Pentax K-7 Review

June 24, 2009 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Pentax K-7 is one of the more exciting new DSLR cameras of 2009, signalling Pentax's entry into the super-competitive semi-pro category. Going up against the likes of the Canon EOS 50D and Nikon D300, the 14.6 megapixel K7 certainly has a lot to offer on paper, surpassing its main rivals in many ways. The Pentax K-7 joins the growing list of DSLR cameras that can record video, with a best quality setting of 1536x1024 pixels at 30fps. In-camera High Dynamic Range is another up-to-the-minute feature, combining three differently exposed images on-the-fly to create a single photo with expanded dynamic range. Autofocus, traditionally one of the weaker points of Pentax SLRs, has been significantly upgraded to a new 11-point wide-frame AF module with 9 cross sensors and 2 line sensors. The dust-, weather- and freeze-proof Pentax K-7 has 77 weather / dustproof seals, a stainless-steel alloy chassis, a shutter designed for 100,000 releases, a top shutter speed of 1/8000th second, a through-the-lens optical viewfinder with 100% frame coverage and 0.92x magnification, and a new 77-segment matrix meter. With barely a pause for breath, the K7 boasts a high-resolution 3-inch LCD monitor with 920k dots, built-in dust removal and shake-reduction systems, continuous shooting rate of 5.2fps, improved Live View with Face Recognition AF, and automatic compensation of lens distortion and lateral chromatic aberrations with DA and DFA lenses. In the UK the Pentax K-7 costs £1199.99 body only, £1229.99 with the 18-55mm kit lens, and £1329.99 with the 18-55mm + 50-200mm double kit lens. In the US, the K-7 body only costs $1299.95 and the new lenses are priced at $199.95 for the 18-55mm and $249.95 for the 50-200mm.

Ease of Use

The Pentax K-7 is a little smaller - 96.5(H) x 130.5(W) x 72.5(D) - and a little lighter - 670g without the battery or memory card fitted - than the older K20D model, but in many respects the two cameras share a very similar external design. As soon as you pick the K-7 up, you can instantly tell that it's a serious camera, feeling more solid than its main rivals, the Canon EOS 50D and Nikon D300, despite being quite a lot smaller than them. This is mainly due to the K-7's stainless-steel alloy frame and lightweight magnesium-steel alloy body, which is a world away from Pentax's much smaller and lighter entry-level DSLR cameras, signifying the company's attempt to provide a DSLR that will appeal to more experienced photographers. The K-7 is dust, cold and water resistant, thanks to a system of 77 special seals used throughout the design, and it can operate at temperatures as low as -10°C. This shows itself most obviously via the battery compartment and the memory card slot. The former is opened via a small rotating latch, which is reassuring but a little fiddly to use if you're in a hurry though.

The K-7 features a newly designed shutter unit which provides a fast top shutter speed of 1/8000th second and a very competitive 100,000 shutter release life-span, a figure more commonly associated with professional SLR cameras. One of our main criticisms of the K20D kit has been addressed with the introduction of a new standard 18-55mm kit lens that's better built and more weather-proof than its predecessor. The smc PENTAX-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6AL WR lens features a newly designed, simplified weather-resistant construction designed to minimise the intrusion of water and moisture into the lens barrel. There's also a special coating which repels dust, water and grease and makes it easy to wipe off fingerprints and cosmetics. Consequently it feels much more at home on the K-7 than the previous 18-55mm kit lens did on the K20D, although it remains a rather slow lens at both ends of the focal length (f3.5-5.6).

As it's aimed at the more experienced digital SLR owner, the K-7 is a complex camera in terms of functionality and the number of external controls that it offers, with over 25 in total and a lot of them having more than one function. Despite the presence of so many buttons and switches, the Pentax K-7 doesn't feel too cluttered or intimidating, although it will certainly take some time to adapt to for people moving up from an entry-level SLR. Departing from the recent trend of ultra-compact SLR models, the K-7 is definitely designed for "normal" hands. The camera has a deep, contoured handgrip on the right-hand side, coated in a rubberized compound to aid grip, that enabled me to use three fingers to hold it and my right forefinger to operate the shutter button. There is a generous contoured area where your right thumb sits, with the rest of the body finished in a textured matt black. The shutter release action on the Pentax K-7 is quieter than on the K20D but still quite loud and mechanical, something that you will either love or hate. I liked it, although it isn't great for close-up candid photography as your subject will probably hear you if you get too close.

On the front of the camera body is the RAW button, which instantly sets the image quality to whichever RAW format is selected in the menu system (either Pentax's PEF format or Adobe DNG), useful if you are shooting in JPEG and want to quickly switch to RAW mode for a particular image. Located underneath is the Autofocus Mode switch, with three available modes, and above a small button for opening the pop-up flash, which extends quite high above the lens to help minimise red-eye. On the bottom of the K-7 is the weather-sealed battery compartment, housing a rechargeable 1860mAh D-LI90 lithium-ion battery. The camera managed over 750 shots using the supplied rechargeable Li-ion battery before being depleted, a significant improvement on the older K20D. There's also a metal tripod mount that's perfectly in-line with the centre of the lens mount.

On the right-hand side of the K-7 is the weather-sealed SD / SDHC memory card slot, and located below is the remote cable release connector. On the left-hand side is a large vertical flap covering the DC In, AV Out and HDMI connectors. The HDMI port allows you to connect the K-7 to a high-def TV set, but only if you purchase an optional HDMI mini-cable. Above this is a small Mic port for connecting an external microphone, protected by a round rubber seal that refused to stay in place.

Pentax K-7 Pentax K-7
Front Rear

The Pentax K-7 follows conventional DSLR design in having a shooting mode dial on the top-left of the camera, which allows you to select either one of the advanced mode like Aperture-priority, Shutter-Priority and Manual, or the more point-and-shoot Auto and Program modes. There are no scene modes on this camera, signaling its intent as a serious photographic tool. You'll instantly notice that the K-7 has a couple of unusual shooting modes that you won't have seen before on any other camera (apart from the older K10D and K20D models). These are the Sensitivity-Priority and Shutter & Aperture-Priority modes, and they are genuinely useful additions.

Sensitivity-Priority automatically selects the best combination of aperture and shutter speed for your chosen ISO speed. The sensitivity can be shifted instantly (in 1/2 or 1/3 steps) by turning the rear control dial. This allows you to quickly select an ISO speed, without having to access the menu system, which is very useful in rapidly changing light conditions. In Shutter & Aperture-Priority mode the camera selects the most appropriate ISO speed for a shutter speed and aperture combination, allowing you to use ISO sensitivity as a third factor in determining the correct exposure. As digital cameras have always offered the unique ability to instantly change the sensitivity, it's surprising that Pentax are still the only manufacturer to allow you to use ISO in this way. At the base of the shooting mode dial is a switch which selects from one of the three metering modes - multi-segment, centre-weighted or spot - which all use the new 77-segment multi-pattern metering system.

On the right hand side of the top of the K-7 is the small shutter button, surrounded by the on/off switch. This has a third setting, which by default activates the traditional Depth of Field Preview function, stopping down the lens so that you can see the effect of your chosen aperture. Located in front of the shutter button is one of the e-dials, predominately used to change the shutter speed, while behind it are the Exposure Compensation and ISO buttons - these commonly-used functions are now ideally located for easy access. Pentax have retained the traditional top LCD panel which displays quite a comprehensive amount of information about the current camera settings, including the shooting mode, current aperture or shutter speed, flash mode, battery level, number of remaining frames and drive mode. A similar amount of settings are also displayed in the viewfinder. In addition, when you turn the K-7 on or change the shooting mode, a graphical overview of how that mode operates is briefly displayed on the rear LCD screen. The Pentax K-7 does a very good job of providing easily understood information about the settings that it's using.

The Pentax K-7 has a traditional eye-level optical TTL viewfinder which offers an impressive 100% scene coverage, beating both the Canon EOS 50D and Nikon D300. Being able to see exactly what will be captured means that you can only blame yourself for poor composition and unwanted details creeping into the frame. The viewfinder is bright and free of any distortions or aberrations, making it suitable for both auto and manual focusing. It also features a new Natural-Bright-Matte III focusing screen to improve focusing accuracy during manual-focus operation. The in-finder status LCD runs horizontally along the bottom and it shows most of the camera's key settings.

The rear of the camera is dominated by the large 3 inch LCD screen. The K-7's LCD screen has a very high resolution of 920K dots, wide viewing angle and it remains visible outdoors in all but the brightest of conditions, making it one of the best LCD screens that we've seen on a DSLR. The colour temperature of the screen can be modified if you think it doesn't match that of your calibrated computer monitor, but the contrast and gamma cannot be altered. Gripping the K-7 with both hands means that the glass of the screen inevitably soon becomes covered with thumbprints, though this is true of most DSLRs in its class. The rear screen also doubles as a comprehensive status display, which can be called up by pressing the OK button in record mode. If you then press the INFO button, you can also change all the settings right on the screen using a combination of the navigation pad and the rear e-dial. This ingenious solution spares you the pain of having to enter the menu, and makes most setting changes very simple.

Located above the LCD screen and to the left of the viewfinder are the self-explanatory Play and Delete buttons. To the right of the viewfinder is the rear e-dial, mainly used for changing the aperture, and the AE-L button, handily placed for locking the exposure. Underneath the rather innocuous looking button with a small green dot is unique to the K-7. It has two uses - firstly, when shooting in Manual mode, a single push of the green button allows you to instantly set the correct exposure for the subject, as calculated by the camera, useful if you need a starting point for your own exposure. Secondly, the K-7 offers a Hyper Program function which instantly switches to either the Shutter-Priority or Aperture-Priority mode from the Program mode, simply by turning either of the control dials on the grip. Pressing the Green button then returns to the Program mode.

The AF button is an alternative way of locking the focus, surrounded by the Autofocus Area switch which can be set to Centre AF, Auto/All 11 AF points, or User Selectable. The new LV button turns on the K-7's Live View mode (see below for more details). The traditional 4-way navigation pad is split into separate buttons, providing instant access to the drive mode/self-timer, custom image, flash and white balance settings, with the OK button confirming actions. The Menu button accesses all of the 89 different menu options that the camera offers, reflecting the fact that this a complex and very customisable DSLR. Thankfully you will only have to set about half of the settings once and can then forget about them. The menu system has a fairly logical tabbed system with four main tabs, Rec. Mode, Playback, Set-Up and Custom Setting, each divided into several sub-pages, and it's easily readable with a bright display and a large font size making it perfectly visible even in low light.

Pentax K-7 Pentax K-7
Front

Top

Live View has thankfully been greatly improved on the K-7, offering a much more usable system than the K20D. You can use it to hold the K-7 at arm's length or mount the camera on a tripod, with a single press of the new LV button on the rear displaying the current scene on the LCD screen. Focusing is still achieved by pressing the small AF button on the rear of the camera, rather than half-pressing the shutter-button, which is less intuitive. Thankfully the LCD screen no longer blanks out momentarily, making it much easier to use Live View for tracking a moving subject. In theory at least - unfortunately the AF system in Live View mode takes several seconds to lock onto the subject, even if it's stationary, making it much better suited to subjects that don't move. The new Face Recognition AF mode does work quite well, as promised quickly identifying people in the frame, but again it takes a couple of seconds to lock onto a non-moving subject. Impressively Live View can be used in the continuous shooting mode with no restrictions on the 5.2fps rate, as the K-7 sets the mirror to the lock-up position.

Alternatively you can use manual focus in Live View mode, with up to 10x magnification available via the Info button to help you fine-tune the focus (you can also use the Info button to magnify the subject by up to 6x when Auto Focus is on). All of our main criticisms of the K20D's Live View mode have been addressed on the K-7. Most of the main camera settings are displayed, including a helpful electronic level that helps to keep your horizons straight, although a histogram is still conspicuous by its absence. You can now change the aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, ISO speed and a number of other settings when Live View is activated, which means that it's much more than just a glorified version of the Digital Preview option, as on the K20D. A big improvement then, let down only by the slow and hit-and-miss AF system.

Live View is also used for the feature that will generate a lot of interest in the Pentax K-7: its movie mode. This is the first ever Pentax DSLR camera to shoot HD quality video, recording high-definition video at either 1536 x 1024 pixels or 1280 x 720 pixel resolution at 30fps in the Motion JPEG (AVI) format. Video can also be recorded at 640 x 416 pixels at 30fps. The maximum size of a single video clip is either 4 gigabytes or 25 minutes. There's a built-in microphone for mono recording and also a socket for connecting an external stereo microphone. It also has an HDMI port for playback on a HD TV, using the industry-standard HDMI mini-out connection, but note that you'll need to purchase a suitable cable separately. You can also still connect the K-7 to a standard TV set via NTSC/PAL.

By offering video capture in a DSLR, Pentax has made it possible for filmmakers to play with depth of field the way they never could, taking advantage of the relatively big APS-C image sensor and the wide assortment of Pentax lenses. There are, however, some notable drawbacks to the Pentax K-7's video mode. It's quite difficult to actually start recording one. You have to set the Mode Dial to the Movie mode, then the AF-On button to set the focus, then press the shutter button to begin recording (with the same button ending the movie). It's not on a par with the one-button system that some rivals offer, and you can't take a still shot during recording either. As with all other DSLR cameras that have a vidoe mode, you can't autofocus during movie recording. Focusing manually is the only option, although most AF lenses have MF rings with very little 'travel' between their close-focus point and infinity, and in a quiet environment it's also possible to hear the sound of the focusing ring in the video.

In addition you can't set the aperture from the camera during recording, only before, so you will want to use lenses that have an aperture ring if possible. The K-7 can be set to Auto Aperture Control, which removes the flexibility of being able to set the aperture yourself but at least enables the camera to change it during recording to suit the subject matter. The shutter speed cannot be set by the user in movie mode either, so you will have to rely on the camera's auto-exposure system while filming. Handholding the K-7D and shooting video is very difficult, with the DSLR form factor not lending itself well to controlled shooting at arm's length. It's a much better idea to mount the camera on a dedicated video tripod. Casual users hoping to grab some quality footage of the kids may be put off by the inherent difficulties of shooting video using the relatively alien SLR format.

The Pentax K-7 features an improved Shake Reduction system. Turn it on via the main menu option and the K-7 automatically compensates for camera shake, which is a slight blurring of the image that typically occurs at slow shutter speeds, providing approximately 2.5 to four shutter steps of compensation. As this system is built-into the camera body, it works with almost any lens that you attach to the K-7, providing a significant cost advantage over DSLRs from Canon and Nikon, which use a lens-based image stabilisation system (compatible lenses are the PENTAX K-, KA-, KAF-, KAF2- and KAF3-mount lenses; screw-mounted lenses (with an adapter); and 645- and 67-system lenses (with an adapter)). In practice I found that it does make a noticeable difference, as shown in the examples on the Image Quality page. You don't notice that the camera is actually doing anything different when Shake Reduction is turned on, just that you can use slower shutter speeds than normal and still take sharp photos. The K-7 also displays a blur icon in the viewfinder to warn you that camera-shake may occur, regardless of whether or not Shake Reduction is on.

If you've had a bad experience with DSLRs and dust in the past, then the K-7 offers an improved Dust Removal mechanism. This automatically shifts the low-pass filter located in front of the CMOS image sensor at very high speed, shaking the dust off the low-pass filter. I didn't experience any issues with dust during the 3 weeks of this review. If you do, there's a neat feature called Dust Alert which is designed to show exactly where the dust is on the image sensor. A vertically and laterally correct image of the sensor shot at f/16 is shown on the LCD screen, indicate exactly where any stubborn dust particles may be lurking. While this feature won't prevent dust from getting onto the sensor, it does provide a quick and easy way of checking for it. In addition Dust Removal can be set to activate whenever the camera is turned on, and you can also use the built-in Sensor Cleaning function to lift the mirror and clean the image sensor with a blower brush or third-party cleaning solution.

Pentax K-7 Pentax K-7
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

The Pentax K-7's HDR Capture option (only available for JPEGs) takes three images with different exposures, and then records a single image that combines the properly exposed parts of each one, expanding its dynamic range. It's important to always use a tripod to prevent camera shake from blurring the HDR image, and it doesn't work very well for moving subjects. Similar to Nikon's D-lighting, Sony's DRO, and Olympus' Shadow Adjustment Technology, Pentax's D-Range allows you to correct the highlights (On or Off) and/or the shadows (3 different levels) before taking a JPEG or RAW image. Although this option is always at your disposal, remember that it is meant to be used in strong, contrasty lighting at base ISO. The Pentax K-7 also has a multi exposure mode that allows you to combine between two and nine different JPEG or RAW images into a single photo.

Pentax's Custom Images, similar to Nikon's Picture Styles and Canon's Picture Controls, are preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone settings. You can change the saturation, hue, high/low key, contrast and sharpness for each of the seven options?. The Pentax K-7 additionally offers seven different Digital Filters, which allow you to quickly apply an artistic effect to a photo before taking it (JPEG images only). Note that applying the Digital Filters slows the camera down somewhat, as it has to process the image for a few seconds after it's taken. The K-7 can also be set to automatically compensate for both distortion and lateral chromatic aberration of any DA- and DFA-series lenses.

The rather innocuous-sounding AF Adjustment custom function will be of particular interest to current Pentax owners. If you have a collection of older Pentax lenses and you've never been quite sure how accurate they focus when mounted on a DSLR, this is the function for you. Essentially it allows you to alter the focus of each lens. You can use a focusing target like the new LensAlign range of products to test if the lens focuses correctly, and if it doesn't alter it slightly using the AF Adjustment option, then test again until perfect focus is achieved. With all other DSLR systems you'd have to send the camera and lens off for calibration (and maybe even have to pay for it), but with the K-7, you can calibrate all of your lenses in the comfort of your own home.

The start-up time of the Pentax K-7, from turning the camera on to being ready to take a photo, is very quick for at around 1 second. Focusing is also quick and consistent in good light with the standard 18-55mm kit lens, a marked improvement on previous Pentax DSLRs, with the 11 point AF system offering fairly generous scene coverage, and the camera happily achieves focus indoors and in low-light situations. Note that the 18-55mm lens has an annoyingly loud focusing mechanism though. Unlike the K20D, the powerful AF Assist lamp can be used even the built-in flash isn't raised.

It takes about 1 second to store a JPEG image at the highest quality setting with no discernible lockup between taking shots, allowing you to keep shooting as they are being recorded onto the memory card. For RAW images the Pentax K-7 takes about 2 seconds to store an image and again there is no lockup between shots. In the continuous shooting mode you can hold down the shutter button and take 5 shots per second for up to 40 JPEGS or 15 RAW files, an impressive performance given the large 14 megapixel files that this camera produces. The camera does lock up for a few seconds once the maximum number of shots is reached, although you can continue to shoot continuously, just at a much slower rate.

Once you have captured a photo, the Pentax K-7 has a good range of options for playing, reviewing and managing your images. You can instantly scroll through the images that you have taken, view 9 thumbnails, zoom in and out up to a magnification of 32x, and see very detailed information about each image by pressing the Info button. You can also delete, rotate, resize, protect and crop an an image, view a slideshow and set various printing options. There are an expanded range of digital effects available which can be applied to JPEGs - Black and White, Sepia, Color, Extract Color, Soft, Illustration, High Dynamic Range, Slim and Brightness. The camera shows you a preview of what the effect will look like when applied, and the effect is applied to a copy of your image, thus preserving the original intact.

Image Comparison allows you to compare two images side-by-side complete with zoom. The Index option creates an index print from up to 36 images, Save as Manual WB sets the camera's Manual White Balance setting to the colour balance of the current image, and RAW Development converts a RAW file into a JPEG or TIFF with various conversion parameters available. Importantly the Pentax K-7 offers a histogram after taking a photo which is a great help in evaluating the exposure, plus any areas that are over-exposed flash on and off in the LCD preview to show you want you should be compensating for with your next attempt.

If you have never used a digital camera before, or you're upgrading from a more basic model, reading the comprehensive but relatively easy-to-follow manual before you start is a good idea. Thankfully Pentax have chosen to supply it in printed format, rather than as a PDF on a CD, so you can also carry it with you for easy reference.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 14.6 megapixel Excellent JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 9Mb.

During the review, the Pentax K-7 produced photos of very good quality. The built-in pop-up flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds and Bulb mode allowing you to capture enough light in all situations. The 14.6 megapixel JPEG images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting. Image stabilisation via the camera body is a feature that helps the Pentax K7 keep up with its competitors, and one that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. The Digital Filters quickly produce special effects that would otherwise require you to spend a lot of time in the digital darkroom, although some of them are less useful than others. The D-Range options help make the most out of both the shadows and highlights in a high-contrast scene (and it works for both JPEG and RAW files), while the HDR mode greatly expands the dynamic range of a JPEG by combining three differently exposed images in-camera. The multi exposure mode combines between two and nine different JPEG or RAW images into a single photo. Noise is the main issue for the Pentax K-7, starting to appear at ISO 800 along with a noticeable colour shift, and becoming easily detectable at the faster settings of ISO 1600, 3200 and 6400 when viewing images at 100% magnification on screen (particularly in the RAW files).

Noise

There are 7 ISO settings available on the Pentax K-7. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting, with JPEG on the left and the RAW equivalent on the right:

JPEG

RAW

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Pentax K-7 has 4 different JPEG file quality settings available, with Excellent being the highest quality option, and it also supports RAW (Pentax's PEF format and Adobe DNG). Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

Excellent (9.6Mb) (100% Crop)

Best (5.7Mb) (100% Crop)

   

Better (3.4Mb) (100% Crop)

Good (1.6Mb) (100% Crop)

   

RAW (13.1Mb) (100% Crop)

 
 

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your tastes.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

   

Flash

The flash modes include Flash On, Flash On + Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync + Red-eye Reduction, Trailing Curtain Sync, and Wireless Mode. These shots of a white ceiling were taken at a distance of 1.5 metres.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (27mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (27mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (82mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (82mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting or the Red-eye Reduction option caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
   

Red-eye Reduction

Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Pentax K-7 lets you dial in shutter speeds of up to 30 seconds and has a Bulb mode as well, which is very good news if you are seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 20 seconds, aperture of f/8 at ISO 100. We've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot

Night Shot (100% Crop)

Shake Reduction

The Pentax K-7 has a Shake Reduction mechanism built into the camera body, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with Shake Reduction turned off, the second with it turned on. Here is a 100% crop of the image to show the results. As you can see, with Shake Reduction turned on, the images are sharper than when it's turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Shake Reduction Off (100% Crop)

Shake Reduction On (100% Crop)

1/15th / 27mm
1/8th / 82mm

D-Range

Similar to Nikon's D-lighting, Sony's DRO, and Olympus' Shadow Adjustment Technology, Pentax's D-Range allows you to correct the highlights (On or Off) and/or the shadows (3 different levels) before taking a JPEG or RAW image. Although this option is always at your disposal, remember that it is meant to be used in strong, contrasty lighting at base ISO. Below you can see a comparison between Off and both highlight and shadow correction set to on/full strength; the difference is mainly noticeable in the shadowed areas on the left and right sides of the photo.

Off

On

HDR Capture

The Pentax K-7's HDR Capture option (only available for JPEGs) takes three images with different exposures, and then records a single image that combines the properly exposed parts of each one, expanding its dynamic range. Here is an example which was shot with the three different modes (Off, Standard and Strong). It's important to always use a tripod to prevent camera shake from blurring the HDR image, and it doesn't work very well for moving subjects.

Off

Standard

   
Strong  
 

Custom Image

Pentax's Custom Images, similar to Nikon's Picture Styles and Canon's Picture Controls, are preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone settings. You can change the saturation, hue, high/low key, contrast and sharpness for each of the seven options?. They are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences.

Bright

Natural

   

Portrait

Landscape

   

Vibrant

Muted

   

Monochrome

 
 

Digital Filters

The Pentax K-7 offers seven different Digital Filters, which allow you to quickly apply an artistic effect to a photo before taking it (JPEG images only). They are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences. Note that applying the Digital Filters slows the camera down somewhat, as it has to process the image for a few seconds after it's taken.

Toy Camera

Retro

   

High Contrast

Exract Colour

   

Soft

Star Burst

   

Fisheye

 
 

Multi Exposure

The Pentax K-7 has a multi exposure mode that allows you to combine between two and nine different JPEG or RAW images into a single photo. Here are some examples:

Example 1

Example 2

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Pentax K-7 camera, which were all taken using the 14.6 megapixel Excellent JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Pentax K-7 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Pentax RAW (PEF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

The Pentax K-7 can record HD video in the Motion JPEG (AVI) format. This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1536x1024 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 12 second movie is 69Mb in size.

Product Images

Pentax K-7

Front of the Camera

 
Pentax K-7

Front of the Camera / Pop-Up Flash

 
Pentax K-7

Front of the Camera

 
Pentax K-7

Isometric View

 
Pentax K-7

Isometric View

 
Pentax K-7

Rear of the Camera

 
Pentax K-7

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

 
Pentax K-7

Rear of the Camera / Image Info

 
Pentax K-7

Rear of the Camera / Info Screen

 

Pentax K-7

Rear of the Camera / Info Screen

 
Pentax K-7

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

 
Pentax K-7

Rear of the Camera / Live View

 
Pentax K-7

Top of the Camera

 
Pentax K-7

Bottom of the Camera

 
Pentax K-7

Side of the Camera

 
Pentax K-7

Side of the Camera

 
Pentax K-7

Front of the Camera

 
Pentax K-7

Front of the Camera

 
Pentax K-7

Memory Card Slot

 
Pentax K-7

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Pentax K-7 is the best-ever Pentax DSLR camera and a real challenger to the relative giants of Canon and Nikon. Pentax have seemingly decided to include every "must-have" feature in one camera, with the K-7's specifications reading like a keen photographer's wish list. Thankfully most of those features are very well-realised, with only a few duds to spoil the party.

Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the older K20D, the new K-7 improves on its sibling in a lot of ways that add up to make it a really compelling DSLR camera. The combination of 100% viewfinder coverage and large, high-res LCD screen make the K-7 a joy to use in terms of image composition. Live View is much improved, with the ability to view and change the camera's key settings, new Face Recognition AF mode, and the same 5.2 fps continuous shooting speed as when using the optical viewfinder. Only the painfully slow and often inaccurate contrast AF system detracts from the Live View system. Thankfully the K-7 focuses much faster through the viewfinder - indeed, this is the fastest focusing Pentax DSLR to date, and also finally on a par with the competition.

Making its Pentax debut on the K-7, the inclusion of HD video is sure to generate a lot of interest, especially as its main rivals don't offer this feature. Unfortunately, as with all the other DSLR cameras on the market that offer video recording, it's not the most user-friendly experience, with no handy one-touch recording, reliance on manual focusing, inability to change the aperture or shutter speed during recording, large file sizes that quickly fill your memory cards, and the inherent handling quirks of the DSLR format. On the plus side, there is a socket for an external mic and the K-7 offers the larger 1536 x 1024 pixel format, but if you want to regularly capture successful home movies, you'd be better off with a dedicated video camera instead.

The K-7's image quality is very good. Exposures were generally 1/3rd EV stop under-exposed, perfect for retaining detail in the highlight areas without sacrificing the shadow areas too much, and colours were accurate using the default Bright setting. The HDR mode makes it easy to create images with greatly expanded dynamic range, although you don't have too much control over the final effect and you really need to use a tripod to keep things sharp. The D-Range options help make the most out of both the shadows and highlights in a high-contrast scene, while multi exposure mode is a nice creative addition.

The K-7 produces noise-free images from ISO 100-400 but it starts to become apparent at ISO 800, with progressively more noise and colour desaturation at the highest settings of 1600, 3200 and 6400. Whist the three fastest speeds are certainly usable, they don't compare that well with the Canon EOS 50D and Nikon D300, which are better bets for low-light photography. If you don't require fantastic image quality at high ISO speeds, then the K-7 certainly holds its own against the competition.

But wait - this isn't quite the final story though. According to a recent statement by a Pentax UK spokesman, the camera that we received for review isn't quite the final production version (despite running version 1.00 firmware). Pentax's engineers have apparently "made a minor change to further improve the performance of the sensor on the camera to be included on the final retail version. As far as we are given to understand this will primarily reduce the amount of noise within the image; especially at higher ISO settings." If this version of the camera can significantly improve the K-7's low-light performance as promised, then it will be an even bigger threat to Canon and Nikon - we'll update our review accordingly when we receive another test sample.

Overall Pentax are onto a winner with the K-7, especially if the sensor change in the final, final version improves the noise levels at the higher ISO speeds. Current Pentax owners can be delighted that the best ever Pentax DSLR is has (almost) arrived, with the K-7 being a natural upgrade for both the Km and K20D. Photographers with no vested interest in a particular manufacturers system now find themselves spoilt for choice in the prosumer category, with the K-7, Canon EOS 50D, Olympus E-3 and Nikon D300 all at the same price point. In many ways the Pentax K-7 offers the best overall package out of them all, and is a really serious contender for your cash.

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 4.5
Value for money 5

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Pentax K-7 from around the web.

whatdigitalcamera.com »

The Pentax K-7 is the new jewel in the company’s crown, with specs far beyond any Pentax DSLR to date. Existing Pentax users will be pleased to see a much-wanted upgrade, whereas new users can now consider the K7 as a true contender in the field. Pitting itself against the already well-established Nikon D300 and Canon 50D mid-level prosumer cameras it’s no doubt that the Pentax K-7 has more than one hard act to follow. But with the Pentax name synonymous with the photography of old, and with excellent – if underappreciated – performers such as the K20D already under the belt, is now the time for Pentax to go for gold and achieve the kudos that has been otherwise lacking in its digital age?
Read the full review »

photocrati.com »

The flagship of the Pentax DLSR series, the K-7 is an unusually rugged semi-professional 14.5 MP camera that’s built like a tank: with a splash-proof magnesium alloy body over a stainless steel chassis. While the 14.5 megapixel K20D is less pricey, the K-7 is even more desirable. This newer model retains all of the K20D’s best features but provides significant benefits: faster (5.2 fps) drive speed, larger 3? LCD with 920,000 dot resolution, a viewfinder with 100% coverage, plus upgrades for the sensor, processor, autofocus system, built-in image stabilizer and evaluative metering (now with 77 zones). More importantly, the K-7 offers some entirely new functions, including HD Movie mode.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Type
Camera Type Digital Single Lens Reflex camera with video mode
LIVE VIEW
Type TTL by image sensor
Field Of View approx. 100%
Display Enlargement (2X, 4X, 6X in case of AF mode, 2X, 4X, 6X, 8X, 10X in case of MF mode)  Grid pattern
Autofocus Mode Contrast detection + Face detection / Contrast detection /  Phase difference detection
Sensor
Effective Pixels approx. 14.6 megapixels
Total Pixels approx. 15.07 megapixels
Type 23.4mm x 15.6mm CMOS with a primary colour filter
Sensitivity

Auto, Manual : 100-3200 (1EV steps or 1/2EV steps or 1/3EV steps) can be expand to ISO6400
*Bulb mode : up to ISO1600

Colour Depth 8 bit (JPEG) or 12 bit (RAW)
SENSOR
Cleaning

Image sensor cleaning function by supersonic vibration

Dust alert also available

Image Size
Still

RAW: 4672 x 3104 (14MP)
JPEG: 4672x3104 (14MP), 3936x2624 (10MP), 3072x2048(6MP), 1728x1152 (2MP)

Movie 1536x1024 (3:2), 1280x720 (16:9),  640x416 (3:2)
Shake Reduction
Type Image sensor shift mechanism
Max 4 stops
File Format
Still RAW (Original/DNG), JPEG (Conforms to Exif 2.21), Conforms to DCF (Design rule of Camera File system) 2.0
Movie Motion JPEG (AVI) 30fps
Quality Level Still:*(Good), **(Better), ***(Best), ****(Excellent)
Movie: *(Good), **(Better), ***(Best)
Storage Media
External SD / SDHC memory card
Lens
Mount PENTAX KAF2 bayonet mount
Usable lenses

PENTAX KAF?R, KAF2-, KAF-, and KA-mount  lenses.
* Power zoom function available. K-mount lenses usable with restrictions. S-mount lenses, 67/645 lenses usable with adapter and with restrictions.

Focusing System
Type TTL phase difference detection with AF assist lamp
Focusing system
Area

 11-point wide autofocus system (SAFOX VIII+)

Auto, Select, Centre

Mode AF-single (with focus lock) AF-continuous, Manual
AF assist

Spot beam lamp available

Exposure system
Metering TTL open-aperture 77-segment metering (coupled with lens and AF information)
Metering Area Multi-segment metering
Centre-weighted metering
Spot metering
Exposure System
Metering Range EV 0-22 (at Standard Output Sensitivity 100 with 50mm F1.4 lens)
Exposure system
Exposure Modes

Green
Program AE
Sensitivity-Priority AE
Shutter-Priority AE
Aperture-Priority AE
Shutter and Aperture Priority AE
Metered Manual
Bulb
X speed
Movie
USER

Auto Bracketing 3 or 5 frames within range of ±0.5EV, ±1.0EV, ±1.5EV, ±2.0EV (0.5EV steps) or ±0.3EV, ±0.7EV, ±1.0EV, ±1.3EV, ±1.7EV, ±2.0EV (0.3EV steps)
Exposure System
Compensation ±5 EV
Exposure system
Auto Exposure Lock available
Shutter
Type Electronically controlled vertical-run focal plane shutter
Speed 1/8000 - 30 sec. and bulb
Viewfinder
Type Pentaprism type
Focusing screen Natural-Bright-Matte III
Field of View approx. 100%
Magnification approx. 0.92x (with 50mm F1.4 lens, infinity, -1m-1)
Diopter adjustment approx. -2.5 - +1.5m-1
Mode Dial
Modes Hyper program Sensitivity priority Shutter and aperture priority Shutter priority Aperture priority Hyper manual Green mode Bulb Movie USER X-sync
External LCD Panel
Indication ISO, Battery level, Electronic level, Shots remaining, Drive mode, Shutter speed, Aperture value, Flash indicator, EV compensation
Flash
Type Built-in retractable P-TTL pop-up flash
Guide Number approx. 13 (Standard Output Sensitivity 100/m)
Angle of View Coverage 28mm wide-angle (equivalent to 35mm)
Exposure Compensation -2 EV - +1EV (1/2EV steps)
Synchronization Hot shoe, X-sync socket, sync-speed: 1/180 sec., P-TTL, high-speed-sync, wireless-sync with PENTAX dedicated flash
Drive Mode
Modes

Single-frame, Continuous (Hi, Lo), Self-timer (12s, 2s), Remote control (0s, 3s), Remote Continuous Shooting, Exposure Bracketing, Exposure Bracketing+Self-timer, Mirror Lock-up Shooting, Mirror Lock-up Shooting+Remote control

DRIVE MODE
Continuous shooting

approx. 5.2 fps, sequence : until approx. 40 frames (JPEG and continuous (Hi))
approx. 15 frames (RAW(PEF))
approx. 14 frames (RAW(DNG))

approx. 3.3 fps, sequence : until the memory card becomes full (JPEG and continuous (Lo))
approx. 17 frames (RAW(PEF)) , approx. 17 frames (RAW(DNG))

White Balance
Modes Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light ( D, N, W, L), Tungsten Light, Flash, CTE, Manual setting , with WB fine adjustment
Screen
LCD 3.0", 921,000 dots, TFT colour LCD monitor. Brightness adjustable, Colour adjustable, Wide angle view, AR Coating
Playback
View One Image, Two Images, Index (4 or 9 or 16 or 32 or 81 thumb nails), Enlargement (up to 32X, scroll available)
PLAYBACK
Modes Image Rotation, Folder view, Slideshow, Histogram, Resize, Cropping, Bright/Dark area, Calendar view, Index view
Playback
Digital Filter

Toy Camera*, Monochrome, Retro*, Colour, High Contrast*, Soft*, Extract Colour*, Star Burst*, Water Colour, Fish-eye*, Pastel, Slim, Miniature, HDR, Base Tweaking, Custom*

*Available in record mode

World Time
Time 75 cities (28 time zones)
Interface
PC USB2.0(Hi-Speed)
AV

AV output, HDMI output

Compatible with NTSC and PAL formats

Power
Source

Rechargeable D-LI90 lithium-ion battery

Optional AC adapter also available

Performance

Recordable images: approx. 980 (Normal Recording)*2 , approx. 740 (50% use Flash)*1
Playback time: approx. 440 minutes*2

*1 Recording capacity shows approximate number of shots recorded during CIPA-compliant testing.  Actual performance may vary depending on operating conditions
*2 According to the result of PENTAX in-house testing

Dimensions
Height 96.5mm
Width 130.5mm
Depth 72.5mm
Weight 670g without battery and SD memory card
750g loaded and ready with battery and SD memory card
Storage capacity
Still

Capacity with 1GB memory card

RAW (14MP): 40

JPEG:
(14MP) 73 @ ****, 117 @ ***, 206 @ **, 408 @ *
(10MP) 102 @ ****, 163 @ ***, 289 @ **, 564 @ *
(6MP) 167 @ ****, 267 @ ***, 468 @ **, 902 @ *
(2MP) 516 @ ****, 805 @ ***, 1373 @ **, 2518 @ *

Movie / Sound

Capacity with 1GB memory card

1536x1024: 1:51 @ ***, 2:36 @ **, 3:40 @ *
1280x720: 2:21 @ ***, 3:20 @ **, 4:41 @ *
640x416: 7:59 @ ***, 11:11 @ **, *=15:29 @ *

Max file size is 4GB for movie
Max length for movie is 25 minutes

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