[MarkJerling]

Loving the vibe with these guys around more. We planted the yellow flowering kōwhai tree from a seedling, so great to see it as a larger tree now attracting the Tui to it's nectar outside our lounge. Great bird song and colours.

Lovely shot.

[MarkJerling]

I saw Pentax K-1 in a camera shop in Queen Street in Auckland a few years back, but other than that, that's pretty much the limit.
The K-70 is the 'budget' Pentax model, but it still represents pretty amazing value for money as a still camera (so long as the aperture block behaves).
30 years ago it was a very different story, and at one stage, my Dad, my uncle, and I all owned Pentax SLRs, even though neither my uncle nor Dad were photography enthusiasts. Some of the Pentax SLRs to be honest, were basically just ILC point and shoots, as they gave very little creative control, but there were a lot of them around, and you could always take the lens and stick it on a better body.
I do wonder if Pentax may be shooting themselves in the foot a bit having such a small lineup with such a big price jump between the K-70 and the K-3 III. Canon is confusing with their huge range of models, but I think an affordable, mid-range and high end so that people can adopt a system then grow as their needs and budgets allows is necessary.
The KP seems like a good intermediate model, but I thought I saw somewhere that production has been discontinued, which would be a shame, as there are people who might upgrade from a K-70, but not as far as a K-3 III. KP is about twice the price of a K-70 but about half that of a K-3 III, so keeping all three makes a nice progression.

Mirrorless introduces some interesting possibilities, and if I were starting from scratch, I'd consider it, but I don't think there's anything compelling enough to change systems for the type of photography I do at this stage.

I think it's a pity the KP is discontinued (yes, listed as discontinued on Japan Ricoh site) as it is a long way between a K-70 and a K3III as you rightly point out. I think a budget minded K-1 would be a good idea too.

[richandfleur]

Funny thing for me is Fleur and I have Pentax cameras only because we came here from the film world prior to digital.
From memory Fleur's dad had Pentax and my dad was Canon.

If I was starting now I could almost 100% guarantee I wouldn't have selected Pentax, mostly as I could not go somewhre and pick it up to try.
Once you've got a lens collection you're much more likely to stick to a brand, so they have me now mostly as I can't be stuffed changing, either in terms of spare money or having to relearn everything (Pentax zoom direction/muscle memory is opposite likes of Canon for example too).

[NZ_Ross]

If I was starting now I could almost 100% guarantee I wouldn't have selected Pentax, mostly as I could not go somewhre and pick it up to try.

As I said I had a very hard look over the past 6 months prior to purchasing the K-3 III as an upgrade. The cost of the perceived last 5% of extra performance with the top-notch FF mirrorless over Pentax DSLR's - say Sony, Canon or Nikon would for me be in the order of $15,000 by the time I purchased a new camera body, lens and swapped out lenses, sold the Pentax ones, used converters for some etc.

Frankly, I can't justify it and I am not that good a photographer. If I was professional then maybe, but for a hobby - perhaps not so much. I will continue enjoying using the gear I have for now

[zkarj]

Loving the vibe with these guys around more.

Great photo and I'm also mostly a fan. They do tend to like buzzing humans and other animals.

Hopefully our kowhai might attract tui. There aren't too many around here, but I have heard them a few times, and my daughter reckons she's seen them in our garden.

They're common as muck in Wellington. We get them in our garden year round and I've even seen them in the middle of the city too. At home I don't even need to go outside to photograph them as the only kowhai on our property is right outside our front window. This one was taken just 10 days ago from the front room.

I saw Pentax K-1 in a camera shop in Queen Street in Auckland a few years back, but other than that, that's pretty much the limit.

I came across a photo in my phone camera roll just the other day. I think it was 2011 or so, there was a white Pentax camera in the window of the central city branch of Wellington Photographic in Grey Street. It was rare enough I took a snap of it!

Of course, I have long argued that the local New Zealand Pentax agent appears to do no marketing at all, but then Ricoh / Pentax does not do that much marketing either.

Did we notice that one can order directly from a certain other Pentax distributor who now has a NZ web site? It's not a huge range nor very retail-centric, but I did avail myself recently. Expecting a package this week.

Funny thing for me is Fleur and I have Pentax cameras only because we came here from the film world prior to digital.
From memory Fleur's dad had Pentax and my dad was Canon.

I still have my Dad's lenses, and indeed 2 cameras I don't use, which he undoubtedly bought in Singapore in the 70s. In terms of my lineage, though, my brother had a Cosina, presumably so he could borrow Dad's lenses. That got handed down to me and like grandfather's axe, I've had it ever since, never replacing the whole thing at once but frequently replacing the lens and body.

[Kiwi645hauler]

The most recent mirrorless cameras I've tried to like are the Nikon Z6 and the Canon R and RP. All have lag and a pixelated viewfinder. I have not had the chance to try any newer mirrorless cameras than those, so I cannot comment for other newer models.

Pentax has not been available in a Harvey Norman or Noel Leemings for as long as I remember. Even 35 years ago, it was rare to see a Pentax camera in most camera shops I frequented. I've only once seen one in a shop in Wellington and prior to that only rarely in shops in Cape Town. As stated in my previous post, remember that Ricoh / Pentax is more interested in what happens in Japan than anywhere else. Of course, I have long argued that the local New Zealand Pentax agent appears to do no marketing at all, but then Ricoh / Pentax does not do that much marketing either.

I believe Pentax's current view is that they will aim to provide a premium product with a mirror and their view (rightly or wrongly - time will tell) is that there are people who want such a thing. There may not be that many of us who wants such a thing, but that's not new. Pentax has been the outlier for 40 years or more.

The Z6 has been replaced by the Z6II with an improved EVF and the EOS R & RP are first Gens for Canon, The R5 and R3 also have much better EVF tech in them.
I remember a number of years ago, each Harvey Norman Stores Dept buyers had a bit of leeway in being able to order things that were not catalogue items, and the Dunedin Hardley Normals had the Pentax K-r in stock for a bit.. although a change in buyer seen pentax disappear from the shelves there pretty quickly.
As to the advertising thing, you are right, there is not a lot of advertising done, maybe the odd item in Dphoto or whatever the current NZ Photo mag is at the moment, but not a lot.. they dont have reps on the road so all communications have been done by email for the last 3 + years, many of the other photographic companies have reps on the road, but unless you spend 6 figures a year with them they dont tend to call more than once or twice a year.

---------- Post added 09-20-21 at 09:36 PM ----------

Did we notice that one can order directly from a certain other Pentax distributor who now has a NZ web site? It's not a huge range nor very retail-centric, but I did avail myself recently. Expecting a package this week.

There is a store here in NZ who has a much better list of Pentax items and is dealing with a factory distributor than what is available on that website and the main contact is on this group too

---------- Post added 09-20-21 at 10:23 PM ----------

Skipping past the fact newer devices have come a long way past lag and a sore head...

I genuinely still don't see a significant difference between mirrorless and DSLR cameras. To me they're all what I'd refer to as serious imaging devices.
Honestly apart from a viewfinder approach there's very little between them at all, and definitely more in common than not. It's more a battle at the moment between mechanical shutter / interchangeable lens devices and cellphones/GoPro cameras etc.

.

The big thing for many who are going the mirrorless route is they are designed around being flexible for on the go content creation and ease of use while on the go. It is a lot easier to hand hold or even use a simple C frame to mount a mirrorless camera and then be filming while riding a bike/skateboard without having too much weight to over balance. Sure you can record video on a DSLR but on a DSLR the video shooting is a major compromise because the highest performance AF is done with the Phase detection and most on sensor AF is now contrast detection in a DSLR, and without investing in lots of specialist mounts and cages they are not easy to film with hand held.
I once shot some video for my hockey club with my Olympus and their 40-150mm f2.8 Pro lens, and used a simple hand held cage and got some fantastic footage, someone from another club had an EOS 5D for video work and did it semi-pro, yet to get the same sort of footage i was able to get they had a full on Gimbal rig with stablisers and counter weights and it took them 10 minutes to get set up and calibrated before shooting compared to me, camera out of bag, on C handle, plug mic & ear buds in and go
Whereas the Mirrorless cameras tend to have on sensor Phase Detection and Contrast hybrid AF's that are becoming extremely fast and reliable, tracking AF with over 1000 AF points on some models make following anything moving that much better that is not available on a DSLR to that extent. My Olympus for example has 121 focus points that cover 90% of the sensor area and are used for both Phase & Contrast Detection and work the same with lenses from the f1.2 Pro lenses to the slower tele's that are f6.3.
and can be selected to operate from a single point all the way to every point and even groups of 9 points that will track across the frame.
I know shooting video using my Olympus which while not designed around video to the extent of say the Panasonic and Sony offerings, is still highly capable, it shoots longer in video and is hand holdable for longer periods than a DSLR that generally limits clip lengths where the Mirror returns and due to the weight of generally require some sort of platform/shoulder rig to use for long periods. SIze & weight is a big thing too, My Olympus kit, which is body, with grip, 2 lenses and a flash unit is under 1.5kg total weight including 3 changes of batteries (2x at a time for the grip & body) a shotgun mic, earbuds for monitoring audio recording and memory cards in a small shoulder bag... with the FOV Equiv of 24-600mm.
Sure when you get to the Full Frame MILCs like the Sony A7/A9 series, and the Pansonic L mount, Nikon Z & Canon R series those fast lenses are BIG still, with not much weight and size being saved over their SLR equiv lenses.

[MarkJerling]

Did we notice that one can order directly from a certain other Pentax distributor who now has a NZ web site? It's not a huge range nor very retail-centric, but I did avail myself recently. Expecting a package this week.

Link?

[MarkJerling]

There is a store here in NZ who has a much better list of Pentax items and is dealing with a factory distributor than what is available on that website and the main contact is on this group too

Good thing too.

[zkarj]

It is a lot easier to hand hold or even use a simple C frame to mount a mirrorless camera and then be filming while riding a bike/skateboard without having too much weight to over balance.

The opposite can also be true. I briefly had a camcorder but it was basically impossible to shoot what I wanted with it because I could not hold such a small, light object steadily and the built in stabilisation made assumptions that made tracking shots impossible. I have no trouble tracking with my DSLR because it's braced against my face. Admittedly a DSLR isn't any good for video in this sense because you don't get to use the OVF for video, but "less is more" isn't the whole equation. The best video device I have used took a full sized VHS tape, had one end on my shoulder, one end in my hand, and the middle braced against my face. When it comes to smooth movement, keeping a device close to and braced against your body is the pinnacle of smooth and steady.

Link?

Digital Cameras, Video Cameras & Accessories | C.R.Kennedy

---------- Post added 09-21-2021 at 08:20 PM ----------

I was listening to a podcast today where the hosts were discussing the cameras in the new iPhones and one, who does know a fair bit about cameras, said essentially "while an f/2.8 aperture sounds good to people used to big cameras, it depends on the sensor size so on such a small sensor it's not that great."

This surprised me. The camera in question is a 77mm equivalent lens which I think is in actuality around 9mm. The f number is the size of the hole relative to the focal length (9mm) which, to my mind, does not involve the sensor size at all? Surely given similar optical qualities and similarly sensitive sensor, an f/2.8 9mm lens on a phone would need roughly the same shutter speed as an f/2.8 77mm lens on a 35mm sensor in the same conditions?

[GUB]

The opposite can also be true. I briefly had a camcorder but it was basically impossible to shoot what I wanted with it because I could not hold such a small, light object steadily and the built in stabilisation made assumptions that made tracking shots impossible. I have no trouble tracking with my DSLR because it's braced against my face. Admittedly a DSLR isn't any good for video in this sense because you don't get to use the OVF for video, but "less is more" isn't the whole equation. The best video device I have used took a full sized VHS tape, had one end on my shoulder, one end in my hand, and the middle braced against my face. When it comes to smooth movement, keeping a device close to and braced against your body is the pinnacle of smooth and steady.


Digital Cameras, Video Cameras & Accessories | C.R.Kennedy

---------- Post added 09-21-2021 at 08:20 PM ----------

I was listening to a podcast today where the hosts were discussing the cameras in the new iPhones and one, who does know a fair bit about cameras, said essentially "while an f/2.8 aperture sounds good to people used to big cameras, it depends on the sensor size so on such a small sensor it's not that great."

This surprised me. The camera in question is a 77mm equivalent lens which I think is in actuality around 9mm. The f number is the size of the hole relative to the focal length (9mm) which, to my mind, does not involve the sensor size at all? Surely given similar optical qualities and similarly sensitive sensor, an f/2.8 9mm lens on a phone would need roughly the same shutter speed as an f/2.8 77mm lens on a 35mm sensor in the same conditions?

A smaller format gives greater dof (depth of field) for a given fstop.
That is why on Full frame if doing a closeup I often pull back with cropping to apsc in mind to get a bit more dof.
And the Q is a great macro tool as are phones.
But if you want subject separation you are stuffed with a tiny sensor.

[NZ_Ross]

With reference to our recent conversation on telescopes, I saw this article this morning. Clearly 'the sky is the limit' on what you can spend of this sort of kit

Makes an APS-C or FF camera purchase seem very affordable by comparison.

[MarkJerling]

The opposite can also be true. I briefly had a camcorder but it was basically impossible to shoot what I wanted with it because I could not hold such a small, light object steadily and the built in stabilisation made assumptions that made tracking shots impossible. I have no trouble tracking with my DSLR because it's braced against my face. Admittedly a DSLR isn't any good for video in this sense because you don't get to use the OVF for video, but "less is more" isn't the whole equation. The best video device I have used took a full sized VHS tape, had one end on my shoulder, one end in my hand, and the middle braced against my face. When it comes to smooth movement, keeping a device close to and braced against your body is the pinnacle of smooth and steady.


Digital Cameras, Video Cameras & Accessories | C.R.Kennedy

---------- Post added 09-21-2021 at 08:20 PM ----------

I was listening to a podcast today where the hosts were discussing the cameras in the new iPhones and one, who does know a fair bit about cameras, said essentially "while an f/2.8 aperture sounds good to people used to big cameras, it depends on the sensor size so on such a small sensor it's not that great."

This surprised me. The camera in question is a 77mm equivalent lens which I think is in actuality around 9mm. The f number is the size of the hole relative to the focal length (9mm) which, to my mind, does not involve the sensor size at all? Surely given similar optical qualities and similarly sensitive sensor, an f/2.8 9mm lens on a phone would need roughly the same shutter speed as an f/2.8 77mm lens on a 35mm sensor in the same conditions?

Thank you. I had forgotten that they have an NZ presence.

[MarkJerling]

With reference to our recent conversation on telescopes, I saw this article this morning. Clearly 'the sky is the limit' on what you can spend of this sort of kit

Makes an APS-C or FF camera purchase seem very affordable by comparison.

I've never seen an integrated telescope camera. And an integrated app so that you know what you're looking for/at. Very cunning. But a bit big for my Christmas stocking!

[MarkJerling]

I apologise unreservedly for mentioning Christmas in September. Thought I'd beat The Warehouse to it. (But no, they're well ahead of me.)

[Kiwi645hauler]

The opposite can also be true. I briefly had a camcorder but it was basically impossible to shoot what I wanted with it because I could not hold such a small, light object steadily and the built in stabilisation made assumptions that made tracking shots impossible. I have no trouble tracking with my DSLR because it's braced against my face. Admittedly a DSLR isn't any good for video in this sense because you don't get to use the OVF for video, but "less is more" isn't the whole equation. The best video device I have used took a full sized VHS tape, had one end on my shoulder, one end in my hand, and the middle braced against my face. When it comes to smooth movement, keeping a device close to and braced against your bonacle of smooth and steady.dy is the pin


Digital Cameras, Video Cameras & Accessories | C.R.Kennedy[COLOR="Silver"]

---------- Post added 09-21-2021 at 08:20 PM ----------

Most consume camcorders were crap, no viewfinders made it tough and the early stabilizers were not setup to track fast moving objects as the cameras were aimed at mum n dad taking the odd video of jnr on a kiddy bike or waddling around.

That is why i like my OM-D, full EVF allows me to shoot 4k video with a mic attached at the eye while using a 300mm lens, see settings and keep an eye on sound recording levels any highlights and over exposure areas in real time on the EVF.

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

This video was shot on my OM-D E-M1 Mk 1, mainly with a 75-300mm using the EVF, forgive the lack of prop blur, at the time i was not so great with the video as i was never big video guy until i got the OM-D and there was no external mic at the time.

Remember,,, any $$ spent there actually ends up in Aussie... Support your local store