[Zafar Iqbal]

There are few things with the K-30 that I still do not fully understand. I'm shooting at a wedding tomorrow and would like to be in better terms with the camera:

Linking AE and AF point - I'm used to K-x, but never used selective or even auto points. If the setting is enabled will the K-30 then only use AF point for metering in Pattern mode? Would you recommend doing so? Why/Why not?

I love the Horizon Correction feature - I often get the angles slightly wrong when shooting from lover angle/position (before I lean over to one side instead of bending the knees). I suspect this feature will affect SR? Is it worth having enabled all the time?

As mentioned, I only shot using single center point with the K-x, however with the visual AF points on the K-30 VF, I fancy starting using more points. Is the center point with the Select Point mode enabled exactly the same as with single point mode - do they perform similar? Or in other words, can't I just leave the cam to Selective mode for all times?

TAv is completely new to me and I think I see big potential with this one, however I suspect I need to be careful about setting the ISO limits rather than just having them span across the entire range. Any tips on the best way to use it? The idea I have is to find the low ISO limit by aiming towards a somewhat brightest scenario and vica versa for lower light.

I think that's all for now.

[Zafar Iqbal]

Some more:

Expanded AF thingy: feels a bit flimsy to me - does it work well when subject is moving directly towards me? thats questions goes for Continuous focusing as well related to AF points. Would it be better to use center point or does it not matter regarding AF accuracy.

I read in some post about a person chancing the Continuous AF setting to release priority after which his shots were more successful/in focus. Is that common?

[rawr]

If you are shooting a wedding tomorrow, rather than ask for advice here I suggest you go out ASAP and shoot lots and lots of test shots with all of the settings you are interested in, with all of the lenses you are planning to use for the wedding, and see how the camera works for you in hand.

Then sit down in front of Lightroom (or whatever you use) and review all your test shots to see if they came out as you expected, and get comfortable with how everything is working for you prior to shooting the wedding.

[Zafar Iqbal]

I will do that. I just do not have too much time on my hands these days.

[rawr]

I guess what I was suggesting is that practical experience beats theoretical advice most times And when shooting important events like weddings, it's best to stick with what you yourself know works well, not experiment on the day with settings recommended by others.

[Zafar Iqbal]

I agree entirely and I prefer to try things out myself - however some things take longer to learn (notice) than others and I suspect Horizontal Correction might be one of those. I love the feature, but could using it mean increased risk of camera shake? I could disable it and use the K-30 entirely as I use my K-x but tbh I don't feel *that* uncomfortable with K-30

[twitch]

There are few things with the K-30 that I still do not fully understand. I'm shooting at a wedding tomorrow and would like to be in better terms with the camera:

Linking AE and AF point - I'm used to K-x, but never used selective or even auto points. If the setting is enabled will the K-30 then only use AF point for metering in Pattern mode? Would you recommend doing so? Why/Why not?

I love the Horizon Correction feature - I often get the angles slightly wrong when shooting from lover angle/position (before I lean over to one side instead of bending the knees). I suspect this feature will affect SR? Is it worth having enabled all the time?

Don't enable HC feature unless you know the level is OK in your camera, many (most?) weren't in K-5's

As mentioned, I only shot using single center point with the K-x, however with the visual AF points on the K-30 VF, I fancy starting using more points. Is the center point with the Select Point mode enabled exactly the same as with single point mode - do they perform similar? Or in other words, can't I just leave the cam to Selective mode for all times?

If you are use to centre just keep it at that

TAv is completely new to me and I think I see big potential with this one, however I suspect I need to be careful about setting the ISO limits rather than just having them span across the entire range. Any tips on the best way to use it? The idea I have is to find the low ISO limit by aiming towards a somewhat brightest scenario and vica versa for lower light.

I think that's all for now.

No! You set the range from 80 to the highest ISO you would ever want, nothing to do with spot metering the scene

[Zafar Iqbal]

Don't enable HC feature unless you know the level is OK in your camera, many (most?) weren't in K-5's

I've been using it and so far not noticed anything odd. But then again, I haven't been looking for alignment accuracy or photographed anything where it was that crucial.

If you are use to centre just keep it at that

Alright, but would you care to elaborate? Changing points is nicely intuitive and I do sometimes get my framing wrong especially when using the center point and continuous focusing.

No! You set the range from 80 to the highest ISO you would ever want, nothing to do with spot metering the scene

You make it sound too easy :P

[twitch]

I'd check HC carefully, many levels are off.

I only advised to keep center only if that's what u are use to as you dont want new technical elements to deal with in a pressure situation

TAv is good but in some ways the riskiest mode to shoot in due to the danger of under and particularly over exposure. If you are in a dark or bright environment be very careful in TAv mode.

[Zafar Iqbal]

Since HC corrects for +/- 1.5 degree or something like that, I might just as well leave it off then. I actually wouldn't be surprised if I did indeed turned back to center point in pressured situations I will see how it goes, but in non-critical situations.

The ISO concerns me the most regarding TAv mode. My on thinking was to narrow the ISO range down to a working area in any particular timeframe (typically location based). I'll try this one too for non-critical moments and will see how it goes, but I am rather optimistic about it.

[twitch]

Don't use a narrow iso range with tav, that's when it ets dangerous as u think your camera is still in auto mode, but in reality it has little wiggle room, use at least 80-3200.

[Zafar Iqbal]

Hm, I think I understand where you are getting at. I'm not used to TAv at all, so if I made a habit of using narrow ISO, I should also learn to check the exposures frequently enough, just as I do with Manual - actually, I don't check frequently enough in Manual and therefore figured some little room with TAv could be a solution. I wont rely on this tomorrow - the wedding itself is too important for this, but I will later use TAv more to get better familiar with it and how to use it, or benefit from it in best possible way for my liking.

[Zafar Iqbal]

Just an off-topic update on how the wedding went:

In short: rather well.

Correct exposure is always a challenge and I stuck with manual mode to battle it. Bride entering the church and the pair leaving it has always been very tricky for my K-x. I came home with a much larger number of sharper photos using the K-30. Yey! That goes for all photos in general.

I used selective AF points a good number of times. It worked well. I had changed AF.S setting to Release Priority and I'm really glad I did. Most of the lights were turned off when the partying (dancing) started and it was very very dark. K-30 was still able to focus close enough (or right on the money) for me to get the shots.

It perfomed so well, that I now regret having used smaller apertures. I started out with 35mm @ f4 and ended up at f6.7 to be on the safe side. The extra DoF in the f4 shots just looks that much more appealing IMO.

K-x under same condition? No comparisons. Would have been time to pack up and go home or to use a wider lens at even smaller aperture, but that would mean I'd have be be pretty much right up against everyone, which is very impractical when people are dancing. I got kicked a couple of times using the 35mm - I think that gets me close (or far) enough :P

I did have issues with the ergonomics. My thumb quickly went numb (like the sleeping leg sensation) during the very first couple of hours - but strangely enough not afterwards (church etc.).

I used the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 a lot, nothing new about that though, but this caused the edge of the camera to press against the bigger thumb muscle in such a way that it's sore. Even hurts a bit if I press on it right now.

Today I can feel the entire surface of my (camera) hand and fingers feel a bit weird too, as if I have thousands of needles on it. Not painful though, but a strange feeling.

Should add though that I shot for 16 hours :P

Finally, the level indicator helped me out soooo much. My angles are slightly off now at worst whereas before, they were just too far off whenever I leaned over.

[rawr]

Good to hear it went well. Weddings can be challenging and stressful.

[Zafar Iqbal]

Indeed. This wedding was the most challenging to me. The bride had her hair done at a saloon where they had another costumer sitting right next to her. I couldn't position myself between them without getting too close to the bride - and at that early time it was too soon. She needed more time to get used to me and the camera. Shooting from the other side needed extra attention since I could get the extra costumer in my shots. I didn't really want that as well.

The church was a pain too. It was literally located right up to a road which meant various family members, friends etc. were closely cluttered, making greeting shots very difficult to take.