Pentax KX

Flossie would you like to explain the chocolate teapot a bit more please
I only have make 200 shots at most with the KX but I've used the selectable AF successfully with portraits to focus on the eyes and for that at least the LCD indication was fine.
Just wondering if the chocolate teapot comes over time with use or that it's just a difference in the user.

This is a contradiction. If I have to take my eye from the viewfinder then it is not giving me all the control I need. Focus points can change in one-hundredth of a second. Am I supposed to look at the rear LCD and get my eye back for a shot in that time?!

Not only that, but if you have the camera doing its best guess of AF points, something beginners do 99% of the time, the K-x will not illustrate what it is doing... unlike every other DSLR I have ever used.

The K-x is a great camera for the money, but this is its Achille's Heel. If it does not bother you, count yourself lucky!

or you could have 70++ little red squares lighting your viewfinder up like it was the fourth of july fireworks, and you still won't have time to change anything if the camera grabs the wrong one...
even my k10's are set to spot on the center one...
you pre-focus and wait for he subject before snapping the shutter, or focus lock and re-compose, or you put it on auto and machine gun it...
all the blinking lights do is distract you...

rparmar it isn't a contradiction, was talking about manually selecting a focus point in the last part you quoted.

P&S shooters will most likely use the Auto AF point selector and indeed it's guessing sometimes what's in focus or not and the KX won't indicate on the back what focus point are in focus than. So if you want to look at the LCD than it won't help you.

When you manually select a focus it's mostly the case the camera is on a tripod or that you won't change it that often, at least for me. With the K10D for example you've the red focus things in the viewfinder and even then I hardly change the AF point, it's faster to recompose.
Therefore if I select an AF point I do it for a specific purpose and it will be on that point through the shoot. For portrait I use the AF point that's to the right so that if I turn the camera in portrait orientation the AF point is closer to the eyes so I get less errors when I recompose.

We all have different shooting styles though so it can be a problem for you but for me at least it wasn't a problem and I try to explain why it wasn't for me.

A chocolate teapot or chocolate fireguard is an item that is of absolutely no use. Obviously it would just melt

Thank you Algi, I was know with that term though
I was hoping to get to know why it is a chocolate teapot.

The blinking lights actually tell you what the camera is doing so you don't work blind. It's called visual feedback and it's rather important in UI design. Which is why every other DLSR on the planet has this feature and every review of note has marked the K-x down for it.

It is completely irrelevant if there are workarounds or if it doesn't fit your personal working methods. It is a limitation pure and simple.

You might want to learn a few things about the K-x before spouting nonsense. This camera does not have 70 focus points.

You guys really are trying way too hard to rationalise this defect. Isn't it time to move on?

Pro: Con:

* Small body
* Good heft with batteries installed
* Very good grip
* Live view mode with 3 autofocus options
* Faster maximum shutter speed than most at this price range (1/6,000)
* Fastest frame rate in its class, at 4.3 to 4.6 fps
* HD (720p) movie mode
* Excellent compatibility with older lenses
* Built-in image stabilization
* Good incandescent Auto white balance with Strong option
* Selectable distortion and chromatic aberration correction
* Excellent high ISO noise performance
* ISOs up to 12,800
* Flexible NR options: four noise reduction levels plus start ISO
* D-Range settings work well
* High Dynamic Range mode a cool feature (but didn't work well with our standard test shots)
* Wireless flash support
* Catch-in focus mode
* Faster than average AF for a consumer SLR
* 11-area AF system with 9 cross-type points
* Lots of features for an entry-level model
* PEF and DNG RAW files
* Very good dynamic range from RAW files
* In-camera processing of RAW files
* Digital filters
* Excellent print quality, making good 16x20-inch prints even at ISO 800!
* Aggressive pricing



* No AF points in viewfinder
* Image stabilization is only On or Off; doesn't have panning mode
* Image stabilization indicator in viewfinder does not show amount of I.S. applied
* May introduce image-doubling at around 1/100 second, but we didn't conclusively confirm this issue
* Default contrast, sharpening and saturation a bit high, but can be adjusted
* Contrast adjustment impacts saturation
* Moiré interference patterns in some shots
* Flash has GN of about 11m at ISO 100, lower than most SLRs
* Mode dial turns too easily
* Below average low-light focusing for an SLR
* Auto exposure struggles in low-light
* AF assist needs flash to be active
* Below average battery life with NiMH rechargeable batteries (very good with Lithium disposables, though)
* No HDMI output

puma, good summary!

On the cons, I will make a few comments.

True of all Pentax SR, but at least you get SR in the body, as you pointed out.

This would be hard enough to get. In any event a weak anti-aliasing filter counts as a plus in my books.

But built-in flash is a crutch anyway.

Yes, indeed, this drives me nuts.

A) I was being sarcastic when I said 70++ although I think there's a canon that does...
which brings me to my second point...
B) I know enough about cameras to make a good decision BEFORE I buy. Unlike some that spend foolishly then complain for ever that they didn't get what they wanted..
For crying out loud, there were k200's, k20's and k7's all still available when the kx got released, so why cry about what the kx ain't got?

Re the lack of focus indicators, I presume it still has the green hexagon...

been mentioned... it does.
I view the af indicators in the viewfinder as an omission of a luxury, not a defect.

Yes it has got the green hexagon.

No you can't see it, because its too dim.

I didn't realise the mode dial was unusually easy to turn by accident, I thought that was just me. I look forward to my next DSLR staying put! (I note that the 645 has a lock on its wheel...!). Maybe if they ditched those stupid preset modes nobody uses...

Regarding focus points - if you have to look away from the viewfinder, its too late. Anvh suggests presetting to a fixed position for portraits - um, so how do you know if that position is on the persons eye or their ear, or worse still, the wall behind them - all you know is its (e.g.) "somewhere in the top left corner, sortof"... you need an indicator in the viewfinder. As I was a complete beginner when I bought the Kx, I wasn't aware as to why I might want focus points in the viewfinder - but when I borrowed a friends D90, it was a complete revelation!

Interesting points.

I teach a lot of beginners photography and it's surprising how many people have expensive kit that never comes off those settings. Never assume anything, those preset modes might just be the buying point that clinches it for a lot more people than get involved in web forums and camera clubs.

Focus points - never use them. Centre point only, which you can see whether there's a little red dot glowing or not. Focus on main area required, half press on shutter release, recompose and fire. Simple enough.

Obviously there are a couple of other refinements to this. As well as the red dot, we can actually see with our own eyes the point of focus snap into sharpness. If it's not quite right, then Pentax lenses with Quick Shift are a real advantage, making a final tweak possible.

Other exceptions to this technique are some moving subjects and some subjects that are not suitable for AF. One still subject not suitable for AF might be some macro work (use manual focus) and where we want to pre-focus on a spot on, say, a race track. Again, manual focus.

The thing that stops me buying K-x cameras (and the colours might be an eye-catcher shooting a wedding) are the AA batteries. Much quicker in the field to change a Li-Ion battery pack.

I agree about the batteries. I was disappointed when I switched from K100 to K200 and could no longer use CRV3's. I wonder why they don't use a battery carrier that you could preload then switch.