[Digitalis]

All things considered, their probability is high that they will appear in the Pentax D-FA lens line up.

[PALADIN85020]

There is also the possibility of simply going manual crop with the K-1 - using your APS-C lenses in FF mode, seeing what works (or not) and what aperture or focal length gives you results you are happy with, and then manually cropping the 36MP image to suit (if needed).

Some DA zooms may need this sort of approach more than primes, as they may (for arguments sake) vignette very heavily at wide zoom, but work fine at normal or longer zoom, and so produce fine 36MP images at those longer focal lengths. If you relied on the camera to just apply auto-crop to such a DA zoom, all you would ever get is 15MP images, and miss the chance for lots of problem-free 36MP images.

Unless, of course, the Pentax 'Auto' crop function is smart enough to selectively crop a DA zoom lens only to the focal lengths where it is needed - eg for the DA 17-70, 17mm = apply crop, 30mm= apply light crop, 50mm and above = do not apply crop. I doubt this will be the case, however.

So IMHO just shooting 36MP all the time, and manually cropping, may in general be the best way to go, particularly with DA zooms. (And for non-Pentax crop lenses the camera may not have in it's database].

Manually cropping the FF image occurred to me, also. Then one could choose how much (if any) vignetting would be allowable; some of it could probably be eliminated with appropriate software. I often use computer-generated vignetting on my "artsy" photos to emphasize a subject or downplay unwanted fringe elements in the picture anyway. I still don't understand why stopping down (how much?) a DA lens such as the 35mm Macro Ltd. would make it suitable for FF use. Perhaps someone can explain this?

John

PENTAX : PENTAX Photo Gallery artist page

[Simen1]

Its very usual to stop down during macro photography to increase the depth of field. Aside from that, stopping DA lenses down would negate the exposure and thus noise advantage, but It could still give the FF camera a good resolution advantage, assuming its moderately stopped down.

Personally I think crop lenses on FF cameras are an overstated disadvantage. Its not worse then using the DA lens on a crop camera. Making the transition from DA to FA lenses easier as it can be done at the pace the owner want. Putting DA lenses on a FF camera can only be better. Some by a little, some by more, others can be fully useful.

Its possible to choose smaller crop factors then 1,5 in post processing (making it effectively something in between FF and crop sensor). Without hood its possible to choose other aspect ratios. In example quadratic, while using a much larger effective sensor area then doing this with a crop camera. Its also possible to choose 1,5x crop portrait orientation when holding the camera in a more comfortable and steady landscape orientation. It would take a 90 degree rotatable crop sensor to do that in a crop camera.

Some fisheye lenses like Samyang 8mm f/3,5 CSII is made for APS-C but by removing the hood and place it on a FF camera it would become a circular 180 degree fisheye lens. Still possible to crop down to its original 3x2 aspect ratio.

Edit: My crop lens Sigma 18-35 F/1,8 Art also seems to be useful with 1,0 to 1,4 crop factor depending on the settings.

Crop lenses mode might also be used for sports due to the faster burst rate of K-1's crop mode.

In other words, I see a lot of opportunities for APS-C lenses on K-1, not just downsides. Of course much of this is possible or better to do with full frame compatible lenses but its also a matter of cost and availability. Pentax just makes it quite easy to buy an FF camera for crop lens owners.

[Michael Barker]

why stopping down (how much?) a DA lens such as the 35mm Macro Ltd. would make it suitable for FF use.

I assume it's related to the fact that optical vignetting is more pronounced at the wider aperture settings.

[Nicolas06]

Well I ain't getting one ! Look at the price for it at CR Kennedy in Australia:

https://pentax.com.au/products/19568

Thats just ridiculous ! In the US you'll pay $1799. The Australia Pentax price for the K-1 is $3188. The current exchange rate for $1799US is $2502AUD (as of 22/02/2016). How is there a $686AU dollar markup ? I mean we're still paying too much for Pentax k-3's. No wonder Pentax gets pulled from stores in my area ...... Teds, Photo continental, Camera House, and JB's dumped Pentax years ago. The K-3 is still the same price as when I bought it a year and a half ago, and CR Kennedy is still selling K-50's.

I constantly see Pentax bodies and lenses going on special in the US, and never here in Aus.

CR Kennedy shouldn't have put the price up by $680 bucks, why not $1680 bucks !

CR Kennedy is gonna send Pentax out of business in Australia. The distributor her in Australia is at fault here. Its just outrageous.

Forget it !

A few things:

- Prices in US are before taxes. You typically pay more than that.
- There many more people in the US meaning you get economies of scale everywhere compared to smaller markets
- Price also adapt to average cost/earning of the countries. Thing far cheaper in India or China than europe or US. And Australian people have more money on average than US people.


Looking at global statistics australian people have more money on average... but once corrected of what they can get with it, they are in fact overall getting less than what a typical US citizen get.

All in all, maybe its only Pentax that is expensive for camera, but it does look like it was to be expected and that on average you pay more to get things in Australia. Maybe you don't like it, but it is like that... Not really Pentax fault.

[Nicolas06]

Its very usual to stop down during macro photography to increase the depth of field. Aside from that, stopping DA lenses down would negate the exposure and thus noise advantage, but It could still give the FF camera a good resolution advantage, assuming its moderately stopped down.

Personally I think crop lenses on FF cameras are an overstated disadvantage. Its not worse then using the DA lens on a crop camera. Making the transition from DA to FA lenses easier as it can be done at the pace the owner want. Putting DA lenses on a FF camera can only be better. Some by a little, some by more, others can be fully useful.

Its possible to choose smaller crop factors then 1,5 in post processing (making it effectively something in between FF and crop sensor). Without hood its possible to choose other aspect ratios. In example quadratic, while using a much larger effective sensor area then doing this with a crop camera. Its also possible to choose 1,5x crop portrait orientation when holding the camera in a more comfortable and steady landscape orientation. It would take a 90 degree rotatable crop sensor to do that in a crop camera.

Some fisheye lenses like Samyang 8mm f/3,5 CSII is made for APS-C but by removing the hood and place it on a FF camera it would become a circular 180 degree fisheye lens. Still possible to crop down to its original 3x2 aspect ratio.

Edit: My crop lens Sigma 18-35 F/1,8 Art also seems to be useful with 1,0 to 1,4 crop factor depending on the settings.

Crop lenses mode might also be used for sports due to the faster burst rate of K-1's crop mode.

In other words, I see a lot of opportunities for APS-C lenses on K-1, not just downsides. Of course much of this is possible or better to do with full frame compatible lenses but its also a matter of cost and availability. Pentax just makes it quite easy to buy an FF camera for crop lens owners.

Well in crop mode the viewfinder also show the surroundings of the picture. This is a bit like a telemetric viewfinder. The bad thing is the managnification is not as great as an APSC viewfinder so MF would be more difficult and you'll get a less confortable APSC frame. Finally if you mix APSC and FF lenses, you may very well "forget" if the lens is really FF or APSC and might frame for the wrong size.

But you also get this added feature of having the surrounding too helping for composition, allowing to predict when a subjet or something else would enter the frame...

[screwdriver222]

When do you think we can expect proper hands on reviews

[Zygonyx]

Within a few weeks.

[noelpolar]

Well I ain't getting one ! Look at the price for it at CR Kennedy in Australia:

https://pentax.com.au/products/19568

Thats just ridiculous ! In the US you'll pay $1799. The Australia Pentax price for the K-1 is $3188. The current exchange rate for $1799US is $2502AUD (as of 22/02/2016). How is there a $686AU dollar markup ? I mean we're still paying too much for Pentax k-3's. No wonder Pentax gets pulled from stores in my area ...... Teds, Photo continental, Camera House, and JB's dumped Pentax years ago. The K-3 is still the same price as when I bought it a year and a half ago, and CR Kennedy is still selling K-50's.

I constantly see Pentax bodies and lenses going on special in the US, and never here in Aus.

CR Kennedy shouldn't have put the price up by $680 bucks, why not $1680 bucks !

CR Kennedy is gonna send Pentax out of business in Australia. The distributor her in Australia is at fault here. Its just outrageous.

Forget it !

I am disappointed as well. Forgetting all the exchange factor waffle, in simple terms, it has hit our market at D810 prices not 750 prices.... so no compelling proposition for non Pentaxers ...... yes it will probally come down a bit in the months to come, and the D810 has been on the market a while, but effectively the wow value splash has been negated in this market.....which has been one of the brand values in the past.

[Pepe Guitarra]

For birding. Some of the pancakes will be kept to.

[macronaut]

Australian price has dropped to $2,899.00. My order is going in.

[jyndi]

it has hit our market at D810 prices not 750 prices....

Weirdly enough, considering the exchange rate, it's more that the d750 and d810 are cheap here. (the d750 price at DCW - subtract 10% gst and convert comes to just over 1500usd. Or the d810: gerry gibs price minus gst comes to about 2100usd!) Perhaps Nikon brought in a good stock when the AUD was much higher??? In any case, while the AU comparative value hasn't materialised, it's more complex than just the K1 being priced high.

[clackers]

Weirdly enough, considering the exchange rate, it's more that the d750 and d810 are cheap here. (the d750 price at DCW - subtract 10% gst and convert comes to just over 1500usd. Or the d810: gerry gibs price minus gst comes to about 2100usd!) Perhaps Nikon brought in a good stock when the AUD was much higher??? In any case, while the AU comparative value hasn't materialised, it's more complex than just the K1 being priced high.

And the K-1 is at its launch price (complete with whatever they reckon an early adopters tax is worth) versus a product long into its sales cycle (the D810).


The D750 is only 24Mp and you get that with your K-3, BTW.

[zoolander]

Australian price has dropped to $2,899.00. My order is going in.

POW !

Yesterday I complain, today they've dropped the price for $289. But its still too much !

I am disappointed as well. Forgetting all the exchange factor waffle, in simple terms, it has hit our market at D810 prices not 750 prices.... so no compelling proposition for non Pentaxers ...... yes it will probally come down a bit in the months to come, and the D810 has been on the market a while, but effectively the wow value splash has been negated in this market.....which has been one of the brand values in the past.

What ever price they settle on, thats where it'll stay for a couple of years.

A few things:

- Prices in US are before taxes. You typically pay more than that.
- There many more people in the US meaning you get economies of scale everywhere compared to smaller markets
- Price also adapt to average cost/earning of the countries. Thing far cheaper in India or China than europe or US. And Australian people have more money on average than US people.


Looking at global statistics australian people have more money on average... but once corrected of what they can get with it, they are in fact overall getting less than what a typical US citizen get.

All in all, maybe its only Pentax that is expensive for camera, but it does look like it was to be expected and that on average you pay more to get things in Australia. Maybe you don't like it, but it is like that... Not really Pentax fault.

I've been to the US, in California there was a 17% VAT on electronics. While there is no federal sales tax or VAT, individual states will have sales taxes. Just a quick search finds that at B&H in New York, the state sales tax of 8.875% local sales tax applies to purchases within the state. Orders outside the state should incur sales tax payable to the local state tax revenue offices - I'm assuming.

Australias GST and B&H's price should not be THAT far off as I originally complained. But today they knocked off $289 bucks ! I mean how in the heck can they justify the way they set prices ? How do they explain how they've just knocked off $289 bucks. $289 bucks is a lot of money, you can get 1.5 to 2.5 weeks worth of groceries with $289 bucks. Now I do feel sorry for the folks who yesterday paid $3188, and if they find out that they've been RIPPED-OFF today, I'd be fuming !

This saga over this pre-order price has really opened my eyes to CR Kennedy. A Teds camera store reopened in my area, I walked in asking if they'll be getting the new K-S1 and any other Pentax models. They said the Pentax sales rep is a joke, and they're still waiting for Pentax display materials for their cases. A few weeks later the store said they won't carry Pentax in their display cases anymore.

So as far as I can tell, the Pentax sales rep, who is the CR Kennedy guy/gal, is the one who's dropped the ball. But wait, CR Kennedy is the distributor for Sigma lenses and Tokina Lenses, and yet, all the Sigma display paraphernalia is in the store cases.

I think CR Kennedy is not interested in selling Pentax. I think their tactic is to really push the Sigma brand. As for Pentax, it can just sit on the shelves until the sore owners abandon the brand ........ which they have several years ago.

So where does that leave Pentax and CR Kennedy ? If you're a Pentaxian, Pentax cameras become a niche product, and they'll JACK UP THE PRICES willy-nilly ! They'll try to put Leica prices on a Pentax ..... or at least try. I mean what-cha-gonna-do ? Order from B&H and have a grey market camera, do you really want that, you know the trouble with sending things through international post for warranty repairs.

I mean come on Pentax ! There's Ricoh sales and service for printers, and business machines, why not pull Pentax from CR Kennedy, and put Pentax under the Ricoh business machines wing. Most of the infrastructure should already be there.

CR Kennedy aren't even trying and they're taking us Pentaxians for SUCKERS ! I'll never forget returning my Sigma lens to CR Kennedy, and it came back as if nobody even looked at it.

[Digitalis]

! I'll never forget returning my Sigma lens to CR Kennedy, and it came back as if nobody even looked at it.

Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. They "tested" my Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 for de-centering by shooting a brick wall on a Pentax K7 at 1/250th ISO400 f/11. All they had to do was look at the lens test data I sent them, which I obtained from my optics bench...but no, according to them the lens was "within tolerances".

How do they explain how they've just knocked off $289 bucks.

The fact that they have done that is pretty much an admission they were artificially inflating the price.

Over the past two years CRK have done a fantastic job of delivering sub-standard service. The guys who handle NPS and CPS repairs here get the job done, and in less than a few days.