pentax k10 shooting modes

Hi i just wondered if anyone could tell me the best shooting modes i.e. TAv Sv etc.
when shooting in peoples living rooms or other areas where the light is a bit lower .I usually have to take a test shot which is usually under exposed then adjust the shutter speed accordingly. I am probably making myself sound a bit dumb but never mind . I have just moved over from canon a couple of months ago which is a total different ball game .the pentax k10 makes you work for a living which is a good thing.
At the moment i seem to have settled on the TAv mode and set the iso range between 100 - 320 which gives you about 4 or 5 stops for your shutter speed within the range which seems to be exposing properly about 8 times out of 10 .I could very easily leave it on green or P mode but i much prefer to use manual settings.I also wondered about metering in these situations which mode to use i.e. spot / centre weighted or multi segment. I know spot metering is ideal for people but the other 2 modes would give be better for the overall scene .thanks for any replies..

You may have to do that with whatever shooting mode you choose. It's never a bad thing to take a test shot, as long as you have time to do so.


TAv is useful in low light, as it means you can easily make sure that crucial shutter speed isn't too slow for a handheld shot (or to freeze a moving subject), yet you have the creative freedom of choosing your own aperture as well.

Av is also good for most things, and you have the choice of manual or auto ISO with it.

I'd say it comes down to personal preference as to which of these two modes is best for your needs. You could even try M mode as well.

Use Spot or Centre-Weighted metering - whichever you are most comfortable with.


Not at all. It's not an easy question as there is no one straight answer to it. The K10D provides so many ways to crack the egg!

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~Pete

hi pete i use the Av mode when i shoot landscapes' as you say the k10 has so many ways to shoot i used to have a canon 400d but its poor next to the k10 one particular thing i like about the k10 is the white balance when you select D N W section and use the grid to choose a suitable white balance this can dramatically improve your images and also opens up so many other options please feel free to check out some of my results at sanderscapes.com thanks for your reply.

Sandie, I've just deleted one paragraph from my reply above because I at first misunderstood what you meant about the ISO range (100-320). Sorry about any initial confusion.

You're probably doing fine already!

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~Pete

Reagarding white balance, you may also like to set it manually by taking a shot of a white sheet of paper (if you don't have a proper grey card).

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~Pete

Hi, just looked at your site, some very good work there!

Hope you don't mind, but I have one major criticism, and that is the very large gap / black border down the left hand side. Looks like it is a simple mistake, but it is very distracting!

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regarding your comment about the white piece of paper would this be a good idea to check for dust on the sensor .I used to do this with the canon then view the piece of paper enlarged on a pc and the dust particles would show quite easily not that i have had any dust problems but the canon was a bit prone to this thanks for your reply..

thanks unlocker i will check this out thanks for your reply..

Yes, you could do that as well. For that I would use ISO 100 (or similar), Av mode at F22, EV +1 (or similar), MF with lens out-of-focus. Long exposure doesn't matter; you can move the camera during exposure while pointing at the paper.

Manual white balance is a different matter. See the instruction manual for how to do that.

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~Pete