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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-03-2012, 07:28 AM
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Took a few shots. Shutter seems to be working.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-30-2012, 01:51 PM
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OK, well as I said my sensor is clean now, but reading this thread has me concerned that I've damaged my shutter by blasting the sensor pretty intensely with compressed gas (liquid to gas can with straw). There's a couple little specks in the viewfinder, but that doesn't concern me. How can I test my shutter and see if I've damaged it?
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-27-2012, 03:20 PM
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I hadn't removed the lens that was on the camera but as I made a series of photos of the Space Shuttle flyover a week or so ago at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, when the planes came into view and I started shooting, suddenly there was a load of dust on the sensor (I only saw this later when viewing the photos with my computer's display). Maybe angling the camera up 20-30 degrees caused dust inside to suddenly rest on the sensor, is all I can think. I later looked at a previous shoot I made on Sept. 1, photos in the 100's, with the same lens on there, I'd never removed the lens before the Shuttle shoot, and I could see absolutely no specks.
Did some googling, read some threads. I tried conservative methods first, but they weren't working and I was at the end of my rope, if this didn't work it was time to get a kit or at least some kind of device to actually touch the sensor, something I want to avoid if possible. I tried these:
1. Sensor shake (no real help)
2. Blasting the sensor with my Giotto dust blower (numerous times, between which I took photos and inspected). This got rid of most of the dust, but 3 specks remained, far from inconspicuous.
3. I tried using Dust-Off duster (triggered gas from liquid in a can, from Costco, being careful not to angle the straw down). A couple of blasts on the sensor did not dislodge the last few stubborn spots. I tried again, this time blasting much more thoroughly, the tip closer to the sensor. If that didn't work, something to touch the sensor would be necessary, I figured. But that did it!
I don't change lenses a ton. I wonder if I should use a blower or the canned gas when I change lenses just to blow out any dust that would be in the camera body. :cool:
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-11-2012, 06:09 AM
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I was haunting these forums and some posts had me convinced that the Pentax (or Tamron) 18-250 AF was for sure the best lens addition I could make for my K-x. I found a Pentax 18-250 AF locally on Craigslist, very decent price and it's in mint condition. I love it. It's my favorite lens and use it almost as much as the stock 18-55. I used the 18-250 a couple of days ago, the only lens I took with me. It's my most versatile lens, of course, and when I want versatility and don't want to have to change lenses, it's the one I have on my K-x.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-11-2012, 05:46 AM
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I got a K-x because I was convinced it was the best "bang for the buck." Nothing has happened to change my mind. I love it, it's done everything I could want. I have some great lenses and they weren't terribly expensive. I know that I can find lenses if and when I want/need them, and at relatively great prices. I don't need a local store to stock accessories, I can find them online. I wasn't able to find my camera for a touchy/feely before I bought it but this didn't concern me. I've bought a lot of my technical equipment without seeing and handling them ahead of time. I don't tend to just get the most popular thing, what's readily seen, handled and bought at Best Buy or the local specialty stores.
I'm aware of the very common advice to go into stores and handle and compare different DSLR's before making a buying decision. This wasn't possible for me with the K-x, and I wasn't concerned. I'd never used a DSLR before, and although I saw some posts from people saying the K-x felt somewhat small to them, I wasn't worried. Not being used to handling a DSLR, I figured that I wouldn't have a sense of how it should be, should feel, and I believe I was right. My hands are larger than average. It's often difficult for me to find gloves that are large enough for me, although my fingers are slender. But my K-x feels just fine.
I love the fact that it uses 4 AA rechargeable batteries. So does my other digital camera, a Samsung Digimax V3 (2 AAs), but the Pentax runs a very long time without needing to switch to freshly charged batteries. The Samsung, OTOH, is a total PITA, it's always shutting down due to insufficient battery power.
And I don't remember running into another Pentax user since I got my K-x, but this doesn't bother me. However, I have gotten comments from people on mine. Many are aware of Pentax's reputation going back over 50 years.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-11-2012, 05:30 AM
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Yes, I'm used to this issue. The only other digital camera I've used is a Samsung Digimax V3 (still have it and use it), and many people have commented that the hinged card/battery door's design made them very nervous that it would eventually break. I've always tried not to be nonchalant when using it, and so far it's held up. Never had an SD card jump out of that camera, though.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-11-2012, 05:24 AM
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When this happened a couple of days ago I was lucky in that there was relative silence. If I had music playing I likely wouldn't have heard the card fall. Small as it is, it didn't make much of a sound but I did get a sense of where it went, so that made finding it a lot easier. Also, I was lucky in that it didn't find a tough spot to nestle in. It was right up against the wall, under the table next to where I was holding the camera. If I'd been clueless where it went, I truly may never have found it. :eek:
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-09-2012, 09:03 PM
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Just my K-x. I love my K-x!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-09-2012, 09:00 PM
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I should have known this was coming, but I don't use my K-x all that much. I typically offload photos from the SDHC card by removing it from the camera and inserting it in a reader. I just went to do that, depressed the card and instead of gently raising my finger, I inadvertently let the finger slip off the depressed card and the spring action caused it to catapult several feet into the air and into the cluttered room. I was fortunate to find it within ten minutes. I thought it might be years before I would find it, or never. Fortunately, I'm in the habit of copying pictures off the card soon after shooting, so it wouldn't have been a giant loss. However, my next biggest card after this 8GB PQI is a 250MB SD card.
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
10-30-2011, 06:04 PM
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Hmm. I've been out of the loop. Bought my K-x just before the K-r was released. In fact I was concerned and wondered if I should return my K-x. What's the issue(s) with the K-r?
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-29-2010, 09:44 AM
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This experience does appear to be similar to mine. The folder was there but there were no pictures in it and my attempts to recover the data seemed futile. I reformatted the card in the K-x and there has not as yet been a repetition. I filled the card for the first time over this last weekend, no problems yet. It's still my only large capacity card but I intend to get at least one other. Taking a lot of shots and a few videos it's not hard to fill a card in a day or two. I found myself reviewing photos and deleting dozens using the camera's GUI to restore some capacity. Also depleted my batteries, and was glad I had extras in my pocket.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-19-2010, 02:04 PM
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I wasn't using a card reader, well, not an external one but the one that came installed in my AS6530-6522 laptop, bought August 2009. Well, until I buy another I'm limited to the PQI 8GB "Class 10" unless I want to use either of my Kingston 250MB SD cards. They only have room for about 45 5.5MB JPGs, however. The way I've been shooting, I'd fill a 250MB card in less than an hour, easy. I'll do some serious homework (likely) before buying another card.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-18-2010, 08:51 AM
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Yeah, .1 x .1 x .1 = .001 = pretty "rare." Of course, I don't recommend using a DSLR while riding your motorcycle, YMMV. ;) BTW, I especially admire African Americans (I'm in California) who think for themselves. Of course, it doesn't matter so much what color your skin is. Not a lot of folks do think for themselves.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-18-2010, 05:43 AM
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I'm nervous now about the card. I'll look into replacement. However, in a few days I'm going on a trip and the card will be my only option unless I pick up something else quickly. I'll have my fingers crossed. These won't be test shots!
Edit an hour or so later:
I just ordered an 8GB ADATA Class 10 card, this order again through Supermediastore.com. Good prices, plus they just gave me a 5% coupon when I dissed their PQI 8GB Class 10 card (the one this thread is about) in a review! Well, I can't blame the store. PQI's site appears to indicate a lifetime warranty for their secure digital cards manufactured within the last few years, so I suppose I'll initiate an RMA with them eventually. Meantime I need a card for next weekend, and figure I'll receive this probably Thursday using standard free shipping for this item, so I'll have a card that I'll have more confidence in than the PQI. I could have gotten a Kingston 8GB Class 10 card there but it would have cost about 3x as much. I'm going cheap again, hope I don't regret it.
Edit 2: I decided to cancel the order. Both reviews for this card at Amazon say it's dog slow, slower than a class 2 card, said one!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-18-2010, 05:36 AM
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I went to visit a friend upstate 10 days ago and brought my new K-x and shot over 200 shots of his digs. He studied art in college and I got an ear full about how what I was doing is "not photography, it's digital imagery." He resents that we can take a hundred pictures in 5 minutes, toss 99 and keep the one that just happened to come out right when he spent years learning how to get results from a single roll of film. I was into film many years ago, so I know about film but I was pretty much silent about defending digital photography. After all, I was his guest. I started to think he felt the camera an intrusion into his privacy and put it away for the rest of my stay. :o
A few days ago I took my K-x into a beautiful produce market early in the morning when everything was pristine and had my newly acquired SMC Pentax-A f1.7 50mm, and wanted to take some test shots. An older guy came up to me, very curious about my Pentax. He said he has a lot of Pentax glass from his film days and was very curious about getting a DSLR body for it. We talked for around 5 minutes and he seemed very encouraged to check out the K-x and the other Pentax DSLR bodies out there.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-15-2010, 11:03 AM
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I just formatted the card in the camera, took it with the Pentax-A f1.7 50mm prime to my local produce supermarket and snapped 59 shots. Came out fine, AFAIK.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-15-2010, 09:05 AM
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OK, I would have guessed yellow-green, but I can never make a positive identification for green, missing the green cones in my eyes, so I always have to guess on that color. They tell me grass is green, so it's a good guess (for grass!).
It says on the lens verbatim:
SMC PENTAX-A 1:1.7 50mm
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-15-2010, 07:25 AM
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What's that green semi-sphere plastic nob thing next to the aperture ring? I assume it's green, I'm actually total green blind, so I'm guessing! :rolleyes: When locked on A mode, the nob is right over the "2" of the 2.8 on the aperture ring.
I just received my used lens from an ebay auction, and it does seem as-new. Obviously, the former owner hardly used it or maybe didn't use it ever! Took a few shots yesterday. It's my first prime (have 4 zooms). I suppose it's best suited to portraiture, head and shoulders shots.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-15-2010, 06:41 AM
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For ME a must have accessory is a fine brush to brush dust off lens surfaces, e.g. camel's hair. What blowers can't dislodge, a fine brush generally will. I don't believe there's any danger of damage to a lens or its coating using such a brush gently and if clean, they will leave nothing on the lens surface. I have a couple that I found somewhere, probably intended for makeup applications. I don't use makeup, but have a lot of lenses. :cool:
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-15-2010, 06:38 AM
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Sorry, I missed this post.
By "Green mode" you mean Auto Pict? I'm color blind (green blind, actually) so I don't know if that's the color on the round indicating wheel for Auto Pict. Yes, I am almost sure it was on Auto Pict. I don't believe it was dim conditions, though. However I do believe it was indoors. It was decent lighting, however. It was suggested that the problems with he videos might have to do with codecs on my PCs, but I haven't investigated this yet.
My card is Class 10, but it's a cheap card, a PQI 150X 8GB that cost me less than $20.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-15-2010, 06:28 AM
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I suppose the prudent thing to do is reformat the card in the camera at this point.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-15-2010, 06:12 AM
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Yes, it was cheap:
PQI 150X 8GB SDHC, cost me about $19 shipped, IIRC, from Supermediastore.com. :rolleyes: It's supposed to be Class 10.
I ran Freeundelete on the card and it didn't find the lost files. I should have run it right away instead of after doing some things, it might have found them. I've retrieved deleted files in the past using that utility.
Actually the 21 missing JPGs at 5.5MB/file would be around 115.5 MB. The card's about 1/2 full, don't know how I'd determine if the space is missing.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-14-2010, 06:51 PM
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At your suggestion, I just did:
IMGP1443.jpg <-----> IMGP1464.jpg
Everything between these two files is missing, 21 shots in all. Disappeared. Oblivion. :cool:
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-14-2010, 06:07 PM
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I got two sets of Eneloops for my K-x through Amazon, they cost $10.59 and $10.49 shipped. This was within the last 6-12 weeks.
I have a La Crosse BC-900 charger. Very versatile, a lot of bang for the buck. Again, it was Amazon, around 4-5 years ago, however.
I got an Op/Tech Pro strap from Adorama, cost me $15.28 shipped. Read the reviews on Amazon. They're pretty convincing.
Concerning the ISO performance of the K-r, I heard that it was about 1 stop better than the K-x's. I'm finding the ISO performance of the K-x to be amazing. So much better than my eyes! It's fantastic. I don't use flash at all now. One stop better would be great, but not a giant improvement by any means. The better LCD would be very nice, but as mentioned, it won't improve your photos. Personally, I prefer the K-x's AA utilization. That's an optional extra with the K-r, so if I ever get a K-r I'll be looking to get the AA adapter.
I second the advice to get lens hoods. You can get decent ones relatively cheaply on eBay. I also got the Giottos Rocket Air Blaster, Manual Air Blower with Extra-Large Rubber Bulb - 7.5" Long from Adorama $9.99 shipped. Great device, I'm thinking of getting another. Doubt I'll be buying any more compressed air!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-14-2010, 05:59 PM
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I think I'll play it safe from now on. The shots were pretty much test shots, nothing special but even so, I am miffed they disappeared. Very strange.
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