K-R highlight clipping

I am looking at getting a dslr again and originally was going to go down the weather proofed body route. However now looking at possibly a K-R. THE review on dpreview is glowing apart from indicating that the K-R has a tendency to clip highlights and another review suggest setting -2/3 EV to get correct exposure. I had a Nikon D40 which had the same issue but wonder if forum members would care to comment on their experience with this issue and how bad it is in real life.

Personally I hardly notice it. I always check the histogram and have never noticed a problem if the exposure is right.

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Do you have compensation dialled in ?

Not initially. But I always check the histogram and take another shot if necessary with compensation to get the right exposure. Er, doesn't everyone? (says he probably opening up a can of worms).

Actually, just adding to that, depending on the metering mode, I generally know if I need to compensate for a bright sky, snow etc in advance)

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Certainly haven't noticed it with my K-r. Sometimes I dial in exposure compensation if the situation demands it, but not often. The K-r is a superb camera - there will always be something negative on any review.

"there will always be something negative on any review"
Fair comment but this finding below is very off-putting.

From the summary of the K-R review on Dpreview
Like the K-x the K-r has a habit to clip highlights which is made worse by a tendency to overexpose high contrast scenes. Shooting RAW can only mitigate the problem to a degree, as the the K-r also only offers relatively little in terms of RAW headroom and you usually won't able to recover a lot of highlight detail by applying negative digital exposure compensation. The best solution is to apply 2/3EV or so of negative exposure compensation when shooting.
Rare statement in camera reviews today, in my opinion, but happy to be corrected

Well take a look at all the landscape shots in my gallery for a real world view. I have rarely needed exp comp and I have highlight protection on permanently. How many blown out skys do you see? Yes it happens occasionaly as it does with the other brand of camera I regularly shoot with. I have never personally found it much of an issue and I often shoot scenes with a lot of shadows and highlights.

Hope you reach a conclusion

Dan

That, basically, is just rubbish!

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I don't have any exposure issues with my K-r either, well other than when I get in wrong!

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Andrew

"I'm here because the whiskey is free" - Tyla

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I agree with the comments above about the review being 'rubbish'. Although I don't own a K-r, I know a lot of people who do and I also have 3 K-x's, none of which exhibit the exposure issues mentioned. There is always skill required on behalf of the photographer to ensure highlights are not blown and I personally choose to shoot at 1/3 stop under-exposed, but this is purely my preference and nothing to do with the cameras.

I also find that the K-x has plenty of leeway to recover shots when shooting in RAW, but there it's always more difficult with blown highlights than with under-exposed areas. Best bet is to shoot test images, check the histogram and adjust if necessary. It costs nothing but a little time to do this and it's all part of learning to use the equipment properly, regardless of the camera.

Best wishes
David

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My Website http://imagesbydavidstorm.foliopic.com

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Some cameras, some lenses, some bits 'n' bobs

I have read where some users suggest reducing the in camera contrast setting, but I have not tried that. I do have some clipping from time to time with my K-r (as do many other cameras), but I almost always use full manual mode and adjust the exposure on the fly (similar to what darkskies stated).

You can also use bracketing to provide more choices for exposure without changing anything. And, not only can you use the histogram (also as darkskies suggested) but don't forget about the highlight clipping warning flash after you review a shot on your screen. I find this feature very helpful with making adjustments for a particular scene.

Finally, for particular scenes outdoors where there are large contrast differences (like sun on clouds which is one of the bigger culprits for clipping), you can use a graduated neutral density filter (particularly for early mornings and late evening when those differences between sky and ground are more stark). I prefer using one of those to taking separate exposures and blending because it saves so much time in PP. The other benefit of using a filter is that they work for all cameras.

That is rubbish, in fact my K-r tends to underexpose compared to my other brand cameras.

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Regards Paul
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I was going to buy one of the K-R's listed for sale today but whilst waiting for offers to be accepted I read another review from dcresource. The review is difficult to make sense of, the conclusion id that the K-R is one of the best dslr's (at that time)
"The Pentax K-r is one of the best entry-level digital SLRs on the market".

- BUT then the conclusion states this
"Photo quality is very good, though the K-r has some room for improvement. Exposure was the weak point, with the camera tending to underexpose by 1/3 or 2/3 of a stop. Highlight clipping was also a common sight.
I am lost how that fits in with the earlier comment ??.
Am I being an idiot here ? everyone above disagrees but why is the review so critical of highlight clipping,
I am now totally cheesed off, been at this for days and getting nowhere fast- think I'll just go for a K5 and live on Spam for a month.

It's nonsense. The KX and then the KR are brilliant cameras with a wide EV range from their Sony sensors. I've owned both and liked them so much I'm now using the superb K5 which is widely acknowledged to be one of he finest APSC DSLR's made to date.

My gallery on here is from all three of these fabulous cameras. See for yourself!

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Bill

I think on and off it is slightly longer than that

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Nothing to see here, move along please ....