Originally posted by dmfw
Reviews of the KX mention its great performance in low light with high ISO. However, I find that my new KX, with the stock 18-55mm lens, is having issues with: indoor shots with Very Late afternoon indirect sunlight and Nighttime shots with multiple close light sources.
I would appreciate hearing from anyone who uses this camera for lowlight / high ISO work. How well does your KX function in lower ligh?
It is not just the camera, but the (camera+lens) system that you need to consider. The kit lens is not the best lens for low-light. In low light, you want to use a large aperture (small f) to maximise the amount of light detected by the camera sensor. You can off course increase the ISO, and the K-x is quite good at high ISO... but this is a poor substitute to a large aperture lens. Pentax and others have some excellent large aperture lenses: FA50mm f1.4, ...
You should consider seriously some large aperture lenses like f2 or bettter f1.4. These fast prime lenses have excellent Image Quality (IQ), and
Welcome to Photozone! will give you an objective review assessment of the various lens. Certainly Pentax has a large offer of fast primes, and there are some excellent older, second hand lenses on the market. There are other brands with K-mount: Zeiss, Voigtlander, Sigma, and their prices are not that prohibitive (but Zeiss).
Invest in a good lens: it is worth it...