Your hands-on take on the K-7

[fengwei]

It doesn't really matter which mode you are shooting with, you need to have enough speed to freeze the motion blur. I'd shoot in M mode for this kind of event 'cause the light doesn't change much, so I can get more consistant results. And another thing, a lens like 18250 isn't really for this kind of event unless you use a flash, better use a faster lens like a prime or F2.8 zoom. If you don't have a fast lens, a flash would be a great help.

 

[JavaBeanz]

upgrading from k100ds and i find the hyper-p mode a nice touch. you can have full control over shutter, aperture and iso or you can let the camera determine some of the variables. much easier to use than full manual imo :thumbsup:

 

[xdivider]

Thanks for all the tips guys! Never occured to me to try shutter priority. Had been using my cameras for mostly family snapshots all along. First time trying an "event" and posting the results.
So the best start when using the DA70mm for live action is to have at least 1/70 s shutter speed (rule of thumb) and ISO of 1600. Will try this in future.
Thanks.....

If 1600 is too noisy, use NoiseNinja to smooth out the noise and undo the fine details like eyes. The last time I helped out at an event, found that even at 1/40-50 u still got wuying (blurry) hands if the guy is gesturing a lot.........

 

[airconvent]

Hi Richard,
You may really want to join in the regular outings & insist on finding out the Why's & What's of EV setting rather than the How's. 10 people can offer you 10 different preferences, their personal preferences that work. More important here is yours... Does it work?

Thanks. I do try to join in but weekends are busy with kids classes, so there is some constraints. Will try....

eh Richard K-7 overkill la...pass it to me i help u take nice pics :bsmilie:

Sure....make sure the photos are nice and pass it back to me after that!

If 1600 is too noisy, use NoiseNinja to smooth out the noise and undo the fine details like eyes. The last time I helped out at an event, found that even at 1/40-50 u still got wuying (blurry) hands if the guy is gesturing a lot.........

Thanks. I find it troublesome to have to do this kind of post processing. Have NeatImage installed for years but have never used it once! ;p

It doesn't really matter which mode you are shooting with, you need to have enough speed to freeze the motion blur. I'd shoot in M mode for this kind of event 'cause the light doesn't change much, so I can get more consistant results. And another thing, a lens like 18250 isn't really for this kind of event unless you use a flash, better use a faster lens like a prime or F2.8 zoom. If you don't have a fast lens, a flash would be a great help.

Thanks for the feedback, Fengwei. Hope to be able to try an other round in the near future using the tips given.

 

[le petit prince]

airconvent: Ooops, am late to the party.. Maybe can just bump up ISO to 1600? There'll be noise, sure. But I've fearlessly used ISO1600 on my K100Ds from the beginning, and when printed (4R size) or displayed on the screen, it's not at all offensive.

And the K-7's noise control is now supposed to be leaps better than the K100Ds'.

Of course, if you zoom in 100%, it isn't pretty. But who'll view it at that size?

 

[airconvent]

airconvent: Ooops, am late to the party.. Maybe can just bump up ISO to 1600? There'll be noise, sure. But I've fearlessly used ISO1600 on my K100Ds from the beginning, and when printed (4R size) or displayed on the screen, it's not at all offensive.

And the K-7's noise control is now supposed to be leaps better than the K100Ds'.

Of course, if you zoom in 100%, it isn't pretty. But who'll view it at that size?

Thanks le petit prince...waiting for an opportunity to try it out again with the tips. I do still prefer to limit to ISO800 for now.

 

[sbc]

Anyone tested the in-cam CA/distortion correction in K-7 yet? Any good?

 

[airconvent]

Hi
I jsut tried out some manual and shutter priority shots based on the rule of thumb of 1/focal length second shutter speed. However, I noticed that the camera if left to auto sometimes select much faster shutter speeds. So is this rule of thumb more for medium lighting, hence bright conditions, shorten it and dimmer conditions lengthen it?
I used a DA21mm and DA40mm, trying out 1/20 s and 1/40 s but they resulted in dark photos (situation is medium lit Sakae sushi). Bumping up the ISO to 1600 brightened up the situation in some photos but not all. Adjusting the shutter speed results either in image blur or darker ones. This makes it difficult for me to gauge what to use and complicates because usually the kids only give me 1 chance to take them! Any tips on managing this?

But one very clear improvement I noticed is the WB. It more accurately adjusted for a more balanced picture as compared with the K200D. This means I am less likely to make WB adjustments.

BTW, anyone using ACSsee 10 Photo Manager? It seems it is able to display thumbnail but not the DNG file straight from the camera. I had no problems with the K200D. Also, the exif display does not show the camera mode as per camera lingo. It indicates "creative program" and such non standard terms. Anyone with ACDsee has this problem?

 

[JavaBeanz]

the 1/focal length rule is the minimum shutter speed you should use to prevent blur due to handshake. so it is ok for you to use a higher shutter speed if the lighting is good enough.
scorpioh also mentioned that that you should use at least 1/60 or 1/125 to freeze your kid's motion (to prevent subject's motion blur)

not sure if i am correct. but from what i learnt from this thread, i might try using manual mode
1) select a suitable shutter speed (1/60 or 1/125)
2) adjust aperture to get correct exposure
3) if aperture is already widest but picture still under expose, adjust iso and aperture until exposure is ok
4) once satisfied with the settings, leave the settings alone and start shooting

my 2 cents

 

[airconvent]

Thanks Javabeanz. When you are in Manual mode (my Acdsee calls it "Creative Program"), the display shows the exposure meter reading ,much like my K1000 film camera. I try to adjust until the metering is zero or near zero but inspite of this, the picture can come up very dim. It could be as Denis suggests,i.e. because I was using spot focussing. Perhaps if I use auto mode it would be better? Unfortunately, the main subject is usually my kids and they are not so patient to let me try various modes, so its a hit and miss thing ;p

btw, when I set my shuttter to 1/80s @ ISO1600 and wide open, the image came out dim too, so 1/125s would have been worse.

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

i was shooting at a party last night, elected not to use bounce flash but instead shoot candids using available light.

settings were mostly Av/manual mode, iso 3200, f2.8, 1/30-1/80s. iso and aperture both maxed out, shutter speeds were really slow but no choice bcos the ambient light was so dim.

anyway in such conditions i had to accept a very noisy and sometimes blurry photo. one trick is to anticipate ppl's movements.. even when they're laughing or talking there's a brief moment that they're quite stationary. hit the shutter at that moment and you wont get blurred faces.. it also helps to have a steady hand or something to prop up against to minimise camera shake.

anyway why not get an ext flash and bounce it off the ceiling if you often shoot in such bad lighting situations..

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

Thanks Javabeanz. When you are in Manual mode (my Acdsee calls it "Creative Program"), the display shows the exposure meter reading ,much like my K1000 film camera. I try to adjust until the metering is zero or near zero but inspite of this, the picture can come up very dim. It could be as Denis suggests,i.e. because I was using spot focussing. Perhaps if I use auto mode it would be better? Unfortunately, the main subject is usually my kids and they are not so patient to let me try various modes, so its a hit and miss thing ;p

btw, when I set my shuttter to 1/80s @ ISO1600 and wide open, the image came out dim too, so 1/125s would have been worse.

u can hit the green button to automatically "zero" the meter instead of spinning dials.. i keep my M mode set to "Tv-shift" so i choose the aperture and when i press the green button the camera sets the correct shutter speed for me.

why use spot metering (not spot focusing) if u aren't sure how to meter? i usually stick to matrix or centre-weighted and only use spot metering if the exceptional situation calls for it.

 

[airconvent]

i was shooting at a party last night, elected not to use bounce flash but instead shoot candids using available light.

settings were mostly Av/manual mode, iso 3200, f2.8, 1/30-1/80s. iso and aperture both maxed out, shutter speeds were really slow but no choice bcos the ambient light was so dim.

anyway in such conditions i had to accept a very noisy and sometimes blurry photo. one trick is to anticipate ppl's movements.. even when they're laughing or talking there's a brief moment that they're quite stationary. hit the shutter at that moment and you wont get blurred faces.. it also helps to have a steady hand or something to prop up against to minimise camera shake.

anyway why not get an ext flash and bounce it off the ceiling if you often shoot in such bad lighting situations..

Thanks I have the AF360 flash but don't normally bring it along as I want to keep my gear light. That is why not even using the kit lens but the thin DA limited instead.
But ISO3200...wow...that is pushing it quite high. That's alot of Noise Ninja (or Neat) later on.

 

[joohow]

Just done some ISO test for my just received K7. Have post the result to PhotoMalaysia. As there is limit to post only 5 pictures here, I cannot copy and paste the content here. Those who are interested please go there to check it out.

 

[dnaxe]

I used a DA21mm and DA40mm, trying out 1/20 s and 1/40 s but they resulted in dark photos (situation is medium lit Sakae sushi). Bumping up the ISO to 1600 brightened up the situation in some photos but not all. Adjusting the shutter speed results either in image blur or darker ones. This makes it difficult for me to gauge what to use and complicates because usually the kids only give me 1 chance to take them! Any tips on managing this?

It's not that dark in sakae sushi.. e.g. (K20D

ISO 560 50mm f/2.8 1/60

The 40/2.8 can shoot at 2.8 right? Even at 3.2 with the 21, why would it be that dark?

 

[JavaBeanz]

u can hit the green button to automatically "zero" the meter instead of spinning dials.. i keep my M mode set to "Tv-shift" so i choose the aperture and when i press the green button the camera sets the correct shutter speed for me.

why use spot metering (not spot focusing) if u aren't sure how to meter? i usually stick to matrix or centre-weighted and only use spot metering if the exceptional situation calls for it.

thanks for the tip
i was wondering how to get the manual mode's program line to use my selected shutter/aperture. so we need to change the green button use to "tv-shift" or "av-shift" instead of program line in the custom setting.

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

thanks for the tip
i was wondering how to get the manual mode's program line to use my selected shutter/aperture. so we need to change the green button use to "tv-shift" or "av-shift" instead of program line in the custom setting.

I think if u press ae-lock, as you change either aperture/shutter speed the cam will auto compensate the other one to maintain the desired exposure.. K10d cannot iirc.

 

[JavaBeanz]

I think if u press ae-lock, as you change either aperture/shutter speed the cam will auto compensate the other one to maintain the desired exposure.. K10d cannot iirc.

wow, this is great! i should really spend more time reading through the thick manual :bsmilie:

 

[flowerpot]

Av mode is also my Tv mode... thats how i use it...

else its M mode if i have time...

M mode supposed to adjust aperture/shutter/iso manually, not adjust 1 and the other follow... then its not mauanl anymore...

M is for master(qoute from stephan loh) :bsmilie:... so if u want to be a master... then use it as it intended...

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

Av mode is also my Tv mode... thats how i use it...

else its M mode if i have time...

M mode supposed to adjust aperture/shutter/iso manually, not adjust 1 and the other follow... then its not mauanl anymore...

M is for master(qoute from stephan loh) :bsmilie:... so if u want to be a master... then use it as it intended...

well then can always not press the green button or the ae-lock. anyway pentax one is HYPER-manual so if i use it as intended (press green button, AE lock, ev comp) i can become a HYPER-master :bsmilie:

to quote neil van niekerk (planetneil):

"Let’s say you knew you’d be working at f2.8 ... then you’d just hit the * button and the appropriate shutter speed was entered for you. Perfect for working with the camera’s spot-meter. If you’ve ever tried to spot-meter with a long lens on your camera while hand-holding it, AND looking at your metering display .. then you know how tough it is. But with Hyper-Manual mode, you just hit the * button while looking precisely where your spot-meter is aiming. Much faster. You just hit one button with your thumb, and you’re set.

Now, should you decide you have the correct exposure, but want to change your shutter speed or aperture, then you hit the Exposure Lock button, and change either the aperture or shutter speed .. and the other setting will follow in relation to the metering value that was entered.

With any other camera, let’s say you have 1/500th @ f2.8 but you want 1/200th @ f4.5 ... then you’d have to turn both dials by the same amount of clicks. But with Hyper-Manual mode, you lock the exposure combination, and just change the one dial. Either one. Doesn’t matter.

The way these two modes work is such an incredible stroke of genius, that any camera that doesn’t have those two modes, is severely hampered already. The Best Camera in the World needs to have Pentax’s Hyper-Program and Hyper-Manual modes."

(btw i think i'm wrong that K10D cannot do the AE lock thing.. it might be that K10D cannot input ev comp in M mode.. got to check later tonight.)