K7 and Me

[Tommo1965]

Hi to you pentax users and fellow forumites...

Im a new member here and a K7 user...its a new body for me and at present Ive only got one lens, 16-45.

my next purchase in lens will be a longer focal length and ive been looking at the sigma 70-200 2.8 or the tamron 70-200 2.8...

.Basketball season is soon upon us and I wanna get some decent shots of my lads as they play...so i expect a grip will also be needed with these lenses as I love spinning the camera over on its side for that type of shot..K7 feels kinda unsafe in my hands in portrait mode at present

I grabbed some ND grad filters the other day to do some landscape work with the 16-45..but as yet havnt got them out of the bag yet..but i will..I promise...

a good flash will come too..either a metz af58 or a pentax 540

real name is Steve..and I call Perth home...

[mudman]

as a fellow k7 user i can say from experience you have made a very good choice. read the manual thoroughly, there is a lot to absorb. experiment and enjoy it it is a nice, light and strong machine.
i have had mine for a year and am still finding things i have not used.
good shooting, you have the camera for it.

[Tommo1965]

hi mudman

i found the K7 to be quite simple to get up and running to take a few shots....its good to see that controls of the DSLR;s are the same a the 35mm film bodies and that AV, still means aperture priority etc.

I love the ability to change the ISO..something only a new role of film would do in the old days..great stuff

at present I try and read a few pages from the manual every night..or if I read something online I go try it out or see what the manual ...

I still bracket exposure as I would in a film body if I thought it was needed ..but its bloody fantastic to see the outcome from that on the exposure straight away ....plus shooting in RAW opens up all sorts of possibility's if you can drive photoshop !!..still getting to grips with that one, but ill get there ,and dont get me started on the Histograms LMAO

[Wizofoz]

G'day Mudman/Steve, congrats on the K-7. I use mine every day and love it.

I highly recommend the battery grip, it improves the ergonomics significantly and makes the body almost square, so equal in use either horizontally or vertically. Not only that, the dual battery means I can shoot for days without recharging.

I would also recommend you get hold of the Magic lantern guide for the K-7. I found it far easier to use than the manual.

I assume you realise there have been three firmware upgrades since the release of the K-7? There are several very nice features enabled. You don't need to install each one as they are incremental. Just download and install the latest FW version.

As for flash, I have both the Metz and the Pentax versions. The Metz is more menu driven, while the Pentax has more button controlled functions. Each are about on par as far as output is concerned, but my non-scientific observation is the Metz has a slightly 'warmer' tone to the light. The Pentax flash has a reputation for having a design flaw where sometimes the locking pin can get stuck and the flash needs to be 'surgically removed' from the camera. There are numerous threads about this problem on the net. The rumors are that Pentax will release an updated flash will be released, possibly with a 1/250 sync speed. Also possibly WR.

I have not used either of the lenses you mention, so I cannot give you any advise on them. They both have a good rep, but the Tammy might be slightly ahead in the opinion polls? dunno.

Good luck

Wayne

[Tommo1965]

thanks for the info and advice on the lens and Flash's Wizofox....Im thinking the Metz...theres one on the pentax forum at the Mo for $300 US..or a 540 Pentax for $345 US....I wouldn't but new,,as $799 au for a flash is a bit steep for me....
one thing I have noticed is how expensive second hand lenses are...

[jwheat65]

I've used the Tamron 70-200 2.8 for a while now and am very happy with it. I chose it over the Sigma partly for the price (cheaper) and it is reputedly sharper.
K7 is but a dream for me...

[Tommo1965]

i ended up with a sigma 70-200 HSM II..but im saving for the OS version that will be released for Pentax in Jan next year...much sharper than my sigma..and the Tamron...with the added benifit of the HSM motor for very quite and very quick AF..but its abot $1800AU..
so Im gonna wait until camera house has it on interest free in one of their catalogues ...if you want a K7..I may have a very lightly used one very soon...shot me a PM if your interested ?