[madison_wi_gal]

So in what sense are the images 'meh'?
• You mention firmware – was the camera in some way unresponsive?
• You mention shooting in auto – were they over or underexposed? Was the depth of field not to your liking because the camera chose a different aperture to the one you would have used? Or do the shots have image blur because of camera shake, because of too long a shutter speed?
• You mention focus calibration – so are they out of focus?
• You mention sunshine – so do they lack contast/saturation, or are they too grey/blue in tone?

You've identified lots of issues that could give rise to 'meh' images, but I doubt you're suffering all of those at once. Please post photos and be specific about the 'meh'-ness. There are lots of people here who'd love to help.

Also lots of us are delighted with their K3 iii images. That said, I love what mine has been doing for me, but it has been inconsistent focus with big-aperture wide-angle shots, so has gone back for check/repair. If that's the poblem you're having with your 20-40 at wide apertures, I sympathise.

Paul

Thanks, I have a more than a full time job so I can only give long answers and post images on weekends.

The camera was responsive. I took pictures of a gray lake on a gray day. Not sure what I was expecting.

[e_nogueras]

I've had such days too. Forget about Auto mode, keep practicing on other modes and be ready for when nature gives you a show.
Loving my K-3 III so far.

[Terry C]

I can't imagine why anyone would use Auto at all, let alone with the Tamron SP90 Macro, which is a super lens. Use a relevant ISO and AV.

[gatorguy]

I can't imagine why anyone would use Auto at all, let alone with the Tamron SP90 Macro, which is a super lens. Use a relevant ISO and AV.

For my general uses, especially out hiking for wildlife, I think I've settled on TAv with ISO maxed at 12800. For very early mornings or particularly low-light I'll go as high as 25600. With a little NR assist from DxO or Topaz it's very acceptable when the situation requires it. The advice not to go past 3200 ISO on recent MILC's and last-gen DSLR's doesn't apply to your new Pentax. The K3III handles low light SO much better than any of the previous Pentax crops I've owned, from K5 and K50 thru the K70 and KP. No contest.

Play around with it and don't be afraid of exceeding what others tell you. Test for yourself.

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Last edited by gatorguy; 05-11-2022 at 07:04 PM.

[madison_wi_gal]

Well, I simply need to read the manual and learn what all the controls do. I put the Tamron 90 back on and did a few things with TAv and P aiming at my African violets but I need a better method other than what i am doing.

[MarkJerling]

I think that's a difficult shot to get good results from any camera. F18 is getting up there and ISO 6400 is likely to introduce some grain. I've tried to pull more detail from your photo. If you can try shooting with better lighting so that you can get that ISO number down and also try to increase your aperture a little to say, F11 at least, that will help. A shutter speed of 100th of a second should give better shots than this, provided the other parameters are better suited.

[madison_wi_gal]

Thanks! I don't have any photo-editing stuff installed yet so I just popped it up here after squishing it to 2 MB. This is #43 of 44 total actuations so I am still learning the dials.

Here is #6. Used the 20-40. On AUTO.

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Last edited by madison_wi_gal; 05-11-2022 at 07:41 PM. Reason: added pic

[MarkJerling]

That's real nice. Of course, if you can get the F-stop a little narrower for that shot, you'd get more depth of field and more of your subject in focus.

[madison_wi_gal]

That's real nice. Of course, if you can get the F-stop a little narrower for that shot, you'd get more depth of field and more of your subject in focus.

Thanks, this was literally "see if the thing works since Amazon appears to have hurled it into an unpadded shipping box and sent it to me". I hadn't even opened the manual yet, so AUTO was the only option.

---------- Post added 05-12-22 at 07:58 ----------

I can't imagine why anyone would use Auto at all, let alone with the Tamron SP90 Macro, which is a super lens. Use a relevant ISO and AV.

It was simply to test if camera was OK after suspected shipping damage. I guess I expected more of a wow even on Auto. Thus the thread.

[gatorguy]

Thanks, this was literally "see if the thing works since Amazon appears to have hurled it into an unpadded shipping box and sent it to me". I hadn't even opened the manual yet, so AUTO was the only option.

---------- Post added 05-12-22 at 07:58 ----------



It was simply to test if camera was OK after suspected shipping damage. I guess I expected more of a wow even on Auto. Thus the thread.

There's no shame in using Auto Mode. Use it until you're comfortable with all the controls, menus, handling, etc. It's a lot to take in all at once without the added pressure of feeling you need to go full manual, or one of the other semi-auto modes. I spent probably a year shooting in auto mode when I first got back into photography with a K-50 before I ventured out to take more control.

When you have time to waste then play with Av and TAv, exposure compensation, ISO's, zone focus, highlight settings, raw vs. JPEG, and more. Work with one thing at a time to understand what it does, do a bit of reading what the for that setting do, and why it's good to use them before moving on to another thing. Then you'll go out one day and do an "Oh My Gosh these photos are GREAT" when you get more familiar with your pro-grade Pentax and start using it to your advantage. Photography should be fun and so do the parts that are fun for now. You'll know when you are ready for a bigger challenge.

In the meantime, there's a whole community here to help you on your journey. No question will be too dumb ao so don't be afraid to ask, we've all been there.

[MarkJerling]

There's no shame in using Auto Mode. Use it until you're comfortable with all the controls, menus, handling, etc. It's a lot to take in all at once without the added pressure of feeling you need to go full manual, or one of the other semi-auto modes.....

Very true. Especially if you're in a hurry.

When you have time to waste then play with Av and TAv, exposure compensation, ISO's, zone focus, highlight settings, raw vs. JPEG, and more....

TAv is probably my favourite. It's the setting I use most often, more so than M.

In the meantime, there's a whole community here to help you on your journey. No question will be too dumb ao so don't be afraid to ask, we've all been there.

Absolutely.

[reh321]

TAv is probably my favourite. It's the setting I use most often, more so than M.

With my K-30 and my Q-7, TAv mode was basically useless, because I tended to keep the ISO setting to 800 or lower,
but when I got my KP, I started seeing how it did at various ISO values;
I found that JPEG files showed little noise at ISO values 25K and even higher,
so now I also primarily use TAv mode.