[sportsexaminer]

Good day all. I have a pair of Pentax K7s using a 70-200mm 2.8 on one and fixed 300mm 2.8 on the other and I get some great shots but I have a few problems I cannot seem to overcome.

The first is the speed for sports. I am unable to "freeze" anything (blur of a bat or golf club to where it almost disappears even shooting at 100 outdoors). Any help here?

My second is more to how and get more burst speed. I seem to only get two or so fps regardless of conditions, inside, out, high or low ISO etc. Is it because I am shooting in auto focus or is there another issue.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Adam]

Is it because I am shooting in auto focus or is there another issue.

Yes, that's the main reason. You'll have to upgrade to the K-5 if you want to get around this, as it has a new "fps priority" continuous focusing mode.

For sports, use 1/500s upwards and you should be in good shape. 1/100th is far too slow for motion.

[sportsexaminer]

Thanks Adam. I jumped into this before I actually learned the DSLR. I was pretty much forced to do it because I wanted original photos to go with my copy. I went with the Pentax because it seemed less of a learning curve and for the most part I was correct.

Now that I've invested in the $6K range, I don't want to change to another brand (I'm comfortable with Pentax so that's a big reason).

What you're saying is, if I switch to manual focus I will get a faster burst, correct? I'll be doing golf tomorrow so I will give it a shot and see how it goes.

As a semi-novice (?) who is desperate to learn, I am not sure what you mean about 1/500s - 1/100s. What setting is that? I have tried any number of things on the K7 but I would hate to sell it off to upgrade - (K100, K20D, etc.). I love the feel of the 7.

Thanks again.

[Ex Finn.]

I just found this writeup, no idea how accurate the shutter-speed calculator is but seems plausible.
www.brisk.org.uk/photog/subblur.html
As far as FPS. Turn off all in camera processing and up the shutter speed to 1/200 or faster. Slow card will not help either.

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Last edited by Ex Finn.; 03-17-2011 at 04:54 PM.

[Ubuntu_user]

Don't switch to manual focus. Make sure that your running AFC which tracks better for sports, which would also explain why your not getting a very good burst speed.

[Rondec]

Thanks Adam. I jumped into this before I actually learned the DSLR. I was pretty much forced to do it because I wanted original photos to go with my copy. I went with the Pentax because it seemed less of a learning curve and for the most part I was correct.

Now that I've invested in the $6K range, I don't want to change to another brand (I'm comfortable with Pentax so that's a big reason).

What you're saying is, if I switch to manual focus I will get a faster burst, correct? I'll be doing golf tomorrow so I will give it a shot and see how it goes.

As a semi-novice (?) who is desperate to learn, I am not sure what you mean about 1/500s - 1/100s. What setting is that? I have tried any number of things on the K7 but I would hate to sell it off to upgrade - (K100, K20D, etc.). I love the feel of the 7.

Thanks again.

Your frames per second will be faster with AF-S than with AF-C and truthfully, for things like a golf swing or a bat swing, that should be adequate. Just focus on the golfer or batter and then press the button when they begin their swing.

As for shutter speed, use the Tv mode and set the shutter speed to 1/500th of a second (you can also do this in Hyperprogram, by using the front dial). The camera will then use the aperture and iso necessary to get you there. K7 should be more than adequate for these types of situations.

[Ex Finn.]

Took me 10 minutes to type that..
Time for the resident sports shooters to chime in with advice for proper settings and tecnique.

[sportsexaminer]

Thank you all for chiming in. It is very, VERY helpful. I'm at a basketball game now so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to try out your suggestions on the links.

[sportsexaminer]

Slow card will not help either

I am using a Class 10, 20x transfer PNY card.

[Ex Finn.]

I am using a Class 10, 20x transfer PNY card.

That should be sufficient.

[Adam]

I have tried any number of things on the K7 but I would hate to sell it off to upgrade - (K100, K20D, etc.). I love the feel of the 7.

The K-5 is in fact a direct upgrade from the K-7, and has the same exact body. Improvements include expanded ISO range (80-51200 vs 100-6400), much better noise control, higher resolution (16.3Mp vs 14.6Mp), increased framerate (7fps vs 5.fps) and and lots of firmware stuff.
The current hierarchy is as follows:
K-5 > K-7 > K20D > K10D > K100D

Pentax Cameras | Pentax K-5 vs. Pentax K-7 vs. Pentax K20D - Pentax DSLR Comparison - PentaxForums.com

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AF C during continuous shooting will prevent you from getting the full 5.2 FPS, but you will see that is much better than AF S, which requires you to be in focus. Your framerate will be slower than in this video, but it will give you an idea of what to expect:

You Tube

You Tube

[Ex Finn.]

K7 will do 5 FPS burst/continuous, till the buffer is full or the card or the camera chokes, providing that the shutter speed allows it.
AFC is a different thing as per Adams sample.

[pop4]

The first is the speed for sports. I am unable to "freeze" anything (blur of a bat or golf club to where it almost disappears even shooting at 100 outdoors). Any help here?

Make sure you're using a fast enough shutter speed. If you don't know what shutter speed is, and how it affects a photo, then it's time to do some research and reading...

My second is more to how and get more burst speed. I seem to only get two or so fps regardless of conditions, inside, out, high or low ISO etc. Is it because I am shooting in auto focus or is there another issue.

One thing that may have been overlooked: make sure your drive mode is on Continuous Shooting (Hi), not Continuous Shooting (Lo). Also, you might want to turn off the lens correction setting, if you have it on.

[hcc]

Pop4 put you on the right track.

For sport pictures, your shutter speeed must be at least 1/20 s or faster (eg 1/60 to 1/200 s, even faster). You can set the K-7 to shutter priority in the Menu.


With burst, or continuous shooting, the K-7 can shoot at 5.2 fps in Hi continuous shooting mode:

* Set the camera to Hi continuous mode.

* Switch off all in-camera post-processing (incl. High ISO correction, lens correction, ...).

* If you need more than 5-10 shots per burst, select JPEG. (RAW takes a lot of buffer memory space.)

* Get a fast card (eg Class 10).

Why? In Hi continuous shooting mode, the photographs are stored temporarily in a buffer memory. The data in the buffer are then transfered to the SD card. The entire process might be slowed down if there is any form of in-camera PP, or when the buffer memory is full (eg if the card write up speed is too slow).

Hope that the comments will help.

[GoldenRGuy]

This is a great post!
More info on SD cards please. I got an 8Gig Scandisk card that I thought was fast, but if I'm reading the symbols right, I think mine is a 4. (Big C with a number in the middle, mine being 4)
Will this affect the focus in my action Dog shots, in continuous shooting setting?