Some unusual K1 questions

photoptimist · 10-21-2016, 06:02 AM

If 1/3000 second did not actually imply that any given small region (e.g., a 10x10 pixel patch where one might look at sharpness) was only being exposed for 1/3000 second, then fast shutter speeds would not stop motion.

And the fact that Live View cannot focus through the window supports the hypothesis that the window is degrading the sharpness so much that the camera thinks focus is impossible.

(That said, it does seem likely that the K-1 can suppress high-frequency vibration better than older cameras. If I listen to the SR system on the K-1, it has a noticeably higher frequency than the old K-5 does which seems to imply it uses a faster servo loop than the K-5. But I don't have a K-3 so I don't know if the K-1 is better than the K-3 in that regard.)

**UncleVanya** · 10-21-2016, 06:29 AM

For the window a soft rubber hood is great to eliminate reflections. The size of the hood will be based on how much the glass curves (larger hood needed to avoid seeing it in the image as it tilts in the way. ) If the rubber hood isn't practical a polarizer may help.

MJKoski · 10-21-2016, 06:34 AM

Liveview usually fails to focus thru windows if there are any impurities in the glass or plain dirt. So it focuses into the glass plane instead. Contrast detect focusing works thru clean glass just fine and even thru properly cleaned triple glass household windows.

peterh337 · 10-21-2016, 07:00 AM

What I found was that live view gets the focus either very slightly off, or is totally unable to focus.

Thanks for the power unit information. I had forgotten about it! What one cannot do is to charge the battery in the camera.

MJKoski · 10-21-2016, 07:28 AM

A7x can charge battery in camera

Sony is calling for you even if you resist for now.

normhead · 10-21-2016, 07:41 AM

I'm not sure what use a camera is plugged into a battery charging cable. Do they take pictures like that? Buy a second battery. On long trips (two weeks or more) I take 3. And I go places where there is no recharging possible.

MJKoski · 10-21-2016, 08:38 AM

It is usable in cold conditions. A7x mk2 models can be driven with USB battery pack for ages in cold. Using a dumb battery insert is more risky due to bubblegum patents for sealing off the battery compartment. It also comes in handy during long travels were hi-capacity USB-powerpack lasts for a week in the wilderness.

peterh337 · 10-21-2016, 08:40 AM

External power is for

- charging the battery (really silly to not implement that, because a charger is trivial, and if you charge slowly then it is really easy to incorporate that ... a few amps is a bit harder, hence all the problems with tablets overheating and shutting down when sun shines on them)

- time lapse shots e.g. taking pics of plants growing (people AFAIK use really old Canon cameras for that for which various remote control hacks have been developed)

- use as security cameras (AFAIK most of the temporary cameras on roadworks use high-end Canon DSLRs, somehow remotely connected)

Also, lithium cells last much longer when kept charged, so keeping a camera on a charger overnight will make the battery last much longer. I have found the various Pentax batteries last a year (of very low usage) and then this $50-$100 battery is scrap, and of course most of the ones on Ebay / Amazon are fakes. I have a Hahnel for the K3 and it is the 2nd one, and already it is about 50% capacity. The original Pentax one is better...

I agree that on a trip 2 batteries are better, but not when you find they are down to 20% of their published mAh (because they are 1 year old) and you didn't bring the charger

Can you use a dumb battery insert? Surely these batteries are chipped, so a K3 battery won't work in the K1 even if exactly the same dimensions and voltage (got this on the Canon G10 -> G40). The only way I see is to use the real battery and connect 2 wires to the actual cells, and supply 3.6V (or whatever the actual cell voltage is) so basically the battery never goes flat (even if the camera indicator says it is flat - not sure if that uses the voltage, or is integrating the current).

I can also see constructing a fake battery with a pickup coil, and doing induction charging, like modern phones. That is a really great feature... one of the best ever. But the fake battery would not have much room for the cells!

normhead · 10-21-2016, 08:45 AM

Originally posted by peterh337

Also, lithium cells last much longer when kept charged, so keeping a camera on a charger overnight will make the battery last much longer. I have found the various Pentax batteries last a year (of very low usage) and then this $50-$100 battery is scrap

I am still using the the original batteries that came with my K-5s 5 years ago, I have no idea what you're talking about. I have three battery chargers available to me and two of them always have a battery in them, even though whenever I go out I take a spare. Way more efficient than plugging in the camera. My batteries are in the charger, even when I'm out shooting. If your batteries only last a year, you're the last person that should be giving battery care advice. Of our 5 current batteries, one exhibits the kind of short life, and it's 6 years old, came with my first K-5.

peterh337 · 10-21-2016, 09:36 AM

If you keep batteries in the charger, that's why they last a long time.

Gimbal · 10-21-2016, 10:33 AM

Well I don't keep my batteries in the charger. I bought the K10d as soon as it came out, and used the original battery (one and only) until I bought the K-5 when it was released. Then I used that battery up until I bought the K-1. I never needed more then one battery since they lasted so long. I guess the K-5 battery has lost some stamina, it should have, but I can't tell as it still lasts very very long in the K-5

My battery "care" is use it until it drops one level, then charge and put back in camera. Most of the times though I charge it before it drops if I am about to leave for "longer" photo session and want to be sure that I have enough juice with me.

ajack · 10-21-2016, 11:22 AM

Originally posted by peterh337

[...]I have found the various Pentax batteries last a year (of very low usage) and then this $50-$100 battery is scrap, and of course most of the ones on Ebay / Amazon are fakes. I have a Hahnel for the K3 and it is the 2nd one, and already it is about 50% capacity. The original Pentax one is better...

I agree that on a trip 2 batteries are better, but not when you find they are down to 20% of their published mAh (because they are 1 year old) and you didn't bring the charger

[...]

This is not my experience at all. I have an OEM battery that I got in 2011 for my K-5 at the time and it is still going strong in my current K-1. It lasts so long I am surprised every time I see the "low battery" warning.

Also I don't leave anything on the charger. When a battery is dead I charge it and then put it back in the camera bag as my backup. I rotate 2 batteries (1 in the camera, 1 charged in the bag).

Of course, shooting habits will affect battery life. I rarely use Live View and almost never review photos on the camera or shoot video, so my LCD screen is not on very much. I also never used the built-in flash on my K-5 (K-1 doesn't even have one).

derekkite · 10-21-2016, 11:30 AM

Originally posted by MJKoski

It is usable in cold conditions. A7x mk2 models can be driven with USB battery pack for ages in cold. Using a dumb battery insert is more risky due to bubblegum patents for sealing off the battery compartment. It also comes in handy during long travels were hi-capacity USB-powerpack lasts for a week in the wilderness.

Never an issue here since the K5. I have two batteries in my pocket at all times and swap them out quickly if needed.

I'm always outside in the elements. Never had an issue opening and closing the battery door.

I run into more issues filling my sd cards than having batteries go dead.

peterh337 · 10-21-2016, 11:41 AM

Can anyone confirm if one can use a windows wifi laptop to move images (jpeg and raw) from the K1?

derekkite · 10-21-2016, 11:47 AM

Originally posted by peterh337

Can anyone confirm if one can use a windows wifi laptop to move images (jpeg and raw) from the K1?

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/190-pentax-k-1/330677-pc-desktop-tetherin...orks-well.html

Haven't tried it.

10-21-2016, 08:40 AM	#38
peterh337 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: London Posts: 573 Original Poster	External power is for - charging the battery (really silly to not implement that, because a charger is trivial, and if you charge slowly then it is really easy to incorporate that ... a few amps is a bit harder, hence all the problems with tablets overheating and shutting down when sun shines on them) - time lapse shots e.g. taking pics of plants growing (people AFAIK use really old Canon cameras for that for which various remote control hacks have been developed) - use as security cameras (AFAIK most of the temporary cameras on roadworks use high-end Canon DSLRs, somehow remotely connected) Also, lithium cells last much longer when kept charged, so keeping a camera on a charger overnight will make the battery last much longer. I have found the various Pentax batteries last a year (of very low usage) and then this $50-$100 battery is scrap, and of course most of the ones on Ebay / Amazon are fakes. I have a Hahnel for the K3 and it is the 2nd one, and already it is about 50% capacity. The original Pentax one is better... I agree that on a trip 2 batteries are better, but not when you find they are down to 20% of their published mAh (because they are 1 year old) and you didn't bring the charger Can you use a dumb battery insert? Surely these batteries are chipped, so a K3 battery won't work in the K1 even if exactly the same dimensions and voltage (got this on the Canon G10 -> G40). The only way I see is to use the real battery and connect 2 wires to the actual cells, and supply 3.6V (or whatever the actual cell voltage is) so basically the battery never goes flat (even if the camera indicator says it is flat - not sure if that uses the voltage, or is integrating the current). I can also see constructing a fake battery with a pickup coil, and doing induction charging, like modern phones. That is a really great feature... one of the best ever. But the fake battery would not have much room for the cells! Last edited by peterh337; 10-21-2016 at 08:45 AM.

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10-21-2016, 06:02 AM	#31
photoptimist Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2016 Photos: Albums Posts: 5,127	If 1/3000 second did not actually imply that any given small region (e.g., a 10x10 pixel patch where one might look at sharpness) was only being exposed for 1/3000 second, then fast shutter speeds would not stop motion. And the fact that Live View cannot focus through the window supports the hypothesis that the window is degrading the sharpness so much that the camera thinks focus is impossible. (That said, it does seem likely that the K-1 can suppress high-frequency vibration better than older cameras. If I listen to the SR system on the K-1, it has a noticeably higher frequency than the old K-5 does which seems to imply it uses a faster servo loop than the K-5. But I don't have a K-3 so I don't know if the K-1 is better than the K-3 in that regard.)

10-21-2016, 06:29 AM	#32
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,445	For the window a soft rubber hood is great to eliminate reflections. The size of the hood will be based on how much the glass curves (larger hood needed to avoid seeing it in the image as it tilts in the way. ) If the rubber hood isn't practical a polarizer may help.

10-21-2016, 06:34 AM	#33
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	Liveview usually fails to focus thru windows if there are any impurities in the glass or plain dirt. So it focuses into the glass plane instead. Contrast detect focusing works thru clean glass just fine and even thru properly cleaned triple glass household windows.

10-21-2016, 07:00 AM	#34
peterh337 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: London Posts: 573 Original Poster	What I found was that live view gets the focus either very slightly off, or is totally unable to focus. Thanks for the power unit information. I had forgotten about it! What one cannot do is to charge the battery in the camera.

10-21-2016, 07:28 AM	#35
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	A7x can charge battery in camera Sony is calling for you even if you resist for now.

10-21-2016, 07:41 AM	#36
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	I'm not sure what use a camera is plugged into a battery charging cable. Do they take pictures like that? Buy a second battery. On long trips (two weeks or more) I take 3. And I go places where there is no recharging possible.

10-21-2016, 08:38 AM	#37
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	It is usable in cold conditions. A7x mk2 models can be driven with USB battery pack for ages in cold. Using a dumb battery insert is more risky due to bubblegum patents for sealing off the battery compartment. It also comes in handy during long travels were hi-capacity USB-powerpack lasts for a week in the wilderness.

10-21-2016, 08:45 AM	#39
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	Originally posted by peterh337 Also, lithium cells last much longer when kept charged, so keeping a camera on a charger overnight will make the battery last much longer. I have found the various Pentax batteries last a year (of very low usage) and then this $50-$100 battery is scrap I am still using the the original batteries that came with my K-5s 5 years ago, I have no idea what you're talking about. I have three battery chargers available to me and two of them always have a battery in them, even though whenever I go out I take a spare. Way more efficient than plugging in the camera. My batteries are in the charger, even when I'm out shooting. If your batteries only last a year, you're the last person that should be giving battery care advice. Of our 5 current batteries, one exhibits the kind of short life, and it's 6 years old, came with my first K-5.

10-21-2016, 09:36 AM	#40
peterh337 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: London Posts: 573 Original Poster	If you keep batteries in the charger, that's why they last a long time.

10-21-2016, 10:33 AM	#41
Gimbal Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 2,106	Well I don't keep my batteries in the charger. I bought the K10d as soon as it came out, and used the original battery (one and only) until I bought the K-5 when it was released. Then I used that battery up until I bought the K-1. I never needed more then one battery since they lasted so long. I guess the K-5 battery has lost some stamina, it should have, but I can't tell as it still lasts very very long in the K-5 My battery "care" is use it until it drops one level, then charge and put back in camera. Most of the times though I charge it before it drops if I am about to leave for "longer" photo session and want to be sure that I have enough juice with me.

10-21-2016, 11:22 AM	#42
ajack Forum Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: Maine Posts: 95	Originally posted by peterh337 [...]I have found the various Pentax batteries last a year (of very low usage) and then this $50-$100 battery is scrap, and of course most of the ones on Ebay / Amazon are fakes. I have a Hahnel for the K3 and it is the 2nd one, and already it is about 50% capacity. The original Pentax one is better... I agree that on a trip 2 batteries are better, but not when you find they are down to 20% of their published mAh (because they are 1 year old) and you didn't bring the charger [...] This is not my experience at all. I have an OEM battery that I got in 2011 for my K-5 at the time and it is still going strong in my current K-1. It lasts so long I am surprised every time I see the "low battery" warning. Also I don't leave anything on the charger. When a battery is dead I charge it and then put it back in the camera bag as my backup. I rotate 2 batteries (1 in the camera, 1 charged in the bag). Of course, shooting habits will affect battery life. I rarely use Live View and almost never review photos on the camera or shoot video, so my LCD screen is not on very much. I also never used the built-in flash on my K-5 (K-1 doesn't even have one).

10-21-2016, 11:30 AM	#43
derekkite Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Nelson B.C. Posts: 3,782	Originally posted by MJKoski It is usable in cold conditions. A7x mk2 models can be driven with USB battery pack for ages in cold. Using a dumb battery insert is more risky due to bubblegum patents for sealing off the battery compartment. It also comes in handy during long travels were hi-capacity USB-powerpack lasts for a week in the wilderness. Never an issue here since the K5. I have two batteries in my pocket at all times and swap them out quickly if needed. I'm always outside in the elements. Never had an issue opening and closing the battery door. I run into more issues filling my sd cards than having batteries go dead.

10-21-2016, 11:41 AM	#44
peterh337 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: London Posts: 573 Original Poster	Can anyone confirm if one can use a windows wifi laptop to move images (jpeg and raw) from the K1?

10-21-2016, 11:47 AM	#45
derekkite Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Nelson B.C. Posts: 3,782	Originally posted by peterh337 Can anyone confirm if one can use a windows wifi laptop to move images (jpeg and raw) from the K1? https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/190-pentax-k-1/330677-pc-desktop-tetherin...orks-well.html Haven't tried it.