[tech1881]

[tech1881]

[tech1881]

[bossa]

K-5 & DA*55




K-01 & DA*55




I've had the K-01 for a couple of days now and love it - I can't believe people think it's ugly.

---

Last edited by bossa; 03-14-2013 at 09:11 PM.

[VisualDarkness]

Stunning and supersharp cat shots!

[bossa]

Stunning and supersharp cat shots!

Thanks mate. This is my 2nd DA*55 as I sold off all but my DA*200 last year to finance my D800E kit. The DA*55 is without doubt the sharpest '50 I've ever used. The focus on the K-01 seems more accurate than the K-5 though and it'd be nice if Pentax upgraded Live View on the K-5 via firmware with some of the K-01 features. I don't expect Pentax to add to the K-5 feature-set now that it's discontinued but the next generation should almost be perfect in many ways.

[loco]

The kitty photos are awesome! You sure know how to get my attention! lol

[bossa]

The kitty photos are awesome! You sure know how to get my attention! lol

Thanks Lori, we are two crazy cat people...

[tn10231989]

All sizes | Underway | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/84556204@N02/8423333995/sizes/c/in/photostream/

[jay_akita]

Thanks mate. This is my 2nd DA*55 as I sold off all but my DA*200 last year to finance my D800E kit. The DA*55 is without doubt the sharpest '50 I've ever used. The focus on the K-01 seems more accurate than the K-5 though and it'd be nice if Pentax upgraded Live View on the K-5 via firmware with some of the K-01 features. I don't expect Pentax to add to the K-5 feature-set now that it's discontinued but the next generation should almost be perfect in many ways.

I agree on the great photos (love the DA*55 rendering) but am even more interested in the story behind you selling off your Pentax gear to finance a D800 only to return to Pentax again! I've been lusting after a full frame camera with good continuous / tracking focus for quite a while now and finally succumbed to a (factory refurbished) D600. It's been kind of bittersweet so far and even though I've sold off most of my Pentax lenses I'm wondering if I shouldn't keep the K5, DA*55, and Tamron 17-50 F2.8...

How do you like the D800 by the way? I would have gone that route but I take a lot of pictures and couldn't get past the fact that Nikon doesn't have a low res RAW option. I like the idea that the D600 is smaller but I guess if you're going to buy a tank it might as well be a big one!

[bossa]

I agree on the great photos (love the DA*55 rendering) but am even more interested in the story behind you selling off your Pentax gear to finance a D800 only to return to Pentax again! I've been lusting after a full frame camera with good continuous / tracking focus for quite a while now and finally succumbed to a (factory refurbished) D600. It's been kind of bittersweet so far and even though I've sold off most of my Pentax lenses I'm wondering if I shouldn't keep the K5, DA*55, and Tamron 17-50 F2.8...

How do you like the D800 by the way? I would have gone that route but I take a lot of pictures and couldn't get past the fact that Nikon doesn't have a low res RAW option. I like the idea that the D600 is smaller but I guess if you're going to buy a tank it might as well be a big one!

Hi Jay,
I used to have some focus issues with Pentax and after the SDM motor died in my DA*50-135 and my DA*55 could not find focus accurately I had to send them to Japan. My original DA*55 & DA*50-135 were away for FOUR MONTHS to be repaired (50-135 needed a new SDM and the '55 needed new gears). When they were returned the '55 was amazing whereas the 50-135 could not find focus (needed different AF Fine Adjustments for different distances).. I decided enough was enough but I couldn't sell my DA*200 and K-5 for what I felt they were worth and so I kept them. The ease of use (size/weight) drew me back in and I started using my remaining Pentax Kit and eventually I decided to buy a DA*55 again. I'll buy a DA*40, a FA77 and a FA31 (eventually) and will leave it at that. I have bought a K-01 and am loving it so I feel better about Pentax these days.

Re' My Nikon stuff: I love my two D800E's but there are a few things of note for me.
1: AWB is always wrong AFAIK
2: Live View is just crap as they throw away every 2nd line of the image and thus the LV image is never sharp enough to focus manually with any certainty
3: It takes awhile to get used to the FF DOF and image quality for some reason but you do eventually
4: The weight difference is quite pronounced.
5: They cost so much that you are less likely to take chances or even go out shooting with them.

In the end, all that matters is your use for these things and how well they meet that purpose.

[jay_akita]

Hi Jay,
I used to have some focus issues with Pentax and after the SDM motor died in my DA*50-135 and my DA*55 could not find focus accurately I had to send them to Japan. My original DA*55 & DA*50-135 were away for FOUR MONTHS to be repaired (50-135 needed a new SDM and the '55 needed new gears). When they were returned the '55 was amazing whereas the 50-135 could not find focus (needed different AF Fine Adjustments for different distances).. I decided enough was enough but I couldn't sell my DA*200 and K-5 for what I felt they were worth and so I kept them. The ease of use (size/weight) drew me back in and I started using my remaining Pentax Kit and eventually I decided to buy a DA*55 again. I'll buy a DA*40, a FA77 and a FA31 (eventually) and will leave it at that. I have bought a K-01 and am loving it so I feel better about Pentax these days.

Re' My Nikon stuff: I love my two D800E's but there are a few things of note for me.
1: AWB is always wrong AFAIK
2: Live View is just crap as they throw away every 2nd line of the image and thus the LV image is never sharp enough to focus manually with any certainty
3: It takes awhile to get used to the FF DOF and image quality for some reason but you do eventually
4: The weight difference is quite pronounced.
5: They cost so much that you are less likely to take chances or even go out shooting with them.

In the end, all that matters is your use for these things and how well they meet that purpose.

That sounds painful, can't blame you for being frustrated. I'm feeling the same thing on the K5 price right now, can't believe how much the used price has tanked for such a great APSC DSLR!

I've only been shooting with the D600 for a little over a week and today I took some bright sky pictures stopped down and discovered the famous oil splatter all over my sensor! Not that I'm surprised but it still sucks. That's pushing me even more towards the D800 - as long as I can get one with the AF calibrated properly (what's with QC these days on all this insanely expensive gear?)

One thing I've found with AWB is that indoors with tungsten or mixed lighting the images have a horrible green cast. I tweaked the AWB calibration to run a little into the magenta/red side and that's been a big help. I was shocked to see that right out of the box though - doesn't anybody take a picture with these things before they start manufacturing! I haven't used Live View much, Nikon cripples the D600 so you can't even adjust aperture without exiting Live View so that's pretty annoying too. I'm definitely with you on weight and cost - the AF speed is helping with the adjustment though I'm a sucker for shallow depth of field photography so I got used to that part really quick! 36MP would probably be a little overwhelming though.

Thanks for the perspective!

[VisualDarkness]

I just got a used 55/1.4 at a super-price and I must say that it's awesome! I don't see why people call it too big or too slow for AF as I find neither to be real issues. AF accuracy seems to be perfect with the lens on my K-5 so it is good too. Is the ring of your lenses also a bit "scratchy and slightly sticky" when focusing past the extremes, not an issue but I'm used to my Sigma 70-200 which is totally smooth when the clutch kicks in.

At least it solved the "should I prioritize getting the 55/1.4 or save a few bucks for now and get the 16-50/2.8 first instead" issue.

A couple of quick test shots of our cockatiels:

[bossa]

Nice shots Andreas. ( I hope my cat shots inspired you to buy )

I find that my DA*55 seems to engage the motor at times and I can't shift the focus ring - it seems stuck. When this happens I prefer to refocus using AF on another object rather than force it.
At the end of the focus range the lens will allow you to continue to rotate the ring and the 'feel' changes to a more gritty sensation. I think that's pretty normal.

The DA*55 is probably the best '50' on the market right now.

[bossa]

That sounds painful, can't blame you for being frustrated. I'm feeling the same thing on the K5 price right now, can't believe how much the used price has tanked for such a great APSC DSLR!

I've only been shooting with the D600 for a little over a week and today I took some bright sky pictures stopped down and discovered the famous oil splatter all over my sensor! Not that I'm surprised but it still sucks. That's pushing me even more towards the D800 - as long as I can get one with the AF calibrated properly (what's with QC these days on all this insanely expensive gear?)

One thing I've found with AWB is that indoors with tungsten or mixed lighting the images have a horrible green cast. I tweaked the AWB calibration to run a little into the magenta/red side and that's been a big help. I was shocked to see that right out of the box though - doesn't anybody take a picture with these things before they start manufacturing! I haven't used Live View much, Nikon cripples the D600 so you can't even adjust aperture without exiting Live View so that's pretty annoying too. I'm definitely with you on weight and cost - the AF speed is helping with the adjustment though I'm a sucker for shallow depth of field photography so I got used to that part really quick! 36MP would probably be a little overwhelming though.

Thanks for the perspective!

Apparently the D600 dust on the sensor issue self 'fixes' after 3000 shots... lol. The D600 sucks air into the mirror box via a gap in the shutter mount I believe... perhaps it gets clogged after 3000 shots ;-) Seriously, I'm sorry to hear that you are having this problem. A guy at my local store tried to sell me one and I told him there was no chance.

My D800E's have both had the odd oil splashes from the mirror box on the sensor as well.. pointing the camera UP is a scary prospect when you know there could well be some oil heading down onto it. When you own Nikon cameras it seems to be advantageous to learn wet sensor cleaning because they are a nightmare for these issues. I won't be paying some AH $150 to clean some oil off the sensor every few months.

WB on the D800 are pretty rank IMHO. That yellow green colour seems way off the mark compared to my K-5 & K-01. The engineers and Nikon must be colour blind. I too have altered WB to a custom setting.