Pentax K-5

Pentax K-5 is Pentax's Advanced DSLR digital camera originally announced on December of 2010. The camera houses a 16MP, CMOS APS-C sized sensor and has a peak resolution of 4928 x 3264.

Pentax introduced this model in order to upgrade the previous Pentax K-7 (Read Full Comparison) & subsequently launched the fresher Pentax K-5 IIs (Read Full Comparison) to upgrade this camera.

The K-5 is positioned #39 out of 92 in Advanced DSLR cameras & all round #223 out of 1465 for cameras in our database. You can check our Advanced camera search to get camera ratings based on your custom factors.

The following is a diagram of different criteria used in the scoring system.

The Pentax K-5 has a history of related cameras. Below, you can find all older and the latest models along with key specs.

You can check the K-5 from various angles in the gallery here.

Below is a selection of upsides and downsides of the Pentax K-5 based on criterias that are oftentimes seen as necessary in a digital camera.

The Pentax K-5 is run by the Prime II chip. The size of the sensor in the Pentax K-5 is 23.7mm x 15.7mm (APS-C). The 372 mm² sensor has the capability to resolve 4928 x 3264 pixels and aspect ratios of 3:2. The camera features Image Stabilization (Sensor based). Optical stabilization is preferable than digital stabilization as the latter can cause cropping.

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The CMOS sensor has 16MP and delivers a standard ISO range of 80 - 12800. This ISO can be increased electronically to a high of 51200. RAW files are saved which means that the user has wider room to maneuver in post.

The graphic below illustrates the K-5's sensor dimensions in comparison to other popular sizes. The K-5 sensor has a crop factor of 1.5 and is highlighted in green.

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To get an idea of various aspect ratios, you can refer to the graphic below.

Pentax K-5 has a weight of 1.63 lbs (740 gr / 26.10 ounces) & the measurement of the camera is 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9"). The weight of general Advanced DSLR camera is 776 gr so the Pentax K-5 is very similar when compared with other competitors.

Photography Glossary

The following is a pic of the Pentax K-5 besides a soda so you're able to get a sense of its scale.

The top view here will illustrate the button arrangement on the K-5.

The K-5 fits the Pentax KAF2 mount and has 17 lenses available on the market. Below is a few of the lenses we have in our collection which will fit the K-5.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight

Venus Laowa 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO100mmf/2.8638g

Pentax smc DA 300mm F4.0 ED IF SDM300mmf/4.0 1070g

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Samsung D-Xenon 50-200 F4-5.6 ED50-200mmf/4.0-5.6 255g

Pentax smc DA 50-135mm F2.8 ED IF SDM50-135mmf/2.8 685g

Samsung D-Xenon 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 Fisheye10-17mmf/3.5-4.5 320g

HD Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR55-300mmf/4.0-5.8 466g

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Samsung D-Xenon 35mm F2 AL35mmf/2.0 195g

The K-5 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes
• GPS Yes

Cameras which include NFC and / or Bluetooth compatibility can easily be controlled wirelessly by smartphones. You are able to send images and at times adjust camera settings without connecting straight to the camera.

Several applications even give a Liveview and press the shutter whenever you aren't near the camera. If the camera contains a HDMI port, it could be attached to an external display. The majority of cameras will allow you to recharge the battery through the USB port.

The highest video quality in the Pentax K-5 is 1920 x 1080 and you can shoot in Motion JPEG file format. 1080p quality will provide a decent balance in video quality and file sizes but FULL HD is not going to leave you with any room to crop. While the camera offers a mic jack, it is sadly lacking a headphone jack which means that you will not have the ability to monitor your sound levels.

Pentax K-5 provides environment sealing which makes it a good choice for use in challenging climates. This is especially useful if you are unsure about the conditions you may face in outdoor photography.

The Pentax K-5 is equipped with a 3 inch fixed display screen supporting a resolution of 921 thousand dots.

Sadly the display screen isn't a touch screen. The K-5 also includes a Top LCD screen in order to quickly checkout camera settings.

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The ViewFinder specs for Pentax K-5 are below:

• ViewFinder Optical (pentaprism)
• Coverage 100%
• Magnification 0.61x

Viewfinders can be really beneficial in bright outdoor conditions which might make the camera screen washed out and very difficult to see.

Pentax K-5 continuous shooting speed is 7.0 frames per second. The highest shutter speed is 1/8000 seconds.

Pentax K-5 features both inbuilt flash as well as external flash ability. The max flash sync speed is 1/180 seconds.

Pentax K-5 features both Phase Detect Auto Focus as well as Contrast Based Auto Focus. Phase Detection focusing is more snappier & accurate when compared to Contrast Based focusing. The camera supports Face detection making it valuable for portraits.

It supports 11 focus points to select from. It also comes with Tracking Auto Focus for moving things. Pentax K-5 includes manual focusing if needed in low light occasions or you want more accurate control on focusing.

The battery power (D-LI90) in the Pentax K-5 is built to last for 980 clicks according to the CIPA benchmarks which is about the same as it's rivals. The typical Advanced DSLR camera battery life is 909. Nikon D780 has got the highest (2260) battery life in this range of cameras.

Below is a listing of Advanced DSLR cameras which have the highest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Nikon D780
K-5 vs D7802260 yesnoyes

Nikon D850
K-5 vs D8501840 yesyesyes

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Nikon Df
K-5 vs Df1400 yesnono

Canon 90D
K-5 vs 90D1300 yesnoyes

Nikon D500
K-5 vs D5001240 yesyesyes

The following graph indicates a overview of the Pentax K-5 for different forms of photography. To learn more, check out the specific section below.

The Pentax K-5 gets a points tally of 73 which is nice, and means the camera is a fine option for portraits. Taking portrait photos leans greatly towards sensor dimensions, support for RAW photos plus the potential to use external lighting.

Getting a very good score of 66, the Pentax K-5 is a respectable fit to buy for street photography. A very good street photography camera comes with a fine balance of image quality and portability.

A excellent sports photography points tally of 78 means the Pentax K-5 is a brilliant choice for shooting sports. A camera really should have excellent focusing plus continuous shooting for sports photography.

Size is extremely critical in getting a travel camera. All things considered, the Pentax K-5 gets a nice 65 for a travel camera which makes it a very decent option to purchase for your journeys.

For anybody looking to choose a digital camera for landscape photography, the biggest factor will no doubt be image quality. The Pentax K-5 with it's excellent score of 78 for a landscape camera is a brilliant choice in the current marketplace.

A vlogging camera should offer a moving screen, mic input and if possible IBIS. Considering every thing, the Pentax K-5 is just not very good as a vlog camera as it gets a bad rating of 33.

If you are trying to find replacements to the K-5, below is a range of the highest ranked cameras that fall in to the class of Advanced DSLR.

The line chart underneath will give you a bird's eye view of the K-5 vs it's highest scoring competitors shown earlier.

These are some more cameras you may view as alternate options. To review a complete comparison, visit the "compare" link.