Pentax K-5 II and K-5 II S: Digital Photography Review

10/21/13 8:51 AM

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Search on dpreview.com 6. K-5 II vs. K-5 II S

Detail and Moir K-5 II vs. K-5 IIS

Those seeking extra detail in their shots might be tempted by the K-5 IIS's lack of a low-pass filter, something were seeing more companies drop from their SLRs as resolutions increase. Anti-aliaising filters are designed to slightly blur the final image, so in very simple terms, removing a sensor's AA filter should increase sharpness. Whats the risk? Primarily aliasing artefects moir patterning, which is created when the frequency of patterns in your subject begins to exceed the frequency of the grid of pixels on the cameras' sensor. Moir is commonly seen in the repeating patterns of fabric, but nature has its repeating patterns as well, including palm fronds, grasses, feathers, and even fine ripples on water. We worked on this question of the relative benefits extensively with the Nikon D800 and D800E and found that as we'd expect, using a good prime lens both cameras delivered best central sharpness between around F3.5 to F5.6 (note that lenses typically achieve the best evenness of sharpness at slightly smaller apertures). Given that the pixel pitch of the K-5 II is about the same as the D800E (which offers an output resolution of 15MP in DX crop mode) we were not surprised to find the same thing with the K-5II and IIS. During the course of this review, we shot comparison samples at various apertures - large and small - and consistently saw more moir in images from the K-5 IIS. Within this optimum aperture range of F3.5 to F5.6, we found that where moir was visible from images with one camera, it was also present in shots from the other, but the patterning was more intense in the pictures shot with the K-5 IIS. As we left this aperture range and shot between F5.6-11, the K-5 II lost the tendency toward moir likely thanks to relative increase in diffraction, while the K-5 IIS still showed the effect in some scenes.

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Pentax K-5 II and K-5 II S: Digital Photography Review

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K-5 II, 18-135mm lens, 1/20, F4.5, ISO K-5 IIS, 18-135mm lens, 1/15, F4.5, ISO 100 100 As you can see from the JPEGS above, taken at F4.5, moir made an appearance in images from both cameras. This is a particularly moir-prone fabric, but it's a fairly common Glen-plaid design any event photographer is likely to encounter. Fashion photographers will be all too familiar with the effect.

Body & Design

Operation &...

K-5 II vs....

Standout...

Menus

Menus

K-5 II, 43mm lens, 1/100, F7.1, ISO 100

K-5 IIS, 43mm lens, 1/100, F7.1, ISO 100

Menus

Noise and...

Resolution...

We were more surprised to find moir in a far darker coat, the blue blazer captured in this shot at portrait distances, at a relatively small aperture of F7.1.

Studio Comparisons
Looking at our Studio Comparison Scene, shot at F8, the K-5 IIS plainly shows moir in some feathers, currency samples, and the focus scale. All crops below are at 100%.
Resolution... Dynamic Range Compared to...

This is our studio test scene. With APS-C format cameras we shoot this scene at F8 at an equivalent focal length of ~85mm (or as near as possible). This aperture is selected because it generally provides good edge-to-edge sharpness, and enough depth-of-field to render the main image area in focus.
Compared to... Compared to... Conclusions

Samples

K-5 II - JPEG

K-5 IIS - JPEG

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Pentax K-5 II and K-5 II S: Digital Photography Review

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K-5 II - JPEG

K-5 IIS - JPEG

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K-5 II - Raw

K-5 IIS - Raw

We see moir from both cameras, even at F8, which is most intense where we'd expect - the areas of finest detail. The blue feather shows moir in the K-5 II's Raw shot, but in both the K-5 IIS's JPEG and Raw shots (the blue arcs radiating out from the left of the feather's center rib). The etching cropped above shows color moir in the vertical lines, which are only slightly visible in the K-5 II images. As percentages of the overall Studio Comparison Scene, though, this effect is minor; were these frequencies to become more dominant in the scene, we might have more of a problem.

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K-5 II, 50mm F5.6, 1/50, ISO 100

K-5 IIS, 50mm F5.6, 1/50, ISO 100

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Oct 10, 2013

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K-5 II, 50mm F5.6, 1/50, ISO 100

K-5 IIS, 50mm F5.6, 1/50, ISO 100

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The crops above show areas from our new (forthcoming) studio scene, shot at F5.6 for best central sharpness. Exposures were captured in Raw mode, with sharpening turned off in Adobe Camera Raw and a basic USM (amount 100%, radius 0.6, threshold 0) added in Photoshop. The K-5 IIS gives crisper results, with fractionally more detail visible on very close examination. The fine text is better defined (especially visible the low-contrast black-on-gray) but pretty intense moir can be seen in the white text on the black background. That said, the K-5 II also gives some moir but it's less intense.

Portraits
Like most advanced SLRs, the Pentax K5 II cameras have an X-Sync port, so it was easy to hook them up to DynaLite studio strobes for a few quick portraits, again to compare the K-5 II with the K-5 IIS in terms of detail. Our main goal was detail at this point, not moir, but we found color artifacts in our organic subjects, as well as stepping artifacts. Color moir artifacts were found primarily in the K-5 IIS, shown below.

K5 IIS, 43mm lens - F7.1, 1/125, ISO 100 - click to see full-res image

100% - K-5 IIS

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Pentax K-5 II and K-5 II S: Digital Photography Review

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100% - K-5 IIS - Horizontal, well-lit hair

100% - K-5 IIS - Vertical highlighted hair

While the detail is beautiful and crisp in the K-5 IIS, as shown in the crop of the eye, we found color moir in both vertical and horizontal strands of hair, something you'd expect with removal of the low-pass filter.

K-5 II, 43mm lens - F7.1, 1/125, ISO 100

100%

K-5 IIS, 43mm lens - F7.1, 1/125, ISO 100

100%

Interestingly, while we expected to see demosaicing errors in the hair from the K-5 IIS, we also found it in the K-5 II, but to a lesser extent. In the crops above, 'rope-like' aliasing is more pronounced in hair at certain angles in the file from the K-5 IIS, which is due to the lack of an optical low pass filter. What we're seeing here is not uncommon (many cameras with AA fillters demonstrate similar artefacts if you look extremely closely), but it's certainly more pronounced in the K-5 IIS.

Outdoor, organic and non-organic detail

K5 II, 40mm lens - F7.1, 1/125, ISO 100 - Click to download raw (DNG) file

K5 IIS, 40mm lens - F7.1, 1/125, ISO 100 - Click to download raw (DNG) file

100%

100%

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Pentax K-5 II and K-5 II S: Digital Photography Review

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100%

100%

100%

100%

Landscape elements do indeed show more detail in the K-5 IIS, but some elements with repeating patterns show moir and other artifacts from both cameras. Detail in the trees is better, though, and moir only occurrs in a few locations; it was difficult to find at first.

Analysis
After looking at the above images, it should be pretty obvious which camera most people should choose for the lion's share of photographic situations: The Pentax K-5 II. Having more detail in a camera is always desirable in theory, except when that detail comes with colors and patterns that aren't there in the actual scene. Moir patterning can be created by many things, but in this case it's caused by the interaction between the grid of pixels on the sensor and a pattern in the scene, and is unequivocally more of a problem in images from the K-5 IIS. In our Nikon D800 review, we went over the situations in which the D800E (which also effectively has no lowpass filter) suffered moir and decided that since both cameras exhibited the same artifacts to differing degrees, people would have to deal with them one way or another, and the Nikon D800E's images particularly the JPEGs - were improved enough in terms of detail to warrant the risk for the sake of detail. After all, with the D800E's extremely high pixel count, most of the artifacts we saw made up a small enough percentage of the frame that it wasn't as big a risk. Here, as well, we see both cameras, the K-5 II and K-5 IIS, exhibiting moir with good lenses at optimal apertures. We also see more apparent detail. But with the K5 IIS the moir is intense enough in those high detail areas where a suitable pattern is present to greatly diminish the advantage for general photographic purposes. This becomes quite apparent in our Resolution target. We don't think it will be as great an issue in outdoor landscape photography, where repeating patterns are less prevalent, but wildlife photographers should take note of the potenital for moir in hair and feathers. The problem with moir is not just the rainbow patterns that emerge, because you can minimize or remove the color with filters; it's the pattern they leave behind even after you effectively remove the color that concern us. The blue patterns in the blue feather of our Studio Comparison Scene are an example of moir that is very difficult to remove by just changing or blurring the colors. In portrait photography you're less likely to shoot at apertures that give you too much detail, so stopping down out of the F3.5-5.6 danger range might make sense, but there are always exceptions, and the K-5 IIS is more likely to give you color errors right in the plane of focus on hair and clothing should you want to shoot at a wider aperture to accent an eye or other feature. Landscape photographers are less likely to shoot at wide apertures, as they usually seek the greatest depth of field. Shooting at smaller apertures can minimize moir thanks to diffraction limiting, as we see in the camera with the very light AA filter (the K-5 II), but you have to stop down even more to eliminate it from the K-5 IIS, to the point where the slight benefit in resolution is negated. As usual, which camera is better for general photography is open to interpretation; as such, we've tried to provide as many images as possible to help you make an informed choice. Likewise, what purposes are suited to the K-5 IIS's increased detail-gathering potential are also a matter of opinion. The good news is we had to look pretty closely to find the issues we've highlighted above, save for those in the Glen-plaid jacket; granted, we were looking there too, but we think the colorful rainbows are obvious enough in this case, and would appear in a larger print. Many will look at these and think the differences are negligible. As such, we'll stop short of not recommending the K-5 IIS in favor of the K-5 II; we just advise that readers consider carefully which is for them. Most of us would prefer to avoid the moir as much as possible, as the K-5 II's detail is pretty good as it is, but note that none of our images were affected by moir enough that we hesitate to shoot with the K-5 IIS. For those who'd like to see for themselves whether shooting without a low-pass filter is better or worse, the K5 IIS represents an inexpensive way to find out, compared to the D800E or medium-format cameras that the pros use.
6. K-5 II vs. K-5 II S

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Pentax K-5 II and K-5 II S: Digital Photography Review

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Comments
Total comments: 6 By Lucas1981r (1 month ago) Ok - K-5II have better AF and... and... but why only 80%/ s-81%? If old version K-5 have 83%? and Nikon D7100 have 85% - but everybody knows - who used this dslr's that Pentax is better...??
1 upvote

By Derma pro (1 month ago) I heard and read alot about this pentax. and I believe it is a very good camera. what I know is that pentax k-5II is better regarding the details of the photo. and D7100 is better regarding the colors and the auto white balance. do you think the pentax is better is other situations?

0 upvotes

By KZMike (1 month ago) The S has everything I need [Time Lapse too], EXCEPT a LCD that moves/articulates. . . ughhh!!!!

0 upvotes

By Kfrog (2 months ago) The auto focus in low light is better and the redesign of the rear LCD has been change for better viewing in bright light. Not much else as far as I know. I purchased the K-5II because I often take photos in low light situations and can use all the help I can get!

0 upvotes

By dousanmiaography (2 months ago) Seriously, what is the difference between K-5 and K-5II? Every single specification are the same.

0 upvotes

By Rutterbutter (1 month ago) The removal of an anti-aliasing filter. this allows for sharper images in the II but sacrifices the tendency to produce moire.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 6

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