What are the secrets of the K10D?

[wpoupore]

Okay, it only took a couple of months of procrastination, but I just picked up a nice used K10D with only

549 shots on it. I think I know all the "obvious" things about it from the research I've done, but I'm

wondering what are the little secrets that you only find out about after using it for a while or wading

through the couple of hundred pages of user manual? What is a new owner likely to miss?

 

As an example, I vaguely remeber something about a setting for the autofocus that reduces the hunting.

Those kind of goodies are what I'm looking for.

 

One more thing: how do you upgrade the firmware. It's still on v1.0

[personalphotos]

Now this is an interesting question and I hope you get a bunch of answers.

 

First go into the menu and set the control dials to suit your needs. So the front dial near the shutter release is typically set to control shutter speed. But you can set the 3 primary settings (ISO Shutter, Aperture) to be controlled differently in each mode (Tv, Sv etc)

 

Make sure the firmware is at least v1.2. Do this by turning the camera off, hold down the menu button down and turn the camera back on. The LCD will show the firmware for a few seconds. If it's below v1.2, go to the pentax web site and update to v1.3. Why? so you have ISO on the OK button. This allows you to adjust the ISO on the fly without digging into the menu.

 

Learn how to use the TAV setting. Very useful and set it up as I suggested above.

[mc2imaging]

More specifically, go <a

href="http://www.pentaximaging.com/customer_care/show_firmware?firmId=8793673"

target="new">HERE</a>.<P>

 

Basically, you make sure you have a full battery and a freshly formatted SD card.<p>

 

Download the update and copy it to said SD card.<P>

 

With the camera OFF, you insert the card and turn the camera on while performing the

prescribed button combo.<P>

 

The camera does the rest...<P>

 

As far as getting the AF to do less hunting, I think you are referring to locking the AF point

to the center. That is done with that knob that surrounds the 4-way selector on the back

of the camera. It has 3 positions: Auto, Sel, and the rectangle with the dot in the middle.

Mine NEVER leave the rectangle with the dot in the middle.

[matthew miller]

To add to what Peter Zack says: if you set the other dial to ISO in Av and Tv modes, the viewfinder will always display the current ISO. (At least in those modes.)

[a few images]

You need to go into the menu and allow aperture so you can use older lenses. If you don't, you'll get flashing numbers on the top LCD and you won't be able to take a photo.

 

A favorite feature of mine is the multi-exposure mode. It allows you to take up to 9 exposures and have the camera merge them all into one image. Make sure you have EV comp on for no-brainer HDR images.

[trw]

I set the other dial to exposure compensation in AV and TV. Use the OK Button and front dial to change ISO.

 

Get a CTO gel and cut a little piece off to tape over the pop-up flash. Set white balance when using flash to unchanged. Use AV mode and set flash compensation to ~-0.7. Use this in low-ish light indoors. It'll lighten shadows and reduce noise at high ISO.

 

Set the "Image Tone" to "Bright". This gives you really nice JPEGS right out of the camera, and when you need to be able to edit later you can hit the RAW button. The "Natural" setting produces muddy jpegs , with the expectation that you'll edit later. "Bright" gives you images you can take directly to the photo lab, and RAW gives you images you can edit later.

 

Do not judge exposure by the picture on the LCD. Use the histogram.

[cyanatic]

Whoa! I just received my K10D from B&H yesterday afternoon. I just picked up 2 or 3 great hints from this thread alone. Thanks.

[johnmarsden]

My 2cents -

Set the auto ISO range

Press Fn button

Use 4 way arrows to key up to the top of the iso range (above 100)

this will then be Auto

Then use the front and rear wheels to set your preferred range for auto shooting.

For general purpose stuff I have mine set for 100 - 400.

But if I am say shooting sports indoors I may change it to 800 - 1600.

 

(By the way this is something that you cannot set on the Canon 40D at all let aone so easily as on the Pentax and their lowest iso setting in auto mode is 400!!!!)

 

Consider setting your raw mode to DNG - its Adobes RAW and probably will be more widely used in the future - I am no expert on this but it seemed sensible at the time.

 

Press Menu

Use back wheel to Rec. Mode

then arrow down to second screen (you can use the front wheel for this too)

and alter RAW file format to DNG rather than PEF.

[abe_hollander]

Hey Trent: What's a CTO gel? Where do I get one?