Pentax K-7 Review by PhotographyBLOG With Rating 4.5/5

Average Camera Review Rating [9 reviews]
Pentax K-7 announced on May 19, 2009 is a 14.6 megapixel sensor shift stabilized DSLR that features 720p/1080i HD video recording, magnesium/steel alloy body, 3 inch LCD, 1/8000th shutter speed, dust removal system, HDMI output, dedicated ISO button, distortion and chromatic aberration correction, adjustable dynamic range highlight and shadow correction, 3-shot in-camera HDR capture, camera dimensions are 131 x 97 x 73 mm (5.1 x 3.8 x 2.9 in). PhotographyBLOG has recently published a detail review of the Pentax K-7 and gave the camera a high rating of 4.5 out of 5. Here is the summary of the review:

"The Pentax K-7 is the best-ever Pentax DSLR camera and a real challenger to the relative giants of Canon and Nikon. Pentax have seemingly decided to include every "must-have" feature in one camera, with the K-7's specifications reading like a keen photographer's wish list. Thankfully most of those features are very well-realised, with only a few duds to spoil the party... The K-7's image quality is very good. Exposures were generally 1/3rd EV stop under-exposed, perfect for retaining detail in the highlight areas without sacrificing the shadow areas too much, and colours were accurate using the default Bright setting. The HDR mode makes it easy to create images with greatly expanded dynamic range, although you don't have too much control over the final effect and you really need to use a tripod to keep things sharp. The D-Range options help make the most out of both the shadows and highlights in a high-contrast scene, while multi exposure mode is a nice creative addition.

Overall Pentax are onto a winner with the K-7, especially if the sensor change in the final, final version improves the noise levels at the higher ISO speeds. Current Pentax owners can be delighted that the best ever Pentax DSLR is has (almost) arrived, with the K-7 being a natural upgrade for both the Km and K20D. Photographers with no vested interest in a particular manufacturers system now find themselves spoilt for choice in the prosumer category, with the K-7, Canon EOS 50D, Olympus E-3 and Nikon D300 all at the same price point. In many ways the Pentax K-7 offers the best overall package out of them all, and is a really serious contender for your cash."

Pentax K-7 Camera Reviews Roundup

AlphaMountWorld: "In continuous tracking, the A700 held up pretty well against the K7 but the K7 definitely seemed more eager to stay focused on moving subjects (such as flying birds etc) overall, like a turbo charged version of the A700's AF system had been put in it. Target acquisition generally is faster with the K7, from standstill to locked AF on any of the main 9 AF double cross AF points, including the center cross point...." - May 13 2010 More »	N/A
Steve Huff: "My thoughts on the K7's image quality. One word. Superb! For the money, under $1000, this is one of the best DSLR's out there, if not the best. I already have talked about the tank like build, the weather sealing, the great ergonomics, and hinted about the battery life, which is up there with the Nikons. I shot a load of images and video and never drained my 1st charge. As I write this I still have charge left..." - Mar 21 2010 More »	N/A
RegHardware: "As with most cameras, there are limitations when operating in the video mode, for example, you can't adjust the aperture once recording has started. Despite all the options available - and we've not even scratched the surface when it comes to digital filters and picture effects - the K-7 is a delight to use and we reckon most users would have few problems getting to grips with it. Albeit sluggish in Live View m..." - Jan 18 2010 More »
Photocrati: "At the most commonly used ISO levels, the K-7 provides very high resolution and excellent JPEG quality at the Premium setting. Most users will be happier after setting in-camera sharpness to a +1 level. Photos made at ISO 100 to 400 with premium-grade DA* lenses exhibit excellent resolution. At higher ISO settings, it's worth switching to RAW capture. When using the Pentax Utility or another versatile RAW converter..." - Nov 30 2009 More »	N/A
LetsGoDigital: "There is no other camera in this class that offers the same level of control on how a picture will turn out, as the Pentax K-7. As a user, you are really in charge of the camera and of how the end result turns out. Within the limits of technology that is, because you have no control over the sensor quality. In itself, the sensor is fine, although not groundbreaking. Up to ISO 1600 can be used without a problem, at h..." - Oct 30 2009 More »
Luminous Landscape: "I have a confession to make. I found the Pentax K7 to be a competent camera. That's a confession? Well, it is in a way because it goes toward explaining why I don't have a lot to say about the K7's image quality or its overall appeal. It's a competent camera and does a lot of things well and not too many poorly. Image quality is fine, but not exceptional, and maybe a bit noisier than some. But therein..." - Oct 13 2009 More »	N/A
CNET: "This is a tough, compact and very well-thought-out camera, with genuinely useful features that its rivals don't have. But it does have two significant drawbacks. The first problem is that the K-7 feels quite lumpy and crude compared to rival cameras from Canon, Nikon and Olympus, although it does have the edge over Sony's dSLRs. The detail in our charts doesn't look any sharper than you'd expect from a com..." - Oct 03 2009 More »
DigitalCameraResourcePage: "The Pentax K-7 isn't just an excellent midrange digital SLR -- it's also an incredible value. It may not have the fastest burst rate or lowest noise in its class, but it offers more features per dollar than anything else out there. It has very good image quality, stellar build quality, snappy performance (in most situations), more manual controls than you'll need, unique exposure modes, an HD movie mode, and lots mo..." - Sep 30 2009 More »	N/A
TrustedReview: "In live view mode the K-7, like most other live view DLSRs, is limited to contrast detection AF, which is not as fast or as reliable. It is still effective, but I found that it was usually a better idea to pre-focus and then use the live view to compose the shot. In terms of shooting speed, in single-shot mode it can shoot as fast as you can press the button. In continuous shooting mode it can manage 5.2fps. This is..." - Sep 03 2009 More »
ImagingResource: "Build is solid and tight, yet small and light. The grip is excellent, and the small size combined with the extensively weather-sealed body makes the Pentax K7 a very good outdoor camera. Our review of the 17-70mm lens on SLRgear.com show that lens to be a particularly good companion for the Pentax K7, a lens whose sharpness is a nice complement to the 14.6-megapixel sensor. AF speed is improved, except in low light..." - Aug 21 2009 More »	N/A
Pocket-lint: "Colour, white balance and detail below ISO 800 are all good, however - and despite some rather soft JPEGs at the default three star setting (you get one, two three and four star compression modes to choose between) - there's loads of detail to eek out as can be seen when processing the RAW files. Highlight and shadow detail are also good at lower ISO's plus there's the highlight and shadow optimiser settings to..." - Aug 11 2009 More »
Neocamera: "The Pentax K-7 is a DSLR with an incredible feature-set, no other camera does everything this one does. Its wealth of features, many of them unique or uncommon, helps users take better pictures. The combination of automatic horizon correction, 100% viewfinder and built-in stabilization gives relief to the photographer, letting him compose and frame with greater ease. Image quality is very good with generally low..." - Jul 31 2009 More »
PhotoReview Australia: "Pictures taken with the test camera were acceptably sharp and had natural-looking colours, although outdoor shots in bright sunlight were a little contrasty when the Bright Custom Image setting (the default) was used. In indoor shots, the colour balance was a little warm with this setting. The Natural setting produced shots in which overall contrast was slightly lower and the colour balance closer to normal. Vi..." - Jul 17 2009 More »	N/A
infoSync: "The K-7 was one of the most feature-rich DSLRs we've ever tested, with an interface that made shooting much more enjoyable than the average bear. We felt as though the well never ran dry when it came time to compose our shots, and we're sure there are still a few untapped features lying within the K-7 that we just didn't have time to discover during the course of our photographic adventure. RAW image quality w..." - Jul 16 2009 More »
British Journal Of Photography: "On the movie side, excellent quality clips were obtained, but as always with these types of device, the addition of an external microphone port is a godsend. Audio quality using the camera's microphone is captured in mono from all directions; the intrusive noise of a low flying aircraft, for example, has a tendency to drown out more local sounds, such as when doing an open air interview.But in other respects,..." - Jul 10 2009 More »	N/A
Wired: "The K-7's new processor allows you to make HDR images in the camera by snapping off three frames in fast succession and then merges them for you, eliminating the need to own costly post-production software. Our results were not as refined as Photoshop or Photomatix can produce, but the savings in time and money make a big difference. It's good to note that if you intend to use the HDR feature a lot, keeping things s..." - Jun 15 2009 More »
Photography Press: "It's fair to say that the camera is feature-packed. When we first saw the initial release, we compared it to the 500D and the D5000, as the video element threw us a little, now we've had a good chunk of time to play with the Pentax K-7 and talk to the chaps at Pentax in the UK, it's is fair to say that this DSLR is gunning for higher ground - i.e., the D300 and 50D. The feature set is very impressive. The wea..." - Jun 05 2009 More »	N/A
OK Pentax: "I'm happy to say that to my satisfaction the new SAFOX VIII Plus auto focusing system is now more accurate and speedy, especially indoors and with artificial light. And yes, the Face Detection feature works just as you've come to expect it on point-and-shoots...I found the K-7 to be delightful to use (and quiet!) and I only wish that I had the chance to post-examine the pictures we were taking. However, this wa..." - May 29 2009 More »	N/A
Demystifying Digital: "Though I can't pass any official judgment on the still images or the video quality because of the camera's pre-production status, I have to say I was impressed with what I saw even from this early version of the K-7. The lenses I tested with he K-7, particularly the Pentax DA* 55mm f/1.4 SDM ($700) and Sigma 24-70mm, f/2.8 IF EX DG ($899) were top-notch, and made me remember how much I used to enjoy shooting w..." - May 25 2009 More »	N/A

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