So I bought the K7...thought at first it was great, then I used it in the field...

cbaytan · 05-18-2011, 04:51 AM

Originally posted by HEEGZ

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/106600-k-7-high-iso-success.html

Oh, Adam's High ISO stuff, I knew that from the beginning, thanks much anyway, I was hoping a magical k-7 recipe has been found for sharp images. So. This is it. My K-7 will be leaving tomorrow for sale. I am content with my much controllable K200D.

Spent more than a year with my K-7, what is bugging me is I've tested green mode few times with family pictures and found that sometime they were better than my classic Av 100 ISO choice, but when I open images EXIF taken with the green mode, I was seeing 400-800 ISO which are unacceptable for me.

freehighlander · 05-20-2011, 06:21 AM - **1 Like**

I never use high iso dont see the point unless you go looking for a grainy effect.

When outside I rarely go higher than 200 for hand held trusty solid tripod for any Landscape shots.

High iso is only a get out clause in an emergancy when there is no tripod or no flash.

eddie1960 · 05-20-2011, 06:41 AM

Originally posted by freehighlander

I never use high iso dont see the point unless you go looking for a grainy effect.

When outside I rarely go higher than 200 for hand held trusty solid tripod for any Landscape shots.

High iso is only a get out clause in an emergancy when there is no tripod or no flash.

You never shoot the stuff i do then, For any live music i have media pass for flash is banned
for street photography i try and keep it low iso but frequently have to go 4-800 depending on time of day it may climb higher
even on film i shoot 400 more than 50-100 (though they have their place) and on a regular enough basis shoot 3200 film
it's subject and environment dependent. the k7 i shoot is pretty decent but I limit TAV to 800 iso, and only bump when i have to. If i was shooting a k5 i'd bump that to 3200 or higher from what i've seen
For landscapes i agree a tripod is great, and flash has it's place though i rarely use it as most of my lenses are full manual (taks, Ks and Ms and it's too finicky to shoot flash with them

peasant · 05-20-2011, 06:58 AM

Originally posted by freehighlander

High iso is only a get out clause in an emergancy when there is no tripod or no flash

No it's not....|< v baby.

eddie1960 · 05-20-2011, 07:19 AM

Originally posted by cbaytan

Spent more than a year with my K-7, what is bugging me is I've tested green mode few times with family pictures and found that sometime they were better than my classic Av 100 ISO choice, but when I open images EXIF taken with the green mode, I was seeing 400-800 ISO which are unacceptable for me.

if they are better than your classic choice and it only becomes apparent in exif what is the issue? really i find the K7 worse than my K10 at iso 100, but at any other iso it's equal(say 200) or better. I have no issue with the k7 up to 80-0 (though i may do a little NR in post) and up to 3200 i can get more than acceptable results (though sometimes the DR is pretty narrow) above 3200 it's pretty much hopeless but at 6400 it's still better than my old ds was at 3200.
For sure the K5 is a big step forward on high iso, and if it's in your budget and you shoot high iso it's pretty much the camera to go for. my budget doesn't encompass it right now but at some point i will get one and relegate the 7 to second/backup body, but long before then i want an x100

Designosophy · 05-20-2011, 08:09 AM

I'm watching some videos with Douglas Kirkland on Lynda.com and he uses ISO 100, 1000 and 2000 at different points during a portrait shoot. ISO is a tool when used properly, not a crutch.

jstevewhite · 05-20-2011, 08:16 AM

Originally posted by Designosophy

I'm watching some videos with Douglas Kirkland on Lynda.com and he uses ISO 100, 1000 and 2000 at different points during a portrait shoot. ISO is a tool when used properly, not a crutch.

I actually quite like the way my K20D looks when I shoot it at ISO3200 and convert the resulting image to B&W in Nik Silver Efex.

Designosophy · 05-20-2011, 08:49 AM

Originally posted by jstevewhite

I actually quite like the way my K20D looks when I shoot it at ISO3200 and convert the resulting image to B&W in Nik Silver Efex.

I like the K-7 noise in some situations too, even in color. I just went to their site, and Nik Silver Efex looks like a very nice, powerful b&w tool.

jstevewhite · 05-20-2011, 09:00 AM

Originally posted by Designosophy

I like the K-7 noise in some situations too, even in color. I just went to their site, and Nik Silver Efex looks like a very nice, powerful b&w tool.

I have to say I think that Nik Sivler Efex comes the closest to my memories of B&W film. They have "film emulation" where you choose, eg, "Kodak Tri-X". Their emulation is very good, I think; it *feels* like Tri-X. If you shoot the K-5 @ISO 80 or 100, it feels like Tri-X on MF. Nice stuff, I definitely recommend downloading and testing the trial.

eddie1960 · 05-20-2011, 09:02 AM

Originally posted by Designosophy

I like the K-7 noise in some situations too, even in color. I just went to their site, and Nik Silver Efex looks like a very nice, powerful b&w tool.

Nik does look good, a lot of what it does of course can be emulated in LR and PS with practice, it has the benefit of automating a lot of the steps for you.

I as well have no issues with the quality of noise on the K7 (mind you I like shooting Delta 3200 on my medium format lol)

Pentaxor · 05-20-2011, 09:11 AM

Nik, Imagenomic, Topazlabs, etc.... are great powerful tools. the only annoying thing is which one to use. btw, I got 6 software bundle add-ons on my PS5 and each own seems to do something the same if not better tha the other in some circumstances. makes pp a lot more complicated than making it much more easier due to determining what to use.

jstevewhite · 05-20-2011, 09:19 AM

Originally posted by Pentaxor

Nik, Imagenomic, Topazlabs, etc.... are great powerful tools. the only annoying thing is which one to use. btw, I got 6 software bundle add-ons on my PS5 and each own seems to do something the same if not better tha the other in some circumstances. makes pp a lot more complicated than making it much more easier due to determining what to use.

I like Topaz DeNoise the best of the commercial noise reduction apps. Of course, since I got my K-5 I don't have to do that as much!

Topaz De-Jpeg is pretty nice for some apps. But honestly, most of the other Topaz plugins are fairly ... 'gimmicky'. ReMask looks nice for shopping stuff, though.

Pentaxor · 05-20-2011, 09:27 AM

Originally posted by jstevewhite

I like Topaz DeNoise the best of the commercial noise reduction apps. Of course, since I got my K-5 I don't have to do that as much!

Topaz De-Jpeg is pretty nice for some apps. But honestly, most of the other Topaz plugins are fairly ... 'gimmicky'. ReMask looks nice for shopping stuff, though.

I do have to agree with some of the Topaz Plugins. I haven't used the Nik add-ons that much yet, particularly the Silver-efex (was using dfine more). but I would try to experiment on the others. Remask does a very nice job to be honest and a very handy tool. I like the presets as well although I feel that they should add more options aside from the existing ones.

Designosophy · 05-20-2011, 09:52 AM

I've only been taking pictures for 10 months, but I've been using Photoshop for quite some time, and I try to get by without plugins as much as possible. That said, from what I've seen, it looks like Topaz denoise does a better job than Adobe's built-in noise reduction tools. I'd like to see Nik Silver Efex in action to decide if it does a significantly better job with conversion than Photoshop. I guess that's what the 15-day trial is for.

jstevewhite · 05-20-2011, 09:55 AM

Originally posted by Designosophy

I've only been taking pictures for 10 months, but I've been using Photoshop for quite some time, and I try to get by without plugins as much as possible. That said, from what I've seen, it looks like Topaz denoise does a better job than Adobe's built-in noise reduction tools. I'd like to see Nik Silver Efex in action to decide if it does a significantly better job with conversion than Photoshop. I guess that's what the 15-day trial is for.

If you like the "film look", Silver Efex will rock your world.

If you haven't shot a lot of B&W film in your life, you may respond to it with a heartfelt "meh".

05-18-2011, 04:51 AM	#241
cbaytan Inactive Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Trabzon/Turkey Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,010	Parting time has arrived Originally posted by HEEGZ https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/106600-k-7-high-iso-success.html Oh, Adam's High ISO stuff, I knew that from the beginning, thanks much anyway, I was hoping a magical k-7 recipe has been found for sharp images. So. This is it. My K-7 will be leaving tomorrow for sale. I am content with my much controllable K200D. Spent more than a year with my K-7, what is bugging me is I've tested green mode few times with family pictures and found that sometime they were better than my classic Av 100 ISO choice, but when I open images EXIF taken with the green mode, I was seeing 400-800 ISO which are unacceptable for me.

05-20-2011, 06:21 AM - 1 Like	#242
freehighlander New Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Craigellachie Speyside Photos: Albums Posts: 24	Never use high iso I never use high iso dont see the point unless you go looking for a grainy effect. When outside I rarely go higher than 200 for hand held trusty solid tripod for any Landscape shots. High iso is only a get out clause in an emergancy when there is no tripod or no flash.

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05-20-2011, 06:41 AM	#243
eddie1960 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,666	Originally posted by freehighlander I never use high iso dont see the point unless you go looking for a grainy effect. When outside I rarely go higher than 200 for hand held trusty solid tripod for any Landscape shots. High iso is only a get out clause in an emergancy when there is no tripod or no flash. You never shoot the stuff i do then, For any live music i have media pass for flash is banned for street photography i try and keep it low iso but frequently have to go 4-800 depending on time of day it may climb higher even on film i shoot 400 more than 50-100 (though they have their place) and on a regular enough basis shoot 3200 film it's subject and environment dependent. the k7 i shoot is pretty decent but I limit TAV to 800 iso, and only bump when i have to. If i was shooting a k5 i'd bump that to 3200 or higher from what i've seen For landscapes i agree a tripod is great, and flash has it's place though i rarely use it as most of my lenses are full manual (taks, Ks and Ms and it's too finicky to shoot flash with them

05-20-2011, 06:58 AM	#244
peasant Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: adelaide Photos: Albums Posts: 89	Originally posted by freehighlander High iso is only a get out clause in an emergancy when there is no tripod or no flash No it's not....\|< v baby.

05-20-2011, 07:19 AM	#245
eddie1960 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,666	Originally posted by cbaytan Spent more than a year with my K-7, what is bugging me is I've tested green mode few times with family pictures and found that sometime they were better than my classic Av 100 ISO choice, but when I open images EXIF taken with the green mode, I was seeing 400-800 ISO which are unacceptable for me. if they are better than your classic choice and it only becomes apparent in exif what is the issue? really i find the K7 worse than my K10 at iso 100, but at any other iso it's equal(say 200) or better. I have no issue with the k7 up to 80-0 (though i may do a little NR in post) and up to 3200 i can get more than acceptable results (though sometimes the DR is pretty narrow) above 3200 it's pretty much hopeless but at 6400 it's still better than my old ds was at 3200. For sure the K5 is a big step forward on high iso, and if it's in your budget and you shoot high iso it's pretty much the camera to go for. my budget doesn't encompass it right now but at some point i will get one and relegate the 7 to second/backup body, but long before then i want an x100

05-20-2011, 08:09 AM	#246
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137	I'm watching some videos with Douglas Kirkland on Lynda.com and he uses ISO 100, 1000 and 2000 at different points during a portrait shoot. ISO is a tool when used properly, not a crutch.

05-20-2011, 08:16 AM	#247
jstevewhite Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midwest Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,407	Originally posted by Designosophy I'm watching some videos with Douglas Kirkland on Lynda.com and he uses ISO 100, 1000 and 2000 at different points during a portrait shoot. ISO is a tool when used properly, not a crutch. I actually quite like the way my K20D looks when I shoot it at ISO3200 and convert the resulting image to B&W in Nik Silver Efex.

05-20-2011, 08:49 AM	#248
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137	Originally posted by jstevewhite I actually quite like the way my K20D looks when I shoot it at ISO3200 and convert the resulting image to B&W in Nik Silver Efex. I like the K-7 noise in some situations too, even in color. I just went to their site, and Nik Silver Efex looks like a very nice, powerful b&w tool.

05-20-2011, 09:00 AM	#249
jstevewhite Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midwest Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,407	Originally posted by Designosophy I like the K-7 noise in some situations too, even in color. I just went to their site, and Nik Silver Efex looks like a very nice, powerful b&w tool. I have to say I think that Nik Sivler Efex comes the closest to my memories of B&W film. They have "film emulation" where you choose, eg, "Kodak Tri-X". Their emulation is very good, I think; it feels like Tri-X. If you shoot the K-5 @ISO 80 or 100, it feels like Tri-X on MF. Nice stuff, I definitely recommend downloading and testing the trial.

05-20-2011, 09:02 AM	#250
eddie1960 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,666	Originally posted by Designosophy I like the K-7 noise in some situations too, even in color. I just went to their site, and Nik Silver Efex looks like a very nice, powerful b&w tool. Nik does look good, a lot of what it does of course can be emulated in LR and PS with practice, it has the benefit of automating a lot of the steps for you. I as well have no issues with the quality of noise on the K7 (mind you I like shooting Delta 3200 on my medium format lol)

05-20-2011, 09:11 AM	#251
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Nik, Imagenomic, Topazlabs, etc.... are great powerful tools. the only annoying thing is which one to use. btw, I got 6 software bundle add-ons on my PS5 and each own seems to do something the same if not better tha the other in some circumstances. makes pp a lot more complicated than making it much more easier due to determining what to use.

05-20-2011, 09:19 AM	#252
jstevewhite Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midwest Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,407	Originally posted by Pentaxor Nik, Imagenomic, Topazlabs, etc.... are great powerful tools. the only annoying thing is which one to use. btw, I got 6 software bundle add-ons on my PS5 and each own seems to do something the same if not better tha the other in some circumstances. makes pp a lot more complicated than making it much more easier due to determining what to use. I like Topaz DeNoise the best of the commercial noise reduction apps. Of course, since I got my K-5 I don't have to do that as much! Topaz De-Jpeg is pretty nice for some apps. But honestly, most of the other Topaz plugins are fairly ... 'gimmicky'. ReMask looks nice for shopping stuff, though.

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05-20-2011, 09:27 AM	#253
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by jstevewhite I like Topaz DeNoise the best of the commercial noise reduction apps. Of course, since I got my K-5 I don't have to do that as much! Topaz De-Jpeg is pretty nice for some apps. But honestly, most of the other Topaz plugins are fairly ... 'gimmicky'. ReMask looks nice for shopping stuff, though. I do have to agree with some of the Topaz Plugins. I haven't used the Nik add-ons that much yet, particularly the Silver-efex (was using dfine more). but I would try to experiment on the others. Remask does a very nice job to be honest and a very handy tool. I like the presets as well although I feel that they should add more options aside from the existing ones.

05-20-2011, 09:52 AM	#254
Designosophy Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Northeast Philadelphia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,137	I've only been taking pictures for 10 months, but I've been using Photoshop for quite some time, and I try to get by without plugins as much as possible. That said, from what I've seen, it looks like Topaz denoise does a better job than Adobe's built-in noise reduction tools. I'd like to see Nik Silver Efex in action to decide if it does a significantly better job with conversion than Photoshop. I guess that's what the 15-day trial is for.

05-20-2011, 09:55 AM	#255
jstevewhite Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midwest Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,407	Originally posted by Designosophy I've only been taking pictures for 10 months, but I've been using Photoshop for quite some time, and I try to get by without plugins as much as possible. That said, from what I've seen, it looks like Topaz denoise does a better job than Adobe's built-in noise reduction tools. I'd like to see Nik Silver Efex in action to decide if it does a significantly better job with conversion than Photoshop. I guess that's what the 15-day trial is for. If you like the "film look", Silver Efex will rock your world. If you haven't shot a lot of B&W film in your life, you may respond to it with a heartfelt "meh".