Finally! The Pentax K-5 Review

Why finally? Because I’ve been using this camera now for over 6 months, but I never a post in my blog solely about it. I have received a few mails from readers of this blog asking me if I can go more in-depth with the equipment that I use. So here it is. The Pentax K-5 and good lenses to go with it, has more camera than an enthusiast photographer will ever need for a long, long time.

But I have to be honest and say that I will part with this camera in a few months! It’s not the camera’s fault, but my own. Full-frame cameras have spoilt me. And I want to go back. But full-frame is not for everybody. They are huge and very expensive, and to get the most out of them you will need big and expensive glass. I still get irked whenever I see people using their Canon EOS 5D Mark II with non-L zoom lenses. It’s a tragedy in my opinion!

Before we continue, bear in mind that this is real-world review, so I will not go in so much about the technical details. I will focus more on how the camera handles during real-world use and how I feel about the image quality in general. If you want to see a more technical review, or pixel-peep, go here instead.

The Pentax K-5 usually ships with the SMC Pentax DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR. This is a superb combination since both the camera and the lens are weather sealed, meaning that shooting in the rain or the cold weather (the K-5 tolerates up to -10 degrees Celsius) you can worry more about yourself getting hypothermia than the camera getting broken.  But I rarely shoot outdoors when the weather is bad, so I instead opted for the SMC Pentax DA 16-45mm F4 ED/AL lens, which in my opinion is optically more superior. I could have opted for the more expensive DA* lenses or the Limited range of lenses offered by Pentax. But I knew in the back of my head that the Pentax K-5 was going to be an “in between” camera while I save up for a new full-frame DSLR, so I had to get the lens which has good optical quality without costing more than the camera itself.

The Pentax is crammed with features. And since its release the price has gone down tremendously, meaning you get even more camera for your money! It has a16.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, video capabilities, pro-standard weather sealing, ISO 80 to 51200(!), pentaprism viewfinder with 100% FOV (I love this), and in-camera vibration reduction. Despite its weather sealing the Pentax K-5 is an incredibly compact DSLR. And if you couple it with one of Pentax’s limited pancake primes, or this little baby, you get yourself a lightweight powerhouse of a camera for travel and street photography.

In Use:

As previously mentioned, the Pentax K-5 is as compact as a DSLR can get without sacrificing ergonomics or the weather sealing.  It's small but sturdy and is a pleasure to hold. After using the Pentax K-5 you will never want to go back to plastic DSLRs and their creaking. With a compact lens, this is a camera you walk around with all day without having to go to the chiropractor afterwards.  It’s portable enough that you’d want to take it with you to social events without looking like you want to take over the photographer’s job.  I went around the streets of Barcelona for many hours without feeling any fatigue. A camera that doesn’t weigh you down is a good thing: it will make you want to keep taking pictures.

The RAW/Fx button is something that deserves a special mention. To put it simply, I love it! I only shoot RAW, but this button is programmable so I use it to toggle between single shooting and bracketing mode for HDR photography. Ergo, the Pentax K-5 is a camera you should seriously consider if you want to experiment with HDR photography the HARD way. Most cameras nowadays, including the K-5, have a  built-in HDR function, but HDR pictures which you bracket and post-process by yourself yield the best results. I fell in love with HDR photography while shooting in Spain with this camera. Even my friends were amazed with some of the pictures I have taken!

The Pentax K-5 has 11 AF points of which 9 are cross type. This is not as advanced as the other DSLRs out there and sometimes it shows.  The AF can sometimes miss, and tracking fast-moving subjects can be a challenge. I am however quite old school: I use mostly just the centre AF point and move the camera as needed, so the AF is something that has not bothered me at all.  This should not really present any problems unless you are using the camera at a motor race (in which case a pro DSLR would probably be a better choice anyway).

Image Quality:

First and foremost: IQ will depend as much as the lens you are using rather than the camera itself. This is why the best lenses out there (even Pentax’s own lenses) cost so much more than the camera itself. Equipped with the best lenses money can buy, even the most primitive DSLR can output amazing images.

Having said that, there really is just one issue I have with Pentax DSLRs in general: it tends to oversaturate greens. I have looked through thousands of photographs taken with the K-5 and the newer Pentax DSLRs and I can conclude that this is just the way the camera was programmed, take it or leave it. But let me reassure you that it is NOT at all bad! This is just a matter of taste. Having used the Canon EOS 5D Mark II I got spoiled by how it renders leaves and grass. With the Pentax K-5 I often have to reduce the saturation of the greens to bring out the effect I desire. This is why it is so vital for me to always shoot in RAW.

Pentax DSLRs also have a tendency to underexpose the shot, but this is always not a bad thing for RAW shooters. This was also a problem with the Pentax K-r, which I briefly owned. But unlike the K-r the K-5 has a better dynamic range so adjusting the exposure by one or two stops in post-processing doesn’t introduce any unwanted artefacts to the image. This tendency to underexpose does have a good side too: there are rarely any blown highlights, and you can bring out more detail to your image than you thought you have captured.

Aside from these two minor complaints, there is really nothing negative to say when it comes to image quality. It is superb, but this is a natural evolution with every camera release. Having reviewed images from other DSLRs in this price range, like the Nikon D7000 or the Canon EOS 600D, I don’t really see any advantages with one camera over the other when it comes to IQ, but how the processor in the camera renders the image does differ. The deciding factor here will be your own taste.

Noise:

ISO 51200? Forget it. While it is true that APS-C cameras are getting better and better when it comes to (the lack of) noise, they are still noisier than full-frame cameras (larger pixels means more light captured, which means less noise). The Canon EOS 5D Mark II gave me virtually noise-free images when I shot a concert at ISO 3200 with a moderately fast F2.8 lens. Unfortunately this is not the case with the Pentax K-5 or any DSLR with an APS-C sized sensor. But having said that, the Pentax K-5 is still one heck of a camera when it comes to handling noise. Images up to ISO 800 are impeccably clean. Noise stars to show ever so slightly at ISO 1600, becomes quite prominent (but manageable) at ISO 3200 and gets messier at ISO 6400 and up. But in real world use, you can still use ISO 3200 and get great A4-sized prints. Even ISO 6400 will be good enough for medium-sized web pictures. So in usage terms, you can still bring your camera to a well-lit event, like a convention, shoot with fast shutter speeds at ISO 3200 and still get great pictures WITHOUT resorting to the built-in flash (I NEVER use it). Darker environments would require faster glass. Or just bring a tripod! I shoot RAW and reduce noise during post-processing to get the cleanest possible image. If you shoot JPEGs and don’t PP your results may be worse.

Even at ISO 6400 the captured image is still good for medium-sized prints, but noise has already eaten away a bit of detail.


















Images taken at ISO 3200 will have noise, but nothing that a noise-reducing software can't handle. There's still plenty of detail to go around, so you can still have at it!









The Verdict:

Judging from the pictures you can probably tell that I enjoy shooting with the Pentax K-5! It's great to have a camera which works so well that you only need to worry about the most important thing, which is taking great pictures. It is feature-packed and the image output is stellar so this is a camera that a photography enthusiast won't outgrow for a long time. Its rugged build and diminutive size means that you can take this camera with you virtually anywhere, increasing the opportunity to take more great photos.

I love this camera and have bonded with it in a way. But as a budding landscape and portrait professional my clients are demanding more of me and my equipment when it comes to picture size and detail, and sadly this is where the Pentax K-5, and any APS-C sized DSLR for that matter, draw the line. To be honest, I would love to keep this camera if I could afford a full-frame DSLR outright. But as I need funding I know the days I will be spending with the Pentax K-5 will come to a halt as I save up more money to buy a full-frame camera.

DSLRs have evolved to a point where we have to worry less and less about IQ and noise. The only limiting factor left will be the photographer's creativity and motivation. If you are lazy you will never make great photographs regardless of how expensive your equipment is!

Cameras of different brands render images in different ways, so the camera you choose will depend on how you like your photographs to look like.

If you like to see more images taken with the Pentax K-5, check out the Pentax K-5 Photographers group on Flickr.