Pentax K-5 II review
January 12, 2013
The Pentax K-5 is one of the best DSLRs with an APS-C-sized sensor that we have tested, so expectations are high for its K-5 II successor. Read the Pentax K-5 II review...
Pentax K-5 II review – The competition

Image: Sony Alpha 77
We may be two years down the line from the Pentax K-5, but currently the K-5 II competes mostly against the same cameras. There has been very little action in this area of the market, apart from the Sony Alpha 77. The Alpha 77 has class-leading resolution, uses an EVF and offers high-speed shooting modes up to 10fps, but its low-light performance cannot match the K-5 II.

However, the Nikon D7000 is the most obvious competition to the K-5 II, and the two cameras match up in so many areas. Both feature a 16.3-million-pixel sensor, use an optical viewfinder with 100% field of view and have a weatherproof magnesium-alloy body.
Image: Nikon D7000
Those looking to buy the Pentax K-5 II may end up considering the K-5, because of the modest number of changes between models. The predecessor is significantly cheaper given its age and it is really only in the low-light focusing that one notices a difference between the two.
- Video: 1920 x 1080 pixels (at 25fps), 1280 x 720 pixels, 16:9 (at 30fps or 25fps), 640 x 480 pixels, 4:3 (at 30fps or 25fps), Motion JPEG (AVI)
- External mic: Yes
- White Balance: Auto, 10 presets, custom setting, Kelvin and WB fine adjustment
- Dioptre Adjustment: -2.5 to +1.5 dioptre
- Built-in Flash: Yes – GN 13m @ ISO 100
- Shutter Type: Electronically controlled focal-plane shutter
- Memory Card: SD or SDHC
- Viewfinder Type: Pentaprism
- Output Size: 4928 x 3264 pixels
- LCD: 3in TFT with 921,000 dots
- Field of View: Approx 100%
- AF Points: 11 individually selectable AF points, 9 of which are cross-type points
- White Balance Bracket: Yes, over 3 images
- Sensor: 16.3-million-effective-pixel CMOS sensor
- Max Flash Sync: 1/180sec
- Weight: 740g including battery and card, 660g without
- Exposure Modes: Auto, program, aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, sensitivity priority, shutter and aperture priority, bulb
- Focal Length Mag: 1.5x
- Power: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion D-LI90 battery
- File Format: 14-bit PEF or DNG raw, JPEG, raw + JPEG simultaneously
- Shutter Speeds: 30-1/8000sec in 1⁄3EV or 1/2 EV steps plus bulb
- Drive Mode: 7fps for approx 50 large/fine JPEG files or 7 raw images
- Dimensions: 130.5 x 96.5 x 72.5mm
- Colour Space: Adobe RGB, sRGB
- Metering System: 77-segment metering, centreweighted and spot
- Compression: 2-stage JPEG, 3-stage raw
- Connectivity / Interface: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
- Exposure Comp: ±5EV in 1⁄3EV or 1/2EV steps
- Lens Mount: Pentax KAF2
- RRP: £799.99 body only, £869.99 with 18-55mm WR lens
- ISO: ISO 100-12,800 (expanded to ISO 80-51,200)
- DoF Preview: Yes
- Focusing Modes: Manual, AF.S (single), AF.C (continuous)
- Tested as: Enthusiast DSLR

