Can't get decent shots with K-x

xyra · 04-17-2011, 08:14 AM

Hi Everyone,

First post here, so hi!

I've got a K-x, and had it for a while now (probably nearly a year), and taken quite a few photos with it (over 1000) but barely seem to be able to get a well focused shot.

Some occasional shots come out well (maybe 1 in 100 or so) but the rest are all slightly blurry or out of focus. I sent the camera back and they recalibrated it and its made no difference so what I am doing wrong!?

It seems particularly bad in low light - which is the reason I chose this camera in the first place! Photos taken with flash seem to come out better more often as do some using the (so slow!) live view. I've tried tons of combinations (stabilisation on/off, different isos, apertures etc) but shot after shot keeps coming out off.

Its so frustating I can consistently produce fairly good shots with other cameras (everything from cheap point and shoots up to Nikon DSLRs, but just can't seem to get the hang of this one! I've tried some other manual lenses from a film SLR and seem to have similar issues.

I've uploaded a few crops: Index of /pentax

Any ideas? And help will be greatly appreciated

Graham

scottyboy · 04-17-2011, 08:29 AM

are you using tripod? my stuff is much better with one .check out the post "very basic shutter speed tutorial"heres the links .the people on this site know their stuff.as a newbie i would be in deep crap without them!!!!!!!

http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20182

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-beginners-corner-q/140432-very-bas...-tutorial.html

xyra · 04-17-2011, 08:48 AM

Thanks for that I will have a read.

I should have mentioned that I have the same issues on a tripod even using the timer to trigger the shot

causey · 04-17-2011, 08:56 AM

In which modes are you using the camera? Do you use AF or not? (There is an AF/MF switch.) Your pics seem to be out of focus. We need to know some data: there's no EXIF for the pics you gave us.
Also, what Nikon DSLR have you used, and in which mode? Did you, or someone else, set the aperture, ISO, shutter speed, when using the Nikon DSLR?
I have a K-x, and it's fantastic.

Last edited by causey; 04-17-2011 at 09:08 AM.

aurele · 04-17-2011, 08:59 AM

+ the basic question: have you read the manual ?

ironlionzion · 04-17-2011, 09:01 AM

Some look out of focus, but we'd need to see the whole frame. You might have just been using a large aperture and focused on a different object at a different distance. Some of those pictures just look straight up blurry from movement. Maybe you're shutter speed is too slow? If you don't use a large aperture and high iso in low light, your shutter speed will be way too low. I think a good rule of thumb for shutter speed for acceptable pictures is about 1/(focal length). So if you got a 50 mm lens, hand held shooting under 1/50th of a second will often yield blurred pictures.

For low light situations I use Tv priority. This allows you to select a shutter speed. For automatic lenses the aperture and iso will be set to properly expose. If you just use automatic mode, often the shutter speed in low lights will be set way too low to be handheld.

gebco · 04-17-2011, 09:12 AM

Are these crops? It is difficult to give feedback without more information, including the EXIF.

Ratmagiclady · 04-17-2011, 10:06 AM

More specifically, how tight of crops from where in the frame, and especially relative to your focus point. Some of these do look like you might have the SR engaged while on a tripod, (It should turn itself off in self-timer mode) or just not getting focus/choosing too long a shutter speed.

Assuming from the calibration the camera or lens isn't simply knocked out of whack, it's kind of got to be you.

Point and shoots can cover up a lot of things you might have been doing all along, cause of the small sensors, and depending on the Nikon, you may have been leaning on a particular kind of automation or setting.

But without seeing the whole frames, it's hard to even tell how bad the problems you're having are.

JeffJS · 04-17-2011, 10:38 AM

In the fish photo, either you shook the camera or the fish moved. Either way, the exposure was probably too slow. In General, they are all out of focus. My basic question is are you using Auto focus and are you sure of where the camera is focusing? If yes and no (respectively) set the camera for Center AF and try again. As others have noted, without the full photos it's hard to tell exactly what's going on.

If you are using Manual focus, make sure your viewfinder diopter is properly set (the letters in the viewfinder and the lines on the screen should be sharp).

xyra · 04-24-2011, 11:02 AM

Thanks guys, I've had a more extensive play with it now since the recalibration and the focus is actually much better - the ones I had tried before posting were all pretty long exposure times ~ 1/30 or so. (although my shots were still pretty poor

.

I've tried using all the tips above and come out with some shots which are much much better (especially pleased with IMGP0385 and IMGP0434) - thanks guys. Although some of them are don't seem quite crisp. (See IMPG0372, IMPG0523 and IMPG0419)

I've uploaded some here... All using center focus point and AFS.

Using the kit lens

Index of /pentax/KitLens

Using a 50mm 1.7 manual lens (but using the focus indicator in the viewfinder)
(I realise in the last shot the glass is dirty and its overexposed)

Index of /pentax/50mm1.7

All the shots are full size with no editing so all EXIF information should be intact!

Now a few shots processed in Photoshop afterwards which have come out pretty well in my opinion... (these are smaller images so have much smaller filesizes)

Index of /pentax/Processed

hcc · 04-24-2011, 03:15 PM

You already received some good advice. Let me add a few suggestion.

*Use AF.S and Centre focus.

*Enable SR (Shake Reduction)

*To shoot, half press the shutter actuator to AF the shot, then wait 1-2 s (still half-pressed shutter) for the SR icom to come on, before taking the shot.

The last suggestion is linked with the SR technology. It requires 1-2 s to be ready. If you do not wait, the image will be blurred.

Basically, when you half-press the shutter actuator, the AF icon will come on first, and then the SR icon (hand symbol). If yu shoot MF, you still need to wait 1-2 s for the STR icon to come on.

I would add lastly that it is worth to read the camera instruction manual. There are many useful information.

Hope that the suggestions will help.

HEEGZ · 04-24-2011, 03:46 PM

Those are very nice images xyra and I think with practice the majority of your photos will turn out much better like these (if they aren't already). It's very cool to see you come here and post blurry images, and then to see you come back a week later with much improved images.

slip · 04-24-2011, 04:58 PM

a few things I noticed when I read your exif information.
in the first few blurred shots.... yes some of them had shutter speeds too low but a couple should have been fine hand held. it says that the flash had been fired at "16" which I don't understand. It also did not say an ISO number which is also odd.
exif says you used manual exposure on the newer photos. did you give up on auto focus?
I am thinking that it could be one of 2 things....
the lens was not "clicked down" properly when you put the lens on so it did not communicated with the camera properly. carefully wiggle the lens a bit when you put it on to make double sure it is locked in the right place.
or it could be a faulty auto focus with the first lens.... focus seemed to be fine with the kit lens. it was also fine with the first lens when you put it in manual focus.btw, the photos look great! razer sharp as well. please post some more in automatic focus from the first lens to compare results.

hope this didn't confuse you to much

cheers and good shooting

fyi when a photo has something in focus it usually means it focused in the wrong place. if nothing is in focus, either the shutter speed is too low or there is something wrong with the focus

DaveHolmes · 04-24-2011, 05:01 PM

Originally posted by HEEGZ

It's very cool to see you come here and post blurry images, and then to see you come back a week later with much improved images.

Much of my own photography has improved due to the advice of this websites members... In fact it is still improving due to the advice of the members here...
With dslr photography now so popular on the comsummer market this forum and ones like it play pivitol roles in the future of photography...
Sometimes you (I) get sick of seeing the same queries over and over again, yet quite often the responses show something new that you (I) learn from as well as helping the original poster... When this happens it leads you (me) onto other questions and in different directions with your (my) own photography...

Cool?

Bloody Brilliant!!

P.s. Nice one Xyra... Keep at it... You have some great images and a good eye.

xyra · 04-25-2011, 12:24 PM

Thank you everyone for your encouragement and help! I am feeling a lot more confident with the camera, and slowly getting there with it.

I've had a bit of a further play with the automatic settings...

Originally posted by slip

a few things I noticed when I read your exif information.
in the first few blurred shots.... yes some of them had shutter speeds too low but a couple should have been fine hand held. it says that the flash had been fired at "16" which I don't understand. It also did not say an ISO number which is also odd.
exif says you used manual exposure on the newer photos. did you give up on auto focus?
I am thinking that it could be one of 2 things....
the lens was not "clicked down" properly when you put the lens on so it did not communicated with the camera properly. carefully wiggle the lens a bit when you put it on to make double sure it is locked in the right place.
or it could be a faulty auto focus with the first lens.... focus seemed to be fine with the kit lens. it was also fine with the first lens when you put it in manual focus.btw, the photos look great! razer sharp as well. please post some more in automatic focus from the first lens to compare results.

hope this didn't confuse you to much

cheers and good shooting

fyi when a photo has something in focus it usually means it focused in the wrong place. if nothing is in focus, either the shutter speed is too low or there is something wrong with the focus

Thanks - the KitLens photos were in auto focus but with manual exposure (I'm used to using manual exposure on a lot of shots from my Fuji S6500fd as I mainly take photos of fish and reptiles and the Fuji auto-exposure is pretty poor). The other lens had manual focus as that is an older lens which is fully manual.

I've taken a few random shots using the P mode for you with auto focus. Again all are using the centre spot, and mostly with AF.S (although the first couple were AF.A as I didn't notice it had changed going into the P mode). ISO was set to auto select 200 - 800 and flash was off.

Some seem pretty good, but others aren't so sharply focused (see IMGP0563 as an example)

I've been out today so only managed to take the shots just now so it's not so bright outside now.

04-17-2011, 08:14 AM	#1
xyra New Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 5	Can't get decent shots with K-x Hi Everyone, First post here, so hi! I've got a K-x, and had it for a while now (probably nearly a year), and taken quite a few photos with it (over 1000) but barely seem to be able to get a well focused shot. Some occasional shots come out well (maybe 1 in 100 or so) but the rest are all slightly blurry or out of focus. I sent the camera back and they recalibrated it and its made no difference so what I am doing wrong!? It seems particularly bad in low light - which is the reason I chose this camera in the first place! Photos taken with flash seem to come out better more often as do some using the (so slow!) live view. I've tried tons of combinations (stabilisation on/off, different isos, apertures etc) but shot after shot keeps coming out off. Its so frustating I can consistently produce fairly good shots with other cameras (everything from cheap point and shoots up to Nikon DSLRs, but just can't seem to get the hang of this one! I've tried some other manual lenses from a film SLR and seem to have similar issues. I've uploaded a few crops: Index of /pentax Any ideas? And help will be greatly appreciated Graham

04-17-2011, 08:29 AM	#2
scottyboy Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: ohio Photos: Albums Posts: 27	are you using tripod? my stuff is much better with one .check out the post "very basic shutter speed tutorial"heres the links .the people on this site know their stuff.as a newbie i would be in deep crap without them!!!!!!! http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20182 https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-beginners-corner-q/140432-very-bas...-tutorial.html Last edited by scottyboy; 04-17-2011 at 08:48 AM.

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04-17-2011, 08:48 AM	#3
xyra New Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 5 Original Poster	Thanks for that I will have a read. I should have mentioned that I have the same issues on a tripod even using the timer to trigger the shot

04-17-2011, 08:56 AM	#4
causey Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Arlington, VA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,757	In which modes are you using the camera? Do you use AF or not? (There is an AF/MF switch.) Your pics seem to be out of focus. We need to know some data: there's no EXIF for the pics you gave us. Also, what Nikon DSLR have you used, and in which mode? Did you, or someone else, set the aperture, ISO, shutter speed, when using the Nikon DSLR? I have a K-x, and it's fantastic. Last edited by causey; 04-17-2011 at 09:08 AM.

04-17-2011, 08:59 AM	#5
aurele Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Paris, France Photos: Albums Posts: 3,217	+ the basic question: have you read the manual ?

04-17-2011, 09:01 AM	#6
ironlionzion Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 409	Some look out of focus, but we'd need to see the whole frame. You might have just been using a large aperture and focused on a different object at a different distance. Some of those pictures just look straight up blurry from movement. Maybe you're shutter speed is too slow? If you don't use a large aperture and high iso in low light, your shutter speed will be way too low. I think a good rule of thumb for shutter speed for acceptable pictures is about 1/(focal length). So if you got a 50 mm lens, hand held shooting under 1/50th of a second will often yield blurred pictures. For low light situations I use Tv priority. This allows you to select a shutter speed. For automatic lenses the aperture and iso will be set to properly expose. If you just use automatic mode, often the shutter speed in low lights will be set way too low to be handheld.

04-17-2011, 09:12 AM	#7
gebco Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Winnipeg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 329	Are these crops? It is difficult to give feedback without more information, including the EXIF.

04-17-2011, 10:06 AM	#8
Ratmagiclady Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: GA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,563	More specifically, how tight of crops from where in the frame, and especially relative to your focus point. Some of these do look like you might have the SR engaged while on a tripod, (It should turn itself off in self-timer mode) or just not getting focus/choosing too long a shutter speed. Assuming from the calibration the camera or lens isn't simply knocked out of whack, it's kind of got to be you. Point and shoots can cover up a lot of things you might have been doing all along, cause of the small sensors, and depending on the Nikon, you may have been leaning on a particular kind of automation or setting. But without seeing the whole frames, it's hard to even tell how bad the problems you're having are.

04-17-2011, 10:38 AM	#9
JeffJS Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Michigan, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,484	In the fish photo, either you shook the camera or the fish moved. Either way, the exposure was probably too slow. In General, they are all out of focus. My basic question is are you using Auto focus and are you sure of where the camera is focusing? If yes and no (respectively) set the camera for Center AF and try again. As others have noted, without the full photos it's hard to tell exactly what's going on. If you are using Manual focus, make sure your viewfinder diopter is properly set (the letters in the viewfinder and the lines on the screen should be sharp).

04-24-2011, 11:02 AM	#10
xyra New Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 5 Original Poster	Thanks guys, I've had a more extensive play with it now since the recalibration and the focus is actually much better - the ones I had tried before posting were all pretty long exposure times ~ 1/30 or so. (although my shots were still pretty poor . I've tried using all the tips above and come out with some shots which are much much better (especially pleased with IMGP0385 and IMGP0434) - thanks guys. Although some of them are don't seem quite crisp. (See IMPG0372, IMPG0523 and IMPG0419) I've uploaded some here... All using center focus point and AFS. Using the kit lens Index of /pentax/KitLens Using a 50mm 1.7 manual lens (but using the focus indicator in the viewfinder) (I realise in the last shot the glass is dirty and its overexposed) Index of /pentax/50mm1.7 All the shots are full size with no editing so all EXIF information should be intact! Now a few shots processed in Photoshop afterwards which have come out pretty well in my opinion... (these are smaller images so have much smaller filesizes) Index of /pentax/Processed

04-24-2011, 03:15 PM	#11
hcc Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,004	You already received some good advice. Let me add a few suggestion. Use AF.S and Centre focus. Enable SR (Shake Reduction) *To shoot, half press the shutter actuator to AF the shot, then wait 1-2 s (still half-pressed shutter) for the SR icom to come on, before taking the shot. The last suggestion is linked with the SR technology. It requires 1-2 s to be ready. If you do not wait, the image will be blurred. Basically, when you half-press the shutter actuator, the AF icon will come on first, and then the SR icon (hand symbol). If yu shoot MF, you still need to wait 1-2 s for the STR icon to come on. I would add lastly that it is worth to read the camera instruction manual. There are many useful information. Hope that the suggestions will help.

04-24-2011, 03:46 PM	#12
HEEGZ Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Missouri Photos: Albums Posts: 258	Those are very nice images xyra and I think with practice the majority of your photos will turn out much better like these (if they aren't already). It's very cool to see you come here and post blurry images, and then to see you come back a week later with much improved images.

04-24-2011, 04:58 PM	#13
slip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 2 hours north of toronto ontario canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,535	a few things I noticed when I read your exif information. in the first few blurred shots.... yes some of them had shutter speeds too low but a couple should have been fine hand held. it says that the flash had been fired at "16" which I don't understand. It also did not say an ISO number which is also odd. exif says you used manual exposure on the newer photos. did you give up on auto focus? I am thinking that it could be one of 2 things.... the lens was not "clicked down" properly when you put the lens on so it did not communicated with the camera properly. carefully wiggle the lens a bit when you put it on to make double sure it is locked in the right place. or it could be a faulty auto focus with the first lens.... focus seemed to be fine with the kit lens. it was also fine with the first lens when you put it in manual focus.btw, the photos look great! razer sharp as well. please post some more in automatic focus from the first lens to compare results. hope this didn't confuse you to much cheers and good shooting fyi when a photo has something in focus it usually means it focused in the wrong place. if nothing is in focus, either the shutter speed is too low or there is something wrong with the focus

04-24-2011, 05:01 PM	#14
DaveHolmes Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 1,501	Originally posted by HEEGZ It's very cool to see you come here and post blurry images, and then to see you come back a week later with much improved images. Much of my own photography has improved due to the advice of this websites members... In fact it is still improving due to the advice of the members here... With dslr photography now so popular on the comsummer market this forum and ones like it play pivitol roles in the future of photography... Sometimes you (I) get sick of seeing the same queries over and over again, yet quite often the responses show something new that you (I) learn from as well as helping the original poster... When this happens it leads you (me) onto other questions and in different directions with your (my) own photography... Cool? Bloody Brilliant!! P.s. Nice one Xyra... Keep at it... You have some great images and a good eye.

04-25-2011, 12:24 PM	#15
xyra New Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 5 Original Poster	Thank you everyone for your encouragement and help! I am feeling a lot more confident with the camera, and slowly getting there with it. I've had a bit of a further play with the automatic settings... Originally posted by slip a few things I noticed when I read your exif information. in the first few blurred shots.... yes some of them had shutter speeds too low but a couple should have been fine hand held. it says that the flash had been fired at "16" which I don't understand. It also did not say an ISO number which is also odd. exif says you used manual exposure on the newer photos. did you give up on auto focus? I am thinking that it could be one of 2 things.... the lens was not "clicked down" properly when you put the lens on so it did not communicated with the camera properly. carefully wiggle the lens a bit when you put it on to make double sure it is locked in the right place. or it could be a faulty auto focus with the first lens.... focus seemed to be fine with the kit lens. it was also fine with the first lens when you put it in manual focus.btw, the photos look great! razer sharp as well. please post some more in automatic focus from the first lens to compare results. hope this didn't confuse you to much cheers and good shooting fyi when a photo has something in focus it usually means it focused in the wrong place. if nothing is in focus, either the shutter speed is too low or there is something wrong with the focus Thanks - the KitLens photos were in auto focus but with manual exposure (I'm used to using manual exposure on a lot of shots from my Fuji S6500fd as I mainly take photos of fish and reptiles and the Fuji auto-exposure is pretty poor). The other lens had manual focus as that is an older lens which is fully manual. I've taken a few random shots using the P mode for you with auto focus. Again all are using the centre spot, and mostly with AF.S (although the first couple were AF.A as I didn't notice it had changed going into the P mode). ISO was set to auto select 200 - 800 and flash was off. Some seem pretty good, but others aren't so sharply focused (see IMGP0563 as an example) I've been out today so only managed to take the shots just now so it's not so bright outside now.