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11-25-2016, 01:49 PM   #1
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pentax k-s2 questions

Hello pentax users,

I'm about to purchase a pentax ks-2 camera, but I have some questions on my mind:-
  1. Can the standard kit lens (18-50mm) be controlled with a button i.e. zoom in/out like bridge xamera or can it only be controlled manually by hand like a vintage manual lens?
  2. Can the kit lens auto focus & auto zoom?
  3. What kind of quality photos can I expect from this kit lens?

Cheers

11-25-2016, 02:26 PM   #2
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1. No.
2. The kit lens is an auto focus lens, but it does not auto zoom.
3. SMC Pentax-DA L 18-50mm F4-5.6 DC WR RE Reviews - DA L Zoom Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
11-25-2016, 02:32 PM   #3
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Oh dear, so how do I zoom in/out?
11-25-2016, 02:38 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by pentaxbeginner Quote
Oh dear, so how do I zoom in/out?
There's a ring on the lens that you rotate to zoom in and out. If it won't move, it might be locked for storage (a few lenses have this, sometimes remarked in the lens name with RE, for...retractable?). In that case, you need to press a button to get it out of locked mode first.

11-25-2016, 02:43 PM   #5
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Cheers pal, but the only problem is that I was hoping to buy camera & lens kit, because I thought it would have a motorised zoom lens. Can we purchase one and if so, how much would it cost?
11-25-2016, 02:51 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by pentaxbeginner Quote
Cheers pal, but the only problem is that I was hoping to buy camera & lens kit, because I thought it would have a motorised zoom lens. Can we purchase one and if so, how much would it cost?
There are almost no such lenses outside of the movie industry. Pentax toyed with the idea in the 1990's, but abandoned it fairly quickly.

So, pretty much every lens these days has a manual zoom ring that you operate with your wrist It's nice, easy, and precise on most lenses.

If you absolutely want powered zooming, I'd stick to a bridge camera. Otherwise, you should be pretty happy with the K-S2 and the kit lens.

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11-25-2016, 02:52 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by pentaxbeginner Quote
Cheers pal, but the only problem is that I was hoping to buy camera & lens kit, because I thought it would have a motorised zoom lens. Can we purchase one and if so, how much would it cost?
After you move away from bridge cameras, no one really uses motorised zoom lenses, at any price, as far as I know. Pentax film cameras tried to make PowerZoom a thing in the...'90s? It didn't really catch on, and the autozoom features aren't fully compatible with modern cameras.

Have you had a chance to zoom manually? I've been a photographer for years, and before now, have never heard someone resist zooming like this.

11-25-2016, 04:57 PM   #8
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Motorized zooming is slow. Once you get used to manual zooming you will wonder how you suffered with that slow motorized zooming for so long.
11-26-2016, 02:05 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
There are almost no such lenses outside of the movie industry.
Although zooms were popular in the ʻ60ʻs and 70ʻs, the motion picture industry almost exclusively shoots with primes, and as others have said, it is always manually focused and when there were zooms, they were done manually.

Broadcast television and video cameras on the other hand, almost always use servo-controlled motorized zooms.
11-26-2016, 11:26 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Alex645 Quote
Although zooms were popular in the ʻ60ʻs and 70ʻs, the motion picture industry almost exclusively shoots with primes, and as others have said, it is always manually focused and when there were zooms, they were done manually.

Broadcast television and video cameras on the other hand, almost always use servo-controlled motorized zooms.
Why is that?
11-26-2016, 12:52 PM - 2 Likes   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by lithedreamer Quote
Why is that?
Cinema and television are two very different industries that attract two different mindsets.

Film/cinema/motion pictures: Projects take years of pre and post production and cost millions. On an average film set, you may shoot 1-5 pages or 1-5 finished minutes on the film per 12+ hour day, 6 days per week. Films are almost always over budget due to the perfectionism of the team of artists, designers, and craftsmen fighting to get it right. Iʻve worked on films where the minimum would be 3-5 takes for a shot and doing 35+ takes if the director had just won a fight with the producer. Good, bad, or ugly, when the film is released in the theatre, the entire audience is expected to shut up, turn off your cell phones, pay a lot for the ticket and popcorn, and sit through the entire film in the dark before leaving.

I have worked on films that were shot entirely with one tungsten balanced film with only three primes and lit or filtered for T/8 (T/stops not f/stops) @ 1/50".

Video/broadcast television: Money is king. That means fast and quick planning, minimal crews, time slots, advertising plugs, etc. On an average television set, you may shoot either live or for a series, a 30-60 minute episode (much less with commercial breaks) per 5 day week, 10 hour day. Most television videos are on a stopwatch; you get in, you get out. Most of the videos are destined for broadcast or cable or internet consumption that may be seen with interruptions, multitasking, and piracy. Pop your own corn, mute the sound and do your own voice overs, itʻs essentially free.

The only consistency Iʻve seen on every video project in terms of image quality is the need to set white & black balance before the shot.

Thus with film/cinema you will typically have a Director of Photography, a camera operator, a 1st assistant cameraman that pulls focus/turns on/off the motor/changes lenses/checks the gate(for dust)/threads the film, a 2nd assistant cameraman that loads & unloads the film magazine, a gaffer, best boy, etc.

In video, you have your videographer...period. Maybe a cable monkey to help with batteries or tape. So on most videos, you donʻt have time to mess with primes. You need a zoom and no one is going to help you change focal lengths. At the pro level of video auto focus is taboo with camcorders that do not have AF, so you need your right hand to zoom with a servo switch and your left for focusing.

In the sixties with Cinema Verite being shot guerilla style 16mm handheld, some filmmakers embraced zooming during a shot, but if you look at its use, it looks dated. Filmmakers prefer to either cut and change perspective or move the camera during the shot (dolly/track/steadicam/jib/aerial). Itʻs more visceral than an optical zoom.

Of course there are hybrid examples where there is crossover, but necessity is the mother of invention. When television and video threatened film and cinema into extinction, cinema had to provide a level of quality and distinction worthy of the price of admission.
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