K-x kit lens question

macky112 · 02-27-2010, 03:12 PM

Hi all,

just received my first DSLR, the K-x with 18-55 and 50-200 kit lens, and started trying out its functions.

i noticed Av (aperture) setting does not affect picture taken at all.

i tried both min and max values with both kit lens, and they produce same depth of field...

am i doing something wrong, or there is something wrong with the camera?

thanks in advance

M

imtheguy · 02-27-2010, 03:43 PM

Welcome to the Forum!

Please post a sample min and max pic as well as the EXIF information. If you don't know what the EXIF is, read up on that a little too. We need to see what you are seeing to help.

macky112 · 02-27-2010, 03:58 PM

I have not installed image software that came with the camera, so i just resized with irfan view, exif info is preserved.

first 2 images taken with 18-55 lens, and last 2 images taken with 50-200 lens however exif of lens not recorded (help on this too?)

thanks again

FattyMcJ · 02-27-2010, 04:00 PM

Originally posted by macky112

Hi all,

i tried both min and max values with both kit lens, and they produce same depth of field...

I don't know what the issue is here. I can CLEARLY see different DoF's in each of the pictures posted.

The first is the most notable going to number two with a much longer DoF, more is in focus.

The third and fourth, I believe you said you used the 50-200mm, has the most drastic DoF in number 4, being I'd guess only about an inch, seeing that the heart shaped glass bottles are not in focus while the edge of the kleenex box IS in focus.

I'm not sure you quite understand exactly what DoF really is, and how to achieve it maybe?

Last edited by FattyMcJ; 02-27-2010 at 04:07 PM.

macky112 · 02-27-2010, 04:05 PM

sorry i forgot to mention, i noticed the DoF after mounting the camera on a tripod...

however, it appears to me that the DoF difference is more obvious on the 50-200 than the 18-55?

now i am trying to figure out why isnt the 50-200 lens recognized by the camera

and thanks again

FattyMcJ · 02-27-2010, 04:15 PM

I would recommend picking up This Book to further learn about DoF and how aperture effects it. It's a GREAT book!

Also check out Bryan Peterson's YouTube channel for a couple quick tips

Hope it helps!

Ira · 02-27-2010, 05:12 PM

Originally posted by FattyMcJ

I would recommend picking up This Book to further learn about DoF and how aperture effects it. It's a GREAT book!

Also check out Bryan Peterson's YouTube channel for a couple quick tips

Hope it helps!

Seconded, kind of:

Mackey, you really have to sit yourself down in front of a book or a web site to understand the concept of depth of field--the area in front of and behind your main focus point that remains in focus.

This is not just affected by your F stop--with lower F stops (higher numbers) "typically" meaning greater depth of field--but also, your lens focal length, the shooting distance between you and the main subject, and the distance of other items in your composition, to either keep or not keep them in focus.

There's an actual science to this, mathematical formulas and everything, but you don't have to know that to shoot. Just the concepts.

Last edited by Ira; 02-28-2010 at 08:54 AM.

dadoftheyear · 02-27-2010, 06:29 PM

Another thing that may be causing results that you aren't anticipating could be the setting for auto focus. If you want to ensure the object you are shooting has a good depth of field your best bet might be using center focus. You should also see the depth of field reduced when you are using the 50-200mm telephoto lens.
Just start taking lots of pictures and get use to the K-x and you'll be fine. Have fun and good luck!

macky112 · 02-27-2010, 06:40 PM

thanks everyone for the suggestions, reading, i will, and lots of pix, i shall take.

is it a problem that my k-x does not record lens type for my 50-200 lens in exif data?

dadoftheyear · 02-27-2010, 06:54 PM

I also purchased a k-x kit, but instead of the 50-200 I got the 55-300 and the camera captures the EXIF data from either lens. Are you using the Pentax digital camera utility to get the EXIF data?

dragonfly · 02-27-2010, 07:35 PM

The images from your longer zoom lens are SO much clearer then the standard kit lens. Did anyone else notice this with their own lenses?

macky112 · 02-27-2010, 08:04 PM

Originally posted by dragonfly

The images from your longer zoom lens are SO much clearer then the standard kit lens. Did anyone else notice this with their own lenses?

now you mentioned it, i see it too!

I tried comparing both kit lenses with the k-x on a tripod, and yeah, 50-200 indeed produce sharper pictures...

sterretje · 02-27-2010, 09:43 PM

Originally posted by macky112

is it a problem that my k-x does not record lens type for my 50-200 lens in exif data?

I doubt that it's the case. The lens type is just a number and the software on the PC will translate that into a string (at least that is what I assume after my experience described below).

I think that the viewer that you use does not recognize the lens 'number' in the exif. It happened to me with the standard software that came with the camera (SilkyPix) when I bought a DA55-300. I posted as question here, and got the advice to upgrade the PC software. After that, SilkyPix displayed the correct lens information.

WimS

Hemi345 · 03-01-2010, 08:59 AM

Originally posted by macky112

now you mentioned it, i see it too!

I tried comparing both kit lenses with the k-x on a tripod, and yeah, 50-200 indeed produce sharper pictures...

I can't see the EXIF data, but it looks like you took the pics with the 18-55 @ 55mm. My experience at this focal length with the kit lens is the K-x misses more often than not on focus making the photos look soft for indoor shots. It seems fine outside in bright light though. I have had better "luck" switching to manual focus and ignoring the focus confirmation when at 55mm or just staying between ~20mm-50mm while indoors.

Marc Sabatella · 03-01-2010, 09:08 AM

I'm moving this to the beginner's forum, as it seems more appropriate there. The camera and lens both seems fine - DOF *is* changing as expected, and probably the numeric code for lens *is* in the EXIF but the software you are using to display the EXIF isn't recent enough to know about the new codes.

02-27-2010, 03:12 PM	#1
macky112 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Irvine, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 45	K-x kit lens question Hi all, just received my first DSLR, the K-x with 18-55 and 50-200 kit lens, and started trying out its functions. i noticed Av (aperture) setting does not affect picture taken at all. i tried both min and max values with both kit lens, and they produce same depth of field... am i doing something wrong, or there is something wrong with the camera? thanks in advance M

02-27-2010, 03:58 PM	#3
macky112 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Irvine, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 45 Original Poster	samples attached I have not installed image software that came with the camera, so i just resized with irfan view, exif info is preserved. first 2 images taken with 18-55 lens, and last 2 images taken with 50-200 lens however exif of lens not recorded (help on this too?) thanks again Attached Images

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02-27-2010, 03:43 PM	#2
imtheguy Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,950	Welcome to the Forum! Please post a sample min and max pic as well as the EXIF information. If you don't know what the EXIF is, read up on that a little too. We need to see what you are seeing to help.

02-27-2010, 04:00 PM	#4
FattyMcJ Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Littleton, CO Posts: 84	Originally posted by macky112 Hi all, i tried both min and max values with both kit lens, and they produce same depth of field... I don't know what the issue is here. I can CLEARLY see different DoF's in each of the pictures posted. The first is the most notable going to number two with a much longer DoF, more is in focus. The third and fourth, I believe you said you used the 50-200mm, has the most drastic DoF in number 4, being I'd guess only about an inch, seeing that the heart shaped glass bottles are not in focus while the edge of the kleenex box IS in focus. I'm not sure you quite understand exactly what DoF really is, and how to achieve it maybe? Last edited by FattyMcJ; 02-27-2010 at 04:07 PM.

02-27-2010, 04:05 PM	#5
macky112 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Irvine, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 45 Original Poster	sorry i forgot to mention, i noticed the DoF after mounting the camera on a tripod... however, it appears to me that the DoF difference is more obvious on the 50-200 than the 18-55? now i am trying to figure out why isnt the 50-200 lens recognized by the camera and thanks again

02-27-2010, 04:15 PM	#6
FattyMcJ Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Littleton, CO Posts: 84	I would recommend picking up This Book to further learn about DoF and how aperture effects it. It's a GREAT book! Also check out Bryan Peterson's YouTube channel for a couple quick tips Hope it helps!

02-27-2010, 05:12 PM	#7
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	Originally posted by FattyMcJ I would recommend picking up This Book to further learn about DoF and how aperture effects it. It's a GREAT book! Also check out Bryan Peterson's YouTube channel for a couple quick tips Hope it helps! Seconded, kind of: Mackey, you really have to sit yourself down in front of a book or a web site to understand the concept of depth of field--the area in front of and behind your main focus point that remains in focus. This is not just affected by your F stop--with lower F stops (higher numbers) "typically" meaning greater depth of field--but also, your lens focal length, the shooting distance between you and the main subject, and the distance of other items in your composition, to either keep or not keep them in focus. There's an actual science to this, mathematical formulas and everything, but you don't have to know that to shoot. Just the concepts. Last edited by Ira; 02-28-2010 at 08:54 AM.

02-27-2010, 06:29 PM	#8
dadoftheyear New Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: South East Idaho Photos: Albums Posts: 9	Another thing that may be causing results that you aren't anticipating could be the setting for auto focus. If you want to ensure the object you are shooting has a good depth of field your best bet might be using center focus. You should also see the depth of field reduced when you are using the 50-200mm telephoto lens. Just start taking lots of pictures and get use to the K-x and you'll be fine. Have fun and good luck!

02-27-2010, 06:40 PM	#9
macky112 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Irvine, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 45 Original Poster	thanks everyone for the suggestions, reading, i will, and lots of pix, i shall take. is it a problem that my k-x does not record lens type for my 50-200 lens in exif data?

02-27-2010, 06:54 PM	#10
dadoftheyear New Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: South East Idaho Photos: Albums Posts: 9	I also purchased a k-x kit, but instead of the 50-200 I got the 55-300 and the camera captures the EXIF data from either lens. Are you using the Pentax digital camera utility to get the EXIF data?

02-27-2010, 07:35 PM	#11
dragonfly Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: on the wall Photos: Gallery Posts: 715	The images from your longer zoom lens are SO much clearer then the standard kit lens. Did anyone else notice this with their own lenses?

02-27-2010, 08:04 PM	#12
macky112 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Irvine, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 45 Original Poster	Originally posted by dragonfly The images from your longer zoom lens are SO much clearer then the standard kit lens. Did anyone else notice this with their own lenses? now you mentioned it, i see it too! I tried comparing both kit lenses with the k-x on a tripod, and yeah, 50-200 indeed produce sharper pictures...

02-27-2010, 09:43 PM	#13
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	Originally posted by macky112 is it a problem that my k-x does not record lens type for my 50-200 lens in exif data? I doubt that it's the case. The lens type is just a number and the software on the PC will translate that into a string (at least that is what I assume after my experience described below). I think that the viewer that you use does not recognize the lens 'number' in the exif. It happened to me with the standard software that came with the camera (SilkyPix) when I bought a DA55-300. I posted as question here, and got the advice to upgrade the PC software. After that, SilkyPix displayed the correct lens information. WimS

03-01-2010, 08:59 AM	#14
Hemi345 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Colorado Posts: 127	Originally posted by macky112 now you mentioned it, i see it too! I tried comparing both kit lenses with the k-x on a tripod, and yeah, 50-200 indeed produce sharper pictures... I can't see the EXIF data, but it looks like you took the pics with the 18-55 @ 55mm. My experience at this focal length with the kit lens is the K-x misses more often than not on focus making the photos look soft for indoor shots. It seems fine outside in bright light though. I have had better "luck" switching to manual focus and ignoring the focus confirmation when at 55mm or just staying between ~20mm-50mm while indoors.

03-01-2010, 09:08 AM	#15
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	I'm moving this to the beginner's forum, as it seems more appropriate there. The camera and lens both seems fine - DOF is changing as expected, and probably the numeric code for lens is in the EXIF but the software you are using to display the EXIF isn't recent enough to know about the new codes.