If you search back in the archives a few months ago, I was readying myself to shoot an annual gymnastic meet for my third year. Only this year they were requiring me to shoot without flash. My current camera was a K20D. I went to many of my daughter's basketball games that were lit in a similar manner (bad) to see if I felt the K20D could do the job. No, it couldn't - a few shots here and there if you really worked with them after, but practically speaking, it was a no go. So I started to investigate the K-x. After info from current users on the list, I decided to buy one and see how it would do.
What I can tell you is that I successfully shot the meet using the K-x and a DA* 16-50 lens. I ended up shooting about 9,5000 frames in the single day even - almost all of it at ISO 6400 and jpg. Mostly used the Sport Program setting - this coming from a guy who mostly shoots manual focus, manual exposure and RAW. The K-x is a very usable camera for a great price. The AF is a little better than the K20D and the ISO 6400 is way better - actually usable without having to work hard at it. You are more than welcome to peruse the shots to get a feel for it. Jump more towards the middle shots to see more action type things. http://www.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=6389590 No need to login - just hit continue... I have since used it for quite a few things and find it to be a much better camera than we may want to admit - especially because of it's price. In fact, I usually pick it over the K20D for many things even if they are not high ISO situations. Long term I am hoping for a K7 type body with the sensor capabilities of the K-x. -- Best regards, Bruce Sunday, May 23, 2010, 1:38:55 PM, you wrote: RJ> I have been reading the recent K-7 thread with great interest. RJ> I have a K20D. From September 2009-March 2010 I took at least RJ> 10,000 exposures at my son's hockey games, shooting from either a RJ> penalty box or behind the bench, using a DA 50-135 2.8, shooting RJ> with an aperature priority setting of 2.8 and ASA of either RJ> 800-1600 or 1600 only. I shoot RAW. RJ> As a friend put it, the quality of my shots was roughly inversely RJ> proportional to the speed of the action. The action shots were a RJ> little soft, or a little blurred as my shutter speeds were not RJ> quite fast enough. The light in these recreation rinks usually RJ> leaves a lot to be desired. I think I need to be shooting at ASA 3200 or 6400. RJ> To add one more variable to the mix, I've purchased a Sigma RJ> 70-200 2.8 with next season in mind which probably means I need to RJ> add to be at least one f-stop faster just to stay where I am now. RJ> I have a monopod and am planning to use it although I find it RJ> awkward. Lastly, although I have become addicted to hockey RJ> photography I use the K20D for all family photography including soccer games as well. RJ> My questions are: should I consider selling my K20D and buying a RJ> K-x? Can I shoot at 6400 with a K-x and get quality shots? What RJ> would I lose by replacing the K20D with the K-x? RJ> I read a lot of discussion about a new, high end Pentax SLR being RJ> announced in September. What is the likelihood of that happening? RJ> Thanks for your comments, RJ> Robert RJ> -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
