Pentax K-7 Hands-on Preview: Page 4. Body & Design [Digital Photography Review]

Design

The K-7 is a huge step forward for Pentax cameras of this level. The K20D was a reassuringly solid-feeling camera but the K-7's magnesium alloy body lends it the kind of confidence-inspiring feel and sense of solidity that is only matched by the very best in this class. And yet that alloy body also allows it to be made smaller and lighter, while enhancing the impression of high quality build.

Side by side

And the K-7 is a small camera, in DSLR terms. Somehow Pentax has managed to fit more features than the K20D into a considerably smaller space.

Lining the K-7 up against its obvious peers makes it apparent just how compact it is. Not only does it make the Canon EOS 50D look oversized but it's also more compact than the Olympus E-30, whose smaller sensor and mirror should have given its designers more leeway. Most striking is the difference in size between the K-7 and the Nikon D300 with which it competes fairly convincingly on specification - Pentax appears to have produced a Pocket Battleship to Nikon's Dreadnought.

Camera	Dimensions (W x H x D)	Body weight (inc. battery & card)
Pentax K-7	131 x 97 x 73 mm (5.1 x 3.8 x 2.9 in)	754 g (1.7 lb)
Nikon D300	147 x 114 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.5 x 2.9 in)	925 g (2.0 lb)
Canon EOS 50D	146 x 108 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.3 x 2.9 in)	822 g (1.8 lb)
Olympus E-30	142 x 108 x 75mm (5.5 x 4.3 x 3.0 in)	665g (1.5 lb)
Sony DSLR-A700	142 x 105 x 80 mm (5.6 x 4.1 x 3.2 in)	768 g (1.7 lb)
Pentax K20	142 x 101 x 70 mm (5.6 x 4.0 x 2.8 in)	804g (1.8 lb)

In your hand

The K-7 is a well-proportioned camera with a grip that seemed to suit the variety of different hand sizes in the office. The magnesium alloy build means that it feels solid, despite being lighter than the K20D. It certainly gives a positive first impression, though it'll be interesting to see if it's still as comfortable after a few hours with a heavy lens.

LCD monitor

The Pentax gains the excellent 920,000 dot screen that now appears on the majority of higher-end DSLRs. Although it's not directly involved in the shooting process, it makes a surprising difference to the experience of using the camera.

And, like its predecessor, the K-7's screen can be fine-tuned to provide a neutral color appearance.

Viewfinder

The K-7 is another semi-pro grade Pentax with a great viewfinder. The overall size is about the same as that of the K20D (one of the best in any APS-C DSLRs), but it's been redesigned so that it offers a full 100% frame coverage, albeit at slightly lower magnification (0.92x).

This means that, although it's not quite as well suited to manually focusing as the K20D's finder, it's much more useful in terms of composition. With 100% coverage you're much less likely to find that the fence post you were trying to keep just out-of-shot has crept in at the very edge.

A series of alternative focusing screens is available for photographers with specific shooting requirements, including grid and microscale versions.

Viewfinder view

When looking through the viewfinder you'll see the AF frame and the spot metering frame. Normally the AF areas are not visible, the image below is simulated to indicate the position of the AF points. You can choose from automatic AF-point selection, manual selection or center point only.

The display panel beneath the finder has also been updated, although it still doesn't include the permanent display of ISO sensitivity that some shooters like. However this is displayed the moment you press the easy-to-reach ISO button.