Hello from a dSLR Newbie - keen to buy Pentax K-X

[whiteshades]

thanks all for your kind advises.
hmm branding seems to be playing a greater part even in the camera world.

for myself, im a beginner. i dont think i will really be using all the advance setting here and there for the coming period. i am still learning about the aperture and shutter speed. haha.

so perhaps pentax kx is good for me?my budget is below $2k for the body + kit lens + memory card. did consider canon 550, quite like the feel on my hand. but still reading through because once i do know that buying a dslr is like you commit yourself to a certain brand. you cant swop nikon parts w/ canon ,etc

Hmm like you im new to photography, here is my opinion up till this point. I think its good that you start with a cheap DSLR that offers great value for money. Like the k-X. I never regretted buying it. It's low-light performance is very useful cos I don't usually bring a tripod out and I can still take decent shots hand held at night with low lighting. read the comparison reviews at dpreview.com

Over time, you'll start to know what you like and don't like to shoot and understand the limitations of your camera. Good thing about Pentax cameras is that it allows the use of older lenses without the need for adapters. So you have a wider range of lenses to choose from to suit what you like. Save money and gear to lug around when going for shoots.

with your budget, you can get the K-x with enough money to buy another lens/lenses (depending on what also) but I suggest you hold on to the cash first. cos the BBB virus will kick in. discover yourself and the camera then see if you would like another lens. then :devil: BUY... hehehe

 

[rockdhop]

Hmm like you im new to photography, here is my opinion up till this point. I think its good that you start with a cheap DSLR that offers great value for money. Like the k-X. I never regretted buying it. It's low-light performance is very useful cos I don't usually bring a tripod out and I can still take decent shots hand held at night with low lighting. read the comparison reviews at dpreview.com

Over time, you'll start to know what you like and don't like to shoot and understand the limitations of your camera. Good thing about Pentax cameras is that it allows the use of older lenses without the need for adapters. So you have a wider range of lenses to choose from to suit what you like. Save money and gear to lug around when going for shoots.

with your budget, you can get the K-x with enough money to buy another lens/lenses (depending on what also) but I suggest you hold on to the cash first. cos the BBB virus will kick in. discover yourself and the camera then see if you would like another lens. then :devil: BUY... hehehe

thanks alot for your advise and sharing. i know that many people says that the KX doesnt have the AF points in the VF. so how do you actually try to get the portion of a subject focused ? i think i sound stupid asking this but haha, from my understanding and trying out canon 550D, i somehow understood that when the AF points lights up, it means those portion targetted by the AF are focused and locked. so how do you go about focusing at things?:angel:

 

[whiteshades]

I do it by memory lol. honestly I didnt miss much of it. Usually I set the AF point to the center, or auto 11 point. Unless i really wanted to choose the points then I'll manually select it and shoot based on memory of where I set it.
I seldom do that though as I would manual focus if the AF cant get it right. It's faster manually sometimes.

 

[rockdhop]

I do it by memory lol. honestly I didnt miss much of it. Usually I set the AF point to the center, or auto 11 point. Unless i really wanted to choose the points then I'll manually select it and shoot based on memory of where I set it.
I seldom do that though as I would manual focus if the AF cant get it right. It's faster manually sometimes.

meaning that you set either 1 or 11AF points during the setting and u remember by heart? so when shooting, u try to recall where u set it? that's sooooo incredible. LOL.
well well, hmm are you a experience photgrapher?

 

[whiteshades]

meaning that you set either 1 or 11AF points during the setting and u remember by heart? so when shooting, u try to recall where u set it? that's sooooo incredible. LOL.
well well, hmm are you a experience photgrapher?

huh! lol you must be mistaken! :nono: It's really not that difficult to remember where the point you manually set to! :embrass:

and im really not experienced :sweat:

 

[pinholecam]

meaning that you set either 1 or 11AF points during the setting and u remember by heart? so when shooting, u try to recall where u set it? that's sooooo incredible. LOL.
well well, hmm are you a experience photgrapher?

Typically you'd use center and recompose. after locking focus. This has been the was with cameras even with MF using a split screen.
I personally almost always use center.
On the few occasions you use a point other than center, you already know which point you selected.
Typically you would switch it back to center after using that, as with all other settings on the camera as a good habit (ie. Exposure compensation; AWB; ISO), unless you are in a situation that you are very certain the conditions will not change much. Else you will shoot lots and later find that you had the wrong EV, AWB or ISO set.

 

[rockdhop]

Typically you'd use center and recompose. after locking focus. This has been the was with cameras even with MF using a split screen.
I personally almost always use center.
On the few occasions you use a point other than center, you already know which point you selected.
Typically you would switch it back to center after using that, as with all other settings on the camera as a good habit (ie. Exposure compensation; AWB; ISO), unless you are in a situation that you are very certain the conditions will not change much. Else you will shoot lots and later find that you had the wrong EV, AWB or ISO set.

hi bro. care to explain more on the part i highlighted red?

 

[whiteshades]

I believe you are worrying too much about the lack of AF point indicators. It's always good to ask though. for this instance, once you try it out you will know what pinholecam is trying to say. I personally find it difficult to explain it to you in words because its a thought process basically. You just need to use it to better understand.

Maybe you can look around to have a feel with the K-x if your friends have it. I don't know if the Pentax outing is still on but you can check it out in the sub-forums. I'm sure many will let you hands-on.