[haviet]

Hi everyone, so I just purchased the K-30 kit to replace my m43 setup, and I went directly to the K-30 review page on this forum, and the Recommended Settings section caught my eyes.

I like to set up the K-30 properly before I start shooting. My question is, do those settings still apply? Are there other settings not on that page that I need to look into?

Thanks,

Here's the link to the review page and recommended settings:

Pentax K-30 Review - Recommended Settings - Pentax Camera Forums

[Adam]

The latest firmware hasn't added any settings, so yes, those recommendations still apply.

[haviet]

Thanks.

Should I update to the latest firmware (v1.06?) If my camera arrives with an earlier version?

[hcc]

Thanks.

Should I update to the latest firmware (v1.06?) If my camera arrives with an earlier version?

Yes, definitely.

[haviet]

OK. Will do just that. I always like to keep my electronics/components up to date.

Is there anything else not mentioned on that recommended settings page?

[Tako Kichi]

Provided there's been no bugs reported it's always a good idea to use the latest firmware and your camera will come with the factory default firmware assuming that it's new in the box. If it's a used camera then you should check which firmware version is installed (see P.218 in the owner's manual).

I'm running v.1.06 with no issues.

[haviet]

It's a manufacturer refurb unit, so my guess is it probably won't have the latest fw. But we'll see.

[haviet]

I read somewhere in another thread that with the 18-55 kits lens, you want to shoot at f8 and lower? And do not shoot at 18mm?

Any truth to this?

[RGlasel]

Just take pictures, lots of them. Take some wide open (which isn't that fast of an aperture on the kit lens anyway), take some at f8 and take some at f16. Take shots at 18mm, 35mm and 55mm. Then when you need to recharge your battery, take a close look at all of your pictures and if you see something you don't like, or something that looks better in the other pictures you took, find the f-stop and focal length, and never use that combination again for that kind of picture. Repeat this as often as you can. Three things will happen: 1. You stay sane, instead of losing your head trying to find value in free advice; 2. Your photographic skills will improve every time; 3. You will increase your pleasure when you buy another lens.

After using film for more than 30 years, the biggest change for me was free, instant developing of your pictures. With film I tried so hard to get as much for the money I spent as I could, and the time lapse between taking the first shots on the roll of film and getting the slides back, meant that I couldn't recreate the circumstances in my mind, and lost a lot of the learning opportunities. The joy from looking at the pictures you took for the first time, is the same if you wait for an hour or a month.

[haviet]

Lol. That's good advice, it was exactly what I did at my former m43 camera. I took pics at all f-stops, and a few focal points to find the combination that i like most.

I was hoping for a quicker short cut

[RGlasel]

These two were shot at 18mm on the kit lens. The second one is f9.0. What I did notice at f20 and up with this lens is that all the dust is clearly defined, so you might want to keep it under f16 if at all possible. Since I was new to the camera, it was in A or P mode most of the time, and as long as the shutter speed doesn't have to be faster than 1/500 second, the camera seems to keep the aperture to no narrower than f8. What else can I tell you? Over half of my pictures with this lens are at 55mm, so I needed more reach, about one quarter are at 18mm, and the remainder are in between. Before I got the DA 18-135, my only longer lens was a manual focus SMC A 70-210, which I like a lot, but it's deficient on convenience, so I only took the kit lens off when I had no choice.

[RGlasel]

I didn't have a sensor cleaning kit, and the built-in sensor cleaning is just to make you feel better, it doesn't actually do anything as far as I can tell. I had to clone out the long piece of debris at the top to the right on lots of pictures from this trip, but none had this level of dust infestation, and none were at f29. It's hard to tell with the picture downsized, but at 1:1 the edges of the brass lamp are fuzzy and I'm not sure if that's from diffraction or motion blur. I used the built-in flash, but the shutter speed is only 1/30, so the ambient light in the room also exposed it.

[haviet]

Thanks RGlasel

[haviet]

The K-30 just delivered.

Looks just like new, everyting was plastic wrapped.

Started up the camera and trying to go through the setup procedure, but got an unexpected error:

"Memory Card Error"

I have a 2 months old Sony SDHC card that I've been using with my other m43 camera. I am sure I inserted the card correctly (actually there's only one way to insert it). I took it out a few times and try to re-insert, but still having the same error. I can't believe there would be a problem with the card, as it's only 2 months old and I was using it a few days ago.

So, what gives? Is this a common error?

[Tako Kichi]

Try formatting the card in the camera, the K-30 may not like the formatting done by another camera.

If you have shots on the card from the other camera save them to your computer first before formatting!