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Pentax K-500 Real-world Samples Gallery

Aug 28, 2013 at 09:14:32 GMT

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The Pentax K-500 is a stripped-down version of the K-50, lacking the weather-sealed body and electronic level of that model, but offering the same 16MP sensor and basic ergonomics. It's an attractive entry-level option, and as soon as a production-quality sample arrived in our office we started shooting with it. Click the links below to view our gallery of real-world samples taken in a range of different environments.

Pentax K-500 Real-world Samples Gallery

Pentax K-500 Real-World Samples - Published August 27th 2013

There are 44 images in our samples gallery. Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter / magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review), we do so in good faith, please don't abuse it.

Unless otherwise noted images taken with no particular settings at full resolution.

SAMPLE GALLERY PENTAX

Pentax K-500

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Pentax K-500 DSLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm WR F3.5-5.6 and 50-200mm WR Lens (Black)●	$683.18	Buy on GearShop
Pentax K-500 DSLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm WR F3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)●	$543.71	Buy on GearShop

Pentax K-500 16MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)	$538.35
Pentax K-500 16MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)	$538.35
Pentax K-500 16MP Digital SLR Camera Body Only (Black)	$499.95
Pentax K-500 16MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with DA L 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 and 50-200mm Lenses (Black)	$683.18
Pentax K-500 Digital SLR Camera with DA L 18-55mm & 50-200mm Lens (Black) with 64GB Card + Case + Flash + Battery + Tripod + Tele/Wide Lens Set + 2 UV Filters	$769.95
Pentax K-50 Weather Sealed Digital SLR Camera with AL WR 18-55mm & 50-200mm Lens (White) with 64GB Card + Case + Flash + Battery + Tele/Wide Lenses + Filters + Accessory Kit	$929.95
Pentax K-30 lens kit blue w DA 18-55WR Weather-Sealed 16 MP CMOS Digital SLR with DA 18-55mm and 3-Inch LCD Screen	$569.00
Pentax K-50 Weather Sealed Digital SLR Camera with AL WR 18-55mm & 50-200mm Lens (White) with 64GB Card + Sling Case + Battery + Tripod + 3 UV/CPL/ND8 Filters + Accessory Kit	$899.95
Pentax K-500 Digital SLR Camera Zoom Kit w/ DAL 18-55mm & 50-200mm Lens BLK 32GB Bundle	$696.95
Pentax K-50 Weather Sealed Digital SLR Camera with AL WR 18-55mm & 50-200mm Lens (Black) with 64GB Card + Case + Flash + Battery + Tripod + Filters + Tele/Wide Lenses Kit	$929.95
Pentax K-50 Weather Sealed Digital SLR Camera with AL WR 18-55mm & 50-200mm Lens (White) with 64GB Card + Case + Flash + Battery + Tripod + Filters + Tele/Wide Lenses Kit	$929.95

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Comments

Total comments: 30

awesome color rendition and exceptional clarity with jpeg output. better than canon, nikon and sony. well done pentax!

3 upvotes

Mea culpa ! As I was criticizing, in previous comments, the bad quality of the kit lens used for these shots, I forgot to applaud this.
These pictures shine like slides.

1 upvote

You would need to do side-by-side comparisons to back up your ridiculous statement. I see no color advantage.

1 upvote

if you check sample photos at pixel level, you will see the clarity & shining of the Pentax jpeg output, it is obvious..

0 upvotes

While I agree that the test shots were taken at a variety of locations, the actual shooting conditions didn't vary much. Outdoor daylight is outdoor daylight whether you're in the Sahara or Finland. There was one night shot, a bunch of outdoor daytime shots, and some indoor shots. Maybe a shot in a forest where the contrast is hell between the dark trees and open sky would be more telling of the camera's abilities.

1 upvote

I'd expect nothing less from Pentax, be interesting to see if they follow Nikon and go with Sony's 24MP sensor in there next generation of cameras.

0 upvotes

Images are excellent. The kit lens is atrocious. Anything not in the center is soft. I have the DL kit lens and it is much better. I'd recheck with another sample.

Comment edited 43 seconds after posting

4 upvotes

Everything good. Using same sensor as other models. Less features. Needs to be closer to $450 or so.

1 upvote

Can you show me a DSLR that's been launched for $450?

6 upvotes

Just wait for couple of months for price to drop. But price is pretty low as it is. I just wish Pentax had the same price strategy for their lens.

2 upvotes

Just one more thing: the lenses are probably wrong in the description (there are shots made at f1,9 and the lens is allegedly 18-55/3,5-5,6, which is impossible).

0 upvotes

Three shots in a bar were made with the FA 43mm F1:1.9

http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/SMC-Pentax-FA-43mm-F1.9-Limited-Lens.html

1 upvote

Yes, 43mm and f1,9 means it must have been this lens (no other Pentax lens gives this combination).

0 upvotes

He's right you know, the lens is being wrongly listed as "Lens:
Pentax smc DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL" in the metadata.

0 upvotes

Looks like the metadata were fixed.

0 upvotes

The information on the K50 and K500 has been timely. May not matter to many people, but keeps the Pentax kind happy. Thanks.

3 upvotes

Great pictures, ISO3200 is perfectly usable, I also appreciate variable environments (indoor, outdoor, portraits, landscape...).
Btw. is there any DSLR taking better picture than K-500 in entry-level segment or for this price? I doubt it.

5 upvotes

And with a true pentaprism viewfinder instead of pentamirror.

8 upvotes

And dual command wheels and in-body image stabilization?

7 upvotes

Edit, removal.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

0 upvotes

The decent viewfinder and in-body stabilization indeed make it a attractive entry level camera, if only Pentax would make an optical decent 18-55 kit lens for it iso of the crappy one used here ...

1 upvote

You are right. Was not impressed with the kit lens. Samsung puts an excellent kit lens on its NX camera.

1 upvote

@Gesture,
I agree with you. As an owner of Pentax DSLR(s) and Samsung NX MILC(s), I have tested various versions of their respective 18-55mm kit lenses. Result : Samsung wins... sharper at fastest aperture, virtually no CA and never noticed any purple fringing. Plus the OIS in much more efficient (3 to 4 stops) than the in-body SR (1 to 2 stops). Not to say that Contrast Detect AF, is more accurate and reliable...And it is not slower than Pentax AF because Pentax kit lenses do not have built-in AF motor (and are noisier).
However, on the other side, in-body SR benefits old manual lenses (one of the reasons why I bought a Pentax DSLR) and Phase Detect AF is more sensitive in low light. Plus the AA batteries and more than 1600 shots with 4 ready-for-use 2100 mah NI-MH batteries in real life ! I can travel with one set of batteries...

1 upvote

Picture IMGP0214 is an example of the mediocrity of the Pentax 18-55 kit lens. Look at the background : in the middle of the frame the distant mountain is sharp. But on the left and right sides the mountain is soft and even softer than the foreground. Weird ! And the lens is stopped at F8.0... Should be all good.
IMGP0050 is another example of softness and lack of DOF at 18mm F8.0...

0 upvotes

According to Photozone tests, the Samsung NX kit lens and Pentax kit lens are very comparable and get almost identical ratings. Perhaps your individual tests are showing sample variation, which is (sadly) not uncommon in these mass-produced consumer kit lenses. Luckily for me, my WR version is a really good copy, and I shoot with it alongside some much more expensive glass. In any case, all of these kit lenses are fine for a beginner, who will be held back a *lot* more by technique than the quality of the lens.

1 upvote

I noticed that the Photozone and SLRgear tests for the II and WR kit lenses are pretty favorable. Maybe a bad copy?

0 upvotes

Get the tamron 17-50 F1:2.8 instead. Excellent lens can compete with the much more expensive da* 16-50 (or look for a second hand sigma 17-70).

0 upvotes

@Gary Martin,
I am aware of sample variations. But then I have no luck : the 4 Pentax 18-55mm samples I have tested (two AL, one AL II and one AL WR) perform less than the two Samsung NX samples I have. As I mention it above, picture IMGP0214 and IMGP0050 are good(?) example of how bad the Pentax kit lens can be. I have never shot such bad photographs with the two Samsung 18-55mm lenses I have. And I forgot to mention that I also own, and have compared, one Samsung 50-200mm D-XENON for Pentrax, one Pentax 50-200mm ED WR, one Samsung NX 50-200mm ED OIS and one Samsung NX 50-200mm ED OIS II. And, then again, Samsung NX lenses are better. No luck again...
And be honest, if you have to choose between two lenses of the same price, will you choose the "bad" one, even though it is "good" enough for a beginner ? I am sure you will not...

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

1 upvote

"any DSLR taking better picture than K-500 in entry-level segment or for this price? "

Yes, according to dxomark, D3200 is slightly better

0 upvotes

"Yes, according to dxomark, D3200 is slightly better"

Higher DXO scores does not mean better photos.

D3200 - 81
6D - 82
645D - 82
K5IIs - 82
D7100 - 83

Does that mean that the D3200 is (almost) as good as a FF and a MF? or the K5IIs and D7100? No.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 30

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