I know this is easeir said than done, but I would most strongly recommend going for the K-5. I have owned the K10D, the K20D and now have both the K-7 and K-5. As you can see from this awlful confession, I had wasted a packet of cash in the process.

I was very happy with the K10D at the time, but wanted some kind of live view for macro, so I upgraded to the K20D. This camera was less than I had expected it to be. Mine had really bad metering problems with most images being under exposed by up to 2 stops. With RAW it really didn't matter as it could be corrected in ACR, but it got a bit annoying. Also the live view was brain damaged. So when the K-7 arrived I went for it, having sold the K20D.

The K-7 still didn't quite do what it said on the tin for me. I was dissapointed with high ISO noise, creeping in above 400. Mine also had slowish AF and definition was no better than the K20D. Then of course the breakthrough came with the K-5. I read all of the test reports and the raves about the low noise, fast AF and higher image quality, so I took advantage of the Pentax cashback and went for it.

You can imagine my horror when i found it had the oily sensor problem. I was probably one of the first to find it, so when I took it back for a refund I had a bit of argy bargy before I was refunded. Anyway I bought another one from SRSmicrosystems, which was spot on OK.

Now I can say that I finally have the camera I always wanted. The performance is stunningly good. Noise? what is that! Auofocus is fast (at last) and the image quality and metering superb. I now think I will not need to upgrade again unless Pentax bring out a full frame to rival the Canon 5D Mk 2. I almost hope they don't, for I will be so so tempted.

Is it a case of internal wiring in the lens, because the contact on the lens mount is in the same place. I suppose on the Z1-p it is live all of the time from the body side, so that the lens can use it for the zoom whenever needed.

I think I will need to check this out with Pentax technical.

Hi,

Am I correct in assuming that the contact on the lens mount that is used to power the 28-105 zoom will also drive the autofocus motor on the latest Pentax lenses?

I know the K-5 uses the focus motor contact to drive the power zoom, so I assumed it would work the other way around.

Thanks.

I bought the K-5 when the cashback offer was on. Strange but if one bought the body and lens kit, the cashback was £40 more than the body only. The street price for the body with lens was £40 more than the body.

Hence, I got the lens free. Nice one.

Yes, the K-5 high ISO is everything it is cracked up to be, but it doesn't stop there. 16+ Mpixels gives very detailed landscapes. The menu system is great, the level meter display for both side to side and front to back is novel, the Video is very detailed. The autofocus is fast and dependable.

This really is the camera we have all been waiting for from Pentax for a very long time. I am too old now to wait five years, so it is in my bag now.

I can look forward to some very nice images in the coming months.

Well, it is not as bad as some I have seen, but there does appear to be a cluster of small blobs central to the sensor with a couple of others that look a bit like dust bunnies below them.

I did have a K10D for a while, but cannot remember if it had any shutter lag. That could be why you are getting off centre shots. Try panning with the aircraft and keep panning even when you press the shutter button.

The K-5 and probably the K-7 is almost instantanious so upgrading you camera whan funds allow could help a bit, but it is expensive.

I have found that a monopod with a released ball head works pretty well and is not likely to cause a traffic jam. Just enough to give some stability.

I use the Sigma 100-300 f/4 with the sigma 1.4x TC. This adds up to the equivalent of about 630mm focal length. At f/5.6 autofocus is still working, but the reach is still a bit on the short side unless the aircraft are flying close by. I have the Sigma 2x TC as well, but with that AF is a non starter, which is hopeless for moving targets.

Probably the 50-500 is the answer, but holding it steady must be a real problem.

Unless Pentax bring out a full frame answer to the Canon 5D Mk 2, then for me the K-5 could easily be my last camera body for a very long time. I had reservations a plenty about the K20D. Poor metering was just one of them, always under exposing by quite a long margin. The AF also hunted and was slow. The K-7 answered most of these issues, but the noise at higher ISO was, for me, a dissapointment.

The K-5 seems to have solved all of the problems. The AF is not a slick as the Nikon or the 7D, I have to agree, but it is good enough for my kind of photography. All I will say to potential buyers is that you would probably stay with the K-5 a lot longer than the K-7, so in the longer term the K-5 would be the cheaper option.

In my case, I do a lot of Club competition work and print at A3. The additional pixels help me to crop images and still print at a high enough resolution (300ppi optimum or 240dpi) to give a stunning print.

If one is competing with reduced digital images of 1400x1050 pixels, then I agree not much in it for either camera. In fact the larger files from the K-5 could mean bigger or more memory cards are needed an more time spent downloading.

At ISO 200, I agree there is nothing in it. It is for those occasions when you want to take a night shot and you do not have a tripod that the K-5 really shines.