Pentax K 7

What would you prefer a Pentax K-7 or a Nikon D90?
My criteria will focus on quality of image.

Pentax K-7 has a magnesium alloy body for extreme durability to great heights, with weather seals for water and dust resistant, it is also cold resistant to be able to shoot below negative zero degrees. It also has a state of the art electronic level system that attempts compensates any crooked shots you try to take. It also has a built-in HDR merging software that merges up to 5 or so images in different ev steps. It has 100 percent view in the viewfinder with 5.2 frames per second continual shooting. It has a much improved 77 segment metering system. It also has 14.6 effective megapixels. and can shoot at it's fastest at 1/8000th of a second and record videos in 30 FPS in HD. The K-7 can also be set as a timer on a tripod, it will automatically turn itself on to shoot after a certain period of minutes or hours for a certain amount of times and then turn itself off again, depending on how you set it.

Nikon D90 has a plastic body with no weather seals for any sort of weather resistant at all. It shoots 4.5 frames per seconds which is slower compared to K-7 but not by much. It's fastest shutter speed is 1/4000th of a second which is slower than the K-7's. Viewfinder coverage is only 96 percent compared to full 100 percent in the K-7. 24FPS HD video recording, 6 FPS slower than the K-7.

and finally, the K-7 is more comparable to the higher-end Nikon D300 which the D90 cannot touch. For the pricing of the K-7, it's almost too good to be true. The Pentax K-7 is also the smallest and most compact in its class, this shows Pentax has gone a long way with technology in boasting so much power in such a compact body.

2009-10-10 02:32:44 by Ike

This is an introduction to the new PENTAX K-7 Digital SLR camera.

I am considering buying a Pentax K-7 the only thing blocking me is the apparently bad performance at HIGH ISO levels? I don't like using flash in low light situations so I think this may be an important criteria. Would you go for a D90 that apparently handles high iso better? I won't go for the D300s which is too expensive for me.
Thanks for your comments.

Pentax K-7 Digital SLR Camera + 18-55mm SMC DA + 50-200mm WR Zoom Lens + 8GB Card + D-LI90 Battery + Case + Accessory Kit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002N2L8QS?tag=dcmb-20

Pentax K-7 14.6 MP Digital SLR with Shake Reduction and 720p HD Video
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0028N7442?tag=dcmb-20

Review :
Pros:
Rugged, full weather seals. Rain, snow, or dust won't slow it down.
Compact Size with a magnesium alloy shell of stainless steel chassis.
Selection of lenses designed for the APS-C imaging sensor
Shake reduction with every lens
Ergonomics
External Mic in video mode
Very quiet shutter
Industry first Composition Adjustment and horizon level (separate features)

Cons:
Battery life in Live View/Video mode.
Not a beginners camera unless you have a strong desire to learn about photography
High ISO performance could be a bit better

What previous Pentax users will notice:
Refinement, refinement, refinement
Low light autofocus is fast and accurate (inline with the competition now)
AF-Continuous is fast, but not class leading.
Ergonomics different from previous K10d and K20d (maybe good, maybe bad depending on your position)
Insignificant change in image quality from K20d
Can disable long shutter noise reduction for shots 30 seconds or less
Excellent sensor dust removal

Who should buy the K-7? Anyone looking for a prosumer dSLR (Nikon d300, d300s, Canon 50d, etc) that they want to take anywhere. This thing is for serious adventurers, with its full weather sealing and wide array of weather sealed lenses (DA* or WR series lenses). Going on a trip to Alaska? Hiking in the back country? Canoeing down the Colorado? Or even if you just want a smaller dSLR with all the features of the big boys from Canon or Nikon. This camera steps up the competition.

What new to Pentax users should be aware of? The camera makes slight noises when you pick it up or turn it on. The sensor is free to shift in its mount due to the shake reduction system. This is totally normal, but scares some first time users where they think something might be broken.

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Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ENOZY4?tag= dcmb-20

Review :
Several months before the D90 came out, I bought a D60 to hold me over until the D90 was released. Well, I've enjoyed using both cameras, but this one is a huge step up and more suited to an advanced enthusiast, like me. It's a real pleasure to use.

UPDATED AUG 2009

ERGONOMICS - The D90 is solid, tight, and well-balanced with the 18-105 VR lens. It's always ready and it shoots very fast. I love all the direct access buttons; they're easy to press, with good tactile feedback. And since you're not going into the menus as much, you can work faster. It's heavier than the D60, but that's OK. It's still very manageable to carry around and it fits my average-sized hand better too. The shutter sounds different than the D60 (if that matters to you). It sounds more like a professional camera; more like a fast "whoosh" than a "click-click". And there are so many internal customizations that you can set it up exactly as you want.

LENS - Biggest surprise was the 18-105 VR lens which I expected would be ho-hum, but turned out to be pretty sharp and clear. Better results than the 18-55 VR. We've really come a long way from the days (30 years ago) when you were cautioned to ALWAYS to buy a prime lens, NEVER the kit lens because of it's poor image quality. With computer-aided design and new technology, that's not true anymore.

IMAGE QUALITY - I shoot RAW for maximum detail and the ability to adjust settings afterward if necessary - like exposure or white balance. Image quality is very good to excellent depending on your RAW converter. To my eye, best results are obtained with View NX/Capture NX, but Adobe ACR/Lightroom still do a very good job. When shooting JPGs using the Standard Picture Mode, images are sharp and colors are true, without over-saturation. You can always use different Picture Modes and customize any of them to get closer to the in-camera results you want. For example, you can boost saturation and contrast and save the setting as your default if that's what you like.

LIGHT METER - Metering is fine and seems to be quite accurate in most cases. I use matrix metering mostly. As with any camera, you have to get to know the meter. If I had to be VERY critical, I'd say when it's pushed, it's more likely to preserve shadows than highlights, usually when Active DLighting is on. To me that's a good thing. [...] mentioned a slightly "over-enthusiatic" meter in its review. The good news is: if you really feel exposure results are not to your liking (whether over or under exposed), the meter is fine-tuneable, so go ahead and customize it as you see fit. I would just work with the meter first -get to know the camera and

2009-10-11 02:22:40 by Ike

I'm leaning more towards the Pentax because of its superior feature set, build quality and ect but the only thing that is bothering me is that the Pentax suffers from Noise problems at high iso's that is a category the Nikon always excels.... I'm not too sure about whom has better lens selection either.

Hi Jonathan,

A while back, I downloaded RAW ISO 1600, 3200, and 6400 shots for both cameras from a review site, converted them to jpg in Bibble, and compared. My observation was that as ISO increased, the D90 kept noise down better, especially in the shadows, but the Pentax held onto colors better. I liked the Pentax shots better, but that was a personal preference and I can certainly understand someone prefering the lower noise to the better color.

If you look at comparisons using jpg's taking directly from the camera on default settings, as DPReview and some other review sites do, the K-7 looks much worse because the K-7's default menu settings are not the best for high ISO. Only you can decide whether you are willing to go into the menu to change some settings.

I would suggest asking a major online retailer such as Adorama.com or BHPhoto.com about their restocking fees for buying two kits and returning one in new condition after brief testing. Then put both on a credit card and decide for yourself which you prefer.

I'm not sure what you mean by Nikon "always excelling" in high ISO. The D3 certainly excels at that, but in the previous generation -- D2, D200, D80 -- high ISO was the main weakness compared to Canon. Also, Nikon hasn't even announced a body with either of the new consumer-grade Sony sensors that allow the Sony A-500, Sony A-550, and Pentax K-x to get relativey good results at ISO 12,800. I suspect they'll get around to that in 2010, but this is the first time a major new Sony sensor has turned up in a Pentax before a Nikon.

(But note, those new sensors are not quite as clean at low ISO than the sensors in the D90 and K-7, so I don't expect to see them in enthusiast-spec cameras, but I would expect to eventually see it in something like a D3000 successor.)

Regarding lens selection:
-- Nikon has more lenses to choose from.
-- Pentax, along with excellent lenses from Sigma and Tamron, has more than enough to satisfly the vast majority of DSLR owners.
-- Take a close look at the price, size, and weight of the lenses offered by each brand. Although Nikon offers more lenses than Pentax, many of them are much more expensive, heavier, and bigger than what I would actually buy. Of course, you may be much richer and physically stronger than me. When I look at lenses that I actually want to use, because they combine excellent image quality with relatively small size and weight, and that I might realistically buy, because they are relatively moderately priced, I find Pentax's lineup more attractive than Nikon's. And there are Tamrons and Sigmas that I would rather own than their equivalent Nikon or Pentax, such as my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 -- the smallest and lightest in it's class, and absolutely excellent image quality. If I were somehow forced to switch to Nikon, there are Pentax lenses I would wish I could use on it. But there are no Nikon lenses -- not one -- that I would realistically buy for my Pentax even if I could mount it.
-- The vast majority of people who choose Nikon or Canon due to larger lens choice never buy anything for which an excellent equivalent wasn't available for Pentax and other less popular brands.
-- Some people choose Nikon or Canon because they think they might eventually want to become a professional photographer. A few do, and for the professional photographer, especially in sports or studio photography, Nikon and Canon really are better choices for most (not all). But do you think those pros are still using the consumer- or middle-grade cameras and lenses they started out with? Not most of them. If you start with a D90 and then go pro, you'll probably sell the D90 and the lens you got with it. Compared to that, switching brands isn't really that much harder.

Other considerations:
-- They are both excellent cameras. You won't go wrong with either choice.
-- The D90 is toward the end if its life cycle and therefore its price is down from where it started. The K-7 is much newer and its price has only recently started to inch downward.
-- If you're out shooting and suddenly need help from someone more experienced with your brand of DSLR, you're far more likely to find someone next to you shooting Nikon than Pentax. In over 5 years of shooting Pentax DSLRs I have never -- not once -- personally witnessed another person carrying a Pentax DSLR. I've seen exactly one Sony, and all the rest were Nikon and Canon. Only you can decide whether that matters to you.
-- There's a lot of talk about which is better -- in-lens image stabilization (Nikon) or in-body stabilization (Pentax). In-lens works better at longer focal lengths (more telephoto), while in-body stabilizes any old lens you mount. But recently, Tamron has started offering in-lens stabilized lenses for Nikon, and there's no reason they couldn't do the same for Pentax. Then you'd have a choice on Pentax, but still no choice on Nikon. Also, of all the image-stabilization systems on offer,

2009-11-26 14:10:31 by Jonathan

Price: $1,599.95

Widescreen 1080p HD video at 25 FPS, with sound via built-in or external 3.5mm stereo microphone jack
6-7fps captures fast action shots; 11-point SAFOX IX+ autofocus system with dedicated AF assist lamp and light wavelength sensor
Large 3-inch LCD with 921,000 dots of resolution; fully weather-sealed and coldproof design

pitman doesnt have it, neither does best buy, world wide foto, sams club they only have it ONLINE, i want to see the camera for myself...

Find a real camera store with nothing but camera stuff. Then just call ahead.

2009-11-17 09:49:06 by Jonathan

Here is what you do. Rather than have a whole bunch of people give opinions which may or may not have anything to do with the real world of photography, do this

Go into a camera store and see which of the cameras fits your hands the best.

See which cameras menu is the easiest for you to use to make changes in ISO, camera resolution, white balance, mode switching and make EV changes.

Finally, take a SD card with you and test each camera at their highest and lowest ISO as well as when using the white balance that matches the light in the store as well as with it in the "auto white balance" mode.

Once you get home and are able to see the results on your large computer monitor, you will know which camera is better for YOU, not us

2009-11-16 22:25:48 by Jonathan