RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: First K-5IIs Hands-on Review with Complete ISO Samples (100-51200)

Friday, October 19, 2012

First K-5IIs Hands-on Review with Complete ISO Samples (100-51200)

http://www.yaotomi.co.jp/blog/walk/2012/10/pentax-k-5iis-1st-review.html
(in Japanese)

All samples are available in full size and full EXIF is preserved even for thumbnails. ISO samples from ISO 100 to 51200 are posted, with a few other picture samples, all of which are also night scenes. Lenses used for the test are FA77/1.8, DA14/2.8 and DA*16-50/2.8.

Comments (14)

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frank · 647 weeks ago

the photo of the camera looks so sharp I can almost touch it

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Ying · 647 weeks ago

I am interested in a K-5IIs, but the outdated video handling and no support for focus peaking (the big one) really dampens my enthusiasm.

If only they updated the image processor I would actually bought one.

3 replies · active 647 weeks ago

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MrBig · 647 weeks ago

The Pentax line has CIF which is far more advantageous and practical than any focus peaking I've ever used.

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RiceHigh 110p · 647 weeks ago

Catch-in Focus, which is aka Trap Focusing, is nothing special but a by-product of AF-Single with a MF lens mounted which my SFX had that, back to the late 80s.

Focus peaking, on the other hand, is a real break-through for a brand new method for manual focusing on LV cameras, which is effective and practical enough.

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zosX · 647 weeks ago

Its hardly useful if you are using an ovf though....I agree CIF rules. While its not a new trick, it has given me shots that would have many times been utterly impossible. With macro its amazing. CIF stays on all the time. If I need to focus and recompose, I have the AF button set to lock focus. I find this works extremely well with MF lenses.

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zosX · 647 weeks ago

I'm not seeing anything I couldn't get out of my k-5 with some minor sharpening in lightroom. We already know that the k-20/k-7/k-5's low pass filters were already weak. With good glass its not hard for my k-7 to moire on tight patterns. I don't know if there is a huge improvement here personally. With the k-5 my resolution is often more limited by glass than the sensor. All in all I'm pretty happy I bought one when they became really cheap. I'm sure if I buy a 2nd body once I retire my k-7, it will be a IIs, but I can't see selling my k-5 and spending hundreds more for a slight gain in sharpness. The best samples I saw it rendered hair and fabric better. In landscapes fine detail is often lost due to many factors. Like my 12-24...its sharper across the frame @ f11 due to field curvature, however I technically run into diffraction here. At f8 it is softer on the edges. Do I sacrafice center resolution for frame resolution? I usually shoot most landscape at F11 so I just go with what has always worked and to hell with diffraction. My point is that we are really running into the limits of optical systems right now and people just don't see that....they just seem MORE MP!! Look at most compacts. They are resolving 10MP max, but somehow they need a 20MP sensor? True the picture would be half as noisy printed at the same size as a 10MP camera, but what's the point when you have files that look like garbage @ 100%? For true resolution benefits, full frame is truly the way to go....one day pentax...one day....lol

2 replies · active 647 weeks ago

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MrBig · 647 weeks ago

When you sharpen, you do so at the expense of noise amplification. There's no way around this.