Any Trouble with your lenses?

I got my *ist D at Christmas and have been miserable every since. I tried to use the *ist D in the same manner as I used my Pentax MZ7, mostly as a good point and shoot, but it doesn't work as well with a digital. I now have to learn how to use the camera on manual. Aggg. I have been trying really hard to improve, but I still felt that my lack of knowledge still should not be equally pictures that fuzzy. Finally after most of my Disneyworld pictures coming out soft I finally went back to the store and spoke to the manager. First thing he did was to switch the button from AF-C to AF-S. Made an immediate difference. Opps. Still I was surprised that even shots that I had taken with a tripod on this setting were too soft (These were taken when I still had the AF-C on.) He also told me that the industry is now saying - sure you can use your film lenses but they won't be a sharp as digital ones, and further it will be even better with pentax lenses (big surprise there). It would have been nice if someone would have told me this before I bought my camera, but oh well. Yesterday, I went a spent 1 1/2 hours with the pentax rep and the manager and they showed me a couple of other things that I needed to change. Too late for Disneyworld, just in time for my son's college grad. I would be interested in hearing about your experiences with digital vs film lenses and if you have had any problems, or any other comments you may have. Thanks. Christine

Hmmm. Sounds strange to me!

I have a set of really sharp lenses. Started out with some Tokina AT-X's (20-35, 28-70/f2.8, and 24-200). The results have been amazing with the *istD.

Blurred and non-sharp are not the same thing If they are blurred because they are out of focus that's a shame (and continuous autofocus will do you in 9 times out of 10 for regular photos). I usually use AF-S, and have selected center focus only (on the back). I like to know what's being focussed It is now an automatic reaction - point centre to subject, half press, recompose and shoot. This is especially important with portraits. The eyes should be the point of focus. I'm not so keen on the camera making the judgment about what to focus on!

An additional cause of blur is having too slow a shutter speed. For non-tripod shots I suggest you set the custom menu "Auto Sensitivity" and set the ISO dial to 200. That way the *istD will boost the rating if the light is too low for the given focal length.

I have a second custom function with the autosensitivity OFF when using a tripod (in which case I don't care about camera-shake!)

Finally, there is the sharpness of the lens. Well, yes, Pentax lenses are sublime. But you can get beautiful razor sharp results with others (I have used Tokina, and Sigma, and seen Tamron too). That said, in my quest for quality I have been buying up second hand Pentax SMC glass (50mm/f1.7, 28mm/f2.8, 100mm/f2.8 macro) and opted for the SMC-DA 16-45. Now the other lenses do not get a look in at all!!

If you're still unsure, check out some of my shots on http://www.ephotozine.com/user.cfm?user=16488 - they are small, but should show you the quality.

The fact that some shots are in focus tends to indicate the camera is okay.

I suggest you take some sample photos (lots of them) and see how you get on!

Matt

Thanks for the info Matt. What you have suggested, was exactly what the rep said to me too, except for the auto sensitivity thing. I will try that too. Can I ask you or anyone else reading one more question? Do you have a favourite lens for portraits? I am a scrapbooker, and I have been reading that most of them use a 50mm f!.8 lens, but the rep said a 100 mm is the norm. Not that I am going to have any money left after I buy the 16-45, but I was just wondering. Thanks again for your patience and help. Christine

The ideal portrait lens is generally considered to be a short telephoto. In 35mm terms that will be 85mm or 100mm, although there are lots of close variations such as 77mm, 90mm, 105mm, 120mm, etc. Personally I feel that 135mm is getting a bit too long.

In digital terms, a 50mm lens will magnify up nicely to about 75mm so lots of digital users are finding a fantastic new use for the humble standard lens!

Thanks for the clarification John. Still so much to learn... I remember the days when I thought my point and shoot took good pictures. Christine

Chris,

As John says, the 50mm is a great portrait lens, and the SMC-DA 16-45 should do you well at the 45mm end.

My personal favourite is the SMC-F 100mm/f2.8 macro. It is quite long for the digital, giving 150mm, but I love the sharpness. Obviously you end up with a very close portrait, but that's what I prefer anyway. However, even second hand it will probably cost as much as the 16-45. Does stunning macros too

My advice is to see how you get on with the 16-45 first, and if you happen to see an SMC-F 50mm/f1.7 or SMC-FA 50mm/f1.7 second hand, try and get it! I managed to find one for around £50 (around $90).

Have fun!
Matt

Chris,

You have bought a very complex and sophisticated piece of kit. It is capable of superb results if used properly, but you are going to have to do some work.

First, RTFM!

Second, learn how to manipulate digital images. That means cropping, and adjusting colours, contrast, saturation, gamma and sharpness (for starters). I'll come back to this. It's not too hard.

Third, experiment, experiment, experiment. It's free, with digital!

Fourth, treat with caution what salesmen tell you in shops. Some are experts, but many know little more than you. New Pentax lenses are great, but most old ones will give very good results too. And most of them are much cheaper.

Coming back to number 2. There is a free program called Irfanview which will let you do the basics I mentioned. If you have no clue about digital imaging, start with that. When you outgrow it, move on to something else. http://www.irfanview.com/

You did not buy a point and shoot camera, and you can't expect point and shoot convenience. To get the best from a digital SLR you need to know quite a lot, and if you don't have the time or inclination to acquire this knowledge, then sell the camera.

One point to remember about sharpness. Pictures taken with the *ist D are a bit soft straight out of the camera. Pentax EXPECT you to sharpen the picture afterwards on the computer. The reason is that they want to leave you in control. Some manufacturers sharpen the picture in the camera, but there is a trade-off. The more you sharpen a picture, the more you degrade it in other ways. With Pentax, you choose the balance you want.

I can assure you that those who have taken the trouble to learn how to use the *ist D are more than happy with the results.

Good luck.

Matt - once again thanks for the reply. You're right, the 16-45 is fine for now. I am going to play with my new lens when it gets here, I just wanted the info on the other for now.

George - thanks to you too. I haven't seen "RTFM" before, but I assume it means, "Read the freaking manual"?? Ha Ha. I have been doing this - but for me, it is something that I must do many times. Will continue many more times yet. I have already comtemplated selling this camera, but not because of the time required because I wasn't sure I could learn. I already have Photoshop Elements and can do pretty much any of the basic functions. Let's put it this way - I'm much better at photo editing that I am at understanding my camera, at this point in time. You will laugh when I tell you why. I bought a really good manual! The things I struggle with in that program are more of a subjective quality like understanding when have I adjusted the colours enough and can call the photo done. I think one of the biggest things I have to learn is how to use my camera in manual so I can stop thinking in the point and shoot mode.

I really appreciate everyone's help here. I will continue to learn, but oh man, it is hard some days. Christine

Hi Chris,

You got RTFM pretty much right!

If you're competent in Elements, then you're more than half way there. It's the computer bit that represents the biggest learning curve for many people, unless they were already doing it.

Check that you have the latest firmware (1.11). If not, here's where to go

http://www.pentaxusa.com/products/cameras/istd_fw111/istd_fw_111.htm

Some suggestions:

Steer clear of flash photography to start with.
Use high capacity NiMH batteries.
Stick to high quality large JPG mode to keep things simple until you've mastered the camera. 256MB cards are adequate until you start shooting RAW.
Experiment with different white balance settings. Indoors, I prefer to set WB manually, using a piece of white paper with a small amount of blue on it to give a slightly warmer result.
You may prefer to set the contrast, sharpness and saturation settings to max. When you're confident with the camera, go back to normal.
Set file number to serial.
In the custom functions, set "AF with press halfway" to ON, and (using the ring surrounding the OK button on the camera back) set focus to centre. Then, if the focus point is not in the centre, point the camera at it, press shutter halfway to focus, then, while holding the shutter pressed, frame the pic. I find that much easier than setting focus points, but others may have different views.

The camera has one or two niggles, but overall I think it is great, and well worth the effort of getting to know properly.

George

I saw this trread and I thought I would share my horrible experiences with the *istD

I purchased it about 3 weeks ago and so far it has been nothing but a disaster.

If you refer the thread "major fault with *istD" then you'll see what I mean. As I stated in that thread the shots just come out as black with some red streaks on the LCD

I played around with every function I could think of but nothing seemed to work. By some miracle the images suddenly started appearing on the LCD (no idea why they did) but the image quality is total rubbish. I have just got back from overseas and had my first opportunity to see the quality of the shots on my PC... not good.

At first I thought it might just be my PC but I had a series of the test shots developed and my fears were confirmed.

Firstly, there is a fair amount of vignetting which makes no sense as I purchased two new Sigma "digital" lens spec'd especially for the *istD.
Secondly the transition through a colour spectrum (ie the various blues of a sky line) is totally fractured, it very obviously jumps from one shade to the next with an extremely granular appearence
Finally, the edges look like they have been cut out by an 8-year old with blunt scissors.

I tried all the standard tricks on Photoshop but nothing worked. I think it's just the camera

As per George's suggestion I have installed the new operating system onto the camera so hopefully that will make a difference (will try it out this weekend)

As you can probably gather by my ranting I am pretty unhappy with the *istD and unless the new OS makes a significant difference I will be returning it on Monday. I'd like to think of myself as a fairly well educated photographer (which I imagine most people who go to the extent of buying a *istD are) but I am having no luck at all with this camera.

It is possible that I've just purchased a dud (as Chris by the Sea may have also done) but for the amount of money you have to spend on the damn thing I am very unimpressed with the quality control

Now, deep breath and relax

Sounds like a dud one to me
Out-the-box with standard settings it should produce lovely images.
Take it back and get it replaced. Quick.

Matt

Ewww, Guest, now that sounds like a dud of a camera even to me! I think probably my camera woes were of my own lack of experience. At least that's what I told my husband when he wanted to know why I would buy a new lens for my supposed broken camera. Good luck with your camera and please update us on what you decided. Chris (by the ocean, but the sea is a cool place too).

Purchased the 1st D with Sigma 18-50 and 55-200. Have found the 18-50 a little less than brilliant in the resolution department so I thought that I'd try a Pentax 18-35. TOTAL DISASTER with the DOF being incredibly shallow when wide open at 18mm. Took some large group shots the other day and they went totally out of focus on one side. Returned the lens yesterday. I note that the lens was made in Viet Nam, I wonder if they are still playing catch up in the quality control area. For the sake of some new Nikon purchasers I hope not. I am also test driving a Pentax 35-105 which seems ok.