[K2 to K50]

I like the harmonious colouring in this image. The understated pale orange autumn(?) leaves and similiar colouring in the bokeh all help to highlight the main subject. An overall very eye-pleasing image.

[mattt]

I like the harmonious colouring in this image. The understated pale orange autumn(?) leaves and similiar colouring in the bokeh all help to highlight the main subject. An overall very eye-pleasing image.

Fortune favours the prepared.. or idle as the case may be

Thanks!

[e_nogueras]

K-3 III with DFA 150-450 (All photos taken @ 450mm on a rainy day)

[K2 to K50]

K-3 III with DFA 150-450 (All photos taken @ 450mm on a rainy day)

Not what you would expect to be normal subjects for the 150-450mm lens, but it does the job well. It a lens with excellent resolving characteristics. Nice work!

[e_nogueras]

Not what you would expect to be normal subjects for the 150-450mm lens, but it does the job well. It a lens with excellent resolving characteristics. Nice work!

Thank you!

[Erictator]

Not what you would expect to be normal subjects for the 150-450mm lens, but it does the job well. It a lens with excellent resolving characteristics. Nice work!

It's actually my favorite lens for this, more so than my DFA100WR. The A/F is faster, I can distance myself from the subject like butterflies, so they sit still and don't get spooked, and the magnification, while not remotely close to macro level, is decent enough with my K1 resolution to crop it down.

Similar use for my DA*300 which has decent close focus. At times I wonder why I even bought the DFA100WR, because the times I need to do true macro are so far and few that I could easily get by with one of my other primes with an extension tube. Don't get me wrong, the DFA100WR is like a little limited, compact, sharp and great colors, well built, etc. Just redundant for me and gets less use than I envisioned.

Eric

[rgknief60]

Captured these last Wednesday. This was the first outing where I shot primarily with the K-3III because of its higher pixel density. I paired it with the HD 1.4x & 150-450.

Was disappointed as I never got any detail in the individual feathers, even with this relatively close shot. Am I expecting too much?

Shot most images using TAV, with shutter at 1000s & Auto ISO. I've used the converter to good effect in the past. Has anyone else had issues with this combination?

It seems to me that the K-3III is far behind the K-1 in ISO performance, and I'm wondering if I should have shot them with the K-1 and cropped out the vignetting...

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

F8, ISO 1000, 1000/sec.



Sandhill Cranes

[K2 to K50]

Captured these last Wednesday. This was the first outing where I shot primarily with the K-3III because of its higher pixel density. I paired it with the HD 1.4x & 150-450.

Was disappointed as I never got any detail in the individual feathers, even with this relatively close shot. Am I expecting too much?

It seems to me that the K-3III is far behind the K-1 in ISO performance, and I'm wondering if I should have shot them with the K-1 and cropped out the vignetting...

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

F8, ISO 1000, 1000/sec.



Sandhill Cranes

Your image does not enlarge much in Flickr, maybe because of your Flickr settings, or maybe because the image is heavily cropped, so "pixel-peeping" isn't possible. You don't say whether the image is hand-held or on mono or tripod, or even how far away you were from the subjects. Without this info, and not being able to magnify much in Flickr we can only guess.

My money is on the use of the converter. I have had OK results with my K3 3, 150-450mm, Pentax 1.4x Converter, and some mediocre results, even when using a tripod. Lightiing levels might explain the difference.

But I don't think shooting at ISO 1000 on the K3 is even remotely part of the problem (UNLESS there is something about the converter which degrades high ISO images???)

Take a look at this shot of mine with the K3 3, 150-450mm but no converter (ISO 5000, F9, 1/1000s):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/194265442@N08/52452974979/in/photostream/lightbox/

While the K1 no doubt does have better low-light performance over most other earlier Pentax models, I think that difference is probably at its least noticeable when compared to the K3 3.

I would be most interested to see comments from others with morek hardware tech savvy than myself on this.

[rgknief60]

My money is on the use of the converter.

That could well be. Thanks for the reply.


All of my K3III images were shot on at 1000/second, as one never knew when they would get up and dance. That was a bit slow for many of the BIF images. Cranes are faster than they look.

The image above is handheld. The morning light was not real dark or bright. It was partly cloudy, and I'd guess the clouds were overhead when this was taken as I did not have to deal with highlights. All other images were taken on a tripod with shake reduction off, using the HD 1.4x.

These are big birds. I'd guess I was 50-75 feet away. The image is not cropped. I actually took the slightly cropped version down from flickr, and replaced it with the full size version, uncropped version prior to posting. Since the full size image is not working from Flickr (I cannot access yours either), here is a link to the image on my Google Drive. The images on the drive have no PP except where there is "fsiv" in the filename. There are also images not posted here.

The images below were taken in the afternoon and evening, with harsh lighting that put side of the birds facing us mostly in shadow, except for ones way in the distance. They were all taken on tripod. None are crops. The last two are heavily post processed to try and recover what little detail is in the shadow. All are maximum zoom, except the last which is minimum. If you cannot access the images full size in flickr, I think that I also placed them on the drive link above.



Incoming... by Roger Knief



Incoming - Almost There by Roger Knief



The Dance by Roger Knief


Coming in for Landing by Roger Knief



Off in the Distance by Roger Knief

[steamloco76]

Chinese ringneck pheasant hen. KP

[Erictator]

Captured these last Wednesday. This was the first outing where I shot primarily with the K-3III because of its higher pixel density. I paired it with the HD 1.4x & 150-450.

Was disappointed as I never got any detail in the individual feathers, even with this relatively close shot. Am I expecting too much?

Shot most images using TAV, with shutter at 1000s & Auto ISO. I've used the converter to good effect in the past. Has anyone else had issues with this combination?

It seems to me that the K-3III is far behind the K-1 in ISO performance, and I'm wondering if I should have shot them with the K-1 and cropped out the vignetting...

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

F8, ISO 1000, 1000/sec.



Sandhill Cranes

This has been one of my main worries, and you just fed my insecurities... I shoot K1 with 150-450mm... and I was hoping for the higher pixel density of K3-III might be like a 1.5x teleconverter for me since I'm allready cropping my K1 shots a lot to get more reach for birding... but between the comments on the DA 1.4x TC, and the K3-III noise/detail levels, I'm back to paralysis by analysis again.

Ugh... Ricoh needs a 200-600mm in the lineup (lightweight internal zoom, internal focus please! Like Sony G200-600), and to release the K1-MkIII. That could make a lot of birders happy...

That said, I still think the K1 & 150-450mm combo is by far one of the best matched long zooms to FF sensor setup's Pentax has ever had. Love mine... just wishing for a little more reach without giving up the detail I like so much.
Eric

[rgknief60]

was hoping for the higher pixel density of K3-III might be like a 1.5x teleconverter for me since I'm allready cropping my K1 shots a lot to get more reach for birding

Sorry things don't look better, Eric.

Pixel density for brding is why I bought, and used the K-3III for this outing. Things looked okay to me on the back of the display. I wish I'd used the K3III without the teleconverter a while to see the difference. I had the K-1 with me, but only used it a couplel of times on the DA 300. There was enough action that didn't stop to change lenses. I also used the Q7 with the DA 300, but never nailed manual focus with the cranes; I did come close with a woodpecker.

Probably the next thing I'll do is check to see if the K-3III & 150-450 combination needs calibration. I just remembered that the individual from whom I purchased the 150-450 needed to calibrate it for use with his K-3. I will need to do some more testing with the K3III.

Here is a link to an old post I made in the 300+ club about the K-1, 1.4x, & DA 300mm. If you go down the page a bit you will see an actual pixel crop that I thought was acceptable with the HD 1.4x. I expected about the same level of detail using the HD 1.4x with the 150-450 on the cranes that were the same distance, maybe closer. Maybe that will muddy the waters even more...

While I am disappointed that I did not capture any highly detailed images, the bright side is that the K3III nailed focus faster than I could aquire moving targets. There is enough detail (if I don't pixel peep) of memorable behavior that I never saw before to provide enjoyment and fond memories of the day for years to come. It performed is far beyond the K5IIs, let alone my old K20D. I expect that things will go much better on the next outing. Life is full of learning experiences!

Any other comments or suggestions are welcome.

Roger

[bspn]

Captured these last Wednesday. This was the first outing where I shot primarily with the K-3III because of its higher pixel density. I paired it with the HD 1.4x & 150-450.

Was disappointed as I never got any detail in the individual feathers, even with this relatively close shot. Am I expecting too much?

Shot most images using TAV, with shutter at 1000s & Auto ISO. I've used the converter to good effect in the past. Has anyone else had issues with this combination?

It seems to me that the K-3III is far behind the K-1 in ISO performance, and I'm wondering if I should have shot them with the K-1 and cropped out the vignetting...

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

F8, ISO 1000, 1000/sec.



Sandhill Cranes

I see nothing in this forum pic I would be disappointed by. First place I looked before reading you comments was the birds eyes, then the feather patterns on their backs. Nice captures, I'd say. Look at the images, not at the pixels.

[rgknief60]

I see nothing in this forum pic I would be disappointed by. First place I looked before reading you comments was the birds eyes, then the feather patterns on their backs. Nice captures, I'd say. Look at the images, not at the pixels.

Thanks for the kind words and advice!

[tduell]

Was disappointed as I never got any detail in the individual feathers, even with this relatively close shot. Am I expecting too much?
Shot most images using TAV, with shutter at 1000s & Auto ISO. I've used the converter to good effect in the past. Has anyone else had issues with this combination?
It seems to me that the K-3III is far behind the K-1 in ISO performance, and I'm wondering if I should have shot them with the K-1 and cropped out the vignetting...

You should be getting good results from that combination, a close shot should reveal feather detail. Have you carried out careful AF Fine Adjustments for the lens/TC combination?
I don't think the K-3 Mark III is very far behind the K-1 in ISO performance, if at all...it seems pretty good to me.

Cheers,
Terry