All Forum Comments
Comment by davey posted on Pentax 50-135mm for concert at 23/10/2011 - 22:41
In addition to the above:
Could it be you've got HDR switched on? That would take more than one shot - not sure how many though.
Could it be you've got multi exposure switched on?
Is it possible you've got drive set to hi speed - that would give fast shooting while you've got the shutter pressed - although you would get several shots.
One thing that caught me out and made the camera slow to display and save an image, was that I'd inadvertently switched Lens correction on. This really did slow things down.
Cheers, davey.
Could it be you've got HDR switched on? That would take more than one shot - not sure how many though.
Could it be you've got multi exposure switched on?
Is it possible you've got drive set to hi speed - that would give fast shooting while you've got the shutter pressed - although you would get several shots.
One thing that caught me out and made the camera slow to display and save an image, was that I'd inadvertently switched Lens correction on. This really did slow things down.
Cheers, davey.
Comment by davey posted on problem with pentax k r at 01/09/2011 - 16:04
Hey Thoramay,
thanks for your feedback. Its interesting how we were both drawn to the same product. It does sound like our needs are similar.
When I shot the 2 day fest I was lucky enough to get a backstage pass for my van so I was parked about 1 minute (even at my pace) from the shooting pit in front of main stage. So, I really didn't need a back pack for camera gear. But the 'rig' was so comfy I just emptied the pack and used it to support the B-grip.
It might be worth dropping the people I bought my B-grip from an email to ask if they have a solution for you (there's a link to their site in my original post). They've been helpful to me and they might have some ideas.
Sorry there's that stretch of water between us. If you find yourself off island and want to meet and try the kit do let me know. Thanks for your offer of 'Island Guide'! Its been years since I've been on the IOW! Alas, as you say, its a little on the expensive side to cross the solent.
However you go, best of luck with your solution.
Cheers, davey.
thanks for your feedback. Its interesting how we were both drawn to the same product. It does sound like our needs are similar.
When I shot the 2 day fest I was lucky enough to get a backstage pass for my van so I was parked about 1 minute (even at my pace) from the shooting pit in front of main stage. So, I really didn't need a back pack for camera gear. But the 'rig' was so comfy I just emptied the pack and used it to support the B-grip.
It might be worth dropping the people I bought my B-grip from an email to ask if they have a solution for you (there's a link to their site in my original post). They've been helpful to me and they might have some ideas.
Sorry there's that stretch of water between us. If you find yourself off island and want to meet and try the kit do let me know. Thanks for your offer of 'Island Guide'! Its been years since I've been on the IOW! Alas, as you say, its a little on the expensive side to cross the solent.
However you go, best of luck with your solution.
Cheers, davey.
Comment by davey posted on B GRIP SYSTEM at 26/07/2011 - 21:30
Hiya,
I just bought B-grip a few weeks ago before shooting a 2 day festival, and I love it. The system available now is the updated Evo edition. I've got MS and a tremor so my co ordination is a bit rubbish, my fingers are a bit numb and my dexterity is poor - handling camera equipment can be pretty tricky. What I wanted was a comfortable secure way of carrying my camera and basic accessories to gigs whilst being able to get at it all with the minimum of fuss. Edit: I should point out I'm on crutches most of the time so I'm a bit 'short handed' so to speak! Another advantage for me is you can mount the camera face up for lens changes.
The basic kit comes with a belt but I wanted to mount it on my back pack strap, so I got the combo with the travel kit too - this is what I got:
link
The back pack I use is an M-rock one from the same website.
Mounting the camera on the B-grip belt was certainly more comfortable than on its neck strap, but I wanted to use it on the back pack. Either way, you don't get the camera swinging around as you walk like you do on a neck strap.
So, what I do is use the B-grip belt with a belt mounted lens pouch for my fave spare lens and a smaller belt mounted pouch for memory cards and a couple of batteries.
The B-grip itself goes on my back pack via its little travel kit adaptor. The back pack is the sort you can swivel around your front for quick access - I can still do that with the B-grip as it slides on the back pack strap (although I suspect that won't work on every type of pack). I also keep the neck strap on the camera as a double security but I keep it loose so there's no weight on my neck.
I've now used the B-grip for the 2 day festival and all day at another gig a couple of weeks ago. Its quick to get the camera off and its secure when its mounted. Most of all its much more comfortable than the neck strap and it doesn't slap me in the chest when I'm walking! The travel kit comes with a rain cover which easily fits my K-r with Sigma 50-150 and hood.
Everyone's needs are different but for me its perfect. With the camera on the B-grip and my spare lens, batteries and memory on the B-grip belt I've got everything I need to hand.
Thoramay, where are you based? I'm in Basingstoke, Hampshire. If you're nearby you're welcome to borrow my B-grip kit for a few days to try out.
Cheers, davey.
I just bought B-grip a few weeks ago before shooting a 2 day festival, and I love it. The system available now is the updated Evo edition. I've got MS and a tremor so my co ordination is a bit rubbish, my fingers are a bit numb and my dexterity is poor - handling camera equipment can be pretty tricky. What I wanted was a comfortable secure way of carrying my camera and basic accessories to gigs whilst being able to get at it all with the minimum of fuss. Edit: I should point out I'm on crutches most of the time so I'm a bit 'short handed' so to speak! Another advantage for me is you can mount the camera face up for lens changes.
The basic kit comes with a belt but I wanted to mount it on my back pack strap, so I got the combo with the travel kit too - this is what I got:
link
The back pack I use is an M-rock one from the same website.
Mounting the camera on the B-grip belt was certainly more comfortable than on its neck strap, but I wanted to use it on the back pack. Either way, you don't get the camera swinging around as you walk like you do on a neck strap.
So, what I do is use the B-grip belt with a belt mounted lens pouch for my fave spare lens and a smaller belt mounted pouch for memory cards and a couple of batteries.
The B-grip itself goes on my back pack via its little travel kit adaptor. The back pack is the sort you can swivel around your front for quick access - I can still do that with the B-grip as it slides on the back pack strap (although I suspect that won't work on every type of pack). I also keep the neck strap on the camera as a double security but I keep it loose so there's no weight on my neck.
I've now used the B-grip for the 2 day festival and all day at another gig a couple of weeks ago. Its quick to get the camera off and its secure when its mounted. Most of all its much more comfortable than the neck strap and it doesn't slap me in the chest when I'm walking! The travel kit comes with a rain cover which easily fits my K-r with Sigma 50-150 and hood.
Everyone's needs are different but for me its perfect. With the camera on the B-grip and my spare lens, batteries and memory on the B-grip belt I've got everything I need to hand.
Thoramay, where are you based? I'm in Basingstoke, Hampshire. If you're nearby you're welcome to borrow my B-grip kit for a few days to try out.
Cheers, davey.
Comment by davey posted on B GRIP SYSTEM at 26/07/2011 - 20:06
Yes - the battery monitor made be really nervous. I had 41 acts to photograph with 1 x stock battery, 1 x after market battery and 2 x sets of eneloops - and the camera was telling me the first set of eneloops were exhausted halfway through the second act!
I was relieved that it turned out to be a pessimistic battery monitor, and I was amazed at the life I got out of the batteries.
As a footnote, I recharged that set of eneloops last night. They were fully charged after taking 1500ma. When these batteries are truely empty they take twice that so I can only assume they were still far from empty.
Cheers, davey.
I was relieved that it turned out to be a pessimistic battery monitor, and I was amazed at the life I got out of the batteries.
As a footnote, I recharged that set of eneloops last night. They were fully charged after taking 1500ma. When these batteries are truely empty they take twice that so I can only assume they were still far from empty.
Cheers, davey.
Comment by davey posted on K-r Battery Life at 16/07/2011 - 19:47
Hi all,
I was shooting at a local festival with my trusty K-r last weekend and found the battery life to be beyond excellent - much better than I expected.
Day one, I used a set of black AA Eneloops. Was disappointed that within a couple of hundred shots the camera was saying they were exhausted - I carried on shooting with the battery gauge bouncing between full and empty before I swapped them out at around 1500 shots (even though they were still providing juice). Incidentally, I had the battery type in camera set to rechargables as I had read that this made the gauge more accurate. When I put the eneloops in to recharge the charger suggested they were 2 thirds exhausted so had a fair bit of juice left.
Day two I decided to try and see how much I could get out of them. I set the camera battery type to auto this time. So, recharged the same set of Eneloops for 2 hours and put them in. They lasted all day - 2843 shots in all and were still not empty. Shots were all Raw + jpg, fair amount of reviewing but no flash. Some use of live view too.
Pretty pleased by this result. Even the stock battery does well - at a gig recently I got 1500 shots out of one stock battery and it wasn't empty even then.
So, off to shoot at another festival on sunday - fingers crossed I get another full day of shooting without changing batteries!
Cheers, davey.
I was shooting at a local festival with my trusty K-r last weekend and found the battery life to be beyond excellent - much better than I expected.
Day one, I used a set of black AA Eneloops. Was disappointed that within a couple of hundred shots the camera was saying they were exhausted - I carried on shooting with the battery gauge bouncing between full and empty before I swapped them out at around 1500 shots (even though they were still providing juice). Incidentally, I had the battery type in camera set to rechargables as I had read that this made the gauge more accurate. When I put the eneloops in to recharge the charger suggested they were 2 thirds exhausted so had a fair bit of juice left.
Day two I decided to try and see how much I could get out of them. I set the camera battery type to auto this time. So, recharged the same set of Eneloops for 2 hours and put them in. They lasted all day - 2843 shots in all and were still not empty. Shots were all Raw + jpg, fair amount of reviewing but no flash. Some use of live view too.
Pretty pleased by this result. Even the stock battery does well - at a gig recently I got 1500 shots out of one stock battery and it wasn't empty even then.
So, off to shoot at another festival on sunday - fingers crossed I get another full day of shooting without changing batteries!
Cheers, davey.
Comment by davey posted on K-r Battery Life at 15/07/2011 - 20:25
Yes - there is an AF fine tune facility in the K-r. Its global to all lenses and doesn't seem to give quite enough adjustment (not for me anyway).
I'm looking forward to trying live view and its contrast autofocus - logic suggests it should be absolutely accurate. My fave lens isn't compatible with the K-r's contrast af so it's gone off to Sigma for a firmware upgrade - should be back in a day or too!
Cheers, davey.
I'm looking forward to trying live view and its contrast autofocus - logic suggests it should be absolutely accurate. My fave lens isn't compatible with the K-r's contrast af so it's gone off to Sigma for a firmware upgrade - should be back in a day or too!
Cheers, davey.
Comment by davey posted on Who else are waiting for a firmware update for K-r to fix the FF problem at 24/03/2011 - 18:13
Hiya,
I too have an issue with forward focussing on my K-r under tungsten light. Nearly all my photographs are taken under stage lighting with a fast lens pretty wide open so it was immediately obvious I had a problem.
My camera focusses beautifully in daylight.
I have carried out a selection of tweaks and tested before and after each. No single adjustment has fixed the issue but between them they've helped.
Firstly, the firmware update for the K-r issued earlier this year helped a bit (I tested with like for like exposures before and immediately after the firmware update). Switching white balance manually to tungsten also improves matters somewhat, and using the autofocus fine tune set all the way backwards also helps. Of course all except the firmware has to be reset if shooting in daylight!
The sum total of these tweaks is that my camera almost hits the spot focus wise. I make use of the superb low light performance and close up the aperture a little more than I'm used to, and I also autofocus to a point a little way backwards (eg if taking a low shot of a singer I'll focus at his forehead rather than his eyes) and it all seems to work out alright.
Cheers, davey.
I too have an issue with forward focussing on my K-r under tungsten light. Nearly all my photographs are taken under stage lighting with a fast lens pretty wide open so it was immediately obvious I had a problem.
My camera focusses beautifully in daylight.
I have carried out a selection of tweaks and tested before and after each. No single adjustment has fixed the issue but between them they've helped.
Firstly, the firmware update for the K-r issued earlier this year helped a bit (I tested with like for like exposures before and immediately after the firmware update). Switching white balance manually to tungsten also improves matters somewhat, and using the autofocus fine tune set all the way backwards also helps. Of course all except the firmware has to be reset if shooting in daylight!
The sum total of these tweaks is that my camera almost hits the spot focus wise. I make use of the superb low light performance and close up the aperture a little more than I'm used to, and I also autofocus to a point a little way backwards (eg if taking a low shot of a singer I'll focus at his forehead rather than his eyes) and it all seems to work out alright.
Cheers, davey.
Comment by davey posted on Who else are waiting for a firmware update for K-r to fix the FF problem at 21/03/2011 - 19:55
HIya,
I have the older version of the M-Rock 'Olympic' for my GX10 - I particularly like being able to swing it around in front of me and open a little side hatch to pull the camera out quick without removing or opening the backpack. Quality is similar to my Lowepro bag.
Its near the bottom of this page (their discounted clearance section):
link
The newer versions are here (under backpacks and slings):
link
Cheers, davey
I have the older version of the M-Rock 'Olympic' for my GX10 - I particularly like being able to swing it around in front of me and open a little side hatch to pull the camera out quick without removing or opening the backpack. Quality is similar to my Lowepro bag.
Its near the bottom of this page (their discounted clearance section):
link
The newer versions are here (under backpacks and slings):
link
Cheers, davey
Comment by davey posted on Backpack for K20D at 15/02/2011 - 15:02
I shoot lots of concerts - mainly from pit or side stage. I badly wanted the 50-150 and actually went to the shop, cash in hand, to buy one. I tried both of the shops examples on my camera (at the time I was using a GX10, but I've since upgraded to a K-r). Neither could get close to a decent autofocus - they were both out by enough to make them unusable. This was probably bad luck as I have heard enough reports to know its an excellent lens.
Instead, I chose to buy a Sigma 50-150 2.8 APO HSM. A bit less money, apparently similar optical performance and speed, and the example I bought focusses well on both my old GX10 and the new K-r. I think this lens is now discontinued but if there's a replacement to it then its probably worth trying as well as the Pentax.
Cheers, davey.