I actually took my time getting over to the pusher's store to pick up my
K-7. I had breakfast and I decided it would be nice to have an armed guard,
so to speak, so I hitched up Jester and off we went.
This is the Pentax I've been waiting for.
It feels smaller than the K20, but at the same time, just as substantial. It
does fit my hand better, and the vertical grip is more rounded on the front,
making it more comfortable as well. There is more grip to grip, so to speak.
There are a LOT more menu adjustments, but they've done away with the pages
and pages of depth, instead opting for a tabbed style of menu, with only one
page of depth per tab.
Overall, if you can work a K20, the K-7 won't be difficult, though there are
some pleasant surprises hidden in menuland.
My major nitpik with the camera so far, and I expect reading the manual will
answer it, is that the camera defaults to the rocker switch panel
controlling the Fn functions rather than the AF point select, and I haven't
found a menu option that will let me change it. This makes it really easy
(possibly to easy) to adjust Fn settings, but it will be frustrating until I
get used to having to push the OK button every time I turn the camera on so
that the rockers adjust the AF point.
Hopefully I'll find a solution in the manual, but if not, I hope Pentax
writes it into a firmware update so that the camera will remember that
setting, along with the other settings it is happy to remember.
Something they have done that I think I'll appreciate is to put a lock
button on the mode dial. No more accidentally changing the mode by brushing
up against the to of the camera. This is a good thing.
The User mode is still, as far as I am concerned, broken. I would really
appreciate it if one could lock a discrete shutter speed and aperture value
combination into the user mode by offering the settings to the user mode
set-up. I find that I have a tendency to bump the dials when I am shooting
quickly at weddings, so I am constantly having to babysit the camera.
We now have the option of switching noise reduction off, both for long
exposure and for high ISO.
As well, there is the standard weak, medium and strong settings.
So far, I am thinking this is quite a step upwards for Pentax from a
performance POV. The camera truly does feel more responsive. The screwdrive
AF is definitely faster, the jury is still out on whether SDM focusing is,
as the partially charged battery that came with the camera died almost
immediately, so I am running it on AA alkalines, which are also trying to
die just from setting the camera up.
More on this later when I have a fully operational camera.
William Robb
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