Pentax K-S2 18-135 mm Digital SLR Camera with Lens - Black

I'm doing a photography course and wanted something a bit more advanced than my istDL2. This fit the bill perfectly

I love this gem of a camera, having not been able to justify the cost of a K3 II, I found this on offer and have got to say it is an awesome camera. If it was a just a fraction cheaper, or a fraction better it would easily be 5 stars (I only really have one gripe - see 2nd paragraph of handling section of this review)**K-S2 is a 20MP camera**Now firstly let's just clear one thing up, Pentax have made an absolute mess of the listings for the different versions of this camera on Amazon. They are listed on Amazon as having various megapixel (MP) ratings. I've seen the same camera (but in different colour or lens combinations) as having a stated rating of 18, 20, 21, and even 31 megapixels! All K-S2 cameras have a 20MP sensor, God knows what Pentax thought they were doing when they set these products up!**Handling & WiFi capability**It feels very compact, yet comfortable to hold, with a very "Pentax" feel grip (similar feel to the K5, K3 etc, and a welcome departure from the horrible K-S1). If you are used to a K7, K5 or K3 you will find it feels less substantial, less solid as it doesn't have the same magnesium alloy body, but given it's place in the market, I found it surprisingly pleasant. The articulated screen is the first time Pentax have given us this in a DSLR, it is a delight to use. Folding it screen-in for storage in your bag helps keep it scratch free too. The WiFi pairing worked very well with the Pentax app, which was one of the reasons for buying, I could change aperture and shutter speeds remotely, focus and of course release the shutter. This is sooo handy when you are doing tripod work, especially if the camera is at an awkward angle, or you want to be able to see the effect of changing light has without having to continually go back and forth to you camera. Also, as I'm using either an iPhone 6 plus, or an iPad with the app, I get to see so much more detail. It is worth considering the K-S2 for this alone!The only downside to the handling is a lack of battery grip - there is none and there is no chance of one ever being made, as it lacks the connector on the base to enable an extra battery to supply the juice and fire the shutter from a secondary button. It is quite a big deal, but not enough to make me put the camera away for ever, it's just worth thinking about if you are used to a grip, you will miss both the way it feels and the additional battery life it brings (I use one all the time on my old K5). I found myself wanting the features of this camera in a K5/K3 feeling body, but rarely enough for me to pull the K5 out instead. Put it this way, if it had an additional grip available, I would probably never use the K5 again.Oh and I also miss the strap lugs from the K5/K3 that you can just clip and un-clip your strap to (I know you can buy adapters but for reasons known only to myself it's just not the same).**Image quality**Is simply stunning. It seems to deliver sharper images than my K5, particularly in poor light (and it's not like the K5 was bad in poor light, this is just a whole new level), and the autofocus spends less time hunting. Many of my favourite shots have already come from this camera. I never have, and still don't like the in-camera HDR settings, I've never found them to deliver what I want, but that is the same for any other makes I've used as well. Essentially I think you'll struggle to find better image quality from an APS size sensor in any camera from any brand. Video is not something I've played with so I can't really comment except to say from what I've read elsewhere the quality appears ok, but the process of shooting it is a little more clunky than your Nikon or Canon equivalents.Summary:+ Brilliant screen with full articulation+ Accepts all K-mount lenses+ Comfortable to hold and well made+ Superb image quality+ Impressive high ISO performance+ Weather sealing+ WiFi built-in with an app the worked well on my iOS devices- Lack of magnesium alloy in the body- No vertical battery grip available- No K5-like strap lugs- Battery life not as strong as K3 or K5

The booklet that comes with the camera is not very informative; we need to download the fuller pdf mentioned in the booklet. I come from a previous generation of photographers, which means that I understand f stops and shutter speeds, but I'm baffled by all the settings on a modern SLR, with or without a booklet. The "Pentax K-S2 Overview Training Tutorial" on Youtube, by Tony and Chelsea Northrup, really clarified things for me - he has the knack of putting himself into the shoes of someone who knows very little. Without this I would have been lost.The camera itself is stunning, though I suppose given how little I know about the competition perhaps I'm not really in a position to judge. I've read that only Pentax cameras have the TAV exposure mode, which I love, where the photographer sets the shutter speed and the aperture, and the camera sets the "film speed", or pixel /centimetre. If this is true then this is a good reason to opt for Pentax, and this model is the only one available with a flip up live view screen, letting you see what the camera "sees" while you hold the camera low to the ground, so if you photograph flowers, like me, then this is probably a good choice. You can also use some of the old manual focus lenses, which are available cheaply secondhand, and still get full auto-exposure. (Be sure to buy a lens with the A setting, as well as the numbers 2-22, on the front of the lens). Again, I've read that Pentax is one of the few companies to make cameras which let you do this.The weakest point of the camera is the built-in flash, which I gather is never much good, but it seems that the one on this camera is weaker than most, so if you want to do a lot of indoor photography budget for a flash unit as well as this camera. The same could probably be said of most SLRs, though.There is no depth of field preview button as such but page 100 of the pdf shows how to set the raw/fx button as a DOFP button. Also live view, where we see the picture on the angled screen at the back of the camera, is responsive to the aperture selected - so as you increase the f stop number the screen darkens and you can see the amount of focus you have in front of and behind the subject - pretty much like my old Praktica MTL3 back in the 70s.

The good:Weather-sealed, I can't wait to go try this out.The zoom range of the lens makes it versatile.I like the buttons and layout, and there are some lovely features - there's a button you can use in manual mode that picks a good starting point for aperture and shutterChunkiness feels good.Good balanced weight.It's possible to turn the fancy lights off.Mic socket for videoFeels indestructable. Turn the screen around for maximum protection. All the buttons feel solid.Zoom and manual focus are smooth and consistent.Old Pentax lenses work well, although not all are autofocus and the crop sensor adds a 1.5x magnification.The bad:High iso noise is sometimes poorly controlled.f/3.5 is average for a lens nowdays, and it goes up to f/5.6 when zoomed in.The smartphone app is quirky on Android.Getting the battery out is tricky, forget rapid changes.Some of the options make no sense.The arty modes aren't as good or accessible as on other cameras such as the Olympus OM-D range.It can be a tad slow to focus.The ugly:Shake reduction actually makes the pictures more blurry for me, they are sharper when it's turned off!Video mode makes the autofocus go mental. It just keeps going in and out.AF is noisy in video. It's like someone is taking an angle grinder to a car body.No LCD on the top, which I miss from the K100D.Like it? yes. Love it? not yet. Overall it does what a camera should do - take pictures without getting in the way.