Nikon D7000 vs Pentax K-5

These two DSLRs have great ergonomics with enough direct controls to satisfy pros. While neither is perfect, it is only a matter of time before being truly familiar with either one. After extended use, it shows that the Pentax K-5 has a generally more thoughtful design and better ergonomics.

The K-5 is more comfortable to hold. A look at its sculpted grip shows a finger-indentation which helps supports the camera. Another point is that the viewfinder cup protrudes more on the K-5, so you do not have to press as much against the camera. While the control-dials have a similar position on each camera, the front one is both angled and closer to the shutter-release which makes it quicker to reach on the Pentax. The rear control-dial is also more comfortable to use on the Pentax, since it is further from the edge of the camera.

The D7000 also has its strong points for comfort. Being almost 1cm taller lets it have a taller grip. Depending on the size of your hands, this can mean the difference between having your pinky on the grip or below it. Rear buttons are mostly to the left of the LCD with only a few important controls high-up on the right. If you prefer to use a hand-strap rather than the typical neck-strap, this is much better since a hand-strap restricts your right hand's movements and usually makes it impossible to reach low buttons. The K-5 has functions assigned to its 4-way controller and most of them become nearly impossible to reach when using a hand-strap.

The Pentax K-5 has a more logical button assignment. On top of the grip, it has the EC button towards the inside and the ISO button next to it. Both these buttons occupy prime real-estate and correspond to the most highly used functions. The viewfinder also reflects any changes made using these buttons. As for the D7000, the EC button is on the least comfortable outer-edge and the button next to it, Metering, is used much less often than ISO. On top of that, its status is not shown in the viewfinder, so operating at eye-level makes little sense. With the Nikon D7000, the ISO button is unfortunately found among a column of indistinct buttons. At least both these cameras only need to use their ISO button in Manual mode since they can assign the otherwise unused control-dial to control ISO directly.

Even though the K-5 has more exposure modes, its mode-dial is much better organized. Program (P), Aperture-Priority (A) and Manual (M) modes are almost the same on both these DSLRs, except that Nikon hid Bulb (B) and Flash-Sync (X) mode as the last two shutter-speeds reachable in Manual mode. This makes it slow to reach them. In Manual mode, pressing the Green button on the K-5 sets it to the metered value according to P mode. Program mode on the Pentax, called Hyper-Program actually, can be instantly shifted into A or S mode using the control-dials. Shutter-priority is labeled S on the Nikon and T, for time, on the Pentax. This lets the Pentax introduce S mode as Sensitivity-Priority. They also have a TAv mode which lets the photographer set both shutter-speed and aperture while the camera takes charge of sensitivity. Finally, the K-5 has a dedicated Movie mode that lets it accurately preview video framing and instantly start filming. The D7000 barely manages to do the former but not the latter.

There are literally dozens of usability differences between these cameras but only some significantly impact use in the field. These digital cameras offer automatic and manual focus-point selection. There is nothing to worry about for automatic selection. Manual selection uses the directional controller on both cameras. However, the K-5 also uses its 4-way controller to activate important settings like white-balance and drive-mode. In order to do both, the camera must be switched between function and focus-point-selection. To do so, you have to hold down the OK button for 1s. Compare this to the Nikon's always-availableTechnically it can be locked to prevent accidental changes. 8-way controller and it is easy to see that its system is faster.

Photography often requires making changes to camera settings. Some changes are more often done under pressure, which is why professional cameras have so many controls. Once settings are changed to make a shot - or a series of shots - those changes have to be undone. Forgetting to unset settings like EC, WB and even ISO are some of the most common mistakes. Pentax has long had settings in its cameras controlling which settings get reset on power off. There are 13 such settings on the K-5. This lets it start at a known state each time it is turned on. Furthermore the K-5's Green button can be used to reset exposure, ISO, program shift, white-balance fine-tuning and composition-adjustment, depending on the operation in progress. The D7000 has a two-button global reset that changes too many settings to be desirable, including image quality which is usually permanently set based on the photographer's preference.