25 years Nikon - just switched to K7

zootog · 08-19-2010, 12:22 AM

Hi all

I've been a Nikon nut for half of my life, got out of pro photography 3 years ago.

Getting back into it now, sold most of my gear way back, after studying the options the k7 was a no brainer..........

Just got the k7 with the kit lens, while I get used to it. Then I'll be buying some primes.

Thats all for now........

Zootog

kytra · 08-19-2010, 12:26 AM

woot!

Good choice, the K7 is a very capable camera...and if you put some limiteds along... you're in for a very nice IQ.

Good word is that the SDM issue seems to be solved so you can consider some nice DA pro zooms.

**Kerrowdown** · 08-19-2010, 01:43 AM

Welcome to the forum, good choice of camera, should you choose to go back, pro work can be done with Pentax too.

zootog · 08-19-2010, 02:54 PM

That is why I bought the k7......

Learning a bit more each day...

Originally posted by kerrowdown

Welcome to the forum, good choice of camera, should you choose to go back, pro work can be done with Pentax too.

betterphotos · 08-20-2010, 01:25 PM

How does the sharpness of the camera compare with the Nikon digital's you've used. I ask because i'm considering this camera too. I've been mostly using film, and am getting into DSLR technology. I'm not very invested in any line of lenses, so I can make a good choice.
The reviews of the K7, aren't convincing one way or another.
Allot of them seem to say it's a competent camera without being outstanding in any field. It's rather faint praise.
The last review I read, said it isn't the sharpest...In film, sharpness is a matter of the lens, in digital it seems that its down to camera too.
I've always striven after the most sharpest photos.
Appreciate your experienced comments.
Brad.

FotoPete · 08-20-2010, 01:46 PM

Welcome to the club!

Sharpness is still dependant on the lens. The body can really extract more by virtue of its megapixels so long as the lens is up to the task.

Peter Zack · 08-20-2010, 01:57 PM

I agree with Fotopete. Sharpness is still a function of the lens. What many reviews talk about is Jpegs and how the camera processes the image. Who cares? These cameras shoot RAW for a reason and if you want the best out of your images, RAW is the only way to go for a number of reasons.

AF is solid on this body, very good feature set and menus, SR, WS and very good resolution for enlarging. Better AWB than Canon or Nikons. Much easier to manually adjust WB in crappy or mixed light as well.

It's only weakness is higher ISO's over 1600. But that's also a function of APSc and these high res sensors as well. The 7D and D300s (the only serious competition to this body) ain't great either. In fact if you set the Ev comp to +1 at ISO 1600 or 3200, you'll do very well in most lighting situations. Combine that with LR3 NR and you will be fine most of the time.

Congrats on the new camera.

betterphotos, buy one, you'll like it.

zootog · 08-23-2010, 07:45 AM

Hi again

I concur with last two posts, its still all about the glass, just to clarify, over the years I'd switched from all Nikon glass to Sigma primes mainly (except constant f2.8 120-300). So switching to Pentax still gives me the luxury of using familiar lenses - in fact my first (excluding) kit lens will be the 8mm-16mm sigma

Class A · 08-27-2010, 05:24 AM

Welcome zootog,

if I were you, I'd be trying to mate as many of the three amigos (FA 31 / 43 / 77) with your K-7. More "pixie-dust" than the new Ltds. AFAIC.

Originally posted by betterphotos

Allot of them seem to say it's a competent camera without being outstanding in any field. It's rather faint praise.

I bet you came across that stupid opinion piece by Michael Reichmann that he calls a "Hands On Review". With this sub-par blog post, he didn't do the K-7 justice at all. Note that he plays with Hasselblads, Leica M9s, etc. and apparently lost contact with products that are affordable.

While the K-7 might not be extreme in any particular category (would you really want it to be the smallest APS-C camera? Or the most expensive?) it is awesome value for money. It combines many desirable features (half of which M. Reichmann never discovered during his non-review period) in a very affordable package. It never occurred to M. Reichmann that being the best compromise with respect to optimising many diverging design goals could be a virtue. He looked for extremes in single areas but forgot that a good camera is made up by combining features/properties that gel together well and that are affordable as a whole.

The K-7 is arguably the best street photographer APS-C camera out there.

And M. Reichmann cannot put any of the FA Ltds. on a Nikon that may clinch the record in highest FPS. Luminous Landscapes used to praise Pentax lenses a lot. As to why M. Reichmann never realised that he had the best Pentax DSLR ever to shoot the Ltds. with, just escapes me. None of the reason that spring to my mind are flattering for him.

Sorry for the M. Reichmann rant, but he did everyone a big disservice with his poor opinion piece, and he never showed the greatness to admit to his sub-par performance on this particular "review".

BTW, IIRC, Imaging Resource gave the K-7 quite a glowing review. BTW, their K100D review gave me the final nudge to go for the K100D and I've never regretted it.

Gordon Lewis from "The Online Photographer" also gave the K-7 a very good review (linking to Part III as it contains the conclusion and links back to the first two parts).

Class A · 08-27-2010, 05:29 AM

Originally posted by zootog

I concur with last two posts, its still all about the glass, just to clarify, over the years I'd switched from all Nikon glass to Sigma primes mainly (except constant f2.8 120-300).

Good to see someone who doesn't have prejudices against Sigma. I have the Sigma 28/1.8 EX and the Sigma 70/2.8 EX and they are both excellent.

08-19-2010, 12:22 AM	#1
zootog New Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Dublin Posts: 13	25 years Nikon - just switched to K7 Hi all I've been a Nikon nut for half of my life, got out of pro photography 3 years ago. Getting back into it now, sold most of my gear way back, after studying the options the k7 was a no brainer.......... Just got the k7 with the kit lens, while I get used to it. Then I'll be buying some primes. Thats all for now........ Zootog

08-19-2010, 02:54 PM	#4
zootog New Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Dublin Posts: 13 Original Poster	Absolutely That is why I bought the k7...... Learning a bit more each day... Originally posted by kerrowdown Welcome to the forum, good choice of camera, should you choose to go back, pro work can be done with Pentax too.

08-27-2010, 05:24 AM	#9
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	Welcome zootog, if I were you, I'd be trying to mate as many of the three amigos (FA 31 / 43 / 77) with your K-7. More "pixie-dust" than the new Ltds. AFAIC. Originally posted by betterphotos Allot of them seem to say it's a competent camera without being outstanding in any field. It's rather faint praise. I bet you came across that stupid opinion piece by Michael Reichmann that he calls a "Hands On Review". With this sub-par blog post, he didn't do the K-7 justice at all. Note that he plays with Hasselblads, Leica M9s, etc. and apparently lost contact with products that are affordable. While the K-7 might not be extreme in any particular category (would you really want it to be the smallest APS-C camera? Or the most expensive?) it is awesome value for money. It combines many desirable features (half of which M. Reichmann never discovered during his non-review period) in a very affordable package. It never occurred to M. Reichmann that being the best compromise with respect to optimising many diverging design goals could be a virtue. He looked for extremes in single areas but forgot that a good camera is made up by combining features/properties that gel together well and that are affordable as a whole. The K-7 is arguably the best street photographer APS-C camera out there. And M. Reichmann cannot put any of the FA Ltds. on a Nikon that may clinch the record in highest FPS. Luminous Landscapes used to praise Pentax lenses a lot. As to why M. Reichmann never realised that he had the best Pentax DSLR ever to shoot the Ltds. with, just escapes me. None of the reason that spring to my mind are flattering for him. Sorry for the M. Reichmann rant, but he did everyone a big disservice with his poor opinion piece, and he never showed the greatness to admit to his sub-par performance on this particular "review". BTW, IIRC, Imaging Resource gave the K-7 quite a glowing review. BTW, their K100D review gave me the final nudge to go for the K100D and I've never regretted it. Gordon Lewis from "The Online Photographer" also gave the K-7 a very good review (linking to Part III as it contains the conclusion and links back to the first two parts). Last edited by Class A; 08-27-2010 at 07:49 PM.

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08-19-2010, 12:26 AM	#2
kytra Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bucharest Posts: 482	woot! Good choice, the K7 is a very capable camera...and if you put some limiteds along... you're in for a very nice IQ. Good word is that the SDM issue seems to be solved so you can consider some nice DA pro zooms.

08-19-2010, 01:43 AM	#3
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,835	Welcome to the forum, good choice of camera, should you choose to go back, pro work can be done with Pentax too.

08-20-2010, 01:25 PM	#5
betterphotos New Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Surrey Posts: 4	How does the sharpness of the camera compare with the Nikon digital's you've used. I ask because i'm considering this camera too. I've been mostly using film, and am getting into DSLR technology. I'm not very invested in any line of lenses, so I can make a good choice. The reviews of the K7, aren't convincing one way or another. Allot of them seem to say it's a competent camera without being outstanding in any field. It's rather faint praise. The last review I read, said it isn't the sharpest...In film, sharpness is a matter of the lens, in digital it seems that its down to camera too. I've always striven after the most sharpest photos. Appreciate your experienced comments. Brad.

08-20-2010, 01:46 PM	#6
FotoPete Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,774	Welcome to the club! Sharpness is still dependant on the lens. The body can really extract more by virtue of its megapixels so long as the lens is up to the task.

08-20-2010, 01:57 PM	#7
Peter Zack Pentaxian Moderator Emeritus Join Date: May 2007 Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 10,643	I agree with Fotopete. Sharpness is still a function of the lens. What many reviews talk about is Jpegs and how the camera processes the image. Who cares? These cameras shoot RAW for a reason and if you want the best out of your images, RAW is the only way to go for a number of reasons. AF is solid on this body, very good feature set and menus, SR, WS and very good resolution for enlarging. Better AWB than Canon or Nikons. Much easier to manually adjust WB in crappy or mixed light as well. It's only weakness is higher ISO's over 1600. But that's also a function of APSc and these high res sensors as well. The 7D and D300s (the only serious competition to this body) ain't great either. In fact if you set the Ev comp to +1 at ISO 1600 or 3200, you'll do very well in most lighting situations. Combine that with LR3 NR and you will be fine most of the time. Congrats on the new camera. betterphotos, buy one, you'll like it.

08-23-2010, 07:45 AM	#8
zootog New Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Dublin Posts: 13 Original Poster	Hi again I concur with last two posts, its still all about the glass, just to clarify, over the years I'd switched from all Nikon glass to Sigma primes mainly (except constant f2.8 120-300). So switching to Pentax still gives me the luxury of using familiar lenses - in fact my first (excluding) kit lens will be the 8mm-16mm sigma

08-27-2010, 05:29 AM	#10
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	Originally posted by zootog I concur with last two posts, its still all about the glass, just to clarify, over the years I'd switched from all Nikon glass to Sigma primes mainly (except constant f2.8 120-300). Good to see someone who doesn't have prejudices against Sigma. I have the Sigma 28/1.8 EX and the Sigma 70/2.8 EX and they are both excellent.