Upgrade K-x to K-?

[miroshi]

Hi guys!

These days I look at the market again to upgrade from k-x to some other k-camera.

There is lot of information in the net, and of course I stop my eyes on k-30 and k-5 II/s. I don't see a point to buy k-5, at least there are newer cameras, so k-5 is out.

But which camera to buy? - i don't record video, don't us the lcd to make pfotos, and i don't want to carry 10 kilos glasses with me. I want my new camera to work with o-gps device, so i can make astro-photos.

It is interesting that k-30 is almost half of the price of k-5 IIs. Of course k-5 IIs is expensive camera, but if the IQ AF are good enough, and noise in low light is not much, i can spend money for it.

So, can someone who have experience with these cameras give me advice?

Thanks!

 

[iTrax]

go for K-30, took thousands of photos, love it!

I have K-5 and still occasionally use K-x ( this magic camera turned me into DSLR from film SLR),

can not see much point getting K-5II or "s" , get K-30 you will enjoy it

 

[britcam]

I had a K30 for 3 months, then sold it on to buy a K5IIs.

The K30 has the latest technology, along with focus peaking, which the K5 variants lack, but there is a world of difference when comparing with the two models. The K5 is simply one very refined camera. It has a quiet, classy shutter sound compared with the "clacky" sound of the K30, and a "feel" that is altogether at a different level ...

The spec differences are out there for all to see, but the K5II resolves the AF issues of the original K5, and I find that IQ and colour is improved. There is a worthwhile increase in sharpness in the "s" variant, and all lenses seem to benefit from improved focus speed, which is a big plus.

In the end it depends on the depth of your pocket, and whether you would regret not moving up to the K5...

 

[miroshi]

k-x is my first slr camera also

Is k-30 much different than k-x? If they IQ, AF and etc. are close, there is no point to change k-x with k-30, and may be is better to wait for something new...

 

[Gary Martin]

I have a K-30 and it's an excellent body for the money, probably the best bang-for-your-buck in still photography right now. But I bought it because I'm on a tight budget. If money were no object I would get a K-5IIs for the superior build and quiet shutter.

 

[fakuryu]

The k30 is definitely more than an upgrade over the k-x in terms of image quality, auto focus, the large 100% pentaprism OVF, the weather sealing and the focus peaking.

If money is no object, the K5II/s is definitely my choice.

 

[miroshi]

Well the money are always problem in East Europe but.... our shops offers deferred payment plan (according to google translate

There are some comments that if lenses are not very good the differences between the cameras are almost inconspicuous. I have 18-55 kit lense, sigma 17-70 2.8-4, and da 55-300 and i am not planing to buy more for the moment.

 

[Nipan_51]

I moved from K-x to K-30 (and o-gps1) and I am happy with it. Only problem is that dust accumulation on sensor is winning over time, so every 2-3 k shots I have to perform a mild wet cleaning on it.

 

[punkrockemo]

I have have the K-X and upgraded to the K-30 a few months ago, I also use a few of the lenses you listed (the sigma and the DA 55-300). My main reason was to get the weather sealing.

The K-X has really good image quality already, i my opinion the diffrence between the two is minor. The main areas of improvement seem to be less highlight clipping and better shadow recovery in raw.

The AF system is an improvemnt, having focus points can be usefull (although not as usefull as i thought) especialy when changing the focus point. Also focus peaking can be usefull although you did say you dont use the LCD screen.

I would add that the K30 is a bigger and heavier camera than the K-x, dont know if size is important to you (oh err).

Hope this helps

 

[Simon Devlin]

K-30 all the way!

Some people talk about the build quality of the K-5 or K-5II but the K-30 is built and feels like a mini tank in my hands. It also fits me perfectly!

I bought the K-30 WR kit for £362 last Christmas and it is now a lot more expensive! I got the deal of the decade on it!

It is a great camera for manual focus. I don't use autofocus and I rarely if ever am out of focus.

Have a look at some of my photos with a Samyang 14mm f2.8...

K30 Samyang 14mm f2.8

 

[lectrolink]

I upgraded from K-x to K-30 two weeks ago. Body price of $499 was too good to resist. The first things I noticed improved were the viewfinder-so bright and clear next to the K-x- and the larger back screen. Next, I noticed that the focus was improved...not just faster, but with the aid of visible focus points, no more guessing where focus would be. I also love some of the new features: dual dials are great-I use the front one for exposure comp on most modes. A new memory menu feature takes you back to the page you were last on--a real time saver. I live in SoCal so weather sealing not really an issue for me. I am not yet certain whether K-30 is capable of noticeably higher image quality or better high ISO shooting than K-x, assuming focus is correct. Time will tell. Also, don't forget, K-30 allows you to tune individual lenses--could come in handy.

The negatives are mainly size and weight. I loved the smaller size and lighter weight of the K-x. Am not happy to add extra weight to my bulging camera/lens bag. The other negative is the display toggling on Playback. Extra button pushes to get what you want. They need to rethink this. One thing I wished K-30 had was ability to do brackets on timer. You can program it now for one-push bracketing, but IMO, that is one push too many. Overall happy I made the change.

Off to Milan, Italy for a week on Friday to give my new cam a proper workout. Will post some results upon return.

Dave

 

[minzaw]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myanmarmauk/

I have ALL 3 KX.K30 and K5

All are attached to different lens all the time

K5 with Penatx 18-250mm

k30 with Pentax 15mm Limited and

kx with Pentax SMCA 50mm F1.7 manual

Kx penta mirror

K5/k30 Penta prsim

K5 K511 +K511s ALL scored GOLD award in DPR reviews

after handling all three and still possessed all 3 for 6 months,

1.K5 - the best dynamic range for final output in perfection

2.K30 -has manual focus peaking and faster focus speed than the other 2

3.K5/ K30 are all WR

If I have to take one camera only option for ANY occasion , I would still grab K 5 anytime!

that's my observation

minzaw

Please see the links (Flickr)above n below for all Kx-30-5 shots

--
http://i35.tinypic.com/11bngox.gif
http://www.flickr.com/photos/myanmarmauk

 

[Simon Devlin]

lectrolink wrote:

One thing I wished K-30 had was ability to do brackets on timer. You can program it now for one-push bracketing, but IMO, that is one push too many. Overall happy I made the change.

Hello Dave, I asked this question about exposure bracketing with remote shutter release recently. You can't but you can with a cable release. One push bracketing? I didn't know about this...

 

[miroshi]

Wow! Guys, the pictures are wonderful.

I hoped not to take heavier camera than k-x, but if all others are heavier i have no choice.

The specific with me is i don't make any postpoceses on my pictures with photoshop, gimp and etc - i work on PC all day and i prefer do not sit front of the pc in home . So what i shoot this is what i post, and this is why i am looking for the best IQ in price range k-30 - k-5IIs.

By the way i use only central point for AF.

ps: i was looked for a wild lens... sigma 8-10mm, but as i saw the pictures form samyang 14mm... hmm they are very beautiful

 

[Leandros S]

The memory buffer for continuous drive may be short, but the write speed is fast enough with a 45-60MB/s card that you can continue shooting at about 1.5 images per second (iirc) after the buffer fills up, so filling the buffer won't bog you down terminally like on the K-5 models (which do have a large buffer).

You will need to live with changing your battery once a day on a good shooting day, or three times if you're in a very subject-rich environment and going from dawn til dusk. Alternatively, use the AA battery holder (separate accessory) and keep shooting on AA like you're used to doing on your K-x. Doing the same on a K-5 requires the battery grip, which makes the camera much larger and heavier. There is the added benefit of better control over portrait-format pictures.

I've found the K-5 II to be less reliable than the K-30, although I preferred the button layout.

You could also weigh the better stabilisation system in the K-30 (especially in portrait mode) against the frequently required use of a blower if changing lenses - the K-5 II has an ultrasonic system that does work markedly better, although some "dust" grains are still persistent enough to hang on. I'd estimate the K-5 II is about three times as good in dust removal as the K-30. But I'd prefer a camera that's reliable while shooting, and the K-30 is your choice for that.

If you need something super-quiet (the K-30 IS noisy), go with the K-01, but check whether it supports the GPS unit if that's essential to you. Note that autofocus on the K-01 even after the recent firmware update will be slower than PDAF on either of the DSLRs.

The K-50 with its predominantly metal body, if true, may absorb the noise better, but I'd hate to see a shallower grip than the one on the K-30, which gives you a rock-solid hold on the body. Probably the best grip in mass production right now, or possibly ever.

Enjoy!

 

[miroshi]

I didn't know about k-50... I can't find it in dpreview camera's list. It is new?

 

[britcam]

It doesn't exist .... maybe in the future as an upgrade to the K30

 

[miroshi]

Ah, ok, then i can focus again on k-30 and k-5II, thanks!

 

[AlainCo]

miroshi,

I'd wait a few more weeks, if I were in your shoes.

The full K50 specs posted (by mistake evidently, and removed shortly afterwards) by the french site Digit-Photo indicate a very close release

French magazine Réponses Photo announced at least one new Pentax body for this summer

The worst that can happen is a further decrease of the K30 price

Cheers,

AlainCo

 

[miroshi]

AlainCo, you are absolutely right. I plan to buy camera not before august, so i have time to decide.