US$ 1309 US$ 965.00

Standing in the forefront of Pentax’s APS-C digital SLR lineup, Pentax K-5 does not really offer any radical changes as selling point, instead, the company is determined to maintain and sharpen the existing qualities to continue the victorious legacy. Let’s take a closer look to witness the subtle modifications.

Inside the box you can find: a Pentax K-5 DSLR Camera, of course, a Battery Pack, a Battery Charger, a AV/USB Cable, a CD-ROM, as well as an User's Guide.

In terms of body shape, construction quality and control layout, it appears to be almost identical to K-7. The strong and nicely-weighted (660g) body of K-5 is made of stainless steel, magnesium and steel alloy. Like the K-7, it is equally dust and weather resistant with anti-shake feature as well. The solidity on hand is indeed impressive with the excellent build quality.

While at the back, the wide 3-inch colour screen with 920,000 dots is clear and detail-packed enough even under bright light. The 100% field-of-view, 0.02x magnification optical viewfinder is indeed a surprise. It allows one to see through the finder what exactly will appear in the photo you are taking.

The front dial is angled slight upwards on the top right of the camera. It allows one to adjust shutter speed and manual exposure modes. While the shutter release button lies behind is, claimed by Pentax, designed for “100,000 releases”. It is surrounded by the power switch which can also perform a preview function. You can also find the recessed exposure compensation and dedicated ISO buttons here.

You can find the RAW/FX button on the front of the camera body, which helps to set the image quality to either Pentax’s PEF format or Adobe DNG format. This is especially helpful if you are shooting in JPEG format and would like to switch to RAW mode immediately. The button can also be customized to other optional control.

Like K-7 and most of the previous high-end Pentax cameras, K-5 offers a sufficient selection of external controls for the sake of user’s convenience. (e.g. focus mode, AF point selection method, levers to specify metering mode) The “USER” mode on the wheel can be customized to up to 5 profiles. The locking button on the top of the mode dial is a sutbly detail which is designed to prevent accidental changes.

While at the back, other controls like the LV button, AF selection, activation controls, and controls for white balance, the much appreciated self timer, flash and capture modes. You can adjust settings for bright, natural, monochrome and portrait modes among some others. The four-way jog buttons and OK button are also there for convenient navigation and contrl.

On the left of the camera you can find a vertical flap covering the DC In, AV Out and HDMI connectors. You can connect the K-5 to a HD TV by the HDMI port. (if you purchase an optional HDMI mini-cable) While above this there’s a small Mic port which allows you to connect an external microphone.

All in all, the Pentax K-5 is found even more satisfactory than expected. The K-5 may not be something extraordinary, yet we can see how Pentax keep refining and improving every details. K-5 is thus a proof of packing more and better functionality into a smaller compact body than before. If you are looking for a decent, competent camera, Pentax K-5 is definitely your choice.