Either I'm a noob or I had a bad copy or I'm just Paranoid. What's your say?

mikeSF · 07-04-2018, 07:45 AM - **3 Likes**

Plenty of great advice in this thread. The best thing you can do now is practice. None of us are as good as our gear, remember that.
Good luck!

**Mikesul** · 07-04-2018, 07:51 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by mikeSF

Plenty of great advice in this thread. The best thing you can do now is practice. None of us are as good as our gear, remember that.
Good luck!

Perfect advice, Mike. I was starting to think how this long list of answers and the insider bickering was just going to confuse the beginner even more. You gave good, crisp advice which is, in the end, all any of us can do to improve.

neal_grillot · 07-04-2018, 07:56 AM

Manual focus. K1mii.. ?
How do you determine the target is in focus? Is it by Eye only? Is there a setting for the hexagon in the viewfinder to illuminate?

**Mikesul** · 07-04-2018, 07:58 AM

Originally posted by neal_grillot

Manual focus. K1mii.. ?
How do you determine the target is in focus? Is it by Eye only? Is there a setting for the hexagon in the viewfinder to illuminate?

Yes to both but the most reliable manual focus is with the LV and magnification.

neal_grillot · 07-04-2018, 08:01 AM

Originally posted by Mikesul

Yes to both but the most reliable manual focus is with the LV and magnification.

What is the setting to turn on the hexagon in manual focus under phase detection?

**Mikesul** · 07-04-2018, 08:21 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by neal_grillot

What is the setting to turn on the hexagon in manual focus under phase detection?

Hold down the AF button while you focus. (or half press the shutter if you do not use back button focus).

neal_grillot · 07-04-2018, 08:26 AM

Originally posted by Mikesul

Hold down the AF button while you focus. (or half press the shutter if you do not use back button focus).

Thank you. Perfect.

---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 11:41 AM ----------

Originally posted by Mikesul

Yes to both but the most reliable manual focus is with the LV and magnification.

Not sure what you mean by magnification? Do I take that to mean "zoom", or some other setting?

**Mikesul** · 07-04-2018, 08:43 AM

Originally posted by neal_grillot

Thank you. Perfect.

---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 11:41 AM ----------

Not sure what you mean by magnification? Do I take that to mean "zoom", or some other setting?

In LV press the center button VOILA magnification.

neal_grillot · 07-04-2018, 08:55 AM

Originally posted by Mikesul

In LV press the center button VOILA magnification.

Woah.. viola. Is right. Thanks Mikesul.

**clickclick** · 07-04-2018, 09:07 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by neal_grillot

Woah.. viola. Is right. Thanks Mikesul.

And you can change the magnification with the rear thumb wheel, and if you turn on "focus peaking", you will get a crisp white outline of the objects/areas in focus.

repaap · 07-04-2018, 09:08 AM - **2 Likes**

Well, AF has been many times under hard discussion. it is true tht LV is best to really be sure.
here is just couple quick ones hand held 1/8 second SR on to me it looks great.

70 mm

115mm

and one out and wild snap shot
200mm

If you don't like me posting these here. just let me know, I'll delete them.

oh, and as edit note, they are @ f2.8 all

**clickclick** · 07-04-2018, 09:23 AM - **2 Likes**

And as has been touched on, get your shutter speed up. If you are trying to freeze leaves in a scene, if there's a breeze, you may well find you need much higher speeds, like 1/2000 or more. Find a new test scene and if needed to get speed up, try an ISO around 400, do a series of shots picking the same focus point, and stop them down as you go. You'll soon start to pick out the sweet spot of the lens. You can do the same thing changing ISO and shutter speed to see how them come into play, and if you want to get real "scientific", you'll even pick some standard scenes you will shoot with all your lenses as you get them e.g, front of the house, neighbor's chimney, etc. And fill your frame with something like the front of a building, and you can start moving around the frame and see where sharpness falls off, or x lens renders the gutter in the top right corner better than y lens - position yourself so you get the same frame coverage when doing the shots. Also, you can set 1/3 EV steps under the C section of the menu setup. This can be nice when you want to just nudge the ISO up a little and are trying to minimize noise but need a bit more speed for stability.

AI8877 · 07-04-2018, 10:02 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by repaap

Well, AF has been many times under hard discussion. it is true tht LV is best to really be sure.
here is just couple quick ones hand held 1/8 second SR on to me it looks great.

70 mm

115mm

and one out and wild snap shot
200mm

If you don't like me posting these here. just let me know, I'll delete them.

oh, and as edit note, they are @ f2.8 all

Those are really sharp Images

**TwoUptons** · 07-04-2018, 10:31 AM - **2 Likes**

I’ll be a little contrarian...

Leave the tripod at home and go find a bright day and a sporting event with bright uniforms... 🙂

-Eric

neal_grillot · 07-04-2018, 10:42 AM - **1 Like**

THIS thread is awesome.. great tips.. and better than the very poor manual.. thanks all. And PF.

---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:00 PM ----------

Originally posted by Alex645

First: Anyone saying zoom and razor sharp in the same sentence is over stating the sharpness other than perhaps relative to other zooms they've used.

Second: As most have already stated, you'll want to avoid the extreme range of the aperture. f/2.8 and you'll have shallow depth of field plus soft corners and edges. At f/22 you'll be suffering with diffraction. Next time try f/8, f/9.5, f/11.

Third: If you are after sharpness, generally avoid the extreme range of the focal length. So instead of 70mm or 200mm, try 105, 120, 135mm.

Fourth: Eliminate any possibility of blur. If you are shooting still objects handheld, try a minimum of double the focal length...i.e. 120mm....use 1/250" or faster. Turn off SR. I would only use SR if you had to shoot handheld with slower shutter speeds.

Fifth: The 28-105mm kit lens is an excellent lens. Most kit lenses are underrated by users. They are usually paired with the camera because they are cost effective but produce excellent results. The 70-200mm is also an excellent zoom that gives you more range and is sharper than the kit lens at 105mm.

Six: Shoot RAW and use unsharp mask or a high pass filter to enhance your image sharpness.

Last: If your holy grail is sharpness, then you must convert to Primism. I am a believer. Solid tripod and discover the power of pixel shifting. Keep Calm and Carry Prime.

What is "convert to prism" ?

---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:02 PM ----------

Originally posted by Alex645

First: Anyone saying zoom and razor sharp in the same sentence is over stating the sharpness other than perhaps relative to other zooms they've used.

Second: As most have already stated, you'll want to avoid the extreme range of the aperture. f/2.8 and you'll have shallow depth of field plus soft corners and edges. At f/22 you'll be suffering with diffraction. Next time try f/8, f/9.5, f/11.

Third: If you are after sharpness, generally avoid the extreme range of the focal length. So instead of 70mm or 200mm, try 105, 120, 135mm.

Fourth: Eliminate any possibility of blur. If you are shooting still objects handheld, try a minimum of double the focal length...i.e. 120mm....use 1/250" or faster. Turn off SR. I would only use SR if you had to shoot handheld with slower shutter speeds.

Fifth: The 28-105mm kit lens is an excellent lens. Most kit lenses are underrated by users. They are usually paired with the camera because they are cost effective but produce excellent results. The 70-200mm is also an excellent zoom that gives you more range and is sharper than the kit lens at 105mm.

Six: Shoot RAW and use unsharp mask or a high pass filter to enhance your image sharpness.

Last: If your holy grail is sharpness, then you must convert to Primism. I am a believer. Solid tripod and discover the power of pixel shifting. Keep Calm and Carry Prime.

What is "convert to prism" ?

---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:03 PM ----------

Originally posted by neal_grillot

THIS thread is awesome.. great tips.. and better than the very poor manual.. thanks all. And PF.

---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:00 PM ----------

What is "convert to prism" ?

---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:02 PM ----------

What is "convert to prism" ?

.. lol.. nevermind. I get it.

07-04-2018, 09:08 AM - 2 Likes	#41
repaap Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2010 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,242	Well, AF has been many times under hard discussion. it is true tht LV is best to really be sure. here is just couple quick ones hand held 1/8 second SR on to me it looks great. 70 mm 115mm and one out and wild snap shot 200mm If you don't like me posting these here. just let me know, I'll delete them. oh, and as edit note, they are @ f2.8 all Last edited by repaap; 07-04-2018 at 09:27 AM.

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07-04-2018, 07:45 AM - 3 Likes	#31
mikeSF Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: East Bay Area, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,622	Plenty of great advice in this thread. The best thing you can do now is practice. None of us are as good as our gear, remember that. Good luck!

07-04-2018, 07:51 AM - 1 Like	#32
Mikesul Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594	Originally posted by mikeSF Plenty of great advice in this thread. The best thing you can do now is practice. None of us are as good as our gear, remember that. Good luck! Perfect advice, Mike. I was starting to think how this long list of answers and the insider bickering was just going to confuse the beginner even more. You gave good, crisp advice which is, in the end, all any of us can do to improve.

07-04-2018, 07:56 AM	#33
neal_grillot Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 64	Manual focus. K1mii.. ? How do you determine the target is in focus? Is it by Eye only? Is there a setting for the hexagon in the viewfinder to illuminate?

07-04-2018, 07:58 AM	#34
Mikesul Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594	Originally posted by neal_grillot Manual focus. K1mii.. ? How do you determine the target is in focus? Is it by Eye only? Is there a setting for the hexagon in the viewfinder to illuminate? Yes to both but the most reliable manual focus is with the LV and magnification.

07-04-2018, 08:01 AM	#35
neal_grillot Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 64	Originally posted by Mikesul Yes to both but the most reliable manual focus is with the LV and magnification. What is the setting to turn on the hexagon in manual focus under phase detection?

07-04-2018, 08:21 AM - 1 Like	#36
Mikesul Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594	Originally posted by neal_grillot What is the setting to turn on the hexagon in manual focus under phase detection? Hold down the AF button while you focus. (or half press the shutter if you do not use back button focus).

07-04-2018, 08:26 AM	#37
neal_grillot Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 64	Originally posted by Mikesul Hold down the AF button while you focus. (or half press the shutter if you do not use back button focus). Thank you. Perfect. ---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 11:41 AM ---------- Originally posted by Mikesul Yes to both but the most reliable manual focus is with the LV and magnification. Not sure what you mean by magnification? Do I take that to mean "zoom", or some other setting?

07-04-2018, 08:43 AM	#38
Mikesul Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594	Originally posted by neal_grillot Thank you. Perfect. ---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 11:41 AM ---------- Not sure what you mean by magnification? Do I take that to mean "zoom", or some other setting? In LV press the center button VOILA magnification.

07-04-2018, 08:55 AM	#39
neal_grillot Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 64	Originally posted by Mikesul In LV press the center button VOILA magnification. Woah.. viola. Is right. Thanks Mikesul.

07-04-2018, 09:07 AM - 1 Like	#40
clickclick Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2016 Location: East Coast Posts: 2,904	Originally posted by neal_grillot Woah.. viola. Is right. Thanks Mikesul. And you can change the magnification with the rear thumb wheel, and if you turn on "focus peaking", you will get a crisp white outline of the objects/areas in focus.

07-04-2018, 09:23 AM - 2 Likes	#42
clickclick Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2016 Location: East Coast Posts: 2,904	And as has been touched on, get your shutter speed up. If you are trying to freeze leaves in a scene, if there's a breeze, you may well find you need much higher speeds, like 1/2000 or more. Find a new test scene and if needed to get speed up, try an ISO around 400, do a series of shots picking the same focus point, and stop them down as you go. You'll soon start to pick out the sweet spot of the lens. You can do the same thing changing ISO and shutter speed to see how them come into play, and if you want to get real "scientific", you'll even pick some standard scenes you will shoot with all your lenses as you get them e.g, front of the house, neighbor's chimney, etc. And fill your frame with something like the front of a building, and you can start moving around the frame and see where sharpness falls off, or x lens renders the gutter in the top right corner better than y lens - position yourself so you get the same frame coverage when doing the shots. Also, you can set 1/3 EV steps under the C section of the menu setup. This can be nice when you want to just nudge the ISO up a little and are trying to minimize noise but need a bit more speed for stability.

07-04-2018, 10:02 AM - 2 Likes	#43
AI8877 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Medicine Hat, Alberta Posts: 39 Original Poster	Originally posted by repaap Well, AF has been many times under hard discussion. it is true tht LV is best to really be sure. here is just couple quick ones hand held 1/8 second SR on to me it looks great. 70 mm 115mm and one out and wild snap shot 200mm If you don't like me posting these here. just let me know, I'll delete them. oh, and as edit note, they are @ f2.8 all Those are really sharp Images

07-04-2018, 10:31 AM - 2 Likes	#44
TwoUptons Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,225	I’ll be a little contrarian... Leave the tripod at home and go find a bright day and a sporting event with bright uniforms... 🙂 -Eric

07-04-2018, 10:42 AM - 1 Like	#45
neal_grillot Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 64	THIS thread is awesome.. great tips.. and better than the very poor manual.. thanks all. And PF. ---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:00 PM ---------- Originally posted by Alex645 First: Anyone saying zoom and razor sharp in the same sentence is over stating the sharpness other than perhaps relative to other zooms they've used. Second: As most have already stated, you'll want to avoid the extreme range of the aperture. f/2.8 and you'll have shallow depth of field plus soft corners and edges. At f/22 you'll be suffering with diffraction. Next time try f/8, f/9.5, f/11. Third: If you are after sharpness, generally avoid the extreme range of the focal length. So instead of 70mm or 200mm, try 105, 120, 135mm. Fourth: Eliminate any possibility of blur. If you are shooting still objects handheld, try a minimum of double the focal length...i.e. 120mm....use 1/250" or faster. Turn off SR. I would only use SR if you had to shoot handheld with slower shutter speeds. Fifth: The 28-105mm kit lens is an excellent lens. Most kit lenses are underrated by users. They are usually paired with the camera because they are cost effective but produce excellent results. The 70-200mm is also an excellent zoom that gives you more range and is sharper than the kit lens at 105mm. Six: Shoot RAW and use unsharp mask or a high pass filter to enhance your image sharpness. Last: If your holy grail is sharpness, then you must convert to Primism. I am a believer. Solid tripod and discover the power of pixel shifting. Keep Calm and Carry Prime. What is "convert to prism" ? ---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:02 PM ---------- Originally posted by Alex645 First: Anyone saying zoom and razor sharp in the same sentence is over stating the sharpness other than perhaps relative to other zooms they've used. Second: As most have already stated, you'll want to avoid the extreme range of the aperture. f/2.8 and you'll have shallow depth of field plus soft corners and edges. At f/22 you'll be suffering with diffraction. Next time try f/8, f/9.5, f/11. Third: If you are after sharpness, generally avoid the extreme range of the focal length. So instead of 70mm or 200mm, try 105, 120, 135mm. Fourth: Eliminate any possibility of blur. If you are shooting still objects handheld, try a minimum of double the focal length...i.e. 120mm....use 1/250" or faster. Turn off SR. I would only use SR if you had to shoot handheld with slower shutter speeds. Fifth: The 28-105mm kit lens is an excellent lens. Most kit lenses are underrated by users. They are usually paired with the camera because they are cost effective but produce excellent results. The 70-200mm is also an excellent zoom that gives you more range and is sharper than the kit lens at 105mm. Six: Shoot RAW and use unsharp mask or a high pass filter to enhance your image sharpness. Last: If your holy grail is sharpness, then you must convert to Primism. I am a believer. Solid tripod and discover the power of pixel shifting. Keep Calm and Carry Prime. What is "convert to prism" ? ---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:03 PM ---------- Originally posted by neal_grillot THIS thread is awesome.. great tips.. and better than the very poor manual.. thanks all. And PF. ---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:00 PM ---------- What is "convert to prism" ? ---------- Post added 07-04-18 at 02:02 PM ---------- What is "convert to prism" ? .. lol.. nevermind. I get it.