I Share My Dream! ;-D

After viewing all those leaked K-7 images these days, last night, I had a dream. In the dream, I saw a K-7 Kit. When I woke up this morning, I drew a sketch of it, here it is:-



I'm glad that I can share my dream with all of you. Enjoy! :-D

Pentax K-7 Unofficially Announced!

RiceHigh's Pentax Blog is proud and pleased to announce the next upcoming Pentax DSLR, the Pentax K-7 (Official Name!), with the following details, as confirmed and verified from the reliable secret sources of mine!

Disclaimer: This Announcement is purely and 200% *Unofficial*, of course, as I am not Pentax affiliated (of course x2!) and I signed no NDA with Pentax nor with any Pentax related organisation! Read the following at your own risk! I hold no responsibility of any kind for any CBA or even Blog Checking Syndrome caused thereafter!! ;-D

Edit April 26: Table Contents Updated - More Information Added!

Edit April 27: Full Dimensions Updated!

Edit April 28: Kit Lens Info, I/O Ports Info Added!

Edit April 29: Some Photos Leaked at a Russian Forum (penta-club.ru)!


News Coming From:-
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/57107-pic-k30d-88.html#post575160
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/57107-pic-k30d-89.html#post575380
Some Interesting Remarks in the Above Second Post, Too.

Two More:
Source Link: http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/57107-pic-k30d-95.html#post575961

Edit May 1: Another Image..


Source Link: http://blog.photopoint.ee/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/pentax-k-x.jpg


K-7 CHARACTERISTICS TABLE:

Camera Name:	Pentax K-7 (It is "K Hyphen Seven" - *No* "D" Letter and *With* the Hyphen)
Kit Lens:	DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL WR (Water/eather Resistant) (WOW! HOYA/Pentax have taken my Advice!! That is, a Weather-sealed Kit Lens for a Weather-sealed Body. It seems that they do read my Blog and accepted my "repeated" "Bashes"!!)
Dimensions (by Measurement, Not Factory Specs):	96mm (H) x 130mm (W) x D1-D3* *D1 = 66mm, from Flange to Grip Rear *D2 = 74mm, from Grip Front to Grip Rear *D3 = 76mm, from RTF Front to Grip Rear Remark: Neck Strap Buckles, Eyecup, Hotshoe and Rubber Covers are All Ignored Amazingly Truly Compact! Especially for an Upper Grade DSLR Body! (RTF is Far Less Protruding Than Previous Models, Too)
Sensor Format:	APS-C, Aspect Ratio: 3:2
Mount:	Pentax KAF2 (Crippled K-mount, Support Both Body Driven "Screw-Type" AF KAF and SDM KAF2/KAF3 Lenses)
Viewfinder Coverage and Magnification:	>95% and/or >0.95X ( by my Best Measurement and Estimation - It could be 100% *and* 1.0X ! Actually, I've measured that result but just can't believe it myself !! )
RTF:	Yes, Manual Pop-up
Live View:	Yes, Activated by One-touch Dedicated "LV" button at the Thumb Position
Movie/Video Recording:	Movie/Video with Mono-Audio Recording
Top Monochrome Status LCD:	Yes
Rear Colour LCD:	3.0"
e-Wheels Control:	Front and Rear Wheels
Green Button:	Yes, Directly Under the Rear Wheel
Exposure Modes:	Green Mode, P, Sv, Tv, Av, TAv, M, B, X, User and Movie
Focusing Modes:	AF-S, AF-C, MF
Dedicated AF Button:	Yes
Dedicated AF Point Selector:	Yes: Central, Auto and User Select
Built-in AF Assist Light:	Yes, Bright Type (Not Near IR)
Dedicated Metering Mode Selector:	Yes: Evaluative, Centre-Weighted Average, Spot
Controls Around Shutter Release:	Optical/Digital Preview; Two Separate Buttons for ISO Speed Selection and +/- EV Compensation / Top LCD Panel Backlight/Illumination
Other Direct Controls:	With the Four Ways / "OK" Buttons: WB, Flash, Drive and Colour Mode / AF Point Selection Activation
Standard Controls:	Play/Delete (at Upper Left), INFO/MENU (at Lower Right)
RAW Button:	Yes
"Fn" (Function) Button:	No (Not Needed with New Direct Controls Design)
Shake Reduction Switch:	No (to be Enabled and Disabled via System Menu)
PC Sync Socket:	Yes
IR Remote Control:	Yes, Front and Rear Receivers
I/O Ports:	Left: DC IN, PC/AV, HDMI, MIC IN (Stereo? Very Possibly, I think); Right: Cable Switch Connector
Accessory:	Vertical Battery Grip D-BG4

More to Come when it is Due!

P.S. Well, I can finally add a "K-7" Label Tag at my Blog, as it has been confirmed (by myself :-D) now. And, it is No More Rumour! Btw, the K-7 and K-m do still look like a family, very fortunately!

In the Meantime, Let's have Some Fun!

Whilst the new "K7(D)" news have started to die down and there are no leak anymore, all we have to do is to wait for the Big Day of May 21st.

But then in order to salvage the famine of the wide Pentaxian population many of whom are rather hungry and thirsty right now ;-D, someone at the biggest Chinese forum, the Xitek Forum, has done us a favour. Here is the first complete and clear K7D image posted on the web so far! Here it is:-

http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=617720&pagenumber=1
(Post #110 - Text in Simplified Chinese)

Well, I think I have to give a credit to this guy, Mr. "Plastic Tank" for his Nickname, he told that he had spent two hours to PS this piece of Artwork, very honestly!

But then even this was done as an Hoax instead, the flaws could be easily identified! :-> First of all, as I mentioned before, the Pentax logo had already been changed, i.e., he used wrongly an old Pentax logo! The new one is just taller and looks smarter. Secondly, as the last hoax, the camera lacks a lens release lock/button at the usual position for a K-mount camera! Third, the AF assist lamp is a Nikon one! Fourth, many of the different components, symbols and small parts are from different Pentax DSLRs like the MZ-S, K10/20D or even the latest prototype 645D etc.! Well, as for the real body, I guess it is just the LX.

Anyway, do YOU feel better now, after taking this "medicine"? ;-D LOL..

Lastly: My hat off, Mr. Plastic Tank! I really appreciate your efforts spent and the heart taken to do this great PS job and the intention to help all of us from this severe famine and finally your honesty to make it clear at the first place instead of trying to create an hoax is and should be greatly and much appreciated!!

The Decline of the DPR Pentax SLR Forum

As some people have already noted. For the latest emerging news for the upcoming Pentax DSLR body, the DPR (Dpreview.com) Pentax SLR Forum is no longer a hot place for discussion nor its news contained in threads have appeared fast and useful enough.

On the other hand, the DPR banned and "prohibited" site, the PentaxForums, has gathered much more useful posts by different posters and discussions have been much hotter than the DPR's. Most importantly, the PentaxForums threads do contain more important and faster news updates which are miles ahead of the DPR threads!

Just look this PentaxForums' Mega Thread! It is now approaching the 1,000th post! In contrast, the "largest" DPR thread is not even approaching the DPR set 150 posts limit but just far below that (I even don't bother to find and link to that thread here as it has disappeared from their Forum front page for quite a while now). Now, as for the latest new news, the new thread is of very low and pity numbers and there is little response to those. This is just very different than what the DPR threads behaved in the past. Well, when I *was* there, I usually contributed to many 150 posts threads whenever I posted something "exciting" (or maybe controversial, anyway)! ;-)

And, if you look at the time stamps of threads/posts on the front page of their Forum, normally it is something 6-8 hours on usual days for the oldest thread. And, even now on these "heated" days, they do at best at 4 to 6 hours! In contrast to the *ist D to K10D days, it was in terms of tens of minutes to 1 to 2 hours on "normal" days!

So, all the above facts and my observations only tell one thing:- The DECLINING Trend Of the DPR Pentax SLR Forum!

Well, as I have said, analysed and predicted before, IF NO true efforts are put and open-mindedness is kept to run an Internet site for making more real improvements and keep the good old traditions, NO ONE will shine *forever* on the Internet and eventually they will be eliminated by the "Big Wheel" of Time!

One More! (Fake)

Thank to Mr. "Anonymous" who has posted at my Blog (Who actually? :-)), I have another image:-



Image Source: http://www.bildercache.de/bild/20090422-200732-393.jpg

But do note that the neck strap buckles are somehow different to what we have seen lately for other images (especially for the right hand side one of which the difference is obvious), whereas the overall appearance of the above camera is similar to what we have seen in the other images. Maybe a leaked image of just an earlier prototype, of the same model?

Edit: FAKE Image! I've just figured out that there is no lens release at the usual position for any K-mount cameras! And that the Pentax logo seems to be not so well placed and naturally integrated to the body! Oh, I must confess.. :-( Just because I'm too excited and so much in a hurry to report! ;-)

Just treat this image as a grain of salts anyway and it may still be entertaining, though. Sort of..

Two More Leaked (Official?) Images

Image Source:-
http://cid-9c2325683f4c3b9c.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/%E6%91%84%E5%BD%B1%E5%99%A8%E6%9D%90/PENTAX/1.jpg

This image looks like something for the official Catalogue. And no more "Mr. Blurry Cameraphone" images!


Image Source:-
http://www.penta-club.ru/forum/uploads/post-1970-1240400101.jpg

The second image looks like a poster or a promotion leaflet.

As for the Japanese slogan on it, I would translate it to: "- The Successor for the Pride of Renowned Gear -".

Well, I think whilst there will be more and more "leaked" product images to come, its time for us to know something *real* and *concrete* about this new cam, isn't it?

New Name Rumour and Some Told Specs - "K7D"

All the news almost come from a single origin, in fact.

First, it started to appear at the front page of a German web store for Pentax items, TeKaDe, just after photos of the new Pentax photos exposed (here, here and then here) that the store is accepting new pre-orders for the new Pentax DSLR - but without any technical information disclosed about the cam, but just a EUR 1500 price tag and the targeted shipment time frame:-

"Pentax neue DSLR KxxD ab sofort per Mail bestellbar. Preis um EUR 1500,00. Auslieferung Ende Juni/Anfang Juli 2009!"

Actually, I had seen it quite early and I opted not to particular post anything about it as I couldn't verify anything on this claim nor the actual source of information. Thus, I treated it as a wild rumour. Just see my previous response to one of my Blog readers here.

And, I was also not convinced that Pentax is to re-adopt the "D" letter again in this new body (which they have already dropped with the K2000/K-m), for what the webstore suggests. Isn't it rather odd and inconsistent to have a "K7D" to be in a "family"(?) with a "K-m", as least as named and to be marketed in the Europe??

However, the rumour continues.. One of my readers have made a post at my Blog here in Anonymity to tell that he has pre-ordered a "K7(D)" and then with some brief specs told in a firm tone (which I believe is that the shop told him verbally):-

"@ RiceHigh

Well, i pre-ordered one, a K7 ;D
at tekade.de. and yes, i wouldn't preorder something i wouldn't know a thing about...

but here are some of the specs, that are pretty sure!:

100% viewfinder, kind-of-metal-housing, hd-videomode, better, faster and more accurate af, 5-6fps, many little changes in order to improve ergonomy..."

But then the (single) source of information is actually the same, as he pre-ordered from the TeKaDe.

The webstore owner has also posted at an Austria forum himself, here is his post:-

http://www.fotografie.at/forum/fotografie-at/3-aktuelle-news/20514-neue-pentax-k7d/
(Google Translation in English Here)

It is also told that the new body will be announced by Pentax in the 3rd week of May.

In his signature, you can see that he is also the online dealer of Pentax gear with address http://www.pentaxshop.at/. On the front page of it, it can be seen that yet again it is just the TeKaDe! So, this guy is just the owner of both the German and Austria online webstore(s)! And, he is no Pentax official anyway nor he is actually a direct staff of any Pentax branch in Europe, as opposed to some hearsays with mis-information told (examples here at the PentaxForums and here at the DPR Pentax Forum).

But since this Pentax dealer has good reputations as told and he can be considered as a Pentax insider to a certain extent. I start to believe what he tells! :-) Probably, it is true. But, how dare he is to break the Embargo! And let's see how Pentax/Hoya will "punish" him in the meantime for breaching the NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement)! ;-D

Last but not least, if the 1500 Euro set price range is true, I don't think marketing wise Pentax will succeed again! Why not just go buy a popular/common FF DSLR like the D700 or 5D MkII just for a few more bucks if so? And, Hoya senior official told us last time at PMA that the new DSLR in Summer will be in the "same price range" of the K20D.. So? He actually *should* tell, "the new DSLR in Summer will be priced higher than the *original* set price of the K20D when it was first marketed"! ;-> :-0

Now, One Clear Photo of the New Pentax DSLR!

Bodies from the Left: Pentax Kx, K20D, K200D and K-m (where x = unknown ;-))

Just seen this picture from the following link, actually made by the same person for the "Mr. Blurry Cameraphone" photos for the new Pentax DSLR body (here and here):-

http://cid-9c2325683f4c3b9c.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/%E6%91%84%E5%BD%B1%E5%99%A8%E6%9D%90/PENTAX%20Rumors/IMG|_0153|_ps|_up.jpg
(Edit 4-20: Page Removed, only a dead link is left)

So, again, I would say: It is REAL!

And, three more observations:-

1. From this angle on the body top, it now looks as if it still has a built-in flash/RTF. It is just because if there is no RTF, Pentax would have make the top "one-piece" but not in two zones as seen. I'd be so happy if it is really the case! :-))

2. The new body has a Black shutter release button instead of a Silver one, so it is of the K20D grade or above it. Judged together on the mode dial of the last (blurry) photo, a higher grade and improved (hopefully) DSLR body is almost for sure! :=D

3. There seems to be a Microphone hole opening on the head of the camera in front of the Hotshoe, which implies it is a video capable DSLR! :-0

Some Sample Photos with FAJ 18-35 on 5D (Full Frame)

Here are some recent sample photos of mine shot with my FAJ 18-35 on my Canon EOS 5D:-

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v313/RiceHigh/Pentax%20FAJ%2018-35%20on%20Canon%205D/?start=all

(Or to Start SlideShow Here)

All the photos are direct out of the camera jpegs, no retouching and post-processing of any kind, downsized to 1MB file limit automatically by the Photobucket image engine. EXIF data are preserved, though (but the focal and aperture number reported are not real as those are just fixed values as "cheated" by the chipset of the K-mount to EOS adaptor).

As for the real f-number, the first 6 photos were taken at f/8 whereas the rest were taken on another day with f/11. As the FAJ 18-35 lens has no aperture ring, I just used adhesive tape to fix the aperture position after removal of the protruding aperture coupler and then calibrated those f-numbers against my Canon 24-105L and also my Pentax FA 24-90 which had been modified before but has an aperture ring.

As for the actual focal length, it was fixed at 19mm, as at the widest 18mm the lens rear glass element is protruding too far into the mirror housing that it has conflict with the large full frame mirror of the 5D. Just zooming in by 1mm for the focal will safely avoid any conflict.

Now, let's look at the samples. Actually, I am really impressed with the image quality it reproduced. The resolution is not low at the centre and is actually still quite acceptable at the far image corners. The colour and tone renditions are very accurate and natural. The flare resistance and control is simply superb. All in all, it is just a good to very nice lens, provided that the user stops it down by two stops when used Full Frame. On the other hand, when wide opened, obvious vignetting can be seen (on Full Frame).

As you cannot see 100% full size photos in my album above, I have extracted some quick examples with full size 100% crop below to illustrate:-

1. High Resolution:

Here is the 100% crop of the image centre from one of the sample:-


(Click to enlarge and inspect in full)

And, here is 100% crop of one of the extreme image corners from the same sample:-


(Click to enlarge and inspect in full)

I know that the FAJ 18-35 lens has mixed comments and feedbacks from its users, many complained that it was a rather soft lens with poor resolution, even on 6M Pentax DSLRs. But what I can say putting aside for the chance of possible quality issues of this MIV (Made in Vietnam) lens, I bet most of the problems seen and reported were caused by inaccurate focusing, as this lens requires really precise focus to achieve the best resolution - in this case my 5D's "AF" detection is adequate, even for this "demanding" lens.

This example has just illustrated well on how AF errors can decrease drastically the final effective resolution (fully explained here in my old technical article here). In fact, a more accurate AF system is far more important than a sensor with more pixels. If the focusing system is just not precise enough, most of the pixel resolution is just wasted.

Also, as I stopped down the lens at fixed position for the aperture now, I needed to wide-open it and marked the best correct infinity focus position after some tests and actually I am glad that my 5D did always indicate quite accurate focus and I did compare and notice the resolution difference for slight focus shift in the focusing scale of this lens (in which the throw of focus is very little for the lens just from infinity to 1m/3ft).

2. Almost Non-existent CAs:

Here is the 100% crop of the extreme image corner from another sample, with tree branches against a bright sky (typical CA showcases!):-


(Click to enlarge and inspect in full)

Well, the picture says it all! (I have no more to say! I just wish to make a little remark that the image is of 12.8 MegaPixels!)

3. Super Flare Resistance:

Look at the following crop on the sample which contains the reflection of the sun in early afternoon on the mirror building. Again, the picture tells all!


(Click to enlarge and inspect in full)

There is only very minimal lens flare and fogging under this really adverse condition. And, I did not even put on the lens hood, as by that time I had not yet found out a method to attach the hood as it is in the wrong direction after the adoption. Well, I must have my hat off to Pentax for their superb SMC ghostless coating which this lens has, which is just with unmatched performance and a real miracle, especially considering that this lens was just a kit lens afterall ((somehow relatively expensive btw, by today's standard).

As for the lens hood adoption. Now, I have the solution. It is just easy - add some adhesive tape again inside the bayonet of the hood "mount" and thus limits its position with good tightness such that a very little degrees of angle can be turned before it is fixed. That's it!

At this point, I would not illustrate further, just happy mesaurbating! Enjoy!! ;-)

Read Also:-

Compatibility List of Pentax Full Frame AF Lenses on Canon 5D

Sample Photos of Full Frame Fisheye and 43 Limited on 5D

Preview: Cantax K5D Full Frame! ;-)

K20D Freezes Up Occasionally

Here is a Poll that was raised by a K20D user at the Pentax Forums:-

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/54117-poll-k20d-freeze-ups.html

The Poll has completed now and just more than 10% of the K20D users who have participated reported that their K20D units did have frozen up before and occasionally - some more frequently and some less.

So, what does this tell? With no doubt, the K20D does have some hidden bugs that affect its reliability, no matter hardware and/or software wise. In fact, the K20D is actually the most problematic Pentax DSLR ever made for what have been reported by so many different users so far, for various different hardware, software and reliability issues.

I hope that the next Pentax middle to upper class DSLR which is to replace this problematic "flagship" should be more mature. I do hope Pentax/Hoya do not use the current Samsung sensor in the K20D anymore as it is very likely to be the culprit for many problems such as the banding issues, hot pixels issue (that even cannot be completely cured/hidden with firmware), forced noise reduction for long time exposure, very limited LiveView usability and etc. which are all primitively related to the sensor, as the prime source/cause of the problems.

If Pentax is to use the Sony sensor which is now used in the Nikon D90 and D5000, I bet the chance for them to succeed would be much higher. If they still use a Samsung sensor, it *must* be a new fully debugged version instead of the previous immature and buggy one. If the latter is still the case, I would really feel very sorry as marketing wise they are just committing suicide! But judging at the current relationship between Pentax and Samsung, there is hope that Pentax do not use a Samsung sensor anymore and my wishful thinking is that the chance should not be low, as Pentax should have learnt much from the K20D lesson!

Edit 4-23: More reports on the same issue by different users, for both the K20D and the "Samsung" GX-20:-

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=31434792

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/57743-new-k20d-impressions-problem-ohno.html