The competition
With a street price of around £1,190, the Pentax K-7 (RRP £1,199.99) is set to compete with the Canon EOS 50D (RRP £1,189.99), which has a street price of around £810, and the recently announced Nikon D300s (RRP £1,499) that replaces the D300, which can be found for about £1,130.
Image: Canon EOS 50D
Its 14.6-million-effective-pixel count is closer to the 15-million-pixel count of the Canon EOS 50D than the 12-million-pixel Nikon D300s and it is clear that the K-7’s detail resolution is more than a match for the Canon camera. This, combined with the K-7’s relatively low weight and compact size, could make it the camera of choice for keen landscape, still-life and macro photographers. However, anyone with a keen interest in sports photography will be best served by the D300s because of its superior, well-proven AF system.
While the K-7 offers plenty of opportunity to experiment with different filter effects, colour treatments and even in-camera HDR photography, its menu lacks the finesse and customisation of the other two cameras.
Image: Nikon D300s
The Canon EOS 50D and Nikon D300s can be adapted to suit your personal style of photography, but the photographer must adapt to use the K-7. Pentax is to be congratulated on making it very difficult to choose between the three cameras.
