Pentax K7 high ISO performance??

[Shahlan]

At what ISO is the pentax K7 workable up to??I am really comtemplating of dumping my 50D for this unresistable offer that pentax is having locally...thus it'll be most appreciated by those current K7 owners if you guys could give me feedback

Will the photos produced be very noisy at high ISO, lets say if I were to do shoots at a concert indoor?I have googled it up and there are instances where the images are totally unacceptable and uncomparable to rival systems...

Thanks for your inputs in advance.

 

[sircam]

Will the photos produced be very noisy at high ISO, lets say if I were to do shoots at a concert indoor?I have googled it up and there are instances where the images are totally unacceptable and uncomparable to rival systems...

If you run the images through a decent NR process, I can bet the results will just be about nearly as clean as those from a K-x (or perhaps maybe a stop lower, at the most.)

The K-x simply dishes out the pics clean with in-camera NR performed on them. The K7 leaves in the noise and details and gives the user the choice of dealing with the noise. So adequate NR strategies are needed to get the best from the K7.

 

[Shahlan]

Care to share how you normally deal with this issue..The process itself?any particular software you use?

 

[scorpioh]

Care to share how you normally deal with this issue..The process itself?any particular software you use?

You can start with Jpegs but probably better that you start with raw. Pass it through noise ninja or noiseware or your favourite noise reduction software, I think you should get decent output even at iso 3200 for k7. In fact I was very surprised that my k10d handled the noise pretty well at iso1000 w/o any noise reduction. It is pretty important that you try your best to get the correct exposure or +0.3/0.6ev as well and high iso should be manageable.

 

[elavan]

search the forum.

"the samsung and sony sensors have strengths and weaknesses, i don't know if the excellent qualities of both can ever be fused into one "sensor to rule them all" as far as APS-C is concerned

i've been experimenting with neat image + unsharp mask in photoshop, it has been working well, able to reduce the repulsive black grain and the blue blotches problem at 6400. I must say that the firmware amplification from ISO3200 to 6400 is really disappointing. within it's native range from ISO 100-3200, the k7 retains film-grain characteristics throughout and excellent detail preservation. at 6400, the grain becomes very destructive; aggressive NR actually "recovers" details instead.

it's true to my observation that firmware algorithm can bridge the gap. i will try to upload results to share with other k7 owners, to help relief any high ISO woes"

left - before
right - after

K7, ISO 6400, Tamron 17-50mm, 36mm, +0.7EV, f7.1, Ctr-weighted metering, 1/20s

shot in weak fluorescent lighting and with black subjects to demonstrate this key weakness in the samsung sensor: shadows/black noise.

Firstly, Neat Image (auto profiling, detail preservation). Photoshop CS4: USM, 100% radius 1 (re-sharpening only done to "after" file)

Pretty satisfied with the outcome... Managing textured surfaces @ ISO 6400 will be my next endeavor..

by the way, 50D has obnoxious NR to me, so it's mostly YMMV. the only real noise problem with k7 is blue blotches, the rest of "noise" you see is mostly "grain". there is a difference. k7 also by far has very low pattern noise.

 

[Shahlan]

I doubt i'll bump the ISO too high till 6400...issit still acceptable at 1600??

 

[scorpioh]

I doubt i'll bump the ISO too high till 6400...issit still acceptable at 1600??

Definitely acceptable if you do some NR. Else, out-of-camera jpegs shd be fine if you aren't fussy.

 

[night86mare]

Will the photos produced be very noisy at high ISO, lets say if I were to do shoots at a concert indoor?I have googled it up and there are instances where the images are totally unacceptable and uncomparable to rival systems...

so back in the days when high iso was not that great, no one took concert photographs.

 

[Shahlan]

They do rite???All I'm saying is currently I am already on a canon system which I feel meets my needs in terms of photography...but to build my army of lenses gonna cost a lot...with the promotion K7 is having and its video function I am really tempted to switch camp since I have yet to really buy most of the lenses that I need...

The question is, am I getting a better body by buying K7 in terms of capabilities or its better for me to just keep my current canon system...That is all...

 

[woefulwabbit]

They do rite???All I'm saying is currently I am already on a canon system which I feel meets my needs in terms of photography...but to build my army of lenses gonna cost a lot...with the promotion K7 is having and its video function I am really tempted to switch camp since I have yet to really buy most of the lenses that I need...

The question is, am I getting a better body by buying K7 in terms of capabilities or its better for me to just keep my current canon system...That is all...

I think overall the K-7 is a better body.. will be like upgrading to the 7D.

 

[sircam]

The question is, am I getting a better body by buying K7 in terms of capabilities or its better for me to just keep my current canon system...That is all...

That depends. Which Canon body are you using right now? What is your lens lineup currently? Remember, Pentax lenses are great, but they aren't too cheap either... at least nowadays.

 

[night86mare]

The question is, am I getting a better body by buying K7 in terms of capabilities or its better for me to just keep my current canon system...That is all...

there is nothing that is absolutely better for everyone, at least not in this case.

if you are talking about a hello kitty camera and a dslr, no doubt about it, the dslr allows a lot more room and options.

but when you are talking about dslrs, every individual's needs is different. i'm not going to be biased and say that pentax is better than canon. that's ludicrous.

every system has its unique pros and cons. you can have a d3x with all the lenses nikon has to offer, but if you can't compose, you might as well use a pns. the only difference between your pictures and a layman auntie's pictures would be that yours has less grain and can be printed larger. but it still remains a snapshot. :bsmilie:

 

[elavan]

They do rite???All I'm saying is currently I am already on a canon system which I feel meets my needs in terms of photography...but to build my army of lenses gonna cost a lot...with the promotion K7 is having and its video function I am really tempted to switch camp since I have yet to really buy most of the lenses that I need...

The question is, am I getting a better body by buying K7 in terms of capabilities or its better for me to just keep my current canon system...That is all...

there's in-cam NR that can be turned to high, then ISO 1600 is usable but for video, take note of heat issues/tolerances, the circuit protection controlling your per clip recording duration can be very "protective"..

in singapore's ambient indoor condition (no aircon) with some stills shooting in between, sometimes i get only 1min + of video recording. so depending on your requirement, you may find this annoying. if the environment is nice and cool like an indoor concert hall, shldn't be problematic at all.

i've handled a 50D before, you'll find the k7 really tiny and more holdable, and it's indoor white balance performance blows the 50D away. 50D has no focus assist lamp and when you focus indoors you need the flash assist, which can be uber annoying to your subjects. but the good point is u may get the performers distracted and look at you instead :bsmilie:

 

[timo]

At what ISO is the pentax K7 workable up to??I am really comtemplating of dumping my 50D for this unresistable offer that pentax is having locally...thus it'll be most appreciated by those current K7 owners if you guys could give me feedback

Will the photos produced be very noisy at high ISO, lets say if I were to do shoots at a concert indoor?I have googled it up and there are instances where the images are totally unacceptable and uncomparable to rival systems...

Thanks for your inputs in advance.

I use Noise Ninja with profiles I have created with the camera itself. It's very effective, but I get best results using slightly less than the full strength. At default strength it can remove too much detail and you end up with that slightly plastic look that (if you don't mind me saying so) I associate with Canon high ISO raw pics at full size. The great thing is you can use the preview to get the degree of reduction just right for each image. I tried using it on some high ISO test images from a review site taken with the K7 and KX - everybody's raving about the KX's high ISO - I decided you could get within about half a stop of the same result or even closer using the K-7 and NN. I wouldn't pretend my test was very scientific though. I'm very happy with the K-7 at high ISO but it is worth investing in Noise Ninja or Neat Image, either standalone or a plugin.

I got much less neurotic about noise when I discovered that most noise viewed at 100% on the screen is hardly visible on a print.

 

[scorpioh]

I got much less neurotic about noise when I discovered that most noise viewed at 100% on the screen is hardly visible on a print.

And Pentax's noise is usually grainlike and well, pretty nice. <:

 

[beniz]

If using iso 1600 and below, when resize, u cant see the noise for sure ;p

For noise, there are ways to get around it and best is k7 still can take video for your concert too

 

[multivitamins]

That depends. Which Canon body are you using right now? What is your lens lineup currently? Remember, Pentax lenses are great, but they aren't too cheap either... at least nowadays.

+10 points. Im spending so much on my pentax system as compared to my canon. Pentax lenses crave me so much...... and now that the 100WR is born..... I think I might sell some of my canon lenses...... Beware... Pentax lenses can be addictive as compared to other system...... especially the old trio limiteds - 31ltd, 43ltd and 77ltd....

 

[banana0ne]

+10 points. Im spending so much on my pentax system as compared to my canon. Pentax lenses crave me so much...... and now that the 100WR is born..... I think I might sell some of my canon lenses...... Beware... Pentax lenses can be addictive as compared to other system...... especially the old trio limiteds - 31ltd, 43ltd and 77ltd....

wah, the trio may burn your wallet... plus f* 300, plus the DA limiteds,

 

[dnaxe]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41054275@N07/sets/72157622472329634/

F1 Rocks shots (might be brighter than a typical concert).

 

[Shahlan]

All the photos post processed with NR of straight out from camera??