I have a history with Pentax cameras. It started a couple of years ago when my father in law noticed my fervent interest in photography and gave to me his old Pentax K1000. I did not know much about film photography then, in fact, I knew nothing, but curiosity has been a powerful drive for me to learn new things. Indeed, it did. But more than that, it introduced me to a brand of cameras that were very budget friendly and with much better ergonomics from the Nikon cameras I had.

I made the switch to Pentax. Man, those are rugged cameras, they can sustain some abuse. I owned the K5, the K3, and the KP, all packed with technology other brands would charge more for. I also collected film cameras besides my Pentax K1000, the Pentax LX, the Super Program, and the Spotmatic. I have learned so much from these cameras, but having been bitten by the Fuji bug, I found it hard to justify keeping both cameras brands, and gradually, I sold all my Pentax gear (except for the K1000, of course) to invest in Fujifilm. The decision still saddens me to this day.

Close to a year or so later, I found I still had in storage the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 and the Pentax O-GPS1, in other words, the building blocks for astrophotography, something I have never properly done, and still is a worth pursuit. I want to do it, just don't want to spend much on the learning process. Here comes the Pentax K5, a nine year old camera with 16MP, and a feature known as Astrotracer than when coupled with the O-GPS1 you get a fully functional Star Observer! So I went and bought a very, very cheap, used, bargain Pentax K5 and the 18-55mm WR kit lens (by the way, the camera is also weather sealed).

In the meantime, while I work on the logistics of night photography, I decided to try and test this very old camera and see how far I can push it, now that I have grown in experience, and probably prove that great photos come from skills more than gear.

So I did just that. After several failed early wake ups attempts to meet cloudy sunrises, today, early morning light was splendid, a wonderful moment to take a few more shots with the Pentax K5.

What have I concluded this far: with great light, the K5, rocks. The 18-55mm WR lens not so much. Owning Fujifilm optics, I could tell this Pentax version of a lens is honestly a kit lens, cheap optics, too much contrast and saturation, and so and so sharpness. Not necessarily a landscape lens, but it does a fair job for any new student in photography. All in all, I think this K5 one of these nights is gonna be ready to go and shoot some stars.