Pentax *ist vs. Olympus?

[prairiewindlady]

I am rather new to the SLR world and I was wondering if any of you could give me some advice. I currently own a Pentax *ist DS (DSLR) and use a Promaster 28-300mm lens. I mainly take pictures of horses and I've found that while this particular camera/lens combination functions OK, I am still getting a lot of blurred images. (It isn't entirely the lens either, I also use a manual focus lens and the shots are still a bit fuzzy). I have been thinking about upgrading to an Olympus DSLR, as money is unfortunately an object and I've heard good things about the sharpness/clarity of Olympus DSLRs. I would be getting the Olympus E510...however I am still a little worried about the whole sharpness issue. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the Olympus E510 and if it really does manage to get consistent clear shots of moving objects. In short, is the E510 really a step up and is it worth selling my Pentax for?

 

[Sideburns]

you do not need to upgrade. You need to get a little more experience mostly. DSLRs are not just point and shoot. You can get perfectly fine images out of your Pentax.

Probably shutter speed issues, or the wrong focus points. Post some images for us to see the problems.

 

[prairiewindlady]

Well, I have taken my camera to my friend who has been into photography for a while and she couldn't figure out why it was blurry...but maybe you have some different ideas that could be helpful!

Sooo...here are some pictures I took the other day. It was really bright outside...I experimented with different ISO levels before settling upon ISO200 which seemed to be the sharpest, but as you can see, even that wasn't turning out. I tried TV mode to turn the shutter speed up, but that only blacked out my pictures. Program wasn't fast enough...Action mode was what I ended up shooting on.

Help?

http://upload.web-album-maker.com/album/20071221/20071221101829

 

[Sideburns]

sorry, but none of those pages exist.

 

[prairiewindlady]

Yeah, sorry...I fixed it. Not sure why it was saying that...

 

[Johnboy2978]

It would be helpful if you posted the EXIF info along with each picture. I have both the DS and the K10d and I can tell you that both are quite capable cameras. I have shot 2 weddings using the DS as a primary body before getting the K10d, so it can do the job.
My guess would be you the shots are handheld and the shutter speed is too low to avoid camera shake. I'm not sure how heavy the lens is that you were using, but it has a long focal length which can make it awkward to hold steady unless the shutter speed is fairly quick. Generally a rule of thumb to avoid shake is that the shutter speed should be at least the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens. So, with that lens, the shutter speed should be at least 1/300+ to avoid camera shake. Of course, you can improve on that with practice. Try a few shots with a tripod and see what you get. If you don't have a tripod get a sandbag and see. I bet that cures your problem.

 

[prairiewindlady]

Ok...I'm gonna try this again

(http://upload.web-album-maker.com/album/20071221/20071221101829/slides/IMGP4801.html)

Width: 3008
Height: 2000
Horizontal Resolution: 72 dpi
Vertical Resolution: 72 dpi
Bit Depth: 24
Frame Count: 1
Equipment Make: Pentax Corporation
Camera Model: Pentax *ist DS
Creation Software: *ist DS Ver 1.00
Color Representation: SRGB
Flash Mode:
Focal Length: 158mm
F-Number: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 1/250 sec.
ISO Speed: ISO-200
Metering Mode: Pattern
Exposure Program: Action Program
Exposure Compensation: 0 step

 

[Sideburns]

it looks like shutter speed is too low. perhaps the ISO could go up a notch.

 

[prairiewindlady]

Ok...that's what my friend said too. However when I turn up the shutter speed in TV mode, it practically blacks out the photos. Is there a way I can counter this?

 

[Sideburns]

Ok...that's what my friend said too. However when I turn up the shutter speed in TV mode, it practically blacks out the photos. Is there a way I can counter this?

That's why I said bump up the ISO.
If you double ISO, it gives one stop of light.
Therefor, you can make the shutter faster by one stop.
One stop means cut the shutter in half.

so

1/100 --> 1/200
1/30 --> 1/60

Get what I mean?

Also, you can open the aperture..but I'm sure it's probably already all the way open. If not...open it up all the way. At full zoom, it's 6.3, which is pretty slow...but it'll have to do. In sunlight, you'll be fine, with lots of room to adjust shutter speed.