Hello from Hunter Valley, NSW, Oz

Bramela · 12-11-2011, 02:39 PM

And hello and a warm welcome from another Novocastrian. I have bumped into a couple of Pentax users around town, we may be slowly making our presence felt. I know of a couple of other Forum members as well from here..
Good to have you aboard.

hopeful · 01-29-2012, 08:30 PM

Two weeks ago I finally took the plunge and bought a K5 with the 16-45 f/4 lens. I'm now on a massive learning curve. One thing that really confuses me is that I 'thought' that having a constant f/4 lens that every photo would be f/4 but that's not the case as it allows me to change up to f/22 - it's messing with my head !

RioRico · 02-01-2012, 12:35 PM

Originally posted by hopeful

Two weeks ago I finally took the plunge and bought a K5 with the 16-45 f/4 lens. I'm now on a massive learning curve. One thing that really confuses me is that I 'thought' that having a constant f/4 lens that every photo would be f/4 but that's not the case as it allows me to change up to f/22 - it's messing with my head !

I had a 25/3.5 lens that was always f/3.5 because the aperture was stuck wide-open. Bummer. And I have mirrors that are constant f/8 and f/10 because they have no aperture mechanisms. Your 16-45/4 has a constant MAXIMUM aperture of f/4. Whatever the focal length, you can always open it to f/4, or stop it down as far as f/22.

Other zooms have floating maximum apertures, like my F35-70/3.5-4.5 or the DA18-55/3.5-5.6. That doesn't mean they're always wide-open, just that their maximum aperture depends on the focal length. (Minimum aperture changes too -- the DA18-55 stops down to f/22 @18mm and to f/40 @55mm.) Floating max.aperture zooms are easier (and cheaper) to produce. Fixed max.aperture zooms usually are considered to have better optics.

Bramela · 02-01-2012, 12:45 PM

I found the most important thing is to read the manual, or better, get onto another published manual that sets everything out very clearly.

Have a look at Yvon Borque's manual on the K5. Very well set out and easy to follow.

PENTAX DSLRs: Download a free sample of the Pentax K-5 e-book before you purchase.

hopeful · 02-05-2012, 03:51 PM

Thankyou RioRico for your explanation - makes more sense now.

Bruce, I have had my head in the manual at every opportunity - I will also have a look at Yvon Borque's manual as well - it looks like it might be a good one to get. Was also thinking of going to get some lessons if I can find a decent short course around here that fits into my schedule. Russell

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12-11-2011, 02:39 PM	#16
Bramela Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Newcastle Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,284	And hello and a warm welcome from another Novocastrian. I have bumped into a couple of Pentax users around town, we may be slowly making our presence felt. I know of a couple of other Forum members as well from here.. Good to have you aboard.

01-29-2012, 08:30 PM	#17
hopeful New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 7 Original Poster	Two weeks ago I finally took the plunge and bought a K5 with the 16-45 f/4 lens. I'm now on a massive learning curve. One thing that really confuses me is that I 'thought' that having a constant f/4 lens that every photo would be f/4 but that's not the case as it allows me to change up to f/22 - it's messing with my head !

02-01-2012, 12:35 PM	#18
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Originally posted by hopeful Two weeks ago I finally took the plunge and bought a K5 with the 16-45 f/4 lens. I'm now on a massive learning curve. One thing that really confuses me is that I 'thought' that having a constant f/4 lens that every photo would be f/4 but that's not the case as it allows me to change up to f/22 - it's messing with my head ! I had a 25/3.5 lens that was always f/3.5 because the aperture was stuck wide-open. Bummer. And I have mirrors that are constant f/8 and f/10 because they have no aperture mechanisms. Your 16-45/4 has a constant MAXIMUM aperture of f/4. Whatever the focal length, you can always open it to f/4, or stop it down as far as f/22. Other zooms have floating maximum apertures, like my F35-70/3.5-4.5 or the DA18-55/3.5-5.6. That doesn't mean they're always wide-open, just that their maximum aperture depends on the focal length. (Minimum aperture changes too -- the DA18-55 stops down to f/22 @18mm and to f/40 @55mm.) Floating max.aperture zooms are easier (and cheaper) to produce. Fixed max.aperture zooms usually are considered to have better optics.

02-01-2012, 12:45 PM	#19
Bramela Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Newcastle Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,284	I found the most important thing is to read the manual, or better, get onto another published manual that sets everything out very clearly. Have a look at Yvon Borque's manual on the K5. Very well set out and easy to follow. PENTAX DSLRs: Download a free sample of the Pentax K-5 e-book before you purchase.

02-05-2012, 03:51 PM	#20
hopeful New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 7 Original Poster	Thankyou RioRico for your explanation - makes more sense now. Bruce, I have had my head in the manual at every opportunity - I will also have a look at Yvon Borque's manual as well - it looks like it might be a good one to get. Was also thinking of going to get some lessons if I can find a decent short course around here that fits into my schedule. Russell

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