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11-07-2009, 09:48 PM   #16
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Here is a shot from the 35-80mm 4-5.6 that apparently everyone thinks is crap. The focus is on his shirt, little kids move quick, I wanted the face. Personally I like this lens, slow, but for under $10, who cares. I like pushing the K10D to 1600 for b&w shots, I really like the grain/noise. Plus, shouldn't everyone have a crappy lens that they can put their camera when they let someone borrow it?



11-07-2009, 10:04 PM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by pdxbmw Quote
The sea was crazy and there was foam everywhere. Since the lens was so inexpensive and I was shooting with a weather sealed body, I didn't mind if I got a little wet, but I didn't. I have about 8 other shots like this, but I liked that one the best. Here is another to give you an idea of the amount of foam. This made me move from my original spot.

Yikes! Those are pretty intense!

It kind of reminds me of a mobile home park down in San Clemente, CA. I worked on a home in the park once. I was roughly 7 feet from their back door. I jumped down a ~2.5 foot high retaining wall so I could use the top of it as a platform for cutting something. About a minute later that my feet had become wet. The waves came right up to the retaining wall! This was on a calm day in late spring! I was talking to the homeowner about it and they said that their last house had been destroyed the previous winter, and one 5 years before that, and another one 7 years before that!

For a couple weeks I considered them crazy. Then one night while I was flipping channels I caught part of a Dateline episode. They were talking about communities on the side of the Mississippi River. They interviewed one man whose home had been completely destroyed 14 times!

Whew, That was quite a tangent!
11-07-2009, 10:11 PM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by pdxbmw Quote
...
I like pushing the K10D to 1600 for b&w shots, I really like the grain/noise.
...
That's a cool idea. I'll have to try it!

As far as the cheap lens for loaning goes, I will not ever loan a camera to anyone. The last time I did it I never saw the camera again, and this guy was supposedly my friend.

Edit: By the way, cute kid!
11-07-2009, 10:13 PM   #19
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That retaining wall is about 10 feet or so. I went out at low tide last night around 9 and it was a good 20 feet lower than it was during that shoot. You can see a little bit of a blue sign in the photo. It is a tsunami warning sign. The night before, the winds got up to 96mph and a tornado destroyed a few houses. A tornado in Oregon, WTF!

11-08-2009, 12:10 AM - 3 Likes   #20
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Here's a shot that I took with the Pentax F 35-70 f/3.5-4.5. I purchased it off ebay for $40.


Last edited by turbosaturn; 11-08-2009 at 12:17 AM.
11-08-2009, 01:29 AM   #21
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Pentax-F 28-80mm (the non-SMC one)





Generally I've found that you need to stop it down a bit to produce sharper images, it also doesn't automatically limit your maximum aperture as you zoom in (unlike later FA and DA lenses).

Most of my lens collection comes under the heading "cheap AF 28ish-80ish" so I'll dig up some more of them later. I've found that the F 28-80 and FA 28-90 are worth having, the 28-90 just edges ahead by having the extra range and good colour saturation.
11-08-2009, 01:30 AM   #22
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QuoteOriginally posted by Steve Beswick Quote
This is the lens... (not actually mine, but the same thing. Thanks to whoever posted this image in the lens review database!)



The cons: It has a slow maximum aperture, using the "Macro" mode is somewhat awkward, and the mounting for the hood was designed by a 5 year old with a crayon.

The pros: The IQ is great, it focuses faster than any other lens I have ever seen, it is pretty compact, is light, and it was $22 brand new in box at Ritz when they were closing. I actually bought two of them! From what I understand this lens usually sells for about that much new on ebay. Did I mention how fast the focus is?
I have the same one, I think, mine is the version II, which has a metal mount, the original version has plastic according to the reviews on this site. The focus throw when not in macro mode is very small (hence the quick focusing), for that reason I've never used it for anything other than macro shots, as I'm afraid the focus will be very inprecise. Maybe I'll have to give it go.

I got mine for €29 and when I bought it I didn't even realise it was AF so was pleased when I noticed.

11-08-2009, 05:29 AM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jonathan Mac Quote
I have the same one, I think, mine is the version II, which has a metal mount, the original version has plastic according to the reviews on this site. The focus throw when not in macro mode is very small (hence the quick focusing), for that reason I've never used it for anything other than macro shots, as I'm afraid the focus will be very inprecise. Maybe I'll have to give it go.

I got mine for €29 and when I bought it I didn't even realise it was AF so was pleased when I noticed.
aparently Sigma bounced back and forth between metal and plastic for the mount. I've seen pics of a version 1 with both a metal and a plastic mount, and both of my version 2's have plastic mounts.
11-09-2009, 11:37 PM   #24
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So a package arrived for me today... (thanks VaughnA!)

It seems I may have reunited a pair of fraternal twins that were separated at birth!



There are quite a few small differences between the two. The Ouantary is a 28-90mm lens with a 1:2.3 "Macro", while the Sigma is a 28-80mm lens with a 1:2 "Macro". The Quantaray goes to 11!

Now here is the really odd thing - notice how much further the front of the lens sticks out on the Quantaray, despite the fact that both lenses are set to infinity and 50mm. I can only guess it has something to do with the lens bieng factory modified to go to 90mm.

I just noticed this - the Sigma has 8 aperture blades, The Quantaray has 9. Maybe they are more like inbred cousins!

Overall I would say the Quantaray feels slightly better built, but I'm splitting hairs to say that. I do like the look and the feel of the zoom grip on the Sigma better, but that is a personal thing, not a quality issue. I'm not sure if I like the gold stripe on the focus ring of the Quantaray. It is just silkscreened on, and I don't think it adds much. Again, this is a personal taste issue.

The lens coatings seem to be very different, more so than I could seem to easily catch in a photograph.


Tomorrow I will take the two of them out for a comparison run!

Edit: I just noticed that, unlike most of Pentax's current offerings, these two $20 wonders are made in Japan. In your face Pentax!

Last edited by Steve Beswick; 11-09-2009 at 11:51 PM.
11-10-2009, 04:58 PM   #25
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The Pentax FA 28-90 f3.5 does have a few weak points. If you so much as touch the focus ring after you have found sharpness once you have to do it again. And it often hunts to focus for so long and in normal indoor light.
Here is some more of what I did this past weekend:





Here are some uncropped, unedited images with the lens reverse mounted:

This one is set with the lens at it's shortest profile - about 50mm and f8 -

This one is set at about 50mm and f22 -


-

11-10-2009, 07:59 PM   #26
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I took some comparison shots going back and forth between both lenses today.

First the Sigma at 28mm:


Now the Quantaray:


Now the Sigma at 80mm, the Quantaray at ~80mm, then the Quantaray at 90mm:




Now the "Macro" test. I had problems with both exposure and white balance on the Quantaray, so I corrected for both:



Last but not least is the 50mm test. As with the rest, Sigma first, then the Quantaray:



Full size versions of the above photos can be found here.

I think I should add that the Quantaray has a much warmer tone, but for some reason the K10 eliminates most of it, which is unfortunate. In some photos the camera seems to over compensate, which is why in the first pair of photos the shot from the Quantaray is much cooler.

Edit: I forgot to mention - all these shots are handheld straight out of the camera jpegs from my K10d.

Last edited by Steve Beswick; 11-10-2009 at 08:07 PM.
11-12-2009, 02:19 PM   #27
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Am I writing to myself in here?

Also, this is an amazing photo.

QuoteOriginally posted by turbosaturn Quote
11-13-2009, 01:11 AM   #28
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Well, to be fair, it's hard to take a bad photo of a beautiful woman!

I'm waiting for the opportunity to take some shots worthy of the thread. I don't think my lens testing would really be all that exciting, as I tend to shoot things like doors to check how sharply the wood grain is captured.
11-13-2009, 02:14 AM   #29
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dangermouse Quote
I'm waiting for the opportunity to take some shots worthy of the thread. I don't think my lens testing would really be all that exciting, as I tend to shoot things like doors to check how sharply the wood grain is captured.
I don't know, I think that test shots are useful. Just look a coupe of posts back!
11-13-2009, 07:58 AM   #30
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I was playing with my Pentax F 35-80mm a bit yesterday. I think some of the reviews may be right on that lens. I never noticed how poor the lens was when I used it on my ZX-50 but put it on a K10 and it can be very soft focusing often.
I think it demands a lens hood as well. I took a few shots with it outdoors and they showed very low contrast. Indoors it has good color and contrast but not as sharp as one would hope for. Still fun to use some of these lenses that I don't use very often with the digital but I don't think this 35-80 f4 will get much use at all in the future.
I was taking shots of my children mostly and I don't like to publish many personal images such as that.

QuoteOriginally posted by Dangermouse Quote
Well, to be fair, it's hard to take a bad photo of a beautiful woman!
And of course a little post processing can help an image as well. But it is fun to at least feel like you are doing something unusual with an inexpensive or ordinary tool sometimes.
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