K-7 vs. K-5

creampuff · 11-18-2010, 04:57 PM

I personally think the K-5 is a huge jump over the K-7. The AF and LV is obvious, as is the high ISO performance. But even at the lowest ISO, the K-5's dynamic range and ability to resolve fine detail is definitely there. Well some of you may feel the difference is negligible, but to me the difference is pretty clear and obvious.

If some of you want to use review sites to make a determination that the K-5's images aren't that much better well that's your option. Personally I take what they say with a pinch of salt because they are not infallible and have got it wrong before. Much like buying a car, the choice of engine and internal improvements in it can make a huge difference.

However my conclusion after more than a month of actual use is that the K-5 is still a lot better than the K-7, the same conclusion that my friend Frank and I came to when we first got our cameras here in Singapore. During that time we had two Pentax user outings and demo cameras for people to try firsthand. Practically every K-7 user who has demoed the K-5 wants to dump, erm... upgrade their cameras for the K-5. We also got shooters using other brands who never considered Pentax before to buy the K-5, which should say something about the K-5...

Last edited by creampuff; 11-18-2010 at 05:02 PM.

Tommot1965 · 11-18-2010, 05:07 PM

Originally posted by creampuff

I personally think the K-5 is a huge jump over the K-7. The AF and LV is obvious, as is the high ISO performance. But even at the lowest ISO, the K-5's dynamic range and ability to resolve fine detail is definitely there. Well some of you may feel the difference is negligible, but to me the difference is pretty clear and obvious.

If some of you want to use review sites to make a determination that the K-5's images aren't that much better well that's your option. Personally I take what they say with a pinch of salt because they have got it wrong before. However my conclusion after more than a month of actual use is that the K-5 is still a lot better than the K-7, the same conclusion that my friend Frank and I came to when we first got our cameras here in Singapore. During that time we had two Pentax user outings and demo cameras for people to try firsthand. Practically every K-7 user who has demoed the K-5 wants to dump, erm... upgrade their cameras for the K-5. We also got shooters using other brands who never considered Pentax before to buy the K-5, which should say something about the K-5...

of course all K7 owners want to dump thier bodies for a K5....so do I....if money was no object. id have every latest gadget out there

but the OP wants to know if the upgrade is worth it in real terms..or at least I do...and I really don't believe it is...I live in the world of Mortgages and bills. where Camera Bodies a Luxurious hobby....if I could trade my K7 for a $300 difference for a K5..then Id do it today...but my reality is $1000 difference.. that's a deal breaker , particularly seeing as I want better glass

pcarfan · 11-18-2010, 05:19 PM

Originally posted by creampuff

I personally think the K-5 is a huge jump over the K-7. The AF and LV is obvious, as is the high ISO performance. But even at the lowest ISO, the K-5's dynamic range and ability to resolve fine detail is definitely there. Well some of you may feel the difference is negligible, but to me the difference is pretty clear and obvious.

If some of you want to use review sites to make a determination that the K-5's images aren't that much better well that's your option. Personally I take what they say with a pinch of salt because they are not infallible and have got it wrong before. Much like buying a car, the choice of engine and internal improvements in it can make a huge difference.

However my conclusion after more than a month of actual use is that the K-5 is still a lot better than the K-7, the same conclusion that my friend Frank and I came to when we first got our cameras here in Singapore. During that time we had two Pentax user outings and demo cameras for people to try firsthand. Practically every K-7 user who has demoed the K-5 wants to dump, erm... upgrade their cameras for the K-5. We also got shooters using other brands who never considered Pentax before to buy the K-5, which should say something about the K-5...

K-5 is absolutely much better than the K-7, no doubt about that. I think the K-5 could be the best APS-C camera out there....but, what we are trying to do here is to quantify the improvements ands see if it would makes a difference to each user.

Me for instance would love it if the iso 6400 would match the iso 1600 of the K-7...is it wrong to ask this quation?

7.2 fps second is an improvemnet, but for one who may never push that lever to Af-C, is that an improvement that matters.

So, I hope it is ok to discuss individual improvements and see whether it makes sense to upgrade?...I don't think anyone is saying the K-5 is not an improvement.
................................................................................................................................

I frankly would like to hear from someone who had gone from the K-7 to the K-5 on exactly how it improved there photography

Here is what I wrote about how the K-7 improved my photography over the K10D....I would love to hear a similar thing going from the K-7 to K-5.

I've had the opportunity to take the K-7 out for a quick session. This is not usually my style of shooting, but was enough to form an opinion on the camera. I(I may miss a lot, and I will update it as I think of features to mention)

Things that I couldn't use with the K10D but wanted to, now I can with the K-7

Green/Evaluative metering: I always used spot metering in the K10D as the green metering was random.

AF-C: In the K10D it gets in the way, and it was better to use AF-S for action. In the K-7 it is very usable. Not perfect, but much much improved. More than enough for me.

AWB under tungsten: Obviously the K10D screws this up royally, but no big deal, as I have a custom setting. With the K-7 AWB is almose perfect.

TAv Mode: I never used this before, but now it is usable because of the higher usable iso. But, the full story is not all peachy here, as I will explain later.

LV manual lens focus: in live view, I can magnify and focus and get very accurate metering with manual lenses. Time consuming process, but for static objects and with more experience this will be very welcome.

AF Fine-Tune: Absolutely incredible. I Love it, love it, love it...K20D had this.

Built-in Flash: I think the exposure and usability of the built-in flash is a huge improvement. Works very well.

Movie mode: Haven't used much, but it's there.

Much Improved over the K10D

AF: 95% of the time it is very good and locks focus much faster in good conditions and in poor lighting. But I would say 5% of the time, in poor condition it hunts and refuses to lock focus even with moderate contrast. The green light should fire in these instances, but it doesn't.

P-TTL: Seems to expose much much better.

LCD: It is nice to have the higher resolution and larger screen.

Button layout: I love it...extremely intuitive and much much better IMO.

Viewfinder: A DSLR by definition should have a 100% viewfinder. I thought it wouldn't matter, but I like the idea of getting the composition spot on from the get go, so I like this.

Low light accurate focus: The focus is much more accurate in low light.

ISO Performance: Is much improved over the K10D in most instances, especially in retaining detail, contrast and overall rendering. Color and noise is not that great. Some colors bleed in high iso, and lot of noise in the pixel level. So, very useful in most instances, not so good for massive cropping &/or large prints.

Some improvements over the k10D

ISO performance: Pixel level noise is only a stop or more better. BUT, like I said above, it is much better in rendering in all other ways in high iso, that iso is usable for almost 2 stops more than the K10D (400 vs 1250/1600)

Size and shape: It was awkward in the beginning, and then I got to like it very much. Balances well even with the Sigma 100-300. I Like the new size.

Better with the K10D

Focus selector switch: The lever that chooses AF-C, AF-S, MF is flimsy and will break off

Lack of SR lever

I am fine with the SD card slot, and the battery slot. Some may not like this. I don't use bracketing so don't miss that button either.

Conclusion: In features and usability there is no doubt that the k-7 is leaps and bounds ahead of the K10D. My next statement is probably going to upset a lot, and I really need to spend more time with the camera. But, my early opinion is such that, for my style of shooting, I think IQ wise the K-7 is better in 50% (as in a 9 for the K-7 and a 8 for the K10D) of the time, even for about 30% ( 9 for both cameras) of the time and 20% of the images I would rather have my k10D ( 9 for the K10-D and 8 for the K-7) . I will update this later as I get to know the camera. (I really can't give you more detail on this oinion, it is just the feeling I get as I critically look at the images). (UPDATE: Having used the K-7 for a while, shooting in RAW and using LR2.4 and CS2 and noiseware, the final IQ wise the K-7 is better almost always...so, IQ wise i like the K-7 almost 100% of the time)

janneman · 11-18-2010, 05:27 PM

Originally posted by Tommot1965

of course all K7 owners want to dump thier bodies for a K5....so do I....if money was no object. id have every latest gadget out there

but the OP wants to know if the upgrade is worth it in real terms..or at least I do...and I really don't believe it is...I live in the world of Mortgages and bills. where Camera Bodies a Luxurious hobby....if I could trade my K7 for a $300 difference for a K5..then Id do it today...but my reality is $1000 difference.. that's a deal breaker , particularly seeing as I want better glass

Go for glass....

Tommot1965 · 11-18-2010, 05:41 PM

Originally posted by janneman

Go for glass....

cheers Jannerman..I really want that new sigma 70-200 Os lens, that will make my K7 shine better than the 70-200 HSM II that I currently have...

I know its a bit OT...but the reality is..most of us...or me

don't have the quality glass to even make the K7 shine. let alone the K5....I want better glass NOW.... bloody bills

Ive withdrawn my K7 from the market place after studying this question { K5 vs K7 }....!!

creampuff · 11-18-2010, 05:51 PM

Seems like for some of you money, or the lack of it is the real issue...

pcarfan · 11-18-2010, 06:05 PM

Originally posted by creampuff

Seems like for some of you money, or the lack of it is the real issue...

Nah.............

For me personally, I ran out of space to keep the K-5 and don't want to go through the trouble of moving my furniture for it.....besides, opening those camera boxes are a real pain, who wants to go through that?...and oh my god! don't even mention that "buy it now" button and the hassle of pressing that.......so, I said forget about the K-5.

**bushwhacker09** · 11-18-2010, 06:32 PM

I was just about to write you a check, but my wife came in with her hand out...

Tommot1965 · 11-18-2010, 06:46 PM

Originally posted by creampuff

Seems like for some of you money, or the lack of it is the real issue...

of course..life is a balancing act for most of us..we balance what we would really love..to what is achievable financially , hence this whole debate...there would not be one person here that debates that he K5 is less of a body than the K7...its just is the extra worth the added expense, for me NO.......if you have no such concerns..then my hat is off to you sir

....

although i have seen a thread that debated the softness of the K5 sensor over the D7000 and K7. but that has since been disproved I believe due to better lens IQ being used in a later test

**Clarkey** · 11-18-2010, 07:06 PM

Originally posted by creampuff

I personally think the K-5 is a huge jump over the K-7. The AF and LV is obvious, as is the high ISO performance. But even at the lowest ISO, the K-5's dynamic range and ability to resolve fine detail is definitely there. Well some of you may feel the difference is negligible, but to me the difference is pretty clear and obvious.

If some of you want to use review sites to make a determination that the K-5's images aren't that much better well that's your option. Personally I take what they say with a pinch of salt because they are not infallible and have got it wrong before. Much like buying a car, the choice of engine and internal improvements in it can make a huge difference.

However my conclusion after more than a month of actual use is that the K-5 is still a lot better than the K-7, the same conclusion that my friend Frank and I came to when we first got our cameras here in Singapore. During that time we had two Pentax user outings and demo cameras for people to try firsthand. Practically every K-7 user who has demoed the K-5 wants to dump, erm... upgrade their cameras for the K-5. We also got shooters using other brands who never considered Pentax before to buy the K-5, which should say something about the K-5...

Thanks for the words Creampuff. I'm also in a quandry, and will upgrade, just a matter of when.

If the OP isn't in too much of a hurry, he can always wait until February - March next year, in which time things will likely be a lot cheaper. Cheaper means more camera for money, and more money for lenses.

jboyde · 11-18-2010, 11:17 PM

About DR between the K7 and K5, I'd like to see actual results of tests between the two cameras. From what I read, the K7's range is 9.5 stops. What is it for the K5? Also, is that assuming you're shooting in RAW?
I love my K7 and K20 and I'm not ready to upgrade. In a way, im trying to quell my CBA. ;-)

11-18-2010, 04:57 PM	#16
creampuff Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,953	I personally think the K-5 is a huge jump over the K-7. The AF and LV is obvious, as is the high ISO performance. But even at the lowest ISO, the K-5's dynamic range and ability to resolve fine detail is definitely there. Well some of you may feel the difference is negligible, but to me the difference is pretty clear and obvious. If some of you want to use review sites to make a determination that the K-5's images aren't that much better well that's your option. Personally I take what they say with a pinch of salt because they are not infallible and have got it wrong before. Much like buying a car, the choice of engine and internal improvements in it can make a huge difference. However my conclusion after more than a month of actual use is that the K-5 is still a lot better than the K-7, the same conclusion that my friend Frank and I came to when we first got our cameras here in Singapore. During that time we had two Pentax user outings and demo cameras for people to try firsthand. Practically every K-7 user who has demoed the K-5 wants to dump, erm... upgrade their cameras for the K-5. We also got shooters using other brands who never considered Pentax before to buy the K-5, which should say something about the K-5... Last edited by creampuff; 11-18-2010 at 05:02 PM.

11-18-2010, 05:07 PM	#17
Tommot1965 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Perth Western Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,026	Originally posted by creampuff I personally think the K-5 is a huge jump over the K-7. The AF and LV is obvious, as is the high ISO performance. But even at the lowest ISO, the K-5's dynamic range and ability to resolve fine detail is definitely there. Well some of you may feel the difference is negligible, but to me the difference is pretty clear and obvious. If some of you want to use review sites to make a determination that the K-5's images aren't that much better well that's your option. Personally I take what they say with a pinch of salt because they have got it wrong before. However my conclusion after more than a month of actual use is that the K-5 is still a lot better than the K-7, the same conclusion that my friend Frank and I came to when we first got our cameras here in Singapore. During that time we had two Pentax user outings and demo cameras for people to try firsthand. Practically every K-7 user who has demoed the K-5 wants to dump, erm... upgrade their cameras for the K-5. We also got shooters using other brands who never considered Pentax before to buy the K-5, which should say something about the K-5... of course all K7 owners want to dump thier bodies for a K5....so do I....if money was no object. id have every latest gadget out there but the OP wants to know if the upgrade is worth it in real terms..or at least I do...and I really don't believe it is...I live in the world of Mortgages and bills. where Camera Bodies a Luxurious hobby....if I could trade my K7 for a $300 difference for a K5..then Id do it today...but my reality is $1000 difference.. that's a deal breaker , particularly seeing as I want better glass

11-18-2010, 05:19 PM	#18
pcarfan Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Dayton, Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,978	Originally posted by creampuff I personally think the K-5 is a huge jump over the K-7. The AF and LV is obvious, as is the high ISO performance. But even at the lowest ISO, the K-5's dynamic range and ability to resolve fine detail is definitely there. Well some of you may feel the difference is negligible, but to me the difference is pretty clear and obvious. If some of you want to use review sites to make a determination that the K-5's images aren't that much better well that's your option. Personally I take what they say with a pinch of salt because they are not infallible and have got it wrong before. Much like buying a car, the choice of engine and internal improvements in it can make a huge difference. However my conclusion after more than a month of actual use is that the K-5 is still a lot better than the K-7, the same conclusion that my friend Frank and I came to when we first got our cameras here in Singapore. During that time we had two Pentax user outings and demo cameras for people to try firsthand. Practically every K-7 user who has demoed the K-5 wants to dump, erm... upgrade their cameras for the K-5. We also got shooters using other brands who never considered Pentax before to buy the K-5, which should say something about the K-5... K-5 is absolutely much better than the K-7, no doubt about that. I think the K-5 could be the best APS-C camera out there....but, what we are trying to do here is to quantify the improvements ands see if it would makes a difference to each user. Me for instance would love it if the iso 6400 would match the iso 1600 of the K-7...is it wrong to ask this quation? 7.2 fps second is an improvemnet, but for one who may never push that lever to Af-C, is that an improvement that matters. So, I hope it is ok to discuss individual improvements and see whether it makes sense to upgrade?...I don't think anyone is saying the K-5 is not an improvement. ................................................................................................................................ I frankly would like to hear from someone who had gone from the K-7 to the K-5 on exactly how it improved there photography Here is what I wrote about how the K-7 improved my photography over the K10D....I would love to hear a similar thing going from the K-7 to K-5. I've had the opportunity to take the K-7 out for a quick session. This is not usually my style of shooting, but was enough to form an opinion on the camera. I(I may miss a lot, and I will update it as I think of features to mention) Things that I couldn't use with the K10D but wanted to, now I can with the K-7 Green/Evaluative metering: I always used spot metering in the K10D as the green metering was random. AF-C: In the K10D it gets in the way, and it was better to use AF-S for action. In the K-7 it is very usable. Not perfect, but much much improved. More than enough for me. AWB under tungsten: Obviously the K10D screws this up royally, but no big deal, as I have a custom setting. With the K-7 AWB is almose perfect. TAv Mode: I never used this before, but now it is usable because of the higher usable iso. But, the full story is not all peachy here, as I will explain later. LV manual lens focus: in live view, I can magnify and focus and get very accurate metering with manual lenses. Time consuming process, but for static objects and with more experience this will be very welcome. AF Fine-Tune: Absolutely incredible. I Love it, love it, love it...K20D had this. Built-in Flash: I think the exposure and usability of the built-in flash is a huge improvement. Works very well. Movie mode: Haven't used much, but it's there. Much Improved over the K10D AF: 95% of the time it is very good and locks focus much faster in good conditions and in poor lighting. But I would say 5% of the time, in poor condition it hunts and refuses to lock focus even with moderate contrast. The green light should fire in these instances, but it doesn't. P-TTL: Seems to expose much much better. LCD: It is nice to have the higher resolution and larger screen. Button layout: I love it...extremely intuitive and much much better IMO. Viewfinder: A DSLR by definition should have a 100% viewfinder. I thought it wouldn't matter, but I like the idea of getting the composition spot on from the get go, so I like this. Low light accurate focus: The focus is much more accurate in low light. ISO Performance: Is much improved over the K10D in most instances, especially in retaining detail, contrast and overall rendering. Color and noise is not that great. Some colors bleed in high iso, and lot of noise in the pixel level. So, very useful in most instances, not so good for massive cropping &/or large prints. Some improvements over the k10D ISO performance: Pixel level noise is only a stop or more better. BUT, like I said above, it is much better in rendering in all other ways in high iso, that iso is usable for almost 2 stops more than the K10D (400 vs 1250/1600) Size and shape: It was awkward in the beginning, and then I got to like it very much. Balances well even with the Sigma 100-300. I Like the new size. Better with the K10D Focus selector switch: The lever that chooses AF-C, AF-S, MF is flimsy and will break off Lack of SR lever I am fine with the SD card slot, and the battery slot. Some may not like this. I don't use bracketing so don't miss that button either. Conclusion: In features and usability there is no doubt that the k-7 is leaps and bounds ahead of the K10D. My next statement is probably going to upset a lot, and I really need to spend more time with the camera. But, my early opinion is such that, for my style of shooting, I think IQ wise the K-7 is better in 50% (as in a 9 for the K-7 and a 8 for the K10D) of the time, even for about 30% ( 9 for both cameras) of the time and 20% of the images I would rather have my k10D ( 9 for the K10-D and 8 for the K-7) . I will update this later as I get to know the camera. (I really can't give you more detail on this oinion, it is just the feeling I get as I critically look at the images). (UPDATE: Having used the K-7 for a while, shooting in RAW and using LR2.4 and CS2 and noiseware, the final IQ wise the K-7 is better almost always...so, IQ wise i like the K-7 almost 100% of the time)

11-18-2010, 05:27 PM	#19
janneman Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Netherlands Photos: Gallery Posts: 908	Originally posted by Tommot1965 of course all K7 owners want to dump thier bodies for a K5....so do I....if money was no object. id have every latest gadget out there but the OP wants to know if the upgrade is worth it in real terms..or at least I do...and I really don't believe it is...I live in the world of Mortgages and bills. where Camera Bodies a Luxurious hobby....if I could trade my K7 for a $300 difference for a K5..then Id do it today...but my reality is $1000 difference.. that's a deal breaker , particularly seeing as I want better glass Go for glass....

11-18-2010, 05:41 PM	#20
Tommot1965 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Perth Western Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,026	Originally posted by janneman Go for glass.... cheers Jannerman..I really want that new sigma 70-200 Os lens, that will make my K7 shine better than the 70-200 HSM II that I currently have... I know its a bit OT...but the reality is..most of us...or me don't have the quality glass to even make the K7 shine. let alone the K5....I want better glass NOW.... bloody bills Ive withdrawn my K7 from the market place after studying this question { K5 vs K7 }....!!

11-18-2010, 05:51 PM	#21
creampuff Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,953	Seems like for some of you money, or the lack of it is the real issue...

11-18-2010, 06:05 PM	#22
pcarfan Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Dayton, Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,978	Originally posted by creampuff Seems like for some of you money, or the lack of it is the real issue... Nah............. For me personally, I ran out of space to keep the K-5 and don't want to go through the trouble of moving my furniture for it.....besides, opening those camera boxes are a real pain, who wants to go through that?...and oh my god! don't even mention that "buy it now" button and the hassle of pressing that.......so, I said forget about the K-5.

11-18-2010, 06:32 PM	#23
bushwhacker09 Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Blue Ridge Parkway Posts: 67 Original Poster	I was just about to write you a check, but my wife came in with her hand out...

11-18-2010, 06:46 PM	#24
Tommot1965 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Perth Western Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,026	Originally posted by creampuff Seems like for some of you money, or the lack of it is the real issue... of course..life is a balancing act for most of us..we balance what we would really love..to what is achievable financially , hence this whole debate...there would not be one person here that debates that he K5 is less of a body than the K7...its just is the extra worth the added expense, for me NO.......if you have no such concerns..then my hat is off to you sir .... although i have seen a thread that debated the softness of the K5 sensor over the D7000 and K7. but that has since been disproved I believe due to better lens IQ being used in a later test

11-18-2010, 07:06 PM	#25
Clarkey Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Brampton, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,456	Originally posted by creampuff I personally think the K-5 is a huge jump over the K-7. The AF and LV is obvious, as is the high ISO performance. But even at the lowest ISO, the K-5's dynamic range and ability to resolve fine detail is definitely there. Well some of you may feel the difference is negligible, but to me the difference is pretty clear and obvious. If some of you want to use review sites to make a determination that the K-5's images aren't that much better well that's your option. Personally I take what they say with a pinch of salt because they are not infallible and have got it wrong before. Much like buying a car, the choice of engine and internal improvements in it can make a huge difference. However my conclusion after more than a month of actual use is that the K-5 is still a lot better than the K-7, the same conclusion that my friend Frank and I came to when we first got our cameras here in Singapore. During that time we had two Pentax user outings and demo cameras for people to try firsthand. Practically every K-7 user who has demoed the K-5 wants to dump, erm... upgrade their cameras for the K-5. We also got shooters using other brands who never considered Pentax before to buy the K-5, which should say something about the K-5... Thanks for the words Creampuff. I'm also in a quandry, and will upgrade, just a matter of when. If the OP isn't in too much of a hurry, he can always wait until February - March next year, in which time things will likely be a lot cheaper. Cheaper means more camera for money, and more money for lenses.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

11-18-2010, 11:17 PM	#26
jboyde Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: New York Posts: 328	About DR between the K7 and K5, I'd like to see actual results of tests between the two cameras. From what I read, the K7's range is 9.5 stops. What is it for the K5? Also, is that assuming you're shooting in RAW? I love my K7 and K20 and I'm not ready to upgrade. In a way, im trying to quell my CBA. ;-)