Review on Pentax K-70 Black DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens Kit, APS-C Sensor by Adam Stone

I bought a Pentax K-70 mainly for video purposes. I already had some vintage lenses from my K-1000 that were a perfect match as both shared the same K-mount design. This camera has been very reliable over the 5 months I've had it. The camera's video quality is 1080p by default and when used with the right settings, it's great for all video and film work. I admit that there are better cameras for video recording. However, if you're looking for a camera with at least the same video quality, you'll probably want to spend a few $100 more. Price is the real winner here. Speaking of photography. The photographs are extraordinary. The 24 megapixel quality is amazing and offers a wide dynamic range. When shooting in the dark, dark areas are captured really well. Continuous shooting is also very good. I've done time lapse a few times and the 4k videos are amazing. Reducing body shake allows you to use slower shutter speeds than you would normally be able to use without a tripod. ISO settings are most effective in the 100-3200 range. After 3200 you get a high level of noise. I think the camera will go up to ISO around 16400. Having worked with the camera for a long time, I would say ISO 400 is most effective. The camera also allows you to create your own white balances and set an accurate color temperature in Kelvin. The pixel shift feature also greatly improves photos. However, this feature must be used on a tripod. In terms of video, I was happy that much of the photography-related shot tweaking is allowed in video as well. A lot of the cheaper DSLRs only allow you to use the auto features for video and I think that's a big downside for these cameras. The camera allows you to set the frame rate to 24, 25, 20, 50i and 60i. Remember that if you're editing and using timecode, which translates into, say, an electrical interpretation, 24 fps is actually 23.978 fps. One thing that frustrates me is that when shooting videos you really have to play with the settings when shooting white walls. White walls tend to be noisy, and there are sometimes color variations in out-of-focus areas. The best way to avoid this is to really illuminate the room with light and adjust your aperture, shutter speed and ISO accordingly. With the right ISO setting, dark areas are captured quite well and without too much noise. Otherwise, the video quality in the 1080p class is excellent compared to other cameras. One thing to know is to disable shake reduction when using the camera on a tripod. The camera sensor moves when the head turns and people get up from their chairs. Use Shake Reduction only when working handheld. The shake reduction works great when handheld. Keep in mind that most DSLRs (including this one) will only allow you to record for 30 minutes at a time, regardless of SD card size. So it's not the best choice when you need to capture a longer recording like a basketball game or ceremony. As for the software for the camera. The software that comes with the camera is a little slow, but it does an excellent job of handling DNG images. With the Pentax K-70 you can record in DNG or native DNG+. DNG+ is better and when you do the work with the camera software it produces slightly better images. Troubleshooting The only problem I had with the camera was that one day the camera became very slow to save data. When I took a photo, it took 10 seconds to save. The video was saved for 5-10 minutes. I solved this problem by using a different SD card. Normal save time resumed. durability and ergonomics. This camera is firmly in hand. It also gives you a good grip. Despite being a compact camera, it's definitely made for people with big hands (not a problem for me). The key feel is good. My last point and shoot camera (FujiFilm HS-10) had very cheap buttons that always looked like they were about to fall off. All your important functions like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, PHOTO/VIDEO mode, white balance, ISO, synced photo, flash and autofocus vs manual focus are provided via physical buttons and are not hidden in menus. Shutter Speed, Aperture, AF vs MF and PHOTO vs Video are done as rotary controls or switches, which is very convenient. The camera is considered waterproof (not waterproof). Didn't bother to test it, but I shot in the rain and everything worked fine. However, to be waterproof, you must use waterproof lenses. When you buy a lens that comes with your camera, it has an O-ring around the lens mount that performs this function. minuses. If you're looking for a camera with good autofocus, this probably isn't the best choice for you. The autofocus works very well for photos. For video, this is almost unconfigurable. I bought this camera knowing this. If you don't trust your ability to focus manually, then this camera is not for you.