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When the Kx arrived, K7 owners who were more than content with their current bodies coveted the superior high-ISO (low light performance) capability of the Kx. At least I did. And while the K7 was a capable tool, I often found myself compensating for its weaknesses (which were limited to high ISO and autofocus continuous (AF.C) performance). Not so with the K5.
I won't go into the specifications since those can be found elsewhere but I'll give my overall impression what I like and what could be better:
+ Great ergonomics. Love the compact, solid body which is identical to the K7 save for a heightened knob and elongated AF lever. I was even able to use the same split prism focus screen I had purchased for the K7.
+ Fantastic high-ISO performance clean and offering far more flexibility than the K7. I'd try never to breach ISO 800 on the K7 whereas the K5 is routinely pushed past ISO 3200. While I wouldn't give it equal footing to a full frame camera, it's arguably the best APS-C out there in this application.
+ Outstanding dynamic range -shoot in RAW and leave your graduated ND filters at home.
-+ Improved auto-focus, especially AF-C compared to the K7, but not quite on par with either the D300s or 7D in AF-C.
+ User-friendly, easy to navigate menu system white balance adjustments are a breeze.
+ Good WB and JPEGs "out of the box"
-+ Yes, 1080p video but at 25FPS vs. 24 -surely a firmware update in the future
Audio records at 32KHz sample rate
Only has a single SD/SDHC slot would prefer dual with Compact Flash
Limited to 1/180 X-Sync speed but this is ample in most scenarios
Images shot in portrait don't autorotate on playback but did on the K7(?) again, a likely firmware update
+ Blissful near-silent shutter
+ Compatibility with all those great manual K-mount lenses of yore.
Although I'm a long time Pentax user, I considered and evaluated both the Canon 7D and Nikon D300s without bias. While both are outstanding DSLRs, I preferred the Pentax K5.
An all-around excellent camera and a joy to use. A noteworthy upgrade.
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