-5IIs/K-5II/K-5 shots here under controlled conditions



However the AF on the K-5II/K-5IIs has been proven to be much better than the original K-5.

Personally I would recommend waiting a few weeks as we're getting close to the release of a new batch of Pentax models and you may find that the K-3 ( or whatever it's called ) will offer much more than just an interim improvement of the AF as the K-5II has done.

Defragged

My take would be to hold out on buying a camera until the end of September. Pentax might just surprise everyone, although you would be looking at November befor you could get your hands on a new model.

The K5ll and the K5lls are both great cameras and without getting into that whole which is better debate, I guess at the end of the day it's down to personal opinion as to which you should buy.

Smeggy get ready for the K3 or K3s debate. Well if Pentax pick 3 as the next number.

Sorry MrS, but you can't keep saying that without it being challenged. There is a real and distinct difference between the output of the K-5 II and K-5 IIs. It can also be seen on the GR, another camera with no AA filter.

Industry wide writers in magazines can see it too, so it's not just me.

I can accept that some people genuinely can't see the difference, but don't put off people because it's there, it's real and it can be a good choice if your imaging style suits the characteristics on offer.

Grateful thanks one and all for your valuable input. Being without a camera I was seriously considering taking the plunge this weekend, however, there is much merit in the logic of stalling until September (buy in haste, sulk at leisure) to see what unfolds.

There has been much speculation about the impending announcement of a new release, though as is often the case, the latest iteration will doubtless wear a premium price tag! The knock-on effect however, should hopefully see a healthy reduction (for the buyer at least) in the price of old stock where the cost of a new IIs might fall towards the £600 mark.

Whatever the latest and greatest has to offer, the release date isn't perhaps the best time to acquire it, the prudent purchase then would be the tried and tested IIs which is more than capable of accommodating my needs for the foreseeable future. Ahh decisions, decisions!!!


Thanks again every one...

Well, contrary to what I said above about not buying into a new camera at it's release date, I decided that the K3 was everything I was going to need and so took the plunge and ordered within minutes of it appearing on SRS's website.

Looking back, it's been a frustrating while but I'm sooooo, soooooo glad that I waited until I knew the facts of what the K3 was about before committing myself, and yesterday from the store of Father ChriSRS my new toy arrived and oh what a joy!

For my needs this should last me for years. No measurebating for me or obsessing about noise and sharpness and AF speed and God knows what else, I'm going to enjoy it for what it is, a beautiful camera and stunning piece of Pentax ingenuity and engineering.

Grateful thanks to Doug and his colleagues at SRS for a cracking px deal and excellent service. It was a pleasure to trade with you.

Enjoy your photography everyone, it's a truly wonderful pastime!!!

Delighted to hear your enthusiasm, have fun!

I rarely disagree with you Smeggy but having used the K-5 (on loan) beside the K-5iis I can state that there is an improvement between the two, to the point where I would avoid using the 5 altogether because I found it so uninspiring. The K-5iis images are significantly sharper and clearer. The AF is so much faster and more accurate and probably helps in regard to the images looking better.
The difference would be akin to using a poor lens and then shooting the same scene with a DA*. Yet no-one argues that a lens upgrade isn't worth the outlay.

Thanks for your observations Steve, I think this is getting to the point where it is 'old news' now, but it may actually be more relevant now than it has been for some time due to the introduction of the K-3. I think that there will be a lot of people looking to buy a K-5, K-5ii or K-5iis as these cameras represent a much cheaper alternative to the K-3 and if initial feedback is anything to go by, the K-5iis can hold its head high in terms of IQ in comparison with the K-3, particularly when the ISO gets to 1600 or above.

Smeggy has included a link to a set of my images shot in the Mediterranean this year, some with the K-5 and some with the K-5iis and has used this to imply that there is no IQ difference. These images prove nothing as they are compressed 800px wide versions of originals I have processed, so there are no controls, no consistency in conditions, no consistency in processing methods, different lenses used etc. The K-5 images have had different processing and a higher level of sharpening than the K-5iis images have.

I agree with your conclusions Steve to the point where I'm seriously considering selling my K-5 and getting another K-5iis. I'll probably skip the K-3 and wait for a full frame.

Regards
David

Defragged, how come you neglected to mention that price was (apparantly) not important in your decision making?

You were initially considering (asking for comparisons of) K-30 @ £419, K-5IIs @ £725, yet you've ordered a K-3 @ £1099 which is almost 3 x the price of a K-30 ??????

If a K-30 was adequate for your needs, why go for a K-3 ?

You could have had a K-30 and a couple of decent primes for that money.

Thank you very much Mr Riley. Have fun I will...

Because cost was simply not a factor in my final decison.

After carefully researching my shortlist I very quickly realised the K30 wasn't what I wanted despite it's attractive price. This left the iis as favourite, but as the release date of the K3 approached and details of it began to surface, it became apparent to me regardless of the then unpublished price that it was everything I needed.

There's a saying; 'penny wise - pound foolish'! This represents a long term investment for me and so making the right choice was more important than trying to save a few pounds now only to be disappointed later. Ultimately money is only as good as what you can swap it for and sometimes what you want is simply more important than what it costs. The K3 is what I wanted and I believe it's worth every penny of what I paid and I feel sure if you took a poll of those who have already invested in the K3 they would agree the same. Satisfaction can be hard to achieve but I'm more than satisfied on this occasion.

Regards...

Thanks for explaining. Good decision and I hope you have many happy years with your camera.