Pentax K7 Review
Pentax K7 Review (Updated 7-29-2010: Catch-In Focus/Fine Tune LCD Color, FIRMWARE 1.10 Section Added, Reverse Film Mode Samples)
May 2010, Carl Garrard
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I decided to go ahead and publish the Pentax K7 review in the same style format as the K-x review which is a sort of review diary format in which it will be updated frequently to add new sections. I have a lot written on the K7 but not all of it has been completely edited in full. Therefore I'll start off with a few sections and add as I edit/go. Hopefully those who are following my exploits with all mounts will appreciate what I've put together here on yet another Pentax.
Introduction: The Pentax K7 (Review Part I)
In May of 2009 Pentax announced the K7 DSLR as a successor to K20D then Pentax's high end DSLR. Without going back into time too much I'll just summarize the announcement and what it meant to Pentax. The K7 was introduced not only as a replacment for the K20D, but also as an entirely new and somewhat unique offering to the DSLR market. The two cameras really have very little in common with one another specifications wise, bar the 14.6mp Samsung sensor that was updated/improved for the K7.
At that time Canon and Nikon had two very strong DSLRs in the segment, the 50D and the D300- both leaders in the industry and powerhouse cameras in their own right. Pitted against this competition Pentax went in a bit different direction that the two leaders in the industry and indeed offered something a bit unique instead.
Comparatively the K7 has built in image stabilization which some will argue that for most situations (myself included) that this feature alone gives a much greater value than what Canon or Nikon have to offer at any price.
I remember reading about the K7 when it was announced and how the camera seemed to be an enthusiast photographers wishlist manifested in the flesh. Since I use multiple systems I bookmarked this camera in the back of my mind as a camera I might want to check out later on when I had time. Fast forward nearly a year, and that time has arrived.
Introduction: Initial Impressions
As many already know here I happened to pick up a K7 recently (just before taxes needed to be done this year) to see how much Pentax had improved upon the respectable K20d- a camera I also owned for some time and grew to like quite a bit. My main goal was to see what a modern DSLR (not 3 years in the tooth like my A700 was) had to offer in features and performance vs. the A700 and I was also curious to see how the K7 improved over the K20D as well.
Certainly there is legitimate testimony all over the net that the K7 is a completely updated camera. It's almost a new class of DSLR in it’s own respect and has won over many Pentax users like no other DSLR before it. Therefore, I wanted to see the camera myself if for any reason but out of sheer curiosity to see what the fuss was all about.
As a first impression I realized that Pentax’s K7 exudes quality, versatility, and adaptability. All of these qualities make it
especially appealing to myself as well might also be especially appealing to military photographers, traveling journalists,
outdoor photographers, and street photographers. Certainly
it is not limited to these segments only as you will see, instead is a
versatile machine excellently engineered to be many things all at once.
Because the K7 is remarkably quiet (one of the quietest shutter/mirror cycles of any dslr ever built), small, relatively lightweight, well built, water/dust resistant, and cold proof, the K7 makes it an ideally durable and discreet camera for those applications especially. Knowing a camera can basically handle whatever you or the environment can throw at it is a weight off a photographers mind.
Gear shouldn’t hinder opportunities it should afford them. The K7 seems to be designed with this singular philosophy in mind. With the weight of worry gone many photographic opportunities one might normally pass up are now available. Additionally, I realized that the K7’s quiet persona increases your odds of follow up shots of pets/wildlife or children sleeping, allowing for actual follow up shots. Obviously there are more situations a quiet camera comes in handy and this advantage simply cannot be ignored. Brilliant!
Try a follow up shot in similar volume sensitive situations with other DSLRS and most likely you can just about forget it. In use, I realized quickly that the K7 would allow several follow up shots in close proximity without ever disturbing my subjects. That’s a first for a dslr for me, but quite common with a muted digicam such as the Panasonic LC1 or Sony R1 (a great camera I used to shoot with so often).
Thank you Carl...
I will be watching this review as well as the Kx. I like the way you are going into detail about features that you wouldn't normaly see in the specs. This is great! I am already wanting one. When it has a stuck pixel, does the camera make it work again or does it replace the missing information with the surrounding pixel info. How does that work? I know the main thing is that it does work but I am curious. Thanks again for the great review:)
Paul
You're welcome Paul
Ill look more into how Pentax actually does this. The pixel on the LCD is what you are talking about, right? Not the sensor?
Carl
BTW I added two more sections today, Catch In Focus and Fine Tuning the LCD
Well, I'm not sure
Are the stuck pixels on the sensor? I had a Fuji S-2 (two of them) and I always had a problem with stuck pixels after a couple of years worth of shooting. What causes it? I always thought it was on the sensor. They showed up on my files when I looked at them on the computer. Is it just on the LCD on the Pentax? Did it show up on the computer? If it is something on the LCD that isn't on the file, I can live with that. especially if it can be fixed. I guess either way if it can be fixed.
Oh you were talking about my comment in the review
it was just the LCD is all. And the camera got the pixel to work through pixel mapping. It wasn't the sensor.
Carl
Yeah....that's great
Sounds like it is not a big deal. I was glad to hear that. I really haven't heard much of stuck pixels on the newer cameras. I'm hoping that's an issue that's been fixed with CMOS sensors. The Fuji was a CCD. I don't know if that is why it had that problem or not. I'm going to read today's entry now. Thanks.
I re-read what I typed on the review
and see why you were confused. Apparently I had too much crack that day and typed sensor instead of LCD. :)
My bad!
Carl
The catch in focus would be great
I could sure use it right now. I have something that is picking my seedlings off at the top of the ground. I have replanted them 3 times but it comes back and gets them every time. The flower pots are just outside the door so I could set up a camera and let it catch the theif in action! I think it is a bird but I'm not sure. This camera would be fun for that.
Precisely! Thats the kind of
Precisely!
Thats the kind of imagination thats needed to get the camera to work for you :).
I want to set my K7 up on a tripod, turn off the "auto off setting" so that the camera stays awake and ready all day or until the battery dies, and catch my cats jumping up on the counter :).
It's like setting a trap and later on you can review images to see if you caught anything! :)
Carl
I very reluctantly sent my K7 back
Carl, thanks for the review. I will follow it as you add more to it.
I had a K7 for awhile recently and thought it was just wonderful except for high ISO. I very reluctantly sent it back on the last day allowed to get a refund. For anyone who shoots mainly at less than ISO 800-1200 then the K7 is hard to beat. High ISO is not terrible or anything like that, but compared to my A700 it was worse. I use high ISO enough that I wasn't willing to take a step back in that area to take a step forward in other areas. Certainly other people could, and most likely would, judge differently. I will be watching closely for what Pentax does this year though. You can read a bit about what I wrote about the K7 here:
http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=4026
Carl video suggestions
I've mastered alot already, but quick question, what aperature do you set for video. I do mostly around the house, some front yard stuff (longer). Focus outside is easier as I roll it out past f/18, but indoors with the lower light I'm around f/5 but then I really have to do short takes, because I do the auto focus then run the film. I try to manual on the fly, but I have a little ways to go to master that. I was able to do the depth of field shot going from wife to daughter in one segment, very cool. Also, I only have the 16-50 DA* but I rented the DA* 50-135 and the 1.4 FA. I'll say that FA kicks ass. I can shoot 1.8 and be dead sharp at center in super low light. I love the internal motor, but I like everyone else worry about it dying, but until it does, it's fast.
Last, people are crazy at noise! I migrated from a300 (WHICH I STILL HAVE AND LIKE) to this and "oh my god" zero noise up to 1250 (my person set high limit) and I custom set my NR at 1600, just in case I reset to 1600 for some unusually low light and moving action on the fly. I literally have no noise adjustment on iPhoto on anything.
Daniel
K7 Help
Can anybody help with this problem. I have a friend who has just bought the K7. She shoots in JPEG (I have told her to shoot in RAW) and has the camera setup at 14M and 4 stars, it's highest JPEG setting. When she downloads the files via USB cable to PS the file size is reduced to 72pixels. Somehow between the camera and the computer the size is being reduced. Before I tell her to try downloading directly from the SD card or trying a lesser JPEG setting, I thought I would ask if anybody knew of a quick fix.
Allan
Use Mac
I use a Mac, but I have a funny feeling that this is a video monitor conversion issue, and not the file issue. RAW on the k-7 will be about 16-19 MB and JPeg about 2.5 to 3 MB. Many monitors are set to display 72 dpi (dots per inch) and that is probably what you are looking at. Look at the meta data. You should see all the camera settings and your copyright info (make sure you set both fields in your k-7). Since I use a Mac I did not use the companion software. I did install the software at work but its buggy, probably because of the network and does crash. You photos are certainly still there and still full sized, so it's o.k, this is a software issue. Also, the files in RAW are very big, for example my iMac is quickly running out of space on the hard drive. I don't know if you know this but you can leave your k-7 on Jpeg (best) and toggle RAW+ (both) manually on the left side. This way you can take JPegs for everyday stuff and RAW+ on more important stuff. Personal note, when I shot with my A300 I eventually migrated to all RAW and PP everything. Now I'm migrating back to JPeg because I'm finding it very hard to beat the JPeg engine in PP and why waste space if you can't get any better.
Plus, I use Pentax Forums, not as much talk as this website or really as fun, but more focused on shooting and problem solving. Also, they can discuss settings and shooting techinques like water color, temp customs, and movie making that are not possible here. Funny thing is you will find what you have learned about photo resizing useful, because that is what we use to post correct sized photos to that forum, funny. http://www.pentaxforums.com/
Daniel
The 72 pixel she sees mean
The 72 pixel she sees mean nothing. Tell her not to worry about it.
www.pentaxforums.com rules
Great website, lots of info there.
C
Thanks
Thanks Carl, will check it out
Hi Carl, nice review! May I
Hi Carl,
nice review! May I know what brand of screen protector are you using for the LCD?
thanks,
Rs,
Q
Thank you, more is coming
AC Maxx Screen Protector on Ebay, is what brand and where I bought it, I believe.
Pentax survey....
I just got an invitation to participate in a survey for Pentax lenses. It said on the page to spread the word. If there is anyone that owns Pentax or is interested you can take the survey here:
http://www.pentaxforums.com/survey.php
They will be posting the results on that forum and the results will be passed on. It could help in the next lens production. I know this is an Alpha forum but some people own both.
which K for a shooter like.. well.. me?
So Carl, as our Pentax-familiar Alpha-phile I'm curious about your thoughts. If you had these preferences, would you lean toward kx, k7 or wait 4 months (my likely choice)?
As you've noted, k7 features are unique as of today & foul-weather features are great. A ‘tweener’ cam like a K5 could be nice.. but Sony has exhausted me of such dreams. Waiting four months will let Sony play another card too, but it’s getting hard to justify waiting for any company to make a move, since another move will always be around the corner. I get the impression that an A200 user would take a short step up with kx, and one giant leap with a k7 or A700 (our local store is down to one: $1500 w/16105).
Your comments will not ‘sell’ me a camera, bit I'd like to hear your thoughts - I’ll spin them as I choose :^) and make my choice. Thanks!
Hey Jim
So the K100D Super didn't hit the spot?
I think perhaps maybe it's worth waiting for both companies as I expect both Pentax and Sony to come out with products. In fact, I'm certain both companies will show new stuff near or at fall. Either may make a move before Photokina depending on what Canon and Nikon do. I'm sure they don't want to get lost in their press with their announcements.
The K-x is turning out to be quite excellent. AWB and noise through ISO 3200 are after thoughts, honestly. The AF points, no biggie when light is anything but super dim- at least for me. In fact its one less distraction in the viewfinder. Just killer IQ and nicely tuned AWB (unlike any other DSLR I've used less the K7).
K-x prices will come down even further in Fall (if you can believe that) so you have nothing to lose by waiting unless you are really itching. I don't suspect the prices will fall all that much more on either the K-x or K7 because both are competitively priced for what you get already.
Sony well you know the story there. We all know about the same. More entry level cameras most likely with features removed that the average consumer won't use (notice I didn't say easier to use- I don't believe they are). The sleeper Sony could be an A600 model that would incorporate all the advanced features we love in the A700 but sharing the same chassis as the A7?? camera. Really hard to say and it depends on how aggressive Sony want to be in the APS-C higher end sector again.
Sony can play several cards, including a more affordable FF camera (that would be smart) as well.
I suspect at least 2 more models from Pentax (not replacement models from the current lineup).
If you're itching now, the K-x is great. It's a kick ass little camera (and I mean little), especially when armed with those great little LTD primes such as the 35mm LTD or 43mm LTD (a lens review I am currently working on that won't be published here). But heck it seems to keep up with whatever I've thrown at it so far, including BIF's and landscapes. It's worthy of praise.
I wouldn't worry about uber expensive glass unless you are printing over 20x30. The Pentax 18-55mm WR kit lens is fully capable of excellent sharp prints to that size, from either camera.
C
Oh the k100 is fine
not sure going smaller is good 4 my hands & k7 is a good size match to a200. Really need to hold a kx first but i'm ok for now. Fun times w/chinon 28mm & riekanon 135 pk lenses!
cashback ending & momentum shift
Life is what happens while we make plans, and the Bing notice of cashback ending caught me. A chance to get the K-7 body for under $750 net of cashback could not be ignored, wrecking my plans to await the next wondercam announcements from Sony or Pentax. I'll be working less with my good ol' Alpha gear and more with the K-7, 16-45 Pentax and 55-200 Sigma (still seeking a 50 prime). This will be a big step up, similar to the A700 in many features but with A200's size (that was important to me) and fresher tech, as your posts have noted. I'll let you know my thoughts in about 10 days (yes, free shipping too!). Thanks for sharing yours!
Wow Jim
Impressive.
If I can offer one suggestion, it is to read the manual. Not because you aren't capable of figuring out how to use it or that it is too complicated to use, rather because the K7 is so loaded you need to see all the functionality to believe it.
Congrats on that purchase, sounds like quite a good deal. The 16-45mm is a very good lens too. Has CA's but the K7 will auto-correct for that :)
C
Should I buy the Pentax K7
I have an old Pentax K1000 I ran across it the other day with all the lenses and filters that I had bought for it. I just loved that camera and shot excellent pictures with it. In a photo magazine I had picked up I read that all Pentax digital cameras will fit those lenses. Now I am interested in buying a SLR so I can use those lenses and filters. Is the K7 the one I want to buy? I have been reading tons of reviews about this camera, tho the video is not really an interest to me but can't seem to locate a K20D to look at since they are discontinued. Any help or suggestions to this situation would be useful.
Thanks....
I say go for it!
If I had the money right now, I would buy one. The K-x is also getting good reviews but if you do a lot of outdoor shots, the k-7 is a great choice. The only thing I have heard negative about it is the high ISO having some noise. Most people don't use the high ISO. If that is something you think you would need, the K-x is better for that. It gets good reviews wherever you go to read about it. It is also on the list of top selling entry level cameras. My personal choice would be the K-7 for the Weather Resistant body and lenses. Hope that helps. Pentax also has a forum for their users. You can get some good info there too.
http://www.pentaxforums.com/
I took small steps
Finding a refurb k100d online made my transition easier; it has shake reduction, a KM5d-equivalent sensor, and takes all bayonet mounts since the last ice age :^). It convinced me that I could transition to thumbwheel control easily enough, and that older PK lenses are still valuable. The K-7 will be a huge step up (and has two wheels) but it felt reassuring to try a Pentax first.
I had planned on the k100d being my reserve / astroimage body, but I could be persuaded to let it be the token tryout Pentax, passing it around as a cheap sale or rental; drop a note in my box if you find that appealing.
Thanks for the
Thanks for the feedback.....
I am also knew at trying to figure out how to respond on this website since I just happened upon it earlier today and liked all the useful info and thought putting my question out there would be a good idea. Right now I can buy this camera at a good price on Amazon and their good prices are here today and gone tomorrow. The local stores to me have the camera for over $1000 plus tax and if I can use the lenses I already have that would be perfect. My pictures of choice are outdoor scenes and my pets and grandchild. I just got back from Sisters, Oregon and was wishing for a better camera then my little Canon A570is which does take good pictures but no zoom power. I will check out the website of Pentax forums.
You may find this interesting
http://www.pentaximaging.com/slr/K-7/
Right under the picture of the camera there is a box that says "Watch Video". One is of some cute dogs and the other one is of a little girl chasing bubbles. Since you said you take photos of your pets and grandchild, I thought you may like those. Don't forget, the K-7 also has the video function that would come in handy for those situations. I say buy it if you can get a good price on Amazon. You should also check E-bay. Walmart.com carries them also and I'm not sure about Best Buy. If you get one, show us some photos. Good luck!
Carl, I have a question
Does the K-7 allow you to shoot RAW and JPG at the same time? I was on their site and I never could find that info. And when are you going to update this review. Huh? What's that? Soon! LOL I know you are busy. I'm thinking seriously about buying one of these AND keeping my Sony. If I can round up the money. Do you think they will be replacing this camera already like they forum is suggesting?
Yes it does
and not only that, you can choose the size and quality of the Jpeg that gets recorded along with it.
Working on multiple projects right now, almost finished with two, soon as I'm done with those two I'll be adding more info about the K7. I want to add a long term use report that focuses on using the K7 in the real world, we'll see how it goes. :).
Its hard to say on the replacement honestly. There are several rumors out there about the K7, a K5, a higher than K7 model, all kinds of stuff. If the K7 is the camera you want, and the price is right, no use putting it off I'd think. Keep good care of it and if something better comes along at Photokina, sell it on ebay :).
Carl