Pentax K-7 User Manual 2
This e-book is intended to be read on a computer screen. You can print the e-book for your
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Table of contents and Foreword
I am pleased that you purchased one of our “Pentax
K-7 – Everything you need to know…..and then
some” book. As an enthusiastic photographer for
many years, I have had many Pentax cameras. My
first “new” camera was a Pentax Spotmatic,
purchased when I was still in Junior High.
When Pentax stepped into the Digital SLR market, I
was delighted. Their first few DSLRs (The *ist
series) were the smallest DSLRs on the market but
were not particularly special with the 6MP CCD.
When the K10D was introduced, everything changed and Pentax was suddenly a
major player. The K10D was a breakthrough, in my opinion. It had the capabilities of Professional DSLRs with the price of entry-level DSLRs. It had some
unique features found nowhere else at any price. In January of 2008, Pentax announced the K20D. It was not a revolution as the K10D was, but it certainly was
an evolution of the revolution. The K200D and the K2000/KM followed with no
exceptional or marginal improvements. On May 20, 2009, Pentax made history
again by introducing the Pentax K-7. This time, it is definitely another revolution, and maybe bigger than the K10D was when introduced. Once again, Pentax
engineers have pushed the envelope and designed a DSLR with more features
than any camera in it’s price range.
This book is not about me as a photographer. It is about you and what information you will need when using this marvel of engineering that the K-7 is. The
book complements the Pentax user’s manual and explains in simple terms how to
use the camera. It contains techniques, shortcuts, explanations, tips, examples
and photographic information applicable to the K-7 as well as other DSLRs in
general.
We opted to publish the book ourselves, just as we published the previous books.
This time we offered the K-7 book in a downloadable form only. We save production costs and you save money, and get you book much quicker.
Your feedback is always important to us. As we get feedback from our customers, we can update the book according to what readers wants. We have incorporated many of your suggestions from the previous books into this K-7 book.
Our Website is:
Our Blogsite is:
From one Pentax user to another, thank you again for your purchase,
Yvon Bourque
http://www.pentaxdslrs.com.
http://pentaxdslrs.blogspot.com/
I
Table of contents and Foreword
Foreword
Chapter 1
Table of Content Know your K-7 How to use your K-7
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 2
Chapter 5
Processing your K-7 images The Pentax System Photography Techniques
Chapter 6
Appendix
HD Video Recording Glossary Additional Information
II
Addendum
Table of contents and Foreword
Yvon Bourque
Pentax
Everything you need to know
…..
and then some
K-7
Foreword
III
Table of contents and Foreword
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or
reproduced on any form or by any means, or stored in database or retrieval system, without prior
written permission. Making copies of any part of this book for any purpose other than your own
personal use is a violation of the United States and International copyright laws.
Text © 2009, Yvon Bourque
Photography © 2009, Yvon Bourque except where noted.
This book is sold as is, printed or in e-book format, without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, respecting the contents of this book, including but not limited to implied warranties for book’s quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose.
The author nor dealers or distributors shall be liable to the purchaser or any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or
indirectly by this book.
All terms or Company names mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service
marks have been carefully and appropriately noted. The author cannot attest to the accuracy of
this information.
The contents of this book are strictly the view of the writer. The explanation and suggestions, as
to the operation of the equipment as such, is derived from the author’s own experience and conclusions. The accuracy of the instructional articles has not been verified by the respective manu-
facturers. This book is not associated with Hoya - Pentax or its affiliates
.
The author is not endorsing any equipment manufacturers nor is the author being compensated by
any manufacturer for the editorial content of this book. Any text resembling any other published
material is coincidental as this book is focused on the teachings of the use of the equipment, which
is derived from the manufacturer’s instructions. The book is written, whenever possible, in a nontechnical manner and is geared toward entry level and amateur photographers, although some
material may be useful to professionals.
Hoya and Pentax are a trademark of Hoya - Pentax Corporation and its affiliates
Photoshop, Lightroom and Elements are trademarks of Adobe®
Printed in the USA
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2009 – Yvon Bourque
IV
Table of contents and Foreword
About the Author:
Back when most of his classmates were dealing
with growing up; the author was nurturing a
serious enthusiasm for photography. Son of a
Montreal carpenter, he enrolled in photography
courses, soaked up theory, bought his first
camera, shot rolls of film, and learned how to
develop and print. All this was before leaving
junior high school. He had many dreams and like
many aspiring young photographers, he dreamed
of getting assignments from National Geographic
and traveling the world over.
Decades later, the road has led him into other
directions. With the responsibilities of a career
and family, his plans were altered, but only
slightly. The enthusiasm of the young boy and
the love of photography are still strong. He never abandoned his photography
dreams. One of his biggest frustrations is that he does not have enough time for more.
He has used all types of photography formats, but now, uses Digital SLR cameras
almost exclusively. He states “Technology is good. The freedom to unleash one’s
creativity has never been greater. You either follow the flow of progress, or you are
left behind”.
His work has given him the opportunity to travel across the United States, Canada,
Mexico and the Caribbean. His photography career never took-off as he had
dreamed, but as a second career, he has spent countless hours during the past decades
capturing not only the beauty and the people of America but other countries as well.
He has won numerous awards, written articles and books on his beloved subject, and
sold his work throughout the places he lived.
Where does a tireless hobbyist go from here? Like all other areas of our modern life,
photography has gone digital. As an artist, he is fascinated with all of the new digital
possibilities. He is finally contemplating the idea of replacing his present career shingle for one stating Yvon Bourque, Photographer. “With perseverance, all is possible.”
V
Table of contents and Foreword
My preferred editor:
This is my wife Anne. This book and all my other books would not have seen the
light of day without someone editing the manuscripts. She wanted the book to be as
“user friendly as possible”. Whenever she didn’t like the way something was explained, I had to redo it. She is responsible for the great number of pictures and illustrations in this book. I tell you, having your spouse as editor is very demanding…
having her on the readers’ side is the best thing that could have happened to you.
Thank you for your patience Anne. It’s not easy to put up with a workaholic.
Yvon
VI
Table of contents and Foreword
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD X1V
CHAPTER 1 ● KNOW YOUR K-7
Nomenclature 23
Viewfinder Available Information in Details 28
LCD Panel Available Information in Details 29
K-7 Technical Specifications 33
What is special about the K-7? 38
K-7 Features 40
K-7 Innovations 41
Highlights 41
Resolution 42
Why redesigning the CMOS processor? 42
Achieving High-Resolution Sensor 43
Exclusive Image Processor 44
Proprietary Dust Removal System (DR II) 44
Exceptional Shake Reduction System (SR II) 45
Dust and Humidity Resistance 46
File Formats 46
Pentaprism Viewfinder 47
Focusing System 48
Metering System 49
Exposure Modes 50
Green Mode 50
(P) Hyper-Program Mode 51
(Sv) Sensitivity Priority Mode 51
(Tv) Shutter Priority Mode 51
(Av) Aperture Priority Mode 52
(Tav) Shutter & Aperture Priority Mode 52
(M) Hyper-Manual Mode 52
(B) Bulb Mode 53
(X) Flash X-Sync Speed Mode 53
(USER) Mode 53
Movie Mode 54
Program Line 53
CHAPTER 2 ● HOW TO USE YOUR K-7
Status Screen 58
Control Panel Screen 58
21
57
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Table of contents and Foreword
Battery 59
Battery Installation / Removal 59
Installing / Removing SD/SDHC Cards 60
Installing / Removing Lenses 60
Turning Camera ON 61
Focusing 61
Adjusting Viewfinder Diopter 62
Language 62
Date and Time 63
World Time 63
Taking Pictures 63
Picture Quality 63
Shake Reduction 63
White Balance 63
Green Mode ▀▀ (Auto) 65
Program Line 65
Taking your first picture 67
Instant Review 68
Setting Playback Display 69
Histogram 70
Preview Method 71
Digital Preview 71
Optical Preview 71
Rotating Images 72
Image (File) Format 72
JPEG File Sizes and Quality 72
RAW Files 73
Tiff Files 74
RAW Button 75
(PEF) Files 75
(DGN) Files 75
Setting Sensitivity (ISO) 76
Auto Sensitivity 78
Setting ISO Incremental Steps 78
White Balance Adjustments in Detail 79
White Balance Menu 80
White Balance Settings 81
Setting to AWB 81
Setting to Daylight White Balance 81
Setting to Shade White Balance 81
Setting to Cloudy White Balance 82
Setting to Fluorescent White Balance 82
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Table of contents and Foreword
Setting to Tungsten White Balance 82
Setting to Flash White Balance 83
Setting to CTE White Balance 83
Setting to Manual White Balance 83
Fine tuning White Balance 84
Metering System in detail 86
Multi-Segment 86
Center-Weighted 86
Spot Metering 86
Linking AE and AF Points 87
Meter Operating Time 87
Built-in Flash 88
Flash Compensation Output 89
Allowing Flash Shooting while Charging 89
Built-in Flash Distance and Aperture 90
Calculating Max Flash Distance 90
Calculating Aperture for Flash 90
Flash Modes 91
Flash On 92
Flash On + Red-eye 92
Slow-Speed Sync 93
Slow-Speed Sync + Red-eye 93
Trailing Curtain Sync 93
Wireless Mode 94
Multiple Flashes 94
Using the Flash in (Tv) Shutter Priority Mode 95
Using the Flash in (Av) Aperture Priority Mode 95
P-TTL Mode External Flash 95
Daylight-Sync or Fill Flash 95
PC Sync Socket 95
Focusing System in Details 96
Selecting AF Point 97
Color Space 99
(AE-L) Button – Memorizing Exposure 100
Exposure Bracket Mode 101
Extended Bracket Mode 103
Multi-Exposure Mode 104
Using Multiple Exposures on the K-7 instead of Neutral Density Filters 105
Remote Control 107
Drive Modes 108
Single-Frame Shooting 108
Continuous Shooting ( Hi & Lo) 108
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Table of contents and Foreword
Self-Timer (12 seconds) 109
Self-Timer (2 seconds) Mirror Lock 109
Dedicated Mirror Lock 109
Remote Control Unit 110
Remote Control Unit (3 seconds delay) 110
Remote Continuous Shooting 110
Interval Shooting 111
Shake Reduction 111
Dust Removal II (DR II) 112
Pixel Mapping 113
Alphabetical List of Menu Based Functions and Settings 113
The Rest of the Exposure Modes 117
(P) Hyper-Program Mode 117
(Sv) Sensitivity Priority Mode 119
(Tv) Shutter Priority Mode 119
(Av) Aperture Priority Mode 120
(Tav) Shutter & Aperture Priority Mode 120
(M) Hyper Manual Mode 121
(B) Bulb Mode 122
(X) Flash X-Sync Mode 122
Exposure Compensation 123
(USER) Mode 123
CHAPTER 3 ● PROCESSING YOUR K-7 IMAGES 127
In-Camera Processing of RAW Images 128
Image Rotation 129
Digital Filter(s) 129
Toy Camera 129
Retro 130
High Contrast 130
Extract Color 130
Soft 131
Star Burst 131
Fish Eye 131
Monochrome 131
Color 132
Water Color 132
Pastel 132
Slim 133
Miniature 133
HDR (Look alike) 133
Base Parameter Adjustment 134
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Table of contents and Foreword
Custom Filter 134
Resize (JPEG only) 134
Cropping (JPEG and RAW files) 135
Slideshow 135
Manual White Balance for current Image 135
Convert RAW images to JPEG or TIFF files 136
Got that great Pentax K-7? Why not take the plunge to RAW files. 137
RAW Mode explained 138
Shooting and saving in RAW 138
Shooting and saving in JPEG 138
Differences between JPEG and RAW 139
Why shooting JPEG? 139
Why shoot RAW? 140
Summary RAW/JPEG 140
Index 141
Image Comparison 142
Protect 142
DPOF 142
Print Images 143
(DPOF) Digital Print Order Format 143
Pentax Supplied Software 144
PENTAX Digital Camera Utility 4 145
A choice of three display patterns 145
Effortless customization 145
JPEG Image Adjustment 146
Newly added software features 146
CHAPTER 4 ● THE PENTAX SYSTEM. 147
One-Page Pentax History 148
The Pentax DSLRs 149
Optional Accessories for the K-7 150
Battery Grip 150
External Flash Units 151
AF540FGZ Features 151
AF360FGZ Features 152
AF200FG Features 152
Remotes 153
Remote Control-F 153
Cable Switch CS-205 153
AC Adapter 153
Viewfinder Accessories 154
Viewfinder Loupe 154
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Table of contents and Foreword
Optional Focusing Screens 154
Right-Angle Viewfinder 155
Lenses Compatibility 156
DA Lenses 158
DA Lenses 160
D FA Lenses 162
FA J Lenses 163
FA Lenses 164
K-Mount Manual “A” Lenses 166
K-Mount Manual “M” Lenses 167
M42 Screw-Mount Manual Lenses 168
Medium Format Lenses 169
CHAPTER 5 ● PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES 171
Aperture Scale Explained 174
Shutter Speed Scale Explained 174
ISO Value Scale Explained 175
Combining All Three Elements with the K-7 175
Adjustments to Consider 176
Photography Techniques 177
Rule of Thirds 179
Close-up 180
Flowers 181
Using Leading Lines 182
Panoramic Pictures 183
Black & White 185
Selective Focusing 186
Children 187
Slow speed blurring 188
Silhouette 189
Travel Photography 190
Back Lighting 191
Shooting at Night with a Tripod 192
Bad Weather 193
Commercial Photography 194
Get Closer 195
Holiday Pictures 196
Unusual Collections 197
Seasonal Pictures 199
Automobiles 200
Patterns 202
Changing your point of view 203
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Table of contents and Foreword
Tips & Reminders 204
CHAPTER 6 ● HD VIDEO RECORDING 207
Movie recording attributes 208
Creative Movie Recording 208
Reliable exposure control, even during movie shooting 209
Built-in microphone, plus compatibility with external microphone 209
Other movie-related features 209
Effortless customization 210
Movie playback function 210
Recording Movies 210
Sound 211
Playing movies 212
APPENDIX 215
Default Factory Settings 217
Playback Mode Palette 218
[►] Playback Menu 219
Set-Up Menu 219
(C) Custom Settings Menu (Listed by setting number) 220
(C) Custom Settings Menu (Listed in Alphabetical order) 221
Lens Compatibility Chart 223
Pentax Lens Mount Facts 224
Glossary 226
Index 236
ADDENDUM 241
Modern DSLR cameras 242
Other K-7 functions
HDR (High Dynamic Range) 243
Electronic Level Function 243
Programmable Embedded Copyright 243
Composition Adjustment in Live View 244
Electronic Distortion Adjustment 244
Lateral Chromatic Aberrations Adjustment 244
New shutter speed up to 1/8000 sec 245
Autofocus Adjustment Charts 245
AF Charts download 254
242
XIII
Table of contents and Foreword
Foreword
his book was written for all users of the Pentax K-7. No matter what your
experience level is, you will find something useful in this book.
T
using film cameras for their picture taking. Within the film cameras, several formats were used. The general public and a good number of professionals used the
35mm format. A select few preferred using medium and large format cameras
mainly because of the size of the negatives. Larger negatives rendered better pictures, better colors and fantastic enlargements. Film cameras were very sophisticated
and took great pictures. It’s no wonder that almost every family owned a 35mm
camera.
When the first digital cameras started to appear, the quality was less than desirable,
but the potential was certainly there. For several years, many photography magazines were debating whether or not the digital cameras would replace film based
cameras. Over time, the quality has so improved, that today, in our opinion, digital
cameras exceed the quality of film based cameras. Of course, we are comparing the
35mm and medium format film cameras with the new breed of Digital Single Lens
Reflex (DSLR) cameras. It has taken more than a decade to get where we are today,
but digital is here to stay.
It wasn’t all that long ago when a top DSLR with a sensor in the 2 megapixels range
was costing the consumers nearly five thousand dollars or more. For a while, as
soon as you spent thousands of dollars for a top-of-the-line digital camera, it was replaced within months with a new and better model. I am sure that some of you remember these times of tribulation.
The market, as this book is written, has stabilized, and the norm in a nonprofessional DSLR is now around the 12 to 15 megapixels, 20 megapixels and
above for professional DSLR cameras. All are enough to produce very good
enlargements up to about 16” x 20” and beyond. Full size (roughly 36mm x 24mm,
or the same size as a 35mm frame) sensors are available on many DSLRs. The perceived advantage of full frame is that you can use your 35mm format lenses without
any correction factor. Pentax is using a smaller sized sensor (APS-C roughly 24mm
x 16mm) requiring a correction factor of around 1.5 to 35mm format lenses. If you
A few years ago, most amateur and professional photographers alike, were
XIV
Table of contents and Foreword
shoot with telephoto lenses, it works to your advantage as a 200mm f/2.8 lens acts
like a 300mm f/2.8 telephoto at no additional cost. We know that a 300mm f/2.8
telephoto lens is very expensive. The downside is that wide angle lenses will no
longer perform as such, but the maximum aperture will remain. Today most companies manufacture super-wide lenses that, when converted to a 1.5x factor, still gives
you a nominal wide angle comparable to a 20mm on up in the 35mm format. Wide
angle lenses are cheaper than telephotos. In our opinion, full-frame sensors are overrated, especially with the new K-7. The K-7 uses a newly Pentax/Samsung developed 14.6 megapixels CMOS sensor, redesigned from the ground up for the K-7,
drastically reducing the digital noise at high ISO. It also allows sizeable cropping.
Unless you want to print your pictures billboard size at 300dpi resolution, the current CMOS sensor will be sufficient to produce stunning pictures and enlargements
that were only dreamed of a few years ago. The CMOS sensors use less power and
produce very little digital noise at higher ISO.
In the past few years, we have seen many brand names in the camera field disappear. Some acquisitions and mergers took place and some companies just abandoned
the competitive digital photography market altogether.
In the past decade, two companies appear to have dominated the market; and indeed
still do. There is no doubt that they manufacture good products, but the brand loyalty and recognition may have played an important role in their success.
With Pentax introducing the K-7, the gap between these two giants has been reduced
and there is no doubts that Pentax will once again take a greater share of the market
with good products. Pentax
Lens Reflex (DSLR). Some changes are about to happen. Pentax
took a while before producing its first Digital Single
is not new to
changing the photographic world. Pentax pioneered the Single Lens Reflex (SLR)
camera in 1952 with the introduction of the Asahiflex I camera. In 1954, the Asahiflex II was introduced with the first instant mirror return. In 1964, Pentax did it
again by introducing its Pentax Spotmatic camera featuring the first through-the-lens
(TTL) metering system in a Pentax camera. A version of the Pentax TTL system is
now found in virtually all 35mm SLR cameras and applied to the design of DSLR as
well. Many of us learned photography by using the ever popular Pentax K1000.
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Table of contents and Foreword
The new Pentax K-7 is aimed at advanced amateurs to professional photographers
but can certainly be used by entry-level photographers as well. It’s a camera that
will help expand your photographic talents. It can be as easy to operate as a point
and shoot, but it also has all of the professional features that you will demand as
your experience grows. All Pentax lenses ever made will work with the K-7. It is
often said that the glass are the most important factor in taking great photographs.
There are many reasons to choose the K-7 for your digital photography endeavors.
We have dedicated a whole section on the camera’s features alone.
This book is organized in the following way:
Foreword and Table of contents
Chapter 1 “Know your K-7”is dedicated to the general specifications of the K-7
and the review of the many functions of the camera in general.
Chapter 2 “How to use your K-7” explains the multiple functions of the K-7, and
includes many pictures and illustrations. It clarifies the use of the camera’s functions
from screen menus to actual buttons and switches. There are no simple icons on this
camera such as scene mode, night mode, etc, as found on most entry level cameras.
We think that you would find these icons unproductive after a short period of time.
The advantage of the camera is that you can tailor its operability to your liking or
photographic skills. The three basic shooting elements; Aperture, Shutter Speed and
the Sensitivity (ISO) are all adjustable with the K-7 in ways that will make the competition rethink their approach. It will not be long before other manufacturers try to
mimic the K-7.
Chapter 3 “Processing your K-7 Images” is a brief review on how to manipulate
your images within the camera as well as with a computer. This topic alone is worthy of a book by itself, and there are indeed many books on Digital Imaging readily
available. Pentax software and other digital imaging software such as Photoshop
®
CS3
, Lightroom®, and Elements® are briefly visited. The possibilities are endless
and are only limited by your ability or desire to manipulate and post-process your
images.
XVI
Table of contents and Foreword
Chapter 4 “The Pentax System” is dedicated to the Pentax System. Pentax is truly
the only manufacturer with 100% backward compatibility. It includes all lenses ever
manufactured by Pentax, both 35mm and medium formats. There are about twenty
four million genuine Pentax lenses out there. There are probably that many more
lenses manufactured by companies such as Tamron ™, Sigma ™, Tokina ™ and
other brands. Currently available accessories are also covered and explained in this
chapter.
Chapter 5 “Photography Techniques” is full of techniques and example pictures
along with some suggestions on what to take pictures of.
Chapter 6 “HD Video recording” is dedicated to the new HD video capabilities of
the K-7. This new generation of DSLRs with still pictures and HD video capabilities
is changing the digital photography landscape. It opens up new possibilities. It is going to be very popular for documenting and photojournalistic approach to your undertakings.
Appendix section includes menu setting tables, factory default tables, lens compatibility chart, mount types, and an index to guide you through this book.
Addendum is comprised of additional K-7 functions, last minute changes, revisions
to software or firmware and any additional information found to be useful.
XVII
Table of contents and Foreword
Check our Pentax Blog; we constantly post articles about Pentax products.
http://pentaxdslrs.blogspot.com/
The Blogspot
We also have our website for purchasing our books and downloading
important information or samples.
http://www.pentaxdslrs.com/
Website
XVIII
Table of contents and Foreword
© 2009, Yvon Bourque - “Ms. J. Peggy”
This is probably the best tool I have, other than the Pentax DSLRs. Lenses and
equipment. It allows me to get to places I wouldn’t be able to get to otherwise. If
you ever owned a Keep, you already know that it is customary to name it, just as
you name a boat.
Her name is “Ms. J. Peggy”. Here is how she got her name:
My two principal hobbies are photography and four wheeling. I wanted a name that
would reflect both hobbies. The Jeep came unaltered from the factory and we
worked on improving it and finishing it the way it is today. We lifted the whole Jeep
6", put a new motor, new coil-spring suspension, 35" monster tires, etc. It's sort of
parallel to digital photography, whereas your original pictures can be taken in
"RAW" format and after working on the images, they can be saved in "JPEG" format. My Jeep was originally in "RAW" form from the factory but after altering it, it
became like a "JPEG". So I decided to name my Jeep Miss" J. Peggy". This is an
acronym for "
Jeep Photographer Environmentally Going Green...Yes!”. For short,
her nickname is really Miss Peggy. It fits both of my hobbies and my views about the
environment. I always drive on assigned trails, and usually pick up the trash that
other people left behind. It's our only earth and we better take care of our little
planet.
XIX
Table of contents and Foreword
XX
Chapter 1 - Know your K-7
Chapter 1
Know your K-7
Page 21
Chapter 1 - Know your K-7
The Pentax K-7 system
Page 22
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