4.4
4 reviews
88

Pentax K-7


$1,300.00 Released May, 2009

Product Shot 1 The Pros:Ruggedized - fully sealed body. Quiet shutter. Quality construction.

The Cons:Video is manual focus only - difficult to change focus, pan or zoom. Not many current options for super-fast tele lenses. Noise begins to get noticeable at lower ISO levels than competing options.

The Pentax K-7 is a 14.6 megapixel SLR camera offered by Pentax which is the most powerful camera to be released by Pentax (at time of release). The compact body is made from a magnesium alloy which gives it strength while keeping it light and the case is dust and cold resistant to below freezing.

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It has a 3" LCD perfect for digital image/video capture and review and has a 100% field-of-view viewfinder.  It uses new PRIME II image processing and has a top shutter speed of 1/8000 secs making it ideal for any fast-action situation. The live view mode has contast AF, face detection and optionional histogram, grid and bright/dark area display letting you compose pictures without have to press your eye against the viewfinder. For the best image quality there are several advanced image settings including a dynamic range setting, a lens correction function and a shake reduction system to name a few. Other notable features include HDR image capture which combines 3 seperate image exposures, built in special effects, embedded copyright feature and custom file name selection. Lens sold seperately.

Specifications

  • Sensor:
    • Type - CMOS with primary color filter and integrated Shake/Dust Reduction sensor movement system; Size - 23.4 x 15.6mm; Color depth - 8 bits/channel JPG, 12 bits/channel RAW; Effective pixels - 14.6 MP; Total pixels: 15.07 MP; Recorded resolutions - Still: 14M 4672x3104, 10M 3936x2624, 6M 3072x2048, 2M 1728x1152; Movie (resolution/FPS): 1280x720p30, 1536x1024p30, 640x416p30; Quality levels: Premium, Best, Better,  Good; Dust Removal - Supersonic vibration to low pass filter Lens Mount: Type/construction - PENTAX KAF2 bayonet stainless steel mount; Usable lenses - PENTAX KAF3, KAF2, KAF, and KA (K mount, 35mm screwmount, 645/67 med format lenses useable w/ adapter and/or restrictions); SDM function - Yes; Power zoom function: Yes
  • Focus System:
    • Type - TTL phase-difference 11 point (9 cross) wide autofocus system (SAFOX VIII+); Focus modes - AF Single (w/ focus lock), AF Continuous, Manual; Focus point adjustment - Auto, user-selectable, center; AF assist - Yes, via dedicated AF assist lamp with SAFOX VIII+ system Viewfinder: Type - Pentaprism; Coverage (field of view): 100%; Magnification - 0.92X (w/ 50mm F1.4 at infinity); Standard focusing screen: Natural-Bright-Matte III; Diopter adjustment: -2.5 to 1.5; Depth of field preview - Optical (diaphragm stop down), Digital
  • LCD Monitor:
    • Type - 3.0” TFT IPS (In Plane Switching) color LCD with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating; Resolution - 921,000 dots; Wide angle viewable - Yes Built-in Flash: Type - Retractable P-TTL popup flash; Guide number: 13 (100/m); Coverage - 28mm wide angle (equivalent to 35mm); Flash modes - On, redeye, slow sync, slow sync + redeye, trailing curtain sync, wireless Flash exposure compensation: -2 to 1 EV in 1/2 steps
  • External Flash:
    • Type - Hotshoe (P-TTL, high speed sync available), wireless with PENTAX dedicated flash, X-sync socket; Synchronization speed - 1/180 sec Storage Media: Internal memory: n/a; Removable memory: SD, SDHC
  • Interfaces:
    • Ports: USB 2.0 hi-speed, AV out, HDMI out, DC in, cable switch, 3.5mm stereo microphone; Video out: HD (1080i30, 720p30, 480p30), NTSC, PAL; Printer interfaces: n/a Power Supply: Power source: Rechargeable Li-Ion battery D-LI90, D-BG4 Battery Grip (optional) for second D-LI90 battery or 6X AA batteries; Recordable images: Approx 980 (approx 740 w/ 50% flash, CIPA); Playback time: Approx 440 min; AC adapter available: Yes (optional)
  • Physical Specifications:
    • Body dimensions (W x H x D): 5.1 x 3.8 x 2.9” Body weight, without battery or removable memory - 22.9 oz, Loaded and ready - 26.5 oz; Construction material(s): Magnesium alloy shell over stainless steel chassis; Operating temperature: 14-104°F (-10 to 40°C) Language Support: English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek, Russian, Korean, Traditional/Simplified Chinese, Japanese
  • Image Stabilization:
    • Type - Sensor-shift Shake Reduction with rotational compensation (4 stops max); Electronic level function: Yes, verification via viewfinder and top LCD panel Metering System: Type-TTL open-aperture 77 segment metering; Sensitivity range: EV 0 to 21 (ISO 100, 50mm F1.4); Multi-segment: Yes, 77 segments; Center weighted: Yes; Spot: Yes; Exposure compensation: +/- 5 EV (1/3 and 1/2 steps); Exposure lock: Yes; Exposure bracketing: Yes, 3 or 5 frames, up to +/- 2 EV (1/2 or 1/3 steps)
  • ISO Sensitivity:
    • Auto - ISO 100-3200 (1, 1/2, 1/3 steps), Bulb mode up to ISO 1600, expanded range available to ISO 6400, auto ISO range selectable Manual: ISO 100-3200 (1, 1/2, 1/3 steps), Bulb mode up to ISO 1600, expanded range available to ISO 6400 White Balance*: Auto preset modes - Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent (D, N, W, L), Tungsten, Flash, CTE; Manual mode(s) - Yes, manual and 3 color temperature selections available; * WB fine adjustment available in all modes
  • Shutter:
    • Type: Electronically controlled, vertical run, focal plane shutter Shutter speed: 1/8000 to 30 sec, bulb Capture Modes: Mode selection: Green, Program (P), Sensitivity Priority (Sv), Shutter Priority (Tv), Aperture Priority (Av), Shutter and Aperture Priority (TAv), Metered Manual, Bulb, X-Speed, USER, Movie; Green simplified mode available: Yes; P/A/S/M/B: P, A, S, M, B (extended modes Sv, TAv); Date stamp: n/a; Digital filters (capture): Custom Image Function includes Bright, Natural, Portrait, Landscape, Vibrant, and Muted modes, each with gamut radar and fine adjustment of saturation, hue, high/low key, contrast, and sharpness (regular and fine adjustment scales). Monochrome mode includes adjustment for filter effects (green, yellow, orange, red, magenta, blue, cyan, infrared), toning (sepia warm/cool), high/low key, contrast, and sharpness (regular and fine adjustment scales). Other capture filters include Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Extract Color, Soft Focus, Starburst, Fisheye, Custom Filter.; Data record: Folder name (standard, date), file name (standard, customizable), embed copyright
  • Drive Modes:
    • Mode selection: Single, Continuous (Hi, Lo), Self-Timer (12s, 2s), Remote (0s, 3s, continuous), Bracketing (standard, timer, remote), Mirror Lockup (standard, remote), HDR Capture, Multi-Exposure, Interval; Continuous FPS; - 5.2 FPS (40 JPG Continuous Hi, 15 RAW PEF, 14 RAW DNG); - 3.3 FPS (unlimited JPG Continuous Lo, 17 RAW PEF/DNG); Self-timer: Yes (12s, 2s); Remote control: Yes, infrared (0s, 3s, continuous) and cable switch Playback Modes: Mode selection: One Shot (no data, basic data, full data, color channel histogram), Multi Image Display (4, 9, 16, 32, 81 thumbnails), Calendar Filmstrip, Folder, Magnification, Select & Delete, Movie Playback (no data, basic data, full data); Mode pallet: Image Rotation, Digital Filter, Resize, Cropping, Slideshow, Save as Manual WB, RAW Development, Index Print, Image Comparison, Protect, DPOF; Magnification: Up to 32X, scrollable; Digital filters (playback): Toy Camera, Monochrome (filter effects, toning), Retro, Color (6), High Contrast, Soft Focus, Extract Color (6), Starburst, Water Color, Fisheye, Pastel, Slim, Miniature, HDR, Base Parameter Adj, Custom Filter
  • File Formats:
    • Still: RAW (PEF, DNG), JPG (Exif 2.21), DCF 2.0 (design rule for camera file system), DPOF, Print Image Matching III; Movie (compression): AVI (Motion JPG) Custom Functions: Functions available: 37
  • Computer Requirements:
    • For device connectivity. Bundled software requirements may vary. Windows: Windows XP/Vista, USB 2.0 port; Mac: MacOS-X 10.3-10.5, USB 2.0 port

User Reviews (4)

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88
ProScore
Pros
  • 3

    ruggedized - fully sealed body

  • 2

    quiet shutter

  • 2

    quality construction

  • 2

    fairly compact size

  • 2

    fast autofocusing - even in low light

  • 2

    internal optical image stabilization

  • 2

    records video in 720p at 30fps

  • 2

    a great step up from previous generations

  • 2

    5.2 fps continuous shooting (14 consecutive shots in RAW)

  • 2

    backwards compatible with every K mount lens ever made

  • 1

    100% viewfinder coverage

  • 1

    records to affordable, easy to find and capacious SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards (SDXC support was added in a firmware update)

Cons
  • 1

    video is manual focus only - difficult to change focus, pan or zoom

  • 1

    not many current options for super-fast tele lenses

  • 0

    noise begins to get noticeable at lower ISO levels than competing options

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