[dsimaitis]

Thank you all for your excellent input! Sorry my sample photos didn't show, I see them okay. I'll work on that, too... Great ideas and a great place for me to start!!! I will keep you posted!!!

Davina

[JeffJS]

Without the result being quite so beautiful, kind of yes! I have set my AF to center, and will report back once I can take a good group of test shots. Thanks!!!

Someone also made the point that you also want to stick with AF-S unless you are shooting a moving target (I think AF-C defaults to Center anyway regardless of the setting). AF-C refocuses every time the target moves, even if you are ready to take the picture. Try shooting one of those flowers when it's windy and the camera is set to AF-C.. It'll drive you nutz! (MF actually works best).

Don't despair, A little practice and once you get it, you'll be amazed at what you can do with the K7. I know I am.

[Marc Sabatella]

BTW, pet peeve alert, but this gives me chance to debut the following unnecessarily sarcastic but perhaps insightful comment. I assure you the sarcasm is nothing personal - it's not directed at you personally - so please bear with me. Here is my comment:

The reason you aren't getting "crisp" pictures is that you are using the word "crisp" where most experienced photographers would use the word "sharp" :-)

The grain of truth behind this obviously silly/sarcastic statement is that when someone uses the word "crisp" in this context, it generally (not always!) indicates they aren't very experienced, because the word "sharp" really is the more common term here. And if someone isn't experienced enoug to know that, then that in itself is probably the problem - they probably also aren't experienced enough to be dealing with focus properly, or using appropriate apertures, shutter speeds, or ISO levels for the situation.

So the bottom line is, when I see someone complaining they aren't getting "crisp" pictures, I usually have a guess as to why this is the case before reading any further or looking at samples - it's because they are inexperienced. Of course, I don't know what *specifically* someone might be doing wrong without looking at the examples, but I do know the common mistakes beginners tend to make (the things already mentioned on this thread).

The reason it's become something of a pet peeve because many people's first impulse is to blame the equipment (eg, "what's wrong with my camera? it won't take crisp pictures"). Which is why I say, please don't take my little attempt at being clever personally - I think you're well on your way to figuring things out. I'm not implying you were blaming the equipment unnecessarily; it really was just the use of the word "crisp" that got me off on this tangent.

Oh well, hopefully no one is offended by these comments, and if anyone is moderately amused, great.

BTW, I have no idea why you can see images in your post but no one else can, but I'm going to bring this to the attention of the site administrators. If you were doing something wrong with the posting, then you shouldn't see the images, either.

[JeffJS]

Pet Peeve noted....

BTW, I have no idea why you can see images in your post but no one else can, but I'm going to bring this to the attention of the site administrators. If you were doing something wrong with the posting, then you shouldn't see the images, either.

Check the permissions on the photos. With Flickr (for instance) if the photo is not tagged for everyone (public view), it will not show up to anyone who doesn't have specific permissions (I keep most family photos private for instance). Also note that with flickr (for instance, again), once you change the permissions, you've also changed the Links. I can do a blanket change on the permissions of my flickr account and wipe out every picture I've ever posted here from public view, in a matter of minutes.

[egordon99]

Hello...

I am terribly frustrated right now. The camera zeroes in on one spot, and one spot only, to put in focus and the rest is uncrisp or even blurry.

That's how photography works. The lens can only focus at one distance, and only "stuff" at that distance will be in focus. Your aperture will affect how "sorta in focus" stuff is as you move away from that distance.

Granted, I am still reading my book... but, I would think that a camera straight out of the box would take a decent picture without manipulating any settings yet.

Photography is very similar to music. You wouldn't buy a Martin guitar and expect to make decent music without knowing anything about how to play guitar?

Does anyone have any idea what might be going wrong? It very well could be me... but, I just tried to take a picture of my husband's new motorcycle and they are awful. With a camera of this price, I would expect them to be crystal clear!

And that line of thinking is what is frustrating you. The camera is JUST a tool. You need to know how to operate the tool properly. There's a reason they have books about photography. Heck, they even have classes and entire degrees for photography.

Pick up some basic books about photography to start. Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" is a good book. Don't get caught up in the gear. Photography is all about capturing light, and you now have some fine equipment to capture the light. You just need to get to grips with the basics. And remember, if you're not getting "crisp" pictures, it's most likely NOT the equipment. Knowledge is much cheaper than gear, and the payoff is FAR greater.

Good luck!

[yeatzee]

That is one heck of a camera to start shooting dslr's with! Wow, lucky you

the k-7 is very complicated, and is not something most people can just pick up and take great pictures with. Believe me though, work at it and you will soon see the glory that is the DSLR

-------------------------------

I'd like to make a side note if I can. One of my biggest pet peeves is the "wow you must have a really great camera/equipment!" comment I get when people see some of my images. This shows that such an "expensive" camera is nothing more than a tool. Its only as good as its operator. The camera's price does not somehow equate to better images, which most people don't understand.

[Peter Zack]

I've looked at the original post and the photos that were uploaded. You gallery shows as empty. The best way (easiest) to upload a few photos is the following:

To start a new post, click the "quick reply" button.
Then under the dialogue box, click "go Advanced"
The you'll see this screen:

Click on Manage Attachments.
You will see this pop up:

Click the browser button (there are 5) and find your image file. Putting it on the desktop for this makes it easier to locate. Click on the Upload button after you insert the file(s) in each box.
Then click on the 'paperclip':

You can then add text for that file, Insert the next file, add text etc.

Or you can upload all the files and Click Insert All and space them with the text you want. Hit Submit reply and you're pics are there.

[dsimaitis]

Thank you everybody for the insightful comments. I do realize now for certain that I am just getting to know the techniques of DSLR photography, that I have a great camera to work with, and that it is just going to take time and a lot of effort to maximize my potential.

I really appreciate the instructions for photos. I did change the permissions... that was the problem. But, with the new uploading info maybe I can get them to be the right size, too!!!

As for the pet peeve, this is a beginner's forum so naturally I am here to learn. No offense taken.

I have incorporated some of the things I have learned in this thread, and will be posting some new and improved photos soon!

Davina

[yeatzee]

Those images are way to small to make any judgment on them.... I highly suggest starting a flickr account now that you are on a forum where inevitably you will post more pictures. Its free unless you want the pro account (which I have) which gives you unlimited uploads a month compared to the free's limited.

flickr will give you just about the best resizing, and will keep your images as close as possible to their actual quality.

[JeffJS]

Actually, in looking at the album, the Motorcycle pictures are pretty fair and what I might expect out of the kit lens. Spme post processing sharpening could be applied on them to clean them up. The two indoor shots, could benefit from a flash. And yes, the two field shots are too small to get any real information from. According to the Exif however, it looks like you were wide open aperture, a place where the kit lens does not play well.

[Marc Sabatella]

Actually, in looking at the album, the Motorcycle pictures are pretty fair and what I might expect out of the kit lens.

Agreed. You can get these by going to the OP's profile and then checking out her album. The motorcycle itself looks fine at the posted size. The background is out of focus, but that's totally normal for the aperture at which the pictures were shot. Hard to tell what happened on the field picture, as it's too small. In the flowers, it sure looks like one or two of the flowers areare in focus, and the rest not - exactly what you should expect shooting at f/4 at close range. Similarly with the bottles - it looks like part of one bottle is in focus, and the rest not because you didn't select a small enough aperture to create enough DOF.

Coming from the P&S world, I'm sure the whole idea of thinking about DOF and where exactly you are placing your focus sounds like a foreign language. But as I and others here have said before, the ability to create shallow DOF is usually one considered of the biggest *advantages* of a DSLR over a P&S. But it does mean you have to be sure to choose an appropriate aperture for your shot to get the DOF you want.

[dsimaitis]

Little by little... thanks!

Davina

[JeffJS]

Looking better but for a second on that last one, I thought I was looking at My back yard....

[mike.hiran]

I like your shot of your wind chimes... this is where I think a shallow depth of field is useful/artistic - it allows you to have what you think is important in the picture to be highlighted. Sometimes if everything is in focus, it can be distracting to look at all the other background stuff which isn't necessarily what you want to have the viewers look at. Anyway, the first post still has very small pictures, while your last post shows up nicely. Well done on learning how to post pictures here!