Pentax K10D picture taking settings

[JennyC]

Hello to the forum. This is my first post to the forum, and thus a newbie -- at this and picture taking.

I got a great Pentax K10D camera for Christmas that my husband bought. I wanted a great dSLR camera, and since I had a Pentax film camera, husband stayed with the Pentax brand. Thus, my coming to own the K10D.

My question is this. On my previous digital camera, Kodak 650Z, it had all the great little scene pictures so I knew which one to use for which event. On the K10D I'm kinda lost. I've read and read about how to use the settings. Most literature says the best is the Green mode for inside and the P for outside. So now to the question -- when would I use the other settings? What's the advantage to not using the Green mode or the P mode? I would like to advance in learning how to use this camera to its fullest so I can have the best baseball pictures of my 7 year old there is, and I'd also like to learn how to use Photoshop better so I can make them look terrific. any insight I would greatly appreciate!

Jenny

[Didache]

HI and welcome to the world of DSLR photography!

The K10D is a wonderful camera, but it is classed as an 'enthusiast' camera. In other words, it was really designed for people with some experience. So, until you get the experience, you are going to be on a learning curve. One of the things the designers omitted were the modes found on most entry level cameras. This is simply because very few "serious" photographers use them much. Much better to get used to changing the aperture and shutter speed yourself depending on what you want to achieve. For instance, if you are doing action photographs you can use the T mode to set your shutter speed as high as possible (and let the camera sort out the aperture for you). Or, if you are doing a picture of a family member against the mountains and you want both in focus, then choose A and set the aperture as small as possible. Similarly with changing the ISO to suit the circumstances. This is pretty much what most creative photographers do.

The only way to get used to all this is to practice it - it takes a little time, but it will become second nature after a bit. I will give you one example - I recently did a project in the London subway system. Light was ok, but not great and I wanted people to be a bit blurred (to show movement) but the walls etc to be sharp. So, I set the camera at 800ISO (to allow for the lowish light) and the shutter at 1/30sec (to get the slight blur) using the T mode. I let the camera decide the aperture.

Good luck and let's see some of the results!

Cheers
Mike

[Ptax]

Jenny,

I was in the same boat as you a little over a year ago. In addition to this wonderful forum, I learned a lot from just playing around. The nice thing about digital is you can shoot and shoot and shoot, and it doesn't cost you a dime. One thing I have done that is helpful is to take the same pic several times using several different settings. That gives me an idea of how the various settings will change the shot.

I think you will love the K10. I have.

David

"The enemy of photography is the convention, the fixed rules of 'how to do'. The salvation of photography comes from the experiment." - Anonymous

[Shooter Tiff]

Hello
I was also new to the SLR thing when I got my pentax. It can be very intimidating but very rewarding when you figure it out. I found reading to be my best friend. If you can get a hold of a magazine called Practical Photography(not to be confused with popular photography) I find it is a great help with beginner stuff. I do believe it is a UK mag but I can get in here in Canada at a good book store. I also found that using full manual mode was a very good learning tool, although the most confusing, but if you can do it in manual mode the rest should come easy. Do you know how to read a histogram? or how to access the one on your camera? This will go a long way in helping to let you know if you are doing things right before you get home and put it on your computer
good luck if you need more help don't be afraid to ask.

[ken1953]

Welcome Jenny...You have found the right place for help with your new Pentax. We have some great photographers who all have good knowledge of both the K10D and photography in general. When I began taking photography seriously about 3 years ago, I found this site. I had been using a Kodak P/S at the time and for a while, it was great for my needs. The fine people on here were of great help teaching me how to shoot photographs and not just snapshots. Even with a p/s. I later got my wife involved and we both got the Pentax *ist DL's. (a beginning level DSLR). Again, the people here at PR helped me learn my camera and to improve my photography skills. I mention this because I want to point you to some very beneficial forums that will help you greatly. The first is the "Viewfinder" forum. This is our general meeting room. Most of us at one time or another check in there and many of us hang out in there all the time. It is one of the most popular forums.

The next forum is the Critique Forum. This is where you go when you want "serious" critique of you photos. One of the nice things about PR is that the critiques are usually very positive in nature, even when they may have something negative to say.

Do not forget that you have your own "Gallery" that you can display your pictures. You can choose either to put them in your Gallery only, or you can choose one of the many specialized galleries.

We have many different specialized forums for such things as Sports, Wildlife and Nature, Business, Studio, Off Topic, etc. Please check them out as you have the time. I'm sure you'll like what you find.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing some of your first shots with the K10D.

[JennyC]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is the type of info I am looking for. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions. But until that time, I will just be lurking, watching everybody else's posts...

Jenny

[jgredline]

Jenny.
Welcome...Good to see another pentaxian!! You have already received plenty of good advice, I can only add but do not want to overwhelm you...On top of the K10D next to the shutter is a little green button...That button will be your best friend when NOT in green mode...If you get lost at any point while in any of the manual modes, simply press the little green button and the camera will set the ex for you..Learn to study where the camera sets you to in comparison to where you where and you will soon catch on...