[mhsp1948]

MY THREE AMIGOS

From my film photography days, I have come a long way. My journey could not have been more pleasing an experience. Photography is so much fun as I continue to learn more every day. When you combine my film photography and digital cameras that I have owned, the list is not too long, but respectable. I have owned the following cameras - Kodak, Polaroid, Vivitar, Contax, Ricoh, Zeiss, Minolta, Nikon, Fujifilm, Sony, Olympus, Canon and Pentax cameras.

I have had good experiences with all of the above-mentioned products, both film and digital, learning so much every step of the way. What is so cool about photography is that the learning process never ends and continues to be fun. I truly love photography.

So much has changed and is changing all the time in the world of photography, especially since digital came along. Each year we see new things come on the market. I am pleased with my gear now and have put together cameras and lenses that allow me to have all kinds of experiences with my photography, but my three favorite are My Three Amigos, a K1 Mark ii and two K1s.

The secret of the joy of photography is that you do it in a way that works for you and not based on the expectations of other people. Make it personal and pleasing to you and turn it into a wonderful way to bust stress and create times of peace, fulfillment, and joy in your life.

I use the Pentax K1 mark ii with the HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm F1.4 SDM AW and one K1, wears a HD Pentax-D FA 15-30mm F2.8 ED SDM WR, while the other wears a HD D FA 24-70mm F2.8 ED SDM WR. These are my favorite working cameras for landscape and stills. I also own a Pentax KP and Sony a7iii.


The lenses for my cameras are as follows:

HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm F1.4 SDM AW
HD Pentax-D FA 15-30mm F2.8 ED SDM WR
HD D FA 24-70mm F2.8 ED SDM WR
31mm F/1.8 FA Limited Lens*
HD FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6
DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM
ROKINON 85M-P 85mm f/1.4 Aspherical Lens
HD Pentax-DA 20-40mm F2.8-4 Limited WR
DA* 300mm F4.0 ED (SDM)
Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 Ex Dc Hsm Lens*
DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL (IF) DC WR Lens
Sony - FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Wide-angle Zoom Lens
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens.

Above all else, I consider the most important thing when it comes to my photography (note I said my photography) is the IMAGE QUALITY of my photos. The best quality comes from my Pentax K1-mark ii, and the Pentax K1s, followed by the Pentax KP (yes the KP slightly outperformed the Sony a7iii in image quality and had less noise and better color rendering). Now that said, I do like my Sony a7iii for events needing a lot of frames per second to capture motion or for video work.
I use my “Pentax KP DSLR” for walk-arounds, not my “Mirrorless Sony a7iii. The Pentax KP truly is a good rival to the mirrorless-camera concept for being smaller, lighter, and compact, while at the same time delivering the image quality I expect - and the icing on the cake is an awesome “Optical Viewfinder” Pentaprism, 100% coverage, 0.95x magnification.

Image Quality - Yes, image quality is where the buck stops! You can have all the bells and whistles, fast everything, priciest, best looking, and all the stats in your favor, or most of them, and in the end, you don’t end up with the best image quality, and if you don’t, what do you have? A bunch of statistics that you can brag about, but not the best photo quality!

When I was 19 years old I had a VW Beatle that I put a Porsche engine in and set it up for the local drag races at the track. It did not have the looks, the specs and not a lot of horsepower that would impress anyone compared to a V-8, but I beat a Road Runner at the drag strip one night. It was all because of the attention I gave my VW to get out of the hole and off the starting line real fast, my acceleration constantly increasing, and reaching top end well before the finish line.
No one thought I had a chance against a V-8 Road Runner. When I lined up to run the race I would get the green light just a little before the Road Runner, because I was in a lower class. When the light turned green and considering how I set up my VW to launch me out of the hole perfectly, and even though my top-end speed was not near that of the Road Runner’s top end, I won the 1/4 mile that night by 1/20 of a second.

Just because some cameras have the specifications that yours does not have does not mean they will produce better images. It is how the specs are used and put together to accomplish a purpose when manufactured and how you use what you have that makes the difference. That is why I use my Pentax K1s and K1 mark ii for stills and landscape and not for sports-events but will use my Sony a7iii to capture fast action. You see, I won with less horsepower and torque, but in actuality, it turned out to be more than enough to win considering all of the other aspects I gave attention to when putting it all together and driving the race.

Is your photography only about getting the approval of other people liking your work, therefore seeing yourself as valuable and a good photographer based on their expectations and positive responses? Or is it because you love photography for what it means to you and your own creativity and do not allow the opinions of others to cause you to set boundaries on your work, therefore locking you into views and expectations that are not yours? Don’t, be yourself! Let photography become a part of your creativity and not a gauge of your value as a person or photographer. Enjoy it because you love it!

I love all five of my cameras and the lenses I use with them! They fill my stable with all I need to meet my style, my expectations of my photography.
The most important element of good photography to me is not the equipment, but it sure helps the photographer if he or she finds the camera and lenses that lets them express and do their thing! One of my best all time photos, was taken with a digital camera that had only 8 megapixels. It needs to be about what has made your journey in photography such a great experience. Photography needs to be an expression of you, not someone else! It is all about how you want to express your photo work with great image quality and being satisfied with the end results while having fun as you travel on your photo journey.

That is why I love my Three Amigos, my Pentax K1s, they have truly become my best friends when I push the shutter button and I like having them around.

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[Mikesul]

Thanks for the joyful contribution! I think many of us share your enjoyment of Pentax equipment. I certainly felt a familiar sense of fun as I read your words.

[sergysergy]

That is a nice equipment. It is good to hear that you use and enjoy it all.

[theskonesdad]

WOW! Now that's refreshing!

[mhsp1948]

Thank you Mikesul, sergysergy and theskonesdad for your comments, glad you enjoyed what I shared. thanks guys

[barondla]

MY THREE AMIGOS

From my film photography days, I have come a long way. My journey could not have been more pleasing an experience. Photography is so much fun as I continue to learn more every day. When you combine my film photography and digital cameras that I have owned, the list is not too long, but respectable. I have owned the following cameras - Kodak, Polaroid, Vivitar, Contax, Ricoh, Zeiss, Minolta, Nikon, Fujifilm, Sony, Olympus, Canon and Pentax cameras.

I have had good experiences with all of the above-mentioned products, both film and digital, learning so much every step of the way. What is so cool about photography is that the learning process never ends and continues to be fun. I truly love photography.

So much has changed and is changing all the time in the world of photography, especially since digital came along. Each year we see new things come on the market. I am pleased with my gear now and have put together cameras and lenses that allow me to have all kinds of experiences with my photography, but my three favorite are My Three Amigos, a K1 Mark ii and two K1s.

The secret of the joy of photography is that you do it in a way that works for you and not based on the expectations of other people. Make it personal and pleasing to you and turn it into a wonderful way to bust stress and create times of peace, fulfillment, and joy in your life.

I use the Pentax K1 mark ii with the HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm F1.4 SDM AW and one K1, wears a HD Pentax-D FA 15-30mm F2.8 ED SDM WR, while the other wears a HD D FA 24-70mm F2.8 ED SDM WR. These are my favorite working cameras for landscape and stills. I also own a Pentax KP and Sony a7iii.


The lenses for my cameras are as follows:

HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm F1.4 SDM AW
HD Pentax-D FA 15-30mm F2.8 ED SDM WR
HD D FA 24-70mm F2.8 ED SDM WR
31mm F/1.8 FA Limited Lens*
HD FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6
DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM
ROKINON 85M-P 85mm f/1.4 Aspherical Lens
HD Pentax-DA 20-40mm F2.8-4 Limited WR
DA* 300mm F4.0 ED (SDM)
Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 Ex Dc Hsm Lens*
DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL (IF) DC WR Lens
Sony - FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Wide-angle Zoom Lens
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens.

Above all else, I consider the most important thing when it comes to my photography (note I said my photography) is the IMAGE QUALITY of my photos. The best quality comes from my Pentax K1-mark ii, and the Pentax K1s, followed by the Pentax KP (yes the KP slightly outperformed the Sony a7iii in image quality and had less noise and better color rendering). Now that said, I do like my Sony a7iii for events needing a lot of frames per second to capture motion or for video work.
I use my “Pentax KP DSLR” for walk-arounds, not my “Mirrorless Sony a7iii. The Pentax KP truly is a good rival to the mirrorless-camera concept for being smaller, lighter, and compact, while at the same time delivering the image quality I expect - and the icing on the cake is an awesome “Optical Viewfinder” Pentaprism, 100% coverage, 0.95x magnification.

Image Quality - Yes, image quality is where the buck stops! You can have all the bells and whistles, fast everything, priciest, best looking, and all the stats in your favor, or most of them, and in the end, you don’t end up with the best image quality, and if you don’t, what do you have? A bunch of statistics that you can brag about, but not the best photo quality!

When I was 19 years old I had a VW Beatle that I put a Porsche engine in and set it up for the local drag races at the track. It did not have the looks, the specs and not a lot of horsepower that would impress anyone compared to a V-8, but I beat a Road Runner at the drag strip one night. It was all because of the attention I gave my VW to get out of the hole and off the starting line real fast, my acceleration constantly increasing, and reaching top end well before the finish line.
No one thought I had a chance against a V-8 Road Runner. When I lined up to run the race I would get the green light just a little before the Road Runner, because I was in a lower class. When the light turned green and considering how I set up my VW to launch me out of the hole perfectly, and even though my top-end speed was not near that of the Road Runner’s top end, I won the 1/4 mile that night by 1/20 of a second.

Just because some cameras have the specifications that yours does not have does not mean they will produce better images. It is how the specs are used and put together to accomplish a purpose when manufactured and how you use what you have that makes the difference. That is why I use my Pentax K1s and K1 mark ii for stills and landscape and not for sports-events but will use my Sony a7iii to capture fast action. You see, I won with less horsepower and torque, but in actuality, it turned out to be more than enough to win considering all of the other aspects I gave attention to when putting it all together and driving the race.

Is your photography only about getting the approval of other people liking your work, therefore seeing yourself as valuable and a good photographer based on their expectations and positive responses? Or is it because you love photography for what it means to you and your own creativity and do not allow the opinions of others to cause you to set boundaries on your work, therefore locking you into views and expectations that are not yours? Don’t, be yourself! Let photography become a part of your creativity and not a gauge of your value as a person or photographer. Enjoy it because you love it!

I love all five of my cameras and the lenses I use with them! They fill my stable with all I need to meet my style, my expectations of my photography.
The most important element of good photography to me is not the equipment, but it sure helps the photographer if he or she finds the camera and lenses that lets them express and do their thing! One of my best all time photos, was taken with a digital camera that had only 8 megapixels. It needs to be about what has made your journey in photography such a great experience. Photography needs to be an expression of you, not someone else! It is all about how you want to express your photo work with great image quality and being satisfied with the end results while having fun as you travel on your photo journey.

That is why I love my Three Amigos, my Pentax K1s, they have truly become my best friends when I push the shutter button and I like having them around.

Great story. Nice to hear people that are happy with their equipment and life. Do you use all 3 of the K-1 on the same shoot? If so, that's a lot to carry.
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

[mhsp1948]

Great story. Nice to hear people that are happy with their equipment and life. Do you use all 3 of the K-1 on the same shoot? If so, that's a lot to carry.
Thanks for sharing,
barondla

Most of the time, yes barondla I do, using a utility vehicle when doing landscape or my car or truck, whatever I decide I need for where I am going to travel and what I am trying to accomplish. Sometimes I only need one of the cameras and the lens that is on it to do a certain thing I have in mind. I like the cameras this way for two reasons. When I am out doing landscape, city scape, I find it so much easier and time saving not to have to change lens and it keeps me from missing some shots. Secondly, the less I have to change lenses the less dust and dirt find their way on my sensors. I want these cameras and lenses because they give me such good IQ. Now there are times that I will take one camera due to circumstances and an extra one of my lenses to accomplish what I need to do. Then there are some times I don't have a lot of time to give specific attention to taking photos and will just pick up my KP and go.

[wanderer2]

I wondered why they were called the Three Amigos until I bought them. Then I realized one possible reason is that they went everywhere with me, or at least everywhere I went with my camera.

[Apet-Sure]

I was interested to see you mention you had owned a Vivitar camera. I bought a new 250/SL in the '70s, and still have it. Its shutter was loud and clunky by today's standards, but its performance was absolutely bulletproof. I used it for weddings and hobby, and won a First Place ribbon in photography at an arts and crafts show with it and its 55mm Vivitar lens. My old workhorse. Haven't used it in decades now.

[mhsp1948]

I wondered why they were called the Three Amigos until I bought them. Then I realized one possible reason is that they went everywhere with me, or at least everywhere I went with my camera.

Yes indeed wanderer2, my are with me no matter where I go, they are always in my vehicle.

---------- Post added 09-01-19 at 11:21 AM ----------

I was interested to see you mention you had owned a Vivitar camera. I bought a new 250/SL in the '70s, and still have it. Its shutter was loud and clunky by today's standards, but its performance was absolutely bulletproof. I used it for weddings and hobby, and won a First Place ribbon in photography at an arts and crafts show with it and its 55mm Vivitar lens. My old workhorse. Haven't used it in decades now.

I had fun with my film cameras Apet-Sure, but actually like digital better now after it has improved so much.

[Apet-Sure]

I had fun with my film cameras Apet-Sure, but actually like digital better now after it has improved so much.

Yeah, same here. No film or processing costs, and excellent resolution at many ISO settings. Post processing tweaks galore in the digital realm. What's not to love?

[mhsp1948]

Yeah, same here. No film or processing costs, and excellent resolution at many ISO settings. Post processing tweaks galore in the digital realm. What's not to love?

Amen on that, what's not to love, I sure love it.

[aikilink]

Such a positive and nice post. Thank you for sharing!

[mhsp1948]

Such a positive and nice post. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you aikilink and you are welcome

[normhead]

Thanks for posting.