So my “hands-on” post was really more of a “quick look” or a “look at some sample images” post than a hands-on you’ve grown accustomed to from CG, so I thought it wise to have a real hands-on of the Pentax K-7. I’m a Pentax user and I let the fanboy in me get the best of me. Apologies. Now here’s the real hands-on, but before we jump into that, here is the full spec sheet of the K-7 that was used over the weekend at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.

One of the downsides to covering gadgets on a daily basis for as long as I have is the fact that I think everything is crap. Very few things excite me and anything that does usually ends up falling short of my expectations. It’s unfortunate, but once in a blue moon does something not only impress, but also exceed my expectations. Case in point, the Pentax K-7.

With a handful of beta K-7s in the wild, sample images and videos are starting to trickle in from various parts of the world, including Korea, China, Russia, Germany and even my home state of Oregon. I suggest viewing the originals rather than the compressed versions that I’ve used in the post.

Happy Tuesday! Hope ya’ll had a good weekend. Just for you, reader, we have some videos of the Pentax K-7 going head to head with the Nikon D3 and an overview from the team at Pentax in Golden, CO. There’s also some talk of new lenses that may or may not reveal what Pentax has in the pipe for their SLR line.

Despite my new found love for manual film SLRs, I can’t help but lust over the new Pentax K-7 that was announced earlier this week. Our good buddy Dan Havlik got a full week with a pre-production model and his positive hands-on of the K-7 gives all of us Pentaxians hope that the seventh gen SLR is going to kick some much needed ass.

The recently announce Pentax K-7 is shaping up nicely. The 14.6-megapixel shooter has an impressive spec list that includes 720p HD video recording, an HDR mode, and a solid body, but the high price of $1,299 took some by surprise. That price is notably more than the new Nikon D5000 and Canon T1i that feature similar specs. An early review by DemsystifyingDigital though gave the camera very high marks despite taking impressions from a pre-production model.

Let’s just forget about all those silly leaks from the last two weeks and imagine that this is the first time we’ve heard of the Pentax K-7. Deal? Most of the specs were a tad off if that helps.

Pentax announced today their seventh generation SLR, the K-7. The latest K-series SLR is chock full of features in a compact magnesium alloy body that’s just as rugged as its predecessors. Under the hood lies a brand new Samsung 14.6-megapixel CMOS sensor with four channel output, a 77-segment metering system, dedicated AF-assist lamp, electronic level, dedicated mirror lock-up, a 100 percent field-of-view viewfinder and HDR image capture mode. Pentax also implemented a HD video capture mode (w/ mic jack) with a default resolution of 1280×720 with a 16:9 aspect ratio at 30fps. Users can adjust quality, resolution and control aperture in movie mode as well.

Other notable specs, include ISO 100-3200(expandable to 6400), 1/8000 to 30 second shutter speed and 5.2fps in drive mode up to 40 frames. Shake Reduction now compensates for rotational sensor movement. The UI has seen an overhaul and is similar to the K-2000’s UI.

Update: An updated gallery of images from all angles of the K-7 have been added to our original post.

Finally, we have the factory specs on the Pentax K-7, and the teasing is over. Keep in mind these are factory specifications, but Pentax has been known to change things slightly before the camera’s actually hit the sales floor, usually for the better. We are seeing that most of the rumors are true however, including the much hoped for 100% viewfinder.

RiceHigh, bless his or her heart, claims to have the scoop on everything, but specs for the upcoming K-7 DSLR. As I mentioned the other RiceHigh, bless his or her heart, claims to have the scoop on everything, but specs for the upcoming K-7 DSLR. As I mentioned the other week, the nomenclature for all Pentax SLRs going forward will be dropping the “D” and simply going with K-x.