US owners can obtain the Pentax K-7 v1.03 firmware from the Downloads and Literature section of Pentax Imaging Co.'s website, while customers in other markets will find the firmware or contact information for their local Pentax agent on the Pentax Global website.
As well as updates from previous releases, Pentax K-7 firmware version 1.03 includes several changes, as listed in the official release notes. Three of the company's Limited lenses - the smc PENTAX-FA 31mm F1.8 AL Limited, smc PENTAX-FA 43mm F1.9 Limited and smc PENTAX-FA 77mm F1.8 Limited - are newly supported by the K-7's Lens Distortion Correction and Lateral Chromatic Aberration Adjustment functions. Certain SDHC cards now show improved performance in movie recording, potentially leading to significantly longer recording times in a single clip. Finally, a rather cryptic reference is made to "Improved usability by optimizing the program of vertical position judgment", which we believe refers to the camera's orientation sensor - perhaps as relates to recording of orientation in images, or to automatic rotation of images in playback mode.
All changes from previous updates are of course rolled into the new firmware. These include a new "Fine Sharpness 2" option which offers a higher level of sharpening than was previously available, improved processing performance when previewing the effect of the Water Color and Pastel filters, a new custom function that allows users to customise the functioning of the K-7's four-way controller buttons, and several bug fixes.
The Pentax K7 digital SLR includes a 14.6 megapixel APS-C CMOS image sensor, compact and rugged magnesium alloy weather-sealed body, high-res 3.0" LCD with live view function, 100% pentaprism viewfinder, 11-point AF, 77-segment metering, and both in-camera shake reduction and dust reduction. It also offers 5.2 frames-per-second burst mode, 1/8000 second top shutter speed, electronic level and composition adjustment functions, in-camera HDR capability, and a high-definition movie mode with external microphone jack. More details can be found in our Pentax K7 preview.
