Hello Giofi

Mostly I'm using the 50-300 mm DAL. When the light really drops I have the 50-135. So far I've not been to any floodlit games since I got my Kx. The high ISO performance of that little baby is just amazing,

Whether even the Kx and a 2.8 lens would cope with Peter's Billericay challenge is a good call, I suspect that at iso 6400 and 2.8 to 4 some reasonable results could be expected. Doesn't motion blur add to the artistic appeal anyway?

It would be interesting to hear from other sports photographers. There must be guys who use some of the super old manual or semi auto lenses.

Geoff

Hi Guys

Over the months I've had some great pointers form folk on here.

I now use both a KX and my older K10 for shooting action pictures at various amateur football games.

The K10 is normally used in TAv mode and centre point focussing.

I tried this with the KX and found a greater number of our of focus shots.

With the KX the technique for me is to set the auto ISO range in the 200-1600 bracket, use the camera with its sports setting and to adopt the 11 point AF. I'm finding this way I get more "keepers" than on the K10.

The KX is doing an amazing job and seemingly very responsively. Maybe I'll have to rethink this lazy approach when the light drops again in the winter but meanhwile its great to just take/frame the pictures you want and leave the camera to the calculations.

The one short cut I have set up on the KX is to dedicate the green button to allow manual focussing for those shots where the foreground defeats the camera (eg when shooting through the goal net) This is a good tip maybe for anyone who has the auto AF only lenses -like the 50-300 mm kit glass.

As many of you will know the challenge with live sports is to be in the right place - and even the KX can't tell me where that is!

Hope this helps others.

Geoff

The AA ones are working well in my KX

Geoff

Hi All, well I'd very strongly echo Kris's comments. This forum has provided me with good advice and plenty of food for thought.

Its always seemed to me to be somewhere where you can ask any question. Sometimes we all have to make allowances for the mode of communication.

Sorry to read that Rev Coward has left us as an unhappy poster.

Hi All

I've noticed that my KX makes far less noise when it does its start up sensor shake compared to my K10D.

Is this normal?

I asked to listen to a friend's KM and it is also very quiet during the sensor shake.

Can anyone say if the quieter shake means that the dust won't be removed as well?

As an aside I was most impressed with the anti-shake on the KX. I managed a sharp handheld at 1/6th second...amazing!
Geoff

K10 followed by KX -both fantastic cameras and will keep both for their differences. The KX is a star performer for its low light abilities

Geoff

Maybe worth a thread in its own right so we can learn about six sigma and how the concepts/disciplines might help us take better pictures - or are they also only taken if the right people, with the right skills are present in the right place to get the shots?

Happy shooting all!
Geoff

Hi Guys
A friend has let me borrow his M 1.7 prime (50mm). It gives great results on my K10.

Has anyone found a way of making such lenses stop down? Sorry if this question has been asked a thousand times before. I scanned the posts on here and can see that the A lenses are more favoured.

Looking at the mechanism on the lens itself there is clearly a stop down lever which the old film slr would have utilised.

Thanks
Geoff

Well Guys, the snow has melted and the air clear. I'm still firing test shots with my KX but I'm in absolutely no doubt that its performing amazingly at high ISOs.

Clearly DSLRs are evolving. I congratulate Pentax on this little wonder of technology.

Hope everyone else with a KX is as delighted as I am?

Geoff

Hi Peter
Like you I agonised and then plumped for the KX over the K7. My reasons were the class beating hihg ISO performance. Its a great camera isn't it.

It was exactly 2 years ago that I got my K10 with kit zoom and Sigma 70-300. Ironically it cost less than the KX kit does now and is certainly more robustly built! I have no regrets so far but imagine that later this year the price will fall to be somewhere near where the KM ended its days.

I will say that the AL 55-300 is giving me improved IQ especially in the 200-300 range. Should I have spent the £100+ to buy the normal 55-300?

Enjoy your KX and I hope we will both agree that its a great cousin for our K10s!

Geoff