[Kiwizinho]

Hey guys, Class A and myself have made it thru to the next round and what a challenge that is going to be!!
It is daunting when looking at the quality of the finalists.
Does everyone have access to the next round instructions?We have a month to submit an image conforming to one of a wide range of subjects. And this image has to be taken in this period.

---------- Post added 06-04-14 at 10:23 PM ----------

Congratulations CA -- I thought you stood a good chance

Congrats. Good to see a couple of kiwis getting through to the next round. Of course I'm biased, but I do think NZ has some of the best scenery to put a K-3 to serious use... Now if they'd just repeat the competition for a 645z ...

[NZ_Ross]

Congrats. Good to see a couple of kiwis getting through to the next round. Of course I'm biased, but I do think NZ has some of the best scenery to put a K-3 to serious use... Now if they'd just repeat the competition for a 645z ...

Now you are talking

[GUB]

Congrats. Good to see a couple of kiwis getting through to the next round. Of course I'm biased, but I do think NZ has some of the best scenery to put a K-3 to serious use... Now if they'd just repeat the competition for a 645z ...

Yeah just spent 2 days on ruapehu trying to catch some of that scenery . Was wanting rain to put some mood into the millions of waterfalls( and to tone out distance) But it was bloody fine and just got some nice been there done that photos.
What really got me down was I missed a prize winning opportunity. We were on the homeward leg after 6 odd hours in very rugged country carrying overnight bags and quite frankly my freckle was dragging on the ground. I normally carry my camera in my hand but had packed it for an awkward bit of scrabbling and was too shagged to get it out again. I looked up at one of the 1000s of beautiful waterfalls thinking about getting the camera out and suddenly I realized there was a large red buck with a fine set of antlers standing in a sunny patch nicely in front of the falls. It was a fantastic image but he saw me as I saw him so it was an opportunity wasted.
We went thru some rugged country:

[NZ_Ross]

We went thru some rugged country:

Yeap, sort of makes my trek through Wellington Airport look a bit weak

[Kiwizinho]

Fantastic attempt to discourage to opposition GUB .

I am sure that like anyone Class A can learn to use a K-3.

Also, looking at his photography he is clearly being modest about his abilities as well.

---------- Post added 08-06-14 at 08:28 AM ----------



That is an interesting comment. I read a similar one on a 645Z tread from a professional using a 645D who is planning to upgrade at some stage to the Z. The comment was he had learned to use the 645 system on a film camera, and then finally transferred to digital. His opinion was coming from 35mm digital straight to Medium Format digital would be a step to way to far for most amateurs - due to the need for shot discipline, technique, lens and focus selection etc.

It is a very valid point - thinking about it, the stuff you will get away with using a standard 10MP point and shoot, you are not going to get away with using a high end DSLR - especially a 24MP plus one.

It has got me thinking about all the people just buying a Canikon FF camera and some L lenses - I suspect it is too much camera already for many people. It will probably be the same with the Pentax FF.

It might be a case of be careful what you wish for .

As I have said already the K-3 with the 24MP sensor and updated focus etc is a better camera than my current photographic abilities.

This line of thought and discussion actually confirms my proposed Step 1 for medium format - buy a film one and some lenses and learn to use the format i.e. take the affordable way in and learn first before jumping into expensive gear.

Thanks Class A.

Interesting thoughts. I tend to find myself pushing my camera to its limits, not consistently, but certainly on occasions.
Sometimes it's not always the camera itself, and bettter lenses would help. I notice the Pentax 50 1.7 A is a lot sharper than the kit 18-55 DAL, but there are times when I know I've pushed the camera to its limits. eg. Trying to capture soap bubbles bursting in a candle flame. I needed high ISO to get some sort of semblance of reasonable shutter speed, and also some DOF, but the K-x is just too noisy at the level I ended up using.
I guess I could have tried something like shooting a dark frame to see if I could achieve some noise reduction.
I don't know if newer cameras handle high speeed/low light better, but that's an example where I think the camera was at its limits.
Most of the time I shoot pretty ordinary landscapes, and I don't consistently take good enough photos to demand a higher end camera, but there are times I think it is possible to get to the limits of what a camera can do.
The crazy thing is that having a good camera on hand doesn't necessarily correspond with when you most need it, if it's only part of the time.
My theory is equipment needs to pay for itself if I want to justify upgrading sooner than a normal wear and tear cycle.
Unfortunately the market is flooded with people who think if they own a DSLR it makes them a pro, and being self critical, I know there are a lot of better photographers out there than me, (lots of worse ones too), and it's an intensely competitive industry.
I'd love to be able to abandon being behind a desk and get out every day with a camera to do landscape work, but the harsh reality is there are more people wanting to make money from photography than actually doing well. As a kid, I had a similar interest in flying. I still love planes, but realised that lots of people want to fly, but only a few actually do well out of it, so I've been content to attend air shows and watch people who can afford the hobby.
At least I can afford to enjoy photography, and can take nice photos to the limits of the gear I have.

[NZ_Ross]

At least I can afford to enjoy photography, and can take nice photos to the limits of the gear I have.

That is exactly the right attitude to have

[pixelsaurus]

Good news C.R Kennedy Aquire Ilford In Partnership - Buy-n-Shoot.com

[Transit]

I hope they see to IR Littles as well

[pixelsaurus]

I hope they see to IR Littles as well

As in "see them off"?

[zkarj]

A quick look and one of them seems to be a mallard but the other...??? a henare possibly...?

You have gotta love Wellington Airport - it has some interesting ornaments. I took this one yesterday for my daughter (who is a Tolkien nut) and is flying from the UK to Nairobi today. Pretty pleased with what the new DA70 Limited is giving - nice lens. No crop on this one, just as it came out of the camera.

We've had a few iconic LOTR/Hobbit sculptures in there over the years. This particular one is not the most realistic – the other eagle present can lay claim to that as it even swooped down from the roof on one occasion!

[NZ_Ross]

My Pentax F 1.7X AF adapter teleconverter arrived from the USA this morning.

I have been playing with it attached to the K-3 and my M*300/4 lens. 300*1.7*1.5=765mm equivalent focal length. Which will be very nice for birding, as the glass in the M*300 lens is pretty good.

The AF adapter seems to work very well as advertised - green button the lens to set the camera up, loosely and quickly manual focus, half press of the shutter to focus the AF adapter and then take the photo.

The auto focus is quick and seems to lock well.

First impressions - a nice unit. I still have to go down to the creek and take some bird photos, but so far so good

[Transit]

nice buy Ross
I'm in the throws of asking my wangas friend who has one, what his morning price is
focus is fast alright

nice pentax synchronicity this am
was down at the market nattering to my friend John with the book stall, him of the new olympus M1
says he has sold a lens on TM
Bloke walks up, lens comes out...pentax mount ...what the ?...
Richandfleur himself !
what's the odds of that then ?
Nice to float the featherweight Q into his hands

[Kiwizinho]

Just as a brief aside, I have to say that for all the differing opinions and viewpoints around here this is one of the most civil bunch of people I've encountered online.


One post just up there got me to thinking – how did everyone end up where they are today with a Pentax APS-C body (which I think everyone here has)?

My Dad had Pentax gear aplenty, probably mostly bought in Singapore in the 60s and 70s as he was stationed there with the RNZAF for a number of years. I suspect that influenced my brother's purchase of a Cosina body with Sigma 70-200mm lens. I have no idea which Cosina it was except it was K-mount and with a C in the name! The only automatic thing on it was a light meter that had – O + in the viewfinder. On a family holiday overseas in 1986/7 my brother bought a new camera (I cannot remember what) and I got the Cosina as a hand-me-down. I was about to turn 18. I think my first shots were slides taken in and around London, which I still have.

Another overseas trip with my wife in 1998 got me the MZ-50, probably with kit lens though I don't remember. The Cosina was binned at some point I think, but I continued to use the Sigma lens. I started eyeing up the *ist D in a local shop but couldn't afford it so waited for the *ist DS. I think by this point I had a Sigma 100-300mm zoom and I also had a Fuji S3000 as my first digital camera. It was rubbish. Then (and I am completely vague on the timeline by this point - though I suppose I could look at meta data on those old photos) I went to the K10D and now K-5. Up until the K10D every subsequent camera body I bought was based on the ability to continue using the long lens I had at the time. After the K10D no amount of funds would have made me switch from this line. Next up – unless something newer/better appears in the meantime – K-3.

I think I might know the Cosina you're talking about. I was given one for a birthday as a teenager, and your description sounds familiar, except I only had the kit 35-70 lens. The camera eventually got broken on a rock jumping across a stream in the Craigieburn Range somewhere between 1989-90 I think, and I bought a used P-50 body with a Tokina 70-210 zoom. (I still have both). The Cosina lens eventually broke - some plastic bushes or something inside it split making the focusing ring wobbly.
I later acquired another Tokina 28-200mm lens from Dad who bought a more basic Pentax that died. Back in the 80s-90s everyone I knew who had an SLR camera seemed to have Pentax.
That ended up becoming my work horse lens, and I captured some nice images with it on film. I still have that too. Big and heavy by today's standards.
In 2003 I bought my first digital, a Kodak compact. IQ was nothing compared to film, but I took far more photos and my photography noticeably improved as a result. I carried on using the P-50 off and on until I bought a Fujifilm S5600 in 2006 which finally gave me SLR like controls. As a fairly low cost bridge camera it had its limitations, but it can take nice photos - just this month I put a photo I took with it years ago in a camera club competition, and it did exceptionally well. At this stage, the main benefit of film for me was resolution. I bought another higher end fuji bridge camera in 2009 but still felt it wasn't up to SLR standard, although getting close. In 2012 I picked up a new, but old stock K-x with a pair of kit lenses, and I was able to pull my old lenses out of semi-retirement.
I've managed to pick up some second hand lenses on trademe, and it's nice to know that if I really want to drag the P-50 out of the closet I can use them on it as well as the K-x.

---------- Post added 06-14-14 at 04:07 PM ----------

Yeah just spent 2 days on ruapehu trying to catch some of that scenery . Was wanting rain to put some mood into the millions of waterfalls( and to tone out distance) But it was bloody fine and just got some nice been there done that photos.
What really got me down was I missed a prize winning opportunity. We were on the homeward leg after 6 odd hours in very rugged country carrying overnight bags and quite frankly my freckle was dragging on the ground. I normally carry my camera in my hand but had packed it for an awkward bit of scrabbling and was too shagged to get it out again. I looked up at one of the 1000s of beautiful waterfalls thinking about getting the camera out and suddenly I realized there was a large red buck with a fine set of antlers standing in a sunny patch nicely in front of the falls. It was a fantastic image but he saw me as I saw him so it was an opportunity wasted.
We went thru some rugged country:

Shame about the missed opportunity.
Only 2 days? Andre Apse would probably have camped out on that ledge for at least a fortnight waiting for just the right combination of light and atmosphere.

[NZ_Ross]

nice buy Ross
I'm in the throws of asking my wangas friend who has one, what his morning price is
focus is fast alright

Focus is reasonably fast on the K-3, but not fast enough to focus on a duck that startles and flies in front of you. You definitely have to have the lens set in the general focus vicinity then use the adapter to finish the auto focus.

I have been out for a few hours photographing birds, and it definitely makes the M*300/4 a lot more useable - I was getting more shots than I would manual focus. No good for fast moving away from or towards you though. I have included some samples below.

The little ducks were diving, and quite hard to get doing that - so I was happy with those results.

I probably should have set the camera FL to 510mm not 300mm on reflection. All images below with the M*300 and 1.7X AF adaptor on the K-3. I am happy enough with image quality from this combination, and didn't seem to be giving much up for the extra reach.

Bloke walks up, lens comes out...pentax mount ...what the ?...
Richandfleur himself !

Wanganui is clearly the place to meet fellow Pentaxians

Nice to float the featherweight Q into his hands

It will be interesting to hear what he thinks about the Q

[Transit]

....
Only 2 days? Andre Apse would probably have camped out on that ledge for at least a fortnight waiting for just the right combination of light and atmosphere.

yeah no staying power Gub
AA used choppers quite a bit, maybe he flew home for tea each night

---------- Post added 06-14-14 at 06:51 PM ----------

Focus is reasonably fast on the K-3, but not fast enough to focus on a duck that startles and flies in front of you. You definitely have to have the lens set in the general focus vicinity then use the adapter to finish the auto focus.

I didn't try it on anything moving really
healthy fringing there, did the TC contribute any do you think ?

I probably should have set the camera FL to 510mm not 300mm on reflection. All images below with the M*300 and 1.7X AF adaptor on the K-3. I am happy enough with image quality from this combination, and didn't seem to be giving much up for the extra reach.

that's a disadvantage with the F*, still thinks it's 300 and no way to change