Photokina report

No Gwyn, I am in a genuine quandry. I could be just finding the reasons for not spending the money

Re your comment about focus performance - was there very much difference between the new lense and the other one you tried:

I bought a K-7 the day it was announced and never had any problems (apart from the three-month wait for it to be delivered).

So congratulations on the news of your new addition. Hopefully the due date won't be too late.

Maybe in a years time it'll be £200 cheaper. That's only about £18 per month to have the camera now!

Thanks, I hope I am as lucky. I have never had a problem with a Pentax yet.

I like your new avatar

The new lens was lightning fast. Shockingly so for a Pentax .
I didn't try the 60-250, someone else did and he said it was faster on the K-5 than on his K-7. Still not as fast as the new lens though.
He wasn't allowed to put the new lens on his camera, but could put his lens on the K-5.

If I had realised I would be able to play so much I would have taken a lens along. And made sure I didn't lose that SD card. Luckily it was only a 1Gb card so not a significant loss.

I know someone who is going on Sunday and he is taking a couple of cards with him and wants to try out the K-5 and the 645D. If he posts some photos I'll ask if I can link to them here.

I paid my first ever visit to Photokina yesterday and, like Gwyn, made a bee-line for the Pentax stand. Disappointed? You bet! I was left with the impression that Pentax had been allowed to take up residence in the last remaining corner. However, I noticed that the hospitality suite was far larger than the display area! Certainly it was busy at the stand but that was probably exaggerated by the limited amount of space available. I got the chance to play with a K-5 for about 15 minutes but have to say that, once again, I was disappointed. There are certainly innovations that make the camera very attractive but the one thing I demand from my next camera is a moveable LCD screen and the K-5 doesn't have it. Judging by the number of sloping horizon photos submitted to the PU gallery a spirit level within the viewfinder would be a most useful addition. Not there! The camera did not fit as comfortably into my hands as my K20D does but I guess that is a personal thing.
All in all, a great day out, but I think I'll have to wait for the K-8!

I am sorry you feel that way.

The K-5, like the K-7, has an electronic level Paul.

From Pentax.NL:
For the non Dutch speakers from Pentax UK
I didn't like the K20D because of it's size, so the K-5 is better for me.
A tilting screen would have been nice, but is not a deal breaker.

I didn't feel Pentax were shoved in a corner, and I was very pleased to be able to handle the new models.
The hospitality area would be bigger - Photokina is essentially a trade show to which the public are allowed.
It was only Pentax.de displaying there nor the full might of Hoya corp. I'd rather they have a small stand where you can play than them not be there at all.
And I was able to spend time talking to the people on the stands rather than hunting around for what I wanted - which was the case in the Canon mega display.
Maybe it was busier yesterday though.

Gwyn said:

The new lens was lightning fast. Shockingly so for a Pentax .
I didn't try the 60-250, someone else did and he said it was faster on the K-5 than on his K-7. Still not as fast as the new lens though.
He wasn't allowed to put the new lens on his camera, but could put his lens on the K-5.

Been wondering why the guy was not allowed to put the new lens on an older body - Is there anything possible that would suggest the new one is only fast fast on a K5:

I would presume so if they upgraded the AF on the K-5

Maybe there's a firmware update due for earlier models.

John

It's already on the K7, FW1.1, and will certainly be in the K5
You have to enable it within the custom menu. You can also have it shown on the rear LCD while you shoot.
I use it all the time

You even have automatic horizon adjustment as an option in the K7 where the camera will rotate the sensor to match the horizon before taking the shot
(Of course, you don't see this happen in the viewfinder)

Matt

Maybe there's a firmware update due for earlier models.

John[/quote]Isn't that unsusal to need a firmware for lenses - If that's the case what is happening to the old standard of complete backward forward compatibility

I don't think there was a problem with putting the new lens on an old camera per se. They just didn't want that example put on an older camera.
Maybe they were worried about it getting damaged or someone walking off with it if they got distracted. I don't know.
It is the K-5 which is super fast at AF not the lens. The new lens will work on older models, but won't be as fast as on eh K-5.

Firmware was needed on the K10D to enable SDM so firmware updates for lenses are not that unusual.

The point about backward compatibility is that old lenses will work on new bodies, not necessarily vice versa.
SDM only lenses only work at MF lenses on older bodies after all.

Quite right Gwyn - just getting paranoid

Isn't that unsusal to need a firmware for lenses - If that's the case what is happening to the old standard of complete backward forward compatibility[/quote]That died with the introduction of the SDM only DA 17-70 didn't it?

John