[beholder3]

Kenspo and others who have acces to a KP, can you please quickly test the following things:

• Is electronic shutter available in normal optical viewfinder mode (the manual seems to suggest that)?
• Is it still only second curtain ES in liveview as on the K-1 (in pixelshift mode the images 2 and 3 are made purely with ES, no parts moving)

[wildboar]

I've been wondering the same thing. I also wonder about its use in live view mode.

[Steve.Ledger]

• Is electronic shutter available in normal optical viewfinder mode (the manual seems to suggest that)?

How could that even be possible with a mirror in the way? It has to flip up to expose the sensor which in turn closes off the OVF.

[apete]

How could that even be possible with a mirror in the way? It has to flip up to expose the sensor which in turn closes off the OVF.

Why would not that be possible? Once the mirror is up you are in a mode that is pretty similar to live view. Maybe there is no image transferred to the back screen but sensor is working and can do whatever it is programmed to do.

[beholder3]

you could raise the mirror and open both physical shutter curtains.
And then both "open" and "close" the electronic shutter for an 1/24000 exposure before closing the physical shutter.

[ffking]

you could raise the mirror and open both physical shutter curtains.
And then both "open" and "close" the electronic shutter for an 1/24000 exposure before closing the physical shutter.

That would raise some quite interesting possibilities for high speed flash - though the exposure would presumably have to be set manually. Does anyone k ow if the k-1's ES can be used to get higher shutter speeds with flash?

[Steve.Ledger]

Why would not that be possible? Once the mirror is up you are in a mode that is pretty similar to live view. Maybe there is no image transferred to the back screen but sensor is working and can do whatever it is programmed to do.

You just proved my point. The mirror HAS to be up therefore there can be no OVF view. (as asked by the OP)

[apete]

You just proved my point. The mirror HAS to be up therefore there can be no OVF view. (as asked by the OP)

Did I? How?
Mirror up does not mean we are taking photo. It only means that sensor can see the world and there is no OVF. But it is a matter of camera if sensor is registering & saving a picture or not. So yes, it is possible once it is programmed.

you could raise the mirror and open both physical shutter curtains.
And then both "open" and "close" the electronic shutter for an 1/24000 exposure before closing the physical shutter.

That is exactly what I meant!

[Steve.Ledger]

Did I? How?
Mirror up does not mean we are taking photo. It only means that sensor can see the world and there is no OVF. But it is a matter of camera if sensor is registering & saving a picture or not. So yes, it is possible once it is programmed.

The OP asked "Is electronic shutter available in normal optical viewfinder mode "
This implies the OP wants to use the electronic shutter while looking through the OVF, otherwise why would he have mentioned the OVF at all?

[lithedreamer]

The OP asked "Is electronic shutter available in normal optical viewfinder mode "
This implies the OP wants to use the electronic shutter while looking through the OVF, otherwise why would he have mentioned the OVF at all?

Electronic viewfinder in OVF mode is totally possible. The mirror has to raise to expose the sensor either way, it's just a matter of what kind of shutter curtains you're using.

[BrianR]

That would raise some quite interesting possibilities for high speed flash - though the exposure would presumably have to be set manually. Does anyone k ow if the k-1's ES can be used to get higher shutter speeds with flash?

afaik, the K-1 disables triggering the flash whenever the electronic shutter is enabled and it looks like the kp does the same (from page 52 of its manual). My understanding is the electronic shutter on current cmos sensors are pretty slow rolling shutters that don't sync well with flashes resulting in uneven exposures or major black areas depending on the specific equipment/settings.

Here's a good rolling shutter example from the k-1: Does the electronic shutter provide anything other than ultrafast shutter speeds? - PentaxForums.com

I also don't see why electronic shutter with the optical viewfinder would necessarily be disabled, but definitely someone should check

[lithedreamer]

I also don't see why electronic shutter with the optical viewfinder would necessarily be disabled, but definitely someone should check

It's disabled on the K-1 EFCS mode, so I'm curious to see if it's changed with the KP (if so, they may backport this in March's K-1 firmware update).

[Not a Number]

I also don't see why electronic shutter with the optical viewfinder would necessarily be disabled, but definitely someone should check

It probably has to do with the lag time for moving the mirror negating the advantage of an electronic shutter.

[cgchang]

Found this site with clips of Pentax KP electronic shutter in live view and in "conventional mode". Also has clips of the KP shutter vs other Pentax cameras.

Pentax DSLR shutter sounds, part 2 | breakfastographer

[lithedreamer]

Found this site with clips of Pentax KP electronic shutter in live view and in "conventional mode". Also has clips of the KP shutter vs other Pentax cameras.

Pentax DSLR shutter sounds, part 2 | breakfastographer

That's fairly quiet, even in OVF mode. Thanks for sharing!