Pentax KX

Im thinking of getting a KX and just wonderd if any members has one and what they thought regarding the camera. I have read some very positive reports but would like some feed back on anything you have found the camera to be good or bad.

Ian

Does anyone have any high ISO shots of birds taken with a K-x ?
or know of a link?

this might help, just tried the kx vs the canon 5d at iso 3200 and theres nothing in it.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

even at iso 6400 vs the canon 5d mark 2 i think the kx is better.

Phil,

In terms of the camera itself, you wouldn't go wrong.

Check this link

I'm one of a number of forum members with one - it's all good from my own perspective.

That's a cool site. Cheers. Shame the K10 and K20 aren't on it though.

they are click on all cameras at the top.

don't forget the rumour of the new K-r link

Thanks guys the only thing that bugs me is the lack of a focus point in the veiw finder cant understand them not providing this all else seems fine.
Ian

From what I've heard that was to make the camera smaller and I believe many beginners don't use it.
There is still the audio tone and the hexagon that lights up so instead of the red square lighting up you need to look in the viewfinder what's in focus or not.
But really do you use anything besides the middle one?
If you use the KX on a tripod you can use the Liveview and what that you do get the brackets and if you select the AF point yourself you see in the LCD window which point is selected.
it isn't perfect but not a disaster I think.

Just try it out

I know this bothers many.
I'm utterly convinced it is worrying for nothing...

you can set it to the center mark can you not?
I'm showing my age here, but I (usually manually) focus dead center, re-compose then shoot...... for most subjects..

and on auto for moving subjects like birds, it's in continuous shooting mode anyways, if it misses on one shot, it'll hit on the next and there's no time to manually re-select a focus point in between...

little red squares lighting up all over the screen is something I can live without... seriously..

Thanks for the links

There are many positive reviews about this camera on the net. I am not sure what anyone can add to the extensive coverage in the context of a thread on this forum.

Regarding the AF point overlay: this is a ridiculous omission that cannot be rationalised. Yes, I know how to use centre-point focusing, but this camera mandates you must use that method or lose all control over what you are doing. That is silly for a body that is supposed to satisfy beginners as well as more knowledgeable shooters.

The lack of two control dials makes the use of fully manual lenses more difficult, but a logical button layout and control flow helps a lot in this regard. (I am comparing here to the K20D I have extensive experience with.)

The IQ is excellent, but I heartily recommend installing the debug software so you can access the AF tuning menu. You can only adjust AF for one lens, so do this for the one you use the most. The difference is like night and day; now my FA43 is simply killer with the K-x, even when auto-focusing.

I am now experimenting with the video features. Being able to adjust aperture before shooting, and having complete interactive histogram etc. on screen when previewing is very handy.

The K-x is a great little camera that leaves me hankering for the K-7.

Two from yesterday. Click through for larger in Flickr.


[IMG]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4960364472_d8584f48e3.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4959768817_7e0371b316.jpg[/IMG]

Hope this helps.

Think I will put some batteries and a card in my pocket and go and try out the camera in Currys on Monday. Thanks for the help guys its nice to be able to call on the help of forum members like this much appreciated.
Regards Ian

Many people who buy an entry DSLR today are P&S shooters, I don't think for them it really matters if the AF brackets show up or not... I'm not one of them so I can only speculate.

If you want control over the AF you will use selective AF points and if you use that mode you can see on the LCD which AF point is selected, the only problem is that you need to take your eye from the viewfinder to see which AF you select but it does give you all the control you need.

The times I've used the KX I didn't found it a problem and I agree completely that the controls are logical.
I used the K10D myself and although the KX is very different, the basics is still the same so I could shoot with it almost instantly.

With something like 6,500 shots on my Kx in 6 months... I can safely say that the selectable AF points via the LCD is a complete chocolate teapot when it comes to usability. The only way you can (sensibly) focus on a specfic point is (a) hope the Auto-Matrix-Voodoo-System guesses correctly or (b) use the focus-and-recompose method.

Edit:
my (very long) "to-do" list includes investigating the focus, as I've seen blisteringly-sharp images, but not as many as I'd like...