New Forum Possible - Pentax K7

Psynema

Psynema

Well-known member
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/K7/K7A.HTM

A NEW PLAYER HAS EMERGED...

sucks that it's only 720 P...but all the other features are golden

Cheap - 1200 for bodies
2.8 wide and telephoto lenses that are SHARP and picture wise were beautiful are about 6-800$ (the only thing I noticed vs. the canon/nikons is slight desaturation at times...but both of their flagship lenses had great reviews/reps)

and the kickers
1. IS BUILT INTO THE SENSOR so you can save 2 grand on lenses and probably mount any manual lens off ebay without worrying about jitters.

2. Audio jack built in and according to the review -the audio was perfectly fine with no AGC BS to worry about.

My god if this thing was 1080P I'd be all over it...but then again, saving cash on non IS lenses and being able to plug a mic in directly... = nice.

How the hell are these cameras arriving on market so fast...
laughing7.gif


God damn I'm almost afraid to buy one now fearing 10 models will be announced by the time the UPS man comes.

Pentax isn't a big time producer in products, so I'm iffy on if they'll do firmware updates like Panasonic/Canon...I'd love this camera if it was 1080P, it be near perfect choice and VERY ECONOMICAL to boot.

I know Pentax is kind of a laughable name in the photo field, but they seemed to have pulled a rabbit out of their butts with this camera...sorry if this is a bit off topic, but I think this could be a nice idea for a new forum once this thing is released.

At least we won't have to worry about back orders LOL "Pentax...oh their that company...oh they're still around...what new camera?"
 
Psynema said:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/K7/K7A.HTM

I know Pentax is kind of a laughable name in the photo field, but they seemed to have pulled a rabbit out of their butts with this camera...sorry if this is a bit off topic, but I think this could be a nice idea for a new forum once this thing is released.

At least we won't have to worry about back orders LOL "Pentax...oh their that company...oh they're still around...what new camera?"
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Pentax has had some good stuff in the past 10 years. Their *ist D camera was very nice and small. Lenses-a-plenty for these cameras too, and ANY Pentax lens you buy will fit on the camera.

I wouldn't go as far to say that they are "laughable", but they are definitely not the market leader. They do come out with some very nice, very robust products that typically have features that others don't.

The 720 was a bad move on their part IMHO. They could have scored big with a 1080 30p or 24p recording mode for $1200. I would have bought it in a heartbeat.
 
Kit Hannah said:
Pentax has had some good stuff in the past 10 years. Their *ist D camera was very nice and small. Lenses-a-plenty for these cameras too, and ANY Pentax lens you buy will fit on the camera.

I wouldn't go as far to say that they are "laughable", but they are definitely not the market leader. They do come out with some very nice, very robust products that typically have features that others don't.

The 720 was a bad move on their part IMHO. They could have scored big with a 1080 30p or 24p recording mode for $1200. I would have bought it in a heartbeat.
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Yeah...I wonder if a firmware can update anything...doubt Pentax would do it though...

But it records 1536 by 1024 natively in a 3:2 format...so close, yet so far away.

But at least it's better than a 720 P camera in that you can use those native files at 1536/1024 and bring them in a 720P timeline then have generous resolution to reframe and zoom in without losing quality and squeeze some extra focal length out of your video.

Footage wise, there aren't many samples yet, but seems to be on par with the LUmix....some impressive footage has come out of the lumix since it's been out longer, so the K7 may need to get into better hands to see what it can really do, but then again, you don't have to worry about mud and it records in AVI not in compression/edit heavy h264 or AVCHD.

But I must say, I think this camera is in the lead on my personal list. Sucks losing 1080P, but the Mark ii is outrageous cost wise. The K7 having built in IS is a HUGE BONUS and their lenses/bodies are actually on par with the Nikon/Canons.
 
Psynema said:
Yeah...I wonder if a firmware can update anything...doubt Pentax would do it though...

But it records 1536 by 1024 natively in a 3:2 format...so close, yet so far away.

But at least it's better than a 720 P camera in that you can use those native files at 1536/1024 and bring them in a 720P timeline then have generous resolution to reframe and zoom in without losing quality and squeeze some extra focal length out of your video.
Click to expand...

I forgot that I did read that. Why the funky size? It is close, a touch over 1080i (1440x1080). I wonder what it actually looks like though....

For $1200, it may be worth the wait - I went and checked out the 5D about 15 minutes ago and it is nice, but I need to gauge what the difference is going to be on image quality. Out of the box, the 5D is looking quite gorgeous.

I will start looking into the Pentax. I used to use Pentax exclusively, but I just want whatever is going to have the nicest resolution and the most control.
 
Kit Hannah said:
I forgot that I did read that. Why the funky size? It is close, a touch over 1080i (1440x1080). I wonder what it actually looks like though....

For $1200, it may be worth the wait - I went and checked out the 5D about 15 minutes ago and it is nice, but I need to gauge what the difference is going to be on image quality. Out of the box, the 5D is looking quite gorgeous.

I will start looking into the Pentax. I used to use Pentax exclusively, but I just want whatever is going to have the nicest resolution and the most control.
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While the canon does have the best image quality....Pentax is looking pretty damn close. The stills look amazing with their lenses, blows out the GH1s stills, bokeh/sharpness def. on par with Canon L glass.

But if cost is an issue...keep in mind

$2700 buys you

1. Just a mark ii body, no lenses

2. A K7 Body, 16-55mm DA lens, 50-135 DA Lens with both lenses being 2.8 and extremely sharp and do not require IS since it's in the body.


But for 1200 dollars, you can get two bodies, then not have to worry about switching lenses so much, do some event video work maybe, have a backup, etc.

The Funky Size, 3:2 is I'm assuming due to it being a photo sensor, not a video sensor, so has a 3:2 ratio, default for DSLR photos, which is a tad wider than standard 4:3...but

While disappointed that it's 720p, at least we know, it's actually a bit better.

I'm not even a software geek, but wonder, if someone can hack some firware to get more res out of the sensor. The GH1's sensor is probably half the size and does full HD.
 
"http://www.vimeo.com/5186214"

I downloaded the AVI of this clip and uprezzed it to 1080p...my FCP system doesn't have a native AVI plug in, but the results seemed at worst, USABLE :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

Try it yourself and see if you like it.

It's the full size native 1536 by 1024 file. I just blew it up until it filled the 1920 by 1080 frame, cropping the top and bottom, and it only needed a 125 motion size setting.

I also added a sharpen filter set at 25, then black/mid balanced on the pentax poster in the BG, white for her shirt. Looked pretty good.

Although I don't know if this user compressed the avi before uploading to Vimeo or if it's straight out of the camera.

That and not sure what lens he used, I'm guessing it's a plastic kit lens. I asked him on the video page, so hopefully he responds.

But all in all, I'm sold on this camera I believe. If a client/project needs 1080p Full HD...I think it's doable via upres software, sharpening...it honestly doesn't have a long way to go since it's 1500 pixels wide.
 
Okay, so I just downloaded some footage here and played with it - it looks fantastic! Maybe this is the way to go? I dunno, yeah, it's not like the K-7 is upresing from a SD chipset - not going "that" far. I like the idea of the Pentax, and the footage looks clean as anything else. I will mess around with it tonight when I get home on my editing system with higher resolution and see what it looks like.
 
Kit Hannah said:
Okay, so I just downloaded some footage here and played with it - it looks fantastic! Maybe this is the way to go? I dunno, yeah, it's not like the K-7 is upresing from a SD chipset - not going "that" far. I like the idea of the Pentax, and the footage looks clean as anything else. I will mess around with it tonight when I get home on my editing system with higher resolution and see what it looks like.
Click to expand...

Yep this pumped me up. Can't wait to see what it looks like on a real lens, and on a system supporting AVI full blown.

I hope July 2009 means July 1st :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG) June 27th I read is the Japanese release date and I read speculation Europe would have it trickling on July 1st and in stores the first week...hopefully that's true.
 
Very interesting. The more competition the better! You have to love the sensor-based IS, too. You could also plan to deliver in 720p, shoot in the highest resolution, and then have fantastic stabilizing potential in post.
 
Eximious said:
Very interesting. The more competition the better! You have to love the sensor-based IS, too. You could also plan to deliver in 720p, shoot in the highest resolution, and then have fantastic stabilizing potential in post.
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Yep, forgot about that. And having clips individualized DSLR style instead of a single tape so you can quickly do the FCP stabilize filter!
 
Alright, this is driving me nuts. There isn't enough information to go on with respect to video quality of the Pentax. Does it look good from what I have seen? So so. There are a few videos that look pretty good, everything else kinda looks bad.

Is there COMPLETE manual control over the image? Guess I'm not quite clear on that.

720p is nice and fine and dandy, but from the looks of it (at what little footage I have seen), I'm starting to lean back towards the Canon 5DII. Something about the images coming from that camera I just can't get over. Maybe if I see some better Pentax footage I will change my mind, but from sharpness to color to noise to native image size, the Canon is floating my boat.

One strange thing though - Every time I try to import a native Canon file into Vegas, it crashes. Trying to figure out why.
 
Kit Hannah said:
Alright, this is driving me nuts. There isn't enough information to go on with respect to video quality of the Pentax. Does it look good from what I have seen? So so. There are a few videos that look pretty good, everything else kinda looks bad.

Is there COMPLETE manual control over the image? Guess I'm not quite clear on that.

720p is nice and fine and dandy, but from the looks of it (at what little footage I have seen), I'm starting to lean back towards the Canon 5DII. Something about the images coming from that camera I just can't get over. Maybe if I see some better Pentax footage I will change my mind, but from sharpness to color to noise to native image size, the Canon is floating my boat.

One strange thing though - Every time I try to import a native Canon file into Vegas, it crashes. Trying to figure out why.
Click to expand...

You can change the aperture, but not while shooting, you'd need an aperture ring lens for that...which Pentax has plenty. You may be able to change the ISO/auto ISO, but haven't read that yet...looking to see. Also focus is all manual I believe.

I'm anxiously trying to find out if there's a limit on the video clip length at all.

As far as so so image, it's hard to tell for sure since it's not released yet - June 27th in Japan, so like the GH1 on April 24th, I'll be refreshing Vimeo and Youtube for more samples all next week.

Most clips from the GH1 looked bad until a week or two after it's Japanese release when more competent people got a hold of it, so time will tell.

There's stuff on Youtube that looked impressive, but wasn't uploaded in HD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS4Ivsk3y58

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kFjqJTY270

Can't tell until we get full HD vimeo/Yt clips and downloadable files, but those clips above looked nice, expecially the 2nd one with the dogs. The IS seems to work wonderfully, it looks like a few of those 200/300mm are handheld.

In any event, I'm not pulling a trigger on a Mark ii until a few more weeks when more on this is released...but I'm leaning K7.

Clean Audio and Built in IS and GREAT PHOTO capabilities while having a wide selection of outstanding lenses on the cheap is just too hard to ignore. As long as the image competes with an HDV camera, I'm game.
 
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Psynema said:
You can change the aperture, but not while shooting, you'd need an aperture ring lens for that...which Pentax has plenty. You may be able to change the ISO/auto ISO, but haven't read that yet...looking to see. Also focus is all manual I believe.

I'm anxiously trying to find out if there's a limit on the video clip length at all.

As far as so so image, it's hard to tell for sure since it's not released yet - June 27th in Japan, so like the GH1 on April 24th, I'll be refreshing Vimeo and Youtube for more samples all next week.

Most clips from the GH1 looked bad until a week or two after it's Japanese release when more competent people got a hold of it, so time will tell.

There's stuff on Youtube that looked impressive, but wasn't uploaded in HD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS4Ivsk3y58


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kFjqJTY270

Can't tell until we get full HD vimeo/Yt clips and downloadable files, but those clips above looked nice, expecially the 2nd one with the dogs. The IS seems to work wonderfully, it looks like a few of those 200/300mm are handheld.

In any event, I'm not pulling a trigger on a Mark ii until a few more weeks when more on this is released...but I'm leaning K7.

Clean Audio and Built in IS and GREAT PHOTO capabilities while having a wide selection of outstanding lenses on the cheap is just too hard to ignore. As long as the image competes with an HDV camera, I'm game.
Click to expand...

I agree, I will probably be waiting too. I will be VERY interested in recording time. 12 ish minutes in HD on the 5dII, 24 ish in SD. Not too bad.

The price is the best part about the Pentax IMO. I don't care about the audio because I will be doing the external recorder thing, so it doesn't matter.

I am anxiously awaiting footage from these cameras. GOOD footage. Hopefully they will impress me. If there is longer recording times, that may just push me over the edge.

Time will tell.
 
Kit Hannah said:
I agree, I will probably be waiting too. I will be VERY interested in recording time. 12 ish minutes in HD on the 5dII, 24 ish in SD. Not too bad.

The price is the best part about the Pentax IMO. I don't care about the audio because I will be doing the external recorder thing, so it doesn't matter.

I am anxiously awaiting footage from these cameras. GOOD footage. Hopefully they will impress me. If there is longer recording times, that may just push me over the edge.

Time will tell.
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Yeah, audio separately certainly saves the Mark ii (and I ASSume canon will officially bug check and release the Magic Lantern hack so audio is better for them)...and even though on paper recording on a zoom h4n seems bad, many people seem to like it better than on board 2 xlr audio now that PluralEyes can sync stuff automatically and the zoom h4n has four tracks in 24 bit...

But, I really do like the idea of having a usable, hassle free input on the K7.
 
kyle_doris said:
pentax is certainly not a "laughable" brand :shrug:
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I didn't quite mean it like that...I mean if you're a canon/nikon snob...then yeah...but they are kind'a "oh they still exist" sort of feel to 'em.

But must say, video aside, looks like the now have a great photo system. Regardless of video the K7 would probably be my choice for photos too - and I would say it's my favorite aps 1.5 x crop sized sensor DSLR out there even though it's not released yet. Looks amazing with a great selection of lenses that are affordable to boot.


PS -

I find it nerdily hilarious B&H listed it as 1024P LOL....what a marketting gimmick even though I've uprezzed it to full HD and it looked usable with proper CC and sharpening.

Sometimes I think the Mark ii spoiled us to unrealistic expectations. Some people will snub the K7, but really even though it's a mere 1024P ; ) What HDV camera under 6K provides a full HD 1920 HD image AND HAS interchangeable lenses AND has a sensor of that size AND lets you adjust ISO (which I'm giddy about having in a video camera finally, though I guess gain/negative gain is a sort of variation on changing ISO).
 
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