Originally posted by rlg118 I tried using Manual mode, but the shutter speed was jumping all over the map. At one point, it settled on 1/4000 (!), which, of course, was totally useless. I repeatedly cranked it down, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. I finally gave up - it was too cold - and used P mode.
My ultimate goal is to get the sharpness of the Pentax version with the colors of the Nikon version. Say what you will about the L810, but the colors were right on the money.
I'll work on it some more.
What you might be missing in the comparison is the ways these 2 camera designs work.
Btw, I don't think you were in Manual mode. It sounds more like Aperture Priority. In manual. You set the ISO, shutter speeds and aperture. Nothing should change by itself.
Your P&S and most brands/versions are like your cell phone camera. They are meant to do everything for you and
process the image for you to give you and image you don't edit or modify. They and preprogrammed to edit a resulting image to be used as is.
All DSLR's are much more like a film camera. They do produce a jpeg but also produce a RAW image that equates to a film negative that is meant to be edited to taste before viewing or sharing. This isn;t just Pentax but all DSLR models and brands. They do provide some basic editing software in the box but if you search this forum and others, discussions are everywhere about various software programs to edit RAW files to your taste and needs.
So if you want a DSLR to produce viewing and sharing ready shots without any processing, they do a decent job most of the time but not in all situations and lighting conditions. You need to do something with the RAW file first before getting the final result you want.
So yes they require more from you but the end result after some basic editing is far, far superior to what most P&S cameras can produce in the end. Far finer details, wider dynamic range and so on. DSLR's are not for everyone but if you're prepared to take the extra steps, you'll produce much better images.
Think of it like a new computer for the first time. It comes with some basic software to get you started but if you want to do say office work, you need to go buy MS Office and add that to the system. With you new camera, it's the same. You can find plenty of free software to do the editing and you can spend some money on even better software to go further.
To get started, Download a program like GIMP or Paint.net to do some editing. If you want more, buy Photoshop Elements or even more, Photoshop CS4,5 or 6.