[paulh]

Pentax K10D

Wow - nice work. Welcome to the Club!

[gcbrd]

From a recent camping trip. After a year of using it, I'm finally getting the hang of this great camera. Might sound like a while, but there are times when I don't shoot for months. To note, I did some editing out of people which may or may not look terrible, my PS skills aren't the greatest.

[ChristianRock]

I don't know if I've asked this here before... but my K10D has a quirk, only I've learned to live with. The diopter is off. I mean, if it is set to the center, it is way off. I have to set it almost all the way to the right in order to match it with where the lens is actually focusing - and I only know if it was ok after taking a shot, so it took me a little bit of testing back and forth to find out where the actual spot was (using manual focus lenses, of course).
The problem is that the further you get the diopter to the right, the smaller the image is in the viewfinder, and it gets a bit darker too. So it's almost like I'm shooting the K10D through a pentamirror... not quite as bad, but not the intended viewfinder experience...
Also, if I focus closer to MFD, it seems like it varies a little bit again.
There isn't anything that can fix that, is there? The debug mode for fixing AF issues shouldn't affect the diopter at all, or manual focus lens behavior, is that correct?
Like I said, I've learned to live with it... but it sure would be nice if it could be fixed...

[paulh]

if it is set to the center, it is way off

It could be that your viewfinder/diopter is decentered - maybe shifted off-axis just a bit? I've never heard of that happening, but I guess its possible.

[ChristianRock]

It could be that your viewfinder/diopter is decentered - maybe shifted off-axis just a bit? I've never heard of that happening, but I guess its possible.

That is what I'm thinking... the camera doesn't show signs of abuse, but I'm thinking it must have hit something and one of the glass pieces in the diopter might have gotten off place. Or maybe it came out of the factory like that, and that was the reason I got with with such a low shutter count...

Edit: Well, I just found this thread and I guess what I have is sort of normal behavior. The funny thing is that the K20D and K-r I used to have, and the K-S1 I have now, all have a diopter that works best when perfectly centered...

Edit2: And here's some playing around with the M 50 f4 Macro in the rain...

[twilhelm]

That is what I'm thinking... the camera doesn't show signs of abuse, but I'm thinking it must have hit something and one of the glass pieces in the diopter might have gotten off place. Or maybe it came out of the factory like that, and that was the reason I got with with such a low shutter count...

Edit: Well, I just found this thread and I guess what I have is sort of normal behavior. The funny thing is that the K20D and K-r I used to have, and the K-S1 I have now, all have a diopter that works best when perfectly centered...

I wouldn't completely say that it's normal. I purchased my K 10 D new a few months after it came out and the diopter always works best centered.
I would think it may have been dropped or the focusing screen is off?

[Racer X 69]

Pentax K10D

Who says a K10D can't be used to make great images?

Nice work.

[rayallen]

Who says a K10D can't be used to make great images?

Nice work.

After seeing those images who would dare knock a K10D?

[paulh]

Awesome shots guys!

Jeannie taking in the sunset at boathouse row...DA18-55:

[subsea]

Disney World in February 2016. Trying to get away from cold weather in the north, to go to cold weather (~40°F) in the south!

[ChristianRock]

With Sigma 30 1.4 Art







And a couple with the Takumar Bayonet 135 2.8 (K mount)

[ChristianRock]

More with the Sigma 30 Art... all at f5.6. This is one seriously sharp lens, and MFD is very good for flowers (same as most 50mm lenses).





Here I was playing around with PP... lately all my pics are done in RawTherapee.

[rayallen]

More with the Sigma 30 Art... all at f5.6. This is one seriously sharp lens, and MFD is very good for flowers (same as most 50mm lenses).





Here I was playing around with PP... lately all my pics are done in RawTherapee.

Hmmm, I think I would like to own one of those.

[ChristianRock]

Hmmm, I think I would like to own one of those.

It's quite nice. In terms of image quality per se, it's about the same as the DA 35 2.4 plastic fantastic - in the same apertures. What it does offer over the Pentax is f/1.4 of course, better bokeh at all apertures (while the DA isn't actually bad) and silent AF (I focus mine manually on the K10D so that's not a big point for me.
The Plastic Fantastic focuses a bit closer (0.17x vs 0.15x) and is a much lighter lens. The Sigma is almost the size of my DA 16-45 and is heavier (lots of glass inside).
Both lenses render the world quite differently so I am keeping both

While I'm at it though, I have to say that the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 Art has gotten a bit of a bad reputation, and I think it's not fair. It probably does have issues with the AF - I use manual focus on the K10D and center point focus on the K-S1 so no issues at all for me...
But regarding the image quality, it is said that it's not as sharp wide open as the Sigma 35 1.4 Art (a lens twice its size and twice its weight - and the 30mm is already a bit big for prime standards). And it's not as well corrected. Then they saw that it only has one aspherical element and no low dispersion elements, and people say all over the internet that it should never have been an Art lens. That's the part that I think is unfair, because it is a very sharp lens. Sharp all over stopped down. And sharp in the center wide open and at wide apertures, which is how f/1.4 lenses were designed before basement sharpness tests ruled the internet and made companies put out these humongous lenses so that people can take pictures of their brick walls and say "yep it was worth thousands of dollars, that brick in the corner is sharp wide open!". I'd say the Sigma 30mm Art is closer to what Pentax's lens design philosophy is, compared to other Art lenses. FIrst of all, they didn't over-correct the lens at the expense of bokeh. No frog egg bokeh on this one! Bokeh bubbles are perfectly round and solid. Bokeh is always creamy, never nervous. Microcontrast is delightful and never overdone to the point that the pictures feel flat - there's a sense of depth on this one! Maybe not as 3D as an FA31 but still very good, I think. All while giving a Leica-like color rendering (in Dartmoore Dave's words, not mine ).

I think this lens is as close to being the DA*30 1.4 that Pentax had in the roadmap but never released, as any lens anyone ever made. I think it helps make the APS-C format make sense for non-pros like me. It especially makes sense to use it with a CCD sensor to help keep the ISO always on the low side

Some from a walkaround in a little downtown area yesterday during lunch time. These all have film emulations from Rawtherapee/Haldclut (Kodachrome and Ektachrome simulations!), and usually a hint of vignetting and some exposure correction, but the pictures are usually good enough for sharing straight out of camera.









And how much fun can an f/1.4 30mm lens be? This much fun:

[Patriot]

Tahoe at Sunset