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Setting up K5

Ukwoody
Posted 07/12/2011 - 19:00 Link
Hi all,

I'm sure I read a post on here somewhere that was all about how to set up the K5? (I presume for optimum performance/or for begginers?).

Can some one point me in the right direction please.

Many thanks

woody
SteveEveritt
Posted 07/12/2011 - 20:00 Link
Sorry to have to say this but...
Read the manual.....
The only way to do it is pick up the manual and go through it page by page altering the settings as you go along and seeing for yourself the differences the changes make.

The 1st tip I would give is always shoot in RAW and set your camera to DNG raw not PEF raw. DNG is recognised the world over as it is the Adobe standard.

The 2nd is shoot, shoot and shoot take pictures of anything and everything
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"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" (John Lennon)
judderman62
Posted 07/12/2011 - 21:20 Link
I downloaded the pdf of the manual and prefer using that.

Thing is everyone will have their own prefs - so no one can really tell you how to set it up. I would suspect the default settings would be fine till you find your feet.

Oh and I'd concur with the advise given by Mr. Everitt
- -
Mike

Pentax K5 / Pentax K5 11/ Pentax K200D / Canon Rebel T1 i / Canon 650D / Pentax MX-1 / Fuji XF1 /Fuji X 10 / Canon EOS-M / Canon G10/ Pentax Mz-7 x 2
smudge
Posted 07/12/2011 - 21:48 Link
Maybe this is what you had in mind - see the recommended settings section
http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-k5/walkthrough.html#recommended
Regards, Philip
ChrisA
Posted 07/12/2011 - 23:32 Link
SteveEveritt wrote:

Read the manual.....
The only way to do it is pick up the manual and go through it page by page altering the settings as you go along and seeing for yourself the differences the changes make.

Well said, sir.

If you just select a bunch of settings 'recommended' by someone, there's no learning whatsoever. And who's to say they're right?

RTM, learn what the settings do, experiment and make your own choices.

Now you've got a K-5, there's no point treating it like a Point-and-shoot, with settings mostly chosen by someone else.
.
Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
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amoringello
Posted 07/12/2011 - 23:35 Link
One might also argue that the default settings are configured that way for a reason.
The defaults are not be a bad place to start.

Once you get a feel for how things work you may have a better understanding what effect your changes may have. Otherwise, as stated, who says the "recommendations" are right for you?
Iuvenis
Posted 08/12/2011 - 09:51 Link
As a recent purchaser of the K5, I respectfully suggest some of these posts are not that helpful. Like the OP, I could really have done with a walkthrough of recommended settings, as I hadn't used a DSLR before.

The trouble with the manual is that it's got everything in it, so it's hard to work out what the important things are, and what the unimportant things are. It's more a reference point for specific queries in my view.

Clearly, nothing beats personal experience. However, you can learn to some extent from others. This is what makes something like Smudge's link so helpful; I wish I'd seen that before.

My first tip is, once you've gone through that link, and have done a bit of shooting is that you decide what controls you need regularly. Then start using the customisable dials and buttons to make sure the controls you need are easily at hand. It really makes the K5 a dream to handle.

My second tip is to turn on highlight protection. It underexposes pictures then increases the exposure in camera, ensuring highlights are not clipped. In JPEG it really helps stop loss of highlight data. Even if shooting in RAW, it saves work spent on PP. The downside would be extra shadow noise, and that's non-issue on the K5 in most situations.
fatspider
Posted 08/12/2011 - 10:18 Link
Use the camera with its default settings and become familiar with its basic operation, then try to understand and experiment with the various settings one at a time, if you don't understand what a setting is for then do ask here and someone will help. Reading the manual is a good idea, but don't try and understand everything at once or you'll end up with a fuzzy head

As Chris has said, applying someone else's settings may not be right for you or your camera, exposure compensation settings are a good example.
My Names Alan, and I'm a lensaholic.
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ChrisA
Posted 08/12/2011 - 17:21 Link
Iuvenis wrote:
Clearly, nothing beats personal experience. However, you can learn to some extent from others. This is what makes something like Smudge's link so helpful; I wish I'd seen that before.

I had a look through those 'recommended' settings, and I disagree with a lot of them. I'm not saying my opinion is any more 'right' than anyone else's, but the point is that what people find is right for them varies from person to person.

The first thing I do with a new camera, for instance, is turn all the damn beeping off. But that's a preference, nothing more.

Personally, I just don't 'get' the notion that anyone would buy an expensive camera, and not be interested in digging through every single menu item, finding out what it all does. There's a lot of pleasure in the discovery, IMO.
.
Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
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Edited by ChrisA: 08/12/2011 - 17:21
Mike-P
Posted 08/12/2011 - 17:26 Link
I reversed almost every default setting on the camera.

Never put them back.

The only thing I left on is that damn bleeping.
ChrisA
Posted 08/12/2011 - 17:30 Link
Mike-P wrote:
I reversed almost every default setting on the camera.

Never put them back.

The only thing I left on is that damn bleeping.

.... says the man that's planning to take the battery out during a firmware update...
.
Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
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fatspider
Posted 08/12/2011 - 22:53 Link
Quote:
reversed almost every default setting on the camera.

Never put them back.

Well you really should study the manual and learn how to do it Mike
My Names Alan, and I'm a lensaholic.
My PPG link
My Flckr link
Ukwoody
Posted 11/12/2011 - 20:34 Link
smudge wrote:
Maybe this is what you had in mind - see the recommended settings section
http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-k5/walkthrough.html#recommended

Thank you. Yes that was the article I was looking for.

I know none of you were trying to be negative, but it does need to be remembered that some of us are totally new to dslrs and Pentax in particular and whilst I do appreciate what many of you are saying about trying out the settings, that is exactly what I have been doing. But, the K5 is such a massive leap up for me from my Bridge camera that I think such an article is a great idea for people such as myself. It(the k5) has such potential buried away within it, and it is so complex that it becomes daunting especially when hunting through the menu system.

Thanks all
Woody
tigershoot
Posted 12/12/2011 - 22:54 Link
There really should be one of those 'Quick-Start' flyers in there. It's no good assuming that a K-5 owner would know straight off what to do.
K3iii, K3ii, K-5, K-x, DA150-450mm, DA16-85WR, DA16-45, DA18-55WR, DA18-135WR, DA35 F2.4, M100mm F4 Macro, DA55-300mm, FA50mm 1.4, AF360 Flash, AF540 Flash
mudge
Posted 13/12/2011 - 00:19 Link
I agree! I've been around photography for many years, but I found the amount of detail in the K-5 manual overwhelming!
Even simple things like the whether to set the anti-shake setting on or off is confusing! If there's such a facility available, why should you ever have it turned off? Why not just have it provided as standard?
I find it difficult to set some of the options because I'm not certain what they are are what they do!
I'm sure some enterprising expert out there could produce a "Pentax E-5 For Dummies" book. Don't forget my 10% commission!!!!
Edited by mudge: 13/12/2011 - 00:20

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