Pentax K-5 IIs and Pentax DA HD Limited Lenses
B&H Photo has K-5 IIs and the HD Limited lenses, which are available for pre-order.
I have the Pentax K-5 IIs on my desk, which is the 16-megapixel APS-C DSLR without an anti-aliasing filter.
The K-5 IIs feels really well built and very solid, but also quite heavy (dense). Including battery: 761 grams with magnifying eyepiece, ~753g with standard eyepiece. Since Canon quotes the 70D weight as 755g with battery, this is essentially the same. And it’s hard to criticize what seems to be very solid build quality, including a battery door far superior to the flimsy auto-snap-off toy one on the Nikon D800.
I’ve ordered a K-5 IIs for myself so I can properly report on it and Pentax lenses over time. It is probably a bad idea from a business ROI perspective (low demand from readers), but I am so impressed with the design of the Ricoh GR that I want to educate myself on the Pentax design approach and Pentax 'glass'.
But I do wish that Pentax would offer a 24-megapixel version, since 16 megapixels is way behind the 24 megapixels of the Nikon D7100. Or at least a sensor-shift mechanism (studio style) for a true RGB sampling at every photosite, as some MF cameras do (tripod and static subject required, but that’s fine). Since the camera has a feature to track star trails!
Funny thing with the K-5 IIs: a light shaking reveals some weighty part loose inside, presumably the anti-shake sensor assembly. It’s a little odd in feel (like something is broken), but probably just the way it is.
The K-5 IIs awaits the new HD Limited lenses shown below, which are due out in late September (Pentax DA HD Limited lenses are available for pre-order at B&H Photo).
Given the relatively slow lens speeds, my expectation is that the Pentax HD lenses were designed to deliver very high performance (by restricting the aperture brightness, many compromises can be avoided). I’ll be covering all of them with that question in mind.
The equivalent focal lengths in full-frame field of view terms are 22mm, 33mm, 52mm, 60mm, 105mm.