Pentax K-7, any views?

[Upatdawn]

Looking at options to a 600d or d5100

cheers

[PJ S]

Old camera - K5 was the replacement, which is on a par with the d7000 and 60D.
It's been replaced (since Oct/Nov last year) by the K5 II and IIs, with better ISO performance (which the K5 was already superb at) and low-light level focusing and a few other enhancements.
IIs removes the AA filter, so potentially could permit more moiré to be seen on brick walls or the like (repeating patterns), but with the benefit of increased sharpness.

But with those, you're way up in the budget stakes, so a pre-owned K5 would be the best option.
Buy one that's been bought from a Pro dealer, and there'll be the remainder of the 2 year warranty. If it was bought from Amazon/Jessops/etc then it'd only have the standard 12 months, so it may still have some or none at all.
That said, warranties are all nice and comforting, but the reality is most users rarely have issues and they're still working perfectly fine years down the line.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by PJ S on Sunday 10th February 22:35

[Upatdawn]

Cheers but the K5 will be beyond my budget

[PJ S]

Your budget being?

[Upatdawn]

£500....for which i can get a 600d or d5100

[TooLateForAName]

K7 is a good camera (as is the K5) but you might also want to have a look at the K30. I think asking prices of the K7 are a bit high given the specs on the K5 and K30.
(although having just checked, it looks like prices of the K30 have been hiked - I paid £350 a couple of months ago, looks like I got a bargain).

K30 has two control dials, is weather sealed, full pentaprism viewfinder.

K5 / K7 / K30 are all weather sealed bodies (but remember you need WR lenses for them to be fully sealed).

Bought from a pro dealer they have 2 yr warranty. Look at SRS etc. SRS were doing an offer of an extra £100 trade in against K5 models.

try pentaxuser.co.uk for uk based pentax forum.

[PJ S]

Upatdawn said:

£500....for which i can get a 600d or d5100

Which can pretty much buy you a K5 with WR 18-55mm kit lens from SRS with 12 months warranty - refurb/ex-demo/pre-owned.
If you're happy to buy from a private individual with or without warranty remaining, you can easily do it for £500.
You'll have a better performing camera than either the 600D or d5100.

You can pick up a d7000 body for £450 ish, and the 18-105mm VR kit lens for £120 mark.

As said above, the K30 isn't that much of a comedown - you lose the top LCD, but gain a bit more in the high ISO noise performance.
I think the K5 would be the more sought after camera still in 2-3 years time, so buying pre-owned will see a lower cost of ownership.

[the pips]

I've just recently bought an ex-display k7 for £275, I'm certain it's capabilities will far out-perform my own! On Ebay the body only seems to be about £275-£325. I'm been a bit of a Pentax fan especially as the Anti-Shake is built into the body so will work with any lens.

Regards
Doug