Those who own the K-7 already, K-x thoughts?

knoxploration · 10-21-2009, 11:12 PM

Originally posted by rosier19

let's wait next firmware of K-7. they can do something for K-7 users. ^^

New firmware just came out a few hours ago. If they made any tweaks to noise performance, they didn't mention them. New higher-strength sharpening option, faster preview in two filter modes, and a bug with the battery grip squashed, are the only things publicly mentioned.

Pentaxor · 10-21-2009, 11:35 PM

Originally posted by WerTicus

Check your facts, the k7 is inferior to the k20d in raw noise performance. They are = to 800iso and from then on the k20d is less noisy. There is a graph floating around here somewhere showing this.... Ill try to dig it up.

Anyway thats the price you pay for the ability to get video out of the k7 sensor.

Both the k7 and kx are great camera's but the camera everyone wants is a k8 with a new sony sensor and everything else from the k7 :P

does that include the chroma noises? for sure the K20D's chroma ain't that nice as compared to the K7. one must also determine and consider that there are noises that are just fine and noises that are destructive.

I wouldn't say exactly the new and currently release Sony sensor but rather would want a 2010 much improved Sony Sensor (since I'm not fully happy with the new one but I would agree that it is a big development) + the K-7 features. better yet a FF version, that would be a mouth-watering treat. either way, I'm happy to have both.

kittykat46 · 10-22-2009, 12:19 AM

Originally posted by Daemos

Well I currently try to post process all the jpeg files. I currently use photoshop because it has lots of 'auto features' and filters for noise and sharpness that do things automatically.

I looked at silkypix (bundled with the camera) but there doesn't seem to be too much automation, and there needs to be lots of tweaking done. Same with Lightroom. Just seems a little complicated, and intimidating esp to a guy who just pickd up photography as a hobby less than a week ago! I guess I need to learn how to use all the settings effectively. I haven't even used masks in PS yet.

The Pentax Digital Camera Utility 4 which came with the K-7 box is powered by Silkypix, but isn't equivalent to the full Silkypix software, which has many more capabilities.

The bundled software does have very accurate colour rendition matching the camera.
Once you have tweaked out settings which match your taste, you can store it as a parameter file, which you can pull up any time in the future for other photographs.
And , yes, it can batch process multiple RAW files.

RBellavance · 10-22-2009, 05:12 AM

Originally posted by knoxploration

And I don't think you speak for everybody. You certainly don't speak for me - I don't think I'd necessarily choose that Sony sensor until I see rather more detail on its performance than what's currently available.

That makes at least two of us.

Nass · 02-16-2010, 01:49 PM

Hello

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I wanted to give a concrete example of why I feel a bit cheated with the K-7 on its low light performance. I remember someone thought this was a little absurd - well, fair dinkums, to each their own

Anyhow so here's a little snap I did tonight of my kid flipping a pancake (it is Shrove Tuesday - Brits flip pancakes today!). I shot it with a tak 1.8/85mm at 800 iso, wide open. What I wouldn't give to have had one or two more stops on this shot =)

creampuff · 02-16-2010, 06:40 PM

Why blame the camera when the lighting is less than perfect.
Your shot is not even in sharp focus...

zxaar · 02-16-2010, 07:12 PM

Originally posted by creampuff

Why blame the camera when the lighting is less than perfect.

yes of-course why blame the camera???

I think the point he wanted to make is what to do when lighting is less than perfect.

As far as softness is concerned he could have avoided that by tripod and manual focusing. If he used tripod probably he did not have to worry too much about shutter too.

He had all the time in world that he needed. Could have done it with any camera in market. Why blame the cam.

:-D

**Rondec** · 02-16-2010, 07:47 PM

Originally posted by zxaar

yes of-course why blame the camera???

I think the point he wanted to make is what to do when lighting is less than perfect.

As far as softness is concerned he could have avoided that by tripod and manual focusing. If he used tripod probably he did not have to worry too much about shutter too.

He had all the time in world that he needed. Could have done it with any camera in market. Why blame the cam.

:-D

Clearly he did manual focus. It is a takumar he is shooting with after all. Not sure why you couldn't push the iso to 1600 though. Particularly turned to black and white, it would have been fine.

mawz · 02-16-2010, 07:54 PM

A few notes:

Pentax has tended to primarily the body or primarily the image processing but not both with new cameras. The K-7 was a body upgrade, the K-x a sensor upgrade.

It's pretty clear that the K-x is a significantly better performer than any other Pentax DSLR above ISO 800. Pentax seems to have succeeded in getting Sony's column-ADC design to live up to its potential, something which Sony has not quite achieved as of yet.

I'd expect the K-7's replacement to be functionally similar with an updated sensor and processing chain. While I don't expect to see the K-x's sensor, I'm hoping we see the Sony 14.6MP sensor from the A450/A550 (the K-x shares the A500's sensor) which is similar in performance overall.

Nass · 02-17-2010, 01:47 AM

Originally posted by Rondec

Clearly he did manual focus. It is a takumar he is shooting with after all. Not sure why you couldn't push the iso to 1600 though. Particularly turned to black and white, it would have been fine.

Yes, and with that I could have used a faster shutter speed, and it'd be sharper so that's a good lesson for next time then - I still havn't worked out that optimal point between degradation and ISO.

The assumption that I had all the time in the world is also so totally wrong

. Mother wanted this pancake, it was the last one and the only one they did after I got home. No time at all when there's a hungry mummy around

zxaar · 02-17-2010, 03:20 AM

Originally posted by Nass

The assumption that I had all the time in the world is also so totally wrong

. Mother wanted this pancake, it was the last one and the only one they did after I got home. No time at all when there's a hungry mummy around

my post was just a sarcasm.

Nass · 02-17-2010, 03:42 AM

Originally posted by zxaar

my post was just a sarcasm.

Oops. My bad =)

*is a sensitive flower at times*

Nass · 02-17-2010, 03:44 AM

But you know what? In a funny sort of way, if I could do something to make the pancake more obvious (hmmm selective colouring might play with that tonight), I do kind of love this shot because, well, it captures my kid's excitement so nicely

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10-21-2009, 11:12 PM	#46
knoxploration Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 846	Originally posted by rosier19 let's wait next firmware of K-7. they can do something for K-7 users. ^^ New firmware just came out a few hours ago. If they made any tweaks to noise performance, they didn't mention them. New higher-strength sharpening option, faster preview in two filter modes, and a bug with the battery grip squashed, are the only things publicly mentioned.

10-21-2009, 11:35 PM	#47
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by WerTicus Check your facts, the k7 is inferior to the k20d in raw noise performance. They are = to 800iso and from then on the k20d is less noisy. There is a graph floating around here somewhere showing this.... Ill try to dig it up. Anyway thats the price you pay for the ability to get video out of the k7 sensor. Both the k7 and kx are great camera's but the camera everyone wants is a k8 with a new sony sensor and everything else from the k7 :P does that include the chroma noises? for sure the K20D's chroma ain't that nice as compared to the K7. one must also determine and consider that there are noises that are just fine and noises that are destructive. I wouldn't say exactly the new and currently release Sony sensor but rather would want a 2010 much improved Sony Sensor (since I'm not fully happy with the new one but I would agree that it is a big development) + the K-7 features. better yet a FF version, that would be a mouth-watering treat. either way, I'm happy to have both.

10-22-2009, 12:19 AM	#48
kittykat46 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 923	Originally posted by Daemos Well I currently try to post process all the jpeg files. I currently use photoshop because it has lots of 'auto features' and filters for noise and sharpness that do things automatically. I looked at silkypix (bundled with the camera) but there doesn't seem to be too much automation, and there needs to be lots of tweaking done. Same with Lightroom. Just seems a little complicated, and intimidating esp to a guy who just pickd up photography as a hobby less than a week ago! I guess I need to learn how to use all the settings effectively. I haven't even used masks in PS yet. The Pentax Digital Camera Utility 4 which came with the K-7 box is powered by Silkypix, but isn't equivalent to the full Silkypix software, which has many more capabilities. The bundled software does have very accurate colour rendition matching the camera. Once you have tweaked out settings which match your taste, you can store it as a parameter file, which you can pull up any time in the future for other photographs. And , yes, it can batch process multiple RAW files.

10-22-2009, 05:12 AM	#49
RBellavance Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Near Montréal, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,716	Originally posted by knoxploration And I don't think you speak for everybody. You certainly don't speak for me - I don't think I'd necessarily choose that Sony sensor until I see rather more detail on its performance than what's currently available. That makes at least two of us.

02-16-2010, 01:49 PM	#50
Nass Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The British Isles Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,402	Hello Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I wanted to give a concrete example of why I feel a bit cheated with the K-7 on its low light performance. I remember someone thought this was a little absurd - well, fair dinkums, to each their own Anyhow so here's a little snap I did tonight of my kid flipping a pancake (it is Shrove Tuesday - Brits flip pancakes today!). I shot it with a tak 1.8/85mm at 800 iso, wide open. What I wouldn't give to have had one or two more stops on this shot =)

02-16-2010, 06:40 PM	#51
creampuff Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,953	Why blame the camera when the lighting is less than perfect. Your shot is not even in sharp focus...

02-16-2010, 07:12 PM	#52
zxaar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: kobe/japan Posts: 510	Originally posted by creampuff Why blame the camera when the lighting is less than perfect. yes of-course why blame the camera??? I think the point he wanted to make is what to do when lighting is less than perfect. As far as softness is concerned he could have avoided that by tripod and manual focusing. If he used tripod probably he did not have to worry too much about shutter too. He had all the time in world that he needed. Could have done it with any camera in market. Why blame the cam. :-D

02-16-2010, 07:47 PM	#53
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,663	Originally posted by zxaar yes of-course why blame the camera??? I think the point he wanted to make is what to do when lighting is less than perfect. As far as softness is concerned he could have avoided that by tripod and manual focusing. If he used tripod probably he did not have to worry too much about shutter too. He had all the time in world that he needed. Could have done it with any camera in market. Why blame the cam. :-D Clearly he did manual focus. It is a takumar he is shooting with after all. Not sure why you couldn't push the iso to 1600 though. Particularly turned to black and white, it would have been fine.

02-16-2010, 07:54 PM	#54
mawz Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 166	A few notes: Pentax has tended to primarily the body or primarily the image processing but not both with new cameras. The K-7 was a body upgrade, the K-x a sensor upgrade. It's pretty clear that the K-x is a significantly better performer than any other Pentax DSLR above ISO 800. Pentax seems to have succeeded in getting Sony's column-ADC design to live up to its potential, something which Sony has not quite achieved as of yet. I'd expect the K-7's replacement to be functionally similar with an updated sensor and processing chain. While I don't expect to see the K-x's sensor, I'm hoping we see the Sony 14.6MP sensor from the A450/A550 (the K-x shares the A500's sensor) which is similar in performance overall.

02-17-2010, 01:47 AM	#55
Nass Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The British Isles Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,402	Originally posted by Rondec Clearly he did manual focus. It is a takumar he is shooting with after all. Not sure why you couldn't push the iso to 1600 though. Particularly turned to black and white, it would have been fine. Yes, and with that I could have used a faster shutter speed, and it'd be sharper so that's a good lesson for next time then - I still havn't worked out that optimal point between degradation and ISO. The assumption that I had all the time in the world is also so totally wrong . Mother wanted this pancake, it was the last one and the only one they did after I got home. No time at all when there's a hungry mummy around

02-17-2010, 03:20 AM	#56
zxaar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: kobe/japan Posts: 510	Originally posted by Nass The assumption that I had all the time in the world is also so totally wrong . Mother wanted this pancake, it was the last one and the only one they did after I got home. No time at all when there's a hungry mummy around my post was just a sarcasm.

02-17-2010, 03:42 AM	#57
Nass Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The British Isles Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,402	Originally posted by zxaar my post was just a sarcasm. Oops. My bad =) is a sensitive flower at times

02-17-2010, 03:44 AM	#58
Nass Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The British Isles Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,402	But you know what? In a funny sort of way, if I could do something to make the pancake more obvious (hmmm selective colouring might play with that tonight), I do kind of love this shot because, well, it captures my kid's excitement so nicely