I'm also very happy with the IQ of the K5 and see it as quite a big step forward from previous models..the most significant changes for me being the one mentioned above...its excellent ability to recover shadow detail together with its improved dynamic range, it's not far off the perfect DSLR for landscape photography as the only thing its missing for me is a full frame sensor

Simon

I'm with Gwyn on this one. Despite owning the excellent DA12-24 I find that I still shoot the vast majority of my landscapes using the DA17-70 which is another excellent lens, it certainly compares well to most Pentax primes I've seen/tried.

My recommendation would be before spending any cash go out with the 18-55 and so how you get on

Simon

Interesting user info on the "s" but discussions on sharpness are surely a little irrelevant, I've had my standard K5 for some time and have always been impressed by the sharp images it produces

Simon

Didn't realise anyone took any notice of my posts Personally I think you've made the right decision regardless of usage, 12-24 is an excellent multi-purpose lens....I mentioned the City use mainly because it seems it gets considered just for landscapes when it's equally suited as a city walkaround where its lack of distortion really excels

Simon

Funny how we all have our preferences, I owned the previous gen Siugma 10-20 and really didn't like it due to weird distortion and not so great colour..much prefer the 12-24 which incidentally I've found I use more as a walkabout on City tours etc than I do for landscapes

Simon

I have a shot that I took only last week that is very similar, infact with stronger pink mist/cloud...it's completely natural if that includes having a polariser attached to the lens at the time??

I'm not one for spending time altering photos in photoshop, although have a couple that are quite heavily processed - I've no problem with it even though it's not really to my liking most of the time..my only problem is when people are dishonest about the process they went through..obviously not the case here. For the record I like the modified shot

Simon

Probably worth considering then for those before the K5 model...personally I'm keeping my pennies for the full frame

Simon

I must admit that I've always been more than happy with the K5, a little capture + output sharpening produces great images...perhaps the K5 II would remove the capture sharpening stage of my processing though, either way it doesn't make any sense to me "upgrading"

Simon

Never had a single issue/need to adjust with the K10D, K20D or now the K5

Simon

When it comes to filters there's definitely some truth in the saying "You get what you pay for" and the 7 day shop one is a good example, there are lots of threads around the web discussing problems with photos taken with them.

Having started with Cokins, then Hitech and now Lee I've seen a marked difference in the results each time I've "upgraded", I just wish I'd bought the Lee filters to start with despite the cost

Simon