Toying on an upgrade

Hello again all I hope you all had a good Christmas and are well. Its been a while since I was on the forum and see there seems to be a few new cameras brought out since I got my Kr some time ago. I am toying with may be upgrading to one of the newer models but would like some feed back as to what might be a good choice, Im not interested in video but IQ and low light is my main concern as to how well the camera preforms.
Regards Ian
PS Love the new look

If you are happy with your K-r I don't think you can go far wrong really.

You might even consider the new K-S1 if you don't need the weather resistance of the K-5/K-3 cameras.

The prices are currently amazing so there are plenty of attractive options!

The K-50 seems really well priced at the moment, maybe indicating a new model in that sort of category is coming soon. Its a pretty capable little camera, or the k-5iis also if you want the last of that range of cameras.

As John says, either option is good if you don't want to spend a lot to get to the k-3 model.

I'd second either the K50 or any of the K5 "family" some real bargains second hand, all very capable cameras.

K5 ii seems a bit better in low light than my K 50, but to be honest I dont shoot at very high ISO !

Pete

Of the various Pentax DSLRs I have owned I'd suggest the K-5IIs for your upgrade: Weather sealed and highly durable body, excellent IQ and better low-light performance than the K-3 in my experience (I have owned both). There are some favourably priced near-mint used examples around where owners have moved to the K-3. And bear in mind that DSLRs bought originally from a UK Pentax Pro dealer carry a two-year guarantee as long as the receipt has been retained.

Jim

Can you advise on how it does at high ISO levels thank you for the feed back all.

All the various DSLRs have been reviewed on ePHOTOzine and here (see the reviews section) and these reviews include ISO images.

As a generalisation I'd use any recent Pentax DSLR up to ISO 1600 without any concerns whatsoever.

I took the plunge recently and upgraded to the K50 from my K-r and my very first shot was of the Christmas tree (posted on the gallery), which was at ISO3200. The only light in the room was that from the tree and the lens was opened to f/4 but overall I thought this was a good result ?

I didn't want a heavier camera so the K50, with it's WR protection and sensor from the K5 and the TAv mode (not on the K-r), seemed the obvious upgrade for me. Getting the DA18-135WR in the kit was the 'icing on the cake'.

Peter

Looks a good result to me Peter. The K50 should serve you well.

Honestly I think the differences are close to academic across the models presently.
The APS-C sensor tech hasn't seen a 'quantum' leap in say the last 4 years or so.

Hi ISO is an issue if you need to freeze motion and can't control the lifting via flash etc.
If it's tripod based then set the ISO low and hold the shutter open longer.

I can genuinely say the K-30 is pretty darn good. The K-5 family and K-3 offer improvements such as more physical dials and metal body construction plus options for battery grips etc. IQ wise they are all similar within reason. Same ball park

Very low light AF will be a couple of stops better on the K-3 and K5II than all the others.

I'd be surprised if that is correct.

As Richard says above the I think you will find all of the 16mp era group of Pentax cameras (K30, K50, K500, K5, K511, K511s) are all pretty close iq / iso wise (of course the lack of aa filter with the k511s might make it stand out from the crowd somewhat), and from experience I know that the AF on the K30 is excellent especially in dark conditions.

My experience is of K30 (used a lot but now loaned to my Son) K5 - main camera for 3+ years, 72000+ exposure, and K3- new to me a few weeks only, several thousand exposures

K3 AF in very low light is much more accurate than K5 or K30...K30 may have the edge on the K5

My K5 is advertised as down to -1EV for AF, the later models (bigger AF lens?) including the K3 are shown as -3EV which is a tiny candle light. Then there is the option to use manual focus which I believe most models have

I correct my post - I did not mean to include the K3 which seems to be the best low light focusing Pentax so far but the rest of the current crop seem very close to each other in low light focusing ability. While Pentax cameras do not seem to track well they are excellent at low light focusing.