It was fairly gloomy in the Rhino House and I was surprised how well the AF locked on (ISO 4000). I think comparing results I got on my previous visit with a K-5 and the same lenses I ended up with more keepers with the K-5IIs. I wouldn’t expect the K-5II to perform any differently – I expect you will only see the benefits of no AA filter on a small number of occasions when the combination of subject and conditions are just right.

The fur detail on the Meerkat shows up well in the full image.

Link to full size images:

Rhino 100% JPG
Rhino RAW DNG

:Tiger 100% JPG
Tiger RAW DNG

Meerkat 100% JPG
Meerkat 100% RAW DNG

There was no post processing except on the Tiger where I had started to tidy up some of the artefacts generated by the wire fence. The Rhino and Meerkat had no fence obstructing the image.

Some samples of my visit to Chester Zoo with the K-5IIs, first with DA*300mm all others with DA*50-135mm



















I found the AF very much better when shooting in the inside exhibits than with the K-5 (Mk1) on my last visit. I couldn’t detect a big difference outdoors, although it did seem to prefer locking on the wire fences more than I remember the K-5 doing. So far very happy with the performance, and don’t regret paying out to upgrade from the K-5.

As I already have a K-5 the K-5IIs is not a massive step up – but a worthwhile improvement. The focusing in bright conditions seems to be about the same, but there is a big improvement in low light and under artificial light. The photo of the Robin is an example of this – a hand held shot with a DA*300mm, the K-5 would not have nailed it quite so well. The weather has been far from ideal so I haven’t had the opportunity to get the best from the K-5IIs resolution wise – it was overcast and hazy when I was out on Saturday. I get the feeling that to really see the benefits of removing the AA filter you are probably going to have to use a tripod or be fortunate to have very good light (not something that happens often in Oldham).

As for moiré I spent a lot of time photographing fences at various angles but couldn’t get any – so good news there – I expect you will be unlucky to be troubled by it in most situations. I did try photographing the covers of my loudspeakers as I thought this was as likely as anything to suffer from moiré. As you can see from the image http://www.evanson.org.uk/Images/_K5_3477.jpg it looked like I had succeeded in a big way, but it was only an artefact of the K-5IIs LCD resolution for the preview. The actual image was fine – as can be seen from this 100% crop http://www.evanson.org.uk/Images/_K5S0078.jpg – also zooming in with the K-5IIs preview removes the effect. This is something to be aware of when reviewing shots on the camera – if moiré appears to be present check again at a different zoom level before panicking and rejecting the shot.

For me the main reason to upgrade from the K-5 was the promise of better AF – which is certainly the case in low light. The choice between a K-5II and IIs comes down to a difference of £150 (UK) which when you think about it is probably less than the difference between the price of a normal lens and a limited or DA* version – so if you have invested in expensive glass it would make sense to try and get the best out of the sensor when conditions allow.


I have put a few images and the RAW files on the web. There are some full size JPGs and some 100% centre crops so the image/file sizes are big.

Outdoor shot with DA*50-135 hand held http://www.evanson.org.uk/Images/_K5S0102.jpg 12MB file
http://www.evanson.org.uk/Images/_K5S0102_crop100pc.jpg 100% centre crop.
DNG RAW File http://www.evanson.org.uk/working/_K5S0102.zip

Photo of Robin DA*300mm handheld low light ISO 12800 – showing good feather detail and focus accuracy http://www.evanson.org.uk/Images/_K5S0118.jpg 12MB file
http://www.evanson.org.uk/Images/_K5S0118_crop100pc.jpg 100% crop.
DNG RAW File http://www.evanson.org.uk/working/_K5S0118.zip

Some macro shots with a DFA100mm Macro and DA35mm Limited – these were made using a tripod (SR off) and the 2 second timer was on so the mirror was locked up.
DFA100mm http://www.evanson.org.uk/Images/_K5S0122_crop100pc.jpg 100% crop RAW file http://www.evanson.org.uk/working/_K5S0122.zip
DA35mm Limited http://www.evanson.org.uk/Images/_K5S0123.jpg RAW File http://www.evanson.org.uk/working/_K5S0123.zip

Just received my K-5IIs from SRS last night. So far everything looks good. I haven’t had much time to experiment yet and testing was interrupted last night by problems with my Metz 58 AF-2 flash gun

I will try and post more after the weekend.

I had a problem with the locking pin on the flash failing and effectively locking the flash to the camera hot shoe – the tab just above the front of the locking ring had broken off so the locking ring could not raise the pin.
To remove the flash I had to ease up the pin with a jewellers screwdriver – by pushing the screwdriver against the collar holding the pin through the gap left by the broken tab To stop this happening again I have now removed the locking pin (the pin isn’t really needed as the fit between flash and hot shoe is very stiff anyway so the flash is unlikely to slip off). Fortunately we had the tools to do this at work but if you don’t fancy opening up the flash it is probably easier to glue the pin up.

This is my second 58 AF, I had the mark 1 before which had a plastic foot and was known for problems with the locking pin. I had assumed with the improvements to the MkII they had also fixed the weakness in the design of the locking pin – but apparently not. … As I was in the process of checking out my newly arrived K-5IIs I was not a happy bunny. Fortunately no harm was done to the K-5 but the same could not be said for my blood pressure

To remove the locking pin you will need a small Torex screwdriver (No. 06 ?) and a pair of tweezers
1. Remove the base of the flash by removing the four Torex screws around the hot shoe foot.
2. Carefully remove the foot – there is a small PCB in the base connected to the rest of the gun via a ribbon cable
3. Remove the three Torex screws holding the PCB into the foot (one is just under the ribbon cable so be careful not the break the connector.
4. Remove the PCB, but be aware that there are springs beneath the PCB –the springs may fall out and are easy to loose
5. Take the springs out and pull the plastic cover in the bottom of the foot out .
6. You can now take the pin out
7. When reassembling remember to put the four long springs back which connect the four sprung pins in the base of flash to the PCB, the fifth long spring connects to the metal body of the foot (right-hand side when looking down from the back, you should be able to see the metal contact from above – the hole on the left hand side has no metal contact.

I am considering trading in my K5 for a K5 IIs, but the big sticking point is ‘What if they release the K3 next year?’ – It would be hard to upgrade again within a year and I would be annoyed at myself for rushing to get a K5 IIs.

The main advantage for me would be the AF improvement (especially at low light), but as I mostly use DA* and Limited lenses I could probably benefit from the potentially higher sharpness.

I guess to some extent it will depend on what sort of trade-in I could get for a 2 year old K5 (it’s from the first batch to arrive in the UK). If it’s worth very little then I would keep it as a spare but I don’t really need/use a second body.

I did see it when the thread was first posted – but not now. IE9 Windows 7

I sometimes buy live mealworms to feed to the birds – the can last a week or so in the tubs they are shipped in, but for longer storage its recommended that you put then in the warmer part of the fridge.

I have never actually done this for two reasons - domestic harmony (may find myself having to fight the pigeons for scraps if I did) and the birds have usually eaten them all in a few days.

Pentax does turn up in odd places on TV – I was watching an episode of Mummy Forensics on Discovery the other night and one of the experts was using a K10 with what looked like the DFA 100mm Macro.

My subscription is up for renewal next month and I will be renewing it. I don’t post very much or upload images but have probably covered a good part of the cost with free postage from SRS.