k7 noise

I have just bought a second hand K7 and i am shocked about the amount of noise at low iso speeds. I have the noise reduction turned on but to now availe. My old km had no such problem. can anyone help ?

Perhaps you could show us an example?

I have a K7 and I'm aware that's its certainly not first choice for shooting at high ISOs, but I have always understood its low iso performance to be absolutely fine.

Just some extra info would be helpful :

What iso setting are you referring to specifically.

Is the noise the grain type, or colour patchy type (blue or yellow)

Is it confined to the darkest shadow areas, or in a fuller range of brightness ares?

Are you looking at a JPEG or RAW from the camera?

I had a similar reaction when I went from a K10 to K7. I still find it noisey. Shooting raw helps. But I'd say you'll get used to it. I have and love it to bits now

Got to say I also find the K7 to be useless above iso 800. But I would not swap it for anything else. I love it.

I love it but not as much as my K5. I gives me noise issues in darks.

I had a K7 as a replacement for a faulty K20. I thought the noise levels were awful, upgraded to a K5.

I went from a K200D to a K7. I didn't really notice it being noisier at base ISO- I was more impressed with how much better it was at high ISO: usable ISO1600 - wow! (Seems rather quaint now!)

The low ISO images (ISO400 and lower) do, however, have a bit more grain to them. You can either eradicate this in LR3 or similar, or just accept that this sort of noise has no impact on prints or web sized images. If you're not happy, send it back or sell it on - or get some professional quality ISO100 negative film scanned and pixel peep it for a bit of a 'reality check!'

This thread from the 'other forum' might be worth a read (tbh... from start to finish)
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/106600-k-7-high-iso-su...

Thanks for the comments guys. The iso im using is 200 and the noise is the grainy type. Its a bit disapointing but i can live with it i suppose.

I've not seen anything which I considered a problem at iso 200, not under reasonable lighting conditions at least. If you posted up a shot or 3 of what you are seeing we might be able to comment on if this is as expected or if there is an obvious issue with your camera or the settings etc.

I didn't have a problem with the K7 - even shooting at ISO3200 on occasion.
Yes, the K5 is better still, but I certainly noticed a difference from the K20D etc.

An example would go a very long way to identifying what's happening - and whether what you are seeing is what we're assuming

Matt

Have a look at your high iso noise reduction settings in the menu. They start at 18. Mine are 18-on 19-1 medium 20-1 800. Dunno if there the best or not though.
APs thoughts on K7 noise

The K-20/K-7 had the first of the "new" CMOS sensors as the market turned its back on CCD.
I was at first was disappointed with the noise levels on my K-7, but you learn to overcome it first by adjusting the camera to try to use the lowest ISO you can, I always start with 100 and work my way up from there.
When shooting karts at the local track I use the wonderful TAV mode and let the camera decide the ISO I need for the shot, if you take your shots with -1 exposure compensation you can get away with faster shutter speeds and lower ISO but your pictures can be a tad dark but that can be fixed in software like Lightroom which also has some excellent noise suppression capabilities.

Oh, I forgot, quality glass will also make a difference. The "faster" the glass the lower you can keep your ISO.

Can't say I've ever seen noise at 200 ISO on my K20D.