[mikeSF]

I'm not a cover to cover reader when it comes to manuals, but i couldn't find answers to these things in the book nor by searching the forum, so please allow me to ask a few operating questions here. Likewise, if you have a burning question, post it in here and let's get the answers we need.
thanks in advance.

Here goes:

#1) K-5 (like the K-7, Kx, etc) has a status screen which displays on the main LCD screen with the current camera settings. I don't want this to be lit constantly when i am shooting and could not find a way to cancel it between shots, so i went into the setup menu and shut it off. Is there any button that will turn on the status screen at will or is this an all or none feature? My ideal situation is for it to be off but i can toggle it on for a couple seconds once in awhile to change settings rather than looking at the upper LCD screen. I am aware i can click on Live View to see settings on the rear LCD but dont always want to use LV.


#2) After taking a picture, i have the image displayed for 5 seconds with the histogram. What button should I push to cancel the display when i dont want it to play for the full time? Right now, i am pressing the "AF" button to clear the display - are their other options? With past cameras, I'd just half press the shutter release, however, with long AF lenses, this could spell trouble when the lens starts refocusing. Kind of a beginner's question, but i never learned, i suppose.

#3) Will six AA batteries in the grip provide comparable battery life to the LI90 battery? anybody know?

#4) In movie mode, is there a way to record while looking through the viewfinder rather than seeing the live view display on the LCD? When the sun is bright, i'd really have better luck manually focusing with the viewfinder.

[jaieger]

#1 - you can hit info to cycle through the various menus, and finally to turn it off altogether. One click --> other menu ---> electronic level ---> turned off screen ---> back to status screen

#2 - wouldn't know as I have image review disabled altogether. I guess you could just set it to a shorter duration, otherwise what you're doing right now is basically it.

#3 - I've never had my battery run out (LI90) so.......

#4 - nope, unfortunately not, and this is the same for all dSLRs. Think of movie as basically a constant-picture live view: the mirror is flipped up to project light onto the sensor, so no light enters the viewfinder (from the image end anyways)

Hope that helps

[calsan]

2. I agree with jaieger on this. I disable image review as if you're shooting continuously, you want your dials to keep controlling the aperture and ISO, not suddenly start zooming the picture on your LCD. I find it's more logical to press play to show the picture when you want.

[simico]

1. info button
2. ok button
3. no idea
4. is this a serious question?? afaik you're not a dslr newbie, therefore you should know about that little thing called mirror in your cam :P

[mikeSF]

whoops, right, the mirror, lol.
i still feel like such a noob.
thx all for the responses.

[sebberry]

I wish Pentax would do what Canon did on their DSLRs... a little IR sensor at the back of the camera that turns the screen off when you hold it up to your face.