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03-05-2016, 10:49 PM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
I don't own any Q series cameras. I do have a Panasonic LX7 and a GX7 as well as my K3. I have experimented recently with getting pictures of hawks using the GX7 and adapted Pentax lenses. What I found may be of relevance.

I shot the 60-250 vs the FA* 300 and the Takumar bayonet 135 f2.5 with the rear converter 2x on it. Off these the 300 was the hardest to handle. All were shot hand held which really limited IQ. all were shot in so so lighting. All are bulkier than expected and handling is only ok. I haven't tried the 55-300 yet.
Were the hawks BIF? I'm mostly convinced that the best way to get BIF is to use a camera with lots of MP, probably a FF, throw a big net of pixels around the bird, and then crop away the extra.

For BOB {Bird on Branch}, I tend to prefer zoom lenses, just because personally I have trouble aiming, so I start off locating the speck in the viewfinder and then zoom onto it. This is all a matter of taste/convenience {YMMV}, of course.

03-06-2016, 12:22 AM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by Biro Quote
...

But you're right. Ricoh-Pentax should really come with with thier own superzoom - not the OEM-derived XG series but a real camera of their own with optics of their own. And a birding-specific Q model would be even better.
I'd be all over a Ricoh superzoom, IF it were not just a followon from the existing superzooms which are not impressive at all. A birding specifid Q? Interesting...
03-06-2016, 10:49 AM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by reh321 Quote
From my experiments, I believe this is basically true. Various guys here have gotten some really good pictures with a Q-something, but they've typically used a $$$$ Sigma. My own backyard experiments showed me getting slightly better images with my Sigma 70-300 APO than with my DA 55-300; part of the difference there may be the aperture ring on the Sigma {which I'm guessing works better than the aperture constrictor on the Pentax adapter}; basically "consumer grade" K-mount lenses may not resolve to level of tiny Q sensor pixels. I am absolutely convinced that a native Q-mount 70-300 lens would do the best of any of the contenders listed here, but Pentax doesn't seem to have any interest in entering that market.

If I followed the example of those upset by how the K-1 handles lenses built 1975~83, I would say "sad" every sentence above and then promise to drop Pentax and go to Nikon, but I think there has been too much of that so far as it is {which is why I adopted the Green Button as my new avatar}. I am willing to own two up-to-date cameras at a time. Oct 2014 I briefly considered buying a Canon SX-50, but I couldn't figure out how to meet my other needs with just one other camera. So, right now, my two-camera solution consists of a Q-7 and and K-30; I will continue to experiment to see how the Q-7 can provide better birding pictures for me.

---------- Post added 03-05-16 at 09:41 PM ----------

A long time ago, back when we had to hand-focus every shot, I learned to hold the barrel of a long lens with my left hand; with that type of grip, I'm not sure a Q is much less stable than a super-zoom is because I basically end up with a camera on the end of a lens ... except that taking a picture requires a longer time on target because of hand-focusing. I solved the problem for me by getting a monopod / walking-stick from MeFoto {actually, at my age of 68, I may have solved two problems at once}
I'm glad someone experimented! My little "rule of thumb" was just based on feeling, and I did not take into consideration the handling and convenience aspects.

I agree with you that a native 70-300 lens for the Q - similar to what Nikon makes for their Nikon 1 system - would be terrific. I think a couple years ago I stated that such a lens would make the Q system tremendously interesting to the birding community.

QuoteOriginally posted by reh321 Quote
Don't sell Pentax IBIS short. I've never had an issue that I could reasonably attribute to stabilization issues.
To me the basic question there is "How many cameras are you going to carry around?" If you're comfortable having a super-zoom in your bag with everything else, then you might as well use it.

Super-zooms are clearly a successful market right now. I still can't undertand why Ricoh-Pentax ignores it, and I still belief that the hard part would be developing appropriate optics, and once they've developed it they might as well market a Q+lens as a birding package.
QuoteOriginally posted by Biro Quote
But you're right. Ricoh-Pentax should really come with up thier own superzoom - not the OEM-derived XG series but a real camera of their own with optics of their own. And a birding-specific Q model would be even better.
I had the Fuji S1 for a while, and it is very "Pentax". Small, very well-built - better than the Nikon and Canon superzooms I've tried - and weather sealed. Alas, even though the lens was advertised as 1200mm (equivalent), it felt short compared to the other 1200mm superzooms I've used... and it was! Imaging-Resource tested it and foudn the focal length was actually closer to 1000mm than 1200mm.

A couple of pics I took in a steady rain with the S1, ISO 800:




Last edited by luftfluss; 03-06-2016 at 11:02 AM.
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