I don't think I know what I am doing. I initially try the Monochrome WB in Pentax K-x without any extra filter and I find the results quite plain and not to my liking. It is later that I find that there is a series of filters as in Yellow, Cyan, Red, Green, Blue and Infrared among others. The IR filter stands out the most intriguing one and I used it over the weekend with my Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 limited.

The IR filter has added another dimension into the Monochrone preset white balance. Once the IR filter is used, I only adjusted two settings in the initial try out

• B&W (Monochrome WB) set from Info button and Custom WB setting
• Change from my default Bright Image Mode to BW (Monochrone) WB, then add two more changes
  
  • tone is default
    
  • +1 on High/Low Key Adj
  • +1 on Contrast
  • Fine sharpness -1 is default in my setting
    

The IR filter adds a bunch of fun to the digital b&w photos and I am sure to continue to experiment the filters and the various settings such as the tone and high/low key adjustment. I am especially impressed with the set of filters and adjustment provided in K-x for digital b&w photography


Related:

• Pentax K-x White arrival
• Pentax K-x and Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8
  
• Pentax K-x White HD Test Videos
  
• Pentax K-x White In Disneyland
• Pentax K-x High ISO Habit
• Pentax K-x White with DA limited
• Compare Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 limited and Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8
  
• Hin's Camear Gear

I want to share the user settings that I have been using and update this post when I find something new with my Pentax K-x. Many of my setting are actually the default settings in JPG with exception on sharpness adjustment and WB.




Summary of my settings:

• use extended iso range from 100 to 12800, adjust iso range subject to scene
• Auto ISO range in 100 to 400 in daytime outdoor setting. Use fix lower ISO in 200 when image quality and grain is important.
• For indoor setting, I use auto-iso from 100-1600 for not-so-poor lighting and 100-3200 for darker environment. I used fixed iso for situations that I know I can have a comfortable speed not slower than 1/60 or 1/30 seconds.
• For extremely dark environment, I use fixed iso in 3200, 5000, 6400, 8000 and 12800. I pay extreme attention to shutter speed in dark environment. When bracing is possible with lamp post, a rail, or knelt down position, I attempt the lowest iso for at least 1/15 second. And I will up iso for non-bracing shot so that shutter speed is at least 1/30 sec. It is all subject to shooting conditions.
• default NR in medium, default NR starts at iso 800 and above
  
• bright image mode
• Mostly AWB. Adjust as needed especially in indoor shooting
• Default Matrix Metering
  
• customized Ev to 1/3 instead of 1/2, default is already taking 1/3 Ev increments
  
• customized ISO to go with Ev increments
  
• center focal point in AF-A
• sharpness adjusted from +1 to +2 and toggle between Fine sharpness and the default -- still experimenting. Use Fine sharpness for daytime shooting and change to regular sharpness setting for indoor and dim setting to avoid noise if desired.
  
• Program mode for most cases and adjust Av as needed
• Use Tv mode for action or when movement is involved
  
• Enabled catch-in focus for AF lenses and disable for MF lenses when the feature gets in the way
• First choice of lens for video is DA with quick shift focus. The next choice is fast MF lenses to avoid noise and better flexibility.
  

Few observations to share:

• K-x has more tendency in over-exposure than my K20D
• Occasional hiccup in locking up once a video clip is displayed. This may have to do with my SD card. When that happens, I need to take out battery in order to turn off the camera
• Unreliable AWB in indoor tungsten and fluorescent lighting, preset tungsten WB> helps a bit but AWB seems way warmer than the actual scene. I should have shot in RAW and adjust in post processing.
  
• I can't see the Viewfinder clearly in cloudy outdoor and dark indoor scenes. This may be due to my use of bi-focal glass
• Image a bit soft in default setting, hence I turn up the default +1 sharpness to +2 sharpness and I am trying between Fine Sharpness vs the default sharpness
• In general, I prefer my K20D body over K-x when I am shooting manual focus lenses
• The LCD resolution can't tell a blur picture from a sharp picture.

Related:

• Pentax K-x White arrival
• Pentax K-x White HD Test Videos
  
• Pentax K-x White In Disneyland
• Pentax K-x High ISO Habit
• Pentax K-x White with DA limited
  
• Hin's Camear Gear

The first show that our family enjoyed very much in Seaworld of San Diego was the Shamu (Orca or Killer Whale). And it was a bummer that I forgot to take a short video clip which would have recorded our experience with enriched media.

Not knowing about the seating plan and how fast the Killer Whale in a very weted stadium, I changed my zoom lens from Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 to Tamron 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6. In hindsight, I may be better off with the Sigma but I don't know. I was totally unprepared for the wet shooting in the shooting. There were three killer whales in the performance and they were superb in the performance as I couldn't see them coming and my zoom setting was always off for the next shot. I zoomed in too much, which I should have kept it around 75mm to 150mm to cover the bigger part of the body.

I was late to the stadium and ended up in the front rows where the Killer Whales performed their splashing scenes with water. It was both fun but way too much for photography. My sweetie had a plastic bag and it was both good and bad. It does the weather proofing for me well but the wrapping of the plastic was bad on my Pentax K-x as they prevented me change setting as I couldn't see the LCD, menu, and others. I would have shot it with AF-C with 5 or 11 points. Instead, I stayed with AF-A with center point throughout. I set for Tv in 1/400 and 1/500 sec.

1/400 sec, f/4.5, 220mm, iso 160, 0 Ev
Please note the guy in raincoat on the back

As much as I enjoyed the performance, the Seaworld trainers could be cunning. All the simple raincoats costing $8 a piece and all warnings were out for the audience before the show. And to a certain degree, we knew what was coming. And when I saw most of the front rowers gather in blankets and raincoats, my sweetie quickly took out two jackets and a plastic bag for me. She was the best house-keeper for my white K-x as she was rightly concerned about the well-being of my month old white K-x. The plastic bag has saved my K-x and Tamron zoom lens, I think. So much for the weather proofing in K20D or K-7, I certainly wouldn't risk it bare naked in the scene

The show of muscle from the trainer, the beginning of the cunning plot for those audience not prepared to buy $8 raincoat.

Showing of muscle
signal for the splash

Gang of three killer whales lining up for the synchronized splash to the audience. The whales outsmarted all the preparation of human audience in the show. They ran in sync and splash meticulously in 15 to 20 foot gap distance to the audience. They worked as if no one could escape the splash, it was quite amazingly cunning but fun to those who were cheapo like me NOT buying the raincoats and towels from Seaworld. The memorable towels likely cost north of $20. Of course, I had the highest scream of exuberance and admiration on the plot while my boys kept saying "Bad boy and Bad boys, the Shamu" and "No fish for the Shamu".

No one can escape the splash
and the three Orca did the splash almost
synchronously

I was soaking wet on my pant with the splash when the Orca came to my side of the stadium but I was happy and the weather proofing from the plastic bag worked like a charm for me. It would have been better had I prepared for the shooting with AF-C and a better weather proofing idea with transparent covering for the LCD and top mode dials. Shooting a supplemental video would have been perfect to capture the essence in the show.

A real treat for wonderful performance

Impressions & Notes

• Purple Fringes are very apparent in many of the shots taken while in Seaworld; otherwise, the zoom does fine for me for long shooting in a stadium. A better zoom lens to replace the Tamron zoom will be Pentax DA 55-300mm and I prefer to have the DA instead of DA-L as I can use the quick shift focus in shooting both still pictures and video.
  
• I missed the TAv mode in K20D as I can try to remember to set the aperture to avoid the purple fringing with Tamron zoom. Many shots in f/5.6 had the undesirable purple fringes.
  
• A video would have been better to complement the experience
• Plastic wrap works fine with K-x for a one time weather protection but in hindsight, I would have preferred a transparent material so that I can make changes easily in the shooting.
  

Related:

• Pentax K-x White Seaworld Part 1
  
• Pentax K-x White arrival
• Pentax K-x White HD Test Videos
  
• Pentax K-x White In Disneyland
• Pentax K-x High ISO Habit
  
• Tamron 70-300mm Di LD Macro f/4.0-5.6
• Purple Fringe on Tamron 70-300mm Di LD Macro f/4.0-5.6
  
• Hin's Camear Gear

This is a shameful reflection of my past gear that I have accumulated and sold in the past. I get the list so long that I find it a drag to update the blog post in Hin's Camera Gear and I am in the process of trimming lens again and this blog post will serve as the permanent home for my lens and cameras in the past.


Past Gear:

• [sold] SuperTakumar 35mm f/3.5 in M42 (past)
• [sold] Albina 28mm f/2.8 1:4 Macro (past)
• [sold] Takumar 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 Macro (past)
• [sold] Pentax M 200mm f/4.0 (past)
  
• [sold] Vivitar Series 1 70-210 f/3.5 Macro from Kiron (v1) (past)
  
• [sold] Pentax FA 28-80 f/3.5-4.7 Power Zoom (past)
• [sold] Pentax M 28mm f/2.8 (past)
• [sold] Pentax SuperTakumar 105mm f/2.8 in M42 (4/11/2008)
• [sold] Bower M42 to K Adapter (4/11/2008)
  
• [gifted] Praktica Super TL1000 (4/11/2008)
• [gifted] Domipan 50mm f/2.8 (4/11/2008 )
• [donated] Sears 135mm f/2.8 (4/14/2008)
• [sold] Pentax SMC FA 28-80 f/3.5-4.7 Power Zoom (4/28/2008)
• [sold] Pentax M 200mm f/4.0 (4/29/2008)
  
• [sold] Pentax DA 50-200 f/4.0-5.6 (5/14/2008)
  
• [sold] Pentax DA 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 (5/14/2008)
  
• [sold] Pentax Auto 110 (smallest SLR) (5/14/2008)
• [sold] Pentax SuperProgram (6/9/2008)
• [sold] Pentax M 28mm f/2.8 (6/9/2008)
  
• [sold] Pentax SMC FA 28-105 f/3.2-4.5 (6/12/2008)
  
• [sold] Eyetek Digital Flash DS328AZ (6/12/2008)
• [sold] Vivitar AT-22 Extension Tubes (7/27/2008)
• [sold] Pentacon 50mm f/1.8(M42) (9/9/2008)
• [sold] Tamron-F 2X KR MC4 TC (9/9/2008)
• [sold] Tokina sz-x 28-70 f/2.8-4.3 with 'A' aperture (9/9/2008)
• [sold] Vivitar 28mm f/2.5 from Kiron (9/10/2008)
• [sold] Lester A Dine 105mm f/2.8 1:1 Dental Macro (9/11/2008)
  
• [sold] Pentax PZ-1 (9/21/2008)
• [sold] Pentax AF-500ftz flash (9/21/2008)
• [sold] Pentax K100D (9/20/2008)
  
• [sold] Vivitar 70-150 f/3.8 Kiron (9/28/2008)
  
• [sold] Pentax K 45-125 f/4.0 (9/28/2008)
  
• [sold] Promaster Spectrum 7 1.7x AF TC (10/1/2008)
• [sold] Tamron 1.4x Pz-AF MC4 TC (10/1/2008)
• [sold] Spiratone 20mm f/2.8 (10/7/2008)
• [sold] Schneider 135mm f/3.5 (M42) (10/10/2008)
• [sold] Pentax SMC K 100mm f/4.0 1:2 Macro (10/13/2008)
  
• [sold] Prakticar 28-70 f/3.5-4.8 Macro (M42) (10/13/2008)
• [sold] Sigma 105mm f/2.8 1:1 Macro Ex (non-DG) (10/13/2008)
  
• [sold] Pentax SMC A 50mm f/2.8 1:2 Macro (10/13/2008)
• [sold] Pentax DA 50-200 f/4.0-5.6 (10/13/2008)
• [sold] Jupiter 9 85mm f/2.0 (10/17/2008)
• [sold] Pentax F 35-135mm f/3.5-4.5 (10/28/2008)
  
• [sold] Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 (M42) (11/7/2008)
  
• [sold] Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f/3.5 (M42) (11/7/2008)
  
• [sold] Mamiya/Sekor 55mm f/1.8 (M42) (11/7/2008)
• [sold] Tokina 19-35 f/3.5-4.5 (11/11/2008)
• [sold] Pentax 300mm f/4.0 (11/11/2008)
• [sold] Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5, Tokina (v2) (11/15/2008)
• [sold] Pentax FA 31mm f/1.8 limited
  
  • Initial Test Shots (12/4/2008)
• [sold] Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II (12/4/2008)
• [sold] Pentax A 50mm f/1.7 (12/5/2008)
  
• [sold] Kenko 2x Macro Teleplus MC7 (12/5/2008)
• [sold] Pentax K10D (12/17/2008)
  
• [sold] Mamiya/Sekor 50mm f/2.0 (m42) (12/18/2008)
• [sold] Pentax M 40mm f/2.8 (12/19/2008)
  
• [sold] Sigma 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 (12/21/2008)
• [sold] Pentax F 35-70 f/3.5-4.5 (1/5/2009)
  
• [sold] Vivitar 70-150mm f/3.8 from Kiron (two touch zoom) (1/5/2009)
• [sold] Vivitar 500mm f/8.0 Mirror Lens (1/6/2009)
  
• [sold] Tamron SP 90mm f/2.5 1:2 Macro 52BB with 1:1 extension (1/6/2009)
• [sold] Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.4 (m42) (1/7/2009)
• [sold] Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4.0 from Komine (v3) (3/10/2009)
• [sold] Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 1:1 Macro (non-Di version) (2009)
  
  • Portraits | Flowers |

• [sold] Vivitar 200mm f/3.5 from Komine (2009)
• [sold] Photosniper Tair-3 PhS 300mm f/4.5 (2009)
• [sold] Tamron SP 28-135mm f/4.0-4.5 Adaptall-2 28A (2009)
  
  • Hiking
• [sold] Tamron adaptall-2 pk-a adapter (2009)
  
• [sold] Tamron SP 70-210mm f/3.5 Adaptall-2 (19AH) (2009)
• [sold] Soligor 200mm f/2.8 (M42) (2009)
  • Birds | Nature Walk | 2x TC |
• [sold] Quantaray 400mm f/6.3 (2009)
• [sold] Promaster Spectrum 7 60-300mm f/4.0-5.6 1:4 Macro with 'A' (2009)
  
  • Cute Duckling Pair

• [sold] Tokina AT-X SD 80-200mm f/2.8 with 'A' (2009)
  
  • Circus and Baseball | Music with Kate Earl
• [sold] Sigma 28mm f/1.8 II (Feb, 2010)
  
  • Mid-Autumn Festival |
• [sold] Super Lentar 28mm f/2.8 (M42) (Feb, 2010)
  
• [sold] Pentax SuperTakumar 105mm f/2.8 in M42 (Feb, 2010)
• [sold] Pentax SuperProgram (Feb, 2010)
• [sold] Tamron 55B 500mm f/8.0 mirror lens (Mar, 2010)
  
• [sold] Ricoh xr-10, Tamron 28-70mm (44A) (Mar, 2010)
• [sold] Access P-MC 35-70mm f/2.5-3.5 in R/K mount(Mar, 2010)
• [sold] Access P-MC 70-210mm f/3.5 in R/K mount (Mar, 2010)
• [sold] Tamron 75-250mm f/3.8-4.5 Adaptall-2 (104A) (Mar, 2010)
  • with Pentax K-x | Clouds and Sun Rays
• [sold] Kenlock 80-200mm f/3.5 in M42 mount (Mar, 2010)
• [sold] Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 (M42) (Mar, 2010)
  
  • 1st copy | 2nd copy
• [sold] (Mar, 2010)
  

Related:

• Hin's Camera Gear
• Why I love Pentax
• LBA Management
• Pentax K-x White Arrival
• Pentax K20D
• Pentax K100D

I have been back to film using Ricoh xr-p and Pentax SuperProgram. I am about to fix the light sealing and mirror foam bumper in my Pentax MX. There is always charm and joy in going back to film. I got a really good copy of Ricoh xr-p and it works in Av and manual modes with all the Pentax K mount lenses that I have that have an aperture ring. Specifically, I love to carry the Ricoh xr-p with the Cosina 55mm f/1.2 and Tamron SP 17mm f/3.5 adaptall-2 51B.

I love the Cosina 55mm f/1.2 for portraits. Without the crop factor, I like it even more in film than digital. And I always pair it with Tamron 17mm to cover the wide angle need in street shooting and beach scenes. The two lenses are totally unrelated but they work for me as a dual lens setup for my family outing.


With Henry recommendation, the Fuji Neopan 400 will be the next film to try as it is not a c41 type of film. Some film shots that I did with Kodah Professional BW400CN and developed by Foto Express in San Jose.





I got excited about my xr-p that I bought extra copy for my friend Andrew. And it was a nightmare for over a month in getting two bad copies of used Ricoh xr-p that were broken on film advance, asa dial, and shutter. I thought I would get around to fix the last copy that had the best potential but I was out still out of luck last night not able to fix the half working asa dial and the mirror got stuck again like the previous bad copy.

The Cosina 55mm f/1.2 fast prime works beautifully with Rioch xr-p. It is bright and easy to focus even in dim light setting. I especially love the bigger focusing ring in Cosina and it works better in film with the diagonal split screen that it does on the Pentax digital bodies. It is quite a wonderful lens to use on film. The bokeh is unique in the Cosina as I still see the ringed lights in oval shape like that in the first picture.


Related:

• Cosina 55mm f/1.2 Purchase
  
• Film Development with Foto Express and Henry
• Pentax MX
  
• Pentax DA primes on SuperProgram & MX
  
• Pentax SuperProgram
• Tamron SP 17mm f/3.5 adaptall-2 (51B)
• Pentax 645N
• Hin's Camear Gear

The K-x changes how I shoot in low light. I usually don't shoot anything above iso 1600 with my K20D. I rarely found the need as well as courage for iso 3200+ as I tried to avoid noise and the loss of detail and I generally rely on fast primes with Cosina 55mm f/1.2 or my FA 50mm f/1.4. With the K-x high iso capability, my habits are forming in going for shots more in iso 3200+, I have many since changed to use the extended range from the default iso 200 to iso 6400 into iso 100 to iso 12800.

With the K-x, it is a great combo with regular zoom and fast (but not necessary the fastest) primes in f/2.8 and the iso 3200 give me a pretty clean image with my Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 traveling zoom. The K-x definitely changes how I shoot indoor. By no means, the pictures are great samples as you can see the grain and noise and some loss of detail. All photos are shot with Sigma zoom without flash, some shots are processed for noise reduction in iPhoto when noted. Due to the tricky lighting, I have switched from auto-wb to the preset tungsten wb. The preset tungsten balance works better for me in the dinner shooting, color are very close to what I saw in the dinner dim light setting.









Impressions & Notes:

• The extended iso range for 100 to 12800 is more useful that I thought it would be.
  
• It works well with slower lens like my Sigma traveling zoom and make up the lacking in bigger apertures in f/4.5 in the longer end.
  
• For most of my traveling needs, iso 3200 is as clean as I like it to be with default NR setting on medium. I seldom see the needs for post processing in terms of noise.
  
• I see iso 6400 as the boundary for noise cleanup.
• The preset tungsten WB works well for dinner setting, once I used the tungsten setting, pictures are brighter than auto-WB and I tuned for -0.3 to -0.7 Ev
• I found myself shooting more high ISO pictures that I ever would imagine before K-x purchase.

Related:

• Pentax K-x White arrival
• Pentax K-x White HD Test Videos
  
• Pentax K-x White In Disneyland
• Pentax K-x White in Seaworld Part 1
• Pentax K-x High ISO Indoor
  
• Pentax 1-lens choice -- Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5
  
• Pentax K-x White and DA limited Lens
• Pentax FA 43mm f/1.9 limited
• Hin's Camear Gear

If I ever run into a copy of Pentax DA (DA-L) 55-300mm, that will be a great replacement for my Tamron 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6. For all those thinking of K-x, it is best to get the DA-L 18-55 and DA-L 55-300mm combo. But for enthusiast with great interest on video, I will suggest NOT to go for the DA-L lens with 55-300mm. As when I consider the use with video, the AF on video can greatly benefit from quick shift focus. That is after the start of the video recording and quick shift can allow one to adjust the focus manually while a customized button to disable or enable AF will work well in the scheme of quickly manual focusing as in still shot and video.

The AF in video is using the contrast detection. I have not researched into Phase detection and I don't even know if it is supported in K-x to make AF a bit faster. Though contrast detection appears slow, it works reasonably accurate but the AF can't be adjusted right after the start of recording. MF comes into play and quick shift focusing will greatly benefit the shooting if subject moves out of clarity in the shooting. So the DA version (not the DA-L) in 55-300mm or the limited DA will work well in the video.

The purple fringing in the Tamron 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 is unfortunate. It would have been my better cheapo zoom had it shown less PF on the still pictures in high contrast areas. It takes very reasonable still shots with great sharpness but many of my test shots with K-x are not immune to purple fringing in f/5.6 and f/6.3. I should have attempted higher iso to engage in smaller aperture or use Av mode to have better control on PF

Some amateur test videos to show. Apology for the rough viewing on videos. I should have brought in a monopod for the clips, but the clips does more than the still pictures would. It would have been extremely great had I stabilized and get to a better zoom position. I think most are taken in 220mm and you see some jerkiness on the video; otherwise, quite good to use for memory keepsake. All are shot with Pentax K-x white and Tamron 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 in Sea Lion Live show in Seaworld of San Diego. Default settings are used.


Be warned on the unfortunate shaking on hand-holding without a monopod or tripod. The LV in AF works before you start the recording. Once the recording starts, AF won't work but the depth of field pretty much takes care the focus if the subject is not too far off. The initial AF is slow but still useful. I am sure the K-7 will do better.

Related:

• Pentax K-x White arrival
• Pentax K-x White In Disneyland
  
• Pentax 1-lens choice -- Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5
• Pentax K-x High ISO Habit
  
• Pentax K-x White and DA limited Lens
  
• Pentax K-x White with DA/FA limited Lenses
• Tamron 70-300mm Di LD Macro f/4.0-5.6
  
• Hin's Camear Gear

I own both Pentax K20D and Pentax K-x. I am one of the many who enjoys the K-x very much. But in my view, K-x is never a replacement for K-7 or K20D as it is in a different class of camera. If one holds that view and open minded to it as a back-up and fun and light camera packed with features, one will appreciate K-x for it is good for. I am of course biased for Pentax but I will recommend K-x highly to anyone who are in the market for their 1st digital SLR as an upgrade from p&s, or take K-x as a back-up, traveling buddy along with K10D, K20D or K-7. It excels in high ISO as anyone has noted. It ain't perfect when you compare it to the higher class in K-7 or K20D. No matter how wrong that I do in relying on the red focal point for reference of focus, the missing of it in K-x is the darn-est thing I miss in K-x and it supersedes all the inconveniences that I can do with buttons found in K-7/K20D/K10D and not in K-x.

I didn't hesitate for the decision to take it for my recent visit to Disneyland and SeaWorld in southern California. And the K-x is a real kicker in the dark with low ambient light. I took along my usual traveling 1-lens do-it-most lens with Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 and the high ISO in K-x upped a notch for the zoom

1/100 sec, f/4.0, 45mm, iso 2500 , 0 Ev
jpg, default NR, no pp, no flash

1/30 sec, f/3.5, 35mm, iso 12800 , 0 Ev
jpg, default NR, pp with NR in iPhoto

1/10 sec, f/2.8, 17mm, iso 12800 , 0 Ev
jpg, default NR, no pp, no flash,
on a moving boat, cropped center

1/250 sec, f/5.6, 34mm, iso 100 , 0 Ev

1/125 sec, f/4.0, 63mm, iso 200, 0 Ev

The real kicker in shooting the parade in Disneyland was standing next to a professional-like with a Nikon D3 or some related model. My rig is probably 1/2 the size and I certainly don't feel half the man in the shooting though my rig and I are half the size of the dude and his Nikon. The K-x empowered me to make a shot in very low ambient light. I should have shot in raw for #5 and pp with something better as in Noise Ninja or Neat Image. But you see, I am pretty much a p&s amateur not caring much to win the shot for competition but to keep the memory sake of a boy holding a lighted toy in motion in an otherwise very dark corridor waiting to see Mickey in Toon Town at night.

I will show more on the shots taken in the Private of Caribbean boat ride which was even darker and many of the shots in 6400 to 12800 come out reasonable except some with very odd WB from the tricky lighting.

Impressions & Notes

• Sharpness
  I tune the sharpness setting in my K-x from default to Fine sharpness and +1 from the normal setting. I would imagine some impact to the high iso shots but I want to gain the sharpness by a bit in normal shooting as I do find sharpness in default setting a bit soft compared to my K20D and hence the tuning. More of the my family vacation with Pentax K-x white and Sigma zoom can be seen in this Flickr photo set
  
  
• Missing the red focal point
  Missing the red dot is almost a non-issue in good daytime shooting as I can rely on the lines and circle imprinted guides on the default focusing screen to roughly center the spot to work with center AF. But that is not easy to do in the low light shooting especially when I have a bi-focal glass and I can hardly see the guiding lines and circle imprinted on the focusing screen when I make shot in the dark. MF is both a non-issue to some but it is a gripe for me as I do rely on the precision of the center point for flower pedals and the precise spot that I want to tell the AF to lock on. I have adapted to consciously looking at the bottom for the green hex but that is NOT my preference in shooting as I move my attention from center to bottom and it is more prone to missing the spot that I am interested in. My Bi-focal glass adds a factor in the negative direction. In the Pirate of Caribbean boat ride, I could hardly hear the AF confirmation beep due to the water fall and the cheers of the boat riders.
  
  
• Program Mode
  I use Program mode in the trip mostly and I switch to Tv for shots with body movement with faster shutter in 1/80 to 1/125 when body movements are in the shots. The program always swing back to f/2.8 and I have to hyper adjust it smaller aperture to avoid wide open shots but I let it do its thing when it is really dark.
  
  
• Auto Focus
  The AF in dim light and under tungsten lighting is quite responsive.
  
  
• SR unstabilized
  One other caveat that seems to happen more with K-x is the slower activation of SR hand signal for readiness of SR. I have SR on all time and yet I find quite a number of my shots with SRResult=Unstabilized in exif. There is a gap of 0.6+ second between the AF hexagon and the coming of SR ready hand signal. One has to pay attention to the SR status in the shooting.
  
  
• Auto WB
  Auto WB is reasonable though I find tendency of warm and orange type of WB when shooting in the dark with red color. The preset for tungsten lighting seem to elevate the problems a bit; otherwise, the auto WB is quite dependable.
  
  
• Matrix Metering
  I am not sure if it is improved like the K-7 over the K20D, maybe it does but I can't tell easily, but one thing that I am sure is the tendency of a bit overexposure. It is very unlike K20D that it underexposes by 1/3 to 1/2 stop. I find it accurate for most counts but I also find it varies with lens and the subject to lighting in the background, I have highlight clipped when I use DA 35mm f/2.8 limited on seemingly normal and not harsh lighting. I sometime dial it with -1/3 Ev and pp it similar to K20D. Dpreview does note the clipping on highlight in the "cons" section.

Related:

• Pentax K-x white High ISO indoor
• Pentax K-x High ISO Habit
  
• Pentax 1-lens choice -- Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5
  
• Pentax K-x White and DA limited Lens
  
• Pentax K-x White with DA/FA limited Lenses
• Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 limited
• Tamron 200mm f/3.5 adaptall-2 (04B)
• Pentax K-x White arrival
• Pentax K20D
• Hin's Camear Gear