New K7 Review finds firmware improves noise!

harleynitelite · 02-28-2010, 07:48 PM

To the proud K7 owners out there, I thought you may be interested in this review comparing the K7 to the Canon 50d. The review was completed on Feb 26th and apparently with the latest firmware update. The following is word for word from the review...

"I'm pretty astounded by the Pentax and how it controls noise. When I tested the camera against four other similar models, the camera hadn't had a firmware update so it looks as though the update has improved the noise control somewhat. There is still some noise coming through at ISO800 and ISO1,600 although nowhere near as much as previously. It's great news and does do a better job than the Canon although the ISO6,400 equivalent does have blue specks all over it."

Canon EOS 50D vs Pentax K-7 Digital SLR Review

Enjoy!

Christopher M.W.T · 02-28-2010, 09:26 PM

I got my K7 back from repairs a few days ago, they replaced the PCB and upgraded to firmware 1.03 and I got to admit the noise in High ISO's is far better controlled, I personally thing there has been secret improvements in the hardware in later releases. My K7 was one of the very earliest and I found that movie mode and photos tended to be quite noisy compared to how it is now.

Most noticeably the chroma noise seems to be far better controlled.

Christopher M.W.T · 02-28-2010, 09:34 PM

Here's a quick and nasty taken at 1600iso and a 230% crop of the tv.

Other than the standard camera settings and PEF conversion to jpeg no other NR has been applied.

**barondla** · 02-28-2010, 09:46 PM

Interesting. Can't wait to try some new high ISO shots! Maybe I won't need that new K-X so soon.

thanks
barondla

T.S. Tsorotes, surprised to see Teac makes big screen televisions. Never seen one before. Love their other stuff.

Check out POINT & SHOOT CONTEST #28 in compact camera forum. Any brand camera. Enter now!

nulla · 02-28-2010, 10:15 PM

Originally posted by harleynitelite

To the proud K7 owners out there, I thought you may be interested in this review comparing the K7 to the Canon 50d. The review was completed on Feb 26th and apparently with the latest firmware update. The following is word for word from the review...

"I'm pretty astounded by the Pentax and how it controls noise. When I tested the camera against four other similar models, the camera hadn't had a firmware update so it looks as though the update has improved the noise control somewhat. There is still some noise coming through at ISO800 and ISO1,600 although nowhere near as much as previously. It's great news and does do a better job than the Canon although the ISO6,400 equivalent does have blue specks all over it."

Canon EOS 50D vs Pentax K-7 Digital SLR Review

Enjoy!

Its actually a very favourable review of the K-7 and the noise reduction is great news... must test myself and see

Cheers

Neil

Christopher M.W.T · 02-28-2010, 10:39 PM

Originally posted by barondla

Interesting. Can't wait to try some new high ISO shots! Maybe I won't need that new K-X so soon.

thanks
barondla

T.S. Tsorotes, surprised to see Teac makes big screen televisions. Never seen one before. Love their other stuff.

Check out POINT & SHOOT CONTEST #28 in compact camera forum. Any brand camera. Enter now!

That TV's ancient lol, but it's a workhorse. I bought this years ago when I needed a cheap Plasma when plasmas were still $3-4k. I'm planning to get a Panasonic 3D Plasma later this year so i'm holding off till then

Gimbal · 03-01-2010, 01:08 AM

Unfortunately the new firmware also removes the rear thumb wheel apparently.

"The Pentax K-7 is a slightly smaller body so the buttons are a bit closer to each other. There's no rear wheel which is a shame but I like the direct Raw button on the front next to the lens mount."

Paulc1964au · 03-01-2010, 01:09 AM

Originally posted by Gimbal

Unfortunately the new firmware also removes the rear thumb wheel apparently.

"The Pentax K-7 is a slightly smaller body so the buttons are a bit closer to each other. There's no rear wheel which is a shame but I like the direct Raw button on the front next to the lens mount."

Yes I saw that and really wondered if he actually had the K7 unless he meant to say that for the Canon

dlacouture · 03-01-2010, 01:15 AM

He's talking about the rotating wheel of the Canon, whereas the K7 has a 4-ways pad...

LeDave · 03-01-2010, 01:38 AM

I also didn't know the 50D is weather-proof. EDIT: Dang, just did a search on D300 to check too and didn't know that was sealed also. Wow =P I'm pretty behind on the specs of these cameras.

Christopher M.W.T · 03-01-2010, 01:49 AM

Originally posted by LeDave

I also didn't know the 50D is weather-proof. EDIT: Dang, just did a search on D300 to check too and didn't know that was sealed also. Wow =P I'm pretty behind on the specs of these cameras.

So is the 7D but only with L series lenses I think.

LeDave · 03-01-2010, 01:51 AM

Originally posted by C.W Tsorotes

So is the 7D but only with L series lenses I think.

Yeap I know the 7D is weather-sealed, that's one of the biggest thing people talk about with this camera aside from video. I did further research and found out that the 50D is in fact not weather-sealed, it's only sealed through the battery hatch and the memory card door. The body itself is just more compactly closed compared to the 40D, in which the gaps are less exposed to dust and rain but however is not sealed.

Christopher M.W.T · 03-01-2010, 02:56 AM

Originally posted by LeDave

Yeap I know the 7D is weather-sealed, that's one of the biggest thing people talk about with this camera aside from video. I did further research and found out that the 50D is in fact not weather-sealed, it's only sealed through the battery hatch and the memory card door. The body itself is just more compactly closed compared to the 40D, in which the gaps are less exposed to dust and rain but however is not sealed.

Sounds a bit half assed lol, whats the good been half weather sealed lol.

joakimfors · 03-01-2010, 03:04 AM

Originally posted by LeDave

Yeap I know the 7D is weather-sealed, that's one of the biggest thing people talk about with this camera aside from video. I did further research and found out that the 50D is in fact not weather-sealed, it's only sealed through the battery hatch and the memory card door. The body itself is just more compactly closed compared to the 40D, in which the gaps are less exposed to dust and rain but however is not sealed.

Are you sure that the 7D is fully sealed? According to this picture only the red seams are sealed, the green ones are just seams with tighter tolerances.

Here's som additional discussion: 7D Weather Sealing - Canon Digital Photography Forums

dylansalt · 03-01-2010, 04:18 AM

7D at 1600

Not from raw nor any noise adjustments

02-28-2010, 07:48 PM	#1
harleynitelite Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Lawrenceburg, IN Photos: Albums Posts: 118	New K7 Review finds firmware improves noise! To the proud K7 owners out there, I thought you may be interested in this review comparing the K7 to the Canon 50d. The review was completed on Feb 26th and apparently with the latest firmware update. The following is word for word from the review... "I'm pretty astounded by the Pentax and how it controls noise. When I tested the camera against four other similar models, the camera hadn't had a firmware update so it looks as though the update has improved the noise control somewhat. There is still some noise coming through at ISO800 and ISO1,600 although nowhere near as much as previously. It's great news and does do a better job than the Canon although the ISO6,400 equivalent does have blue specks all over it." Canon EOS 50D vs Pentax K-7 Digital SLR Review Enjoy!

02-28-2010, 09:34 PM	#3
Christopher M.W.T Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,689	Here's a quick and nasty taken at 1600iso and a 230% crop of the tv. Other than the standard camera settings and PEF conversion to jpeg no other NR has been applied. Attached Images

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02-28-2010, 09:26 PM	#2
Christopher M.W.T Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,689	I got my K7 back from repairs a few days ago, they replaced the PCB and upgraded to firmware 1.03 and I got to admit the noise in High ISO's is far better controlled, I personally thing there has been secret improvements in the hardware in later releases. My K7 was one of the very earliest and I found that movie mode and photos tended to be quite noisy compared to how it is now. Most noticeably the chroma noise seems to be far better controlled.

02-28-2010, 09:46 PM	#4
barondla Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: midwest, United States Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,714	Interesting. Can't wait to try some new high ISO shots! Maybe I won't need that new K-X so soon. thanks barondla T.S. Tsorotes, surprised to see Teac makes big screen televisions. Never seen one before. Love their other stuff. Check out POINT & SHOOT CONTEST #28 in compact camera forum. Any brand camera. Enter now!

02-28-2010, 10:15 PM	#5
nulla Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 1,560	Originally posted by harleynitelite To the proud K7 owners out there, I thought you may be interested in this review comparing the K7 to the Canon 50d. The review was completed on Feb 26th and apparently with the latest firmware update. The following is word for word from the review... "I'm pretty astounded by the Pentax and how it controls noise. When I tested the camera against four other similar models, the camera hadn't had a firmware update so it looks as though the update has improved the noise control somewhat. There is still some noise coming through at ISO800 and ISO1,600 although nowhere near as much as previously. It's great news and does do a better job than the Canon although the ISO6,400 equivalent does have blue specks all over it." Canon EOS 50D vs Pentax K-7 Digital SLR Review Enjoy! Its actually a very favourable review of the K-7 and the noise reduction is great news... must test myself and see Cheers Neil

02-28-2010, 10:39 PM	#6
Christopher M.W.T Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,689	Originally posted by barondla Interesting. Can't wait to try some new high ISO shots! Maybe I won't need that new K-X so soon. thanks barondla T.S. Tsorotes, surprised to see Teac makes big screen televisions. Never seen one before. Love their other stuff. Check out POINT & SHOOT CONTEST #28 in compact camera forum. Any brand camera. Enter now! That TV's ancient lol, but it's a workhorse. I bought this years ago when I needed a cheap Plasma when plasmas were still $3-4k. I'm planning to get a Panasonic 3D Plasma later this year so i'm holding off till then

03-01-2010, 01:08 AM	#7
Gimbal Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 2,106	Unfortunately the new firmware also removes the rear thumb wheel apparently. "The Pentax K-7 is a slightly smaller body so the buttons are a bit closer to each other. There's no rear wheel which is a shame but I like the direct Raw button on the front next to the lens mount."

03-01-2010, 01:09 AM	#8
Paulc1964au Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 25	Originally posted by Gimbal Unfortunately the new firmware also removes the rear thumb wheel apparently. "The Pentax K-7 is a slightly smaller body so the buttons are a bit closer to each other. There's no rear wheel which is a shame but I like the direct Raw button on the front next to the lens mount." Yes I saw that and really wondered if he actually had the K7 unless he meant to say that for the Canon

03-01-2010, 01:15 AM	#9
dlacouture Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Var, South of France Photos: Albums Posts: 1,074	He's talking about the rotating wheel of the Canon, whereas the K7 has a 4-ways pad...

03-01-2010, 01:38 AM	#10
LeDave Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Minneapolis - St. Paul Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,067	I also didn't know the 50D is weather-proof. EDIT: Dang, just did a search on D300 to check too and didn't know that was sealed also. Wow =P I'm pretty behind on the specs of these cameras.

03-01-2010, 01:49 AM	#11
Christopher M.W.T Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,689	Originally posted by LeDave I also didn't know the 50D is weather-proof. EDIT: Dang, just did a search on D300 to check too and didn't know that was sealed also. Wow =P I'm pretty behind on the specs of these cameras. So is the 7D but only with L series lenses I think.

03-01-2010, 01:51 AM	#12
LeDave Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Minneapolis - St. Paul Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,067	Originally posted by C.W Tsorotes So is the 7D but only with L series lenses I think. Yeap I know the 7D is weather-sealed, that's one of the biggest thing people talk about with this camera aside from video. I did further research and found out that the 50D is in fact not weather-sealed, it's only sealed through the battery hatch and the memory card door. The body itself is just more compactly closed compared to the 40D, in which the gaps are less exposed to dust and rain but however is not sealed.

03-01-2010, 02:56 AM	#13
Christopher M.W.T Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,689	Originally posted by LeDave Yeap I know the 7D is weather-sealed, that's one of the biggest thing people talk about with this camera aside from video. I did further research and found out that the 50D is in fact not weather-sealed, it's only sealed through the battery hatch and the memory card door. The body itself is just more compactly closed compared to the 40D, in which the gaps are less exposed to dust and rain but however is not sealed. Sounds a bit half assed lol, whats the good been half weather sealed lol.

03-01-2010, 03:04 AM	#14
joakimfors Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lund, Sweden Posts: 237	Originally posted by LeDave Yeap I know the 7D is weather-sealed, that's one of the biggest thing people talk about with this camera aside from video. I did further research and found out that the 50D is in fact not weather-sealed, it's only sealed through the battery hatch and the memory card door. The body itself is just more compactly closed compared to the 40D, in which the gaps are less exposed to dust and rain but however is not sealed. Are you sure that the 7D is fully sealed? According to this picture only the red seams are sealed, the green ones are just seams with tighter tolerances. Here's som additional discussion: 7D Weather Sealing - Canon Digital Photography Forums

03-01-2010, 04:18 AM	#15
dylansalt Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Durban, South Africa Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,052	7D at 1600 Not from raw nor any noise adjustments