The K-S1 and the 18-135 lens

flektogon wrote:

Historicity wrote:

audiobomber wrote:

Cameras with one dial are compromised and annoying.

Dan,

Well, of course, I can't disagree precisely, but I think I can understand the position of your fellow Ontarian (if that's what you call each other), Peter, who loves the K-S1. He has taken pains to adapt himself to that little camera and its having only one dial doesn't bother him. He only uses the dial on special occasions and finds it useful rather annoying.

I have made an image of him in my mind, in which he's about 5'6" with small hands that are able to manage the dial without turning the switch from AF to MF. (I'm usually wrong about such imaginings. He's probably 6'5" and with huge hands.) He's nevertheless inspired me to work harder at learning to use the K-S1 without feeling annoyance. I rather doubt that's going to happen all the way, and am probably going to be much happier with the K-S2; nevertheless I can understand how someone else could use the K-S1 without annoyance and without believing it to be compromised.

Meanwhile I expect to have it in the same category as my EPN-2, to use if I wrench a knee or a shoulder and intend to limp off on a hike anyway. The last time that happened I wore a knee sleeve and with a hiking stick to keep me steady snapped photos one handed with my little EPN-2. Sounds pathetic, but in no time I was back to normal and using the K-3 again.

Lawrence

Lawrence,

I am exactly in the middle of your imagination (6", medium size hands ) and yes, I make the exposure adjustments very rarely. Why? Because Pentax is a very smart camera, it can set the exposure much more precisely than me, even with my 55 year experience in the photography. One wheel or two, who cares, if I do not need them. What bothers me more, is the AF. I am not complaining about its the speed at all. Just the camera (and I have the same experience with the other brands) can't select the most righteous AF point every time. On the K-x I use only the central AF point, as that camera even doesn't show you where it focuses. On the K-S1 I tried to use all (11) AF points, but the focus "failure" rate was too high. Currently I am using just 5 points, what I consider a compromise (11 vs. a single, central point). But again, I have absolutely no problems with the exposure.

So, I wish you (all) happy new year a many, many (properly exposed and sharp) pictures .

Regards,

Peter

Peter,

Okay, if you got into photography at age 10 that would make you 65 right now.  In my case I can remember being interested in photography quite young perhaps because of a grandfather who earned a living developing film for others.  He died of TB in 1945.  I inherited his film developing equipment; so that makes me 82 as I said. 

As to focal points, I'm not very sophisticated.  I use  single point figuring everything else at that distance will be in focus.  I've played with multiple focus points in the past but got disgusted with them.   Of course if I wanted to focus on a dog behind some bushes and my focal point insisted on focusing on the bushes instead of the dog behind them.  I could switch to MF and find the dog behind the bushes.  In fact if I was using a K-S1 it would be very easy to do.

To change the subject let's assume that we are both interested in photography as art -- not all the time of course but occasionally we will see something that in older days would have inspired a painter to set up his easel.  You see it and with your camera in P let your K-S1 make all the choices.

I come across the same scene, and because it's a bright day set the aperture to 9, the ISO to 200 and move the shutter speed dial to optimum exposure only if it gives me a fast enough shutter speed for the scene.  Or I if I am filming the dogs playing with each other I might be afraid to leave the ISO at 200 and change it to 400 or 800.  If I'm not too far off according to the light meter I can fix the brightness or darkness later on in Lightroom.

You check your results later in Silkypix and say, "wonderful."  I check my results later in Lightroom and say the same thing.  Considered in this manner (which I had not hitherto done before) I would conclude that the most important ingredient is "the artists eye."  We both see the same thing and try to capture it as is.  Assuming that neither of us is interested in enhancing nature, you trust your camera to give you "as is."  In my case I have had some bad experiences so I prefer to make the decision about what "as is" is.  However I have had some good experiences doing exactly what you are doing but with a 16mp Olympus EPN-2 -- sort of.  The EPN-2 would make the right decision on such a day as I describe above, but if it is a bit dark or things are moving too quickly it won't.  Of course I could override something as you do, but my norm is the K3 (or cameras like it) where I set everything, and the controls on the EPN-2 are too small and fiddly for me to want to mess with.  I suspect being 5' 10" and having medium sized hands that I could get used to overriding P when necessary, but at present I find the controls of that camera a bit fiddly as well.

One more thing, speaking of "as is."  I left all the settings as is (the default) on my outing with the K-S1.  Later in Lightroom I mentioned something along the lines of saying that my most common fix was to reduce the highlights and whites.  In checking the settings the other day I noticed that one default was "bright."  I changed that setting to "normal."

Lawrence