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06-23-2011, 11:21 AM   #1
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My Kr is a nightmare

Hi, So I go from Spotmatic to P30 then Kr What waste of cash ( at least the one have sent back twice is ) I expect it to give good middle of the road results on auto. Indoors close up with or without flash focus is terrible. Manual not any better. Sons wedding photos taken outside on a dull day lots out of focus.Back up camera P30 200 film very good. With artificial lighting on auto a total waste of time manual settings slightly better.After 40 years of trusting my slr's even my old Zenit B gives better results.Perhaps Iv'e got a bad one (silly me picked the red one )_I now await the return of it again..last time it was the E dial (that had lasted 7 weeks.)

06-23-2011, 11:29 AM   #2
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When you say manual focus isn't any better, how many lenses have you tested this with? If there's something wrong with your lens, that would explain having problems in all modes, AF and manual.

The colour of your K-r has absolutely nothing to do with the quality. If there's something wrong with it, it's just a coincidence that it's wrong with a red one. They're all the same, but for the paint job.
06-23-2011, 11:53 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by p30man Quote
Hi, So I go from Spotmatic to P30 then Kr What waste of cash ( at least the one have sent back twice is ) I expect it to give good middle of the road results on auto. Indoors close up with or without flash focus is terrible. Manual not any better. Sons wedding photos taken outside on a dull day lots out of focus.Back up camera P30 200 film very good. With artificial lighting on auto a total waste of time manual settings slightly better.After 40 years of trusting my slr's even my old Zenit B gives better results.Perhaps Iv'e got a bad one (silly me picked the red one )_I now await the return of it again..last time it was the E dial (that had lasted 7 weeks.)

If I try to understand the problem associated with your new k-r, it would be the problem with FF/BF using MF lens. I think k-r has the global AF adjustment in the menu, did you try that?
06-23-2011, 12:00 PM   #4
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Not say anything bad but I think you are not giving the camera a chance. It took a bit for me to get used to my Pentax K-m from my older SF10 but I get great results from it now. I just wish I could afford to try the Kr or k5. Just keep an open mind when using the camera. You could be trying things that go beyond even the camera can do. If it is possible please feel free to post some images you feel don't work to see if others can add there comments about what they think is wrong.

I can see one reason for the focusing problem is the smaller screen used on the D-slr when one is manually focusing. Compared to the older cameras you have had, the smaller screen is harder to see correct focus but not impossible.

06-23-2011, 12:02 PM   #5
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Yes, that is my experience as well. Auto is useless. Do not even try, you will be disappointed when you find that you missed that priceless shot because the camera picked some totally inappropriate mode. My wife refuses to use this camera because of that. The flash will work in TV mode most times, but manual mode is better, though not easy. The viewfinder is not bright enough for me to manual focus and the auto focus can not be trusted. On a bright day (f/16-ISO 200-1/200 sec) the camera will auto focus, but when I tried to shoot a subject in the shadow of a tree, the K-R missed focus. My K-R is a live view only camera. I feel silly holding a DSLR out in front of me. If I wanted a P&S experience, I would have bought a high end P&S camera.
Questions for OP - Where did you send your K-R for service? How long did it take to get it back? Did they fix everything that you complained about? Are you happy with the service repair?

Last edited by gp1806; 06-23-2011 at 12:44 PM.
06-23-2011, 12:10 PM   #6
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I love my SPII more than I can say, but my K-x is definitely in every way it's equal and it's even better in some ways I think. Going from an SLR to a DSLR is not an instantaneous thing for some people. It definitely wasn't for me. It took me a while having my *ist before I could take anything like the pics I took with my Queenie. When I first got my K-x again there was an adjustment period.

It wasn't the cameras. It was me. I just wasn't used to using a proper DSLR and it can be a totally different thing from using a film SLR. Manually focusing for one thing on an SLR, with lenses that are made for that camera, that's a bit different on a DSLR I've found. Give it time and a little more patience and I think you'll find your dud of a camera is better than you think.
06-23-2011, 12:14 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by gp1806 Quote
On a bright day (f/16-ISO 200-1/200 sec) the camera will auto focus, but when I tried to shoot a subject in the shadow of a tree, the K-R missed focus. My K-R is a live view only camera. I feel silly holding a DSLR out in front of me.
What?? am I missing something? k-r only has live-view option? what happen to the optical viewfinder?


QuoteOriginally posted by gp1806 Quote
If I wanted a P&S experience, I would have bought a high end P&S camera.
Questions for you - Where did you send your K-R for service? How long did it take to get it back? Did they fix everything that you complained about? Are you happy with the service repair?
May be a P&S is better for some... if you don't want to take better pictures.

06-23-2011, 12:41 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by aleonx3 Quote
What?? am I missing something? k-r only has live-view option? what happen to the optical viewfinder?
If the focus is not reliable using the optical VF, then Live View is the only option left.


QuoteOriginally posted by aleonx3 Quote
May be a P&S is better for some... if you don't want to take better pictures.
I have P&S, the IQ leaves me wanting better.
06-23-2011, 01:07 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by p30man Quote
Hi, So I go from Spotmatic to P30 then Kr What waste of cash ( at least the one have sent back twice is ) I expect it to give good middle of the road results on auto. Indoors close up with or without flash focus is terrible. Manual not any better. Sons wedding photos taken outside on a dull day lots out of focus.Back up camera P30 200 film very good. With artificial lighting on auto a total waste of time manual settings slightly better.After 40 years of trusting my slr's even my old Zenit B gives better results.Perhaps Iv'e got a bad one (silly me picked the red one )_I now await the return of it again..last time it was the E dial (that had lasted 7 weeks.)
I think there are a combination of different issues. First, switching from colour negative to digital will require quite an adjustment. Digital is a bit like slides if not exactly. You have to watch for blown highlight. You have to check the histogram/exposure constantly. Jpeg will be inferior to many digital P&S because of less aggressive in-camera processing. RAWs will be dull until processed on computer. And then Pentax DSLRs AF is just not that great, and can be downright awful indoor. The drop in viewfinder quality against the P30 means more difficult and less accurate manual focus. And then the QC of Pentax DSLRs is just not the same anymore against the manual focus era stuffs. Defective products can be frustrating, but do know the steep learning curve jumping from film to digital. I was there.
06-23-2011, 01:11 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by gp1806 Quote
If the focus is not reliable using the optical VF, then Live View is the only option left.
If using optical VF is not reliable... using Live view would be better? I doubt it...
06-23-2011, 01:33 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by aleonx3 Quote
If using optical VF is not reliable... using Live view would be better? I doubt it...
I can't speak about the K-r, but there is no doubt that LV-AF is more accurate and reliable on the K-5.
06-23-2011, 03:38 PM   #12
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I'm sorry to hear about your problems, but I have to say that My K-r has been an absolute joy to use. If anything the af is faster and more accurate than any camera that came before it that Pentax had to offer. I set the camera in Av mode, adjust the aperture and let the camera choose the shutter speed and iso from 100-5000 usually and my photos come out fine. I'm not sure why mf would be bad, how is the diopter adjusted? If mf is bad it could be that your diopter adjustment is not giving you a corect view. I hope this helps as well. What af settings were used? Was it auto 11, auto 5, or select point?
06-23-2011, 04:17 PM   #13
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The camera won't think for you. If you want to use AF, either select your AF point or center focus and recompose. From experience, Auto 11 or 5 modes don't work, specially at low apertures / small DoF, as the camera can't know what you want in focus most of the time on a busy scene.

The viewfinder on the DSLRs suck compared to film bodies, really small and dark, and you also lack a split prism, so MF can be quite challenging. It can still be done if you practice and don't have bad eye sight, though.

K-x, with a manual Helios 44M:


IMGP2574 por hcarvalhoalves, no Flickr

That said, you should try to learn more how to operate the K-r, I guess the problems you face are because you expect the camera to work fully automatic, but you'll have to adjust some techniques (AF, when to control white balance, etc.) from your film experience.

Last edited by hcarvalhoalves; 06-23-2011 at 04:25 PM.
06-23-2011, 04:28 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by dgaies Quote
I can't speak about the K-r, but there is no doubt that LV-AF is more accurate and reliable on the K-5.
because LV is using contrast detection to auto focus where VF uses phase detection (unless you set LV to use otherwise). VF should be accurate on the k-r except for the Tungsten light issue.
06-23-2011, 04:31 PM   #15
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I have a question. Can we see some examples?
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