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10-26-2007, 11:41 AM   #1
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some basic (beginner) settings questions

When you browse the menu of the camera (K100D Super in my case) and/or the manual you'll find a lot of settings but for some there is no clear explanation about what they are about.

what I mean, for example, is the "light metering" setting, I've got it set to default (automatic) but I'm wondering why/when setting it to "spot" would be better ??

as for the light metering I could guess that it's nice to use the spot metering setting when you want to take a picture of the moon at night ? this way you set the correct aperture/shutter time for the moon and the rest is dark (but the sky is dark at night ).

offcourse I have no idea if this is true and if there are other reasons to use spot metering.

also there are many other settings like AF.S and AF.C, Auto ISO, ... (what I wonder about Auto ISO is will it chance the ISO setting when in Manual "M" mode or only when in other modes like Auto Pict, Scene, ...).

so is there some resource here that I didn't find or something I could read that explains (in more detail) the different options in the menu of the K100D and when you could/Should use a different setting then the default (auto) setting.

10-26-2007, 10:07 PM   #2
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I don't have the K10D manual (or camera) but I'm guessing it is the same as the K100D more or less.

"Spot meter" is useful (for some people) to take a meter reading of a small portion of the image, and base your calculation off that. However, some knowledge of the old "zone" system is helpful to make that reading any more accurate than the "evaluative" metering system.

For instance, meter off the black portion of the subject. The meter will suggest an exposure to make that black subject middle gray, so you must under-expose by 2 or 3 stops to make the black really black. The opposite is true if you meter off a white subject - you must over-expose by about 2-3 stops to make the white truly white. So unless you know a bit about exposure values and compensation, spot metering can get you into trouble.

Auto ISO is a setting that allows the camera to adjust the ISO setting within a selectable range - I use 200-800 ISO. However, with the K100D, there is a software bug so that if you use EV compensation, it disables the auto ISO and uses the minimum value. I don't know if that was remedied in the K10D.

You might check out the Magic Lantern Guide for the K10D which augments the Pentax manual a little bit and provides some reference material.

The Auto mode scenes on the K100D use the "bright" or "vivid" setting, which boosts the color saturation and in some case makes the colors almost glow a bit un-naturally. I would suggest using "P" mode instead so that you still have some control over basic operation though the camera will decide the exposure (which you can over-ride with EV compensation).

AF-S and AF-C determine how the auto-focusing mechanism tracks a moving subject.

All you have to do is try the settings and compare results - you have essentially instant feedback and free "film".

Last edited by SpecialK; 10-27-2007 at 05:39 PM.
10-27-2007, 01:25 AM   #3
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thanks for the information
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