Kazuhisa Nishikawa's Latest K-7 Samples

Here Mr. Kazuhisa Nishikawa tested the latest DSLR body again! This time it's the K-7 with the latest DA lenses (and of course with one or two of the FA Limited that he likes to use). See:-

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/weekend/20090904_312701.html

But anyway, I still like the K-m better for its skin tone reproduction and overall the image characteristics, see also what Mr. Nishikawa tested previously so that you can compare:-

http://ricehigh.blogspot.com/2009/03/some-better-k-m-large-size-sample.html

For more of his girl photos taken with different gear (including almost all common DSLR models), you can simply visit his blog page and gallery:-

http://www.iwh12.jp/blog/

Enjoy!

K-7 Has High Image Details Although More Noisy

Just see this self-explanatory post:-

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=32904182

Well, I do agree with most of the poster observed and said. I think he is right.

But, I think if both low noise and high image details are desired at the same time, Full Frame is the only way to go, still. APS-C is just a dead end and I think the pixel count limit just lies somewhere in between 10 to 12 MPs, but should not be more, for the current technology limit.

Having said that K-7 does produce images that have more details retained at higher ISOes, it doesn't mean that its JPEGs are not soft when you view in full, see my previous shootout here.

And, I think with more pixels packed in a small APS-C sensor of the Canon 7D, its image quality would possibly be even inferior than its predecessors, especially when higher ISO speeds are used. Just see another previous shootout on the noise and details test comparison amongst the K-7, K20D and 50D and you can see the differences.

Btw, for that image details and textural feel of my own DSLR bodies, namely, the Canon 5D and K-m, I do like more about the K-m in giving me overall more skin texture instead of somehow plastic skin of the Canon but together with some little noise (which I have found some best settings to minimise/suppress them anyway). However, when I view the picture in full, doing cropping or just pixel peep, the 5D images are actually having better per-pixel sharpness and much better per-pixel smoothess also, i.e., far less pixelisation when viewed 100%. In fact, the K-m images are suffered from more pixelisation as it can be easily seen, regardless of the different values of the Sharpness setting. Just see my this previous pixel-peeping shootout between my K-m and 5D and you will know what I am talking about - there is no way to eliminate those as long as the in-camera JPEG engine is used, i.e., unless the user shoots RAW and uses other software converters to produce the final images.

Last but not least, I just wish to tell that my K-m quick review (not a measurbating one) and "tips and tricks" article has been delayed than what I original intended to publish as told last time (in July) as I have been just so busy and too busy during the period (and still so up till now). I would like to apologise to those who are actually waiting for my that article and I hope I can publish it by mid-September and I will try my best to do it this time (as it has been delayed for long now).

In my that coming K-m article, I shall tell about how to extract most image details, whilst having minimal noise plus more dynamic range with the K-m - getting the best of three worlds, but not just both! Just believe it or not! You can really achieve that with the K-m! Well, the good thing for my delayed published article is that I have actually used my best (single set of) settings to shoot a wide range of objects and different types of photography to verify its effectiveness (and accuracy as well). Stay tuned, I think my own research and information to be provided and shared will be useful and beneficial to all K-m users and maybe also to other Pentax DSLR users with a different latest Pentax model as well, as some principles do apply, I believe. In short, I just think that the default settings as chosen by Pentax in each of their newer models are just not so good and unwise, enough said - they provided the options but they did not actually select the best ones and the best combinations as the factory defaults! :-(

The K-7 Vertical Line Issue Silently Solved with the Latest Firmware??

See this latest report by this user:-

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=32886371

Is this just a coincidence or Pentax/Hoya has already succeeded to use the firmware to *hide* the lighter vertical line (not always in "green" colour actually, read here for some of the previous bug reports by different users and the details)? I think time will tell.

But since this is very possibly a hardware issue, I don't think software (i.e., the firmware) can completely "cure" the problem. Even if the line does not appear now with the same camera (i.e., the hardware), the software could only do tricks to hide it when it is detected! Who knows if there is any loss of image data as a result? E.g., by simple interpolation using the data of neighbourhood pixels around the line.

However, as long as Pentax do not officially announce that there is a new firmware to "cure" this well-known problem now, such an individual user report on how possibly a "new" (still in version 1.01) firmware is the solution to the issue may be just not so conclusive and it is indeed too early to draw a conclusion like that. In fact, have Pentax/Hoya ever admitted that there is such a problem so far? .. even though it has been widely reported and proven - there have been so many samples posted to illustrate the issue already.

Update (10-3): The Green Line is Persistent!

http://www.dchome.net/viewthread.php?tid=760521
(Post in Traditional Chinese)

The user writes that the latest firmware 1.01.00.09 actually does NOT solve the problem. A green line will appear whenever he uses the Live View function, regardless of the temperature of the camera (which is recorded in the EXIF).

Update (10-9): The Green Line is Persistent! (But it has been reduced.)

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=33263922

Canon Has Another Seven

Will this be a K-7 killer? It will come very soon!

http://www.1001noisycameras.com/2009/08/canon-7d-will-be-an-apsc-dslr-press-release-leaked.html

Original source for the detailed 7D features:-
http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=244&t=1211890
(Seems to be a press release article for announcement, text in Traditional Chinese)

Well, on paper, everything looks as if they are better to far/much better than the K-7, except for the weather sealing of the K-7, which the 7D still lacks.

Update: I think I have overlooked that the 7D should also be dust and water proof, so does its battery/vertical grip, as mentioned in the above unpublished press release article (but not very noticeable). So, on paper, the K-7 is beaten down in every way if compared against the 7D, as the 7D is just so advanced! And, byebye 50D, which are to be replaced and there is just no 60D.

In the field, the K-7 already fails much behind the Canon 50D and also the Nikon D300 as far as the camera speeds are concerned, for the AF time, continuous tracking and system time lag (See this previous interesting scientific head-to-head shootout). Besides, IQ wise, the K-7 still loses in most aspects (See another detailed test and the results here).

Update 2: The 7D is formally announced, and "previewed" as well:-

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0909/09090105canoneos7d.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canoneos7d/

Expensive Lenses, Poor Quality Control

I have just returned from a short business trip to Japan for several days and came across the Bic Camera shop and tested the DA 15 lens on my K-m hands-on myself.

The good news is that the DA 15 lens that I tested is actually not that bad in IQ as what the DPR found (and posted). I am almost certain that Pentax UK just sent the DPR a very bad copy, which I think Hoya/Pentax have always been so causal/careless but actually stupid each time when they sent DPR some gear to test.

The DA 15 I tested has good IQ wide opened. The corner sharpness is acceptable. There is no obvious vignetting as what we can see in the test review of the DPR.

As I have been thinking to acquire the DA 15 since it was announced, I decided to buy the lens shortly after my brief testing. Indeed, the lens is far cheaper than what I could get it in Hong Kong, at about US$600 at the Bic Camera (Vs $850 in Hong Kong - that price is just crazy for such a slow prime! $600 is not cheap neither IMO). The sales person got a new box for me and I shortly found a problem with the lens cap, which was just too obvious. The lens cap is a screw-in type (metal material which looks good and felt elegant but for practical use, it is just a joke). It was officially told that the PENTAX logo should stay upright when the cap is fully screwed in but unfortunately it was not so for that copy. It inclines at more than 10 degrees (approximately) to the left when looking from the lens front. So, I asked to get another copy.

So, the salesman got me another copy then. The logo position had no problem that time but more unfortunately, that copy seemed to have been mishandled and there was two small scratches on the glass elements which could be easily seen when I looked through the lens wide opened. Well, this may not be a Pentax factory problem though, anyway..

Since that shop has only two boxes of the DA 15, I went to another branch shop nearby. There was a new box sitting there and I felt happy and thought that I was lucky enough and I should be able to get it that time.

That one looks like never opened for the package and everything looked clean and brand new. But I found again the misaligned logo of the lens cap again. This time is less, I think in less than 5 degrees to the right when looking from the lens front - so comparing against the first one, the variation is at least 15 degrees. I still accepted that but then I shortly found two big dust particles *inside* this brand new lens (so was the salesman able to see them easily), which should be "included" out of the Pentax lens factory when it is "Assembled in Vietnam". As that was the only new copy at that shop, I gave up finally. After all of the above, I still could not buy the lens and I was upset.

I am really disappointed for the truly inferior and poor QC of Pentax and their Vietnam lens factory once again. I have never seen such problems for Canon lenses of higher grade which were and are made in Japan from my own experiences since I had my first Canon EF lens in 2007. And so did the better Pentax glass when they were made in Japan - I had never seen one bad copy amongst all the Pentax lenses I bought in the whole 80s and 90s. In early 2000s, the only bad copies of lenses which I encountered were those made in Taiwan (I exchanged my FA 24-90 for three times in 2001) and elsewhere which was unknown as the country of origin was intentionally not printed if it was not Made in Japan, for years for the Pentax goods sold in my country.

It seems that the main culprit of the inferior IQ of what the DPR found may also be caused by the poor QC of the Pentax lens factory as actually I found a big difference in IQ when I tested myself. Whilst I do now believe the optical design of the DA 15 should be good enough and is not really that bad, Pentax/Hoya has once lost the opportunity to earn the money of a "new" customer owing to their really inferior production QC. So, this is rather sad afterall.

As for the QC of the Pentax DSLR bodies at the Philippines, it is not good neither from my recent experience. Actually, my K-m Olive was chosen amongst five units at two different shops in Hong Kong, Except one was obviously scratched (which should not be a problem of the factory), the other three has different kinds of misalignment of the RTF closed position and the EV compensation button as well, which was found rotated in a large degree for one unit.

After all, I just wish to ask: WITHOUT better and up-to-standard QC in the Pentax land nowadays , will they survive longer? How can they compete??

P.S. The DPR tested the DA 15 on a K20D, I still do not reject the possibility of that the DA 15 is not working very well as on the K-m, which has a Sony sensor, and so does the K-7, which yet has the Samsung sensor (which has been reported by different users to be problematic).

K-m Debug Mode Unleashed! (For AF Correction)

Further to my last Blog entry about the topic, the screen captures of the debug mode and menus as well as status displays are captured as an animated GIF above.

For the steps and instructions on how to enter and to leave the Debug Mode, read back my last Blog entry.

A few more additional remarks and explanations:-

1. Under the Debug mode, pressing the MENU button while turning on the camera will display the CPU and DSP versions used in the camera. Mine are both 1.10.01.06 in which the 1.10 is the Firmware version whereas the 1.06 is the hardware version.

2. "Debug Mode" will be displayed at the top left corner of the LCD screen when it is turned on.

3. The new Debug Mode "Set-up" menu tab can be found in between the normal Set-up menus (#1 to 3) and the Custom menus (#1 to 4).

4. Enter "AF TEST" to do the "Focus Correction". Don't touch other functions as those are not useful and meaningful to the user.

5. Enter "FocusCorr" value in um in the "AF TEST" page. The default value is 0 um.

To compensate for Front Focusing, enter a Negative value;

To compensate for Back Focusing, enter a Positive value.

6. "AF Area Number" is from 0 to 10. I guess this represents each of the 11 AF points of the SAFOX VIII system. But since the K-m has only Five AF points (all crossed), I think only numbers from 0 to 4 would be meaningful and for the rest it will have no function. It looks like that the programmers just left the debug menu as what it used to be and they just didn't bother to change the maximum value for its range.

Naturally, the AF Area Number 0 should represent the central AF point, which is the most important.

7. "AF Area Test" is from 0 to 3. I have not much idea about what these four different tests are about.

8. After you have disabled the Debug Mode and return to Normal Mode again, when you press the MENU button while turning on the camera, normal Firmware version of 1.10 will be displayed again.

By the way, so far I am quite satisfied with the AF accuracy of my K-m and I do not need the adjustment. But if you have encountered FF or BF in AF with your K-m, I am sure that this new "feature" will be much useful.

Have fun and I hope you do like what I've shared! :-)

Disclaimer: Try all these and changing any setting at your own risk! You bear all the responsibilities for any consequences resulted. If you are not brave enough to do so or just hesitate and lack the confidence, just forget about it and don't try!

Hoya to Seek Digital Camera "Alliance"

See what Reuters report for an interview with Hoya's CEO yesterday:-

http://www.reuters.com/article/technology-media-telco-SP/idUST15448620090818

Quoted:-

"Hoya's Pentax unit posted an operating loss of 11.6 billion yen ($122.3 million) in the year ended March 31, hit by restructuring costs and a sluggish digital camera market."

Yes, US$122.3 Million ($122,300,000), for just One Fiscal Year!

"I'm afraid it will need some sort of alliance with another company in the long term."

So, who will be that "alliance"? Will Hoya simply sell off Pentax to stop bleeding in the end?

"Hoya sold 2.3 million digital cameras last business year. That is less than a 10th of Canon Inc's (7751.T) sales of 25.6 million units in calendar 2008. "

"Hoya's revenues in the business year to next March are likely to exceed 400 billion yen, Suzuki said, compared with a consensus figure from analysts in a Reuters poll of 398 billion yen."

"Shortly after Suzuki's comments, shares in Hoya closed down 1 percent at 2,060 yen, underperforming the benchmark Nikkei average .N225, which gained 0.2 percent."

All Pentax Lenses are Solely Designed by Pentax!

Here is an excellent article by Mr. Peter Zheng, very informative:-

http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=655516
(Text in Simplified Chinese, another reposted full version in Traditional Chinese can be found Here)

The article contains all the essential details for the patents and optical designs used by various new Pentax digital lens models, namely, DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, DA 10-17, DA 35 Macro, DFA 50 Macro. In fact, Tokina has never had any patent of any lens design at all! Yes, nothing. So, what was that old Pentax-Tokina lens "co-development" actually about??

Peter, Well Done! Bravo and My Thumb Up! Please do continue to keep up the good works in the future!

POLL: Will You Get the K-7? (2nd Call)

Last time, when the K-7 was launched officially on 5-21, I created this Poll:-

http://ricehigh.blogspot.com/2009/05/poll-will-you-get-k-7.html

I put a "Yes" entry after I created the poll. Now, after all those user reports (good or bad), photo samples and reviews etc. about the K-7 these days, if you are to make up your mind by now, will you still get the K-7? Or Not?

So, I start another poll again for the same question. As previously, I shall enter my vote shortly after the poll creation. Let's see if there will be any big difference and what the results will be.

Will You Get the K-7? (2nd Call)

Yes

No

Neutral

The direct link of the poll page and results is:-

http://www.learnmyself.com/personality.asp?p=poll-results&qp=16254x9f6048B5

Remark: Just in case if you have *already* got the K-7 and happy with it, just click "Yes". On the other hand, if you have got the K-7 but unsatisfied and feel remorseful, click "No".

UPDATED: New Method to Access the Debug Mode of Various Pentax DSLRs

(8-19: Updated with more details and exact instructions of mine - There is a major error (intentional?) in the Pentax Hack for their told operation procedure to make it works, just read more carefully below if you want to "risk"! It does work! ;-))

Here the new excellent Russian Pentax DSLR hack site strikes again! They have posted the simplest method/hack (ever!) to enter the debug mode of various Pentax and Samsung DSLRs, namely, the K10D/GX-10 (FW 1.10), K20D/GX-20, K200D, K-m and K-7!

http://www.pentax-hack.info/documents/blog.php?entry_id=1249616275

So, what you need to do is just to create a text file named as"MODSET.XXX" that is to copied to the root directory of your SD card. In that file, just type the command line(s) that you wish to be executed (by pressing the DELETE (NOT MENU) button while turning on the camera). To enter the Debug Mode, the MODSET.XXX file only needs to have the following line (for my K-m, it is named as MODSET.464):-

[DEBUG_MODE EN]

The camera has now been put into the Debug Mode, the Debug Mode Menu with Sub-menu items will appear forever until another command is executed to tell the camera to get out of the Debug Mode (will tell you how to do it in the next paragraph). Next, press the MENU button again, then the Debug Mode menu tab will appear and can be found between the original Set-up menu tab no. 3 and the Custom Setting menu tab no. 1. The new tab is just named "Set-up". To do AF adjustment, just go into the "AF TEST" sub-menu and then under which enter the "FocusCorr" value (in um). The default value of the FocusCorr is 0 um.

To Turn Off the Debug Mode, simply modify the command line(s) in the same file to and repeat the above procedure:-

[DEBUG_MODE DIS]

Enjoy and happy hacking! This "feature" is particular valuable for those Pentax models without any focus adjustment feature, like the K200D and the K-m.

As a general Reminder and Warning: Do all these hacking and entering the Debug Mode at your own risk. If you don't know what you are doing, my recommendation is that you should not try it! :-)

I have successfully entered the Debug Mode and change some settings (but reset to defaults afterwards), Screen Captures of the Debug Mode Menus and Displays of the K-m is to follow!! (Hopefully within this week - I shall see if I have the time to do it :-))

Update: The K-m Debug Mode Screen Captures can be found Here!