Pentax K-5

The K-5 ($1,249.95 direct with DA 18-55mm WR lens) is Pentax's top-end D-SLR,?and offers the added benefit of weather sealing. Unfortunately, its weather-sealed kit lens can't keep up with the camera's 16-megapixel sensor and the K-5 lags behind the competition on video features. The camera is quite small when you consider its class, and Pentax has a wide number of compact prime lenses which are well-matched in terms of size. If you're a Pentax shooter, the K-5 is currently the best camera you can get to mount your lenses, but if you're searching for your first D-SLR or have already bought into another lens system, there are other cameras available that can deliver better low-light JPG performance and more robust video capture options.

Editors' Note (4/5/2012): This review was updated to reflect the drop in retail price of the K-5 from $1,649.95 to $1,249.95. As a result, the rating was changed from 3 stars to 3.5 stars.

Design and Features
Quite compact for a D-SLR of its class, the K-5 measures 3.8 by 5.2 by 2.9 inches, significantly less than the 4.2-by-5.7-by-3.1-inch Canon EOS 60D ($1,099 body only, 4 stars). Its body weighs about 1.6 pounds, only slightly less than the 1.7-pound 60D. The camera's handgrip is nice and deep, with a substantial indentation that should accommodate your middle finger. It feels natural in average-size hands, and the optional D-BG4 Battery Grip ($229.95 direct) is available for users who prefer a more substantial camera. It screws into the bottom of the K-5?increasing its height and doubling its battery life.

Rife with physical control buttons and dials, the K-5's Mode dial is located on the top of the back panel, to the left of the viewfinder, and also features an integrated control to toggle the camera's metering mode between Spot, Center Weighted, and Average. To the right of the finder you'll find the Shutter, EV Compensation, and ISO buttons. A monochrome LCD displays shutter speed, aperture, ISO, the number of shots left on your memory card, and a battery gauge.

The K-5 has front and rear dials that control different shooting settings depending on which mode the camera is set to. Pentax also includes its Green button, which can be programmed to perform a variety of different functions. You also get controls to select an autofocus point, adjust White Balance, adjust the Drive Mode, and change Flash settings. Although control layout varies by manufacturer, the level of control at your fingertips when shooting with the K-5 is not far from what the Nikon D300s ($1,699.95 body only, 3.5 stars) offers.

The pentaprism optical viewfinder is one of the K-5's strong points. It's quite large, dwarfing the pentamirror style finders found on mid-level SLRs like the Canon EOS Rebel T3i ($899.99 with lens, 3.5 stars), and it offers 100 percent coverage?so what you see through the finder is exactly what the camera will capture. The K-5 also supports Live View via its 3-inch rear LCD. That display features a sharp 921k-dot resolution, which equals that of the weather-sealed Olympus E-5 ($1,699.95 body only, 3 stars). The high-resolution display makes it possible to manually focus lenses?you can even zoom in on your scene to verify fine focus.

The user interface is pretty straightforward. The eye-level viewfinder displays the current shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and other crucial shooting information so you can change settings without dropping the camera from your eye. You can also view this information on the rear LCD. Hitting the Info button toggles between various settings. One display that will be especially useful to landscape photographers is the electronic level, which allows you ensure that your camera is level?it works on both the x and y axes. Both the camera and the included kit lens are sealed against the elements, allowing you to use the camera in bad weather without worry. The sealing has another benefit?it dampens the sound of the camera's mirror slap, making the K-5 one of the quietest D-SLRs with which I've shot.

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