Snuggley Warm (Pentax K-x First Impressions)
I’m in love with this camera, it’s amazing. I am trying to remain objective and thoroughly test drive it this week, but I love it too much already!
For those who don’t know, I eventually bought the Pentax K-x, and all of the photos in this post were taken with the kit lens (18-55mm). The camera really wanted to use the flash in all the indoor shots, but I didn’t, so some of the lighting may seem somewhat … interesting.
I have not edited or cropped any of the photos here, although I have obviously resized. I didn’t have any filters on the lens.
Battery Life: I was a bit worried about this as I had heard some horror stories on the internet. However, so far so good! I’m using the Energizer Lithium AA’s provided at the moment and they’re still going strong. Sometimes the battery bar does go from green to orange, but it always goes back to green. I have not been using Live Mode, although I have used the playback a few times to view shots (both major battery drains). I do have some brand new Eneloops batteries, but I haven’t tried them yet. So far I’ve taken 363 photos over 5 days, which isn’t a huge amount but has involved turning the camera on and off an awful lot.
Indoor Shots: Surprisingly pleased with the indoor shots. Our lounge was lit by two lamps, the TV and the fire, plus I switched the main light on, so loads of light sources (it still wanted to use the flash, but I like warm pictures). K-x didn’t much like Mollie in this lighting, it found her difficult to focus on, and I did use the auto-focus for most of the shots. (I played briefly with the manual focus but it’s still slightly beyond me). It was very happy with Kim and generally pleased with Dylan’s big white stripey head.
Action Shots: Ok, so this is obviously the important one for people with dogs. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you much because I have the worst timing in the world ever.
Outdoor Shots: Went pretty well actually. The sun was not much up for playing; it was out, but was the low and hazy winter sunlight that always screws up photos a bit (always has, with every camera I’ve ever owned!) Still, once I’d figured out how not to get blinded, we did ok. Shade is good! But really, really cold.
I do have the beautiful 55-300mm lens waiting to be played with, but I figured I’d better practise with something a bit more manageable to begin with.
The camera is hesitantly scheduled to come to Wyre and Doncaster this weekend, but there may not be any photos taken. Wyre is bright and light indoors but it’s also very busy, so not entirely practical for indoor shots. Doncaster is definitely way too dark inside, but I might be able to get some exercise area shots if it’s not raining. Big lens is coming anyway, so we’ll see!