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06-20-2010, 06:17 PM   #1
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k-x DA40mm indoor cat shoot?

I am new to Pentax and heard lot of good things on k-x. I am wondering if any of you have experience on indoor cat shoot? I have a grey cat and would like to get k-x to shoot him. Previously I used D700 and 50MM F1.4, the auto focus was great but I really don't like the default awb of jpg. I googled lots and found k-x has great performance on high ISO as well. I know the auto fucus may NOT be fast as D700, but I could bear it if it is reasonable fast.

My question then goes to DA40 F2.8, it is enough for indoor shoot working with ISO1600 or even 3200 on K-X? DA*55 F1.4 is another choice for me, however, I heard it is far slower than DA 40. I'd appreciate any helpful advice. Thanks in advance.

06-20-2010, 08:38 PM   #2
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Unles it's unusually dark, f/2.8 and ISO 1600 or 3200 is almost always good enough for a shot of a cat (or person) as long as it isn't moving around too much - shutter speeds would typically be at least 1/30" in a room lit to levels you'd consider reading by.

If you have further questions that are more lens-specific, though, please ask them in the lens forum, not this one.

Last edited by Marc Sabatella; 06-21-2010 at 10:28 AM.
06-20-2010, 09:05 PM   #3
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I think if you're familiar and used to a D700 going to a K-x will only feel like constraining yourself.

If you weren't happy with the white balance of the JPEG's it produced, why not try shooting in RAW and adjusting white balance accordingly in post-production?
06-20-2010, 10:55 PM   #4
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D700 to K-x....

The DA40 and the K-x are a great combo for lots of shooting scenarios, including pet photos like the kind you have described. That lens is tack sharp across the frame and has excellent colour and contrast rendition.

Put the DA40 on a K-x (I have both) and you will likely get excellent results at 1600 and even 3200 ISO.

Remember however - like with all shooting - the more light you can put on your subject the better, and when shooting pets if you can go for a smaller aperture like f4 or f5.6 for extra depth of field and maximum sharpness you will be happier with the results.

With the K-x you can get great results from JPG's using the default settings out-of-camera, which defaults to the 'Bright' custom image setting when shooting JPG, which results in bright, sharp, contrasty JPGs that look very good and print well, and should render the grey of your cat very positively. However you can easily change the 'personality' of the way the camera saves JPG's to suit your preferences. I personally use the 'Natural' JPG Custom Image setting as my default. And I shoot RAW+ too, to capture a RAW image alongside my JPG image.

Be aware you can almost always get better results than from the built-in JPG options from working with the RAW (PEF or DNG) files using the software supplied on CD with the K-x, or other RAW processing software like Adobe Lightroom or Elements, if need be.

06-21-2010, 12:05 AM   #5
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I was taking pics of my former landlord's cat with K10D+DA40
easy does it IMO...
just go ahead
06-21-2010, 06:22 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Marc Sabatella Quote
If you have further questions that are more lens-specific, though, plese ask them in the lens forum, not this one.
I am sorry for it, because I have not familar with forum category, I will follow them for next post.

QuoteOriginally posted by noahpurdy Quote
If you weren't happy with the white balance of the JPEG's it produced, why not try shooting in RAW and adjusting white balance accordingly in post-production?
The only thing I like D700 is its fastest auto focus speed. but I dislike

1) too heavy to hold for long time, especially for my family, they want a lighter gear.
2) post-production, yes, it will produce better pic but it takes much time, I don't like to do much post production job on street/pet/casual photography that mostly are just for fun. That's why I want to join Pentax.
06-21-2010, 09:37 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by surfmanjoe Quote
1) too heavy to hold for long time, especially for my family, they want a lighter gear.
2) post-production, yes, it will produce better pic but it takes much time, I don't like to do much post production job on street/pet/casual photography that mostly are just for fun. That's why I want to join Pentax.
Two great reasons then! Pentax's auto-white-balance is exceptional, especially on the K-x and K-7. You're also not going to get any lighter than a DA40 on a K-x.

06-21-2010, 01:00 PM   #8
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not indoors, but very low light. with Kx and DA40.

Picasa Web Albums -kx DA40
06-21-2010, 11:06 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by surfmanjoe Quote
I am new to Pentax and heard lot of good things on k-x. I am wondering if any of you have experience on indoor cat shoot? I have a grey cat and would like to get k-x to shoot him. Previously I used D700 and 50MM F1.4, the auto focus was great but I really don't like the default awb of jpg. I googled lots and found k-x has great performance on high ISO as well. I know the auto fucus may NOT be fast as D700, but I could bear it if it is reasonable fast.

My question then goes to DA40 F2.8, it is enough for indoor shoot working with ISO1600 or even 3200 on K-X? DA*55 F1.4 is another choice for me, however, I heard it is far slower than DA 40. I'd appreciate any helpful advice. Thanks in advance.
John, is that you with your nine cats?
06-22-2010, 01:37 AM   #10
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I'm not sure if I like the k-x's auto white balance indoors. It's my first dslr so sorry if I say something stupid. But I like to change to tungsten indoors. Auto white balance looks too warm.....but that might be the lighting situation in here.

Speaking of that, I have one lamp in my room, a 40watt bulb. It does a tolerable level of lighting the room. I dunno if I'd say it's low light. But my k-x goes up to 12800 ISO when i put it in auto mode, and that's with 1/40-1/60 shutter speed. With the kit lens though.

Would upgrading to a 1.8 or 1.4 prime make a huge difference?
06-22-2010, 02:05 AM   #11
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When I got my K-x the first "target" I had was our black cat-to test the AF and high iso-black cat's are really difficult to catch:

iso6400 da16-45 1/20 f4




this is iso3200 with the FA50 1/80 f2




Andras
06-22-2010, 10:36 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by Cinders Quote
I'm not sure if I like the k-x's auto white balance indoors. It's my first dslr so sorry if I say something stupid. But I like to change to tungsten indoors. Auto white balance looks too warm.....but that might be the lighting situation in here.
Also a matter of personal preference. Tungsten lighting *is* very warm, and some people prefer pictures taken under tungsten lighting to *look* like they were taken with tungsten lighting; others prefer the camera to try to reconstitute the colors as they'd appear in more neutral light, and others such as me prefer a compromise betwene the two. Many cameras give you options to control this - I believe the K-x may be one of them (some kind of custom option?)

QuoteQuote:
Speaking of that, I have one lamp in my room, a 40watt bulb. It does a tolerable level of lighting the room. I dunno if I'd say it's low light.
One 40-watt bulb isn't just low light, it's *very* low light.

QuoteQuote:
But my k-x goes up to 12800 ISO when i put it in auto mode, and that's with 1/40-1/60 shutter speed. With the kit lens though.
Right, meaning you're dealing with a maximum aperture of probably f/4 or f/5.6 depending on what focal length you are set to.

QuoteQuote:
Would upgrading to a 1.8 or 1.4 prime make a huge difference?
Yes, but just going to f/2.8 would make a noticeable difference, too. If you're getting ISO 12800 at f/5.6, that would mean you'd get ISO 3200 at f/2.8. At f/2, you'd get 1600, and f/1.4, ISO 800. But I think you'd find DOF so shallow at f/1.4 it wouldn't be worth it unless that was the specific effect you were going for (eg, eye in focus, nose not).

I'd be choosing a slightly slower shutter speed to lower ISO. With SR, you don't need to be shooting 1/60" just to get a sharp picture with the kit lens or the DA40.
06-22-2010, 12:56 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by yoshizuki Quote
not indoors, but very low light. with Kx and DA40.

Picasa Web Albums -kx DA40
LOL at the cat on a leash, that thing must hate you.

I would recommend an airsoft gun for shooting a cat indoors .

Proud dog person.
06-22-2010, 03:58 PM   #14
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yeah, i've seen pics with 1.4 lenses and the DOF is too shallow, maybe I should look for a good f2.0 lens
06-22-2010, 05:14 PM   #15
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No reaosn you can't *use* an f/1.4 lens - just don't shoot at f1.4 unless you have no choice. But as the OP sugests, really, the DA40/2.8 is perfectly adequate as well.
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