Saturday 11 December 2010

The Bottom Line


I've had the camera for about a year now, so it's a good time for a summing-up:






The figures:

  • Events attended: 20+
  • Frames shot: 5-6,000
  • Published images: (local and yachting press): 31
  • Total images sold (retail and editorial): 75

The good points:

  • Rugged, weather-sealed construction and compact size.
  • Adequate image quality under most conditions.
  • Acceptable burst speed and AF performance.
  • Very flexible to set-up and customise via menus.
  • Good use of legacy lenses eg 50mm f1.7.

Not so good points:

  • Noisy images at ISO 400 and above.
  • Some controls can be fiddly to use and too easy to operate accidentally.
  • Video is very hard to use for a spectacle wearer; cannot focus on the subject and the viewfinder (rear LCD screen) at the same time although that will be the same for all DSLRs, not just the K-7.

My main regret is that I haven’t had the chance to use the K-7 with some good Pentax glass, like the 300mm F4, which is also weather sealed. The sharpest lens I have used on the K-7 has to be the SMC 50mm f1.7 which came with my old K-1000 about 30 years ago!

And the bottom line –

If I was starting from scratch in this field of work, without the current investment in Canon equipment (especially lenses) would I consider the K-7? Certainly, although by now I would be more likely to be looking at a K-5.

An Indoor Job


A couple of weeks ago I was asked by a friend who plays in a local jazz quartet (Take 4 - http://www.take4jazz.com/Take_4/Welcome.html) if I would take a few shots of a gig in a local put, for use on a new CD sleeve. The lighting was pretty grim and it was a very cluttered environment, so I concentrated on close-ups, using the K-7 on ISO 1600 with the old 50mm f1.7 lens. This is the shot they used on the CD cover.