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Pentax K-5 Review – High ISO RAW

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Overview

Pentax K-5 High ISO RAW Image Quality

We look at RAW files converted with dcraw, an excellent freeware raw converter. dcraw usually offers timely support for the latest cameras, but more importantly, it does not apply any noise-reduction, sharpening or other corrections such as geometric distortion correction to the output files as some other converters do. There will always be differences between RAW converters, in terms of the sort of demosaicing algorithms they use (the processes by which they convert the separate Red, Green, and Blue data sets to an array of full-color RGB pixels), but dcraw seems to use a fairly generic algorithm that delivers good sharpness with relatively few artifacts, and can be counted on to not apply any noise reduction if you don't want it to.

See for yourself how the Pentax K-5's high ISO RAW files compare to those from other recent APS-C size sensor models: the Canon 60D, Nikon D7000 and Sony A580. Click on any of the crops below to see the corresponding full-sized image.

High ISO RAW Comparison with
Canon 60D, Nikon D7000 and Sony A580
Daylight-balanced illumination
Pentax K-5
Canon 60D
Nikon D7000
Sony A580
I
S
O

8
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 1 Pentax K-5 Overview image 2 Pentax K-5 Overview image 3 Pentax K-5 Overview image 4
Pentax K-5 Overview image 5 Pentax K-5 Overview image 6 Pentax K-5 Overview image 7 Pentax K-5 Overview image 8
Pentax K-5 Overview image 9 Pentax K-5 Overview image 10 Pentax K-5 Overview image 11 Pentax K-5 Overview image 12
Pentax K-5
Canon 60D
Nikon D7000
Sony A580
I
S
O

1
6
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 13 Pentax K-5 Overview image 14 Pentax K-5 Overview image 15 Pentax K-5 Overview image 16
Pentax K-5 Overview image 17 Pentax K-5 Overview image 18 Pentax K-5 Overview image 19 Pentax K-5 Overview image 20
Pentax K-5 Overview image 21 Pentax K-5 Overview image 22 Pentax K-5 Overview image 23 Pentax K-5 Overview image 24
Pentax K-5
Canon 60D
Nikon D7000
Sony A580
I
S
O

3
2
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 25 Pentax K-5 Overview image 26 Pentax K-5 Overview image 27 Pentax K-5 Overview image 28
Pentax K-5 Overview image 29 Pentax K-5 Overview image 30 Pentax K-5 Overview image 31 Pentax K-5 Overview image 32
Pentax K-5 Overview image 33 Pentax K-5 Overview image 34 Pentax K-5 Overview image 35 Pentax K-5 Overview image 36
Pentax K-5
Canon 60D
Nikon D7000
Sony A580
I
S
O

6
4
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 37 Pentax K-5 Overview image 38 Pentax K-5 Overview image 39 Pentax K-5 Overview image 40
Pentax K-5 Overview image 41 Pentax K-5 Overview image 42 Pentax K-5 Overview image 43 Pentax K-5 Overview image 44
Pentax K-5 Overview image 45 Pentax K-5 Overview image 46 Pentax K-5 Overview image 47 Pentax K-5 Overview image 48
Pentax K-5
Canon 60D
Nikon D7000
Sony A580
I
S
O

1
2
8
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 49 Pentax K-5 Overview image 50 Pentax K-5 Overview image 51 Pentax K-5 Overview image 52
Pentax K-5 Overview image 53 Pentax K-5 Overview image 54 Pentax K-5 Overview image 55 Pentax K-5 Overview image 56
Pentax K-5 Overview image 57 Pentax K-5 Overview image 58 Pentax K-5 Overview image 59 Pentax K-5 Overview image 60
Pentax K-5
Canon 60D
Nikon D7000
Sony A580
I
S
O

2
5
6
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 61
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 62
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 63
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 64
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 65
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 66
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
Pentax K-5
Canon 60D
Nikon D7000
Sony A580
I
S
O

5
1
2
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 67
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 68
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 69
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported

Here, we can see the Pentax K-5 clearly produces the cleanest looking RAW files, though it appears to be applying some noise reduction at higher ISOs (above ISO 1,600), which cannot be turned off. The noise reduction applied is pretty subtle, though, nothing like the heavy-handed approach used in earlier Sony SLRs. Still, it's something we'd rather not see in RAW files, as it does impact fine detail. The Nikon D7000 comes in second in terms of noise performance in this group. The Canon 60D comes in a close third, but its slightly higher resolution should help when it comes to printing at the same size. The Sony A580 places fourth, with the highest noise levels of this group, though it's still fairly competitive.

Here's a comparison of the Pentax K-5 with its predecessor as well as a couple of other semi-professional APS-C models:

High ISO RAW Comparison with
Pentax K-7, Canon 7D and Nikon D300S
Daylight-balanced illumination
Pentax K-5
Pentax K-7
Canon 7D
Nikon D300S
I
S
O

8
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 70 Pentax K-5 Overview image 71 Pentax K-5 Overview image 72 Pentax K-5 Overview image 73
Pentax K-5 Overview image 74 Pentax K-5 Overview image 75 Pentax K-5 Overview image 76 Pentax K-5 Overview image 77
Pentax K-5 Overview image 78 Pentax K-5 Overview image 79 Pentax K-5 Overview image 80 Pentax K-5 Overview image 81
Pentax K-5
Pentax K-7
Canon 7D
Nikon D300S
I
S
O

1
6
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 82 Pentax K-5 Overview image 83 Pentax K-5 Overview image 84 Pentax K-5 Overview image 85
Pentax K-5 Overview image 86 Pentax K-5 Overview image 87 Pentax K-5 Overview image 88 Pentax K-5 Overview image 89
Pentax K-5 Overview image 90 Pentax K-5 Overview image 91 Pentax K-5 Overview image 92 Pentax K-5 Overview image 93
Pentax K-5
Pentax K-7
Canon 7D
Nikon D300S
I
S
O

3
2
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 94 Pentax K-5 Overview image 95 Pentax K-5 Overview image 96 Pentax K-5 Overview image 97
Pentax K-5 Overview image 98 Pentax K-5 Overview image 99 Pentax K-5 Overview image 100 Pentax K-5 Overview image 101
Pentax K-5 Overview image 102 Pentax K-5 Overview image 103 Pentax K-5 Overview image 104 Pentax K-5 Overview image 105
Pentax K-5
Pentax K-7
Canon 7D
Nikon D300S
I
S
O

6
4
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 106 Pentax K-5 Overview image 107 Pentax K-5 Overview image 108 Pentax K-5 Overview image 109
Pentax K-5 Overview image 110 Pentax K-5 Overview image 111 Pentax K-5 Overview image 112 Pentax K-5 Overview image 113
Pentax K-5 Overview image 114 Pentax K-5 Overview image 115 Pentax K-5 Overview image 116 Pentax K-5 Overview image 117
Pentax K-5
Pentax K-7
Canon 7D
Nikon D300S
I
S
O

1
2
8
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 118
N/A
ISO 12,800
Not Supported
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 119
N/A
ISO 12,800
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 120
N/A
ISO 12,800
Not Supported
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 121
N/A
ISO 12,800
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 122
N/A
ISO 12,800
Not Supported
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 123
N/A
ISO 12,800
Not Supported
Pentax K-5
Pentax K-7
Canon 7D
Nikon D300S
I
S
O

2
5
6
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 124
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 125
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 126
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 25,600
Not Supported
Pentax K-5
Pentax K-7
Canon 7D
Nikon D300S
I
S
O

5
1
2
0
0
 Pentax K-5 Overview image 127
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 128
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
Pentax K-5 Overview image 129
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported
N/A
ISO 51,200
Not Supported

Here, like the JPEGs, we can see just how much better the Pentax K-5 is over its predecessor, the K-7 (which may also be applying subtle noise reduction at higher ISOs), as well as the improvement over the older generation sensors of the Canon 7D and Nikon D300S.