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12-20-2010, 12:43 PM   #1
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Need Help with setting my Pentax K10D

Hello,

Can someone please help me. I received a camera three years ago and I have yet to learn how to use it. I have a friend that is being engaged to tonight and want to use my camera. A few months ago I was playing around with my camera and think I messed up the settings because now the camera is not on the right setting. I am in no way knowledgeable about this camera. I have not taken photography classes but I love the aspect of photography and love taking photos and creating memories. Tonight we are going to be inside and a room that has dim lighting. I have a pentax K10D which is an sr. What setting should I use?

12-20-2010, 01:06 PM - 1 Like   #2
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Set the camera to "Green" mode on the mode dial.
Set the auto focus switch to AF.C.
Press "Fn" go right to ISO. Set ISO to Auto. Press Okay.
Take pictures.

Then "Read the Manual".

Regards

Chris Stone
12-20-2010, 01:09 PM   #3
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Hi, and welcome to the forum. There should be an option under set up that allows you to reset the camera to factory settings. What sort of setting do you think you've messed up?

If you're going to be inside and in dim lighting, you need to go wide to normal in focal length and fast. I've found that something between 24-35mm and around f/2.8 or faster would be best for indoor. What sort of lenses do you have at your disposal?

If you're unfamiliar with how to use manual mode, then I'd suggest simply using auto mode and letting the camera do what it's designed to do. If you want to feel a bit more in control, you can use Av mode and set the aperture to as open as possible, and an ISO as low as possible and still get adequate shutter speeds. Again, if all this sounds completely unfamiliar to you then I'd suggest using auto mode for now until you have time to learn the exposure triangle and get comfortable with it. Good luck!
12-20-2010, 01:14 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by seventhdr Quote
Set the camera to "Green" mode on the mode dial.
Set the auto focus switch to AF.C.
Press "Fn" go right to ISO. Set ISO to Auto. Press Okay.
Take pictures.

Then "Read the Manual".

Regards

Chris Stone
Hi and welcome...

I think the post above is your best bet - you can play around later, but for the wedding, it is best to just go fully auto and you have a good chance of getting good shots..
The auto focus switch is on the side of the camera and the 'Fn' button will take you into the on screen menu..

Good luck

12-20-2010, 01:19 PM   #5
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Be sure to also use your flash liberally.
You may not get the most flattering results, but at least they will be sharp and useable under those low light conditions.
All the best for the party.

This thread should go to the Beginner's corner.
12-20-2010, 01:27 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by seventhdr Quote
Set the camera to "Green" mode on the mode dial.
Set the auto focus switch to AF.C.
Press "Fn" go right to ISO. Set ISO to Auto. Press Okay.
Take pictures.

Then "Read the Manual".

Regards

Chris Stone
After doing the above read the manual again. If you don't have one you can get a PDF version of the manual here: Digital Cameras and Accessories - Official PENTAX Imaging Web Site
12-21-2010, 12:44 AM   #7
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I suspect the OP doesn't understand the basic concepts of photography so "read the manual" probably won't help much. So, using the Green settings for now, for everything should get her going using the camera, and taking some sort of class should help with the rest.

12-21-2010, 06:33 AM   #8
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remind me to change my avatar to a good looking woman so i get responses in a faster and exponential manner.

as to your OP. the k10 is a hard camera to learn on. i have one and when i purchased it, i too was in over my head. you could also throw it in "P" mode, bump the iso to "auto" and turn the dial to you an f stop in the 7-11 range. if you found your way to this place, i'd suspect your tech savvy enough be able to follow the directions that others have listed too. good luck and post some pics when you're done.
12-21-2010, 09:09 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Deiberson Quote
<snip>
the k10 is a hard camera to learn on.
<snip>
So, the way to make it easy or easier is to simplify - part of that includes working out of doors, as lighting is a whole art in it's own right and outside the sun is there, big and free. Also don't try taking something that's running around - following action is another skill, and another complication.

I learnt using a Pentax ME Super which has two modes - auto (which is Av in modern speak) or manual. I always used it in auto, I learnt about aperture, ISO, shutter speed and how they affect camera shake and depth of field.

Any DSLR should be easier because bytes are cheap and immediate compared to film - it's not going to cost anything except time an effort to go and shot lots of versions of the same thing to explore the three main parameters.


For example:
  • Set camera to Av, set aperture to somewhere between f8 and f16
  • Set ISO to 100
  • Point camera at scene and press shutter
  • Set ISO to 200 - the shutter speed will change, don't worry
  • Point camera at scene and press shutter
and so on up to (say) ISO 1600.

Take camera to PC, download the pictures, and have a good look at the difference in image quality between ISO100 and ISO1600 - it should convince you to use the lowest ISO you can get away with.

You can explore aperture in the same say except you are altering the aperture rather than the ISO between each shot and you probably need to set a medium-fast ISO - say 400 - so all the shots come out.

And you can explore shutter speed, by setting the camera to Tv, using ISO400 and again taking a series of handheld shots. Zoom in for this one. Start from 1/10 and work through faster and faster shutter speeds.

You can explore all these a bit more by using longer and shorter focal lengths. The manual will explain how to select Av or Tv modes, and how to set the ISO, aperture and shutter speeds.

In each case the images need looking at carefully on a PC monitor - don't expect to see what is going on using the screen on the back of the camera.

It really is not rocket science to get the basics of using a camera - any camera.

The really, really hard bit IMHO is working out what to point it at and when, to get a really good shot. If all one is doing is snap-shot photography then Canon make a big range of superb compact cameras (I still have my Powershot A70).

The point to me of owning a decent DSLR is to get far more creative control over my shots, plus of course better image quality in a far larger image. (the A70 produced pretty good JPGs though, and I never used it on anything but auto)

The other huge advantage we have now over 20 or 30 years ago is the amount of information on the Internet. OK, some of it is wrong (not much in the camera sphere) and quite a bit of it is poorly explained, but you can find on-line tutorials to explain just about any aspect of photography.

The other avenues are joining a camera club, and/or taking a course. For anyone in the UK the Open University still has a couple of presentations ot T189 to run, and while signed up you can get student software as well at a huge discount - my copy of Photoshop was about 1/3 a retail copy. It takes you through all the above sort of stuff, but more importantly now has a big emphasis on looking at other people's photos and commenting on them, to develop one's critical faculties. It's not clear yet if there will be a replacement course - it was/is very popular.

T189 - Digital photography: creating and sharing better images - Open University Course
12-21-2010, 12:56 PM   #10
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ha ha, that was funny about the avatar picture. But, it is actually me. Thanks for the advice. Yesterday it took a while to get a response so I got on the Pentax website and chatted with someone for about an hour. He suggested to turn the dial to tv, change the iso to 800 to 1100 and then have the shutter spead at 1/125. What do y'all think? The engagement got changed to tonight.
12-21-2010, 01:09 PM   #11
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Recap and more questions K10D setting for tonight.

Thanks to everyone that replied.

So that I get this correct, I will ask agian...


What setting should the turn dial be on?
what app should it be on?
What iso should it be?
What shutter spead should it be on?

It will be inside at Gaylord Ice event. So I am assuming it is pretty dim. If any of you are from Texas and are familiar with this venue then you could maybe help more on what type of lighting. You can see photos of where we will be at wefrozecharliebrown.com. to see the room that we will be in.

As far as shooting in green mode, I have read in several places that this camera does not preform its best in green mode because since it is more for experienced photogs.

Thanks again. I really appreciate all feed back.

Last edited by mangie13; 12-21-2010 at 01:24 PM.
12-21-2010, 01:12 PM   #12
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What the Pentaz tech support suggested

Here is what the Pentax tech support suggested, his name was Matthew P.

turn the dial to tv
app 1/125
iso 800 to 1100


Do yall agree?
12-21-2010, 01:21 PM   #13
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oh my lens is....

SMC Pentax DA 18-55
12-21-2010, 01:23 PM   #14
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that will work if the light isn't to low. if it is turn on the flash

and to really be able to push the cameras limits and get better results have a look at this thread, there are some excellent web sites discussed that will help you learn the camera's true functionality. I've been shooting for close to 40 years now and i found lots of interest here
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/123941-what-some-g...er-photos.html

oh and was mentioned earlier the k10 is not an easy camera to learn on, If you find it too much you may want to switch to a kx or other entry level which has modes to help you. any enthusiast camera like the k10 eliminates these as the user usually has sime understanding of how to achieve the same effect the mode provides
12-21-2010, 01:32 PM   #15
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Mangie,

The suggestion for the green mode is sound - here's why:
Pentax cameras tend to underexpose slightly to preserve highlights, which if blown are unsalvageable if shooting in JPEG mode. At your stage, you'd be just looking to get your focus right and shooting without having to worry whether your settings are right or not.

Matthew P's suggestion may also be fine, but you'll be getting considerable noise in your results at ISO 800 and above, and since Matthew has no idea what kind of lighting is at your venue (as we don't), you may end up with blurry images from a shallow depth of field (from large aperture settings the camera will choose in Tv mode), which the 18-55 lens performs quite poorly at.

That's why the green mode is as good as any for you at your stage.
I'd also suggest you do a dry run before the event and see how well the results come out in camera. Get the best seat in the house and get up close to the action.
Some underexposure can be salvaged in post-processing (computer software), but if ISO is 800 and above, then noise will start to become unsightly in the images.

So if you find you need more brightness to your images, my suggestion is to dial the camera to P mode and boost exposure compensation (the EV value) to +1.0 and check your results again.

See how you go.
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