Speeding up the K1 !

Dericali · 03-13-2017, 08:05 AM - **1 Like**

I recently purchased the DFA* 70-200mm lens to pair with my K1, and apart from my aching arm, I'm very impressed with the glass. Seems like there's a lot of accuracy and control.

One thing I've not been so impressed with is the ability of the K1 to handle a high frame rate. When I take a number of photos it feels like there is a log-jam to process them, and some times it won't allow me to photograph for a second or two, which isn't ideal.

Can people please give me some advice on which functions I should turn off to enable maximum frame rate, and other considerations, such as SD mode etc. This is for concert photography, so quite poor light/high ISO

Cheers

**bobbotron** · 03-13-2017, 08:18 AM - **1 Like**

What kind of SD card are you using?

stevebrot · 03-13-2017, 08:34 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Dericali

When I take a number of photos it feels like there is a log-jam to process them, and some times it won't allow me to photograph for a second or two, which isn't ideal.

If you haven't already, turn off in-camera lens correction.

Steve

**TER-OR** · 03-13-2017, 08:37 AM - **2 Likes**

Shoot RAW, so you're not processing to jpg - and yes, lens correction is processor heavy too.

When I set up the K5 years ago, I turned off all the highlight, lens corrections etc. and saved it as a User mode. That was fast. Eventually I moved away from jpgs.

**bobbotron** · 03-13-2017, 08:52 AM - **3 Likes**

Originally posted by TER-OR

Shoot RAW, so you're not processing to jpg - and yes, lens correction is processor heavy too.

When I set up the K5 years ago, I turned off all the highlight, lens corrections etc. and saved it as a User mode. That was fast. Eventually I moved away from jpgs.

The nice thing if you do like the built in JPG processor, is that you can shoot raw, then convert all the images to jpg at the end of the event in camera.

5r82 · 03-13-2017, 09:32 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by bobbotron

The nice thing if you do like the built in JPG processor, is that you can shoot raw, then convert all the images to jpg at the end of the event in camera.

This is great piece of advice. Thank you.

Dericali · 03-13-2017, 10:32 AM

Originally posted by bobbotron

What kind of SD card are you using?

I'm using 2x 64gb SD cards with 90mbs (or thereabouts) write speed.

f22 · 03-13-2017, 10:48 AM - **1 Like**

Samsung Pro + SD ranked at the top for read/write performance. And they don't spontaneously combust, like their phones!

biz-engineer · 03-13-2017, 12:12 PM - **2 Likes**

On the K1, the bottleneck is writing the SD card once the buffer is full. Once the buffer is full, the wait time prevents to continue shooting. Usually, subjects aren't in interesting posture all the time. The trick is to figure a time frame where the subject is interesting to shoot. The workaround is to lower the average frame rate, while keeping the highest instant frame rate during the time frame of interest, for instance interrupting the burst every 3 or 4 shots, RAW. That works very well for me, this way I can even shoot sports with a K1 and without being bothered by a full buffer. I did not find JPEG would help much, once the buffer is full, whether it is full of RAWs or full of JPEG, the amount of data to clear is the same. Important is not to waste frames on boring composition (wasting a lot of frames is what people do with the D500).

Nuno Almeida · 03-13-2017, 12:37 PM

If you can shoot in crop, do it, the k1 feels faster in crop, even square crop, anything you can do to reduce file size or workload of the camera helps, keep it simple for the camera.

Btw when when I say shoot in crop, I don't mean to waste the pixis available in the K1, but like if you are shooting something that you know you will eventually crop, crop it to begin with.

**sbh** · 03-13-2017, 03:25 PM

There was a discussion about card speeds including some tests somewhere.
K3 & K3-ii memory card write speed - PentaxForums.com

rawr · 03-13-2017, 03:30 PM

Originally posted by Dericali

I'm using 2x 64gb SD cards with 90mbs (or thereabouts) write speed.

What brand and model?

Worth noting, perhaps, that not all SD cards are what they claim to be ... Some measure their specifications very idiosyncratically, many cards are also simply counterfeit, particularly if bought online. Hence many a card may not perform as claimed.

Also did you format your cards in-camera? Remember that 64GB SD cards need to be formatted exFAT, vs FAT32 for 32 to 4GB GB cards. Formatting outside the camera (eg on a PC) can sometimes mess up the file system, which may compromise performance.

Paul the Sunman · 03-13-2017, 03:36 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Nuno Almeida

If you can shoot in crop, do it, the k1 feels faster in crop, even square crop, ...

Is that true? I understood square crop actually saved the whole FF image, but just raised a flag respected by most software to only display the cropped square. APS-C crop on the other hand saves only the crop region and is noticeably faster.

Nuno Almeida · 03-14-2017, 02:15 AM

Originally posted by Paul the Sunman

Is that true? I understood square crop actually saved the whole FF image, but just raised a flag respected by most software to only display the cropped square. APS-C crop on the other hand saves only the crop region and is noticeably faster.

Maybe, I don't usually use square and could be wrong, easy enough to try it

Kunzite · 03-14-2017, 03:49 AM

Indeed, with the square crop the full 36MP RAW is saved (with the appropriate crop tags) - however the embedded JPEGs are cropped. I'm not sure if that's enough to make a (tiny) difference.
Software like Silkypix or Pentax DCU can extract the full (non-cropped) image from a square crop RAW. I couldn't find any way of doing the same in Lightroom, and I guess some other applications might even ignore the crop tags.

03-13-2017, 08:05 AM - 1 Like	#1
Dericali Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Berlin Posts: 298	Speeding up the K1 ! I recently purchased the DFA* 70-200mm lens to pair with my K1, and apart from my aching arm, I'm very impressed with the glass. Seems like there's a lot of accuracy and control. One thing I've not been so impressed with is the ability of the K1 to handle a high frame rate. When I take a number of photos it feels like there is a log-jam to process them, and some times it won't allow me to photograph for a second or two, which isn't ideal. Can people please give me some advice on which functions I should turn off to enable maximum frame rate, and other considerations, such as SD mode etc. This is for concert photography, so quite poor light/high ISO Cheers

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03-13-2017, 08:18 AM - 1 Like	#2
bobbotron Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Ottawa, ON Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,348	What kind of SD card are you using?

03-13-2017, 08:34 AM - 1 Like	#3
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Dericali When I take a number of photos it feels like there is a log-jam to process them, and some times it won't allow me to photograph for a second or two, which isn't ideal. If you haven't already, turn off in-camera lens correction. Steve

03-13-2017, 08:37 AM - 2 Likes	#4
TER-OR Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Dundee, IL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,699	Shoot RAW, so you're not processing to jpg - and yes, lens correction is processor heavy too. When I set up the K5 years ago, I turned off all the highlight, lens corrections etc. and saved it as a User mode. That was fast. Eventually I moved away from jpgs.

03-13-2017, 08:52 AM - 3 Likes	#5
bobbotron Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Ottawa, ON Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,348	Originally posted by TER-OR Shoot RAW, so you're not processing to jpg - and yes, lens correction is processor heavy too. When I set up the K5 years ago, I turned off all the highlight, lens corrections etc. and saved it as a User mode. That was fast. Eventually I moved away from jpgs. The nice thing if you do like the built in JPG processor, is that you can shoot raw, then convert all the images to jpg at the end of the event in camera.

03-13-2017, 09:32 AM - 2 Likes	#6
5r82 Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2017 Photos: Gallery Posts: 462	Originally posted by bobbotron The nice thing if you do like the built in JPG processor, is that you can shoot raw, then convert all the images to jpg at the end of the event in camera. This is great piece of advice. Thank you.

03-13-2017, 10:32 AM	#7
Dericali Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Berlin Posts: 298 Original Poster	Originally posted by bobbotron What kind of SD card are you using? I'm using 2x 64gb SD cards with 90mbs (or thereabouts) write speed.

03-13-2017, 10:48 AM - 1 Like	#8
f22 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 117	Samsung Pro + SD ranked at the top for read/write performance. And they don't spontaneously combust, like their phones!

03-13-2017, 12:12 PM - 2 Likes	#9
biz-engineer Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2015 Photos: Gallery Posts: 12,223	On the K1, the bottleneck is writing the SD card once the buffer is full. Once the buffer is full, the wait time prevents to continue shooting. Usually, subjects aren't in interesting posture all the time. The trick is to figure a time frame where the subject is interesting to shoot. The workaround is to lower the average frame rate, while keeping the highest instant frame rate during the time frame of interest, for instance interrupting the burst every 3 or 4 shots, RAW. That works very well for me, this way I can even shoot sports with a K1 and without being bothered by a full buffer. I did not find JPEG would help much, once the buffer is full, whether it is full of RAWs or full of JPEG, the amount of data to clear is the same. Important is not to waste frames on boring composition (wasting a lot of frames is what people do with the D500).

03-13-2017, 12:37 PM	#10
Nuno Almeida Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Aveiro Posts: 179	If you can shoot in crop, do it, the k1 feels faster in crop, even square crop, anything you can do to reduce file size or workload of the camera helps, keep it simple for the camera. Btw when when I say shoot in crop, I don't mean to waste the pixis available in the K1, but like if you are shooting something that you know you will eventually crop, crop it to begin with.

03-13-2017, 03:25 PM	#11
sbh Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Black Forest, Germany Photos: Gallery Posts: 849	There was a discussion about card speeds including some tests somewhere. K3 & K3-ii memory card write speed - PentaxForums.com

03-13-2017, 03:30 PM	#12
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Originally posted by Dericali I'm using 2x 64gb SD cards with 90mbs (or thereabouts) write speed. What brand and model? Worth noting, perhaps, that not all SD cards are what they claim to be ... Some measure their specifications very idiosyncratically, many cards are also simply counterfeit, particularly if bought online. Hence many a card may not perform as claimed. Also did you format your cards in-camera? Remember that 64GB SD cards need to be formatted exFAT, vs FAT32 for 32 to 4GB GB cards. Formatting outside the camera (eg on a PC) can sometimes mess up the file system, which may compromise performance.

03-13-2017, 03:36 PM - 1 Like	#13
Paul the Sunman Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,842	Originally posted by Nuno Almeida If you can shoot in crop, do it, the k1 feels faster in crop, even square crop, ... Is that true? I understood square crop actually saved the whole FF image, but just raised a flag respected by most software to only display the cropped square. APS-C crop on the other hand saves only the crop region and is noticeably faster.

03-14-2017, 02:15 AM	#14
Nuno Almeida Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Aveiro Posts: 179	Originally posted by Paul the Sunman Is that true? I understood square crop actually saved the whole FF image, but just raised a flag respected by most software to only display the cropped square. APS-C crop on the other hand saves only the crop region and is noticeably faster. Maybe, I don't usually use square and could be wrong, easy enough to try it

03-14-2017, 03:49 AM	#15
Kunzite Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Romania Posts: 15,132	Indeed, with the square crop the full 36MP RAW is saved (with the appropriate crop tags) - however the embedded JPEGs are cropped. I'm not sure if that's enough to make a (tiny) difference. Software like Silkypix or Pentax DCU can extract the full (non-cropped) image from a square crop RAW. I couldn't find any way of doing the same in Lightroom, and I guess some other applications might even ignore the crop tags.

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