Pentax K-7 DSLR camera becomes official

Comments

• Yep, good luck to you Pentax. You already have lost massive market share over the last few years to Canon and Nikon, you want to go up against the big boys, *with a more expensive* camera?
  
  R.I.P., btw, when are the layoffs happening? Posted by Johnno, UK
• Never liked Pentax product. This just seems to be a terrible piece of market planning. Canon and Nikon can't be touched for this part of the photography market. Posted by Andrew Rose, UK
• Johnno - they are adopting the Apple business strategy. Sell inferior goods at a high price and let the suckers who buy them vigourously defend them (Pentax/the camera) so they don't look like clueless fools who've wasted their money and being sold a tukey.
  Worked for the iPhone, Pentax hopes it'll work for the K7. Posted by adrianaitken, United Kingdom
• Johnno, I think you'll find this is simply shoddy journalism. THis camera does not "take on the Nikon D5000 and Canon 500D" - it's in a totally different bracket, clearly pitched against the Nikon D300 or Canon 50D.
  
  Poor show, Mr Miles.
  
  (And, No, I don't own a Pentax.) Posted by Paul Maitland, UK
• As Paul says this is ridiculous journalism.
  
  Pentax has products which compete with the low end competition from Nikon and Canon. The K-m is the entry level Pentax DSLR and it compares well with similarly priced competitors.
  
  Above that the k200 shows well against the cameras you mention in your article, although it is a bit behind the curve now.
  
  There is a strong presence in the mid-tier with the excellent K20D (a direct competitor with the more expensive Nikon D90 and Canon 500D).
  
  This new Pentax K7 camera is aimed at competing with similarly priced and spec'd cameras - the Canon 50D and Nikon D300 to mention two. It is a sector that is often considered 'semi-pro'.
  
  We do not yet have any reviews available to assess the image quality of this camera, so the jury is still out as to whether it will live up to its spec and be competitive in the segment it is being sold.
  
  I honestly don't expect you guys to be expert on every subject so please do a little bit of research next time. Posted by Malone, UK
• Thanks for the comments guys, It's always good to have a discussion about where things sit in a very crowded and sometimes confusing marketplace.
  
  Talking to Pentax this morning they aren't being drawn on what other models from other manufacturers this model is up against only saying that it's "Mid-range".
  
  Talking over the comments with our camera reviewer and other journalists in the field I feel the comparison to the D5000 and 500D is fair. The Nikon 5000D offers admitted less megapixels, 12 instead of 14, but the same ISO settings, Live View and HD recording functionality.
  
  Against the 50D as you suggest, the shooting speed isn't as fast (6.3 fps to the K-7's 5.2) nor the ISO capabilities as far reaching (12800 to the K-7's 6400).
  
  Maybe then it falls inbetween (i.e. we are both right) as it's slightly better specced than the Nikon 5000D, but not as good as the Canon 50D.
  
  Still it will be interesting to see how it performs when we get to have a play with next week at the UK hands-on. Posted by stuartmiles, United Kingdom
• All the comments on here are confusing. I am a Canon 50d and 5DMkII owner and even I can tell that the new Pentax K7 is targeted at the Nikon D300 and Canon 50D. The Pentax has 77 seals to make it weather proof, shoots 5.2FPS, Steel frame with Manesium Alloy metal body, some sort of sensor shake reduction, 100% viewfinder, 77 area metering mode and shoots high def at 30FPS 720P.
  
  No toy D5000 Nikon or entry level Canon pastic wonder Rebel series is in its class. Pentax entry level camera is a KM / KN? or something like that and is 40% less expensive than both the Canon and the Nikon. I think I would go with the Nikon over the KM though as I believe it is crippled with no orientation sensor.
  
  It would be great if websites were factual, and people who are brand blind would be a little more open minded at commenting on other brands. I love my 50D for daily use and would not trade in for the Pentax K7. Posted by A little Information, Canada
• stuartmiles: ehem... have you ever used anything other than your cellphone's camera? I mean, if you consider top importance the frames per second, megapixels, ISO10^4 then you should not be writting about this topic. Posted by bokeh san, Japan
• Johnno says: "R.I.P., btw, when are the layoffs happening?"
  
  Nikon laid off 1,600 workers in Thailand and 1,000 in Japan. Pentax hired additional workers in the Philippines. So much for your "big boys" arrogance.
  
  To Stuart Miles: If you paid attention to the specs, this unit is not targetting the D5000 and 500D. It is targetting the D300 and 50D. That makes it a much cheaper alternative to the D300 and matches the 50D price, with more features than both. Posted by Please get your facts straight, Philippines
• Guys, classifying cameras by the frame rate and ISO dial is like grading cellphones by megapixels. Would you dismiss the iPhone because it has only 2mp? It's the wrong spec.
  
  The K7 is a semi-pro APS-C body, just like the 50D and D300:
  
  * magnesium alloy frame
  * 11 cross-type point AF
  * 77 point metering
  * 100% viewfinder coverage
  * weather sealing (including the new "kit" lens)
  * built in IS
  
  It matches most of the specs of the Canon 50D and Nikon D300, bettering some and adds a few features neither of them can match, at a similar price. It is not expensive.
  
  Comparing it to entry level models from other manufacturers and mocking the price suggests a real lack of understanding of the market. Posted by ZB, UK
• Following a good chunk of time with Pentax on Friday, the camera company has now confirmed to us that while it admits that the lines are becoming very blurred, it does percieve the K-7 to go up against the D300 from Nikon and the 50D from Canon. We'll be sharing some more information that we managed to get out the company later in the week. Posted by stuartmiles, United Kingdom
• Months later, this model is selling very very well, has the kudos of countless reviews, both print publications and online medium and is by all accounts superior to the D90, 500D, and D300. This is not a guessed opinion based on nothing but useless predictions like those older posts above, but fact afterseveral months after it's release.
  
  Fanboys can continue down their roads of blind faith, but consumers have their eyes squarely on Pentax thanks to the success of this new K-7 as and the soon to be released K-x.
  
  Enjoy! Posted by Jason, USA