How Many Times Has PF Helped You?

**clackers** · 03-05-2015, 08:46 PM

Every day ... this is an outstanding resource. And some top people inhabit this board!

Aksel · 03-06-2015, 04:18 AM

Too many to be able to read! This is true. Thanks for everyone!

Lens, cameras, about photography...

Sandy Hancock · 03-06-2015, 04:57 AM - **1 Like**

Pretty much everything I have learned, I have learned here. Gear, technique, attitude, theory, everything.

Heie · 03-06-2015, 06:11 AM - **3 Likes**

Wow never really thought about it before, but there's no other way to say it: PF has completely changed me and been the catalyst for the vast majority of my maturation as a photographer.

First I came just for the hell of it, realizing that there seemed to be a lot more potential than at DPR. I wasn't convinced though and still spent the majority of my time at DPR as I was used to the singular format they had and there just seemed to be chaos and information overload here since I didn't know how to navigate any of it.

Then I wrote some silly article for fun (I'm a sucker for competition!) and was given such an incredible welcome here that I never wanted to leave. And that experience convinced me that "hey maybe I might have something to offer." And my first publication in an independent magazine.

The single most significant "event" was the support I received while sharing my deployment photography. Honestly the support and desire to share just one more photo was a significant portion of the drive to keep a camera with me over there, and then spend the hours (literally) typing up each update/report. I can't thank you guys enough for that. And this project led to my next publication in a magazine, found out about from a forum member who passed on the link to a magazine.

I have been given tremendous feedback on my website as well, which wouldn't be as professional and sleek if it weren't for the critiques here.

And then I was invited to conduct an in-depth tripod review for the forum (little did I know that this was Adam's test bed for me), which led to amazing experiences with gear I would have never set my sandwich clamps on, either of the lens itself or the lens(es) compared to in each respective review:

More important than any of that, however, is that I can honestly say that I've made tremendous friends, and even meeting some of them in person! My first experience was during my trip to New Zealand where I met a wonderful Pentaxian and his wife in Invercargill. One of my absolute favorite parts of my entire holiday in Scotland was spending the day with Paul (Usuqa here or Meuh on DPR) and his family, and then doing a shoot on his son's small tricycle (I was really afraid I was going to break it!):

I could go on and on and on (but seriously I'm going to be late for work

), but I after the great exercise in reflection/introspection this post has been, there's one enduring theme. More than anything I have done, the forum has ~~caused more problems between Jenny and I ;)~~ not just fueled but inflamed my passion and zeal to better myself and my craft while doing so in the most nurturing environment I've ever experienced (well, now that the P&R forum is gone

).

Thank you - thank you all.

Humbly,
Heie

Last edited by Heie; 03-06-2015 at 06:57 AM.

DeadJohn · 03-06-2015, 06:44 AM - **1 Like**

PF has helped many, many times. The exact count depends on the metric used:

I've had dozens of my own questions answered.

I've seen answers to hundreds of other questions, before I even asked the question.

Based on things I learned here and incorporated into my photography, PF contributes to all of my photos. Y'all helped me thousands of times.

Usuqa · 03-06-2015, 01:38 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Heie

Wow never really thought about it before, but there's no other way to say it: PF has completely changed me and been the catalyst for the vast majority of my maturation as a photographer.

First I came just for the hell of it, realizing that there seemed to be a lot more potential than at DPR. I wasn't convinced though and still spent the majority of my time at DPR as I was used to the singular format they had and there just seemed to be chaos and information overload here since I didn't know how to navigate any of it.

Then I wrote some silly article for fun (I'm a sucker for competition!) and was given such an incredible welcome here that I never wanted to leave. And that experience convinced me that "hey maybe I might have something to offer." And my first publication in an independent magazine.

The single most significant "event" was the support I received while sharing my deployment photography. Honestly the support and desire to share just one more photo was a significant portion of the drive to keep a camera with me over there, and then spend the hours (literally) typing up each update/report. I can't thank you guys enough for that. And this project led to my next publication in a magazine, found out about from a forum member who passed on the link to a magazine.

I have been given tremendous feedback on my website as well, which wouldn't be as professional and sleek if it weren't for the critiques here.

And then I was invited to conduct an in-depth tripod review for the forum (little did I know that this was Adam's test bed for me), which led to amazing experiences with gear I would have never set my sandwich clamps on, either of the lens itself or the lens(es) compared to in each respective review:

More important than any of that, however, is that I can honestly say that I've made tremendous friends, and even meeting some of them in person! My first experience was during my trip to New Zealand where I met a wonderful Pentaxian and his wife in Invercargill. One of my absolute favorite parts of my entire holiday in Scotland was spending the day with Paul (Usuqa here or Meuh on DPR) and his family, and then doing a shoot on his son's small tricycle (I was really afraid I was going to break it!):

I could go on and on and on (but seriously I'm going to be late for work

), but I after the great exercise in reflection/introspection this post has been, there's one enduring theme. More than anything I have done, the forum has ~~caused more problems between Jenny and I ;)~~ not just fueled but inflamed my passion and zeal to better myself and my craft while doing so in the most nurturing environment I've ever experienced (well, now that the P&R forum is gone

).

Thank you - thank you all.

Humbly,
Heie

It was a pleasure to meet you too and honored to be able to call you my friend

EarlVonTapia · 03-06-2015, 02:52 PM

I've made money through the forums (buy/sell).

Recently I won a contest. Free camera!

I've made some friends (online and offline) through the site.

When I was funemployed last summer I wrote a couple of articles that helped bring in some dollars.

pentax67shooter4life · 03-06-2015, 08:42 PM

PentaxForums is really one of the nicest forums out there. I've been visiting regularly for the past 5 years or so (even though my account is new). It's filled with helpful info, and just feels "comfortable".

**Nakedgun** · 03-06-2015, 09:29 PM

A Pentax owner for 20 years, thanks to this resource I've become a Pentax enthusiast. Means a great deal to me.

**clackers** · 03-06-2015, 09:47 PM

(Now hopelessly drunk). "I ... luv ... youse ... guys!".

**monochrome** · 03-07-2015, 07:28 AM - **3 Likes**

So the story is I received a KX and K50/1.4 as a college graduation present in 1977. Then in 1984 I selected an MESuper and M50/1.4 kit as a sales contest SPIFF (everyone else got golf clubs - even the women). Most of the time I took documentary snapshots with those cameras, accidentally actually composing things OK using simple guides from college art history classes and figuring out by trial and error about basic lighting (lighting errors like backlighting my wife in bright sun. I really wasn't taking a silhouette shot). Every so often a landscape miracle occurred, but those were rare. Especially because my (parsimonious) wife's rule was pictures are expensive - never waste film taking a picture that doesn't have a person in it.

In the late 90's my daughter was on yearbook staff merging Photography as her obligatory 'Art' credit and 'Photography Staff' as her obligatory extra-curricular activity, so I lent her the KX and K50 (school had K1000's) and bought a M28 and K135 on eBay - and got hooked on eBay. I bought a lot of Pentax lenses and K bodies. While on eBay in 2004 I noticed a feeding frenzy on legacy fly fishing equipment so I thought I would sell my gear, but I didn't have a digital camera, so I bought an Olympus E-20n (used, on eBay), took the product shots and sold the gear. That camera stayed on Auto the entire time I owned it. Then I figured out I could sell Pentax gear, so I bought 'collections' and sold the pieces at a profit; I bought bodies, did the bumper and seals and sold them at a profit; bought mis-priced lenses and sold them at a profit.

Right around then PayPal happened and the "Postal Money Order" barrier to LBA (actually, Pentax Buying Addiction) was removed.

And I was still just taking documentary shots that looked just like all the other ones except the backgrounds were different and the people were older.

But I still had (have) the parsimonious spouse, so I was still buying and selling for profit. So I started researching Pentax history on the internet, stumbled across a Pentax List_Serve and some websites and learned about backward compatibility. Aha! Lens Feeding Frenzy explained!!

And then the K10D happened and my PayPal account was awash in cash, so I met Mr. Adorama.

But I still knew nothing about photography - and definitely didn't know about Pentax digital cameras..

I don't remember how, but I found PF in 2007. I joined early in 2008. In 2008 and 2009 I regularly asked questions here, such as what settings to use with a K10D and 55~300 to shoot college Lacrosse, which became a long thread on how to shoot action, AF.C, ISO, shutter speed, focus on the belt, anticipate, pre-position - a complete tutorial over the course of a week. Many posters on that thread still post here!

The Film SLR Forum is loaded with helpful Pentax historians who will answer any question asked about legacy gear, manual cameras, Pentax in general, exposure for film - whatever is asked.

And then there is Eric.

Today's Forum is more oriented to in-depth reviews of new products and actual photograph critiques - and the fun aspects such as the Challenges and Single In Social Groups. 'Help' today is more about looking at images and learning from them.

The burning desire to buy, try and sell everything (anything) Pentax has passed. I have a few nice lenses, a nice manual film body and a K-3. I keep a Q for history and Q7 for travel and fun and an MZ-S because, MZ-S! I try to make artistic images that please me with the pro-ish stuff. I still document, but with the small stuff.

And the more I learn the more I realize I still know nothing about photography, so I still learn something every time I Log on.

**UncleVanya** · 03-09-2015, 06:06 AM

After the last few I'm too humbled to try to sum up my experiences with more than this: a lot more than I ever expected. Worth every bit of the time and effort spent here.

Basie · 03-09-2015, 01:15 PM

PF is my homepage With good reason

**Rondec** · 03-09-2015, 02:03 PM - **2 Likes**

I have definitely learned a lot over time from folks on the forum, but one of the biggest things is that being a member here encourages me to go out and continue shooting and try new things. Five years ago I knew nothing about photography. Now, I know enough to be able to help out the occasional new Pentaxian on their journey.

kentishrev · 03-09-2015, 02:49 PM

This is a fantastic forum. Always someone willing to answer a question, or pose an opinion. And just reading other threads gives so much information. I admit I'm still lost when it goes into pages and pages of charts that all look the same, but I'm getting there. I came to Pentax from Nikon (where Nikonites was also a great and friendly forum) and my steps through the K-30, new lenses, old lenses, Q and everything else has been such a productive and creative time. It wouldn't have happened without PF.

03-06-2015, 06:11 AM - 3 Likes	#34
Heie Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 968	Wow never really thought about it before, but there's no other way to say it: PF has completely changed me and been the catalyst for the vast majority of my maturation as a photographer. First I came just for the hell of it, realizing that there seemed to be a lot more potential than at DPR. I wasn't convinced though and still spent the majority of my time at DPR as I was used to the singular format they had and there just seemed to be chaos and information overload here since I didn't know how to navigate any of it. Then I wrote some silly article for fun (I'm a sucker for competition!) and was given such an incredible welcome here that I never wanted to leave. And that experience convinced me that "hey maybe I might have something to offer." And my first publication in an independent magazine. The single most significant "event" was the support I received while sharing my deployment photography. Honestly the support and desire to share just one more photo was a significant portion of the drive to keep a camera with me over there, and then spend the hours (literally) typing up each update/report. I can't thank you guys enough for that. And this project led to my next publication in a magazine, found out about from a forum member who passed on the link to a magazine. I have been given tremendous feedback on my website as well, which wouldn't be as professional and sleek if it weren't for the critiques here. And then I was invited to conduct an in-depth tripod review for the forum (little did I know that this was Adam's test bed for me), which led to amazing experiences with gear I would have never set my sandwich clamps on, either of the lens itself or the lens(es) compared to in each respective review: HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR Review - Introduction \| PentaxForums.com Reviews Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 Review - Introduction \| PentaxForums.com Reviews Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM "Art" Review - Introduction \| PentaxForums.com Reviews Pentax DA 35mm F2.4 AL Review - Introduction \| PentaxForums.com Reviews More important than any of that, however, is that I can honestly say that I've made tremendous friends, and even meeting some of them in person! My first experience was during my trip to New Zealand where I met a wonderful Pentaxian and his wife in Invercargill. One of my absolute favorite parts of my entire holiday in Scotland was spending the day with Paul (Usuqa here or Meuh on DPR) and his family, and then doing a shoot on his son's small tricycle (I was really afraid I was going to break it!): I could go on and on and on (but seriously I'm going to be late for work ), but I after the great exercise in reflection/introspection this post has been, there's one enduring theme. More than anything I have done, the forum has ~~caused more problems between Jenny and I ;)~~ not just fueled but inflamed my passion and zeal to better myself and my craft while doing so in the most nurturing environment I've ever experienced (well, now that the P&R forum is gone ). Thank you - thank you all. Humbly, Heie Last edited by Heie; 03-06-2015 at 06:57 AM.

03-06-2015, 01:38 PM - 1 Like	#36
Usuqa Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scotland Photos: Gallery Posts: 348	Originally posted by Heie Wow never really thought about it before, but there's no other way to say it: PF has completely changed me and been the catalyst for the vast majority of my maturation as a photographer. First I came just for the hell of it, realizing that there seemed to be a lot more potential than at DPR. I wasn't convinced though and still spent the majority of my time at DPR as I was used to the singular format they had and there just seemed to be chaos and information overload here since I didn't know how to navigate any of it. Then I wrote some silly article for fun (I'm a sucker for competition!) and was given such an incredible welcome here that I never wanted to leave. And that experience convinced me that "hey maybe I might have something to offer." And my first publication in an independent magazine. The single most significant "event" was the support I received while sharing my deployment photography. Honestly the support and desire to share just one more photo was a significant portion of the drive to keep a camera with me over there, and then spend the hours (literally) typing up each update/report. I can't thank you guys enough for that. And this project led to my next publication in a magazine, found out about from a forum member who passed on the link to a magazine. I have been given tremendous feedback on my website as well, which wouldn't be as professional and sleek if it weren't for the critiques here. And then I was invited to conduct an in-depth tripod review for the forum (little did I know that this was Adam's test bed for me), which led to amazing experiences with gear I would have never set my sandwich clamps on, either of the lens itself or the lens(es) compared to in each respective review: HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR Review - Introduction \| PentaxForums.com Reviews Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 Review - Introduction \| PentaxForums.com Reviews Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM "Art" Review - Introduction \| PentaxForums.com Reviews Pentax DA 35mm F2.4 AL Review - Introduction \| PentaxForums.com Reviews More important than any of that, however, is that I can honestly say that I've made tremendous friends, and even meeting some of them in person! My first experience was during my trip to New Zealand where I met a wonderful Pentaxian and his wife in Invercargill. One of my absolute favorite parts of my entire holiday in Scotland was spending the day with Paul (Usuqa here or Meuh on DPR) and his family, and then doing a shoot on his son's small tricycle (I was really afraid I was going to break it!): I could go on and on and on (but seriously I'm going to be late for work ), but I after the great exercise in reflection/introspection this post has been, there's one enduring theme. More than anything I have done, the forum has ~~caused more problems between Jenny and I ;)~~ not just fueled but inflamed my passion and zeal to better myself and my craft while doing so in the most nurturing environment I've ever experienced (well, now that the P&R forum is gone ). Thank you - thank you all. Humbly, Heie It was a pleasure to meet you too and honored to be able to call you my friend

03-06-2015, 09:29 PM	#39
Nakedgun Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Southwest Posts: 1,365	A Pentax owner for 20 years, thanks to this resource I've become a Pentax enthusiast. Means a great deal to me. Last edited by Nakedgun; 03-08-2015 at 09:09 AM.

03-07-2015, 07:28 AM - 3 Likes	#41
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	More times than my Post Count!! So the story is I received a KX and K50/1.4 as a college graduation present in 1977. Then in 1984 I selected an MESuper and M50/1.4 kit as a sales contest SPIFF (everyone else got golf clubs - even the women). Most of the time I took documentary snapshots with those cameras, accidentally actually composing things OK using simple guides from college art history classes and figuring out by trial and error about basic lighting (lighting errors like backlighting my wife in bright sun. I really wasn't taking a silhouette shot). Every so often a landscape miracle occurred, but those were rare. Especially because my (parsimonious) wife's rule was pictures are expensive - never waste film taking a picture that doesn't have a person in it. In the late 90's my daughter was on yearbook staff merging Photography as her obligatory 'Art' credit and 'Photography Staff' as her obligatory extra-curricular activity, so I lent her the KX and K50 (school had K1000's) and bought a M28 and K135 on eBay - and got hooked on eBay. I bought a lot of Pentax lenses and K bodies. While on eBay in 2004 I noticed a feeding frenzy on legacy fly fishing equipment so I thought I would sell my gear, but I didn't have a digital camera, so I bought an Olympus E-20n (used, on eBay), took the product shots and sold the gear. That camera stayed on Auto the entire time I owned it. Then I figured out I could sell Pentax gear, so I bought 'collections' and sold the pieces at a profit; I bought bodies, did the bumper and seals and sold them at a profit; bought mis-priced lenses and sold them at a profit. Right around then PayPal happened and the "Postal Money Order" barrier to LBA (actually, Pentax Buying Addiction) was removed. And I was still just taking documentary shots that looked just like all the other ones except the backgrounds were different and the people were older. But I still had (have) the parsimonious spouse, so I was still buying and selling for profit. So I started researching Pentax history on the internet, stumbled across a Pentax List_Serve and some websites and learned about backward compatibility. Aha! Lens Feeding Frenzy explained!! And then the K10D happened and my PayPal account was awash in cash, so I met Mr. Adorama. But I still knew nothing about photography - and definitely didn't know about Pentax digital cameras.. I don't remember how, but I found PF in 2007. I joined early in 2008. In 2008 and 2009 I regularly asked questions here, such as what settings to use with a K10D and 55~300 to shoot college Lacrosse, which became a long thread on how to shoot action, AF.C, ISO, shutter speed, focus on the belt, anticipate, pre-position - a complete tutorial over the course of a week. Many posters on that thread still post here! The Film SLR Forum is loaded with helpful Pentax historians who will answer any question asked about legacy gear, manual cameras, Pentax in general, exposure for film - whatever is asked. And then there is Eric. Today's Forum is more oriented to in-depth reviews of new products and actual photograph critiques - and the fun aspects such as the Challenges and Single In Social Groups. 'Help' today is more about looking at images and learning from them. The burning desire to buy, try and sell everything (anything) Pentax has passed. I have a few nice lenses, a nice manual film body and a K-3. I keep a Q for history and Q7 for travel and fun and an MZ-S because, MZ-S! I try to make artistic images that please me with the pro-ish stuff. I still document, but with the small stuff. And the more I learn the more I realize I still know nothing about photography, so I still learn something every time I Log on. Last edited by monochrome; 03-09-2015 at 07:32 AM.

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03-05-2015, 08:46 PM	#31
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Every day ... this is an outstanding resource. And some top people inhabit this board!

03-06-2015, 04:18 AM	#32
Aksel Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 224	Too many to be able to read! This is true. Thanks for everyone! Lens, cameras, about photography...

03-06-2015, 04:57 AM - 1 Like	#33
Sandy Hancock Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,272	Pretty much everything I have learned, I have learned here. Gear, technique, attitude, theory, everything.

03-06-2015, 06:44 AM - 1 Like	#35
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833	PF has helped many, many times. The exact count depends on the metric used: I've had dozens of my own questions answered. I've seen answers to hundreds of other questions, before I even asked the question. Based on things I learned here and incorporated into my photography, PF contributes to all of my photos. Y'all helped me thousands of times.

03-06-2015, 02:52 PM	#37
EarlVonTapia Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,207	I've made money through the forums (buy/sell). Recently I won a contest. Free camera! I've made some friends (online and offline) through the site. When I was funemployed last summer I wrote a couple of articles that helped bring in some dollars.

03-06-2015, 08:42 PM	#38
pentax67shooter4life Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 6	PentaxForums is really one of the nicest forums out there. I've been visiting regularly for the past 5 years or so (even though my account is new). It's filled with helpful info, and just feels "comfortable".

03-06-2015, 09:47 PM	#40
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	(Now hopelessly drunk). "I ... luv ... youse ... guys!".

03-09-2015, 06:06 AM	#42
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,401	After the last few I'm too humbled to try to sum up my experiences with more than this: a lot more than I ever expected. Worth every bit of the time and effort spent here.

03-09-2015, 01:15 PM	#43
Basie Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Windhoek, Namibia Photos: Gallery Posts: 989	PF is my homepage With good reason

03-09-2015, 02:03 PM - 2 Likes	#44
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,653	I have definitely learned a lot over time from folks on the forum, but one of the biggest things is that being a member here encourages me to go out and continue shooting and try new things. Five years ago I knew nothing about photography. Now, I know enough to be able to help out the occasional new Pentaxian on their journey.

03-09-2015, 02:49 PM	#45
kentishrev Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 180	This is a fantastic forum. Always someone willing to answer a question, or pose an opinion. And just reading other threads gives so much information. I admit I'm still lost when it goes into pages and pages of charts that all look the same, but I'm getting there. I came to Pentax from Nikon (where Nikonites was also a great and friendly forum) and my steps through the K-30, new lenses, old lenses, Q and everything else has been such a productive and creative time. It wouldn't have happened without PF.