[Stone G.]

When the Q was released I, as probably many others, was fascinated by the "cuteness-factor" plus the very small pixel pitch of 0.0015mm and I was impressed by the many functions, RICOH/PENTAX had managed to squeeze into this tiny body. Yet, I was also sure that I would never buy into this system with its tiny sensor and lack of a proper viewfinder.


But then came the Pentax Adapter Q for K-mount Lens, and with my interest in macro and astro photography I began playing with the thought, that maybe someday......


Suffice to say, I have now pulled some triggers and purchased:

•A used Q10 (like new - 4500 actuations) found at a very reasonable price in Germany, Maxema-shop
•A brand new Pentax Adapter Q for K-mount Lens adapter found at SRS Microsystems, UK - I think, I got their last one?
•A Q to C-mount adapter found on eBay.co.uk
•A C-mount to 1.25" draw tube adapter also found on eBay.co.uk

The latter two adapters converts my Q10 to a light-weight high resolution lunar and planetary camera for my vintage Vixen R100-L Newtonian reflector. So now, let the fun begin.


And boy, isn't it just fun to try out one's old and new lenses on a 1/2.3" sensor with 0.0015mm pixel size!!! Here are just some initial results, (click on images to see larger versions):


Barometer: Tamron Adaptall-2 24mm f/2.5 lens (Model 01B)


Metal Works next to my work place: Cosina Cosinon-W 35mm f/2.8


Gable Clock at Farum Train Station: smc Pentax-FA 1:1.4 50mm


Pincushion: smc Pentax-DFA 1:2.8 100mm WR macro lens


My blinds in evening sunshine: smc Pentax-DA 1:3.5-5.6 18-135mm WR @ 135mm


Quarter Moon: smc Pentax-DA* 1:2.8 200mm

Now, lunar images can be hard to evaluate, because they are mostly cropped. The above is the full (but downsized) Q10 frame and to put things in perspective, here's the same image cropped and downsized with a K-3 photo inserted taken with the same lens on the same night. The image below links to a non-resized 100% crop:


Quarter Moon: Same details as above. Click to see non-resized crop.

Sensor size is one thing. Pixel size is yet another important factor in some applications. And hereby over for now; my telescope needs to be dusted off......

---

Last edited by Stone G.; 04-13-2016 at 12:40 PM.

[BigMackCam]

Congratulations, Steen, and welcome to the madness

There are so many people critical of the Q-series cameras, but I value my Q7 and lenses (and, like you, the official K-to-Q adapter) as much as I value my Pentax DSLRs. The novelty value is fantastic, of course, but when you get past that, you realise they are actually serious photographic tools.

Next on my Q-list is a set of Pentax Q auto extension tubes with full contacts

Love your moon shots!

EDIT: I've had loads of fun with my Q7 and C-mount CCTV lenses... it's very liberating to set aside absolute optical quality and just enjoy what can be achieved with these lenses

[zippythezip]

Love my Q cameras, Q10 and Q7. The lenses I have 01,02 and 06 I can carry in the smallest bags. Added a hoodman so I could see the LCD screen in bright light. For adapters I have the fotodiox version and it works well, got this version as it has a built in tripod mount. My first trys are with Pentax M120 lens.

[CarlG]

And boy, isn't it just fun ...

That's it!

[Stone G.]

I thank you for the welcome Mike.

The novelty value is fantastic, of course, but when you get past that, you realise they are actually serious photographic tools.

I agree - this is neither a toy nor an alternative to a compact point-and-shoot camera. It is a full-blown system in its own right. That said, and just being a happy amateur, I don't mind that this is also a camera with a great Fun-Factor.

Next on my Q-list is a set of Pentax Q auto extension tubes with full contacts

Well, being late to this party, next on my list is the Pentax 06 Telephoto Zoom. I got the 02 Standard Zoom with my Q10 purchase, and I am actually really pleased with that kit-lens so, together the 02 and 06 should make a great pair when one has to walk or travel light.

I've had loads of fun with my Q7 and C-mount CCTV lenses... it's very liberating to set aside absolute optical quality and just enjoy what can be achieved with these lenses

Indeed, and I got the C-mount adapter already. Actually, C-mount lenses were also made for 16mm film movie cameras and thus, designed to produce a quality image that could bear to be blown up many times over. So, I'll have a keen eye for such lenses whenever I go to a flea market from hereon after.

For adapters I have the fotodiox version and it works well, got this version as it has a built in tripod mount. My first trys are with Pentax M120 lens.

I am sure that the Fotodiox adapter works fine, but I need the official Pentax adapter with its built-in leaf shutter in order to do long-exposure night/astro photography up to 30 seconds. Regarding the tripod mount, the original seems very hard to find, but I luckily found that my vintage (and also quite rare) tripod mounting ring for my Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 80-200mm f/2.8 lens (Model 30A) just - really just - fits over the Q-K Adapter's 68mm diameter:






This is a fine solution for me with lenses up to 100/135mm focal length. Anything longer and heavier, I would definitely have the lens mounted on the tripod rather than having the adapter carry the imbalanced weight of a long, heavy lens.

[pacerr]

Search on e`Bay for "Tripod adapter Collar Mount Ring" -- many choices available.

I've got one on my 30A also.

[BigMackCam]

...next on my list is the Pentax 06 Telephoto Zoom. I got the 02 Standard Zoom with my Q10 purchase, and I am actually really pleased with that kit-lens so, together the 02 and 06 should make a great pair when one has to walk or travel light.

The 06 is a remarkably good lens. It doesn't feel as nicely built as the 02 (it's still well made, though), but optically it's very good indeed. I think you'll like it a lot. At some point, it's possibly worth considering the 01 prime, too... on your Q10 it is roughly equivalent to a 50mm lens on full frame, and with a max aperture of f/1.9 it's great for low light work. It's not without it's faults - the barrel distortion is quite pronounced - but it's sharp, and of course very compact

[zippythezip]

Well thanks guys, now I need to search out Pentax adapters,. But really finding things for the Q system is part of the fun.
I am looking for a lower price 08 lens at the moment.

[barondla]

Welcome zippythezipp. The Q is fun. Enjoy it. Nice image with the 120mm Pentax lens.

You should also consider the fisheye lens. Super inexpensive. Love it.
thanks
barondla

---------- Post added 04-14-2016 at 10:33 PM ----------

Welcome to the Q forums Stone G. Interested in seeing more of your astrophotos. Enjoy the Q!
thanks
barondla

[Stone G.]

Interested in seeing more of your astrophotos. Enjoy the Q!

Well, time hasn't permitted me to set-up and align my equatorial mount for long-time exposure, (and conditions havent been favourable either - more about that later). But I have climbed up one step of the ladder and done some tests with my Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 350mm f/5.6 mirror lens, (Model 06B) on the Q10. With that set-up, the diameter of the Moon occupies just above 2000 pixels and here's a link to a 30% downsized version (4000 -> 1280 pixels in width) of the full Q10-frame:



Q10 with 350mm f/5.6 lens: 1/500s and ISO400. 10 images manually aligned and stacked in Registax 4. Click on image to see
larger version, 1280 pixels wide (about 30% of original).

In order to appreciate the details provided by this old lens and the Q10, we need to study a crop of the above:



Crop of the above image. Click on image to see a 100% non-resized crop.

Next in my brief test I turned towards nearby planet Jupiter. Here, I really should have had my equatorial and my telescope up and running in order to do 'sensible' work, but I just wanted a quick-look-see and indeed, 3 of the Galilean Moons were readily visible in the Q10's LCD display, with the fourth being hidden by the glare of the planet:


Q10 with 350mm f/5.6 lens: 1/6s and ISO400. Single image contrast enhanced in PhotoImpact Click on image to see
100% non-resized crop of original.

As can be seen from the appearance of the Galilean Moons, the seeing was rather lousy (my mirror lens is virtually free of any abberations) and I should perhaps ahve stopped here, but did one last, 'silly' test and tried to capture a properly exposed image of Jupiter's disk. With a diameter currently of 42", the the disk's diameter with a 350mm lens on a Q10 should be 46 pixels with the Q10's pixel size of 0.00154mm. And indeed:


Q10 with 350mm f/5.6 lens: 1/400s and ISO400. 100% non-resized
crop of single JPEG image right out of the Q10.

And more so: You can actually just and barely see a hint of the two major cloud bands on Jupiter. Who would have thought so with just a 350mm lens under a turbulent city sky?

Promising, promising.........

[BigMackCam]

Those are remarkable results, Steen. Really excellent!! And with a *mirror* lens?!? Wow!

[Stone G.]

And with a *mirror* lens?!? Wow!

Thank you for your kind words, Mike.

And you got it: There are mirror lenses and then there is the Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 350/5.6. This lens is sharp, although focusing is very critical; colours are very clean and abberations are as good as completely absent. One problem is a pronounced light fall-off towards the corners on larger format sensors and 35mm film - but that's NOT the problem with the Q10's 1/2.3" sensor!

[barondla]

Superb astro images Stone G. Your 350mm mirror lens is sharp! Usually small consumer mirrors are unimpressive. None of it would matter without your great skill and technique. Can't wait to see more.

[kwb]

Well, time hasn't permitted me to set-up and align my equatorial mount for long-time exposure, (and conditions havent been favourable either - more about that later). But I have climbed up one step of the ladder and done some tests with my Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 350mm f/5.6 mirror lens, (Model 06B) on the Q10. With that set-up, the diameter of the Moon occupies just above 2000 pixels and here's a link to a 30% downsized version (4000 -> 1280 pixels in width) of the full Q10-frame:



Q10 with 350mm f/5.6 lens: 1/500s and ISO400. 10 images manually aligned and stacked in Registax 4. Click on image to see
larger version, 1280 pixels wide (about 30% of original).

In order to appreciate the details provided by this old lens and the Q10, we need to study a crop of the above:



Crop of the above image. Click on image to see a 100% non-resized crop.

Next in my brief test I turned towards nearby planet Jupiter. Here, I really should have had my equatorial and my telescope up and running in order to do 'sensible' work, but I just wanted a quick-look-see and indeed, 3 of the Galilean Moons were readily visible in the Q10's LCD display, with the fourth being hidden by the glare of the planet:


Q10 with 350mm f/5.6 lens: 1/6s and ISO400. Single image contrast enhanced in PhotoImpact Click on image to see
100% non-resized crop of original.

As can be seen from the appearance of the Galilean Moons, the seeing was rather lousy (my mirror lens is virtually free of any abberations) and I should perhaps ahve stopped here, but did one last, 'silly' test and tried to capture a properly exposed image of Jupiter's disk. With a diameter currently of 42", the the disk's diameter with a 350mm lens on a Q10 should be 46 pixels with the Q10's pixel size of 0.00154mm. And indeed:


Q10 with 350mm f/5.6 lens: 1/400s and ISO400. 100% non-resized
crop of single JPEG image right out of the Q10.

And more so: You can actually just and barely see a hint of the two major cloud bands on Jupiter. Who would have thought so with just a 350mm lens under a turbulent city sky?

Promising, promising.........

Lovely details of the moon, nice capture, Stone G! Thanks for sharing. Also curious to see how your Newtonian performs with Q10.

[Stone G.]

..........skill and technique. Can't wait to see more

Woha, those are big words barondla. I feel obliged and promise that I and my Q10 shall try to do our very best!

Thanks for sharing. Also curious to see how your Newtonian performs with Q10

Always a pleasure to share with others who have the same interests. And I am surely also curious to see my Q10 and my old Vixen 4" f/10 Newtonian will work together. The problem with my turbulent city air is that the longer the focal length, the more pronounced will the effects of poor seeing be, in particular when it comes to fine Lunar and planetary detail. Well, we shall see..........