K-7 now £799!!

A new television set :

yes, a bit better than the original price, I'm not tempted yet though personally to splash the cash and upgrade my K10. Video is OK but not really top of my list, reported faster and better low light focussing is nice, a few fps more is nice too, less noise at higher ISO is a good step forward too.

The thing I would like to see in any new pentax camera is more dynamic range. IIRC slide film hs about 5 stops dynamic range, colour print 6-7 stops and modern dSLR sensors about 5stops. In camera HDR simply compresses the dynamic range of the actual scene into something which can be represented by the hardware.

It would be interesting to compare the DR capabilities of print, CRT/LCD and camera sensors, to see what could be achieved in principle, not much point in expanding one area if for some reason the other two can't match it.

PS I see lens prices have softened a bit recently too, I picked up something new from srs recently using the cashback, now just need to find a non-grey day to play

Well I must be the only person who doesn't feel noise is an issue with the K-7

It's similar but different to a K20D, just make the best of the exposure at high ISO and add a little noise reduction in PP and Bob is definitely your Uncle.... why all the fuss (shakes head).

No - there's at least two of us! I find the noise of the K-7 very easy to process from RAW files, and with less chroma than K20D (so less objectionable). Looking back at the test on DPR, of the high ISO samples, I much prefer the Pentax approach. OK it has more noise than the Nikons and Canons, but more detail and better colours are also retained - at least up to ISO1600 beyond which I very rarely venture. I'd rather start from that baseline and then fiddle on my PC.

Cheers,

Jon

Or perhaps it's different but similar

Actually Jon summed it up much better than I

Yes, you are right if you compare it to K20D. But there are other cameras on the market, too...

Well, the possible Pentax FF is a bit controversial issue. Besides Pentax I also use C, so there I have the opportunity to upgrade. I had already thought it over several times but allways have come to the conclusion NOT to upgrade. The reason is rather simple: price. FF system, both camera and lenses, means double price compared to APS-C (and heavier and bigger, though it is not a real issue for me). Does its advantage justífy this price difference? My answer is no, because I am a hobby photographer. Maybe a pro has a different approach…
The FF really shines at the wide end, where Pentax has an unexploited opportunity in the APS-C field, the missing Pentax version of Tokina 11-16/2,8. It is an amazing, reasonably priced lens, simply better than the counterpart C lens or Tokina 12-24/4 (which is practically equal to Pentax 12-24/4). Considering the Pentax-Tokina relationship, I don’t understand why there is no Pentax version.

Agreed and from what I can see here K-7 review or here EOS 7D review (referring to RAW) comparisons it doesn't look too shabby at all.
In the second review the 7D does look the best but not by a country mile and the others (K-7) included are very similar.

I do agree that Jpeg output isn't the best at higher ISOs but I'm not sure that has ever really been a Pentax strong point... which is part of the reason why I chose to shoot RAW.

I'm convinced this aurora of the K-7 having bad high ISO output is from users who chose to only shoot Jpeg.
I rest my case m'lud

It all comes down again to the pixel peepers...

Well if that's what it takes to convince the misguided, so be it

Just to spread even more FUD into the rumour mill! (:twisted

I believe Pentax will intoduce a micro APS-C EVIL body long before they do a FF body (if ever).

That way they will be able to take advantage of the fastest growiing segment of the market without going head to head with the two giants in the FF game, Canon & Nikon, and the wanna-be Sony.

IMO The 645D is much less of a gamble than FF for Pentax. They have to (and are) looking for differentiation, you only have to look at their advert strapline - Be different, be Pentax.

It's not a "better" sensor overall, only at the higher ISO's it has less noise, probably due to more Raw NR and slightly larger photosites and newer technology. DR is also a bit better at the higher ISO's for similar reasons.

IMO, at low ISO's, it's not as good at the Samsung sensor in the K20D or K-7. I know it's a personal choice, but my mind is made up, so don't confuse me with any facts!

That's been a rumour on other forums for a while now, some even saying there will be a Penta version of the Samsung NX.

For most people, these issues will never arise, but when we look very closely at the output from these cameras they do have very different characteristics. Just taking noise in isolation, if that is the primary concern then the K-x will be a better bet that the K7. In its day the K100D would have been better as regards noise than the K10D, and Pentax happily said so.

By the same token a 7MP compact will have less noise than a 12MP one.

This is no big deal really IMHO as there are other factors involved that may be more important to a given buyer. As I'm very happy with our K20D bodies we don't currently feel the need to upgrade at all, but if we did then the K7 would be the choice.

Our priorities do not involve noise - it's low enough in all the options - but we would need to replace the two K20D and the K10D camera at the same time, because working ergonomics are very important. All the cameras (and accessories such as batteries) need to be the same. The K10D and K20D fit together seamlessly, but the K20D and K7 do not.

So when we can afford three K7 bodies.....