This thread is about useful features that may only be found through reading the manual very carefully, stumbling upon them while using the camera, or finding them randomly on the internet.
I started with a few "Tips and Tricks" and then other posters contributed further ones. The below is a reorganisation of all the contributions.
These tips work on a K-5 II but I'm pretty sure most of them translate to other models as well.
Has anyone else got any tips that maybe be subtle but really useful?
If I find others myself, I'll extend my post here.
Focusing Focus Priority on Demand
For both AF-S and AF-C one can choose between either "focus priority" or "release priority". I found out that by using the AF button, I can set the parameter to "focus priority" and thus get the behaviour I want by the press of a button. If I press the AF button and keep it pressed, I get the "focus priority" behaviour as configured. If I don't press the AF button, I get release priority. I had "enable AF" set to the AF button anyhow, but I think the above is one more reason to using the AF button instead of the shutter release half-press.
"AF-S" On Demand
Leaving the camera in "AF-C" means you can achieve "AF-C" behaviour by keeping the focus active and you can achieve "AF-S" behaviour by only briefly activating focus. According to Uluru,
you can use this technique to even improve the accuracy of your results.
Focus Assist Light
Ever wondered why the AF assist light is not coming on? It could be too bright, but another potential reason is that the AF assist light won't come on in "AF-C" or "MF" mode. That may be the only disadvantage of the prior tip.
Poor Man's Quickshift
For lenses without a full-time manual override (aka "quickshift"), you may either
flip the AF switch to "MF" or temporarily press the lens release button as long as you are manipulating the focus ring. I personally am neither encouraging or discouraging the use of the latter technique. It shouldn't cause harm. In any event, make sure the lens does not wiggle itself out of the mount while you are pressing the lens release button.
Exposure Exposure Lock in Manual Mode
If you lock the exposure in manual mode and change one parameter, the camera will adjust the other one to maintain the same exposure.
This is great for flash photography with manual flashes where the exposure contributed by the flash only depends on the aperture but not on the shutter speed. It allows you to expose for the ambient light once, then lock the exposure, and subsequently dial in the right amount of flash exposure by changing the aperture, without constantly having to update the shutter speed as well, to maintain your ambient exposure. That's a really nice touch.
Camera Operation Fast Menu Skipping
The back wheel steps you through the menu items one by one, but if you know that what you are looking for is in a different menu category then you can use the front wheel to skip to the next category. This speeds up navigation quite a bit.
Quick Mode Changes
When changing any function of the four-way controller (drive mode, white balance, JPG settings, flash settings), you can keep pressing the respective button to cycle through the options. Thanks to
Adam and
asp1880 for this tip.
Quick Access to Common Controls
If you switch off the "Status Screen" then pressing the Info button takes you directly to the screen where you can access common controls. This, for example, provides a quick way to switch SR on and off. With the "Status Screen" display turned on, one always has to cycle through three states and I much prefer the Info button to just enable/display the controls screen.
Image Review
You can
select a quick zoom setting so that you can immediately zoom into a preview without going through the prior magnification steps and you can
compare different shots at the selected zoom level by using the front wheel to navigate between them
You can
use the OK button to temporarily enable/disable the histogram in playback mode, if the histogram is set to show up.
Partial Reset
By
choosing your "memory settings" wisely, you can turn some parameter values into temporary ones so that they are reset when you power the camera off and then on again. This can help to avoid to shoot with "left over" settings unintentionally.
Last edited by Class A; 08-04-2013 at 03:44 PM.