bluenose82 wrote:
Firstly great choice with Pentax!
This isn't so straight forward, i originially had a kx before upgrading to a K5, but have also used the kr.
The kx is an awesome camera, even though the kr has a higher ISO setting, the kx has less noise at an equivalent ISO.

However, i will make your choice easy (maybe)...the kx does not show which point is in focus, whereas the kr flashes a red point within the viewfinder on the point in focus, this really helps!

Kit lenses are great too, depending on the current bundles available, it generally only costs a couple of quid more to get the kit lenses included, and as said before these can be sold on ebay to cover some of the costs when you are ready to upgrade.

I take a lot of architectural snaps, wide angle is ideal, but i would suggest a telephoto if you want to snap detail too.

Let us know whay camera you choose!

M.

wvbarnes wrote:
Well I for example wanted to try macro.

I bought an old 35 - 80 kit zoom from a film SLR (£20 from Rocky Cameras), added cheap manual extension tubes (£7.99)and meter using the green button with of course manual focus. Works a treat.

I of course now want a posh macro lens!

davidstorm wrote:
Darren there are loads of old lenses out there, some are fantastic quality and very cheap! If you don't mind manual focus I would recommend the following:

- Any of the M42 mount Takumars (adaptors needed, but these are cheap and I keep one permanently on each lens, making them as convenient as a K-mount lens), I particularly like the 135mm F3.5 and the pre-set Tele-Takumar 200mm F5.6, both have fabulous image quality
- Pentax-M or Pentax-A 28mm F3.5 (reputedly better optically than the F2.8 version)
- Also Chinon 50mm F1.7 or F1.9 - my F1.9 is probably my favourite lens for image quality - it is ultra-sharp and has lovely colour rendition

I have bought all of the above in mint condition for £28 or less, except the Chinon which was a kit lens with a previous film SLR.

Hope this gives you a starter.

Regards
David

wvbarnes wrote:
Welcome Adrian,

The KR seems very happy with old lenses. Enjoy!

davidstorm wrote:
Darren, good to see you are learning more already - it's just a matter of using your camera as much as possible and getting to know it inside out. DSLR's are complicated beasts by their very nature and this is why most people don't use them and stick to ccompacts. if you're serious about taking pictures that require some skill and judgement, the results you will get will be far better than any compact can deliver. Keep at it - it won't take long for you to master it.

Regards
David

wvbarnes wrote:
Manual with Live view will give you an exposure bar at the bottom of the lCD preview screen. Adjust with thumb jog dial.

A plus or minus numerical read flashing bottom right is displayed when using optical viewfinder (at first shutter release pressure) which you can adjust using the thumb dial. Very useful when using old manual lenses or manual extension tubes.

The KR is a very clever camera, do persevere.

EricR wrote:
But it's really a quick fix of course to correct the exposure that much. Some EV compensation is no problem but going from an almost dark picture to a properly exposed picture leaves out much of levels the highlights you could have captured.

Checking the exposure while you're taking the picture or taking a test picture and check the histogram would work out better because you can compensate (EV+ or -) on the spot.

duncanM wrote:
Darren- just for interest, your other duck photo, automatically enhanced in Paintshop. Pro[IMG]http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a418/duncan7777/posted-for-exposure-advice_1325168626.jpg[/IMG]