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.