[Aeglil]

Hello everyone,

I'm new in this forum. I recently inherited a Pentax *ist DL from my father and I don't know which settings I should have on my camera to use the focus mode.
All the photos I made are very blurry, which is very frustrating.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[photogem]

Hello everyone,

I'm new in this forum. I recently inherited a Pentax *ist DL from my father and I don't know which settings I should have on my camera to use the focus mode.
All the photos I made are very blurry, which is very frustrating.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hello
can you be more precise and tell us which settings you have chosen and which lens is used.
Here is a manual in French:
http://noticesphoto.free.fr/Pentax/istDL.pdf

[seventhdr]

Can i ask what lens you are using on your camera? The details of the les should be written around the front glass of the lens.

The camera has a two position switch on the bottom right of the lens mount as you look at the front of the camera. The two positions are AF and MF, standing for Auto Focus and Manual Focus. If you hve an auto focus lens set the switch to AF. If you have a manual focus lens, or an auto focus lens that you wish to focus manually, set the switch to MF.

Pages 118 to 126 of the manual deal with focussing.

Regards

Chris

[othar]

All the photos I made are very blurry, which is very frustrating.

There are many possible reasons for blurry images, it is not necessarily a focus issue.
A common problem is a too slow shutter speed, which will result in motion blur, either from camera movement or movement of your subject.
Uploading an image will help identifying the problem

[gylfimag]

The DL should be able to focus accurately, if a bit slowly, unless something is broken. Note that it only has 3 points that it uses to set focus and they are all quite close to the center of the image. So, if whatever you are focusing on is not quite close to the center the camera will focus on something else. You can get around this by using 'focus and recompose' - focusing (by pressing the shutter button halfway down) with the object you want to focus on in the center and then, keeping the shutter button pressed halfway down, composing the photo and finally pressing the shutter button all the way.

[Aeglil]

Thank you all for your answers

Can i ask what lens you are using on your camera? The details of the les should be written around the front glass of the lens.

The camera has a two position switch on the bottom right of the lens mount as you look at the front of the camera. The two positions are AF and MF, standing for Auto Focus and Manual Focus. If you hve an auto focus lens set the switch to AF. If you have a manual focus lens, or an auto focus lens that you wish to focus manually, set the switch to MF.

Pages 118 to 126 of the manual deal with focussing.

Regards

Chris

I read I.R. Digital Super Wide 0,42X AF Lens

[UncleVanya]

Thank you all for your answers



I read I.R. Digital Super Wide 0,42X AF Lens

That is likely an add on auxiliary lens fitted to the filter ring of the actual lens.

Take some phone photos of the top of the camera and side and the front of the lens. Upload them here, we can help.

---------- Post added 05-24-23 at 03:02 PM ----------

Likely something like this: Gold Line I. R. Series Super Wide Macro Lens 0.42x AF

[othar]

I read I.R. Digital Super Wide 0,42X AF Lens

I don't have one, but I think this is a special effect lens, that is screwed onto your actual lens like a filter.
If I am not mistaken can you use it as a fisheye lens or as a macro lens, depending on your chosen focal length on the actual lens.

You can play around with it later, but for starters I recommend to remove this lens and to get to know your camera with a 'normal' lens (there is probably a DA 18-55mm lens underneath).


edit: ahh, too slow at typing on my phone again

[photogem]

This "I.R. Digital Super Wide 0,42X AF Lens" screws onto another lens which won't work with Autofocus (AF) and you better take it off because it kills anything that potentially could become a decent photo.

And as @seventhdr pointed out, you possibly have then to change on the side of the camera from M to AF.
But let us know what is underneath the " I.R. Digital Super Wide 0,42X AF Lens"

[Aeglil]

I show you how the lens looks like



It can't even zoom properly on distant things. Even my mobile phones focus better.

Later I will show you how the pictures taken with this camera look like.

Perhaps the problem comes from the lens. Then I will have to order a new one.

[UncleVanya]

I show you how the lens looks like



It can't even zoom properly on distant things. Even my mobile phones focus better.

Later I will show you how the pictures taken with this camera look like.

Perhaps the problem comes from the lens. Then I will have to order a new one.

I think you misunderstand. That lens is an added accessory that modifies the angle of view of the lens it is screwed into ( it goes on like a filter ). The lens is low quality and adding another new one isn’t going to help. Unscrew this and see what lens is under it.

[Aeglil]

Here are some examples of the same landscape I took with 3 different angles



wide-angle



"maximal zoom"

and last...



WTF is this mode ??? Looks like a backwards zoom, what's the point? I can't make heads or tails of it.

In the past I used Fujifilm, Nikkon, Canon and Lumix Panasonic cameras, some of them were quite expensive models, and I was entirely satisfied with them. I don't know how much money my father put in this camera, but it looks like an entry-model level.

I need this camera to photograph animals in the wild (mostly whales when I'm out at sea), and I can't get the best of it. All the whales look so far away.

[Dartmoor Dave]

Here are some examples of the same landscape I took with 3 different angles

The blurriness in those photos is caused by the add-on wide angle adapter that you've got screwed onto the front of your lens. That sort of adapter ALWAYS causes blurriness like that.

To repeat: You have got an adapter screwed onto the front of your lens that is causing the problems that you are seeing in your photographs.

You need to unscrew that adapter and stop using it. Once you've done that, you'll find that all those problems go away.

The adapter is the thing that says Bower I.R. Super Wide. That's what you need to remove. It might be stiff to get it unscrewed but it's your only solution.

[mikeprotts]

As others have said, first step is to unscrew the add on lens from the front of the real lens. Once that is done you should see much better focus results, and you should find it produces some good pictures.

However, it's likely you'll have a 18-55mm zoom lens, which is better for portrait and landscape type usage than whales, as I assume you struggle to get very close. You may find you'll need something like the 50-200mm or 55-300mm to get closer to the subjects. Ideally go for the WR (weather resistant) but NOT the PLM (most recent) version as it will not work with your camera. These are usually available at sensible prices second hand.

[UncleVanya]

Here are some examples of the same landscape I took with 3 different angles



wide-angle



"maximal zoom"

and last...



WTF is this mode ??? Looks like a backwards zoom, what's the point? I can't make heads or tails of it.

In the past I used Fujifilm, Nikkon, Canon and Lumix Panasonic cameras, some of them were quite expensive models, and I was entirely satisfied with them. I don't know how much money my father put in this camera, but it looks like an entry-model level.

I need this camera to photograph animals in the wild (mostly whales when I'm out at sea), and I can't get the best of it. All the whales look so far away.

One more time. Remove the auxiliary lens. That weird view is caused by that adapter. Clearly the underlying lens is a zoom and at some focal length settings it isn’t able to cover the entire sensor with that auxiliary lens attached to the main lens. Likely your dad only used it at the settings where it worked and perhaps only as an experiment. I would suggest again that you remove it and not use it anymore. The underlying lens should be very capable.