[Mike Bokeh]

Mike,

Yes, a clock driven equatorial to be precise. More images of the setup here:

Flanders Pond Observatory - a set on Flickr

I shoot mostly film, so you will see those cameras in the images.

Of the K-01 I can say this:

Noise is very low, even at ISO 1600 and NR turned off.

In manual focus mode using bulb you can zoom the focus by 6X to enlarge the star images for critical focus

NR can be turned off with practically unlimited exposure in bulb mode.

Sensitivity to the desired Ha band of red light is very good for an unmodded camera.

From my first night out:

Cygnus: single exposure 50mm f/1.7 SMC Pentax A - 147 seconds @ f/2.8 ISO 1600 NR Off

Another gorgeous image, nightfly.

Thanks very much for the technical info too.

Mike
.

[sworks]

Struggling a bit to get a sharp pic from this lens. Even when stopped down to f4 or even 8 I'm unable to get a wide focus plane. Is there something I'm maybe missing. I've read the manual lens thread and can't see anything new there but there must be something as this is supposed to be a really sharp lens!

[IMG]Listen - Pentax User Photo Gallery[/IMG]

[THoog]

Struggling a bit to get a sharp pic from this lens. Even when stopped down to f4 or even 8 I'm unable to get a wide focus plane. Is there something I'm maybe missing. I've read the manual lens thread and can't see anything new there but there must be something as this is supposed to be a really sharp lens!

What mode are you using, and is AutoISO turned on? For a K/M lens, unless the Mode is M-Manual and ISO is manually selected, the K-01 will hold the lens wide open no matter what the aperture ring is set to.

[sworks]

Thank you THoog, at first I was using Av but after reading up some more from the thread, switched to the M mode and manual iso. Still finding it very tricky though. I think in part it's because it's so difficult to hold the focus whilst trying to reach the green button to meter and also the fact that I'm having to use high iso because it's grey and rainy in the UK Perhaps I have a bad copy but I'll keep on practising and see what happens.

[THoog]

Thank you THoog, at first I was using Av but after reading up some more from the thread, switched to the M mode and manual iso. Still finding it very tricky though. I think in part it's because it's so difficult to hold the focus whilst trying to reach the green button to meter and also the fact that I'm having to use high iso because it's grey and rainy in the UK Perhaps I have a bad copy but I'll keep on practising and see what happens.

It might be a little easier if you hit the green button to meter, then focus - the metering shouldn't change so long as you don't make major changes to your composition. Also, you can press the OK button to zoom in (thumbwheel selects between x2, x4, andx6), which might make focusing easier. Half-pressing the shutter will un-zoom.

[Mike Bokeh]

Struggling a bit to get a sharp pic from this lens. Even when stopped down to f4 or even 8 I'm unable to get a wide focus plane. Is there something I'm maybe missing. I've read the manual lens thread and can't see anything new there but there must be something as this is supposed to be a really sharp lens!

Sworks, I have a K-55 1.8 lens too, and I had a bit of trouble getting a sharp image from it also.

Here are some demo photos, and a short story about my use of lens.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/lens-clubs/29948-k-club-93.html

My post is #1392.

Perhaps this particular lens needs a bit more attention than some others when focusing.

Mike

[sworks]

Thank you Mike, your pics look a lot better than mine! Mine look as though they are shallow d of f even if I'm using f4. Can't help thinking mine must be a duff one

[nightfly]

A beautiful twilit sky along with the waxing Moon tonight on the way home from work. This was handheld using the 50mm f/1.7 A lens @ f/2 1/15 Sec ISO 1600

[THoog]

A beautiful twilit sky along with the waxing Moon tonight on the way home from work. This was handheld using the 50mm f/1.7 A lens @ f/2 1/15 Sec ISO 1600

Great shot. I saw the moon and we had a similar sky as I was leaving work. I wanted to take a shot, but of course the best camera & lens are the ones sitting on your desk at home...

[nightfly]

Great shot. I saw the moon and we had a similar sky as I was leaving work. I wanted to take a shot, but of course the best camera & lens are the ones sitting on your desk at home...

Thanks THoog. Glad I had the K-01 in the front seat. It was such a gorgeous night. Shooting scenes like this handheld was still difficult. This was the best of 6 frames. The SR really works well.

[LeRolls]

Went out with my brother to do some long exposure stuff over the interstate. Had to cut the shooting short once it started raining. Oh and the cops showed up talking about how they were responding to so called "suspicious behavior". I've been behavin' suspiciously my whole life and now you choose to respond. At least I got this shot.

[THoog]

Nice...

Must have been a slow night, crime-wise. I guess that's a good thing.

[LeRolls]

I'm thinking they would have been cool with me if I had been taking snaps of donuts. One of the cops actually bothered asking why we were taking long exposure shots. Uhhh...cause it looks cool. Then he asked how long the exposures were as if we were terrorists pretending to be photo enthusiasts and wouldn't be able to answer his question in a satisfactory manner. I thought for a second that he might also be into photography and tried to continue the conversation but he seemed disinterested in doing so. Maybe he shoots Sony...

[LeRolls]

Went out the Jensen Beach area and took these. Not much into nature photography but you work with what you got.

[LeRolls]

Last one. Upward shot of a roof badly in need of repair...