K100D Tips & Tricks

[Class A]

I'm a newbie and thought the best way to introduce myself would be to share some useful pieces of information regarding the K100D, which will probably apply to some extent to other models as well.

As you know the K100D offers two ways of releasing the shutter (wireless and cable switch (CS-205)) and both accessories are not exactly cheap, at least not here in New Zealand.

Regarding the wireless remote, note that Pentax uses the same infrared code as some SONY remote controls. I have successfully released the shutter on my K100D with my SONY remote control (the exact button will vary between different models of remote controls). It also works with a generic (universal) remote, if it is set to use the correct codes. I was surprised to see that using a remote control this way even supports arbitrarily long exposures in "bulb mode"; as long as you keep the button on the remote pressed, the shutter stays open.

Regarding the cable switch, note that the little plug is a standard 2.5mm one that is often found on mobile phone earphones. If you get such a cable, building the switch yourself is quite easy; here's a link http://www.geocities.com/a_ov_c/cablef.htm

The second option for the cable switch is to buy a cheaper replacement. I found the Yongnuo RS-C1 and it works nicely, but there are other replacement switches as well.

Yes, I would prefer to have "Pentax" written on my remote controls and also wouldn't mind to support Pentax by forking out some money for the original switch, but here in New Zealand the remote controls are prohibitively expensive.

Just a reminder, as you have probably know this at one stage: If you apply exposure correction (something I do quite often), the automatic ISO setting is disabled and ISO 200 is chosen. If that's not what you want, you need to set the ISO speed manually.

You may not be aware of the fact that ISO 400 has a bit more headroom in the highlights then ISO 200, so when choosing ISO 200 you are giving a away a bit of the potential dynamic range. Since the noise at ISO 400 is very well controlled, it appears to make sense to set the camera to this speed and avoid ISO 200 unless you are after minimal noise, but I hope someone else will shed more light on this matter.

Its in the manual, but here's another hint: When navigating in the menus, note that you can use the wheel to switch between the menus. That's a lot quicker than moving up and down to reach the menu switching position. I'm sure you are already saving clicks by moving up (when you are at the top position) to reach items far down in the menu. Getting to them from the bottom, instead of from the top, is often far quicker.

Although all the relevant information for using manual lenses is contained in the manual as well, some may find this tutorial on how to use such lenses on the K100D useful: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=24921509

[danic]

Welcome to the Forum!

There are some good tips there, I had no idea about the Sony remotes. Can't wait to see some photo's from you and reviews as well

Which reminds me, my Pentax is getting a little dusty....

[ozbuc]

Thanks for the tips.

[spiraleyes]

Welcome, and thanks for the tips!

[ken1953]

Hi Class A, Thank you for the contribution and what a way to introduce yourself to the Pentax forum. We look forward to travelling with you on your photography journey and hope we can teach you some things as you have already taught us.
It would be great if you would write a review of your equipment as the reviews are what helps keep this site free. And the information will help some of us in future purchases.
Good luck and again, thank you and welcome.

[jgredline]

Welcome and thanks for the tips...

[Class A]

Thanks everyone for the very warm welcome! This feels a great place to be. I look forward to learning a lot (in particular about photography) from you.

It would be great if you would write a review of your equipment as the reviews are what helps keep this site free.

I wrote a review for the Pentax K100D and posted it at http://www.photographyreview.com/cat...0_3127crx.aspx
I prepared a "wishlist" of features that would be nice to have, but couldn't include that due to lack of space.

Please let me know,
whether I should post the review somewhere else,
post the wishlist somewhere, and
also write a review for the Tamron 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II Macro
(also available in a Pentax version).

[A.M.D.A.]

Hi and welcome,

Switching between menu screens in my FZ7K can also be done using the zoom lever. Thanks for the tips.
----------------------------------------
You did a very good job with the Pentax K100D review. It is detailed and descriptive.
As for the feature wishlist, there are two places where I think it'll fit best:

#1. You can start your own PR blog and post the wishlist there.
#2. Or, share it in the forums.

And by all means, write reviews on the rest of your gear, especially cameras & lenses!

[Class A]

Here's another piece of information that you may use at your own risk: Although the manual advices against it, you can actually use rechargeable CR-V3 accumulators in your K100D if they are voltage-regulated to 3V. Some claim these cells last longer, don't loose their charge as quickly when not used, better withstand cold temperature and even speed up autofocus performance. See e.g., Report on K100D rechargeable LI-ion battery life (http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/p...ery-life.html). My 2500mAh NiMH accumulators seem to last forever and I'm very happy with the AF performance. At pentaxforums.com, forum member bjsmith makes a compelling argument against the use of rechargeable CR-V3 (http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/371626-post34.html).

Although PENTAX REMOTE Assistant Version 1.0 (http://www.pentaximaging.com/custome...tware?softId=1) was not designed for the K100D, most of its functionality works fine (Version 3.0 doesn't work). In order to directly upload images to the computer, just make sure that you set the quality level to "RAW" with the camera menu. Otherwise, the transferred .PEF files have an intact preview but scrambled up contents. Using the "auto save mode" is very useful if you are shooting a series of test images, e.g., in order to calibrate the autofocus, because you can immediately analyse them on your computer without triggering the transfer manually or selecting a file name.

[bazzieman]

Hi- this is the sort of thread that is missing in other forums, especially as the K100D was released as long ago as (wait for it) May 2006. It's a shame that cameras are treated as gadgets these days, ready to be replaced when a similar one with a slightly different number is in the shops. I've got the K100D and am very happy with it. End of rant!

[ken1953]

Hi- this is the sort of thread that is missing in other forums, especially as the K100D was released as long ago as (wait for it) May 2006. It's a shame that cameras are treated as gadgets these days, ready to be replaced when a similar one with a slightly different number is in the shops. I've got the K100D and am very happy with it. End of rant!

Hi Bazzieman and welcome to PR. I agree with you and it is why I am involved with PR. We have a very close, friendly site that is "photography" related and not "gadget" related. Yes, we do, like all others, strive to have the latest gadgets, but many of us also are into the historical facts and equipment. That is one of the things that makes us unique.
In closing, please let us know a little about yourself and the equipment that you have and if you get a chance please post a review about your equipment at our reviews section located here : http://www.photographyreview.com/writeareviewcrx.aspx .
I look forward to seeing some of your works and learning more about you.

[A.M.D.A.]

Hi Bazzieman and welcome to PR. I agree with you and it is why I am involved with PR. We have a very close, friendly site that is "photography" related and not "gadget" related. Yes, we do, like all others, strive to have the latest gadgets, but many of us also are into the historical facts and equipment. That is one of the things that makes us unique.

I occasionally use a family-owned 35mm Kodak Star 835 AF. It's actually quite fun to experiment with *older* cameras & equipment, especially film.

[bazzieman]

Hi Bazzieman and welcome to PR. I agree with you and it is why I am involved with PR. We have a very close, friendly site that is "photography" related and not "gadget" related. Yes, we do, like all others, strive to have the latest gadgets, but many of us also are into the historical facts and equipment. That is one of the things that makes us unique.
In closing, please let us know a little about yourself and the equipment that you have and if you get a chance please post a review about your equipment at our reviews section located here : http://www.photographyreview.com/writeareviewcrx.aspx .
I look forward to seeing some of your works and learning more about you.

Thanks for the nice welcome. I live in London, have taken pics since the days of my Brownie 127, but became a little obsessed with the advent of digital imaging. I have a K100D and the 2 kit lenses, but tend to use my Tamron 18-250 most of the time. I've recently joined our local photographic society and try not to get too upset when I don't win their competitions!

[GrauGeist]

Hi folks,

I'm new in these parts, so I thought I'd start off by seeing if anyone has some good advice on how to clean the CCD. I have a Pentax K100D, which has been an awesome camera for me.

As great as the camera is, though, I seem to have an uncanny ability to get dust-motes "welded" to the CCD, where regular cleaning methods won't dislodge them.

I am almost over-protective of my K100D, and take great pains to make sure that dust won't get into the lense well when I am changing lenses or putting it away.

No matter how careful I am however, I always end getting something "stuck" to the CCD, and have had to send it back to Pentax a few times for cleaning now.

Am I the only one suffering this, or has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks in Advance

[Class A]

No matter how careful I am however, I always end getting something "stuck" to the CCD, and have had to send it back to Pentax a few times for cleaning now.

My K100D doesn't attract dust abnormally. I've been fine with an occasional use of a blower.

Are you keeping your camera face down when you change lenses?
Are you making sure your rear lens caps stay clean and wipe them off occasionally?

Are you sometimes cleaning your sensor with a blower?
If the room is very dusty (you won't necessarily notice unless it is flooded with bright sunlight) you can actually blow more dust on to the sensor than there was in the first place.


Normally, using a rocket blower helps, though.

Cleaning the mount area before unmounting the lens can help preventing from dust entering the chamber.

Before sending mine to a service centre, I'd consider cleaning it myself.

If the blower fails, I would, before wet cleaning, consider using a brush. If you search for "pixel sweeper" you'll find excellent notes on this technique. It is absolutely vital to use a clean brush and test it first, though. I already obtained a brush, cleaned and tested it well (on a UV filter), but didn't need it yet.

[ken1953]

Hi GrauGeist and welcome to PR. My *ist DL's have been bad about it. I had bad luck trying to clean mine, but I did it wrong. Lately however, I have found that there are sensor cleaners on the market, but you want to be careful. My camera shop gave me some sage advice...you get what you pay for and they steered me away from their store brand. They did recommend their cleaning service which was about the same price as the cleaning kit which is what I decided to do. After almost ruining my camera, I didn't want to take any more chances. The cleaning service at my camera store in Madison, WI was $50. But they use the same stuff on the shelves, so if you feel confident, I guess you could try it yourself. I actually finally decided to send mine to Pentax because of the amount of gunk I got on my sensor when I tried to clean it myself. The guy at the shop looked at it and told me he couldn't guarantee he could get it all off. But a little dust, you probably should have no problems.
Good luck and let us know how things come out.

[GrauGeist]

Class A,
I have a nice rocket bulb (and cleaning kit) by Giotti. It works great at getting the occasional dust particle out of the CCD area. My dilemna is, that a few specs always end up on the right side of the CCD (shows to the left on an image) that just can't be budged. The Tech at Pentax referred to them as "welded" particulates. I've tried a dry cleaning swap (looks like a Q-Tip) to dislodge them, I've tried a fine, static free brush...heck, I've done just about everything except hopping on one foot while waving a chicken at it...

Ken, I hear you as far as the cleaning kits go. I've heard some real horror stories, so I've been real hesitant to try one myself. My K100D is the first DSLR I've ever owned, and was my launch vehicle for getting back into serious photography after a lapse of about 20 years. So like I said earlier, I'm almost psychotic-over protective of it...

I'm hoping someone has had some positive experience with a cleaning method that they'd share here.

By the way, great tips you posted, Class A! :thumbsup:

[SmartWombat]

Thanks for the nice welcome. I live in London, have taken pics since the days of my Brownie 127

Ah, another UK member - welcome !
I still have my Dad's 127 (the elliptical shape one) it's on the shelf behind me now, with the yellow filter and closeup lens attachments.
I too went digital and have a cupboard full of old film cameras gathering dust.