I hear what you are saying but not convinced about that.

Put on am extreme wide angle, say a Sigma 10mm, frame the subject as before and even the house across the road will be within the depth of field, even with the lens at a wide aperture.

Take that same photo with a small sensor camera (a typical compact or phone with camera,) the shorter focal length will hardly allow you to show any depth of field at all.

Go the other way and use a longer telephoto and it might not then be possible to get sufficient DOF to encompass the whole subject.

John

When highlight correction turned on on the K-5 the lowest ISO available becomes 160. So if I can use that I do.

To get the "absolute lowest setting you can get away with without risk of shake" the TAv setting is pretty handy but one has to watch it doesn't need to go down below the lowest setting available and overexpose.

John

Thanks John. Well we might not have tried that one but have tried similar experiences, eg liveview on the K-5 for instance and other compacts so we know of the problem first hand.

If the general consensus of users say its no issue at all with the Q and framing pictures is a doddle - the screen is easily visible whatever the conditions then it might encourage me to take a peek. If I had a dealer near me who stocked one I may even do that in any event, unfortunately I haven't so can only rely on what others report. It's too expensive still to take a gamble on being able to use it or not if I purchased one untried!

John

I doubt whether there is one answer to this as it depends on the type of travelling. Heavy equipment being transported in the hold of an aircraft should (I reckon) be packed in hard cases. But I wouldn't like to take those hard cases on a long hike in the mountains with the rest of my gear.

If it's to go on the motorbike I would think a bag kept inside a hard case for protection and security. Then whip out the bag when you get to your destination.

Perhaps a bit more info on the type of travelling envisaged and what equipment to transport might elicit a more constructive response however!

John

If space is the problem, then using a wider angle lens would help solve many of the issues you're finding. Try and use the tripod, it will help no end as you can stop the aperture down and use a longer exposure to get the depth of field you need.

You're nearly there.

John

The Q clearly is a great camera, but is it any more useful than the hundreds of basic compact cameras available many of which are also pretty good too, albeit (for me) also lacking a viewfinder? Then is it as good as the compacts that are adorned with a viewfinder, whether top of the range ones costing hundreds of pounds with an APS-C sensor or even the truly cheap ones around the £50 mark?

To me I suspect the £50 one with a viewfinder is more useable than the Q, even if the picture quality is not so good. Having said that I've not tried a Q, let alone used one in the bright sun so am I doing it an injustice - is it a jewel amongst thorns?

If it did have a viewfinder then they'd be no contest.

John

Internet, local bookshop, magazine, under the bed!? Clue required or better still a link if on the WWW.
Thanks and cheers,
John

Could try this:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm

Plus a trip to the local library and see what's available there.

John

Just to tie up your two threads, it seems you have doubts about the lens. It could be a rogue one, try and get it exchanged. The statutory distance selling regulations allow a cancellation period of 7 working days in which to withdraw from the contract. The lens doesn't have to be faulty for this to be effected but you believe it is. So get on to your supplier and advise them of your issue with this lens and see what they say

John

Advice on that here: link

You can get the basic exposure details of each shot from the camera - helpful if you could show this at the very least as if for instance the 18-135 lens was wide open and the 50-200 was stopped down, that would affect sharpness. Or maybe it was camera shake / lack of familiarity with the new camera.
Also the K-5 has a much higher resolution sensor - that can makes images on the camera LCD look worse at high magnification. Have you uploaded and looked on your PC?

There's so many possibilities but without seeing the images it's purely guess work.

If you purchased locally, can you pop back to the shop and try another lens?

John