The K7: Pentax's Compact, Professional, Worst-Kept Secret

With the rise of micro-publishing and tech rumor sites, camera companies have gotten worse and worse at keeping their new forthcoming cameras a secret, and the new Pentax K7 may be a record. How new is it? It hasn’t been announced yet. What do we reliably know? Pretty much everything. We know how it looks, the button layout, the frames-per-second (5), the design of the grip — and we know that it’s the most compact camera currently angling for the prosumer market, a small-but-strong fully weather-sealed bundle, and that it’s the latest in the “photos plus video” string of dSLRs, which is quickly becoming a default option.

Now, “compact dSLR” is essentially the reverse of “jumbo shrimp.” At more than a pound-and-a-half, it’s no pocket camera, especially when you add heavy professional lenses. But Pentax, who is more committed to the 1.5x APS-C format than any other maker, has a line-up of interesting and lightweight prime lenses designed for the format, including a range of great autofocus pancake lenses.

This camera will no doubt be a welcome addition for Pentax users, but in an age where most extremely avid photographers in wealthy markets already have a DSLR, will it cause many to switch? That will remain to be seen — the market is still looking for improvements in movie-mode implementation, for one — but it seems that the strongest possible market will be for photographers who want to carry their camera everywhere, and need a camera that’s not only strong enough to take it, but light enough to avoid wrist and back strain.

We will update more when the camera is actually, you know, released.

UPDATE: And here it is, in all its not-ginormous, rugged glory. In keeping with the “small-but-powerful” ethos of the body, the K7 comes with two weather-resistant kit lenses, the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.5 and the 50-200mm f/4-5.6. Spec-wise, these are virtually identical to the same slow, inexpensive kit lenses every other maker has. But most other kit lenses look like they’ll snap in half if you look at them funny, while these complete the image that finally there is a light, small set-up that photographers can use in a heavy rain.

Other key specs: 14.6 megapixels. Supposedly speedier, more accurate autofocus. New mechanisms for improved dust reduction, anti-shake and metering. 720p video recording — with an external microphone input. Three-inch, high-resolution LCD screen. And a built-in High-Dynamic Range overlay. MSRP is $1299.95, though street will be somewhat lower.