If the APS-C sized sensor is so inferior to the full frame, as many people claim,why is it that Canon just introduced the EOS 7D?

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

If I had a dollar for everytime someone told me that the APS-C size sensor that Pentax uses is not as good as a Full Frame sensor...well I would be rich by now. We hear the argument all the time that Full Frame is the only way to go and that "my next camera will be a full frame". The fact is that only 5% of the camera sold worldwide are Full Frame. That's not a big market and it is a market mostly used by Pros. The prices for Full Frame sensors will remain high because of the cost of making larger sensors from the same standard sized silicon wafers.

Why would Canon introduce a new (1.5 crop factor) DSLR? The EOS 7D is indeed an APS-C. DSLR. Since Canon now adopts it, does it make it any better? Furthermore, their new sensor is a CMOS with 18 mega pixels. I thought that the optimum and maximum effective mega pixels on an APS-C sensor was around 12 mega pixels!

It is obvious that Canon really believes that APS-C is the way to go for the consumers (the 95% of them that don't purchase Full Frame DSLRs).

To me, that reinforces my loyalty to Pentax. Why would a giant like Canon revert to APS-C sensors, just like Pentax? I bet you that sites that favor Canon (we all know who they are) will now praise the virtues of Canon APS-C sensors...Hello! Isn't it what Pentax has been doing all along?

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Thank you for purchasing the K-7 "Everything you need to know...and then some" ebook. Here's what my dreams are made of!

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

The images above are what my dreams are made of. Of course I'm only joking.

Thanks to you, the K-7 ebook is rapidly becoming my most successful ebook thus far. I am glad that I could help fellow Pentaxians discovering the attributes of the Pentax K-7. It is difficult to venture in the publishing arena as the Corporate Giants already have a lock on 90% of the market. You can download a preview of the K-7 ebook here.

Thanks to the Internet and word of mouth, the only book currently available for the Pentax K-7 is slowly getting to be known. I also have books for the K100D, K10D and the K20D.

Thank you so much for reading this blog and for your purchases.

Yvon Bourque

Who's winning, the Digital Camera Companies or the Consumers?

Takes great pictures conveniently.

Takes great pictures but not so conveniently.

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

Who's winning, the Digital Camera Companies or the Consumers?

Ever since the introduction of the digital cameras, the number of new cameras introduced yearly has just been obscene. We have observed these Companies introduced dozens of newer and “better” models every year. Each new model had or has some new gadgets promising better images than any previously released cameras. The frequency of new cameras has been so intense that some companies, not being able to keep up with the pace, had to close their operations. The bigger camera companies bought up most of these unfortunate companies, thus reducing the competition and getting ever closer to market control.

Are the new camera models that indispensable or are we being manipulated to believe that they will make us better photographers?

Taking pictures consists of controlling light. The process is relatively straightforward. An image is formed on the media, (sensor) with the correct proportion of light. This is achieved by reproducing a real time scene with a series of concave, convex and flat pieces of glass that form a lens. Using a relative or proportional aperture, shutter speed, and media sensitivity, the image is then captured by the media. That is of course an oversimplified description, as a good sensor is required, good glass is required as well as some latitude of good technology.

Are the Digital Cameras being introduced lately that much better than the previous generations? I don’t really think so. My oldest DSLR, being a Pentax *ist DS is capable of taking pictures just as useful than the newest models in 95% + of the situations. It just takes more time, patience and a good knowledge of photography. I will admit that as an owner of the new Pentax K-7, I use the K-7 almost exclusively. That is not to say that the camera takes better pictures…it’s just more convenient.

In the end, it’s the photographer…not the camera.

So back to my original question, who's winning, the Digital Camera Companies or the Consumers?

Thanks for reading and for your comments.

Yvon Bourque

Black and White pictures using the Pentax K-7

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

It is a little difficult to emphasize on taking black & white pic­tures, when modern DSLR cameras do such a good job with colors. Shooting, or rather, turning your photo to black & white or even sepia tone can make an otherwise bland photo, interesting.

Black & White pictures have gained popularity in the past few years. Perhaps it is because of the nostalgia it projects. Because you only have two colors to worry about, (black & white) you can play with the contrast, the clarity, the vibrance, the saturation and the luminance of colors. In Photoshop Lightroom, which I use, although the luminance is in color, it acts like a filter for black & white photography. Adjusting the blue will darken or lighten the sky. Adjusting the yellow and green will make the foliage darker or lighter and so on. Give it a try.

You don't use Photoshop! You can do the same "in-camera" with the K-7. Here's how:

With the K-7, use the four-way controller right button. A menu appears giving several adjustment possibilities when pressing the four-way controller down button. However, if you press the four-way controller right button again, eight preset settings are available. To the far right, you will see the [BW] icon. Navigate to it with the four-way controller and press the OK button. You are now in the B&W mode. As long as you keep the [BW] settings on, the camera will shoot on B&W. Using the live-view mode, you will actually be able to see the scene in black and white and the file is still saved as a RAW file if you choose to.

You can still modify the black and white photos further, in-camera. Display the image you want to modify further on the LCD screen and press the four-way controller down. Navigate to the Digital Filter and press the OK button. You can use any of the digital filters with the black & white image. You can even stack multiple filters. How sweet it is!

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

P.S. Learn more about the Pentax K-7 here: Pentax K-7 ebook.

How to do "in-camera" quick photo montages and contact sheets with the Pentax K-7.

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Click on images above for larger rendition.

Hi Pentaxian friends.

The new Pentax K-7 has a lot of "in-camera" possibilities. You can apply many types of filters, changes your RAW file to JPEG or TIFF, turn color images to black & white, etc.

One of my preferred "in-camera" function is called INDEX. Index lets you join a number of images together and creates new images from them. You can do photo-montages, contact sheets, etc. This is a fun option and all of it done without having to use a computer. Since the K-7 has a 3” LCD monitor, it’s much easier to see what the final composition will look like.

Several options are available and are accessible by navigating around with the four-way controller. You can pick your layout, the number of images you want to include, the background color, how to select your images (all images, manually or by folder), select the images and complete the montage.

It is accessible while viewing your images on the LCD monitor and pressing the down arrow of the four-way controller (the one with the flash symbol).

1. Chose Index as shown in Image 1.

2. Chose your layout as shown in Image 2.

3. Chose number of images to include as shown in Image 3.

4. Decide on the background as per image 4.

5. Decide which images to use...from folders, or individually images or all images as per image 5.

6. Select your images as per image 6.

7. Image 7 appears when your number of images has been attain.

8. Create the index or photo montage as per image 8.

9. The camera converts the single images into an index in image 9.

10. Images 10, 11 and 12 are example of results.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

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