Sharon asks…
Thoughts about Pentax K-5?
Hello =) Thanks for reading
My question is, what do you think about Pentax K-5? I’ve read a lot of reviews, but haven’t really found some bad sides of it and I don’t have any experience with Pentax cameras =)
Thank you, fhotoace 
The Guru Squad answers:
The Pentax system including the K-5 is a fine system
If you are NOT ever planning to go pro, you will have decades of enjoyment using its cameras and lenses.
Here is what Thom Hogan has to say about Pentax
“Pentax: Last year I wrote: continues to plug along the same path as before and continues to get the same results. Hmm. I don’t think I need to rewrite anything here ;~). Yeah, finally deciding to ship the 645D worldwide was a good idea, but shipping 100 or so high-end cameras to the US at the end of the year isn’t going to solve Pentax’s major problems. Now that Nikon’s not driving Sony’s sensor production, Pentax is going to be looking for sensors, too. My guess is that they’ll be the first Aptina customer. Hope that sensor performs.”
This tells me that Pentax is still a viable system, but not a leader in technology, except that the K-5 has an excellent performing sensor, competing very well against both Nikon and Canon at those camera levels. You will not be spending less money for their cameras or lenses, but they do have high quality products.
John asks…
DSLR Sensors: How does D7000 / D5100 sensor compare to Canon 600D /T3i / 60D sensor? … ?DxOmark results?
Quote immediately below is from:
http://dxomark.com/index.php/Our-publications/DxOMark-reviews/Canon-EOS-600D-in-depth-review/Conclusion
“The new EOS 600D [Canon T3i] brings no improvement over the 550D [Canon T2i] other than a few features. The two sensors perform exactly the same, and show the same persistent noise problem in dark areas at low ISO speeds, preventing it from achieving good dynamic range metrics. By contrast, Sony’s new sensors [utilized in the Nikon D7000 / D5100, Pentax K-5, and Sony A580 / A55] have efficiently solved this issue. Competition may be tough between Sony and Nikon, but Canon continues to lag behind them both.”
In DxOMark’s [above] conclusion to their “Canon EOS 600D in depth review”, they are suggesting that the D7000 / D5100 sensor is significantly better than the 600D / 60D sensor.
See also:
http://front1.dxomark.com/index.php/Camera-Sensor/Compare/Compare-sensors/%28appareil1%29/698|0/%28appareil2%29/680|0/%28appareil3%29/663|0/%28onglet%29/0/%28brand%29/Nikon/%28brand2%29/Nikon/%28brand3%29/Canon
1) Are DxOMark’s test data and conclusions credible? … Are they useful to photographers shopping for cameras? … If/when you go shopping for a camera, to what extent does DxOmark’s sensor-testing results influence your buying decisions?
2) Has dpreview.com [perhaps the most highly and broadly respected camera reviewing organization out there] ever issued any statements referring to DxO Labs and the validity or usefulness-to-consumers of their sensor testing?
3) Has anyone of stature in the photographic community accused DxOMark of receiving financial benefit from Nikon-Sony? … Are they a truly independent organization? … There are no ads on their website, so how do they pay for their operation?
4) If DxOMark is engaged in fabricating, manipulating, cooking-up, spinning, misinterpreting, deliberately-exaggerating [take your pick] results to make Nikon look significantly better than Canon … will Canon be suing them anytime soon? … If not, why not?
~ thanks for your answers ~
The Guru Squad answers:
If you don’t trust dxomark, look at other reviewers. In general they find the image quality is pretty even, with the 600d/7d marginally better at low iso and the d5100/d7000 slightly better at high iso. If you are like me, you don’t care who makes the sensor. Lens selection is important, but unless you do some very specialized work, the major lenses are similar. Af is also important but also mostly comparable. I think it’s easier to decide if you go to a brick and mortar store and feel the cameras in your hands, or better yet, borrow them from friends, instead of reading a bunch of garbage on the internet.
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