At the end of september I sent my camera for a K-1 upgrade.
I had three reasons for this:
1) while most reviews for the MkII are ambiguous at best, I always felt that it never deserved the review it ought to get (more so after the dpreview.com debacle that the internet was fast to copy.) Also, I suspected a lot can be changed under the hood undocumented (like there where many undocumented improvements between the K-5/K-3 iterations.)
2) I had an annoying problem with the auto-ISO behaviour (it always returned to 3200 max ISO after switching off no matter what setting I put it in.)
3) I think Pentax should be awarded for the whole upgrade deal. After all it was (to my knowledge) the first brand to offer this.

I have my camera back for a week now and if you don't want to read any further, here is the summary: I am happy as a champ!

Here is the long story:

1) First and foremost, I am really impressed with the work they did. They did not only do the upgrade, but the also did a thorough CLA. The camera came back clean as a whistle; sensor has been cleaned (I had some specks on it that are now gone) all visible dirt has gone and I even have the feeling they changed a rubber here and there ( although I have no way of being sure.)
2) While I always thought that before metering was a bit of a hit and a miss (especially compared to my K-5), after it is now spot on: you can now throw about any situation at it, exposure compensation is rarely needed.
3) dynamic range is noticeably improved. This is important for me and on it's own well worth the upgrade. Colors are also more accurate (and closer to what I get with the K-5.)
4) AF is snappier, especially with screw drive lenses and especially in low light. Yesterday I made a photo of a landscape after sunset (settings: f/4, 0,5 sec ISO 6400) and the camera didn't hesitate for a moment (I am sure it would have started hunting before.)
5) from first impressions shake reduction is improved. I would say a stop improvement, but I will have to test some more.
6) Lastly, high ISO noise is about the same (which is not a bad thing) but the purple dark shadows (I don't have a better way to describe it) are improved. I always felt that my K-5 bested the K-1 for noise on the pixel level, but with the improved color noise, I would put the MkII on the same level (again on pixel level, which puts the MkII much higher at same enlargement.) Meanwhile, I didn't notice anything about the dreaded loss of detail...

The downsides? 4 weeks return time: I live in Belgium and the service centre for BeLux is in France and that is all.

I am aware that a lot of this can come from CLA, but I am quite sure this is not the only explanation. Like I expected Pentax did something under the hood and what they did is all good!

Conclusion, with the auto ISO problem also gone I am a happy camper. It really feels like an upgrade to a (much) better camera. For those that had problems with the MkII, I had none and IMHO it really is an MkII and not an Mk 1 1/4... Happy camper here!

Bump...!

Don't forget the A or F 24-50. Love that combo, and it's compact...

It really is excellent! So much so one keeps wondering why Pentax doesn't reintroduce it for the K-1 (a question I ask or a lot of Pentax glass.)

Bump!

My pleasure, hope you enjoy it...!

Bump...!

I am searching the site on a regular basis (you can't have enough lenses ) and came across it.

M 75-150 sold.

Open to any offers (within reason because I think prices are fair) on the rest that is available.

To be honest, I am a bit surprised no one shows interest in the 2 Vivitars...

I think everyone wants fungus free lenses, although if I would happen to have a donkey who s***s money I would go for it. It obviously doesn't affect the IQ and placing the lens in a space with lots of ventilation and dry air and lots of light should be enough to prevent the fungus further developing...