Hetfy, Stefan. Thanks very much for this advice. I know why I like these forums so much - you can ask such basic questions and people actually help rather than scoff.


Thank you also George.
No, although I am now referred to as a "site veteran" I do not have much experience, I have not calibrated the focussing on my K20D and need guidance on the process please. I did some digging about the subject yesterday evening and via another pos, found a Nikon D70 focus chart with explanation of how to use it (setting camera at 45 degree angle, etc.). Is this how I should go about testing for focussing issues in the first instance?


I was aware of a rule-of-thumb for handheld shooting but not the actual numbers! I think I can go ahead and test for shake reduction faults today, before dealing with focus testing. I'll follow your advice George but also practice technique first otherwise all I'm testing is how much I can wave the camera about!

I can't help feeling that a lot of my shots are too soft, not "tack sharp" like I'm aiming for. I'm sure a lot of this is down to beginners technique but with tripod, remote control and now magnifying eyepiece there should be no excuse. So 2 questions:

1. Is there a good online guide for shooting sharp with the camera handheld?

2. With my tripod setup as described above what focal lengths and apertures should I shoot test shots for posting here? I have a good brick wall for the test shots but for example with my K20d plus DA*50-135, should I shoot at a range of focal lengths and apertures or would 2 shots at 50mm and 135mm, both f8 be sufficient to test? Does focus distance affect the results or will one distance (5 metres for example) be sufficient?

Finally, I always shoot raw so if anyone is kind enough to take a look at these shots, I can load then to my own web hosting space and link to them.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Lance. Out of interest, is there any particular reason you chose Noiseware over Neat Image or Noise Ninja?


Cassoulet au confit de canard!
But probably the wrong breed of duck so I guess Lance's ducks are safe!

Hi Mike

This looks dodgy to me. Can't say why, just a feeling.

But when I don't follow my gut instinct I'm usually proved wrong

OK, received the Pentax eyepiece yesterday from SRS and tried it out today. Definitely much easier for manual focussing and also more confidence with AF. The magnification may only be slight but it really makes a difference. The quality of tje rubber surround is a big step up from the standard eyepiece too.

I can't help thinking that Pentax are missing a trick by not supplying them as standard with their camera bodies. The reviews they would get would be awesome.

Still, definitely a great buy and the viewfinder vignetting is so easily dealt with that it's insignificant as a problem.

mind you some 3mp pixel point and shoots are better than todays models. I still have a Canon S30 from 6 years ago. Tv Av M modes ISO down to 80 and shoots Raw. I reckon a Ricoh GX200 must be the closed point and shoot today with the same featured. And the 3mp sensor means much less noise than todays 12mp models.

Mind you there's no comparison with the K20 and I know which one I'd give away if forced to.

Another good tip for Bridge: select multiple files then File>Open in Camera Raw and you can batch convert Raw files to other formats. Obviously settings are the same for all images bust very useful to create a load of low res jpegs for emailing.

Av almost exclusively at the moment - will be playing with custom settings and M a bit more in the coming months.

Bizarre, never had any SLR before - never even used one except a colleagues Canon 30D once. Yet I have gravitated to Av - must be in the Pentax DNA

I can't copy all your paragraph on my iPhone. I must have been lucky with the Seagates I purchased last year . Glad you didn't loose any data. RAID is not exciting but it's the best insurance for your images!

Seagate manufacture about 5 different ranges of Barracuda. I use the top of the range Barracida ES.2 and have always found them reliable. The others may of course be duff

You'll get on fine with WD or Samsung if Seagate is not for you.