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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
11-14-2016, 03:31 AM
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Having spoken with Pentax and Sigma this morning it appears that the only lens I have that works FF is the 150-500 all the rest will not work and would need to be used at crop mode.
I am wondering if one option open to me would be to jump K3II with a black friday deal (assuming one crops up) and work on changing over my lenses (or certainly the ones I use the most) and then changing the camera to FF which maybe a case of it then being the K1 replacement.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
11-13-2016, 04:10 PM
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Thanks everyone for the thoughts and advice.
Seems the majority are suggesting the K1 route rather than the K3II route. From reading around it seems there is little to no information yet on a replacement for the K3II.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
11-11-2016, 03:48 AM
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Hi
I am after some advice and thoughts on an upgrade. Currently I shoot with a K5-IIs which is still working fine but I am getting the subtle and not so subtle hints from a family member that it is time to upgrade. She is just starting out and feels very comfy and at ease with the K5IIs.
Earlier this year I came to the forum asking for help on low light and received excellent help, that coupled with many training sessions and several more to come over the winter months to help further my low light photography is improving. I am looking for something that is outstanding in low light, slow shutter speeds and potentially high ISO usage. Currently I tend to peak at about 1600 within the K5IIs before the noise starts to have an impact. The images that I take are potentially printed at A3 in order to be entered into club and county competitions.
Have been looking at the K3II and the K1 in terms of lens compatibility. At the moment all my lenses bar the 150-500 will need to operate in crop mode on the K1 as to replace them with full frame lenses would push the cost up to the region of £6000 which is not a possibility at this stage, over time yes but not initially. Obviously I know that all my lenses will work fine on the K3II but also that it is possibly heading for replacement at somepoint in the next 12-18mths etc.
At the moment my logic bank balance head is saying opt for the K3-II whilst my heart is saying "stuff it" go out and get the K1 as whilst it will be in crop mode most of the time with slightly lower mega pixels compared to the K5IIs the significant improvements with the sensor and processors will make a big difference.
Thanks
Paul
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-02-2016, 12:11 PM
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Just been having a look at DXO Optics and it looks and feels easy to use. I looked at a picture that Elements struggled with and DXO looks great. The image is here, full size JPG so no benefit from downsizing. What do you guys think?
Link
---------- Post added 06-02-16 at 12:12 PM ----------
I know what you mean about Prime Noise Reduction, have used that on the above file and sat and watched noise vanish.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-02-2016, 11:11 AM
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Downloading DXO Optics Pro 11 trial now, so will install and have a look for 30 days etc.
Currently I am using Elements but do have Photoshop & Lightroom which I am looking at getting into, being a mature student and working in education means I can get the entire Adobe suite for £13 a month and I do webdesign so use Dreamweaver.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-02-2016, 01:10 AM
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Apologies, finger / memory trouble late at night - it is indeed the 17-50 f2.8 that I am looking at which is the one that was compared to the Pentax and Tamron lenses
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-01-2016, 03:00 PM
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Please don't worry, I would be the first in line to say that they certainly have better skills than me and that there is so much for me to learn. I have only been off AUTO for a couple of years whereas I know alot of the guys on these shoots have been doing it for 10,20,30 years etc. The information here is very helpful and I will be spending some time going through the rest of the forum and potentially asking the odd question or few.
Having sat and thought about two of the events I have been on (Buses & Trains) one of the frustrating things, apart from the challenge of getting the right settings, was the juggling of lenses etc. The buses was by far not a dry night and I did have the comment or two in the rain from the Canon and Nikon crowd! Trying to always be in the right position with the lens you have on can often be a pain or even non-starter depending on location etc and short of having the other lens in the pocket and then switching which when it is raining is not the best idea in the world. The museum shoot, whilst I had my bag with me finding somewhere to perch and change lens or move into the right position again has its downsides, plus there were many times when 35mm was not wide enough. So for no other reason than pure convenience and flexibility point of view I think I will invest in the Sigma 18-50 f2.8. Having spoken with SRS Microsystems who import all the Pentax gear to the UK they are saying that whilst not officially discontinued they are hearing the hints of "well it is in short supply" etc and with all websites selling it for something close to £400 off at the minute I think I would be silly not to bite the bullet in the same way I did with the Sigma 150-500 last year before they disappeared from the shelves. At the end of the day I do not think it will be a waste of money or a false investment and I know that it will not solve my problems as most are obviously knowledge / experience related.
---------- Post added 06-01-16 at 03:16 PM ----------
Ok, question here. I have / am working out how to focus lock whilst re framing. How do you Shake Reduction lock whilst re framing?
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-31-2016, 12:47 PM
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Thanks, I did mention in my original post that I had a 35 & 50mm lens but obviously like the other lens did not mention the f-stop range.
I thought the rule of thumb was: 1/(focal length x crop factor) for the shutter speed, so in the case of the 50mm lens then 1/75 as the minimum shutter speed and for the 35mm then 1/52.5
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-31-2016, 10:30 AM
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Its funny you should mention the cafe, they all had plastic bags over their cameras :)
I will be honest and say the noise was one of the problems for me, not being overly particular but as I say when I compare it to the ones coming from some of the others they had no noise in theirs. I am trying to get some thoughts / help from them but it has to be remember Canon / Nikon helping Pentax........
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-31-2016, 10:06 AM
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-31-2016, 09:47 AM
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Continued thanks for all the help and feedback, as mentioned earlier I have picked out five images that I believe to be failures for one reason or several.
These are all still in DNG format and are straight out of the camera so file size accordingly.
01 - Pentax-DA 35mm f2.4 @ ISO 3200, 1/60 sec
02 - Pentax-DA 50mm f1.8 @ ISO 3200, 1/80 sec
03 - Pentax-DA 35mm f2.4 @ ISO 3200, 1/80 sec
04 - Pentax-DA 50mm f1.8 @ ISO 3200, 1/100 sec
05 - Pentax-DA 35mm f2.4 @ ISO 400, 1/20 sec (Tripod)
The first four I believe have considerable noise in them.
Any and all feedback gratefully received, I am happy and expecting criticism but if you can give pointers that would be great as these are the type of shoots I enjoy and have another bus one lined up for September which I will be using a tripod for next time.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-31-2016, 07:05 AM
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Hi
Apologies, having a thick moment it is not the 18-55 that I have it is the 18-135. I was thinking of my fathers lens.
Paul
---------- Post added 05-31-16 at 07:08 AM ----------
That shot with the K1 is head spinning for such high ISO. Sadly the £1500 price tag is well out of my reach at the moment, and I think that regardless I need to be looking at a fast lens first otherwise it will be pointless. Certainly all the lens I have bar the 150-500 would still end up running in crop mode on the K1 but then the better sensor and processor etc would make a difference but at £1500 it is not possible at the moment to justify it.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-31-2016, 06:22 AM
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Thanks again all.
I have been looking at the Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 and it looks a phenomenal bit of kit for very reasonable money (currently £280). In terms of budget it is a case of if saving is required to get what I need then that is what will need to happen. I can reasonably afford the 17-50mm f2.8 so will investigate further, SRS have them in stock and also have the 17-70mm f2.8/f4 at £310 which they highly recommend with it being a new design and new optics. The question is will f4 be sufficient etc so will need to research a little more.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-31-2016, 04:02 AM
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Wow, guy’s great responses which I know I will need to reada couple of times to absorb fully.
The general gist I am getting here is yes I am in the rightplace but not necessarily have the right items and certainly lacking a good amountof knowledge. Most of what has beenbrought has pretty much been on a budget so will happily take the hit that itmaybe is not the higher end that I obviously need.
In terms of being an experienced photographer, I wouldprobably disagree but have had a few competition winners in local and regionalcamera clubs. It was only 6 months aftergetting this, camera I got off Auto so not been there long (say 2/3 years) andappreciate I have more than a lot to learn.
When I get home from work tonight I will pick out some ofthe RAW files that I have failed on, “gbeaton” has hit the nail on the head forone problem that I have is that on most of them I was framing the picture andmoving the focus point. (slapped wrist taken – thanks) So this leads me onto the question of how doI lock the focus as not saying that is the answer to my problems but wouldcertainly help no end.
In terms of Prime or Zoom for these events, the Zoom wouldbe the answer as it would be by far the most versatile and give the option ofmore shots.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-31-2016, 03:19 AM
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Hi
Thanks for the replies so far, I will certainly upload a couple of the images from both events to let you have a look. Please by all means critique away as it is the only way of learning and breaking out of a loop of forever getting it wrong.
Can I ask what is this front/back focusing? Not sure if that is a problem as it daylight the lens are sharp as anything at the usual f8 / f11.
In terms of the K3-II I now my current lenses would fit and work fine, would they work with the K1?
The lenses are all Pentax with the exception of the 10-20 and 150-500 which are Sigma.
Thanks
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-31-2016, 02:51 AM
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Hi
Long time browser and reader of this excellent community, albeit just registered.
I currently have a K5-IIs with various lenses (18-55, 55-300, 35, 50, 10-20, 150-500) and am struggling to hold my faith in Pentax. The camera was purchased not long after its release and has been a reliable and solid camera, what is giving me the "am I in the right place" thoughts is I have recently got into photographing a various re-enactor based events. To give you an idea the two so far this year have been 1 - overnight in London photographing two vintage London buses dating back to the late 1930's and 2 - at the Swindon Railway museum (private event at night)
Both of these were very much low light and in some cases very much low light and I have noticed that I am the only Pentax shooter in the crowd everyone else is Nikon or Canon. At both events I had more failures than winners on the images. I have been watching and listening to the other photographers and they are all pointing and clicking so to speak and the image is taken, whereas mine is more point, click and pause whilst it takes. They seem to be able to get pictures captured quicker and with better sharpness and light control.
One thing I have noticed is that they are using low aperture lenses (f2.8 area) which I am also with the 50mm but more of their images are in focus. Is this because they have more focus points and have them active at the same time hence more of the picture is in focus and sharp without dropping off. For example with the buses they are managing to get the entire bus in focus and yet I am only getting part of it. Hence I am raising the aperture and taking longer with the capture to get more in focus meaning that some shots are missed or spoilt due to other influences.
Outside of these events my camera is excellent, only letting itself down slightly at airshows and flying birds etc.
My concern is obviously now that Sigma are gradually reducing the number of lens they make and will eventually stop making for Pentax leaving just Pentax making lenses and given that I am having these "challenges" do I stay or would I be better off with another brand.
Thanks
Paul
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