Why is nobody selling K-7s?

Hi,
There's a lot of K-5's for sale in the buy/sell section but virtually no K-7s.
How come?
I don't think that everyone with a K-5 is upgrading to the K-5 II/IIs but not anyone with a K-7.

Just curious,
Pa.

K20D and K-7 both seems quite rare now. We're hanging on to our last K20D and perhaps K-7 owners are doing the same?

Hi,

I really have no idea, but I have noticed that there seem to be interesting trends in the classifieds. Certain lenses for instance are not seen for a while and then suddenly there are many for sale at the same time. One example was the Pentax DA 15 ltd. Not seen often, but then some time ago we had several for sale (including mine). At the moment we have several DA 70 lenses, again not seen that often......

Maybe you see someone selling his, and you are encouraged, or maybe that people want to sell their K-5s before their value drops further once a new high end body is announced? The K-7 value has already decreased, so maybe many would rather keep it......

With the K5 so readily available I don't think I 'd get anyone willing to pay enough for my K7 that I could justify selling it.
I suspect the same is true for others with a K7.

If I could trade the K7 +£100 for a reasonable K5 I think I'd grab the opportunity quick as a flash. Any more than that requires CapEx approval.

Those who didn't trade up a couple of years ago may be a bit like me - bargain hunters who didn't have much cash available. I got my K7 early last year - new, obviously 'end-of-line' / discontinued which made it a very attractive way into the world of digital SLR photography - and Pentax

But without further justification to invest when the actual camera is relatively fresh, it is a case of 'hold on and keep using'. My own personal 'life-cycle' for the item is simply nowhere near expiry yet.

I'm planning on upgrading my K-7 to a K-5 (don't have the money for K-5 II) but might wait until new releases in September. K-5 prices would come down then I'd imagine.

No doubt you'll get a bargain IQ upgrade - but nothing else really. The K5mkI is very much an identical camera to the K7, in many aspects. Its not a very big leap overall is it?

The K5II has the improved AF on top which adds to the extra value. But maybe more K7 owners are holding off for the 'next big thing' - something that adds or adapts even more camera features - handling, ergonomics, operation etc ??

Actually it's a huge leap in performance and a revelation in terms of noise. It may be ergonomically identical but it's a different ball game in what it delivers.

The K-7 to K-5 was a much larger jump than the K20D to K-7 actually. The K-5 stopped me moving 100% to Canon because of the superb ISO performance and dynamic range.

Personally I think one of the main reasons that there aren't that many K-7s around is that they didn't sell that well because it was such a small improvement over the K20D.

I traded my K7 in for the K5ii when SRS were offering the additional £100 off with any trade in for the K5ii. This was worth far more to me than what I would have got on E-bay etc.

I think Mike is right in that not many K7's were sold, it is the only camera I wish I hadn't bought. (having a GX20 and K10 at the time now both sold, the K10 is one I wish I hadn't sold !)

Couldn't agree more.

And guess what makes Its way into the classifieds, Spooky

Oh come on guys ! When I bought my K7 Jessops had messed up their stock control and could only find an empty K5 box - and the K7 fitted in perfectly even all the accessories and cables etc were the same.

Now, the list of completely identical things between the two cameras is hugely longer than the list of differences.

The additional performance is significant of course, more so for those who will extract the most from it - but the reality is that it is basically the same camera - an upgrade in certain IQ respects, but the same camera in the vast majority of aspects.

Do you not think that someone looking to upgrade in an economic manner would be better to keep on getting all they can from the K7, bypass the already superseded K5 and hold on until the K5II has become the discontinued bargain, with all the longterm advantages it has over the standard K5?

If they don't shot/require high ISO then yes they should keep, but the K5 is a massive step up in low light and is worth the difference IMO

Nigel, you won't want to write that post again when you've tried a K-5, never mind the II versions. Not using the same words anyway!