Your hands-on take on the K-7


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le petit prince

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Jan 26, 2004
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For K-7 owners to share their impressions, mini-reviews, quirks of the camera and so on.

Mine:
* Note I come from the K100Ds (which I love), so I am biased that way in my opinions.

* The size of the K-7 is a pleasant surprise.. very compact. Yes, I know it's been said and shown before. But I'm still kind of happily dazed as to how small it is - almost the same as the K100Ds. And I can see now why and how some 'outside' reviewers and other brand users may not regard our flagship as a semi-pro class DSLR, because it's just so small in comparison.

* Solid, dense feel in the hands.

* Don't have the 'where does my little finger hold onto?" issue. :p

* Liking the battery already, despite it still being charged (and hence no photos or setup yet), because it's a 1-piece convenience. After juggling 2 sets of 4 eneloops for so long, I can see how this will make life so much easier..

More to come!
 

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Grats. My K100D to K20D move was amazing (to the extent that I couldn't keep the K100D even though I kinda wanted a second body) - K100D to K7 must be... ;)

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Note: I'm impressted that the Pentax K-7 got better support from Adobe than the Canon 500D. K-7 compatibility was previously added to Lightroom 2.4 ;)

See the readme: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4508
 

I am actually at a loss with all the buttons. :confused:
Everything is accessible from external buttons not like K100D where I had to access menus.
This is the most impressive impression I have the 1st time I inspect it in some detail. ISO, WB, metering mode, AF mode, everything! at the touch of a button.
These are really big pluses for me already :)

Even though its weather sealed and has a magnesium allow body, I cradle it like a baby :D
 

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I am actually at a loss with all the buttons. :confused:
Everything is accessible from external buttons not like K100D where I had to access menus.
This is the most impressive impression I have the 1st time I inspect it in some detail. ISO, WB, metering mode, AF mode, everything! at the touch of a button.
These are really big pluses for me already :)

Even though its weather sealed and has a magnesium allow body, I cradle it like a baby :D

I guess you never tried a KM 7D :bsmilie:

7d-top.jpg
 

seems like everyone is jumping from k100d to k7.. i'm part of everyone too!

:bsmilie::bsmilie:

*although k100d and k7 is about the same size, the grip of k7 is much much much better and it feels more sturdy than k100d.

*i love those external buttons on k7 as compared to 100d, where you have to access menu just to change white balance, drive mode etc etc etc. but then again, i guess i am too used to k100d and it's pretty confusing at times.

*i am a sucker for the new shutter sound. :bsmilie: hearing it makes me happy

*say bye bye to "BATTERY DEPLETED"! my k100d has been pretty temperamental and rejecting my batteries recently.

:D
 

Have to get used to buttons. I preferred the menu interface.
 

Have to get used to buttons. I preferred the menu interface.

You still can use menus if you want to. :)

But direct buttons/levers is faster, and those on K-7 are well spaced and laid-out, just need more time to get used to. I managed to get used to it after fiddling awhile.

*although k100d and k7 is about the same size, the grip of k7 is much much much better and it feels more sturdy than k100d.

*i love those external buttons on k7 as compared to 100d, where you have to access menu just to change white balance, drive mode etc etc etc. but then again, i guess i am too used to k100d and it's pretty confusing at times.

*i am a sucker for the new shutter sound. :bsmilie: hearing it makes me happy

*say bye bye to "BATTERY DEPLETED"! my k100d has been pretty temperamental and rejecting my batteries recently.
:D

Totally agree about the grip. It is deeper and easier to hold.

Ditto for shutter sound. I'm hearing impaired (severe-profound hearing loss) and I still can hear the K100Ds chunk distinctly! But with K-7, I feel it more than I (barely) hear it.

Even though its weather sealed and has a magnesium allow body, I cradle it like a baby :D

Me too, heh.

And I'm the type who treats my stuff not so gently. Honeymoon still on and sizzling, I guess.

***

* SD card: Taking it out can be difficult; needs some force. :(

* No problem with press-twist to change mode, unlike what some have reported elsewhere.

* As per my preferences, during setup, I turned OFF all the beeps, lights, instant review, status screen and distracting stuff. So much more than for K100Ds. The K-7's customisation options are.. jaw-dropping.

* I guess those K10/20D folks are smiling indulgently at us K100D upgraders; how awed we are by direct access buttons on bodies (no more menu-diving, yay!), 2 wheels, etc. Haha!
 

seems like everyone is jumping from k100d to k7.. i'm part of everyone too!

:bsmilie::bsmilie:

*although k100d and k7 is about the same size, the grip of k7 is much much much better and it feels more sturdy than k100d.

*i love those external buttons on k7 as compared to 100d, where you have to access menu just to change white balance, drive mode etc etc etc. but then again, i guess i am too used to k100d and it's pretty confusing at times.

*i am a sucker for the new shutter sound. :bsmilie: hearing it makes me happy

*say bye bye to "BATTERY DEPLETED"! my k100d has been pretty temperamental and rejecting my batteries recently.

:D

hahaha... so many happy k7 users around.. they seems to be smiling non stop! haha... any hand on take from k10d/k20d users? =D
 

The horizon control has shown me that i often take photos which are not exactly level..

The O-ME is not very useful...
 

The horizon control has shown me that i often take photos which are not exactly level..

The O-ME is not very useful...

Mmm, elaborate?

I have the OME eyepiece too on my K100Ds, havent't tried on K-7.

And my horizons have always been a disaster, need to straighten in pp. So the electronic level in K-7 is a real useful feature!
 

The O-ME results in too much crop...

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All in all, the K-7 is clearly an obviously better camera than the K20D. I would 700 more to buy it over the K20D (both new).
 

hahaha... so many happy k7 users around.. they seems to be smiling non stop! haha... any hand on take from k10d/k20d users? =D

mm! hey hey... i mean hands on take on k7 from those k10d/k20d upgraders... heh...
 

mm! hey hey... i mean hands on take on k7 from those k10d/k20d upgraders... heh...

Comparing to a K20:

K7 feels very nice, focussing seems marginally faster generally - definitely faster in the dark, the grip is noticeably better, I like the horizon control, the fact that now Pentax Hyper Program (P-mode) is super useful (can basically stick it there almost 100%, since there's now an ISO button).

Really dislike that movies are modal (i.e. forces a change from PSAM to shoot video). Would much prefer if I could use (for example) DOF preview to activiate movie mode.

Shutter is much quieter, viewfinder blackout is much quicker, makes it feel much sharper.

AF point selection is modal, so the layout isn't worse.

Picture quality based on blog posts is likely to be very similar for RAW, haven't really compared.

(Sorry, no real time to play. Work is pressing)
 

got built-in levelling.. oh dear, i forgot... drool.

Yeah, for me this is basically the winner of the "most useful feature" sweepstakes.

Video looks gorgeous btw, but MF is tough.
 

A quick test of HDR. Usually there is a very dramatic sunset here (an exposure nightmare), if the skies are clear...........

standard hdr after tweaking contrast etc. Image is quite flat out of cam.
IMGP0017b.JPG


strong hdr after a bit of colour tweaking. Looks fake although the skies are good.

IMGP0018a.JPG
 

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strong hdr after a bit of colour tweaking. Looks fake although the skies are good.

not sure what you did, but you have introduced a lot of haloes throughout.

was the sunset colorful? it looks dull here.. in which case, maybe you do not really need hdr, since lighting will be evenly flat. the buildings will be backlit, but k7 should have same DR as k20d or better, so should not be problem. of course another story with k100d..
 

the halo was out of cam. Strong HDR is probably not good if there is trees and buildings in the scene. I was hoping for a very red sun set to test HDR but no go when I was there.
 

the halo was out of cam. Strong HDR is probably not good if there is trees and buildings in the scene. I was hoping for a very red sun set to test HDR but no go when I was there.

ah, yes, in general hdr is horrible with anything above the horizon, particular if there is strong definition.. you should see what it does to thin lines.. which is why i have given up using it for the most part.

the natural hdr looks good though.

anyways, thanks for posting up these pictures, i was interested in this function. if you do get good lighting, i.e. more dramatic, try it again please and post the results!! :)
 

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