Pentax K-7 Modes & Menus

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Pentax K-7 Modes and Menus

Capture Modes

Green mode: Full automatic mode. Camera sets shutter speed and aperture. AE lock, EV compensation, auto bracket, multiple exposure, and flash compensation cannot be set in Green mode.

Program mode (P): Called Hyper-program, Pentax K-7 selects shutter speed and aperture, while you control all other exposure variables. You can use the front and rear e-dial to shift exposure, controlling the shutter speed specifically with the front e-dial, and aperture with the rear, or press the Green button on the top deck to return to the Program mode's default choice. The Pentax K-7 also allows you to select, via a custom menu, the program line the camera uses, which tells the camera to prioritize for higher shutter speeds, shallow or deep depth-of-field, MTF (best aperture setting for image quality), or use the default, normal program line.

Sensitivity Priority mode (Sv): In this unique mode you set the ISO by pressing the shutter button halfway, then turning the Rear e-dial. The camera picks the Aperture and Shutter value accordingly.

Shutter Priority mode (Tv): Marked with a "Tv," for Time value, this mode allows the user to control the shutter speed, from 30 seconds to 1/8,000 second.

Aperture Priority mode (Av): Marked with an "Av," this mode gives user control of aperture, while the camera selects the shutter speed.

Shutter and Aperture Priority mode (TAv): Another unique mode, opposite of Sv above: The camera adjusts the ISO sensitivity to meet the requirements of your Aperture and Shutter settings.

Manual mode (M): Dubbed Hyper-manual mode, this setting provides complete control over the exposure, with independent settings for aperture and shutter speed. Shutter speeds range from 1/8,000 to 30 seconds.

Bulb mode (B): Marked with a "B" on the Mode dial, this mode offers unlimited exposure times, holding the shutter open for as long as the Shutter button is held down (and the batteries last).

Flash X-sync mode (X): Sets shutter speed to 1/180 second, for use with manual strobes.

User mode (USER): This mode lets the user quickly recall a set of favorite settings including exposure mode, flash mode, EV compensation, exposure bracketing, drive mode, flash exposure compensation, sensitivity, auto sensitivity range, white balance, file format, JPEG size and quality, image tone, saturation, sharpness, and contrast.

Movie mode: This mode allows the user to record videos with sound. Resolution options consist of 1536x1024 (3:2 aspect ratio), 1280x720 (16:9) or 640x416 (3:2) pixels, all at 30 frames-per-second with monaural sound. There are three quality (compression ratio) options available, and you can choose to have the aperture fixed, or under automatic control. See the Video tab for more details as well as sample videos.

Playback Mode

Playback mode is entered by pressing the Playback button on the camera's rear panel. In this mode, you can scroll through captured images, delete them, write-protect them, and set them up for printing on PictBridge-compatible printers. You can also apply digital filters for creative effects.

Pentax K-7 Menu Details

Below are Pentax K-7 menu options and their descriptions. Pressing the Menu button provides access to the camera's full menu system.

Record Menu:

Record Menu Options
Top-Level Selection	Second-Level	Third-Level	Notes
File Format	- JPEG - RAW - RAW + JPEG
JPEG Recorded Pixels	- 14M (4672 x 3104) - 10M (3963 x 2624) - 6M (3072 x 2048) - 2M (1728 x 1152)
JPEG Quality	- ** Premium - * Best - ** Better - * Good
ISO AUTO Setting	- Low Limit (100-3,200) - High Limit (200-3,200)		Sets the lower and upper limits for Auto ISO
ISO AUTO Setting	- Parameters	- Slow - Standard - Fast	Slow increases the sensitivity as little as possible; Fast does the opposite
Dynamic Range Setting	- Highlight Correction	- Off - On	Preserves highlights
Dynamic Range Setting	- Shadow Correction	- Off - Low - Medium - High	Boosts shadows
Lens Correction	- Distortion Correction	- Off - On	Works with only Pentax DA, DA L or D FA lenses
Lens Correction	- Lateral Chromatic Aberration Adjustment	- Off - On	Works with only Pentax DA, DA L or D FA lenses
Program Line	- Auto - Normal - Hi-speed Priority - DOF Priority (deep depth-of-field) - DOF Priority (shallow depth-of-field) - MTF Priority		Hi Speed sets Program mode to bias toward high shutter speeds; Depth sets the Program mode to bias toward larger (shallow) or smaller (deep) apertures; MTF selects for best apertures for the attached lens (most effective with DA, D, D FA, FA, and FA J lenses)
Extended Bracket	- Off - White Balance - Saturation - Hue - High/Low Key Adj - Contrast - Sharpness	- Bracketing amount	Bracketing amounts vary depending on type selected
HDR Capture	- Off - Standard - Strong		Captures 3 frames and combines them into 1 HDR image
Digital Filter	- Off - Toy Camera - Retro - High Contrast - Extract Color - Soft - Star Burst - Fish-eye - Custom Filter		Selects which digital filter to apply in capture mode (additional filters can be applied and combined in playback mode)
Multi-exposure	- Number of Shots	- 2 to 9	Number of exposure to combine into one
Multi-exposure	- Auto EV Adjust	- Off - On	Adjusts exposure of each shot so that combined image is properly exposed
Interval Shooting	- Interval	- 1s to 24 hrs	Timelapse photography settings
	- Number of Shots	- 1 to 99 shots
	- Start	- Now - Set Time
Composition Adjust	- Start Adjustment - Cancel		Allows user to adjust X and Y position of image as well as rotation, using the shake reduction mechanism. Useful on a tripod
Movie	- Recorded Pixels	- 1.6M (1536x1024) - 0.9M (1280x72) - 0.3M (640x416 )	Sets movie recording parameters
	- Quality Level	- * - - *
	- Sound	- On - Off
	- Movie Aperture Control	- Auto - Fixed
	- Shake Reduction	- On - Off
Live View	- Info Overlay	- On - Off	Sets Live View parameters
	- Show Grid	- On - Off
	- Histogram	- On - Off
	- Bright/Dark Areas	- On - Off
	- Autofocus Mode	- Face Detect - Contrast Detect - Phase Detect
Status Screen	- On - Off		When Off, status screen remains blank
Digital Preview	- Off (optical)		Selects type of preview when power switch moved to preview position (DOF preview using optical viewfinder, or digital using LCD)
Digital Preview	- On	- Histogram: On/Off - Bright/Dark Area: On/Off
Instant Review	- On	- Display Time: 1, 3, or 5 seconds - Histogram On/Off - Bright/Dark area: On/Off	Controls length of time the most recently captured image appears post capture, and whether a histogram and high/low exposure flashes
Instant Review	- Off
Electronic Level Display	- On - Off		Displays bar graph indicating if camera is level in viewfinder and on LCD
Automatic Horizon Correction	- On - Off		Automatically corrects for camera tilt
Color Space	- sRGB - Adobe RGB
RAW File Format	- PEF - DNG
RAW button	- Cancel each time (on/off) - JPEG to RAW+ - RAW to RAW+ - RAW+ to RAW+		Defines the function of the RAW button
Memory	- Flash mode - Drive mode - White Balance - Sensitivity - EV Compensation - Flash Exp. Comp. - Extended Bracketing - HDR Capture - Digital Filter - Playback Display - File No.		Allows you to select what settings are saved when you turn the camera off. All are selected by default
USER	- Save - Check Saved USER Settings - Reset USER Settings		Saves current settings as settings for USER on Mode dial
Shake Reduction	- On - Off
Input Focal Length	- Set focal length from 8 to 800		Only available if Shake Reduction switch is on and lens in use does not support automatic lens information communication

Playback Menu:

Playback Menu Options
Top-Level Selection	Second-Level	Third-Level	Notes
Slideshow	- Interval	- 3 sec - 5 sec - 10 sec - 30 sec	Sets slideshow interval and screen fade
	- Screen Effect	- Off - Fade - Wipe - Stripe
	- Repeat Playback	- Off - On
Playback Display Method	- Bright/Dark area	- Off - On	Over/underexposed areas flash on playback
Playback Display Method	- Quick Zoom	- Off - 2x - 4x - 8x - 16x - 32x	Sets initial magnification when enlarging images
Delete All Images	- Delete All - Leave All

Setup Menu:

Setup Menu Options
Top-Level Selection	Second-Level	Third-Level	Notes
Language	- English - French - German - Spanish - Swedish - Dutch - Italian - Russian - Portuguese - Danish - Finnish - Greek - Polish - Czech - Hungarian - Turkish - Japanese - Korean - Chinese (Traditional) - Chinese (Simplified)
Date Adjustment	- Date Style	- mm/dd/yy - dd/mm/yy - yy/mm/dd - 12h - 24h
	- Date	- Set date
	- Time	- Set time
World Time	- Choose destination city, set time for home and destination
Text Size	- Std. - Large		Selects menu system text size
Guide Display	- 3 sec - 10 sec - 30 sec - Off		Activates display guides on LCD when the exposure mode is changed or camera is switched on for set amount of time
Beep	- In-focus - AE-L - RAW - Self-timer - Remote Control	- All options: check/uncheck	Sets whether the camera beeps or not by category
Brightness Level	- 15 arbitrary units from -7 to +7		Adjusts overall brightness of LCD display
LCD Color Tuning	- 2D grid with Blue/Amber axis, Green/Magenta axis		Adjust the LCD color in 15 levels for each direction
Video Out	- NTSC - PAL		Selects composite video signal
HDMI Out	- Auto - 1080i - 720p - 480p		Selects HDMI video signal
USB Connection	- MSC - PTP		Selects USB mode (Mass Storage Class or Picture Transfer Protocol)
Folder Name	- Date - PENTX		"Date" names files xxx_MMDD "PENTX" sets file naming in form of xxxPENTX, sequentially from 100 to 999
File Name	- sRGB - Adobe RGB - Change - Reset File Name		You can define a 4 character prefix for sRGB JPEGs, and a 3 character prefix for Adobe RGB JPEGs
Copyright Information	- Embed Copyright Data	- Off - On	Embeds name and copyright strings into EXIF
	- Photographer	- Enter alphanumeric string
	- Copyright Holder	- Enter alphanumeric string
Auto Power Off	- 1 min - 3 min - 5 min - 10 min - 30 min - Off		Sets time before camera shuts off after inactivity
Select battery	- Auto Select - Body First - Grip First		Sets which battery is used first when two are present
Reset	- Reset - Cancel		"Reset" returns all settings to defaults
Pixel Mapping	- Pixel Mapping - Cancel		For remapping bad pixels
Dust Alert	- Press the shutter release button		For taking a high contrast image to detect dust on the sensor
Dust Removal	- Dust Removal - Start-up Action		First option shakes the sensor when you press OK from this menu, Start-up action shakes sensor on startup
Sensor Cleaning	- Mirror Up - Cancel		"Mirror Up" locks the mirror up for sensor cleaning
Format	- Format - Cancel		"Format" erases all images, even protected ones

Custom Menu:

Custom Menu Options
Top-Level Selection	Second-Level	Third-Level	Notes
1. EV Steps	- 1: 1/3 EV - 2: 1/2 EV
2. Sensitivity Steps	- 1: 1 EV Step - 2: As EV Steps		"As EV Steps" adjusts ISO based on what variable is set in the previous Custom menu item (EV Steps)
3. Expanded Sensitivity	- 1: Off - 2: On		Allows the ISO range to expand to 100 - 6,400
4. Meter Operating Time	- 1: 10 sec - 2: 3 sec - 3: 30 sec		Time that exposure values are saved after metering
5. AE-L with AF locked	- 1: Off - 2: On		"On" fixes exposure with focus
6. Link AF Point and AE	- 1: Off - 2: On		"On" links the AE and AF points, so that both values are set from the same point
7. One-Push Bracketing	- 1: Off - 2: On		"Off" requires the shutter button to be pressed for each image in the bracketing sequence
8. Auto Bracketing order	- 1: 0 - + - 2: - 0 + - 3: + 0 - - 4: 0 + -		Sets shooting order for bracketed exposures
9. Auto EV Compensation	- 1: Off - 2: On		Automatically overrides exposure when proper exposure is not set
10. WB when using Flash	- 1: AWB - 2: Unchanged - 3: Flash		When flash is used, white balance can be auto, stay as measured, or switch to Flash white balance
11. WB Adjustable Range	- 1: Auto Adjustment - 2: Fixed		Auto Adjustment automatically performs fine tuning of selected WB
12. Auto White Balance under Tungsten Light	- 1: Subtle Correction - 2: Strong Correction		Adjusts strength of automatic WB correction in tungsten light
13. AF Button Function	- 1: Enable AF - 2: Cancel AF		Option 2 turns off AF button function
14. AF with Shutter Button Half Pressed	- 1: On - 2: Off		Option 2 disables Shutter release AF
15. Superimpose AF Area	- 1: On - 2: Off		If switched on, highlights the AF point in red in the viewfinder
16. AF with Remote Control	- 1: Off - 2: On		If on, uses autofocus in remote control mode
17. Remote Control in Bulb	- 1: Mode1 - 2: Mode2		Mode 1 is push to start, push again to stop; Mode 2 is push and hold
18. Slow Shutter Speed Noise Reduction	- 1: On - 2: Off		Sets whether Noise Reduction is applied when shooting at low shutter speeds (This takes longer between exposures because it has to capture a dark frame after the main exposure)
19. High-ISO Noise Reduction	- 1: Medium - 2: Low - 3: High - 4: Off		Sets level of NR used for high ISOs
20. High-ISO NR Start Level	- 1: ISO 800 - 2: ISO 200 - 3: ISO 400 - 4: ISO 1,600		Sets at what sensitivity Hi-ISO NR is activated
21. Color Temperature Steps	- 1: Kelvin - 2: Mired		Color temp can be set in steps of 100 Kelvin or 20 Mired
22. e-dial in Program	- 1: Front=Shutter, Rear=Aperture - 2: Front=Aperture, Rear=Shutter - 3: Front=EV, Rear=P Shift - 4: Front=P Shift, Rear=EV - 5: Front=disabled, Rear=disabled		Sets functions of e-dial in Program mode
23. e-dial in Sv mode	- 1: Front=disabled, Rear=ISO - 2: Front=P Shift, Rear=ISO - 3: Front=ISO, Rear=P Shift		Sets functions of e-dial in Sensor priority mode
24. e-dial in Tv mode	- 1: Front=Shutter, Rear=disabled - 2: Front=Shutter, Rear=EV - 3: Front=EV, Rear=Shutter - 4: Front=Shutter, Rear=ISO - 5: Front=ISO, Rear=Shutter		Sets functions of e-dial in Shutter priority mode
25. e-dial in Av mode	- 1: Front=disabled, Rear=Aperture - 2: Front=EV, Rear=Aperture - 3: Front=Aperture, Rear=EV - 4: Front=ISO, Rear=Aperture - 5: Front=Aperture, Rear=ISO		Sets functions of e-dial in Aperture priority mode
26. e-dial in TAv & M	- 1: Front=Shutter, Rear=Aperture - 2: Front=Aperture, Rear=Shutter		Sets functions of e-dial in TAv and Manual modes
27. e-dial in B & X	- 1: Front=disabled, Rear=Aperture - 2: Front=Aperture, Rear=disabled - 3: Front=ISO, Rear=disabled - 4: Front=Aperture, Rear=ISO		Sets functions of e-dial in Bulb and X-sync modes
28. Green Button in TAv & Manual	- 1: Program line - 2: Tv Shift - 3: Av Shift - 4: Off		Sets function of Green Button in TAv and Manual modes
29. LCD Panel Illumination	- 1: On - 2: Off		Default value illuminates LCD panel when exposure metering; option 2 disables this
30. Shutter Release when Charging	- 1: Off - 2: On		"On" allows shutter release while flash is charging
31. Flash in Wireless Mode	- 1: On - 2: Off		"On" fires built-in flash as master in wireless mode
32. AF Assist Light	- 1: On - 2: Off		"On" enables new AF assist lamp
33. Saving Rotation Info	- 1: On - 2: Off		Embeds rotation tags in image files when "On"
34. Auto Image Rotation	- 1: On - 2: Off		Turns auto-rotation on or off
35. Catch-in Focus	- 1: Off - 2: On		The shutter is released automatically when subject comes into focus at a set position
36. AF Adjustment	- 1: Off		Autofocus can be fine-tuned +/- 10 steps to all lenses, or up to 20 lens types
36. AF Adjustment	- 2: On (adjust)	- Apply All - Apply One
37. Using Aperture Ring	- 1: Prohibited - 2: Permitted		Setting one prevents image capture when the aperture ring isn't set to A
Reset Custom Function	- Reset - Cancel		Resets all Custom Functions to default