imaging resource on k-7

jeffkrol · 06-07-2009, 09:17 PM

Impossible to know if this has been seen here yet....Interesting quotte for all those "AWB doen't work in tungsten" which it never was supposed to do.....
Another sign that Pentax has made a thoughtful change to the auto white balance system based strongly on its tungsten lighting performance is found in Custom function 12: "AWB in Tungsten Light." Here you can set whether the Pentax K7 applies the default "Subtle correction" or "Strong correction" to tungsten lighting. Guess which I've chosen.

Pentax K-7 Digital Camera - Hands-On Preview - The Imaging Resource!

*er1kksen* · 06-08-2009, 04:54 AM

It might be referring to how even when you have the WB set to a preset, the K20D will still shift the color balance around on that little 4-way-color-square thing. This can be either enabled or disabled in the custom functions menu. Sounds like they've added another layer of correction for tungsten lighting, which is nice as the "tungsten" preset often still gets a bit yellowish in some situations.

mattdm · 06-08-2009, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by er1kksen

It might be referring to how even when you have the WB set to a preset, the K20D will still shift the color balance around on that little 4-way-color-square thing. This can be either enabled or disabled in the custom functions menu. Sounds like they've added another layer of correction for tungsten lighting, which is nice as the "tungsten" preset often still gets a bit yellowish in some situations.

Ooh, does the K20D actually show how it's moved the color balance on the 4-way-color-square thing? (The K10D doesn't have that feature. I assumed the K20D made the change in the background but didn't show it.)

*er1kksen* · 06-08-2009, 07:51 PM

I've never been able to go in and see where it's shifted it to, but I don't make a whole lot of use of this feature.

Miserere · 06-08-2009, 09:25 PM

Also:

We're pleased to report that the Pentax K7's Auto White Balance is excellent, easily compensating for tungsten lighting, something that has eluded the entire line of Pentax digital SLRs previously.

It had indeed!

jeffkrol · 06-09-2009, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by Miserere

Also:

We're pleased to report that the Pentax K7's Auto White Balance is excellent, easily compensating for tungsten lighting, something that has eluded the entire line of Pentax digital SLRs previously.

It had indeed!

That is a bit arguable. AWB, by Pentax definition (see every DSLR manual) was NOT calibrated to work below 5000K (approx.). Much "bluer" then most tungsten lights.....
The tungsten 'preset" was not designed to turn tungsten to white light, but render a more pleasing, natural glow to the red nature of the lighting... This simple concept has baffled tons of users (and reviewers) alike...
Now that's not to say that things couldn't be improved (they can always be improved).....
The dual AWB switch (to include tungsten or not) on the new k7 is a clear admission of what the past system was designed for.

gazonk · 06-09-2009, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by jeffkrol

The tungsten 'preset" was not designed to turn tungsten to white light, but render a more pleasing, natural glow to the red nature of the lighting...

I think it's difficult to make this decision at the time of shooting.
That's one of the reasons I shoot raw

EDIT: Interestingly, the K-7, despite being a high-end camera, seems to be a very good camera for shooting JPEG, and has some interesting JPEG-only features (like HDR)... maybe I'll start using a little JPEG again if I get the K-7 (...or K-8).