K-5 manual moan

Perhaps, I found the 300 satisfactory for sailing. Don't know how the 60-250 compares.

Probably not good enough for people or objects coming towards you fast though.

I don't find the 18-135 any faster than the 16-50 or 50-135. In fact the short focus throw of the 16-50 probably makes it faster.

TBH not using shake reduction whilst mounted on a tripod (the camera , not the photographer - that could be quite uncomfortable) is general advise across the board - it's not just a pentax thing.

Did I read correctly - to switch SR off/on you have to go into a menu ??? there's no button like on my K200D ???

that sucks big time

Yes, I know. That doesn't change the fact that the amount of actual evidence for it being a problem on Pentax cameras is pretty much zero.

Correct.
The fact is, the camera turns SR off automatically in all remote and delayed modes. So unless you habitually use the camera on a tripod, by physically pushing the shutter release button, it's not an issue.

And if you do that, you'll get finger-induced shake whether you've got the SR on or not.

As I've said before, I've lost far more shots by forgetting to switch SR back on, than I ever did because the camera invented shake that wasn't really there.

ah right that's cool then. yes a lot of my shots (probably most actually) are tripod mounted but I either use self timer or remote release.

Thanks for the info

SR is also turned off in wireless flash mode, I've just discovered.

It's also true with the K10D, something I've not noticed in more than four years!

Why on earth would that be?

If you're using a long exposure, long enough to benefit from SR, and choosing to use some fill-in flash, why would it make any difference to the SR whether you used the flash wirelessly or not?

Seems a bit arbitrary to me

Re the Thread title. I think the manual is a refreshing change. Its all in one language. And compact. Suppose I should read it sometime

The K10D manual was all in one language too. About 50% bigger in length and width, and a shade more than half as thick. If you're happy to crack the spine and graunch it open, the K-5 manual is Ok, but I have a complete neurotic phobia doing that to books.

As manuals go, the K-5 one is fine for content. As PDF, searchable, and easily scrollable, it's much better than the printed version, although the latter is more convenient in the smallest room.

Well worth a read, too - there's all kinds of stuff in it you'd likely never come across.

If you think the K-5 manual is an awkward shape, you should have had the one for the GX10 (and thus, I assume, for the KD10) which was a bit bigger than A5 (IIRC) and almost as thick as the K-5 manual - an absolute nightmare to carry around with you as it did not easily fit a jacket pocket, or anything else, and so you rarely had it when you needed it!

At least the K-5 manual is small enough to fit easily into almost any pocket, so you can carry it around with you.

OTOH, I would agree that neither of the manuals is as helpful as it could be - that's why we need these forums!

The K10D manual is smaller than A5, and nowhere near as thick as the K-5 one.

My only experience of Samsung manuals is the one for the SEF-54PZF, which is the Pentax AF540-FGZ flash but with a Samsing badge. The manual was much shorter than the Pentax one, and left out a lot of useful information. I downloaded the Pentax one and it was a lot more helpful.

I don't think they're too bad for actual content. The indexes are Ok, and there are a lot of page cross-references when you're reading one topic and it needs to refer to another.

The reason, I think, that we end up feeling that they're not helpful enough, is simply a lack of patience. There's a huge amount of information to digest, and mostly we don't have the time or the inclination to digest it.

Where I think it could be improved is the removal of all the repeated, identical instructions ("Press the menu button X times. The camera is ready to take a picture."), which would reduce the bloat a bit and make it easier to see the wood for the trees.

Manuals are actually very hard to write.

Part of what I do includes writing software manuals, and it's not a trivial exercise to make them comprehensive, easy to read, approachable yet not patronising, and suitable for all ability levels.

"[quote="p70"]Do not use the Shake Reduction function when using the camera on a tripod[/quote]I hereby serve notice that I shall continue to ignore such nonsense "


Its not nonsense,
With camera on a tripod it becomes a rigid platform and the vibration of the sensor movement WILL be translated a blurred image.

Oh yes it is.

The sensor is only moved when accelerometers detect movement of the body.
If the the body does not move, ie on a tripod, there should be no reason for the sr to deploy. And even when the body is on a tripod it is still possible to have slight movements, so for me it is sr on all the time.

Davex.

I was wrong, unless your panning, or zooming on your tripods Chillax

With the manual, to be honest I never even gave it any thought until now - someone has too much time on their hands

With SR I go with the manufacturers recommendation, I'm guessing there is some reason they keep emphasising that it should be turned off - I leave it set as on by default and then just use the 2 second timer when taking photos on the tripod

Simon

I have the pdf manual for both the camera and flashgun loaded onto my laptop and also my kindle.

The theory is when I am on holiday I can explore all the features in the manual and then practise them on the camera. However I have two small children and the theory doesn't often work!

It is quicker to access the SR control from the 'info' screen than via the menus. I still miss the K10 style switch though.