Image quality with K200D

Having just purchased a new K200D, I am more than a little disappointed with the image quality.
It is no where near as good as that achieved with my Samsung GX1S. In both cases I'm using a Sigma 70 - 300mm 1:4-5.6 DG lens. I am getting almost a double edge on most of the shots (almost a ghost image).
I was expecting far greater clarity especially since the Sigma is only 6 mega pixels.
I should perhaps say that I have done comparative shots with the cameras mounted on monopods and with the shake reduction system turned on on the Pentax.
Any suggestion would be most welcome.

On monopod and Tripod shake reduction should be OFF, if shake or movement is felt when useing these items the camera will try to correct the shake all of the time, therefore blurred photos.
Please post a photo if you can.

IIRC the GX1S is the same as the Pentax *istDS. If that is the case, your K200D should be producing superior images as it has a 10Mp sensor compared to the 6.1Mp sensor of the Samsung.

So, there is either something wrong with the camera, or something wrong with your set-up of the K200D.

It would help us to try and identify the problem if you could post some images for us to see. Perhaps the same scene taken with the two bodies (same lens) would be good. Then we can look at the settings.

Also, could you update your profile and enter your location. We don't need a full street address, just a rough idea of where you are in the world will be fine.

I was always under the impression that it should be switched on when using a monopod due to the fact you will still get some operator movement when using one.

If the K200D and alike can sense that the camera is on a monopod then yes leave it on, some Cameras and VR/Is lenses can't tell therefore tries to adjust it's self while the photo is taken, 9 out of 10, blurred shots.

Do you have any evidence to suggest that the K200D is any different from the K10D in this respect?

I have in the past found that on a tripod if shake reduction is on and there is movement of the tripod that it is possible when the shutter is fired that the shot will be blurred,( Stabilization not finished before shutter fires). I was only offering a possible cause.

Well, of course this has nothing to do with the camera being on a tripod or monopod.

As I've shown, SR does not cause shake in the picture when the camera is on a tripod, and as Matt's shown, unstabilised SR can cause blurred pictures even handheld.

And, of course, in any of the delayed or remote modes, the camera turns SR off regardless of the position of the switch.

It's really time the misinformation concerning SR and tripods drew to a close.

But I would agree that the OP should post one or more of the offending images, and more detail of his precise setup.

Jack, it would be sensible to compare the cameras with the K200D's SR turned off to eliminate the POSSIBILITY of increased shake caused by SR, even if certain photographers have failed to find evidence of it happening.

Chris, if you are convinced it is misinformation, you should convince Pentax to stop advising its users to turn SR off when using a tripod. Meanwhile, you can't blame people for following Pentax's instructions rather than yours.

I think that it might be time to put this one to bed
After owning many Pentax cameras for many (too many) years (and still owning five), it's the first camera that I've had with SR and I have still to get to grips with it properly.
As you may be aware, my main interest is in wildlife photography and the problems arose whilst trying to film kingfishers. You may be aware that these birds are somewhat hyperactive and so quite often you have to "shoot from the hip" as it were.
Unfortunately, I deleted the duff images from the camera soon after they were taken but I have done a series of tests since and I am begining to come to the conclusion (whether erroneous or not) that I may have been firing the shutter before the SR had settled.
I guess it's just the operator that's a bit too old and knackered
Many thanks to all for your very helpful contributions. I am very grateful.
Jack

Completely accept this.

Completely accept this, too.


What I do not accept is the way speculation, assumption and hearsay have completely replaced any semblance of sense when it comes to the reason for the warnings in the manuals, which Pentax do not specify.

I've scoured this and the US pentax forum quite carefully on this subject, and there is lots in the way of unsupported claims, anecdote, speculation, and pseudo-logic, but not even one single instance of actual evidence for the common assertion that SR causes shake when the camera is still.

I'm always open to new information, including someone's careful, repeatable experiment that proves me completely wrong - that's the nature of the scientific method.

I have no axe to grind other than my personal preference for facts and evidence, rather than unsupported hearsay.

One thing is for sure, there is no harm in turning off SR if the camera is firmly tripod mounted. As those are the instructions, that's what I do in the absence of any down-side to the procedure!

As mentioned elsewhere, there is always the possibility that good though SR clearly is for hand held use, it may be that for the ultimate sharpness when tripod mounted a stationary, fixed CCD gives a potentially better result.

AS for testing that, as our perception of quality can be variable, then we should really all test for ourselves.

Completely agree with John, here.

There certainly isn't.

Not only that, but it is undeniably the case, as you say, that:
When you release the shutter with your finger, even carefully, there is a level of shake in the final picture which is small but clear - which SR, in my studies, made no difference to (ie, it made it neither worse nor better).

It's only when you use a remote or delayed mode that complete elimination of shake is possible.

And then, assuming the manual is telling the truth, SR is automatically switched off.

So if you want ultimate sharpness, you need the delay or the remote, and SR will be off whether you want it or not.