Bonjour jaxzwolf,
jaxzwolf wrote:
Anyway, the camera was very well-balanced in my hands. A little weighty, perhaps, but even mounted with the DA* 50-135mm it wasn't overwhelming.
The 50-135mm lens is rather heavy and the
center of gravity is on the lens. So you need to sustain the lens with your left hand while your right hand operates the camera.
Now, let's have a look on the three problems you reported.
jaxzwolf wrote:
I changed up a bunch of the settings, and found that the front dial on the camera was a bit of a reach for my index finger, based on the way I was holding it. Trying to change the ISO using the "ok + front dial" method wasn't nearly as fluid as I would have liked.
Whatever camera, especially a sophisticated dSLR, needs a learning curve. The more you use it, the better you use it.
About the ISO setting, the K10D / K20D feature two unique modes
- TAV mode: you set the aperture speed and the aperture and the camera selects the ISO value (page 91)
- SV mode: you set the ISO value and the camera selects the right combiantion of shutter speed and aperture (page 85)
jaxzwolf wrote:
The second problem was the grip. When I initially picked the camera up it felt okay, but the longer I played with it in the store the less certain about it I became. It wasn't uncomfortable, necessarily... it just wasn't perfect.
As said before, the 50-135mm lens is rather heavy and the
center of gravity is on the lens. So you need to sustain the lens with your left hand while your right hand operates the camera. Have you realised you were holding 28.2 + 27.0 = 55.2 oz
jaxzwolf wrote:
The biggest issue, however, was with the AF. I didn't think it very dark in the store, but it seemed to take an inordinate amount of time for the camera to AF, especially after zooming in or out. Even the DA* lens wasn't particularly fast. I'm not sure if it was something I was doing, or perhaps that whatever SD card they had in there was really slow to write, or the camera itself. But it unnerved me, because I envision myself taking a lot of photos of birds in flight, and fast AF would definitely help things along.
Auto-focus is slow in poor light conditions. The K10D uses the flash (if opened) as an assist lamp. Back to birds, from my own experience,
- Manual focus: I use the auto-focus to get a correct value then I switch focus on manual, then start to shoot (obviously, in continuous shooting).
- Continuous focus: the auto-focus constantly monitors the picture is on focus. Since the adjustments are small, they are very fast. That's very handy for catching birds when they fly (see page 104). Obviously, the focusing area should set on center (see page 107).
jaxzwolf wrote:
Of course, they were out of stock for the D90, so I couldn't compare them side-by-side. Figures...
I can't help you about the D90. But I do know the perfect camera doesn't exist.
Ok, I know the more information you get, the more difficult the choice will be
Take a rest, make your choice and then go and have fun
_________________
--- rei_vilo
Pentax K-5 + BG4 + DA* 16-50 + DA* 50-135 + DA* 60-250 + AF-540FGZ
reivilophotography.weebly.com
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