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Showing all 4 reviews by lytrytyr

Review of: Pentax K-01 by lytrytyr on Mon August 24, 2015 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
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Views: 157926
Reviews: 60
Mirrorless done right! The K-01 came in for a lot of criticism when it appeared on the market around three years ago, but after owning a couple for more than two years now (acquired cheaply, and carrying the updated firmware), I have developed an increasing appreciation of the value of the concept, and its usefulness for a number of specific photographic tasks. As a mirrorless camera, the K-01 has often been compared with the Sony mirrorless cameras, which also have bigger sensors than the four-thirds format. In this comparison, the K-01 has been seen as too heavy and too bulky. However, the smaller size of the Sony bodies becomes much less of an advantage when bigger lenses are attached, and the Sony bodies have had various problems, such as light leaks, because of their flimsy construction. On the other hand, the K-01 is superbly made. The weight of the body balances heavier lenses nicely, and offers a lot of thermal inertia to avoid the inevitable heating that follows continued use of live view. The big D-L190 battery is interchangeable with other top-line Pentax cameras, and keeps on powering the K-01 throughout a long session or trip. Many photographers, familiar with (D)SLRs, are critical of the LCD screen finder. It is what it is: a sensible compromise between resolution and battery drain. Sure, it is not always clearly visible in certain lighting conditions, even if the screen brightness is cranked up to full. But every viewfinder system has its disadvantages. Those of us familiar with rangefinder film cameras are conscious of how a (D)SLR will black out at the critical moment when the photograph is made. On the other hand, rangefinder cameras are not very good for closeups, or for lenses outside a limited range of focal lengths. I have actually found the K-01 screen to be very versatile in its applications. In panning shots, it is easier to keep tracking a subject when the camera is held away from the eyes, as compared to a (D)SLR in that situation. And for portraits, you can keep eye contact with your subjects as you make the photograph. For use in bright light, I've never bothered with an LCD hood, just shading the screen with a hand. OK, so for the photographer who has one or more DSLRs available, maybe even a K-50 which is virtually a K-01 with a prism, why use the K-01? Above all, the IQ. The very weak AA filter, and the sensor that is still unrivalled at high ISO settings, make for absolutely wicked image quality, especially in a camera that costs less than 300 dollars. Beyond that, there are three specific classes of lenses that really work well with the K-01: 1. "Problem" zooms where you cannot adjust for front or back focus accurately at all focal lengths or focus distances. (Tamron 17-50, I'm looking at you here!) The CDAF of the K-01, in the native live view for which the camera is designed, may be a little slow, but it really nails the focus with these problem lenses. Suddenly, their real life IQ begins to match what the lab tests promise. 2. Fast lenses, especially in low light. Once I'd become familiar with the K-01, I had no hesitation in acquiring an A50/1.2. Focusing a lens like that with focus peaking is very accurate, and then you can stop down to f/1.4 or f/1.8! With shake reduction, the lack of mirror flip, and the big solid body, shutter speeds of 1/15th second are completely usable. Coupled with the maintained quality at high ISO, the K-01 with a good fast lens is a low light demon. 3. M42 screwmount lenses. Once you have them focused fully open, or using their generally excellent distance scales, you can stop down to taking aperture and still get a good image in the LCD screen. This is a distinct advantage of the K-01 over a DSLR. Metering is automatic with the "Av" setting. Also, the lack of mirror lets you use lenses, like the ISCO Westron 35/2.8, that may foul an SLR mirror when focused at infinity. The boxy body of the K-01 ends up being very practical. Certainly I have no trouble holding it, generally two-handed, with one hand cradling the lens. You can rest the body easily on a level surface, in landscape mode or even in portrait mode. Standing it on end like that, I've found the access to the USB connection to be the most user-friendly of all my Pentax digital cameras. My one ergonomic gripe concerns the on/off switch, which all too easily gets moved back on by the strap when I put the camera back in its case. Despite the lack of mirror flip, the shutter action on the K-01 is not quite as discreet as on the K-5. But it is certainly quieter than its K-50 stablemate. I'd love to see an updated K-01 appear, especially with a full frame sensor, but until that (unlikely) event occurs, I'll keep on running up the shutter count on the original model.

Review of: Pentax K-5 by lytrytyr on Sun November 30, 2014 | Rating: 9 View more reviews 
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Views: 612937
Reviews: 134
I've been using my K5 for a couple of years now, after buying it early in 2012. Coming from the K-x, I found it to be less intuitive to operate. For example, working the three-position AF/MF switch is hard while you're looking through the viewfinder. I've since acquired its lighter stablemates, the K-01 and K-50, which see more everyday use, but the K5 is the go-to workhorse for situations where I'll be needing its superior dynamic range and high ISO performance. It balances well with my heavy Zeiss ZK lenses, and since they're manual focus, the less than optimal AF of the K5 doesn't become a concern. The viewfinder of the K5 is as good as it gets in APS-C, and almost makes up for the lack of focus peaking.

Review of: Pentax K-50 by lytrytyr on Tue November 26, 2013 | Rating: 9 View more reviews 
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Views: 109582
Reviews: 29
After learning to appreciate the capabilities of a good live view implementation with focus peaking on the K-01, this feature became an important priority for me as I was looking to replace a four-year old K-x with a new DSLR that would also be used for action photos demanding instant shutter action. When the K-50 body became available for USD 500, about the same price as I had paid for the K-x four years earlier, I immediately set about acquiring one. Although it is a little larger than the K-x and the K-01, it successfully combines many of the best qualities of both those cameras, including the superior IQ of the K-01, and also offers the 100% pentaprism and dual e-wheels of the K-5. There are some compromises. The D-LI 109 Li-ion battery does not have the capacity of the D-LI 190 used in the K5 and K-01, but the ability to use 4 AAs with the adapter is very useful. Changing these AA batteries with the adapter is not as quick as dropping new batteries into the four holes on the K-x, however, so I am settling on a set of AAs as the primary source, and then keeping the D-LI 109 for quick backup substitution in the field. The K-50 shutter is not as quiet as the K-5, but certainly more discreet than the K-x. After using the K-x, K-5, and K-01, the K-50 is an easy camera to pick up. I have found the positioning of the live view button quite logical, at the top left of the rear, given the way the camera is held for live view. In order to see the rear LCD clearly for live view under sunny conditions, it helps to crank up the screen brightness to the maximum (LCD Display Settings from Page 1 of the "Wrench" menu). At other times, it is worth turning off the LCD to save battery power (two clicks of the INFO button off the Status Screen, then select the third square, "Display Off"). You can save this setting by going to Memory on Page 4 of the "Camera" menu, then checking the "Shooting Info Display" box on Page 2 of the Memory feature.

Review of: Pentax K-x by lytrytyr on Sun July 22, 2012 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
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Views: 928988
Reviews: 109
The K-x is a modern Pentax classic: A basic yet capable entry-level camera for serious photography, in the long and honored tradition of the K-1000 film camera. It offers a unique combination of features: a width of no more than 123mm, a CMOS sensor that can handle high ISO settings, and phase-detect focusing. For the price and size of a bridge camera, you get the speed and flexibility of a DSLR. When the Leica X1 and Fuji X100 appeared, I was tempted for a while, but found a cheaper solution using a K24/2.8 on the K-x. With any moderately sized lens, the K-x fits in a bridge camera waist pack. It's not the kind of clunky DSLR that you tend to leave at home. I ended up buying two of them, for backup and for quick lens changing, and still paid little more than $1000 for the pair. The K-x does have its issues, and your assessment of the camera will depend on how you deal with them. 1. Since minor noise in the shadows troubles me less than burnt-out highlights, I usually set an exposure compensation of -2/3 EV, "shooting to the left," and then bring out the shadows in post. 2. Since I prefer to have a defined focus point in the center of the viewfinder, holding focus and recomposing if necessary, the lack of focus point display in the viewfinder was not a bug for me, but rather a feature --- an uncluttered display. 3. Since I predominantly use manual focus lenses or light (DA Limited) primes, I don't put great demands on the batteries. Four Eneloops last a long time, and I like the fact that I only need to take one charger with me on the road. 4. I only do still photography, so the increasingly archaic video capabilities of the K-x don't concern me. 5. I like the simple K-x interface. For instance, I prefer its basic AF/MF switch to the fiddly little rotary control on the K-5. 6. One thing that bothers me on the K-x is the live view implementation, with the mirror flipping up and down during exposure, even for contrast-detect or manual focus. 7. The K-x shutter is certainly noisier than the one on the K5. 8. There is no official front/back-focus compensation on the K-x, so with lenses like the Tamron 17-50/2.8 A16P that might need compensation, I use contrast-detect focus in live view for critical applications. Here is a sample action photo taken with the K-x at ISO 6400. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/attachments/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/115375d1327376414-how-50-135-indoor-hs-sports-vl58judo.jpg



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