Pentax K-x ..worth considering in this age ..?

[unocvin]

Hello forumers!

I used to shoot film on Pentax bodies, still have my ME Super and MX but sold all my lenses years ago and went m4/3. Anyhow, with the recent release of the K-5 and the K-r, I wonder how much "lesser" of a camera is the K-x next to the K-r? I read about the lack of AF illumination, it frustrates some but others seems not to be affected with the absence of illuminating points.

I haven't had time to read everything on the K-r, thus would like to learn especially from K-r users who moved on from the K-x, what their thoughts are. Essentially, I would like to learn :

1) is the K-x still a value proposition in light of the K-r (K-x high ISO performance was a key selling point).
2) Is the K-r really a "bigger & better" product over the K-x, and
3) Is the K-r a variation of the same theme; i.e like the K-x but with its own idiosycrancies (i.e the equivalent of the K-x lacking AF illumination)

Tks!

 

[fengwei]

It's a great buy at the current price for such a nice little camera.

But I do think K5 is the best buy

 

[night86mare]

i would go for the k-r.

pentax has corrected every possible peeve that the k-x has, while improving on it, and keeping what was good about it.

 

[poppyer]

It's a great buy at the current price for such a nice little camera.

But I do think K5 is the best buy

agree, go go go, for the K5

 

[tsammyc]

I have the KX and K5. the lack of focussing points on the KX never bothered me because I only use spot focus and spot metering. Even on the K5. My K5 is close to the KX at high ISO so I think it is close to the KR. The K5 focusses much better than the KX in low light, in part due to the focus assist and also new live view focus. I'm not sure if the KRs focussing is much better than the KX. I think you can pick up a lightly used KX body for around $400-500 and that is what I would do. I'm keeping my KX with the pancake DA40 on it as a light weight SLR that fits in my fanny pack for general street photography. I will probably sell it when the Pentax EVIL camera comes out. You won't regret getting the KX cheap. It's a great camera with extraordinary high ISO performance. Overall I still agree with Fengwei that the K5 is the one to get. It's just super high performance. Like a real sports car.

 

[unocvin]

.My K5 is close to the KX at high ISO so I think it is close to the KR.

Meaning the Kx is a little better than the K5 at high ISO?

I understand the buying used proposition for greater value, what are the peeves about the Kx? Seems like a firesale going on at the B&S for the Kx, I wonder if most people are going for an upgrade or the camera has some big issues to incite such behaviour

Apologies that I have so many things to learn on digital Pentax owneship.

 

[numez]

pretty sure it's cos of upgrades more than any issues.

 

[clownpo09]

Meaning the Kx is a little better than the K5 at high ISO?

I understand the buying used proposition for greater value, what are the peeves about the Kx? Seems like a firesale going on at the B&S for the Kx, I wonder if most people are going for an upgrade or the camera has some big issues to incite such behaviour

Apologies that I have so many things to learn on digital Pentax owneship.

its not that there is any bad issue with K-x.. its just that K-r and specially K5 are so darn good coupled with such attractive prices.:angry:

and no, from the post online around the web and in this forum, K5 is obviously better than K-x at high iso.

im a K-x user btw

 

[reyreina]

.My K5 is close to the KX at high ISO so I think it is close to the KR.

Meaning the Kx is a little better than the K5 at high ISO?

I understand the buying used proposition for greater value, what are the peeves about the Kx? Seems like a firesale going on at the B&S for the Kx, I wonder if most people are going for an upgrade or the camera has some big issues to incite such behaviour

Apologies that I have so many things to learn on digital Pentax owneship.

Comparing K-x to K-5 based only on their ISO performances is doing "criminal injustice" to K-5 :angry: I bought my K-x last october when it was retailing more than $900. 1 year on, I finally bought a K-7 because I wanted the AF adjustments, WR, hdmi output and silent shutter sound. More importantly, i'm willing to pay for these conveniences. No upgrade will be worth if the better feature ain't going to benefit me.

Back to your doubts, there are definitely no big issues on the K-x inciting the recent increased BNS traffic. The disadvantages (and advantages) have already been well documented over the net. People are selling probably because they are getting newer models (very common "seasonal" upgrades), or because some feel that they want to sell off their underutilised bodies before the value drops further, or maybe they realised they dont need a dslr as much as they thought they needed? :sticktong

IMO, 2nd hand K-x value is hard to beat, and i am going to keep mine as a backup. But If you have the budget, follow what frank and night86mare recommends, get the K-r/K-5, the little premium you pay might save you a lot of inconveniences should you find the K-x crippled for your usage. If you are really $$-conscious, get a 2nd hand K-x, use it till after new year, then upgrade to K-r or K-5 if need be.

 

[unocvin]

Noise level in high ISO use is one factor that is pretty objective to evaluate. I was comparing the Kx to the Kr, the K-5 is definitely in a higher performance bracket, can't compare them meaningfully

I do hope some Kr users chip in with their views ...

Separately, I checked the local distro for prices, wrote them but yet to get a reply, though I may have come across a sub $1K for the Kr kit mentioned in this forum ..I wonder how much just for the body ..

 

[night86mare]

Separately, I checked the local distro for prices, wrote them but yet to get a reply, though I may have come across a sub $1K for the Kr kit mentioned in this forum ..I wonder how much just for the body ..

call them to ask la.

 

[tsammyc]

Meaning the Kx is a little better than the K5 at high ISO?

I understand the buying used proposition for greater value, what are the peeves about the Kx? Seems like a firesale going on at the B&S for the Kx, I wonder if most people are going for an upgrade or the camera has some big issues to incite such behaviour

Apologies that I have so many things to learn on digital Pentax owneship.

No, the K5 is slightly better than the KX in high ISO, maybe 1 stop and has a little more detail. However, unless you print poster size, or do pixel peeping, you won't notice. So for normal people, they are equivalent at high ISO.

I actually like the simplicity of the KX compared to the K5. True there are a LOT of buttons on the K5, but the KX had the important buttons. My main peeve with the KX was slow focussing, particularly in low light. I might blur to varying degrees about 20% of my low light action photos due to focussing issues despite great high ISO capability. In particular, there is no focus assist beam on the KX (although it does use the flash strobe if you have it on). In bright light, the KX focusses quickly.

The KX is noticeably lighter than the K5 and when the KX is paired with the DA40 Pancake, its a nice lightweight package. The K5/DA40 is heavier.

Using Lithiums and Eneloops on the KX, I don't miss the LiOn pack. In fact, I prefer using Eneloops generally (with 1 hr charger) and the Lithiums are for backup.

 

[unocvin]

I notice quite a bit of K-7 on the B&S too! Maybe I should consider that as well?

I have a budget of about $1K for body only, which gets me a used K7, a used/new Kx and a new Kr.

I can now narrow to 2 factors; noise levels at ISO1600 and iso3200. And low light performance - locking focus and acquisition (which is lens dependent as well). Is the K7 better than the Kx in the low light performance? And this K5/Kr generation is improvement over the K7/Kx in terms of both factors?

Thanks everyone for the patience and input, and apologies if I am making everyone go round the same bend twice

BTW, i have a Sigma 20-40mm f2.8 (equiv FOV 30-60mm) coming next month, a focal length I favour. I'll add a short tele prime in the future if I go the Pentax route.

 

[tsammyc]

The K7 is considerably worse (about 2 stops) in low light performance than the KX if you save jpegs. I regularly use ISO3200 on the KX. I doubt I would use it if I had a K7. However, the K7 may focus better than the KX in low light due to to focus assist beam.

When I bought the KX, I had the budget for a K7. However, low light performance was important to me and there were already rumours about the K5 (known as the "K7 Super" at the time) so it was a no brainer to buy the KX and wait for the K5. If I sell my KX body today, I would lose about $200, but if I had bought a K7 and was selling it today, my loss would be around $500-700. So, I'm glad I bought the KX instead. A used KX body is around $400-500, whereas a used K7 body is around $1000, so there is still a very large price differential. The KX is also around 200g lighter than the K7.

However, low light performance and weight is not everything. The K7 weatherproofing allows you to shoot in the rain, focusses better and has tons of switches all over the body whereas you need to wade through menus on the KX/KR. The K7 also has superb build quality and looks and works like a finely engineered piece of kit. The KX is a bit plasticky. Lastly, the KX has a really loud shutter which can be embarassing in a quiet hall. The K7's shutter is almost silent.

 

[MagnumLite]

........ If I sell my KX body today, I would lose about $200, but if I had bought a K7 and was selling it today, my loss would be around $500-700. So, I'm glad I bought the KX instead. A used KX body is around $400-500, whereas a used K7 body is around $1000, so there is still a very large price differential. The KX is also around 200g lighter than the K7.

Bro, you'll be vey lucky to sell at this price for just the body, put up mine for sale and have received many ..don't know what to say kind offer...:angry: Somemore it's not only body but with 18-55mm kit lens.. as low as $370 :cry: Too many predator out there, and also too many K-x floating around..and the low-baller come out to play!

 

[banana0ne]

the maximum I could go on a k-7 is ISO 1600 and that is I already crying loudly.

but as to some extent, k-x still is a good viable option given to it's 2nd hand price. Pair it with DA35 or a Cheapo manual 50mm, it would be a no holds barred street machine wherein you won't hesitate to get stolen or broken unlike the more expensive options... :lovegrin:

 

[tsammyc]

Bro, you'll be vey lucky to sell at this price for just the body, put up mine for sale and have received many ..don't know what to say kind offer...:angry: Somemore it's not only body but with 18-55mm kit lens.. as low as $370 :cry: Too many predator out there, and also too many K-x floating around..and the low-baller come out to play!

Sorry to hear. I bought my KX + 18-55 for just over $700 so minus $200-300 is painful, but I can live with it. However if it's too low I will just keep it as a spare body or give it to one of the kids. I'm not selling now anyway. Will wait u till Pentax EVIL turns up.

 

[clownpo09]

Bro, you'll be vey lucky to sell at this price for just the body, put up mine for sale and have received many ..don't know what to say kind offer...:angry: Somemore it's not only body but with 18-55mm kit lens.. as low as $370 :cry: Too many predator out there, and also too many K-x floating around..and the low-baller come out to play!

370 bucks for that quality kind of camera?! man how much does d5000 500d a500 on BNS?! tsk lowballers are in for some treat this days eh

 

[night86mare]

Bro, you'll be vey lucky to sell at this price for just the body, put up mine for sale and have received many ..don't know what to say kind offer...:angry: Somemore it's not only body but with 18-55mm kit lens.. as low as $370 :cry: Too many predator out there, and also too many K-x floating around..and the low-baller come out to play!

i would also like to say my piece here that a lot of people with a lot of money have not considered the negative impact they have on the rest of the community by releasing their items at dirt cheap price.

when this happens, people have a false impression of the price they can get, and given the fact that the market is now flooded with pentax camera bodies, you just get a load of frustrated sellers who can't sell at a reasonable price. compound that to the fact that this is clearly visible, no one would want to buy pentax cameras.

a k10d is going for $350, i really don't think a k20d should go for a mere $150 more than that, but some people think that $400 is a good price to pay. i don't know what to say to that. i really don't mind letting it go at that price, but i do want to think of the consequences of spoiling the market. it's like me running around charging people $5 for a full day wedding shoot with coffee table book (taking it very far, of course)... certainly it is ridiculous, but it will have an effect on the market. what really bothers me is that an excellent camera body is sitting around doing nothing. if i had known that this would be such a problem, i.e. ensuring that the camera is put to good use, i would have retained my k20d, to be honest.

 

[airconvent]

Actually I think the lower prices are for cameras with more than 2 owners. i.e. each owner sell at a $200 discount and because Pentax keep on coming up with these great cameras, users tend to upgrade fast, anytime between 0.75-1.5 years.