One of the other things that has me concerned is there is no fast 50mm equiv prime lens besides the limited 31mm f/1.8 which seems really nice but has noisy AF. Not really the best thing when trying to capture indoor candids.

Love the super wide and wide selections. Short telephotos look good as well. I'm really attracted to the small compact, yet rugged build of the K-5 IIs and that is a big draw for me. Loved my 7D, but that did get really heavy on long walks while on vacation.

Weasel_Loader wrote:
One of the other things that has me concerned is there is no fast 50mm equiv prime lens besides the limited 31mm f/1.8 which seems really nice but has noisy AF. Not really the best thing when trying to capture indoor candids.

Love the super wide and wide selections. Short telephotos look good as well. I'm really attracted to the small compact, yet rugged build of the K-5 IIs and that is a big draw for me. Loved my 7D, but that did get really heavy on long walks while on vacation.

There are two Sigma options for fast normal lenses - the APS only 30 1.4 and, of course, the stellar new Sigma 35 1.4 (which offers the flexibility of a great FF lens as well whenever Pentax gets around to releasing their FF body).

Not to mention the Samyang 35/1.4 if you don't mind AF (the Zeiss ZK 35/2 is also available on the used market, but somewhat rare). The FA 35/2 is also small, good and available used.

luminosity wrote:
deadwolfbones wrote:
K-5 IIs is waaaaaaaaay better than the 7D from a sensor POV, as well as ergonomics. Lens ecosystem? That depends on what you like to shoot with. AF system isn't as advanced for tracking, etc, but it's great for accuracy/speed for static or slow-loving subjects.

slow-loving?

Haha, oops.

And to treebeard: I've shot sports with my K-5 (o.g.), too, and had good results. But there's no doubt whatsoever that the 7D's tracking ability is superior.

If you want some idea of sports type images, then every image in the following threads in the FM Sports Corner were shot with a K5 IIs and a Sigma 300mm f2.8 with a Tamron 1.4X TC...

Surfing at Pipeline, Hawall on 11/10/12

Surfing at Ehukai Beach on 11/17/12

Surfing at Ehukai Beach on 11/25/12

Surfing at Rocky Point, North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii on 12/1/2012

Thanks for the replies so far, right now I have a 7d with a nice set of lenses for the stuff I do.

My father in law has an old pentax slr with lenses and my dad bought me a few old pentax lenses from yard sales and such.

I'm really impressed with the weather proofness of the k-2 at this price point compared to similar offerings from canon...like the 7d says that it offers some weather resistance but everyone says not to risk it in the rain and such without some sort of cover.

I thought I wanted a FF camera to compliment my 7d, but I really think I need a durable (ie true weatherproof camera) for use in camping and such. So I'm exploring weatherproofness vs affordability vs quality.

thanks,

beetle aka John

I've had the K-5 IIs for a couple months now. I also shoot an old 1Ds with L glass.

The IIs is a lovely camera to use, small, tough and agile. Its autofocus is not as quick as the 1Ds but it's in the same league with a 5D or 5D2. The Pentax weather sealing is the real deal; look up the videos online from a US soldier in Afghanistan who buried his K-5 and K-7 in powdery dust and then hosed them off in the shower.

The image quality is stunning -- I get better 20x30 prints from the IIs than I do from the 1Ds.

It is a really tough decision as I sit and figure out what my next DSLR system will be. The Pentax K-5 II looks really nice and matches up well with what I want. I was originally only looking at full frame, but I remember how much I really loved my Canon 7D. When I made a switch to Nikon, I went up to the D700 and wasn't that impressed with full frame as I thought I would (mostly due to my skills and style shooting).

The pricing of a K-5 IIs is almost the same as a nice used Canon 5D MKII and much more than a nice used 7D. Canon system seems to be the safe bet as there is no question they are on top of the DSLR market. Pentax is very different and seems to be lagging behind.

I like the total weather sealing of the K-5 II and the size and weight makes it nice and compact for hiking or long outings. One of the reason why I left DSLR was the size and weight being ill suited to my liking.

I haven't rulled out the K-5 IIs just yet and considering these lenses to start out with.

Pentax 16-50mm
Sigma 8-16mm
Pentax 55mm or the yet-to-be released Sigma 35mm f/1.4
Tamron 70-200mm

One other factor in Pentax's favor is dynamic range. You can pull up shadows in postprocessing (as you also can with Nikon) much more aggressively than you can with any Canons.

I'm guessing the K-5IIs will drop quite a bit in price in the next six months or so.

Looks like a decent lens selection you have mapped out. Leave room in your budget and camera bag for a Limited prime or two. They are what really make the system sing.

Good points. I have read about the nice limited primes, but the noisy autofocus might be an issue for me. I chose the 55mm f/1.4 as a fast indoor prime. It's a little long on a APS-C, and the 31mm f/1.8 limited might be better.

Is there a release date yet for the Sigma 35mm f/1.4? That would be the best fit for me as a fast indoor prime.

The 16-50 is a fine lens but nothing spectacular. Still, if you want sealing in a normal zoom it's the only game in town. The 50-135, on the other hand, is great, as is the 60-250.

Weasel_Loader wrote:
It is a really tough decision as I sit and figure out what my next DSLR system will be. The Pentax K-5 II looks really nice and matches up well with what I want. I was originally only looking at full frame, but I remember how much I really loved my Canon 7D. When I made a switch to Nikon, I went up to the D700 and wasn't that impressed with full frame as I thought I would (mostly due to my skills and style shooting).

The pricing of a K-5 IIs is almost the same as a nice used Canon 5D MKII and much more than a nice used 7D. Canon system seems to be the safe bet as there is no question they are on top of the DSLR market. Pentax is very different and seems to be lagging behind.

I like the total weather sealing of the K-5 II and the size and weight makes it nice and compact for hiking or long outings. One of the reason why I left DSLR was the size and weight being ill suited to my liking.

I haven't rulled out the K-5 IIs just yet and considering these lenses to start out with.

Pentax 16-50mm
Sigma 8-16mm
Pentax 55mm or the yet-to-be released Sigma 35mm f/1.4
Tamron 70-200mm

Why do you think there's "No question that Canon is on top of the dslr market?" The only thing that makes Pentax "lagging" behind is that they don't have a FF dslr at the moment and of course they don't introduce a new camera every 6 months like Canon and Nikon do. The DR and high ISO performance on my K-5 is WAY better than that of a 7D. From what I have read and heard the AF on the 5D MkII is unreliable for sports...and I have 3 friends that shoot with them and have since abandoned the idea of using them reliably for sports. I am not Canon bashing but why does Pentax ALWAYS get bashed because so few people use their lenses/bodies or they don't exclusively offer the same lenses in the exact same focal range that Canon or Nikon do?

I finally decided to go back with a Nikon D700. Heavy, but I just loved the FF performance I had in my previous D700. I got a really good deal on a almost new D700 w/grip for just a hundred dollars more than a new K-IIs. Also will have an added benefit of using the 17-35mm f/2.8 on my Nikon F3.

The Pentax is a great system, but they really need to do better marketing. It would have been nice to get my hands on a K-IIs, but no camera stores in my area have any. The market is all Canon, Nikon, and Sony for DSLRs.

The D700 is a great camera for the price, but honestly....I rarely found myself using full-frame when working. Now I shoot at nightclubs, bars, concert halls and other dimly lit places so the D700 did not offer me more than my current K-5 does (besides the TTL functionality). I will admit though, the AF tracking on the D700 is probably better but I don't do any sports at the moment. I use the Tamron 70-200/2.8 exclusively and I have had 0 issues tracking sandpipers, eagles, gulls, egrets...etc. Perhaps when Spring arrives and I make it back to NH or MA I MIGHT try out the D600. At the moment there is no Canon body that even peaks my interest, which of course is my own personal preference. BTW, the 3 camera makes you mentioned can have the market share....I like being the oddball!

Totally agree. Pretty sure if I could have handled a K-5II, I would have picked one up. The best thing I liked about the Pentax over the D700 was the smaller size, weight, and ISO capabilities. Too bad I couldn't find one around here locally to handle.

That's the chance you take when you are an oddball. When you say Pentax they look at you like you said the word Yugo or something like that. I am looking at getting the 70 Limited and the 21 Limited this Spring. Sometimes I wish I had the D700 back, but only for the sake of using those SWEET Ai-S lenses I used to own!

Weasel_Loader wrote:
I finally decided to go back with a Nikon D700

Better choice than Canon IMHO. I think Nikon is at the top of the DSLR market honestly, unless you're doing HDSLR video in case Canon is

Just posted this over at DCI: http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/Features/The-S-Is-for-Subtle-The-Pentax-K-5-II-and-K-5-IIs-Head-to-Head.htm