K7 vs K30

Hi,

I've been wanting to upgrade from my K7 to a K5 for a while, but haven't been able to get the funds together. The price drop on the K30 means I could stretch to that, but I'm not sure whether to go for it.

I only really use the K7 for stills, so the video improvements on the K30 don't make much difference to me. The big appeal is the improved sensor, meaning better high ISO performance and more dynamic range (I hope...).

Downsides are the loss of the top LCD, which I can happily live with, and the plastic instead of magnesium body. I always look after my equipment, but do also use it when I'm skiing/rock climbing. Until now, it's never had a knock, but I am aware that it may do in future.

In summary, 3 questions:

1. Am I going to notice the improved performance of the new sensor?
2. How much less solid is the plastic body than the metal one I'm used to?
3. Have I missed anything that means I should stick with my K7?

Any input much appreciated.

Sam.

1. Yes.
2. It does not look or feel as nice, but feels solidly put together. The matt black version doesn't feel as nice as the gloss white (or blue, but the blue colour is hideous in the flesh, IMHO!)
3. There are less on-body controls, so you may need to menu dive slightly more often to change AF modes etc.

If you shoot in Liveview at all, the Liveview AF is MILES better, and the focus peaking is quite good for using with manual lenses (not as good as Sony's focus peaking though).

Another point on the plastic body, one possible upside is that it won't be as cold to touch in winter!

Now that really has not helped me as I really fancied the blue one - but have only seen images of it - decisions decisions.....

Carl

I'm in the same dilemma now, have a K7, was looking to upgrade to a K5 at some point. Now the K30 price means I could get it now, I know I'll miss the top LCD and metering switch, but I'll gain the high ISO performance and I think that will be worth it. I have one concerns though, What is this K30 price going to do the price of used K7's? I'll need to sell to fund the purchase. Is this a permanently lower price for the K30, or does everyone think it'll revert back up again soon. So far only a couple of retailers seem to have it at £369.

One other minor concern I have is the shutter noise, does anyone have any experience of the K30 vs K7 shutter noise? My K7 is nice and quiet, I briefly had a K-R and thought that was very noisy .

The K30 does not have the K-5 quiet shutter. That is the biggest mark against it, in my estimation. Along with the poor battery life. Otherwise it is quite an incredible amount of camera for the money!

Take a look at the comparometer on imaging-resource
Choose the k-7 from "All" and the k-30 from current. You will have the ability to compare the same image with the same iso side by side.
I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

Thats a good reference point Steve. Thanks. I thought the IQ of the K7 was better. But the K30 has so much less noise. It has to come out the winner.

plus one twice
Pete

You also could consider picking up a low mileage K-5 as people dive after the K-5IIs.

Thanks for all the input, at the moment I'm thinking that I'll stick with the K7. This is partly down to the lower battery life of the K30, partly down to the lack of on body controls but mainly because I know that I'll still want a K5, and am better off continuing to save money towards that.

I decided to go with the K30 and picked one up at the weekend, not had a lot of time to play with it yet, but initial impressions coming from a K7 are:

- Body does feel a bit light (not flimsy though), and the shutter noise is louder and also a less refined sound.
- So far have not really missed the top LCD as much as I thought.
- Auto focus is much more positive (less adjusting) this has been mentioned in reviews and is noticeable, in fact I'm having trouble getting used to it as I'm listening for more adjustments before pressing the shutter
- Image quality at high iso is much better as expected
- Matrix metering seems more accurate, haven't need to change to spot or centre or dial in much compensation, so I hopefully won't miss the external controls too much.
- Flash exposure is much better with the pop up flash.
- I've mainly used higher iso values this weekend but when I used iso 100 it seemed a bit less grainy than the K7 more like the K10s low iso which I preferred, will have to try on more subjects, I always found skies a little grainy on the K7.
- Not had change to play with the raw files yet to see how much shadow detail I can pull out.

Overall I'm very impressed at the price I paid, not sure I'd have been as happy if I'd paid £599 or even £499 though, it does feel less impressive to hold than the K7.

No question considering your uses : K5 (new if you can get one, used if you can't).

EDIT : Oops too late. Hope you enjoy your K30.

I'm planning on upgrading from K-7 to K-5 and not the K30 for
top panel lcd
external controls

That's it.