New pentax K-x

[fevbusch]

  I'm very curious about the K-x and would appreciate any comments, comparisons of  those who
 are now using K-x.
   I view it as a replacement for my K100D (if god forbid it ever conks out, because I love K100D).
  How does K-x compare to K100D.  I don't think I"m so concerned about the higher iso of K-x
  since I rarely shoot in the dark.  All comments welcome, please.   Thanks, Freddy

[tcom]

The K-x can really be seen as a replacement of the K100D.

It features 12MP and allows higher ISO shots than what the K100D allowed. The lens mount does also feature the contacts needed to drive the SDM lenses (or Sigma's HSM lenses). Apart from that, it has a higher frame per second and a larger buffer, allowing it to take more photos before slowing down. The whole processing of the images is also quicker.

[fevbusch]

Thanks, Dom.  Whew!!! I just looked up my Sigma 50mm 2.8 eX lens on Sigma.com and it is NOT SDM or HSM.
  So I don't have to worry about my beloved Sigma 50!

Anybody else have any comments about the K-x I would really like to hear them.  Freddy  
   P.S.  Can someone tell me how to find out how many shots I have taken thru the life of my camera.

[spyglass]

P.S.  Can someone tell me how to find out how many shots I have taken thru the life of my camera.

Freddy

I know this question has come up before (good thing to check if buying a used DSLR camera body). Kho King created a thread back in 2007 that offer some free software that can do what you are asking (it seems that the link still works).

http://pentaxworld.com/fo...f-~-exif-viewer-software/

If anybody has any experience in this are please feel free to jump in.


Spyglass

[racort]

I have both the Panda exif viewer and the Irfan view programs. Neither of these programs seem to be able to provide the shutter count on a Pentax dslr camera or most point and shoot cameras. Both do however provide the shutter count on both Nikon and Canon dslr's.
I don't know if the software is not setup to read a Pentax camera or if the info is not available from the Pentax camera itself.
Both programs do provide all other exif info from the Pentax. I don't know if the shutter count on the newer Pentax, K7 or KX will show, up to the K20D it won't. Maybe someone with one of these cameras could download these programs to check it out.
Both programs are freeware, so there's no cost involved to use them.

 Here are links to the latest versions of each:

http://www.opanda.com/en/iexif/index.html

http://www.irfanview.com/main_download_engl.htm

Freddy: If you have never reset the shutter count on your camera the IMGP number that appears on your picture file should be the shutter count. ie: IMGP6721

[fevbusch]

 Thanks, guys.  Yes I downloaded the software and it does give an image count.
 To my knowledge I have never reset my shutter IMG count because I wouldn't know
 how to do it.  however, I just checked a very recent one that reads IMGP0007 and another tht read IMGP0019  so I think
 that number would indicate that the shutter count somehow reset itself?  /freddy
  P.S.  I recently found a good way to check EXIF. I open a photo in Adobe Photoshop 7 and under "file"
 I click file info, click on the EXIF tab,  and there is all the EXIF.

[Felix]

Hi Freddy,

I myself just last week bought the K-x as a second body to by K7 and I have to admit that the colours are really great.  It is a good travel camera and easy to use.

The K7 is my workhorse as I use it for school events and the K-x is for shooting other stuff.

[Craig]

Freddy,

The camera will reset the count after IMG9999.  You can change the Folder Name to whatever you like.  Look in the manual or in the menu for Selecting Folder Name or Resetting File Number.  These options can be useful for archiving your work.

The software I use for viewing EXIF is PhotoMe.  You can create a shortcut to use this software through a right click.  You can also open the software and choose a file from your machine.  With the shortcut it allows you to view the EXIF of any photo you right click on. Works good for viewing the EXIF of photos around the web. Of course if the EXIF is missing it cannot be viewed. 

Craig

[fevbusch]

Thanks, Felix and Craig.
  Craig, I think that I can check back thru my images stored on Picasa to see how many times
 the image counter has reset.  Does anyone know how many images can be expected from a k100D
 before the shutter wears out.  If the shutter wears out can it be repaired.  Freddy

[calsan]

Re the shutter:
It's likely to be similar to the K10d in shutter life.
That is rated for 100,000 actuations.  Which is quite a lot, I reckon:  24 photos per day for 11 years.  I actually can't imagine it wearing out very easily - I think things like the flash or some electronics are likely to die first.

I'd imagine that it would probably last a lot longer if not shooting continuously and if the camera is kept clean.

[fevbusch]

Thanks, Calsan.   well, I checked my images from January 2007, when I bought the K100D.
 In January I had 862 shots. By December 2007 I had 5895 shots, because I had been taking loads of
  shots  during the first year.  Tracing from that time thru current day, I now have 10,075 shutter actuations so I should have many more years of life from that shutter.  I'm not gonna worry about it.    I'm 71 years old now so likely the camera will outlive me!   Freddy
  P.S.   I take very good care of the camera.  The only problem I caused was the usb connection popped out a year ago, when I dropped the camera a short distance onto the carpet but all I have to do is pull out my memory card and connect it to my computer with memory card reader. 

[racort]

Freddy,

The camera will reset the count after IMG9999.  You can change the Folder Name to whatever you like.  Look in the manual or in the menu for Selecting Folder Name or Resetting File Number.  These options can be useful for archiving your work.

The software I use for viewing EXIF is PhotoMe.  You can create a shortcut to use this software through a right click.  You can also open the software and choose a file from your machine.  With the shortcut it allows you to view the EXIF of any photo you right click on. Works good for viewing the EXIF of photos around the web. Of course if the EXIF is missing it cannot be viewed. 

Craig

Thanks Craig, I downloaded PhotoMe and unlike the other 2 exif viewers I have, it shows the shutter count on my K20D, thanks again.