Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

I needed a new camera and well Pentax makes it affordable for me. Sure, the K5 is out. But, I couldn't afford the K5, so I purchased the K7 and several Pentax lens: 17-70, 50-135 and a prime 31mm. I also, purchased the DBG4 Batt Grip. That is my only complaint... the grip's tripod mount is off centered, no big deal, as I'll take the battery grip off when doing panorama pictures. I love the K7 menu font size when changing settings. I've used the Nikon D200 & D90 cameras and I was always putting on my reading glasses to change their menu settings. The K7 is a pleasure to use and carry all day long in any weather enviroment. The Pentax K7 is an excellent camera for me. Thanks Pentax!

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

I love this camera! I have used or owned all brands and the magazine testers want you to buy Nikon or Canon. Well I'll tell you for me the K7 is better. Better built, better lenses and smaller.

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

So far after two weeks, I am loving this K7. I've owned the K10, and still have a K20, however this K7 Pentax camera far outshines the quality of the other cameras I've own (including some other brands). Ease of use and lighter weight is something I had not expected (especially since the menu and some of the other features are not the same as the K10 or K20 versions. So far I am sold on this model.

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

Easy to learn the basics with plenty of options to learn as I get better aquainted with camera

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

I own K20D and this is my second DSLR. It is very smaller and lighter than K20D. Also shutter noise is quieter than K20D. At high ISO, it is less noise. Tow negative things. The Green mode cannot have a RAW image.The focusing screen is slightly darker than K20D that I am feeling. At the default setting, the camera setting information is on the monitor all the time and this affects the battery life a lot. I suggest it should be canceled and I did.

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

A very sophisticated camera. I have just started to learn basic functions and it will be years before I can learn even half of what it is capable of. I am surprised every time I use it. No boredom here!

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

I have used Pentax cameras for over 30 years and the K7 is the best built, most advanced model to date.

My business is primarily landscape, travel, and wildlife photography. I have to be outside in all weather conditions and have never had to worry about the K7 not being up to the task.

The only down I find is the size. It is much smaller than others in this class. This is good for portability, but makes it harder to handle with gloves.

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

the K7 is the third digital SLR made in Pentax that I buied in five years, afther DS and K10.
It is the best of usability for travel and wildlife photo, for the possibility of use the lens factor of its cmos with 14,6 megapixel, that non have a significative noise since 800ASA. the automatic white balance is very good in the open space and in the artificial light. the possibility to use the HDR option, helped with a strong tripod, is a aggreable new for mine architecturial photo. the video isn't interesting for me, bat it's a expansion of photo possibility. I use the pentax K7 from december and I are very satisfied of this camera

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

I've owned the original *ist D, an *ist DS, K100D, K10D, 3 K20D, and now the K-7. This camera was by far the most significant upgrade. The increased speed (AF and burst) is noticable, and has been great for shooting sports. There are so many new features that I'm still playing, but so far I'm loving this camera and very glad I swapped a K20D for it.

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

I am a retired photojournalist since back in the 70's. I have owned a few cameras; this is the best I ever dreamed of. The only con might be there are so many features that it will take a while to get skilled at all of them. I have been big on infrared photography as a hobby for years, this camera can do great infrared just by setting an internal filter.

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

I've been a keen photographer for over 20 years, starting out with an old ME Super. I have subsequently had all the top of the range Pentax slr cameras over the decades and the K7 is by far the best. Everything has been improved on this dslr and I'm very happy with it, although the AF and noise is not as good as the competition, I believe all the features more than make up for the shortfall. I'm a die hard Pentax fan as the controls are so ergonomic and logically laid out, I know the camera intimately now. I use the camera for landscape, macro, art, fun and travel which is perfect, for sport and journalism you will like the size of the K7 but the AF speed may put you off (don't get me wrong, it is fast but probably a tad behind Canon & Nikon).

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

Update of previous 7/25/2009 review…

I took well over 500 shots on a two week trip through Seattle & Alaska. I only brought one (unusual for me) DA* 16 – 50 mm f2.8 lens. I took all of my shots at ISO 200. Color saturation was generally excellent and most shots were metered properly by the camera (using aperture priority). On the occasions when I used AF, it was absolutely silent (Pentax standard lenses aren't so quiet) and very fast. (I still prefer manual focus.)

When necessary, I was able to change the exposure instantly to bracket my shots in bright sun and other conditions where I expected trouble without a handheld meter. (I really like the control layout on this camera.)

I had opted to leave the large flash at home too because I was trying to save room in my luggage. The on-camera flash surprised me during outdoor use. The K-7 did a better job than my Nikon D200 at correctly determining exposure.

On a few occasions when I forgot to check/change the f-stop between shots, I ended up taking photos at shutter speeds more appropriate to a tripod. The image stabilization kept me from blowing them...

The bottom line: I got some great shots that I think would have taken a great deal more work otherwise. And no, I still haven't touched the video…

Comments about Pentax Pentax K7 14.6 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only Kit with 3.0" LCD Monitor:

I've used many cameras & this just replaced a Nikon D-200. In combination with the fast Pentax DA* lenses I purchased (including an F1.4 55mm and a 16-50mm F2.8), this camera provides a closer feel to my old compact 35 mm cameras (e.g. Nikon FE2) than any DSLR I've owned. It's very easy to shoot manually, via aperture priority, etc. -- even chasing around an 18 month old nephew on a beach playground -- where the camera weighed a fraction of what his father's Canon EOS Rebel weighs. It's great being able to truly control depth of field again the way I could on my old 35 mm and medium format analog cameras.

Exposure is excellent -- even in adverse conditions where bright sun & shade could confuse the sensors (very impressive).

I prefer to use manual focus, but the camera is reasonably fast with auto focus. It doesn't shine here and could be quieter with a standard Pentax lens -- but I've yet to use a camera (I've owned quite a few digital & analog auto focus cameras) that's as good as I'd like it to be.

The controls allow fast "on the fly" access and shooting in RAW+ mode allows for fast, continuous shooting on an SDHC card. (An 8GB card can store over 200 RAW + [hi-res] JPEG images.)

Though heavy compared with say... an Olympus 620, it's more rugged and still much lighter than the Nikon I've been using.

Finally, this camera fits much more easily into my carryon luggage than its bigger bulkier prosumer DSLR brethren with equivalent specs. Concerns about theft from checked luggage prompted this most recent purchase -- which I compared extensively with several other brands.