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02-14-2010, 04:19 PM   #1
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I want K-x but mirror slap...:(

Ok, so I'm very close to jumping into the SLR world mainly because I have 2 young boys and I want to capture memories (sports, everyday, special occasions etc).

From all the hours and weeks of research I've put in it looks like the k-x would be a good fit for me mainly because price and features.

My main concern is with the "mirror slap" discussion that I've been reading about here and other online forums? Is it something that Pentax is looking at fixing or what? I would like to pull the trigger tonight on the kit at B&H but nervous about problems that this may cause to a newbie in photography.

Can anyone shed some light

02-14-2010, 04:24 PM   #2
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You don't have to worry about anything. It just means the camera is noisier than the average camera, but it has no incidence on the camera's durability or quality. And when I say "noisier", I don't mean "noisiest", just noisier.
02-14-2010, 04:31 PM   #3
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As Yves says, not really a big deal. I haven't shot the Kx, but I have shot with the K2000 which has the same mirror assembly and body and it is fine. Perhaps a little noisier than another entry level camera, but not significantly so.

This is more a deal for people who shoot a lot in quite places (churches, at weddings), but in most of the situations you will be in, no one will even notice a thing.
02-14-2010, 04:31 PM   #4
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Welcome to PentaxForums!

But sigh....

Don't let yourself be spooked by one or two posters who make a lot of posts on this issue and give the impression the 'mirror slap resulting in blur at certain shutter speeds' problem affects all Pentax K-x cameras.

Look at the Pentax K-x pictures posted on flickr if you are worried about 'mirror slap':

Flickr: Camera Finder: Pentax: K-x

I see no evidence of it there, and I suspect the odds are very good that you will never encounter the issue. I know I certainly haven't.

02-14-2010, 05:34 PM   #5
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I've done a lot of testing on this and I've decided to get rid of my K-x and get a Nikon instead.

Apparently Pentax Canada says they've never heard of the problem, and Pentax US hasn't answered my email on the issue. So right now no one knows if Pentax is aware of the problem.

This is going to be more hassle than I want to deal with so I'm just getting out. And I decided that optical IS is better than sensor based because you get the stabilized view through the viewfinder, and that stabilized view assists the camera's autofocus. So I'm going to be putting my K-x on craigslist and hope that I can get most of my money back.
02-14-2010, 05:38 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rondec Quote
This is more a deal for people who shoot a lot in quite places (churches, at weddings)...
And in particular, it is the occasion while shooting in those places. When I had a K100D at my son's high school orchestra, the mirror slap was embarrassingly noticeable while the orchestra played. I quickly stopped but a louder Canon shooter kept going. I resumed shooting when the audience clapped with appreciation, nobody noticed, I did not even hear it myself.
02-14-2010, 05:52 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by kingtux Quote
My main concern is with the "mirror slap" discussion that I've been reading about here and other online forums? Is it something that Pentax is looking at fixing or what? I would like to pull the trigger tonight on the kit at B&H but nervous about problems that this may cause to a newbie in photography.

Can anyone shed some light
As was stated earlier, this is all over dpreview, where they like to talk like a lot of technical gurus. You wont find alot of discussion on this board, mostly because it is a couple of very vocal people shouting that if they do X plus Y times Z then multiply by 10 and divide by two, you get a double image from mirror slap!

If you are that concerned with pixel peeping, I would say go ahead and order it, and run their gauntlet of testing. Otherwise, get it and take several hundred photos as you would, pixel peep those and see whether it is right for you. You can always return it (if not to BH, use amazon or somewhere that returns are free).

02-15-2010, 02:36 AM   #8
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Get an underwater housing. This muffles the noise quite a bit. Or use a Point-n-Shoot when you need to shoot silently. Or just accept that you'll be intrusively noisy, and get on with it.
02-15-2010, 06:07 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Graystar Quote
I've done a lot of testing on this and I've decided to get rid of my K-x and get a Nikon instead.
What makes you think that Nikon doesn't use moving mirrors in their dSLRs?
02-15-2010, 06:51 AM   #10
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Hello

This mirror slap issue is being very noisily bandied about by one or two users at dpforums only. A case of forum posters making a lot of noise, deliberately.

99.999999% of K-X owners and distributors don't seem to have either come across the issue or even heard of it.

Your call.
02-15-2010, 06:52 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by mattdm Quote
What makes you think that Nikon doesn't use moving mirrors in their dSLRs?
The problem appears to be that the mirror is jostling the sensor, either through its physical movement, or possibly due to electrical noise or the release mechanism. Whatever the reason, the sensor is moving...and Nikon doesn't use moving sensors in their dSLRs.
02-15-2010, 07:08 AM   #12
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Have a look here: Flickr: The Pentax K-x Pool

3500 pictures there, I bet there are 100s at the "mirror slap" shutter speeds. I don't see too much evidence of "mirror slap" there...?
02-15-2010, 07:33 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Nass Quote
Have a look here: Flickr: The Pentax K-x Pool

3500 pictures there, I bet there are 100s at the "mirror slap" shutter speeds. I don't see too much evidence of "mirror slap" there...?
But how can you tell if there's anything wrong with the image if you don't have a control image, taken at the same aperture but at a much higher shutter speed, to show you what it SHOULD look like?

Looking at reduced-size images will never show you anything. My concern is about making 11x14 prints of cropped images. That's going to be a problem if the images aren't sharp. And regardless of whether the problem is widespread, or exists in just a few samples, the one thing I know for sure is that my K-x cannot take sharp images in the 1/60s range.
02-15-2010, 07:59 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Graystar Quote
But how can you tell if there's anything wrong with the image if you don't have a control image, taken at the same aperture but at a much higher shutter speed, to show you what it SHOULD look like?

Looking at reduced-size images will never show you anything. My concern is about making 11x14 prints of cropped images. That's going to be a problem if the images aren't sharp. And regardless of whether the problem is widespread, or exists in just a few samples, the one thing I know for sure is that my K-x cannot take sharp images in the 1/60s range.
It would be a reasonable thing to try a different kx and see if it is different. The reality is that some of the cameras out there are not up to spec in one way or another. Still, the complaint does not seem to be terribly wide spread at this point.
02-15-2010, 08:31 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Graystar Quote
The problem appears to be that the mirror is jostling the sensor, either through its physical movement, or possibly due to electrical noise or the release mechanism. Whatever the reason, the sensor is moving...and Nikon doesn't use moving sensors in their dSLRs.
Maybe. It's hard to really tell. It's a small, lightweight camera with a lot of mirror movement.

I think this is largely a case of: not only is the grass is greener on the other side, there can't possibly be any bugs in it.

No consumer product is going to be without issues of one kind or another. If you look hard enough, you'll find something wrong with anything you put under the microscope. Even if this turns out to be a real issue, I'm positive you'll be able to find something just as bad with any camera you pick up.
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