Pentax K-5

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K-5 with DA Limited 21mm f/3.2 wideangle image by nubobo (Image rights)

While the K-7 DLSR from Pentax had been generally praised as offering good build quality and ergonomics in a compact package, its 14 megapixel sensor from Samsung had been criticized as not quite competitive with its peers (or even with Pentax's own much cheaper K-x). Accordingly, the K-7's 2010 replacement, the Pentax K-5, switched to a new 16 Mp sensor from Sony. This chip made quite a splash with technically-minded review sites, taking the top spots in performance among its APS-C sensor contemporaries. (A nearly-identical chip is apparently used in the Nikon D5100 and Sony A580.)

The K-5 otherwise kept most of the same feature set as the K-7, including a weather-sealed magnesium-alloy body, sensor-shift shake reduction, and full support for legacy K-mount lenses (the body is able to set the aperture of Pentax manual-focus lenses dating back to the 1983 Pentax-A series). The K-5 did add an update the autofocus system, and video recording was increased to 1080p "full HD."

Links

• Pentax K-5 reviewed by Imaging Resource
• K-5 review at DPReview.com

Frosty K-5 demonstrates its environmental seals image by Kurt Bauschardt (Image rights)