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09-22-2017, 11:51 AM   #3166
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QuoteOriginally posted by ChristianRock Quote
I guess as long as my K10D keeps working I'll keep shooting with it


Christian I love how you've captured the water droplets in the fountain.

Went out with the K10D today for the first time after maybe a month of using my little Samsung GX-1s almost exclusively (other than iPhone). I love the GX-1s, but the K10 does handle even better, and feels more reassuring all round.

Tried a lens fairly new to me, the Miranda MC Macro 24mm f/2.8. And I like it a little bit more than I did before I went out.

Fairly small and compact, surprisingly smooth focus (not Takumar smooth, but certainly approaching a Pentax-A prime and silky enough that you never think about it when focusing) and having the A setting on the aperture ring makes it easy to use on the K10D on manual mode. Pleasingly close focus too - my only other 24mm option is the wide end of my Pentax-A 24-50mm, which isn't a bad lens at all, but only focuses down to 0.4m which just doesn't seem adequate for a 24mm lens, especially compared with the sub 0.2m of the Miranda.




Certainly a lens I hope to use a lot more, at least until an equivalently wide Takumar or maybe a DA 21mm become affordable (for me).

A while back I posted on here about the green button and finding it a bit fiddly with Pentax K and M lenses, compared with shooting Av with M42 and Pentax-A series lenses. I decided to try just shooting the same way with all lenses (M42, K series, M series, A series, even my DA 35/2.4) - fully manual, using the green button to set the suggested shutter speed, then tweaking manually if I feel it needs it. It's become far more consistent and fluid, and meant I've bypassed the need to use the exposure compensation - I just do it by adjusting the shutter and or aperture and the metering scale in the viewfinder. It's given the K10D another level of fluidity in use that I'm really appreciating.

09-22-2017, 12:21 PM   #3167
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dan James Quote
Christian I love how you've captured the water droplets in the fountain.
Thank you Dan

QuoteQuote:
Went out with the K10D today for the first time after maybe a month of using my little Samsung GX-1s almost exclusively (other than iPhone). I love the GX-1s, but the K10 does handle even better, and feels more reassuring all round.
It is interesting how they kept getting better and better handling wise... I found the same thing between the K20D and the K10D - the K20D fits better in the hand (but the K10D is the one I kept, for the sensor).

And then I picked up a K30 once and thought, oh this is nicer than my k20D I can imagine that the K-1 must be marvelous to hold...

QuoteQuote:
Tried a lens fairly new to me, the Miranda MC Macro 24mm f/2.8. And I like it a little bit more than I did before I went out.

Fairly small and compact, surprisingly smooth focus (not Takumar smooth, but certainly approaching a Pentax-A prime and silky enough that you never think about it when focusing) and having the A setting on the aperture ring makes it easy to use on the K10D on manual mode. Pleasingly close focus too - my only other 24mm option is the wide end of my Pentax-A 24-50mm, which isn't a bad lens at all, but only focuses down to 0.4m which just doesn't seem adequate for a 24mm lens, especially compared with the sub 0.2m of the Miranda.




Certainly a lens I hope to use a lot more, at least until an equivalently wide Takumar or maybe a DA 21mm become affordable (for me).
The lens is made by Cosina and it's the same as my Cosina 24 2.8. Great little lens, very sharp, good close up distance as you said, and just a pleasure to use. I also have a Tokina 24 2.8 that I found out is the same lens down to the coatings. Only the type of ink used for the distance scale is different... the lens was also marketed as a Vivitar and even as a Carl Zeiss Jena! So you know it's a good lens...

QuoteQuote:
A while back I posted on here about the green button and finding it a bit fiddly with Pentax K and M lenses, compared with shooting Av with M42 and Pentax-A series lenses. I decided to try just shooting the same way with all lenses (M42, K series, M series, A series, even my DA 35/2.4) - fully manual, using the green button to set the suggested shutter speed, then tweaking manually if I feel it needs it. It's become far more consistent and fluid, and meant I've bypassed the need to use the exposure compensation - I just do it by adjusting the shutter and or aperture and the metering scale in the viewfinder. It's given the K10D another level of fluidity in use that I'm really appreciating.
I agree and a lot of time I am the same way. I like shooting in manual even with my A lenses, it's a lot easier to change the shutter speed or aperture when the light changes than to keep fiddling with the exposure, only to see it change as soon as you point to something else.

Sometimes I still use Av though, especially when I'm at home with the K-S1 which has more accurate exposure, and I might have to pass on the camera to my wife at any moment...
09-24-2017, 06:22 AM - 1 Like   #3168
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After scrunching a non-K-mount-compatible Konica 135mm on my K10D, and getting some decent results, I thought I would try the same with this Konica Hexanon f1.8 52mm. The 5mm difference in registration distance amounts to a much larger percentage of extension for the 52mm, which becomes a close-up-only lens.

With the lens only operating wide open, when mated to the K10D, DOF is minimal and sharpness is mainly confined to the center. It matters a lot whether I can get significant sharpness in key areas for a picture to really pop given those limitations. Of my first tests, this one seems to better show how good the center sharpness wide open can be:



One nice feature is that anything out-of-focus starts blending into bokeh almost immediately. I like how the colors came through, a combo of the K10D sensor and the quality of this Hexanon lens. The 135 I was testing seems to have some exterior coating discoloration on the front element. This 52mm has no such problem.
09-24-2017, 07:36 AM   #3169
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QuoteOriginally posted by goatsNdonkey Quote
After scrunching a non-K-mount-compatible Konica 135mm on my K10D, and getting some decent results, I thought I would try the same with this Konica Hexanon f1.8 52mm. The 5mm difference in registration distance amounts to a much larger percentage of extension for the 52mm, which becomes a close-up-only lens.

The colours in your Konica lens shots are very reminiscent of the characteristic look that Konica negative film used to have. I always used to use Konica film for prints whenever possible, because of the warm, saturated look it gave. It's a shame about the 5mm registration difference limiting them to close-ups on Pentax bodies, because they really do look like excellent lenses. Looking forward to seeing more of your shots with them.

09-24-2017, 08:21 AM - 3 Likes   #3170
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Sunset vivitar 28mm 2.5

Here is a shot from last nite late. Love the way it handle the white balance and colors.
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09-24-2017, 08:23 AM   #3171
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dartmoor Dave Quote
The colours in your Konica lens shots are very reminiscent of the characteristic look that Konica negative film used to have. I always used to use Konica film for prints whenever possible, because of the warm, saturated look it gave. It's a shame about the 5mm registration difference limiting them to close-ups on Pentax bodies, because they really do look like excellent lenses. Looking forward to seeing more of your shots with them.
I believe someone makes (or made) a very expensive Konica AR Mount Lens TO Pentax K Mount Body Adapter, that includes a lens or lens system inside of it, but if I had that amount of money to spare, I'd probably use it to get a few bargain legacy lenses! I jerry rigged my own adapter a couple of years ago, to try my better copy of the Hexanon 135mm lens on my K110D, but with my adapter I had a total of at least 10mm of extension. The results were very good, though focusing distance options were quite limited.

I believe it was when I tried using a Pentax K rear lens cap on a Konica AR lens and found it went worked okay, it occurred that I might be able to put a Konica lens directly on a K-mount body. When I tried it, the lens fit into the mount flush with the flange, and turned just enough to not fall off the camera. I might try reversing one of these Konica lenses on the K10D, which would be another interesting way of using them on Pentax.

My Konica equipment collection is much smaller than my Pentax (and compatible) collection, but it has recently grown to include in Konica AR mount 28mm, 35mm, 40mm, 52mm, 57mm, and 135mm lenses, and a Tamron Adaptall 2 adapter. A while back I found a good price on an a Konica m42 adapter, and I'm waiting for scans to come back for a roll of B&W film taken with my f1.8 55mm Super-Takumar using a Konica body! At least with screw mount it is possible to go the other direction.

Last edited by goatsNdonkey; 09-24-2017 at 08:28 AM.
09-24-2017, 12:50 PM   #3172
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Fotodiox makes that adapter and currently B&H carries it for $39.95. Good way to make use of those legacy lenses!

09-24-2017, 05:39 PM   #3173
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QuoteOriginally posted by twilhelm Quote
Fotodiox makes that adapter and currently B&H carries it for $39.95. Good way to make use of those legacy lenses!
Thanks for pointing that out, twilhelm. Here's a direct link:

FotodioX Pro Lens Mount Adapter for Konica AR Lens to K(AR)-PK-G

That is much more affordable than the adapter I recall being about $100 more than that when I first investigated the issue close to three years ago. Still, it's a bit more than I would like to pay for an adapter. After all, I could buy two "Twenty Dollar Wonder" lenses for that price! I'd like to find one of those Fotodiox K/AR to P/K adapters for a good used price sometime. Perhaps I am more of an experimenter than a determined seeker when it comes to this kind of lens crossover use. The B&H offering is of course good news to other's wanting to try Konica AR lenses on Pentax K-mount camera, like the K10D, and who find 40 bucks a reasonable adapter price given their own level of determination.
09-26-2017, 12:06 PM - 2 Likes   #3174
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QuoteOriginally posted by ChristianRock Quote
Thank you Dan

It is interesting how they kept getting better and better handling wise... I found the same thing between the K20D and the K10D - the K20D fits better in the hand (but the K10D is the one I kept, for the sensor).

And then I picked up a K30 once and thought, oh this is nicer than my k20D I can imagine that the K-1 must be marvelous to hold...

The lens is made by Cosina and it's the same as my Cosina 24 2.8. Great little lens, very sharp, good close up distance as you said, and just a pleasure to use. I also have a Tokina 24 2.8 that I found out is the same lens down to the coatings. Only the type of ink used for the distance scale is different... the lens was also marketed as a Vivitar and even as a Carl Zeiss Jena! So you know it's a good lens...

I agree and a lot of time I am the same way. I like shooting in manual even with my A lenses, it's a lot easier to change the shutter speed or aperture when the light changes than to keep fiddling with the exposure, only to see it change as soon as you point to something else.

Sometimes I still use Av though, especially when I'm at home with the K-S1 which has more accurate exposure, and I might have to pass on the camera to my wife at any moment...
Thanks for the extra info, I'd read it was likely a Cosina lens. I missed out on a Cosina one that went for more than I wanted to pay. Then the Miranda came up for a bit less so I bit the bullet. Haven't been disappointed.

I just like things (especially photography) to be simple, then I seem to enjoy it most. So finding a uniform shooting process across all lenses goes a long way to bringing this, even if it involves a number of mini steps - compose, focus, choose aperture, green button, recompose and refocus if necessary, shoot... Strangely I'm finding the K10D is more consistent and accurate in exposing when I use M mode than Av, when I often need exposure comp.

I've thought about other Pentax DSLRs, most recently a K50, but then I come back to the K10D (and my 6MP Samsung GX-1s) and think why do I need anything else? And I doubt I'll like the images quite as much as those from the CCD sensors, like you said about the K20 vs K10.

QuoteOriginally posted by niceshot Quote
Here is a shot from last nite late. Love the way it handle the white balance and colors.
Gorgeous colours, so vibrant, fantastic capture!

Recent couple again with the K10D and Miranda 24/2.8...
10-02-2017, 01:32 PM - 4 Likes   #3175
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Praise for the GX10

Having fallen for the K10D earlier in the year, I've been half looking out for another as a back up. I was aware of the Samsung clones (having a GX-1s - a clone of the Pentax *ist DS2 6MP - and loving it) and eventually came across one (GX10) in apparently very good condition for £55 plus postage.

On arrival it seemed to all function, but after further testing I found the exposure lock button doesn't work. Shooting AV mode, this was a bit of a blow - with vintage lenses on my K10D I've found I use exposure lock quite often. But the GX10 was otherwise great so I thought about a workaround, and, this led me to try shooting it purely on Manual mode, eliminating the need for the exposure lock button.

It actually feels slightly nicer to use than my K10D - the buttons and dials are somehow a little tighter and newer feeling. And I like having another genuine battery to take as a back when I'm out with either camera.

I'll likely use the K10D (with split focus screen) with M42 lenses and the GX10 with its standard screen and my A series and one DA lens.

Some recent results with the GX10 and DA 35/2.4, a lens I enjoy using even more every time I use it.

I've found with both cameras that whilst most of the time I leave them on the native ISO100 (reminds me of shooting my favourite ever film emulsion, Fuji Superia 100), when the light is lower I still get results I'm more than happy with at ISO200 and 400. Plus I seem to be able to hand hold at 1/8s, even 1/4s with the DA 35/2.4, and combined with ISO400 and shooting at wider apertures, can get really satisfying photographs in the kind of low light I wouldn't have expected to.
10-02-2017, 01:56 PM   #3176
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dan James Quote
Having fallen for the K10D earlier in the year, I've been half looking out for another as a back up. I was aware of the Samsung clones (having a GX-1s - a clone of the Pentax *ist DS2 6MP - and loving it) and eventually came across one (GX10) in apparently very good condition for £55 plus postage.
...
Some recent results with the GX10 and DA 35/2.4, a lens I enjoy using even more every time I use it.
...
I've found with both cameras that whilst most of the time I leave them on the native ISO100 (reminds me of shooting my favourite ever film emulsion, Fuji Superia 100), when the light is lower I still get results I'm more than happy with at ISO200 and 400. Plus I seem to be able to hand hold at 1/8s, even 1/4s with the DA 35/2.4, and combined with ISO400 and shooting at wider apertures, can get really satisfying photographs in the kind of low light I wouldn't have expected to.
You got a bargain, Dan, and you're getting great results from it

After buying my first GX-10 and falling in love with it, I bought a second as a backup - just in case the first one should ever die Although I consider the K-3 to be my main K-mount camera (as it'll get results I'm pleased with in almost any situation, subject to some post-processing), the GX-10 is my favourite camera to use, and I really love the IQ. I've never used the K10D so don't know how it compares, but I like Samsung's menus and settings layout. And, yes - ISO 400 is very useable. In fact, ISO 800 is fine in many situations with a bit of post-processing.

As for the DA35 f/2.4, I know opinions vary on this lens, but it's one of my favourites in the Pentax line-up, even considering the Limited models. I really like the rendering - perhaps not the most characterful, but for my own (non-macro) photography I actually prefer it to the DA35 f/2.8 Limited. Most of the time, I pair the GX-10 with the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8... I really love the combo
10-02-2017, 02:26 PM   #3177
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I have a K10D and a Samsung GX-20 (K20D clone) and the big differences I see between the two, other than the K10D's 10mp CCD sensor vs. the GX-20's 14mp CMOS sensor, are the grip and the firmware. The GX-20 has a little bit chunkier grip, which is actually more comfortable to hold but it prevents the battery grip, which would be interchangeable between a K10D and a K20D, from fitting. Samsung supposedly offered its own battery grip for the GX-1- and GX-20, but few of them have actually been sighted in the wild. The Samsung firmware seems to lack some refinements present in the Pentax version, presumably because they couldn't use some proprietary Pentax features. It also meant that, at least for the GX-20, that it didn't get all of the same firmware updates as the K20D since Samsung dropped support for the GX series cameras before Pentax did. All that said, I'm very fond of both cameras.
10-02-2017, 03:36 PM   #3178
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QuoteOriginally posted by E-man Quote
The GX-20 has a little bit chunkier grip, which is actually more comfortable to hold but it prevents the battery grip, which would be interchangeable between a K10D and a K20D, from fitting. Samsung supposedly offered its own battery grip for the GX-1- and GX-20, but few of them have actually been sighted in the wild.
I was lucky enough to find a truly mint condition SBG-D1V grip from a German eBay seller a few months ago, and pounced on it immediately. They are, indeed, rare - and are typically over-priced these days. I was incredibly lucky with mine, but it still cost more than half of what I paid for my first GX-10...
10-03-2017, 12:49 AM   #3179
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QuoteOriginally posted by BigMackCam Quote
You got a bargain, Dan, and you're getting great results from it

After buying my first GX-10 and falling in love with it, I bought a second as a backup - just in case the first one should ever die Although I consider the K-3 to be my main K-mount camera (as it'll get results I'm pleased with in almost any situation, subject to some post-processing), the GX-10 is my favourite camera to use, and I really love the IQ. I've never used the K10D so don't know how it compares, but I like Samsung's menus and settings layout. And, yes - ISO 400 is very useable. In fact, ISO 800 is fine in many situations with a bit of post-processing.

As for the DA35 f/2.4, I know opinions vary on this lens, but it's one of my favourites in the Pentax line-up, even considering the Limited models. I really like the rendering - perhaps not the most characterful, but for my own (non-macro) photography I actually prefer it to the DA35 f/2.8 Limited. Most of the time, I pair the GX-10 with the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8... I really love the combo

I've thought about a K-5 or K-3 but in truth there's nothing I don't like about the K10D / GX10, and I wonder if I'd be disappointed with a CMOS sensor compared with the "magical" CCD. I don't shoot much in low light, and as I said when I do, having the option to go down to ISO400 and 1/8s on the K10D / GX10 is fine 99% of the time anyway. I do like that my Samsung GX-1s is quite a bit smaller and lighter than the K10D / GX10, but the latter feel better to hold, and the extra weight makes them more comfortable and assured. It's only really if I use something like the SMC Pentax-A Zoom, 35-105/3.5 (a hefty beast on any camera!) that the K10D / GX10 gets heavy overall after a while. I also like that 6MP and 10MP RAW files upload and process pretty quickly on my computer. Larger images from a 16MP sensor or higher would inevitably be much slower to process, take up more disk space and so on, and I don't ever need huge prints anyway.


The DA 35/2.4 is a little marvel. I don't generally like AF lenses but using the 35/2.4 as manual focus it's actually very light and easy to focus, and seems to snap into focus more easily than many lenses I have. Unbelievable how light it is too. It's the only DA lens I've had (aside from the kit zoom that came with my K10D and I quickly sold!) but it's made me consider another, like the DA 21/3.2.


QuoteOriginally posted by E-man Quote
I have a K10D and a Samsung GX-20 (K20D clone) and the big differences I see between the two, other than the K10D's 10mp CCD sensor vs. the GX-20's 14mp CMOS sensor, are the grip and the firmware. The GX-20 has a little bit chunkier grip, which is actually more comfortable to hold but it prevents the battery grip, which would be interchangeable between a K10D and a K20D, from fitting. Samsung supposedly offered its own battery grip for the GX-1- and GX-20, but few of them have actually been sighted in the wild. The Samsung firmware seems to lack some refinements present in the Pentax version, presumably because they couldn't use some proprietary Pentax features. It also meant that, at least for the GX-20, that it didn't get all of the same firmware updates as the K20D since Samsung dropped support for the GX series cameras before Pentax did. All that said, I'm very fond of both cameras.

Yeh I've read that Samsung dropped their firmware updates sooner than Pentax. I haven't noticed anything I can't do with the GX10 that I can with the K10D, or any difference in images. I think because I shoot RAW and then just do a simple export in LightRoom, the images will be identical anyway. If I relied on the in camera JPEGs, there might be a difference in how the Pentax renders compared with the Samsung.


The look of the Samsung menus is a little more square and austere, and the font seems smaller. But aside from that the basic features seem identical and if you gave me either camera blindfolded, the only slight difference I'd notice is my GX10 has smoother front and rear dials and the buttons seem to be newer and have less wear. The GX10 seems very well looked after by its original owner.
10-04-2017, 03:12 PM - 3 Likes   #3180
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Usually in the back of my office I go and just take pictures of flowers and other green things... like this



But today look at what was hanging out there (xposted to post your photos)



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