[Dartmoor Dave]

Page 200 of the K10D club and still going strong. Here's to the next 100 pages everyone!

Now for a photo with the Zenitar 16mm. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: "Wait a minute. . . where's the pony? There's got to be a pony in there somewhere." Well, there ain't no darn pony in this one.

[ChristianRock]

Page 200 of the K10D club and still going strong. Here's to the next 100 pages everyone!

Now for a photo with the Zenitar 16mm. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: "Wait a minute. . . where's the pony? There's got to be a pony in there somewhere." Well, there ain't no darn pony in this one.

Just beautiful. Not only is the composition perfect, I want to learn to be as good as you in PP...
I think I could get technical results as good as this from the DA 16-45/K10D combo but I don't think I can pull off the artistic talent part

[E-man]

Page 200 of the K10D club and still going strong. Here's to the next 100 pages everyone!

Now for a photo with the Zenitar 16mm. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: "Wait a minute. . . where's the pony? There's got to be a pony in there somewhere." Well, there ain't no darn pony in this one.

Whew! For a second there, I was thinking the pony might have drowned getting a drink from the waterfall

[rayallen]

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:

Thank you very much, CR, for your very thorough review of that lens. I have great respect for Sigma lenses because of the ones I own and I know that the Art lenses are very desirable but they are usually large, heavy and quite expensive. I do appreciate the time you took to provide your review and sample images which I viewed at full size on Flickr. It certainly is as sharp as one could want and the bokeh is delicious. I would rarely analyse a lens to the depth that you have so, again, I thank you for your review. Despite all your nice words I doubt that I will be rushing out to buy one as I have lenses that I don't use often enough and I do have a DA 35mm plastic fantastic and that is a lens I like to use.

---------- Post added 13-07-17 at 08:26 AM ----------

Page 200 of the K10D club and still going strong. Here's to the next 100 pages everyone!

Now for a photo with the Zenitar 16mm. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: "Wait a minute. . . where's the pony? There's got to be a pony in there somewhere." Well, there ain't no darn pony in this one.

What a great way to start the first page after 200, Dave. A beautiful image. I studied it very, very hard and I appreciated its beauty but, sadly, I could not find a pony.

[35mmfilmfan]

A beautiful image. I studied it very, very hard and I appreciated its beauty but, sadly, I could not find a pony.

I was looking for a hippopotamus, or even a Swann.

[Dartmoor Dave]

Just beautiful. Not only is the composition perfect, I want to learn to be as good as you in PP...

Christian, you're too kind. I think that my very average skills are made to look better than they really are by this amazing landscape that I'm lucky enough to live in.

Whew! For a second there, I was thinking the pony might have drowned getting a drink from the waterfall

I studied it very, very hard and I appreciated its beauty but, sadly, I could not find a pony.

I was looking for a hippopotamus, or even a Swann.

Well, I admit there were a few bits of distracting wildlife around when I took the photo, but I cloned them all out. Here's the original unedited version:

[paulh]

Christian, you're too kind. I think that my very average skills are made to look better than they really are by this amazing landscape that I'm lucky enough to live in.








Well, I admit there were a few bits of distracting wildlife around when I took the photo, but I cloned them all out. Here's the original unedited version:

Well, I definitely like this natural unedited version better! Surely there was a unicorn or two loitering around as well?

[ChristianRock]

Christian, you're too kind. I think that my very average skills are made to look better than they really are by this amazing landscape that I'm lucky enough to live in.



Well, I admit there were a few bits of distracting wildlife around when I took the photo, but I cloned them all out. Here's the original unedited version:

This is fake. How do I know? Because there is no pony in it

---------- Post added 07-13-17 at 03:16 PM ----------

aaand some more from the Sigma 30 1.4 Art. I'll keep posting until Ray gets one just kidding, of course. The DA 35 is also very capable and honestly, having both the Sigma and the Pentax DA lens is a luxury. But just like 50s are addictive, I find normal lenses can also be addictive... that is why I have 4: The Sigma 30 Art, the DA 35 2.4, the Pentax-M 28 3.5 (very nice lens which only has one flaw, its bokeh - I need to use it more) and the Rikenon XR 28 2.8 (so sharp corner to corner!).

So here is the Sigma on the K10D... I'm being a bit more bold in my PP, let me know if maybe I'm overdoing it... also, this was taken at f8, so this is how sharp the Sigma can get corner to corner... I don't think anyone should be scared of using it for landscapes at that aperture or smaller

[BigMackCam]

I haven't been posting much on the forums of late (including this thread), and apologise for the lack of appreciation I've shown to some of the wonderful shots posted here recently. Lovely work, folks

Since this is the K10D club, though, and as it continues past page 200 with no sign of letting up, I thought I'd share this:

I've been shooting Pentax since 2010 when I got my K-7 (long gone, unfortunately). Since then, I've progressed through a K-5 (that I still own and use) to my current K-3 + K-3II setup. Plus I have some Sony A and E-mount equipment too.

A few months back, I picked up a barely-used (ex-demo?) Samsung GX-10 (K10D clone, of course) and fell in love with the images it produces and the simplicity of operation. Knowing that the camera is very much a legacy model, and the possibility of replacing it (should something untoward happen) is reducing every day, I acquired a second barely-used GX-10 just a few weeks ago as a backup unit. Both cameras were ludicrously inexpensive compared to current equipment.

Despite the more-advanced facilities, speed of operation, better resolution, dynamic range and high ISO performance of my other more-recent bodies, I've come to the rather surprising conclusion that the GX-10 / K10D is the camera I'd least like to be without. If I had to get rid of all my cameras tomorrow and keep just one, I'd keep one of my GX-10s. Of course, this probably shows how limited my requirements are compared to some other photographers, but it's quite a revelation to me that I enjoy the GX-10 so much when I'm fortunate to have more recent options available.

It's a funny old world, eh?

[ChristianRock]

I haven't been posting much on the forums of late (including this thread), and apologise for the lack of appreciation I've shown to some of the wonderful shots posted here recently. Lovely work, folks

Since this is the K10D club, though, and as it continues past page 200 with no sign of letting up, I thought I'd share this:

I've been shooting Pentax since 2010 when I got my K-7 (long gone, unfortunately). Since then, I've progressed through a K-5 (that I still own and use) to my current K-3 + K-3II setup. Plus I have some Sony A and E-mount equipment too.

A few months back, I picked up a barely-used (ex-demo?) Samsung GX-10 (K10D clone, of course) and fell in love with the images it produces and the simplicity of operation. Knowing that the camera is very much a legacy model, and the possibility of replacing it (should something untoward happen) is reducing every day, I acquired a second barely-used GX-10 just a few weeks ago as a backup unit. Both cameras were ludicrously inexpensive compared to current equipment.

Despite the more-advanced facilities, speed of operation, better resolution, dynamic range and high ISO performance of my other more-recent bodies, I've come to the rather surprising conclusion that the GX-10 / K10D is the camera I'd least like to be without. If I had to get rid of all my cameras tomorrow and keep just one, I'd keep one of my GX-10s. Of course, this probably shows how limited my requirements are compared to some other photographers, but it's quite a revelation to me that I enjoy the GX-10 so much when I'm fortunate to have more recent options available.

It's a funny old world, eh?

It is funny, isn't it? It's scary how cheap this DSLR is, and when you combine it with a couple of cheap lenses like a Pentax or RIkenon 28mm 2.8 and 50 1.7, you can get some incredible professional results. Or get the Vivitar/Cosina/Miranda/Tokina 24mm 2.8 for 60-70 dollars and that is a two lens setup that can handle most situations people find in daily life. Add an M 50 f4 Macro for another 60 bucks... and you get the picture.

And I'm also very happy with the K10D and if I could only keep one camera that would be it. The only reason I have the K-S1 is because my wife wants a camera that she can use in Auto mode to give her good results SOC. I mean, I'm glad I have it and I like to use it, but the K10D is the camera I'd stick with if I had to pick one. Would that change if I had a K-1? Hopefully I'll find out some day

[paulh]

Great looking shots as usual, Dave and CR

Just another sunset with the Tokina 28-70:

[ChristianRock]

Great looking shots as usual, Dave and CR

Just another sunset with the Tokina 28-70:

Such delightful colors.

How do you like having a 28-70 as a walkaround? Or did I already ask you that?

Recently I was considering a Pentax FA 28-105 (the 3.2-4.5 with the ghostless coatings, supposed to be very good) as a walkaround lens. That was before I got the Sigma 30 Art away from the K-S1 kit at home that we haven't been using much because we're always busy with home improvements, to my K10D kit that stays at work for those lunch time walks... with the results I am getting I might not need a zoom after all still, LBA might make me get one if one becomes available (they've become pretty rare...)

Right now I have my eyes on an FA 80-320 that a local store has... a lens with mixed reviews that always intrigued me... do I need it? No. My Tamron 70-300 LD Di Macro does a good job at the same apertures. But LBA is calling... let's see if I can resist, I will go to the store during lunch time... last time they also had a K 24 2.8 which I miss, but that was over what I have to spend right now.

[paulh]

Such delightful colors. How do you like having a 28-70 as a walkaround? Or did I already ask you that?

Thanks 28-70 actually works pretty well for me as an aps-c walkaround. There are times when I wish it were a bit wider, but I can usually work around that limitation. I'm used to the FL I guess - my first lens was a Sigma/Quantaray 28-90, and I learned the basics with it. I wish my Tokina reached to 90mm! That FA28-105 gets pretty good reviews, and it's a lens I've often thought about.

[BigMackCam]

Thanks 28-70 actually works pretty well for me as an aps-c walkaround. There are times when I wish it were a bit wider, but I can usually work around that limitation.

The lens I use most often on the GX-10 is a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. I love this range on APS-C... more so than on full frame, actually. Like you, I could use a little wider field of view occasionally, but I find 28-75mm very useful

[twilhelm]

This is fake. How do I know? Because there is no pony in it

---------- Post added 07-13-17 at 03:16 PM ----------

aaand some more from the Sigma 30 1.4 Art. I'll keep posting until Ray gets one just kidding, of course. The DA 35 is also very capable and honestly, having both the Sigma and the Pentax DA lens is a luxury. But just like 50s are addictive, I find normal lenses can also be addictive... that is why I have 4: The Sigma 30 Art, the DA 35 2.4, the Pentax-M 28 3.5 (very nice lens which only has one flaw, its bokeh - I need to use it more) and the Rikenon XR 28 2.8 (so sharp corner to corner!).

So here is the Sigma on the K10D... I'm being a bit more bold in my PP, let me know if maybe I'm overdoing it... also, this was taken at f8, so this is how sharp the Sigma can get corner to corner... I don't think anyone should be scared of using it for landscapes at that aperture or smaller

I can't say I was super impressed with the Sigma until I saw some of your shots. I have the DA 35 2.4 which I love. But I may have to give the Sigma a shot, no pun intended.