Pentax K-5 review

Is the Pentax K5 simply a modest upgrade to an already existing camera, or one that deserves recognition in its own right?

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Pentax K-5
The Pentax K5 has plenty to offer the photographer that doesn't follow the herd

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As part of our image quality testing for the Pentax K-5 we've shot our resolution chart.

If you view our crops of the resolution chart's central section at 100% (or Actual Pixels) you will see that, for example, at ISO 100 the Pentax K-5 is capable of resolving up to around 22 (line widths per picture height x100) in its highest quality JPEG files.

For a full explanation of what our resolution charts mean, and how to read them, check out our full explanation of our camera testing resolution charts.

Examining images of the chart taken at each sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:

JPEGs

Pentax K-5 review

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 80, score: 22 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 100, score: 22 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 200, score: 22 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 400, score: 22 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 800, score: 20 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 1600, score: 20 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 3200, score: 20 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 6400, score: 20 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 12800, score: 18 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 25600, score: 18 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 51200, score: n/a (Click here to see full resolution image)

Raw

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 80, score: 24 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 100, score: 24 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 200, score: 24 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 400, score: 22 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 800, score: 22 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 1600, score: 22 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 3200, score: 20 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 6400, score: 18 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 12800, score: 18 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 25600, score: 16 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Pentax K-5 review

ISO 51200, score: 14 (Click here to see full resolution image)

Matt Golowczynski