People SLR newbie with a k-x

SLR newbie with a k-x · 08:31 PM

Hi,

I got myself a k-x for my first SLR for Christmas and took several pictures on holiday in Florida (~1000). So far I'm fairly happy with my purchase but I obviously have much to learn. My biggest issue is proper focus and white balance. I need to properly test to see if my k-x has front or back focus problem and also see if it's affected by the SR problem that some are having at certain shutter speeds. Another issue I'm having is that I find myself constantly adding +0.5 or +1.0 exposure correction, otherwise it's often underexposed.

Anyway, here are some of my best shots. I'm obviously open to constructive critiques as I'm here to learn!

The background is distracting, I should have used a larger aperture. I still like the pic though! What I read is true, late afternoon light is very good to shoot with.

The white balance was off on this one, so I converted to sepia and I like it.

A good example of a great (by my standards) ISO 6400 shot.

An example of white balance problem, although I kinda like the sepia look.

Happy new year to everyone!

-Patrick

Brian Wahl · 12-31-2009, 08:38 PM

The last shot is my favorite - that's a great capture, and very well framed, in my opinion. My only advice on that one would be to give the photo a little bit more space on the top right - it would give her space to be looking into. Otherwise, that one is great! With the 2nd shot, I would frame/crop it so the girl is a bit more to the right, giving her more space to kind of look into to the left. Otherwise, I agree with your own opinions about the photos. That ISO 3200 image is impressive!

I shoot with a K100d (came out back in 2006), and I'm thinking of upgrading to a k-x. I find my K100D tends to underexpose as well, and struggles with white balance - well, only with indoor lighting, I guess.

I found that shooting RAW is very flexible. You can adjust exposure and white balance very easliy - and the RAW images give you a lot more flexibility in post-processing - far more than the JPEGs, at least in my experience. Since I started shooting in RAW, I really don't pay any attention at all to the white balance of my photos when I look at them in the camera - you can totally correct it in post.

What kind of software do you use? I really, really love Adobe Lightroom for editing - it does exposure, color, and white balance tweaking very well in my opinion. I also really like Picasa, especially for it's cataloging capability. I use Picasa Web Albums then for an online backup, as Google is giving away a sweet deal with 20 gigs for $5/year.

Keep shooting - the more pictures you take, the better you'll get.

Kadath · 12-31-2009, 08:55 PM

Thanks for the comments. I'm still struggling with framing, as my daughter moves a lot and fast and this is my first SLR. Should get better with time

The shot you refer to as 3200 is actually 6400, even more impressive.

As far as software goes, I use Picasa. I don't have much time for editing so I'd rather not shoot everything in raw and have to edit every single picture. I'd prefer to learn how to properly expose and choose the right WB setting in the camera. Also, raw on the k-x is only 12-bit and I understand that this gives less dynamic range (than 14-bit) to rescue bad exposures.

I've heard good things about LR, I might give it a shot if I need more editing capabilities. Although I'm also considering the plain Photoshop or even Photoshop Elements.

Brian Wahl · 12-31-2009, 09:07 PM

Originally posted by Kadath

Thanks for the comments. I'm still struggling with framing, as my daughter moves a lot and fast and this is my first SLR. Should get better with time

The shot you refer to as 3200 is actually 6400, even more impressive.

As far as software goes, I use Picasa. I don't have much time for editing so I'd rather not shoot everything in raw and have to edit every single picture. I'd prefer to learn how to properly expose and choose the right WB setting in the camera. Also, raw on the k-x is only 12-bit and I understand that this gives less dynamic range (than 14-bit) to rescue bad exposures.

I've heard good things about LR, I might give it a shot if I need more editing capabilities. Although I'm also considering the plain Photoshop or even Photoshop Elements.

Ah - don't know where I got 3200, haha. You're right - that is really clean for a 6400 ISO! Wow. I hear you on the processing thing. If you take tons of photos is take a lot of time to edit every single one. These cameras offer so much tweaking of settings as far as what they do to the JPEGs, I'm sure it's just a matter of experimentation until you find what is optimal and the pictures look just right straight out of the camera.

Kadath · 01-02-2010, 05:55 PM

Shameless bump. I'd like to get more comments if possible. Thanks!

asdf · 01-03-2010, 04:51 AM

Originally posted by Kadath

Shameless bump. I'd like to get more comments if possible. Thanks!

You mentioned distracting backgrounds. Try Pentax FA 50 f/1.4 and shoot at f/2.8 to get a razor sharp subject and a blurry background. Outdoors, you may need to use a neutral density filter, if the camera can't shoot any faster to avoid overexposure.

Kadath · 01-03-2010, 06:28 AM

Thanks for the suggestion. A fast prime is definitely on my wish list but I think I'll wait until I gained a little experence with the stock lens. That way I'll know which focal length I would prefer. In the mean time I can still increase the aperture to get blurry background. That first picture was taken at f/8, it should have been with a wider aperture.

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12-31-2009, 08:38 PM	#2
Brian Wahl Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 92	The last shot is my favorite - that's a great capture, and very well framed, in my opinion. My only advice on that one would be to give the photo a little bit more space on the top right - it would give her space to be looking into. Otherwise, that one is great! With the 2nd shot, I would frame/crop it so the girl is a bit more to the right, giving her more space to kind of look into to the left. Otherwise, I agree with your own opinions about the photos. That ISO 3200 image is impressive! I shoot with a K100d (came out back in 2006), and I'm thinking of upgrading to a k-x. I find my K100D tends to underexpose as well, and struggles with white balance - well, only with indoor lighting, I guess. I found that shooting RAW is very flexible. You can adjust exposure and white balance very easliy - and the RAW images give you a lot more flexibility in post-processing - far more than the JPEGs, at least in my experience. Since I started shooting in RAW, I really don't pay any attention at all to the white balance of my photos when I look at them in the camera - you can totally correct it in post. What kind of software do you use? I really, really love Adobe Lightroom for editing - it does exposure, color, and white balance tweaking very well in my opinion. I also really like Picasa, especially for it's cataloging capability. I use Picasa Web Albums then for an online backup, as Google is giving away a sweet deal with 20 gigs for $5/year. Keep shooting - the more pictures you take, the better you'll get.

12-31-2009, 08:55 PM	#3
Kadath New Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Quebec city Photos: Albums Posts: 5 Original Poster	Thanks for the comments. I'm still struggling with framing, as my daughter moves a lot and fast and this is my first SLR. Should get better with time The shot you refer to as 3200 is actually 6400, even more impressive. As far as software goes, I use Picasa. I don't have much time for editing so I'd rather not shoot everything in raw and have to edit every single picture. I'd prefer to learn how to properly expose and choose the right WB setting in the camera. Also, raw on the k-x is only 12-bit and I understand that this gives less dynamic range (than 14-bit) to rescue bad exposures. I've heard good things about LR, I might give it a shot if I need more editing capabilities. Although I'm also considering the plain Photoshop or even Photoshop Elements.

12-31-2009, 09:07 PM	#4
Brian Wahl Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 92	Originally posted by Kadath Thanks for the comments. I'm still struggling with framing, as my daughter moves a lot and fast and this is my first SLR. Should get better with time The shot you refer to as 3200 is actually 6400, even more impressive. As far as software goes, I use Picasa. I don't have much time for editing so I'd rather not shoot everything in raw and have to edit every single picture. I'd prefer to learn how to properly expose and choose the right WB setting in the camera. Also, raw on the k-x is only 12-bit and I understand that this gives less dynamic range (than 14-bit) to rescue bad exposures. I've heard good things about LR, I might give it a shot if I need more editing capabilities. Although I'm also considering the plain Photoshop or even Photoshop Elements. Ah - don't know where I got 3200, haha. You're right - that is really clean for a 6400 ISO! Wow. I hear you on the processing thing. If you take tons of photos is take a lot of time to edit every single one. These cameras offer so much tweaking of settings as far as what they do to the JPEGs, I'm sure it's just a matter of experimentation until you find what is optimal and the pictures look just right straight out of the camera.

01-02-2010, 05:55 PM	#5
Kadath New Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Quebec city Photos: Albums Posts: 5 Original Poster	Shameless bump. I'd like to get more comments if possible. Thanks!

01-03-2010, 04:51 AM	#6
asdf Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 1,252	Originally posted by Kadath Shameless bump. I'd like to get more comments if possible. Thanks! You mentioned distracting backgrounds. Try Pentax FA 50 f/1.4 and shoot at f/2.8 to get a razor sharp subject and a blurry background. Outdoors, you may need to use a neutral density filter, if the camera can't shoot any faster to avoid overexposure.

01-03-2010, 06:28 AM	#7
Kadath New Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Quebec city Photos: Albums Posts: 5 Original Poster	Thanks for the suggestion. A fast prime is definitely on my wish list but I think I'll wait until I gained a little experence with the stock lens. That way I'll know which focal length I would prefer. In the mean time I can still increase the aperture to get blurry background. That first picture was taken at f/8, it should have been with a wider aperture.