stfcatfish help

[sparcebag]

I have a pentax K100 new got it cause my old lenses fit,But with all the settings so slow to change quick,how do you set your camera before ya go out and which settings.Also could recomend a setting for the eqlipse tonight.Trying to change any settings seems to involve somany push this & that for quick pics its confusing me.I dont really want to use the auto settings all the time.

[Steve Foss]

sparcebag, I don't know the K100 so I can't help you as much as I'd like other than just looking it up online to see what features it's got.

Go back to the eclipse thread right on this board and look at the last chart Dan put in there, the one that shows you how to shoot at what ISO and shutter speed based on the phase of the eclipse. In that thread are a bunch of tips from both of us for tonight.

If you don't have a strong telephoto capability on your lens (I know the K100 allows interchangeable lenses), then you're left with wider angle shots.

Go take a look at all the info in that thread and see if you have more questions, and we'll try to get them answered in time for tonight. In order to make the adjustments you want, you may have to use your camera in manual mode, so it's worth looking at the owner's manual and getting familiar with how to change iso, shutter speed and aperture in manual mode on your camera.

And please let us know what focal lengths you've got covered with your lenses.

[sparcebag]

Thanks the other post & charts help!I dont know the camera at all and fumbeling around with all the settings with inst.booklet are time consuming.I'm using my meade EXT70 telescope.with one camera probably the 35mm now,I'm anxious to use the new digital but dont trust myself yet so that ell have a 300mm lens and see what happens.Thanks sparcebag

Hey when your driving around and gettin pics what settings do you use when leaving your home for quick pics?Do you adjust for current light and go?

[Steve Foss]

Sparcebag, if you're putting the 300 on the Pentax you may get some nice shots of the triangle of the moon and Saturn and Regulus. And good luck with the telescope, that'll be cool.

When I'm just bombing around, I'm at iso400 on aperture priority mode and f8. At those settings, there's almost always enough light even on cloudy days for my shutter speed to be fast enough to prevent blurry images. Then I adjust iso from there based on light.

[Dbl]

Spacebag if you have any specific questions I might be able to help you with the K100, I shot the Pentax DS for a few years and Pentax film equipment for many years prior to that.

I do remember that the four way buttons on the back of the camera will pretty much control everything you need, ISO, modes, White Balance etc. If you spend some time pushing those buttons you will learn how it changes your camera settings relatively fast. Good luck this evening!