[seww]

It's easy enough to find out what settings you used. Do you use a Mac or PC? And what viewer/organizing sw are you using?

I have a PC and just using the Windows picture software at the moment. I have Photoshop but haven't installed it yet... Have had a few problems with the laptop...

[boriscleto]

Then you'll want to download PhotoMe.

PhotoME - Exif, IPTC & ICC Metadata Editor

PhotoME is a powerful tool to show and edit the meta data of image files. Thanks to the well organised layout and intuitive handling, it's possible to analyse and modify Exif and IPTC-NAA data as well as analyse ICC profiles - and it's completely FREE!

This will allow you to read the Exif data on your photos.

FastStone is a nice image browser that is more advanced than the M$ tools.

FastStone Image Viewer, Screen Capture, Photo Resizer ...

An image browser, converter and editor that supports all major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA. It has a nice array of features such as image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping, color adjustments, musical slideshow and much more.

[grainbelt]

Then you'll want to download PhotoMe.

This will allow you to read the Exif data on your photos.

FastStone is a nice image browser that is more advanced than the M$ tools.

Picasa is also an option, and useful for very minor edits, organizing, and uploading.

[seww]

It seems like the camera (AF) might have focused on the pattern on the floor instead of the dog as probably intended? If this is the case, setting the AF point to center only, and locking focus with a half press of the shutter button, recomposing and the fully pressing the shutter button should help. Can't see the exif-info link so I'm assuming this has none (good to have for sample shots as the parameters can be found in that).

Did a PhotoME on it and here's some information:
Exp. Time: 1/2"
F: 6.3
ISO: 400
AWB
Focus mode: AF-A
Noise Reduction: Off
No flash

[seww]

I went out today in the daylight, short as it may be, and noticed that the pictures turn out a lot better when I got some decent light!

Exp: 1/30"
ISO: 400
Aperture: F8
Focus: AF-C
No flash.

Pretty sharp in my opinion. Anything else I could work on?

[jolepp]

Did a PhotoME on it and here's some information:
Exp. Time: 1/2"
F: 6.3
ISO: 400
AWB
Focus mode: AF-A
Noise Reduction: Off
No flash

Assuming this was taken handheld it is surprising that the picture is not blurrier with a 1/2 s shutter time. Try using a higher ISO (up to 1600 or even 3200 is pretty nice with the k-x) and a larger aperture (smaller numeric value) until you get the time to something like 1/60s (1/15 or 1/30 probably works with SR, but YMMV, with these, be sure that the SR hand icon in the viewfinder has lit before pressing the shutter fully as SR needs some time to activate).

[Kitty]

Cute dog

[jolepp]

I went out today in the daylight, short as it may be, and noticed that the pictures turn out a lot better when I got some decent light!

Exp: 1/30"
ISO: 400
Aperture: F8
Focus: AF-C
No flash.

Pretty sharp in my opinion. Anything else I could work on?

Here the shutter time is reasonably fast and the change of getting no blur (from camera shake) with SR is pretty good. In essence having more light has made this possible. I would probably use higher ISO or larger aperture to get to 1/60s at least for less change of blur (and, actually, if the dog doesn't stay relatively put even faster shutter time could be good to stop motion). A smaller aperture will mean a thinner area in focus, but this shot would probably have worked with a step larger aperture (5.6) too. For some reason the camera is in AF.C mode although this is probably not called for. If possible I tend to use AF.S, center focus + recompose for consistent results. When things happen too fast for that using 5 or 11 points and/or AF.C give better results as the camera makes fair guesses :-)

[seww]

Assuming this was taken handheld it is surprising that the picture is not blurrier with a 1/2 s shutter time. Try using a higher ISO (up to 1600 or even 3200 is pretty nice with the k-x) and a larger aperture (smaller numeric value) until you get the time to something like 1/60s (1/15 or 1/30 probably works with SR, but YMMV, with these, be sure that the SR hand icon in the viewfinder has lit before pressing the shutter fully as SR needs some time to activate).

Yes it was all handheld, but since I'm a bit allergic to high ISO (from all the years with P&S cameras), I try and go as low as possible.

SR is always on for me and I think I'm using it right. But I'm learning more and more about the camera so, it's getting better!

[seww]

Cute dog

Thank you! It's an old Akita Inu, she's almost 10 or something...

[seww]

Here the shutter time is reasonably fast and the change of getting no blur (from camera shake) with SR is pretty good. In essence having more light has made this possible. I would probably use higher ISO or larger aperture to get to 1/60s at least for less change of blur (and, actually, if the dog doesn't stay relatively put even faster shutter time could be good to stop motion). A smaller aperture will mean a thinner area in focus, but this shot would probably have worked with a step larger aperture (5.6) too. For some reason the camera is in AF.C mode although this is probably not called for. If possible I tend to use AF.S, center focus + recompose for consistent results. When things happen too fast for that using 5 or 11 points and/or AF.C give better results as the camera makes fair guesses :-)

I'm always trying to push the shutter speed as high as I can so ISO can be lower, but some of the pictures got blurrier because of this, so I need to start using higher ISO.
Yeah, I changed to AF-C, isn't that good? And 11 points..
Going to try more tomorrow when the light is back and try spot focusing instead.

Thank you for your help!

[boriscleto]

Like jolepp almost all of my pictures are taken with center point and AF-S. The only thing I use AF-C and 11 point for are action shots.

Oct 08, 2010 - a set on Flickr

This set was shot on TV 1/400 - 1/500, Auto ISO, 11 point AF-C.

[leadfoot]

It sounds like P mode on the mode selector dial might be a good place to start for you.

P mode is "automatic", the camera will select the aperture and shutter speed, and it sets them to maximize the sharpness of the lens mounted, the fastest shutter speed. The rear control wheel will change the aperture, and the camera will adjust the shutter speed appropriately.

If you've selected Auto ISO, P mode will start bumping up the ISO, but only as a last resort. Once the shutter speed gets to around 1/45 and the lens wide open, the camera will start bumping up the ISO as you turn the rear control wheel. This 1/45 of a second may be lens dependent, ie it might be 1/200 sec for a telephoto lens... Anyway, bumping up the ISO is the last thing P mode adjusts, just what you want. Try it and see!

Trust the K-x ISO performance - it really is quite excellent up to 1600/3200.

The P mode is highly automatic. After you get used to this and see what the camera does, move on to the other modes, like A mode to control the depth of field of focus, and T mode, to control shutter speed (like blurring a waterfall...)

I would also suggest using AF.S focus mode. This is very similar to point and shoots - push the shutter 1/2 way, and the camera will auto focus and lock the exposure/focus, and then a full push on the shutter takes the picture. In AF.S, the shutter will not fire until focus is locked. Try AF.S, center point only, or maybe the 5 point auto select. The 11 point and AF.C is more for moving objects like kids, birds, cars, etc. Your dog looked pretty immobile

BTW, shooting outside in snow, you need to over expose by 1-2 stops, otherwise the snow comes out gray, like in your shot. It's easy to dial in, regardless of what mode you are shooting - just push the +/-Av button and use the rear control wheel to dial in +1-2 stops.

Hope this, and the other posters suggestions, help.

[jolepp]

Yes it was all handheld, but since I'm a bit allergic to high ISO (from all the years with P&S cameras), I try and go as low as possible.

SR is always on for me and I think I'm using it right. But I'm learning more and more about the camera so, it's getting better!

Low ISO = best results, of course, but the k-x with its much larger sensor (larger individual pixels) produces much better results than a P&S, I've been using 1600 and 3200 in regular indoor light and even the latter is pretty decent. Previously, with a Panasonic dmc-fz28 (a fancy P&S or bridge camera) ISO 400 was pretty much the limit :-)

[boriscleto]

Another thing about high ISO. You can select how much noise reduction is done in camera in menu C2:14 and what ISO it starts with in menu C3:15.