[illdefined]

Don't miss the boat pentax. if you have to announce early then do it. Even if it is them 2 months until delivery. Announce it and announce it now! don't give people a chance to 'imagine' the specs and then get disappointed if they are not there. Slap this new camera in into the face of the internet crowd before there is no surprise left.

mike

agreed. if the early leak wasn't deliberate, then Pentax should take advantage of the peak interest and announce now. for better or worse, I'm sure they'd get (and retain) more preorders by doing so.

it's unfortunate that their hand might've been tipped involuntarily, but it does happen all the time and is a common part of doing business in this day and age. absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

.....and yes, we all just want it now.

[deejjjaaaa]

that got the K20 such good resolution scores

actually not, K20D has absolutely not outstanding resolution... unless of course you compare it w/ 10Mp sensors where it has an edge just by a brute force of almost 1.5 more pixels

[Torphoto]

Ok now look and see what you guys have done, we have Ned releasing teaser pics now and telling you all to stop bashing each other.

[vinzer]

At this point, this "K7" better be more than a smaller, metal, slightly improved K20. Let it be the small milestone in digital photography we all want it to be, else now even the higher official echelons of Pentax will be guilty of crying wolf.

We're setting ourselves up for disappointment if we expect such things. I'd rather keep my expectations down and then be pleasantly surprised if it does become a milestone. At a guesstimated price of 1500 euros, there's not much to work with there to create a milestone in digital photography. The prism hump looks mighty fine and the strap lugs are definitely great (I like retro-styling), but to suddenly expect D3/1Ds performance (current hallmarks in DSLRs) would be asking for too much.

Pentax never made statements about this new camera being able to stand head and shoulders with the best other companies have to offer, so let's not put words in their mouth and assume they cried wolf when they announce the camera and some of us are left disappointed.

I'm as excited as anyone else is over the new camera, and while speculation is fine and dandy, I will separate such speculations from expectations.

[ManuH]

It sure will be hard to keep the hype going for a month. At the first leak and as more specs came out i was ready to 'pre-order'.

Personally, it may be the first camera I will pre-order, especially if the rumoured specs are true (and I'm not talking about square or APS-H sensor non-sense). But smaller body, 5fps, 920k 3" LCD, improved Liveview, faster shutter, 100% VF, improved AF and metering, are all gold to me.

[illdefined]

We're setting ourselves up for disappointment if we expect such things. I'd rather keep my expectations down and then be pleasantly surprised if it does become a milestone. At a guesstimated price of 1500 euros, there's not much to work with there to create a milestone in digital photography. The prism hump looks mighty fine and the strap lugs are definitely great (I like retro-styling), but to suddenly expect D3/1Ds performance (current hallmarks in DSLRs) would be asking for too much.

Pentax never made statements about this new camera being able to stand head and shoulders with the best other companies have to offer, so let's not put words in their mouth and assume they cried wolf when they announce the camera and some of us are left disappointed.

I'm as excited as anyone else is over the new camera, and while speculation is fine and dandy, I will separate such speculations from expectations.

i don't disagree with you. for me personally, they already had me at "smaller K20" (the essentially confirmed AF assist lamp is already bonus enough for me.).

the issue is that the long gap between the early leaks and drawn out announcement date has opened up room for ever wilder and wilder expectations. this will only mean proportionally more disappointment at the eventual announcement.

i don't remember any leaks from other camera brands that have been this early. others have usually timed their announcements to the height of interest from a leak, intentional or otherwise. this is why i believe Pentax should move up their announcement and strike while interest is high and expectations remain relatively realistic.

for instance, how long would they expect this thread to keep going? it's already long run its course.

[mutedphotos]

i don't remember any leaks from other camera brands that have been this early. others have usually timed their announcements to the height of interest from a leak, intentional or otherwise. this is why i believe Pentax should move up their announcement and strike while interest is high and expectations remain relatively realistic.

for instance, how long would they expect this thread to keep going? it's already long run its course.

I recall a couple times in both the Sony and Nikon camps where cameras were leaked well before the official announcement. It happens with every company these days. Even the notoriously tight-lipped Apple can't get away from it. And I wouldn't hold my breath on expecting Pentax to bump up the announcement date. I've never seen that happen with any company.

But speaking of Sony and the possibility of an AF assist lamp on the K-7 (and this may be a little OT), whatever happened with the laser grid assists that Sony use to implement? I still use my old Sony F-828 from time to time, which has the laser grid feature, and I always loved it. Much less obtrusive than a bright light shining in your face (and no it wasn't a bright retina-searing laser). Most people never even noticed it, and it always worked well, even at fairly significant distances. I don't think even Sony uses this anymore though. Seems a pity to me.

[illdefined]

I recall a couple times in both the Sony and Nikon camps where cameras were leaked well before the official announcement. It happens with every company these days. Even the notoriously tight-lipped Apple can't get away from it. And I wouldn't hold my breath on expecting Pentax to bump up the announcement date. I've never seen that happen with any company.

almost a month and a half early? Canon, Nikon and others have most certainly moved announcements earlier or later to the many motions of the market (call it strategic thunder stealing). we've just never known it because fortunately for them, what leaked wasn't a promotional asset with a predetermined announcement date.

[mutedphotos]

almost a month and a half early? Canon, Nikon and others have most certainly moved announcements earlier or later to the many motions of the market (call it strategic thunder stealing). we've just never known it because fortunately for them, what leaked wasn't a promotional asset with a predetermined announcement date.

Perhaps, but that's just as speculative as everything else in this thread

[illdefined]

Perhaps, but that's just as speculative as everything else in this thread

it's just marketing. when you drop the press release is often more important than what's in it.

[mutedphotos]

it's just marketing. when you drop the press release is often more important than what's in it.

Very true, and I agree with your premise that Pentax should capitalize on the hype while they have it. I'd certainly like to see an announcement sooner rather than later, I'm just not expecting it any sooner than 5/21. Maybe it's just the pessimist in me

[illdefined]

I'm hoping they'll change 5/21 to the shipping date..

[Yohan Pamudji]

EDIT:
I just understand now what you mean ...
You used the K-7 front photo from the NDA press kit. Nice, but others have it in larger size
I found it more enterteining to verify that indeed Ned himself leaked an image...

For people not having seen the press kit photo yet (AFAIK, it didn't leak yet), I enlarged your version.

Enjoy

Are you saying you have the press kit photo? Then spill the beans, man!

[dave sz]

I'm hoping they'll change 5/21 to the shipping date..

me too. I won't be buying the camera til 2010 but I want it out asap. A couple pages back someone said early July will be the ship date. I just don't agree. I'm thinking they might get it out a week or two before then just to get it out in time for 4th of july...

[ogl]

The start date of sale K-7 in Europe are approx. June, 21-23.
The camera is already in batch production. The first K-7 will be in European stocks in 1-2 weeks. The first shipment from factory are already done. Some dealers have got K-7.