If you had to pick today, would you get a K7, or a K-x?

tokyoso · 01-28-2010, 01:16 AM

Never used the K-7 before. I like my K-x...

I think K-x is meant to be used with a pancake type lens. I played with the manual 50 1.4 lens but it's hard to focus with the focus screen. I end up taking too many shots, which is not good for the camera lifecycle

Ps3737 · 01-28-2010, 02:12 AM

Definitely the K-7 (with a WR lens!)- the water-resistant construction is the major reason I got it - and substantially cheaper than a WR combo from Olympus, Nikon or Canon - and with all the image quality and speed I can realistically exploit. There really is no comparison with the K-X - like a family sedan versus SUV - different horses for different courses. The K-7 build quality and viewfinder are simply great.

pakuchn · 01-28-2010, 06:08 AM

For me, I always take pictues of my child indoors, in low light, so I really wanted a camera which can work well in low light. K-7 is good, but K-x is so much better in low light. If Pentax would just speed up and combine the K-7 and K-x together.

Fl_Gulfer · 01-28-2010, 07:01 AM

I trade my k20 over to k7 last week, and been happy so far.

Laurentiu Cristofor · 02-07-2010, 01:18 AM

Originally posted by tokyoso

I played with the manual 50 1.4 lens but it's hard to focus with the focus screen.

Yes, manual focusing with the K-x is not easy - it's because it uses a pentamirror, not a pentaprism. Magnification is smaller too. And LiveView focusing isn't that good either, due to the lower resolution LCD screen. It's things like these that make the high ISO performance better on paper than in real life. Between a misfocused image with less noise and a focused image with more noise, I prefer the latter.

brumby · 02-07-2010, 01:29 AM

A quick and ignorant question:

Are all those who are praising the high ISO performance of the K-X over the K-7 talking about pictures taken in JPEG or in RAW?

fearview · 02-07-2010, 01:37 AM

our flagship.

K-7.

pentaprism. watershield. and small.

Pentaxor · 02-07-2010, 11:42 AM

Originally posted by brumby

A quick and ignorant question:

Are all those who are praising the high ISO performance of the K-X over the K-7 talking about pictures taken in JPEG or in RAW?

in-camera jpeg.

zxaar · 02-08-2010, 03:25 AM

Originally posted by brumby

A quick and ignorant question:

Are all those who are praising the high ISO performance of the K-X over the K-7 talking about pictures taken in JPEG or in RAW?

jpeg and raw , on both accounts kx outperforms k7 at higher isos.
It outperforms k7 on DR too.

As a body k7 is much better than kx.
as a sensor kx is better.

edited to add:

This is from my old post.

Here are two links that compare their raw noises:
kx noise graph

Pentax K-x Review: 15. Photographic tests (Noise): Digital Photography Review

k7 raw noise graph
Pentax K-7 Review: 16. Photographic tests (Noise): Digital Photography Review

And here are actual values from that raw noise graph for comparison purposes:

chroma
kx k7
100 1.5 1.8
640 3.2 4.8
1000 4.2 6.5
1600 5.5 9.2
3200 6.7 12.3

black
kx k7
100 1.5 1.8
640 2.4 4.1
1000 3 6
1600 4 8.1
3200 4.3 11

grey
kx k7
100 1 1.2
640 2.3 3.2
1000 3 4.5
1600 3.8 6
3200 4.1 8.2

////////
These values are for RAW noise.

Brew1brew · 02-08-2010, 09:29 AM

I chose the K7D, but then I had a *ist D first, then the K10D, now the K7D just got here last week.

I chose it for the double control wheels, Hyper program mode, and so on.

RobG · 02-08-2010, 07:00 PM

Originally posted by jacksonpritt

Right now I am torn right down the middle between the K7 and the K-x. Both cameras seem to have great qualities and few drawbacks.

For me it's the K7 because I want to retire my Sony video camera, and only the K7 has stereo audio.

Rob

Igilligan · 02-08-2010, 07:27 PM

As a video shooter... I would warn you about getting rid of the Sony vid cam before shooting a DSLR video cam. They are just not quite there yet.

The stereo vs mono sound is gonna be the least of your worries.

zxaar · 02-08-2010, 07:38 PM

Originally posted by Igilligan

As a video shooter... I would warn you about getting rid of the Sony vid cam before shooting a DSLR video cam. They are just not quite there yet.

The stereo vs mono sound is gonna be the least of your worries.

i recently gave my sony video cam to my brother.

my daughter's birthday is looming and my wife asked me about video cam.
I told her that kx can shoot video but she is not happy with it.
mainly because of autofocus thing. And ease of use for video.

so here i am again soon going to buy video cam for wife.

dslrs for video are difficult for general public.

RobG · 02-10-2010, 07:12 PM

Originally posted by Igilligan

As a video shooter... I would warn you about getting rid of the Sony vid cam before shooting a DSLR video cam. They are just not quite there yet.
The stereo vs mono sound is gonna be the least of your worries.

I'll have to search for threads about the issues with video on the K7. I've tried the video modes on a couple of compact cameras and they are frankly very poor. But if I can work around the inadequacies of the K7 video, I'd prefer to carry one camera for both purposes and be able to use the same lenses than have to carry a separate video camera. I disagree about the audio, because high quality video without reasonable quality sound is IMO a waste of time.

I'm not planning to "get rid" of the Sony but I am anticipating that at some point it will fail since it contains so many moving parts. The tapes from 2002 are already losing data.

Rob

str8talk83 · 02-11-2010, 01:35 PM

Not a Pentax shooter but between these two, I would take the K7. The K7 has the second control wheel on camera, which I consider essential and is faster and more rugged. To be frank, I really wish that my 40D had that kind of weathersealing. I personally don't like the small body of either one, but that is a personal preference.

View Poll Results: If you had to pick today, which camera would you get?
K7	339	68.48%
K-x	156	31.52%
Voters: 495. You may not vote on this poll

01-28-2010, 01:16 AM	#181
tokyoso Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tokyo Photos: Albums Posts: 723	Not sure Never used the K-7 before. I like my K-x... I think K-x is meant to be used with a pancake type lens. I played with the manual 50 1.4 lens but it's hard to focus with the focus screen. I end up taking too many shots, which is not good for the camera lifecycle

02-08-2010, 03:25 AM	#189
zxaar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: kobe/japan Posts: 510	Originally posted by brumby A quick and ignorant question: Are all those who are praising the high ISO performance of the K-X over the K-7 talking about pictures taken in JPEG or in RAW? jpeg and raw , on both accounts kx outperforms k7 at higher isos. It outperforms k7 on DR too. As a body k7 is much better than kx. as a sensor kx is better. edited to add: This is from my old post. Here are two links that compare their raw noises: kx noise graph Pentax K-x Review: 15. Photographic tests (Noise): Digital Photography Review k7 raw noise graph Pentax K-7 Review: 16. Photographic tests (Noise): Digital Photography Review And here are actual values from that raw noise graph for comparison purposes: chroma kx k7 100 1.5 1.8 640 3.2 4.8 1000 4.2 6.5 1600 5.5 9.2 3200 6.7 12.3 black kx k7 100 1.5 1.8 640 2.4 4.1 1000 3 6 1600 4 8.1 3200 4.3 11 grey kx k7 100 1 1.2 640 2.3 3.2 1000 3 4.5 1600 3.8 6 3200 4.1 8.2 //////// These values are for RAW noise. Last edited by zxaar; 02-08-2010 at 04:54 AM.

02-08-2010, 09:29 AM	#190
Brew1brew Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Plano Texas USA Posts: 121	I picked last week I chose the K7D, but then I had a *ist D first, then the K10D, now the K7D just got here last week. I chose it for the double control wheels, Hyper program mode, and so on.

02-08-2010, 07:27 PM	#192
Igilligan Guest	Seriously As a video shooter... I would warn you about getting rid of the Sony vid cam before shooting a DSLR video cam. They are just not quite there yet. The stereo vs mono sound is gonna be the least of your worries.

01-28-2010, 02:12 AM	#182
Ps3737 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Photos: Albums Posts: 26	Definitely the K-7 (with a WR lens!)- the water-resistant construction is the major reason I got it - and substantially cheaper than a WR combo from Olympus, Nikon or Canon - and with all the image quality and speed I can realistically exploit. There really is no comparison with the K-X - like a family sedan versus SUV - different horses for different courses. The K-7 build quality and viewfinder are simply great.

01-28-2010, 06:08 AM	#183
pakuchn Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 166	For me, I always take pictues of my child indoors, in low light, so I really wanted a camera which can work well in low light. K-7 is good, but K-x is so much better in low light. If Pentax would just speed up and combine the K-7 and K-x together.

01-28-2010, 07:01 AM	#184
Fl_Gulfer Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Florida Gulfer Photos: Albums Posts: 3,054	I trade my k20 over to k7 last week, and been happy so far.

02-07-2010, 01:18 AM	#185
Laurentiu Cristofor Banned Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: WA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,055	Originally posted by tokyoso I played with the manual 50 1.4 lens but it's hard to focus with the focus screen. Yes, manual focusing with the K-x is not easy - it's because it uses a pentamirror, not a pentaprism. Magnification is smaller too. And LiveView focusing isn't that good either, due to the lower resolution LCD screen. It's things like these that make the high ISO performance better on paper than in real life. Between a misfocused image with less noise and a focused image with more noise, I prefer the latter.

02-07-2010, 01:29 AM	#186
brumby Inactive Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sunshine Coast - Australia Posts: 61	A quick and ignorant question: Are all those who are praising the high ISO performance of the K-X over the K-7 talking about pictures taken in JPEG or in RAW?

02-07-2010, 01:37 AM	#187
fearview Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Jakarta Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,067	our flagship. K-7. pentaprism. watershield. and small.

02-07-2010, 11:42 AM	#188
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by brumby A quick and ignorant question: Are all those who are praising the high ISO performance of the K-X over the K-7 talking about pictures taken in JPEG or in RAW? in-camera jpeg.

02-08-2010, 07:00 PM	#191
RobG Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Canberra Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,902	Originally posted by jacksonpritt Right now I am torn right down the middle between the K7 and the K-x. Both cameras seem to have great qualities and few drawbacks. For me it's the K7 because I want to retire my Sony video camera, and only the K7 has stereo audio. Rob

02-08-2010, 07:38 PM	#193
zxaar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: kobe/japan Posts: 510	Originally posted by Igilligan As a video shooter... I would warn you about getting rid of the Sony vid cam before shooting a DSLR video cam. They are just not quite there yet. The stereo vs mono sound is gonna be the least of your worries. i recently gave my sony video cam to my brother. my daughter's birthday is looming and my wife asked me about video cam. I told her that kx can shoot video but she is not happy with it. mainly because of autofocus thing. And ease of use for video. so here i am again soon going to buy video cam for wife. dslrs for video are difficult for general public.

02-10-2010, 07:12 PM	#194
RobG Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Canberra Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,902	Originally posted by Igilligan As a video shooter... I would warn you about getting rid of the Sony vid cam before shooting a DSLR video cam. They are just not quite there yet. The stereo vs mono sound is gonna be the least of your worries. I'll have to search for threads about the issues with video on the K7. I've tried the video modes on a couple of compact cameras and they are frankly very poor. But if I can work around the inadequacies of the K7 video, I'd prefer to carry one camera for both purposes and be able to use the same lenses than have to carry a separate video camera. I disagree about the audio, because high quality video without reasonable quality sound is IMO a waste of time. I'm not planning to "get rid" of the Sony but I am anticipating that at some point it will fail since it contains so many moving parts. The tapes from 2002 are already losing data. Rob

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02-11-2010, 01:35 PM	#195
str8talk83 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bluffton, SC Photos: Albums Posts: 674	Not a Pentax shooter but between these two, I would take the K7. The K7 has the second control wheel on camera, which I consider essential and is faster and more rugged. To be frank, I really wish that my 40D had that kind of weathersealing. I personally don't like the small body of either one, but that is a personal preference.