K-7 on Sale at B&H...with Specs

<p>Just to prove to myself that I'm not crazy, today when I got home I looked at the B&H page for the K-7, which was still open in my browser from this morning. Here's a screen grab showing the price I quoted at the beginning of the thread. I wonder why B&H made this mistake? It doesn't seem like them to do that.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>I think this looks like a good move for Pentax.</p>

<p>I see the K-7 listed at about $1300. Now, this is still a big price jump from the K20D. With this higher price, I hope Pentax will continue to market other cameras near the $500 mark.</p>

<p>That said, the thing is a portable TV station compatible with any Pentax lens ever made. Add in one of those newfangled autofocus DA* lenses, and I think it would give any "multi-thousands" of dollar camera a run for its money. Anyone inclined to talking down Pentax over the lower pricetags would have to seriously consider this camera.</p>

<p>I haven't used one of these, and y'all know I'm going to stick to my film equipment; but, I think this one looks like it might be a good deal. I think one of the deciding factors is going to lie with its video output; major feature-wise, the capability that's going to get consumer attention will be with the addition of the video. It's going to need to be good, and easy to use with common laptops. A video-Bozo is going to need to be able to fall backwards into success with this camera.</p>

<p>I'm glad to see this camera come out. For $2000 to $3000, you could have a 100% automatic, DA* star system that will also do video and audio. It's a TV station in your backpack. Add in a laptop, and you could broadcast from just about anywhere. This type of thing could be the freelancer's dreamboat.</p>

<p>I also like it that the other companies went first on the pricier DSLR cameras. There's something to be said for something done right at a more modest pace. Someone is going to turn up with one of these in a press pool somewhere, and others will gasp.</p>

<p>I feel good mojo for this camera. It will have a good future.</p>

<p>Imagine what it would be like to see some of those video features in a 645 DSLR. Holy crap!</p>

<p>". . . From where I stand, Pentax looks positively like a small and courageous bunch of rebels."</p>

<p>Obi-Wan O'Keefe-Odom says, Use the force, Geoff. Calculate flash exposure with guide numbers. Put away your targeting computer. Switch over to manual focus. Feel the ambient light all around you. Sunny Sixteen. f/8 and Be There is a Master Photographer's Primary Weapon. Once you go down the path to the dark side, you'll be forever consumed by histograms.</p>

<p>I hope there's a liberal amount of manual overrides in this new camera. </p>

<p >John O'Keefe-Odom wrote:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Imagine what it would be like to see some of those video features in a 645 DSLR.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Imagine what it would be like to see a 645 DSLR. ;-)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I've been rereading this thread and I realize that the magnification difference between the K10D and the K7 is .03x. This is probably not enough to make a fuss about. Looking through the VF will be the true test for each individual.</p>

<p>If there are any early adopters among us, Pentax is taking preorders <a href="http://www.pentaxwebstore.com/detail/PTX+17811">here</a> . Admission price (as Lindy would say): $1,300 (+ $15 S&H within the US).</p>

<p>Mis, I saw the $1,199 price too. Nice you grabbed the screen. I doubt B&H made a mistake, I'd rather guess pentax is getting more aggressive in enforcing MAP:</p>

<p>Minimum Advertised Price</p>

<p>The Canadians are now paying the penalty due to stores like prodigital2000 selling under MAP. Canada had some aggressive price increases recently. Some lenses doubled in:</p>

<p>admission price</p>

<p>;^)</p>

<p>I look foward to seeing the hands on reviews of K-7 production samples. I still wish it had articulated viewscreen so I'll wait for the ergonomically perfect HD Dslr in whatever mount wins the race.</p>

<p>I wonder who will offer it first, then second? Doesn't Pentax have another dslr due out this year? Or was K-7 the last of their predicted cameras due for 2009?</p>

<p>Articulated screen: I would like to think that Pentax didn't include due to size, but even a partial articulation (along the vertical axis, like some Sonys) would have been nice for those close-to-the-ground shots or shooting from the waist.</p>

<p>Pentax DSLRs this year: Rumours abound that another one will be announced by the end of the Summer or in the Autumn (by Northern hemisphere standards). I don't know if this is official news. If true, I imagine it would be the K200D succesor that gets announced.</p>

<p>The follow-up to the K200D is due around New Year, according to the last actual report from Pentax Japan. Sometime after that, maybe a year from now, the succesor to the K20D is to be launched. Not sure what they think the K-7 is if it's not an improved K20D.</p>

<p>The K7 is a compact concept camera combining advanced factors in a unique way. </p>

<p>It is possible that there will be a K30D, which will have additional features, such as a swing-out screen and 1/250 sec standard flash sync. That would be the primary studio and location camera, where the K7 will be the advanced tekking model, and designed with the Limited lenses in mind. </p>