[lol101]

Although the specs have yet to be released -- and until then we can only speculate -- it seems to me like this new K could be the perfect "back up" camera for a working professional photographer. Maybe not the top of the line as far as specs go, but small and rugged, and able to offer alternative features to the D700, Mark II, or Sony A900 you're lugging around. And if this is the case, it would also be a great main camera for an advanced amateur, or a street or art shooter who doesn't want to draw too much attention to themself.

If it's priced competitively and marketed well, I think it could be very popular.

I am very far from being a pro but what you describe would fit me perfectly as a backup to my 5D.

Large VF is mandatory as I would mainly use it for manual lenses as a street camera.

[thibs]

Canon on the other hand has already pushed out one DSLR with video mode and has been making video cameras for decades, and they still were not able to get 1080p 24fps out of the 500D. So I would rather see silky smooth well thought out 720p video at a full 24fps.

You meant that they protected sales of their 5dmk2 jewel ?

[pareto]

There are many rumours about a totally new viewfinder. But the EVF overlay seems not to be ready yet. As the K7 shall have a classic or limited style, what about a built-in split screen like Katz-eye, but perfectly compatible with AF and metering?

[lol101]

Assuming Samsung and Pentax have upgraded the old sensor with current tech then we might be able to expect noise levels 1.5 to 2 times as clean as the K20D.

You mean 1.5/2 stops better just by "tweaking" the sensor... unlikely IMO. 0.5 stop seems more reasonable...

I figure the D300 is a full stop better but has less pixels, and technology has added another stop improvement since then. So more than likely a native range of 100-6400iso with results at 6400 on par with 2000 on the k20d. Not bad I suppose.

This would roughly put the K7 on par with the D700... would be nice but I don't think it will happen.

Dynamic range also has some potential, given current tech we could see an extra stop to two stops gained here, unless pentax does something radical.

Again: one stop more DR is already a huge step from the same sensor and would put the K7D very close to FF.

[janneman]

Yes, the latest

[janneman]

I mean Leaks...

[Caat]

Hmm. viewfinder does not seem so big here.....

So, they (we) need a cheaper range of sealed lenses as well... If the ruggedness Hoya looks for really happes , they will come sooner rather than later. But first, they want to sel a few more expensive sealed lenses...

I follow you but I also disagree... For me it would be the other way round...

You may be right but then you'd pay for looks....
It would sell no doubt but it would be the same as people buying FF because of the "wannahave value"(probably a large partof the FF buyres), or Canon "because I see them everywhere so they must be good".

And, just in case you are wondering: why is he posting instead of out taking pics???
Err, I am at work....

I expect cheaper sealed lenses to come but the kit lens that comes with this camera needs to be the first one. At the moment Pentax has a nice range of sealed bodies but no 'affordable' sealed kits.

By fit and finish I didn't mean some superficial aethetic. I mean build quality, craftmanship and substance to the construction allied with extremely responsive handling - it reacts instantly. A metal bodied small camera like that would help compensate for potentially poor headline specifications (3fps, 1/4000 etc [these are things my *ist DS had]).

[fejker]

This new camera should come with the 15mm ltd. attached.

[falconeye]

Wow, looks tiny when you scale the lens mount to the same size as this K20D image.

Thanks, made me becoming curious about the actual sizes...

Looks a bit strange, if you ask me.
Perhaps more like this?

Maybe. But I avoided speculation on the hidden part and made it a black rectangle.

I've been playing in auto cad (yes, Im' bored @ work) Outline of new K is green. Measures are in milimeters.

This is great work. Thanks.

Taking my own image (i.e., the guessed position of lower border (**)), I end up with the following measures:

............. K-m ...K7 K200D .K20D
Width [mm]: 122.5 120.0 133.5 142.0
Height [mm]: 91.5 _95.5 _95.0 101.0

So, the K7D is about as high as a K200D and about as narrow as a K-m.

__
(**): In taking the height from the image, I took into account that it was shot from a slight angle. From a side shot we know that the hot shoe and the front roof of the prism are flush (same height). It took this into account.

The difference in width of matjazz (122.5) is within the limits of precision we are going to get right now. I am wondering though if the width measure for K20D includes the strap attachment.

[Caat]

You mean 1.5/2 stops better just by "tweaking" the sensor... unlikely IMO. 0.5 stop seems more reasonable...

This would roughly put the K7 on par with the D700... would be nice but I don't think it will happen.

Again: one stop more DR is already a huge step from the same sensor and would put the K7D very close to FF.

I guess this all really depends upon how far Samsung has got in developing the sensor for its own NX system. Its in this processor development where Samsung and Pentax are synergistic. Developing the same component for use in two (largely) non-competing products is a good use of resources. The NX could well be on the market by Autumn - or at least fully finalised. So the two sensors could be nearly identical as the time gap between the launch of the K7 and the NX might not be all that huge (especially given how long it must take to design sensors).

It may be 14.6mp but quite a different beast. Gapless microlenses, additional channels for fast readout etc. Samsung's had a year.

But the realist in me is screaming "minor tweaks"

[Spag]

Yes, the latest

EXIF data says:

Exif IFD0

* Camera Make = PENTAX Corporation
* Camera Model = PENTAX K20D
* Last Modified Date/Time = 2008:10:04 17:07:22


So humm... :ugh:

[zoltan1983snapper]

It was a joke. "Leeks."

EXIF data says:

Exif IFD0

* Camera Make = PENTAX Corporation
* Camera Model = PENTAX K20D
* Last Modified Date/Time = 2008:10:04 17:07:22


So humm... :ugh:

[joerg]

Assuming Samsung and Pentax have upgraded the old sensor with current tech then we might be able to expect noise levels 1.5 to 2 times as clean as the K20D.

You mean 1.5/2 stops better just by "tweaking" the sensor... unlikely IMO. 0.5 stop seems more reasonable...


I figure the D300 is a full stop better but has less pixels, and technology has added another stop improvement since then. So more than likely a native range of 100-6400iso with results at 6400 on par with 2000 on the k20d. Not bad I suppose.

this would roughly put the K7 on par with the D700... would be nice but I don't think it will happen.

Dynamic range also has some potential, given current tech we could see an extra stop to two stops gained here, unless pentax does something radical.

Again: one stop more DR is already a huge step from the same sensor and would put the K7D very close to FF.

I was expressing the extremes Pentax could reach. However, I do not thinking aiming for the D700 in terms of noise is that big of a stretch. I would venture to say that the D700 and 5DmkII share similar noise characteristics up to iso 6400 (I own one camera and use the other at the studio I help with). The 5DmkII has about 75% higher pixel density than the D700. So if we compare pixel densities and noise levels the 5DmkII is about equal to a 10mp APS-C camera. This means with the help of Samsung Pentax could do a couple things, 1. scale down the sensor to 12mp maybe, 2. continue advancing the tech beyond the quality present in Canon's designs, 3. improve NR algorithms, 4. improve AA filters, 5. come within .5 to 1 stop of FF and call it good.

I honestly think samsung has the potential here to be the best sensor manufacturer out there, Canon does a great job, but Samsung has more resources to tap when it comes to a lot of the design and manufacturing process. Forget about the Sony sensors, Nikon has taken them to there absolute limits, look at the D3x vs the A900, sony could barely utilize their own sensor to its fullest.

As for the Canon's choice on the video mode, I am sure a large part of that is them trying to keep the 5d on top. But remember the 5D also has a faster bus, and uses CF meaning larger card sizes and slightly faster cards, so unless Pentax goes SDXC on this new camera, they too will face the same limits.

[Spag]

Haha good one!
My bad, my english is not so good...

[kolouch]

For me .. new body looks ugly :-/ Hope specs will be better then new design :-)