Hasta La Gadget!

Pentax has announced its new K-7 DSLR, and we’re going to try  something new. Here, at the top of the post, are the main points.

• Sensor: 14 MP CMOS, 28.1 mm diagonal
• Video: 1280×720
• ISO range: 100-3200 (6400 emergency setting)
• Max shooting speed: 5.2 fps (40 jpegs, 15 RAW, 14 DNG)
• LCD: 3″ 921,000 dots
• Viewfinder 100%
• AF: 11 point (9 cross type sensors)
• Storage: SD
• Weight: 737g (26.5 oz)
• Price (US): $1200 body only

The K-7 comes in at the top of the Pentax line, at $1200, and it feels like a pro body (in terms of specs — you’ll have to wait for our own Jackson Lynch’s upcoming review to find out how it actually feels). There are some concessions to the new but most of the features are decidedly high-end conservative.

First, the K-7 shoots video. It will put down movies in 720p (1280×720) and also let you shoot in a 3:2 ratio so you can send the video to grandma to watch on her old-style TV. Both come in at 30 fps, and there is a socket for hooking up an external mic. You also get a sensor-shakin’ dust cleaner and a sensor-based image stabilizer. Other than that, there’s not much in the way of fancy frills, although the small body is hewn from finest magnesium for weight and strength.

Where Pentax scores, though, is in the openness of its details. It uses a modified K-mount for the lens, the latest version of the open K-mount used in pretty much every off-brand camera ever. It also lets you shoot directly into dng files, Adobe’s semi-open RAW format, which means you shouldn’t have to wait for image software to be updated to read the K-7’s files. Interestingly for a high-end camera, the K-7 dumps its load onto SD cards instead of the more common Compact Flash. I like this, as I am paranoid about bending a pin in my DSLR every time I insert a CF card. For flashers, there is a proper PC socket for cabling off-camera strobes.

Another unheard of move is the IR remote socket, something the likes of Nikon only puts on its budget bodies so you have to buy a $100+ cable to trigger, say, a D700 from afar. Finally, the viewfinder offers a full 100% field of view, something that will cost you three times as much to see from Nikon.

The trouble is, this feature set is not enough to tempt people away from the alternatives. Nikon’s D90, for example, will shoot video and has a better low-light performance, arguably more important in a stills body than movie-mode. On the other hand, there is a definite Pentax fanbase out there, and there are a huge amount of cheap, K-mount lenses you can use — anything back to the Ka (from 1983) will work, and older lenses may work fine, or might need an adapter. Also, unlike the Nikon D90, the K-7 shoots proper 720p.

Product page [Pentax]