Fearlessly in the Surf

DA* 16-50 Giveaway Entry #20

By Heie in It's Good to Be Fearless on May 15, 2013

Well, to be frank - I take and do dumb things with my cameras/lenses. I've been working freelance the past 3 years and at a marine park the previous 3 years taking pictures. I live near the ocean and as such, constantly take cameras in and out of the ocean. I've never been able to justify the spending of over $700 on a lens, so thus have never had the pleasure of testing a truly quality example of what Pentax can deliver.

This summer, I'm possibly joining on and starting a company taking photos of kids learning to surf - and yet again, I will bring my cameras (livelihood) over and in the ocean. Having lived near the water my entire life I can predict waves pretty well. I plan on purchasing one of those "waterproof" bags for the camera, but I'm sure there will still be a splash taken occasionally. I shoot with a K-7 (I used to have a K-20 as backup, but it was recently stolen) and more recently (few days ago) purchased the K-01.

Besides the future surf school, I shoot wedding photos/videos occasionally, and the group shots have always been a challenge. The 14mm is too soft, my Sigma 10-20mm distorts too much, and the 18-55 kit lens gets used but is also not up to par for a wedding. As such, I usually end up with a Tamron 28-75mm doing the bulk work (as it's my sharpest lens). It would be amazing/fantabulous/holy crap/dangworthy to see again Pentax's true capabilities.

For the water shots I planned on using the 18-55mm kit lens, and occasionally the 14mm F2.8 - though neither are water resistant at all (as I do not have the 18-55mm "WR" version). Again I do dumb things, but in order to make a living, you have to take risks. It's not quite a battle in Afghanistan or jumping from waterfalls, but still as damaging a possibility.

The above "video" was shot on the K-20 using its burst mode and as a compilation from over 9,500 stills. Lenses include the 18-55, a Tamron 28-75, a Sigma 10-20mm, an old cheapo 200-300mm.

- dflorez