Trying Pentax again - very pleasantly surprised (Ramble alert)

This may be a bit of a ramble but bear with me ( Any TLDR nuggets feel free to dip out now). I feel I may be preaching to the choir but maybe this will make some people consider their choices, maybe not. I've been a bit of a system nomad in the last few years, looking, like many do, for the system that suits me best, and having some fun on the way, trying lots of different cameras, systems and formats. I originally started with Olympus for a few years, and was relatively happy, but the demise of 4/3's led me to try something else. I did try Pentax for a short time, with the K-X and a few lenses. The standard lenses I tried didn't work for me, though I did like the 16-45mm very much, but apart from that I wasn't that impressed. The K-x looked good on paper and in reviews but I couldn't get on with the colour, it always seemed a bit too Cyan in rendering, maybe it was a white balance issue but I couldn't take to it. Olympus does do very good colour so it was a disappointment to me, so I moved on.
Too cut a long story short I tried Canon FF (5D2), Fuji X, M4/3's (twice) and latterly Sony FE (FF). They've all had their charms, none have been especially bad, but all of them had something missing. Canon FF is great but gets old quickly, too big and bulky. Fuji X colours didn't work for me, I know lots of people like them, but not for me, and the raw post processing issue bugged me. I enjoyed m4/3's but wanted a bit more dof control and deeper colour depth and tonality. I was then offered a Sony A7 for a really good price, so I jumped. There's a lot to like in the Sony FE system, unfortunately cost of the lenses you really need to make the most of it isn't one of them. Putting larger lenses on smaller bodies also doesn't really work for me, and apart from legacy primes (which can be fun to shoot on those cameras) it also gets old quickly.

A few months back, at my camera club, I was helping a member set up their camera, she has a Pentax K5, hmmm, I thought, this is a nice camera to handle. She's also not very technical but manages to get some nice shots from it, without really knowing much about the theory side (nothing wrong with that by the way), I was intrigued by the camera. I know all about the K-5 series, I'd just never handled one. Anyway, my A7 has been frustrating me, boot up lag in particular, and battery drain even when it's not being used, not to mention battery life. Though I could get decent results from it (Dynamic range is ridiculous, almost overkill), I didn't really enjoy using the camera. Too small for my hands, not enough external controls (I love buttons and dials - Olympus E-1 is my favourite camera ergonomically - a classic). So I thought, time for a change, and that K-5 was nagging away at me, something about it I really liked, so I did some research, and then discovered Pentax had released a 16-85mm standard zoom, even better, and Photozone really rated it, that got my attention.

I found a really good deal for a K3II and the 16-85mm, I could easily sell my Sony gear and have cash to spare and try the Pentax, if I didn't like it I could return it (Perfectly legal and above board in the UK under distance selling regulations, though not something I often do before anyone starts). So it arrived, I immediately loved the camera, like an E-1 on steroids, so many options and bells and whistles it's mental (but in a great way). To be honest I expected to be disappointed in the IQ compared to FF Sony, boy was I wrong about that. I took some test shots with the 16-85mm and was stunned.

I can tell you right off bat, at least in relation to my copy, the 16-85mm, for this type of lens, is a stunner, it's consistent all the way through, never anything less than very good, and prime sharp in plenty of focal lengths and apertures (Not Zeiss Otus but an average quality prime, which is still pretty damn decent). Not only that, but the combination of this lens and the K3II matches and exceeds what I was getting from my A7, in fact I prefer it, at least at low ISO's anyway. Ok, the A7 beats it high ISO's and DR and a bit more tonality etc, but not in any meaningful way to my eyes, I rarely shoot high ISO anyway. Of course, it's new kit, so you have that new buyers euphoria I hear you say? well not really, I've used loads of different gear, I've been shooting for a good number of years, I even still shoot film occasionally. Yes, it's nice to have a new camera and lens, but I am extremely impressed with what Pentax are delivering so far. It's early days but I think I may be settling here now, it just works exactly how I want it to, and to be honest, It's great to be using a DSLR again, great battery life, instant start up, better focusing (with caveats I can live with). There are so many things I love about this camera I wouldn't know where to start, you'll know them all, lovely quiet shutter ( Just like the E-1), build quality, power on switch on the shutter button, lockable mode dial, perfect grip, multi-configurable ISO options, the list goes on, I'm sold.

One word of warning for those drooling over the K-1, I get it, I've no doubt it's a fantastic camera, however, it's bigger and heavier, the lenses you will need will also be similar and expensive. Humping FF gear around is not pleasurable, and pixel peeping pleasure wears off. I've done FF twice, it is great, but it gets old quickly when you factor in the compromises. If you really need it for professional purposes then go for it, if you don't then think carefully about buying into it, just sayin'....

Lastly, if you're not asleep yet, about that 16-85mm, here's a 100% crop of a test shot (nothing special), sharpened to 43 in LR, taken at 85mm wide open, colour me impressed, (It looks even better on my computer, DPR compression kills it a bit) no zoom of this type I've ever used has been this good, and with a camera as good the K3II you aren't giving up much to FF, not enough for me anyway, and then of course, there the prime lenses