This post isn’t really a review of the Pentax K7 as such, it’s more along what my experiences have been with this camera for the past 2 years. If you’re after a technical review of the K7 then the one at dpreview.com is a good place to start.
When it came time to purchase my first dSLR I did what most people do and spent a while reading reviews about Canon and Nikon cameras and initially thought that was the way I was going to head too. But then I stumbled upon this review of the Pentax K10D by Richard Martin. I remembered the Pentax commercials on TV from the mid-eighties (I think) and their slogan “its a Pentax”; however I hadn’t really heard much about them since then. But Richards review pointed me in a different direction and I started reading reviews about what was then Pentax’s latest dSLR the K7. All the reviews that I read indicated that the K7 was worthy of consideration and performed as well, if not better, than the alternatives of the time.
Anyway the time came to purchase so I headed off to the shops and looked / held the various Canons and Nikons that I had been reading about. I have relatively small hands and all of these cameras felt rather cumbersome and bulky. But then I held the Pentax K7, and this thing fit me like a glove; I didn’t quite hear angles singing but it was close! Even though it’s a relatively small camera its built like a tank and feels very solid in the hand. The initial features that attracted me to the Pentax K7 were that it has a magnesium alloy chassis, it’s backward compatible with legacy Pentax lenses and it is fully weather sealed. This last feature is particularly important to me as I like to spend quite a bit of time bushwalking and camping in the Alpine National Park and the weather can get very savage.
Even at -7C the K7 kept going longer than I could.
After using this camera for more than two years it handles really well and I still find it an absolute joy to use. To get the best out of the sensor I think you need to pony up and get some decent glass, i.e. the Pentax line of DA* lenses. Also I am aware that many people comment on the K7 sensors noise at high ISO settings; I don’t go for the whole photographing a black cat in a box under a bridge in the middle of the night style of photography so the noise hasn’t really been an issue for me. Besides, any noise that I have come across tends to have a film like quality when printed and doesn’t typically have the harsh chroma type noise that often pops up on other cameras.
I mentioned above that the weather sealing was important to me and in the two years I have been using the K7 it has certainly had a workout. I have had it in snow storms, its been covered with ash from a steam train.
Both the camera and I got covered in ash taking this shot.
I have had it sprayed with sea water, its been rained on and I have fallen over with it; but it still looks in mint condition. At this stage I think it’s just going to keep going and going.
Fell over in the dark getting into position for this shot. The camera was fine, but I did a good job on my leg.
I have been trying to think over the last couple of days of any negatives for the K7 for the type of photography I like do however none really come to mind. If there were in the early days I have just gotten used to them or I have adjusted my shooting habits to suit. I tend to use the camera mainly in manual mode and haven’t really used the other modes all that much. I have recently been using it for shooting sports, specifically motocross and dirt bikes, check out my website for some examples, and it’s frame rate of ~5.5 fps is more than enough to capture this fast-moving sport.
All in all I am very happy with the Pentax K7. It really is a fantastic camera and I am now trying to convince my better half that I need another one as a back up.