I did it, I switched the K-x for a K-5

[William]

Having tried the 5D (mk1) and 24-70/2.8 L setup that a friend has I was seriously tempted and thought that I'd end up making a thread with the opposite title of Ludoo's. There would have been the opportunity to use many primes (although sadly not the Pentax-M series) as intended. However there were two real problems, the first being the horrible horrible high ISO performance of the 5D meaning that night street shooting handheld wouldn't be terribly practical. The second problem was the sheer bulk of the thing. The 5D II is still a little beyond my means and not far off replacement.

A few weeks ago I did have a handle of a K-5 in a shop and was amazed. It seemed to have the perfect handling and size. Not too heavy so as to stop you carrying it on your neck all day but slightly heavier than the K-x and so easier to keep stable and balance lenses with. I pondered it over for a while, trying to resist the urge and picked one up two days ago. The handling improvements are vast, I feel confident holding this camera and never fumble around for a control. There is very little difference in operation with the K-x but I did swap over the shutter speed and aperture dial. I find that I need to have my finger on the shutter speed dial and the shutter at the same time and it was not comfortable to do so the way it is set up by default.

The high ISOs are great as expected and the noise has a very different character to that of the K-x. There appears to be zero colour noise and when noise is there it has a softer texture, more like film grain. It's very useful being able to shoot at optimum apertures at night time. The dynamic range is also pretty amazing. I find it a lot harder to blow skies now and there's a far greater deal of subtlety in the tonality of images and exposure flexibility.

The first two photos were made with the SMC-M 50/1.4, the others with the 18-55 WR, which seems infintely better than the DA-L 18-55. The first was at ISO 51200:

[ManualFocus-G]

Sounds like a good upgrade!

I'm surprised by your 5D high iso comments though, ISO 1600 is better than any crop camera I've seen including the D7000 which has the same sensor as the Pentax.3200 is not ideal as it's just 1600 pushed a stop, however.

[Orio]

[ludoo]

[William]

While I could handle a 5D, it would not be nice to have it permanently attached to my neck, especially with a bag full of lenses and other stuff and possibly a tripod. The last photo that I posted was at ISO 6400, 1/90s, f8 and I take a lot in those sorts of light conditions. With a 5D I'd end up with a very noisy photo at a larger aperture and I'd have to bracket a few times to not get camera shake.

Looking through the photos that my friend with a 5D I made, I think that ISO 1000 is about the limit for acceptable quality and you need to spend about a billion pounds for a lens with IS. The 5D II is twice the price of the K-5 and the great 24-70 L isn't exactly cheap. The list of MF lenses that foul the mirror of the two 5Ds also reads suspiciously like a list of my favourites.

The next step may well be a 40mm limited because I love 50mm primes and use them heavily but could do with a little more width but then a 35mm doesn't me enough DOF control. I need that 3d pop, the type that Orio talks about and that lens seems to give it. A 15mm limited may also be a possibility because to get a manual equivalent would cost about the same and 18mm isn't wide enough. I've considered the 16-45/4 but then I don't think it's quite good enough at the wide end and then I'm walking around with a relatively bulky zoom without the WR of the kit lens.

[Hari]

i love the third picture!

[ManualFocus-G]