Pentax Q7 Review

The Pentax Q7 is a super compact interchangeable lens digital camera, which DigitalCameraReview called “cute, compact and customizable.” The body of the Q7 is 4 x 2.3 x 1.32 inches. The camera comes in 120 different color combinations and features a 12.4 megapixel 1/1.7 backlit CMOS sensor with primary color filter. It accepts SD, SDHC, SDXC and Eye-Fi memory cards and captures images as both RAW and JPEG files. The Pentax Q7 is priced at $497 with a 5-15mm f/2.8-4.5 kit lens at the time of the review.

While the Q7 has a small but useful handgrip, DCR noted the camera is not comfortable to hold and reviewer’s fingers crunched together, which caused cramping after a day of shooting. The camera has a quick dial on front to access customizable settings and the top has a mode dial and click dial to adjust settings. The Q7 also features HDMI and AV ports. There is also an auto exposure button on the back as well as a dedicated menu button. The Q7 has five main menu categories, several of which have additional pages. The camera features the standard shooting modes and also has a BC blur mode and 21 options within the scene mode.

As with most digital cameras today, the Q7 does not have an optical viewfinder, rather photographers must rely on the 3-inch TGT LCD screen with 460k dots of resolution. DCR noted the screen’s low resolution is an issue and the screen was more susceptible to glare from direct sunlight than average. Overall, DCR found the Q7’s performance to be lackluster. Reviewers experienced poor autofocus performance and noted the camera’s start-up time is slow at 1.5 seconds. The Q7 has a corner mounted flash with pop-up feature that helps to reduce red eye. The Pentax D-L168 lithium-ion battery can capture 250 images on a single charge and is charged out of camera.

DCR found the included 5-15mm f/2.8-4.5 lens is inconsistent with producing sharp images. The camera captures video at 1080p or 720p at 30, 25 or 24 frames per second. DCR did note the video quality is on par with other cameras in this class and the Q7 produced some high quality images with good color reproduction, but image quality varied from shot to shot.

In the end, DCR found the Q7 sits in the middle of the group among other cameras in its class. DCR was impressed with the small and compact body and good image quality. However, DCR was frustrated with the lack of consistency in producing good quality images and the slow AF speeds. Overall, DCR said the Q7 provided a “lackluster” overall experience.

Check out DigitalCameraReview for a full Pentax Q7 Review, including performance and sample pics.

Pentax Q7 Review