Printing larger images from the K-7 is producing unpleasant artifacts…. Here is a 100 percent crop of a photo I shot today; note the interference patterns all over the place.

Any idea what’s causing this? It seems to happen at ISO 400 and above. This was shot at ISO 800, high-ISO noise reduction on High.

If it’s not love at first sight, it’s close.

The K-7, which arrived last week, has been a clear winner for me, right from the first touch. It feels as good in the hand as, say, a Nikon F100 without being big and heavy.

I’ve been using it every day, especially as I begin to explore the idea of digital black and white photography.

Here’s how it looks so far:

• Autofocus — always Pentax’s weak spot — is much improved over anything previous. I won’t be covering track and field, or shooting birds in flight, but I also won’t be cursing a camera (K20D anyone?) that simply can’t latch on to a face at a social gathering.
• The feel: As I said above, it feels great in the hand — tight, compact and well machined. It sounds good, too, quieter and more refined than the K20D, which tended to thunk.
• Metering seems more accurate than the K20D, which often needed about +2/3 stop of compensation. Not a big deal, though.
• The control layout is just enough different from the K20D to be irritating. It’s better, I think. But my hands don’t know where the buttons are anymore.
• Big negative: The SD card slot is terribly awkward when it comes time to remove the card. People with big hands are going to be tempted by forceps.
• Low light/high ISO: As everyone says, not as clean as you might like above 800. But this is a complicated issue, and I’m not sure it’s a problem that can’t be easily fixed in post. Rumor has it that Lightroom 3, now in beta, does wonders. That would be great; I’ll wait for the actual release.  A head to head comparison with the K20D at 1000, shooting with the Pentax 21 Ltd on both cameras, produced much sharper, if slightly noisier, images on the K-7. This could be a clue that in-camera sharpening is more intense on the new body.

More as I figure things out. The manual is the size of a novel and seems to be written in postmodernist Swahili.

photo: Pear blossoms in the orchard, digital black and white, 2010

Here’s a quick flash-blur shot in the woods taken on the Pentax 645. It’s not stunning, but I really like the way the vines creeping up the front of the tree to the right were outlined in shadow. That’s an effect I keep working to replicate, not always successfully.

Again, one to be colored and reposted.

… Better known as the humble SMC-M 50mm f/1.4, on an APS-C crop body like the Pentax K20D.

More playing around with the idea of digital black and white. It’s too smooth for a Tri-X fan like me, but it has its own buttery charm.

I’ll be interested to see what these photos look like with the MIS Eboni inks (when they arrive) on the Epson C88.

But the old, original, manual focus Pentax 645 is still a wonderful camera. I spent a while this afternoon out in the woods with camera, 150/3.5 lens, a monopod and a roll of Tri-X. (What else is required for happiness?)

The viewfinder is extraordinary: Huge and clear. And, with the monopod, the camera feels like an extension of your own body.

I ran the film this afternoon. Prints in the morning.