Pentax K-5: The Same But Better

Although the K-7 was a very good camera, it was unanimously criticised by reviewers for its poor handling of noise. Pentax is therefore hoping to put things right with its new expert SLR, the K-5. Among other things, this new model has been treated to a brand new sensor, which should prove much better than its predecessor.

After the K20D updated the internal electronics of the K10D (14-Megapixel CMOS replacing 10-Megapixel CCD), Pentax finally made major changes to its expert SLR back in 2009 with the K-7, an all-new camera that was faster, more compact, better made, had a better viewfinder etc. Although its design and handling was generally well-received, picture quality showed no major improvement on the K20D (full of noise from 1600 ISO), at a time when many competitors had made a huge leap forwards, gaining one whole exposure stop along the way.

It's therefore no real surprise to see that most of the changes in this camera have been made on the inside. As a result, the Pentax K-5 looks almost identical to the K-7, with just a few small changes (focusing controls, mode selection wheel).

We can therefore expect the design and handling to be excellent, with high-end manufacturing, decent all-weather protection, a viewfinder covering 100% of the field captured (still a bit grainy, a trademark of the brand) and a 3-inch VGA screen. One other new feature is that the Raw button has been replaced with a 'Flex' button, which can be assigned Jpeg/Raw selection, bracketing, image preview, electronic level or composition adjustment.

New Innards

There are two major changes on the inside of the camera. First of all, the new Safox IX+ autofocus is theoretically more accurate, more effective in continuous mode and better in low light than the VIII+ system used in the K-7. The number (11) and distribution of focusing points hasn't changed though, and may now seem a little inferior to the Nikon D7000 and its recently announced 39 focusing points.

Another important change is the sensor, which has been upped to 16 Megapixels. This may not seem all that important, but the sensor is now completely different to the one used in the K-7 (made by Samsung), and its size and resolution are actually more similar to the sensor used in the Sony Alpha 55. There's no way of telling how it'll get on in low light just yet, but we've already seen some excellent-quality images snapped at 1600 ISO with a K-5 prototype. So unless dramatic changes are made in the final model, the K-5 should certainly be better than the K-7.

The video mode has also been improved and now films in Full HD instead of the very unusual (perhaps even unique) resolution of 1536 x 1024 pixels used in the K-7. However, footage is still recorded in Mjpeg at 25 fps. Plus, the internal microphone records in mono so you'll be better off using the external microphone socket.

On the whole, the K-5 looks like it'll deliver what many people where hoping to see in the K-7, with the exception, perhaps, of an increased number of autofocus points. At around £1,000 (TBC) for the body only, the K-5 is lined up as a direct rival for the Nikon D7000 (with its 39-point autofocus and twin SD slots) and the Canon EOS 60D. Both of these cameras will probably have better video modes than the K-5, but Pentax's latest offering does have the advantage of an excellent all-weather finish and a mechanical stabilisation system that even works with older lenses.

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