[Heie]

We finished the Kepler yesterday, and holy crap my legs are sore lol. But man it was beautiful.

Few first impressions of the K-30 since that unexpectedly became my primary camera.

I love the feel of it - I think Pentax hit another home run in body design.

Very quick and responsive - not that I experienced much "lag" with the K-5, but there was virtually none with the K-30.

Autofocus is more decisive, but I can't comment on the tracking capabilities since I wasn't shooting moving subjects.

The single biggest gripe I have is the ISO button - I *HATE* that it is part of the autofocus pad. I have missed a few shots because of that design. With the K-5 I was able to change settings extremely quickly, and with the K-30, that process is hampered by combining the ISO with the AF. To have made the K-30 the perfect backup/sister camera to the K-5 they should have kept ISO on top and put the eV button (currently located on top by the shutter) as part of the AF pad since eV is far less used than ISO. This is my single greatest grip about the K-30.

All in all though, it's a great camera, and the more I use it the more I hate the bias against Pentax because it truly is the best stills camera available under $1000 today. It's frustrating...

Regarding the K-5, it seems that my original diagnosis is proving conclusive - the K-5's circuitry was flooded because of the porthole at the bottom of the camera that allowed water to fill inside, which then traveled into the lens. I have contacted CRIS to see if 1) they do just cleanings, *not* repairs (i.e. SDM is fine) 2) if that is something warranty covers since I bought the lens in April 2012, and 3) if not covered by warranty (which I suspect), then what is the damage to clean it. Maybe I'm being naive, but I don't think it should be very expensive since it isn't an electronic/mechanical repair such as AF/SDM but rather a simple cleaning. I hope that assumption comes out to be true in the event warranty doesn't cover it. I'll keep you guys posted on that.

Anyway, the Kepler was absolutely fantastic. I have TONS of photos to go through and process, however here is a teaser from the trip.



We were *only nearly* blown off the ridgeline by 90-100kph gusts (Hurricane Cat 1 strength...). Jen wasn't very happy with me when I was complaining about how we needed more wind

So yea...this is what "Rest and Relaxation" has looked like so far

-Heie

Edit: I have tried to AF with the 60-250 on the K-30 and it seems that the water has gotten to the AF electronics within the lens too....

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Last edited by Heie; 11-19-2012 at 03:38 PM.

[panoguy]

Great series, as always! The close-up portraits are getting better and better. Nice to see some shots that aren't just rock, dust, and sun.

BTW, why is it that the Polish soldiers look so much bigger than the Americans nearby? Are they all just physical monstrosities (I ask as a half-polack)?

Hope you're having fun with the Kiwis.

Edit: I have tried to AF with the 60-250 on the K-30 and it seems that the water has gotten to the AF electronics within the lens too....

Ouch! Too bad it was a "2 for 1" deal on the watery destruction. And saltwater, no less...

If you sent Pentax USA and/or CRIS a link to your deployment updates, and explained that the K-5 and 60-250 are "mission critical equipment" to the continuation of said updates, I'm sure that some discounts can be found...