K 30 SLOW shutter??

cperry · 08-29-2013, 12:11 PM

Hi
I am newish to the forum and just got my K30 in the mail today. I am playing around with it. I have been using a Sony Alpha. The K30 seems SLOW from when I depress the shutter to picture. My kid is halfway across the room by the time the picture takes! I found one used - about 9 mo old on ebay (100% seller) with only about 3000 shutter actuations......
I have an ist DS (and the Sony alpha) and never experienced that. I wonder if there is a setting or perhaps a better memory card to use ( I am using an Sd 16 mb) that may be causing this and not a deeper issue. I am sure it is user error but I am a bit concerned as I never experienced this with either of my previous cameras. I will say I would consider myself a beginner - by no means an expert photographer.
ANY thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Carol

Aegon · 08-29-2013, 12:39 PM - **1 Like**

As an initial matter, the K-30 doesn't have a particularly slow shutter lag. A lot of details can be found at the following link:
Pentax K-30 Review - Performance
In summary, IR says, "the Pentax K-30 was faster than average for a consumer SLR."

There isn't much info to go on here and it would be better to see the camera in person, but there are a few things that can affect shutter responsiveness that you can look at.

First, if you are using P-TTL flash, the shutter will be much slower due to preflash and associated processing delays.

Next, if you are in a Focus Priority mode, the camera will wait until focus lock is achieved before firing, adding an extra step that could be significantly slower depending on the lens you are using. Try Shutter Priority as an alternative and decide what works best for you.

I can't think of anything else to try right now, though I'm sure others will have ideas.

**jatrax** · 08-29-2013, 12:41 PM - **1 Like**

Doubt it is the memory card, that can be a problem if the card is too slow, but it manifests as slow writes which happens AFTER you take the picture.

If the delay is between pressing the shutter button and the camera actually taking a picture then it might be a delay in the auto focus locking on. Without knowing all of the settings you are using this is just a guess but try taking a shot of a static object in good light as a test. Half press the shutter button, wait until the green hexagon in the viewfinder lights up and press the button fully. The camera should take the picture with zero delay. I think the default on AF.S mode is to NOT take a picture unless the AF has locked, so this can cause delays until it does lock.

The above assumes you are using the viewfinder and not Liveview. If you are using Liveview then that is another story.

**JimJohnson** · 08-29-2013, 01:46 PM

Correct me if I am wrong. Doesn't the Sony Alpha use a semi-silvered mirror, so there is #1- no mechanical lag while the mirror flips up and #2- you are able to continuously see the subject?

I use shutter priority rather than AF priority. Of course with very few exceptions I have done a half-press to both focus and meter the scene. And I nearly always check to see if I agree with both before completing my press to release the shutter. Going back to my film days, I also anticipate the action and slightly lead the subject as I release the shutter. This is all second nature to me by now. Plan the shot and shoot to the plan.

cperry · 08-29-2013, 01:52 PM

Hmm
Ok I think I have further isolated the issue. It is in low light conditions. No matter what setting I put the K30's flash on it does not come on unless I manually punch the flash button on the side of the camera and "make" it pop up. I got out my ist DS and in a similar mode the camera's flash would pop up automatically when I selected the proper items. What could be causing the flash not to engage? I certainly hope it is just a setting causing this and not a lemon that I bought as I need it for Friday night! Thanks!
Carol

cperry · 08-29-2013, 01:56 PM

And shutter priority mode does help. But the built in flash issue is still there.....

cperry · 08-29-2013, 02:06 PM

So if in low light scenario (inside with kids for ex)
I put it in auto mode, auto flash
shutter release takes 4-5 seconds.
flash never pops up but pic is taken and looks ok except my kid does not smile for 5 seconds

shutter speed seems fine outside or brighter light

I hope this is just something crazy I am having a senior moment on...

**JimJohnson** · 08-29-2013, 02:19 PM

Originally posted by cperry

So if in low light scenario (inside with kids for ex)
I put it in auto mode, auto flash
shutter release takes 4-5 seconds.
flash never pops up but pic is taken and looks ok except my kid does not smile for 5 seconds

shutter speed seems fine outside or brighter light

I hope this is just something crazy I am having a senior moment on...

On the K-30, every time you use the flash in something OTHER than than the green AUTO mode, the flash setting is moved out of auto-mode where it pops up of its own accord. And when you next go to use the flash while in green AUTO mode, it will still be in semi-auto mode. I have made it a practice that when I use AUTO mode, I also go into the flash control and move it back to its own auto-mode.

Also there is another menu setting for the flash and shutter release that either prevents or allows the shutter to actuate if the flash is not yet charged.

calsan · 08-29-2013, 04:47 PM

My guess is that you have the lens corrections turned on?
The camera has to do a lot of processing to make the picture when these are on, so there's a delay before the picture 'appears' on the back screen.
Just turn them off. If you're in single shot drive mode, the camera will wait while the processing happens.

Na Horuk · 08-29-2013, 04:51 PM - **1 Like**

Are you sure you dont have a menu option enabled? One prevents shutter from going on until focus is locked, for example. In low light, AF can take some time.
Also, are you using live view? Live view is typically slower, especially in low light

jaeaetee · 08-29-2013, 11:09 PM

Originally posted by calsan

My guess is that you have the lens corrections turned on?
The camera has to do a lot of processing to make the picture when these are on, so there's a delay before the picture 'appears' on the back screen.
Just turn them off. If you're in single shot drive mode, the camera will wait while the processing happens.

This seems most plausible.

Also, the K-30 doesn't have auto-pop up flash (manually enabled). So, if one keeps it down the camera might have to use quite slow shutter speeds in dim environments.

calsan · 08-29-2013, 11:57 PM

Originally posted by jaeaetee

Also, the K-30 doesn't have auto-pop up flash (manually enabled). So, if one keeps it down the camera might have to use quite slow shutter speeds in dim environments.

Yep, that's a really great feature of Pentaxes. You only get pop up flash going off when you specifically want it to go off. Pentax doesn't assume I'm an idiot!

cperry · 08-30-2013, 05:25 AM

Thanks everyone. I am going to try some of the items above and get back with you. Off to carpool now. I am also going to play with some of the settings and aperture etc. I already found it was in remote mode.

Al_Kahollick · 08-30-2013, 06:08 AM

Originally posted by calsan

Yep, that's a really great feature of Pentaxes. You only get pop up flash going off when you specifically want it to go off. Pentax doesn't assume I'm an idiot!

Not so grasshopper. My *ist DL does indeed have auto flash pop-up, and if I recall, it's enabled by default. Pentax may well have abandoned auto flash pop up, but it was at least available on some models in the past.

**JimJohnson** · 08-30-2013, 06:44 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Al_Kahollick

Not so grasshopper. My *ist DL does indeed have auto flash pop-up, and if I recall, it's enabled by default. Pentax may well have abandoned auto flash pop up, but it was at least available on some models in the past.

It is still available on the K-30, only it is not the default.

If you are in full auto mode (green AUTO on the mode dial) and then go into the flash menu, the left-most flash symbol will have an 'A' (for automatic). So long as you leave the camera in the full auto (or some scene) mode, your flash selection will stick. And with this selection, the flash will automatically pop up in dim lighting without any action on the user's part.

However, if you use any other mode (including other scene modes), the 'A' version of the flash is not available and the selection moves to the semi-automatic position by default. The semi-automatic position works pretty much just like the 'A' position, however the user must specifically raise the flash if she/he wants to use it.

If you use the flash in one of these semi-automatic modes and return to the green AUTO mode, the flash will default to the semi-automatic mode and not the 'A' mode, even if this was the setting the last time you used the green AUTO mode.

And to me, this is the only shortcoming. If I had previously used the 'A' selection for the flash for an eligible exposure mode, I would prefer the camera remember that selection when I return to that mode. It is easy to hurriedly return to a fully automatic mode and expect it to work just like it did last time. Especially if I had only accidentally bumped the mode dial off AUTO with the flash up and then immediately turned it back. Hey purists! Don't look at me like that. There IS a time and place for fully automatic (turning my dSLR in to a glorified Point & Shoot). When your intent is only family snapshots to send to grandma & grandpa showing the grandchild's first finger painting or whatever, it works pretty darn well.

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08-29-2013, 12:11 PM	#1
cperry New Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 24	K 30 SLOW shutter?? Hi I am newish to the forum and just got my K30 in the mail today. I am playing around with it. I have been using a Sony Alpha. The K30 seems SLOW from when I depress the shutter to picture. My kid is halfway across the room by the time the picture takes! I found one used - about 9 mo old on ebay (100% seller) with only about 3000 shutter actuations...... I have an ist DS (and the Sony alpha) and never experienced that. I wonder if there is a setting or perhaps a better memory card to use ( I am using an Sd 16 mb) that may be causing this and not a deeper issue. I am sure it is user error but I am a bit concerned as I never experienced this with either of my previous cameras. I will say I would consider myself a beginner - by no means an expert photographer. ANY thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Carol

08-29-2013, 12:39 PM - 1 Like	#2
Aegon Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 1,416	As an initial matter, the K-30 doesn't have a particularly slow shutter lag. A lot of details can be found at the following link: Pentax K-30 Review - Performance In summary, IR says, "the Pentax K-30 was faster than average for a consumer SLR." There isn't much info to go on here and it would be better to see the camera in person, but there are a few things that can affect shutter responsiveness that you can look at. First, if you are using P-TTL flash, the shutter will be much slower due to preflash and associated processing delays. Next, if you are in a Focus Priority mode, the camera will wait until focus lock is achieved before firing, adding an extra step that could be significantly slower depending on the lens you are using. Try Shutter Priority as an alternative and decide what works best for you. I can't think of anything else to try right now, though I'm sure others will have ideas.

08-29-2013, 12:41 PM - 1 Like	#3
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	Doubt it is the memory card, that can be a problem if the card is too slow, but it manifests as slow writes which happens AFTER you take the picture. If the delay is between pressing the shutter button and the camera actually taking a picture then it might be a delay in the auto focus locking on. Without knowing all of the settings you are using this is just a guess but try taking a shot of a static object in good light as a test. Half press the shutter button, wait until the green hexagon in the viewfinder lights up and press the button fully. The camera should take the picture with zero delay. I think the default on AF.S mode is to NOT take a picture unless the AF has locked, so this can cause delays until it does lock. The above assumes you are using the viewfinder and not Liveview. If you are using Liveview then that is another story.

08-29-2013, 01:46 PM	#4
JimJohnson Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Summer:Lake Superior - Michigan Winter:Texas Hill Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,774	Correct me if I am wrong. Doesn't the Sony Alpha use a semi-silvered mirror, so there is #1- no mechanical lag while the mirror flips up and #2- you are able to continuously see the subject? I use shutter priority rather than AF priority. Of course with very few exceptions I have done a half-press to both focus and meter the scene. And I nearly always check to see if I agree with both before completing my press to release the shutter. Going back to my film days, I also anticipate the action and slightly lead the subject as I release the shutter. This is all second nature to me by now. Plan the shot and shoot to the plan.

08-29-2013, 01:52 PM	#5
cperry New Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 24 Original Poster	Hmm Ok I think I have further isolated the issue. It is in low light conditions. No matter what setting I put the K30's flash on it does not come on unless I manually punch the flash button on the side of the camera and "make" it pop up. I got out my ist DS and in a similar mode the camera's flash would pop up automatically when I selected the proper items. What could be causing the flash not to engage? I certainly hope it is just a setting causing this and not a lemon that I bought as I need it for Friday night! Thanks! Carol

08-29-2013, 01:56 PM	#6
cperry New Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 24 Original Poster	And shutter priority mode does help. But the built in flash issue is still there.....

08-29-2013, 02:06 PM	#7
cperry New Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 24 Original Poster	So if in low light scenario (inside with kids for ex) I put it in auto mode, auto flash shutter release takes 4-5 seconds. flash never pops up but pic is taken and looks ok except my kid does not smile for 5 seconds shutter speed seems fine outside or brighter light I hope this is just something crazy I am having a senior moment on...

08-29-2013, 02:19 PM	#8
JimJohnson Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Summer:Lake Superior - Michigan Winter:Texas Hill Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,774	Originally posted by cperry So if in low light scenario (inside with kids for ex) I put it in auto mode, auto flash shutter release takes 4-5 seconds. flash never pops up but pic is taken and looks ok except my kid does not smile for 5 seconds shutter speed seems fine outside or brighter light I hope this is just something crazy I am having a senior moment on... On the K-30, every time you use the flash in something OTHER than than the green AUTO mode, the flash setting is moved out of auto-mode where it pops up of its own accord. And when you next go to use the flash while in green AUTO mode, it will still be in semi-auto mode. I have made it a practice that when I use AUTO mode, I also go into the flash control and move it back to its own auto-mode. Also there is another menu setting for the flash and shutter release that either prevents or allows the shutter to actuate if the flash is not yet charged.

08-29-2013, 04:47 PM	#9
calsan Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,549	My guess is that you have the lens corrections turned on? The camera has to do a lot of processing to make the picture when these are on, so there's a delay before the picture 'appears' on the back screen. Just turn them off. If you're in single shot drive mode, the camera will wait while the processing happens.

08-29-2013, 04:51 PM - 1 Like	#10
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	Are you sure you dont have a menu option enabled? One prevents shutter from going on until focus is locked, for example. In low light, AF can take some time. Also, are you using live view? Live view is typically slower, especially in low light

08-29-2013, 11:09 PM	#11
jaeaetee Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 37	Originally posted by calsan My guess is that you have the lens corrections turned on? The camera has to do a lot of processing to make the picture when these are on, so there's a delay before the picture 'appears' on the back screen. Just turn them off. If you're in single shot drive mode, the camera will wait while the processing happens. This seems most plausible. Also, the K-30 doesn't have auto-pop up flash (manually enabled). So, if one keeps it down the camera might have to use quite slow shutter speeds in dim environments.

08-29-2013, 11:57 PM	#12
calsan Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,549	Originally posted by jaeaetee Also, the K-30 doesn't have auto-pop up flash (manually enabled). So, if one keeps it down the camera might have to use quite slow shutter speeds in dim environments. Yep, that's a really great feature of Pentaxes. You only get pop up flash going off when you specifically want it to go off. Pentax doesn't assume I'm an idiot!

08-30-2013, 05:25 AM	#13
cperry New Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 24 Original Poster	Thanks everyone. I am going to try some of the items above and get back with you. Off to carpool now. I am also going to play with some of the settings and aperture etc. I already found it was in remote mode.

08-30-2013, 06:08 AM	#14
Al_Kahollick Banned Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 390	Originally posted by calsan Yep, that's a really great feature of Pentaxes. You only get pop up flash going off when you specifically want it to go off. Pentax doesn't assume I'm an idiot! Not so grasshopper. My *ist DL does indeed have auto flash pop-up, and if I recall, it's enabled by default. Pentax may well have abandoned auto flash pop up, but it was at least available on some models in the past.

08-30-2013, 06:44 AM - 1 Like	#15
JimJohnson Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Summer:Lake Superior - Michigan Winter:Texas Hill Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,774	Originally posted by Al_Kahollick Not so grasshopper. My *ist DL does indeed have auto flash pop-up, and if I recall, it's enabled by default. Pentax may well have abandoned auto flash pop up, but it was at least available on some models in the past. It is still available on the K-30, only it is not the default. If you are in full auto mode (green AUTO on the mode dial) and then go into the flash menu, the left-most flash symbol will have an 'A' (for automatic). So long as you leave the camera in the full auto (or some scene) mode, your flash selection will stick. And with this selection, the flash will automatically pop up in dim lighting without any action on the user's part. However, if you use any other mode (including other scene modes), the 'A' version of the flash is not available and the selection moves to the semi-automatic position by default. The semi-automatic position works pretty much just like the 'A' position, however the user must specifically raise the flash if she/he wants to use it. If you use the flash in one of these semi-automatic modes and return to the green AUTO mode, the flash will default to the semi-automatic mode and not the 'A' mode, even if this was the setting the last time you used the green AUTO mode. And to me, this is the only shortcoming. If I had previously used the 'A' selection for the flash for an eligible exposure mode, I would prefer the camera remember that selection when I return to that mode. It is easy to hurriedly return to a fully automatic mode and expect it to work just like it did last time. Especially if I had only accidentally bumped the mode dial off AUTO with the flash up and then immediately turned it back. Hey purists! Don't look at me like that. There IS a time and place for fully automatic (turning my dSLR in to a glorified Point & Shoot). When your intent is only family snapshots to send to grandma & grandpa showing the grandchild's first finger painting or whatever, it works pretty darn well.