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Forum: Lens Clubs 1 Day Ago  
*Macro* lens club
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 5,102
Views: 682,703
Unknown moth chrysalis, shot at 32000 ASA with only a small Manfrotto Muse LED to add some fill-in light. The Laowa 100mm 2x is a fantastic tool, but the capabilities of the K3III astound me.
Forum: Pentax K-3 III 02-05-2024, 02:36 PM  
Post your K3 iii pictures.
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 3,691
Views: 276,190
My first post to this thread. Like K2 to K50, I tend to favour the lens specific forums. These were taken with the DA* 11-18, except the stained glass which was taken with the amazing Samyang 135/2.
Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras 01-31-2024, 04:34 AM  
List of what lens came with what camera
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 42
Views: 1,635
When I asked for an M50/4 macro with my MX, the dealer didn't want to be left with the 1.7 and tried to talk me out of it.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-11-2024, 05:20 AM  
Imported second hand costs to the UK?
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 13
Views: 983
My experience, as it so often is, is that it all depends on what you are trying to source and where from.

Where there is a larger secondhand market, with more traders and more available stock, you may very well find that the landed cost is still very attractive.

An example would be 645/645n/645nii film bodies from Japan. There are still loads of them to choose from, with bargains to be had.

Some of the Japanese sellers are very conservative in their condition appraisal. I have seen "Good" equipment that would easily have been rated "Excellent" by ANOther.co.uk

There is a good tax and duty calculator here: Free Duties and Taxes Calculator Japan | Easyship

Handling fees vary by courier, but so does speed of delivery. If the seller offers a choice, you can negotiate.

Some couriers also prioritize delivery over tax/duty/fee collection, i.e. they pay it for you then invoice you. Whilst this is often where the "nasty surprise" comes from, there is really no need to be caught out.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-06-2023, 01:10 AM  
Pentax 100mm 1X AW macro or Laowa 100mm 2X Macro
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 16
Views: 1,014
I've got both....and I'm keeping both.

Macro in the field is my thing. Natural light, no flash.

You can't choose your lighting, can't stop the wind blowing, and you will miss the shot if you wait. For those reasons, you will come to appreciate high quality coatings, light weight and autofocus. If you work in all weathers (spiders, mosses), you'll appreciate weather sealing too.

You will only shoot 1X on targets that you can get to within 35cm of. In these situations, fieldcraft is your skill. It's how you get in close. If you can't get in close, you will stand back and crop.

Most of your shots will be cropped in post.

If you are in the studio, with full control over lighting, no wind and a static subject, you can go for higher magnification and avoid cropping.

I bought the Laowa 2X for the 2X. The 100AW does all my field work on APS-C.
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 08-15-2023, 12:21 PM  
Batteries
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 39
Views: 1,375
Given the longevity of the Pentax battery, you can consider buying a secondhand one.

MPB often have genuine Pentax batteries, sometimes for as low as £13. I've bought several with no regrets.
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories 08-06-2023, 12:55 AM  
Thematic Dragonfly Photos, Show us your dragonflies and damselflies
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 147
Views: 7,266
Ol' Green Eyes is Back
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories 08-05-2023, 09:10 AM  
Thematic Dragonfly Photos, Show us your dragonflies and damselflies
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 147
Views: 7,266
Agreed
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 05-20-2023, 06:17 AM  
Quality or lens problem with Laowa lens
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 3
Views: 484
I'm afraid to say that might be due to separation. The optical formula suggests that the front element is a cemented doublet.
Forum: Lens Clubs 11-14-2022, 02:08 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,359
I imagine no-one wants to follow that masterpiece, but someone has to!

Trespassers in the bokeh are often the last to move. Nikkor 600mm F/5.6, Leitax conversion with K3III.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11-14-2022, 08:01 AM  
Replacement Hood for FA 20 2.8
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 13
Views: 724
I made my own from a 67mm - 86mm stepping ring, an 86mm spacer and a simple 86mm lens cap. The result has almost the same dimensions as the OEM hood.

Other options can be used, but the key is a stepping ring. I found even an ultra wide 67mm hood would vignette on my K1.
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories 11-06-2022, 09:46 AM  
Thematic Dragonfly Photos, Show us your dragonflies and damselflies
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 147
Views: 7,266
Peto's Marsh Nature Reserve.
Forum: Pentax K-01 11-06-2022, 09:39 AM  
Add your best K-01 photos here
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 3,863
Views: 776,367
Palladian Bridge and Gothic Temple, Stowe Gardens with the HD DA 40.
Forum: Lens Clubs 10-10-2022, 11:32 AM  
*Macro* lens club
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 5,102
Views: 682,703
I could go on - "CA-Dreamer Macro 2x" - but pictures speak better than words. This lens is very, very sharp indeed, as the fly on the wall crop shows.

There is no profile for this lens in Photoshop. These test shots are therefore Auto-everything (Auto in Camera Raw, Auto Tone, Auto Contrast and Auto Colour).

Build quality flatters to deceive, though. Whilst the lens feels very solid and well-made, the focus ring is stiff, with far too short a throw, the auto-aperture setting has no lock, the hood barely fits and is nearly impossible to get on and off, whilst the two end caps are loose and routinely fall off. The depth of field scale is a cosmetic joke, seemingly belonging to a wide angle.

The working distance at 2x is practically inside the length of the hood. But it has an aperture ring, and exceptional optics...
Forum: Lens Clubs 07-08-2022, 12:54 AM  
*Macro* lens club
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 5,102
Views: 682,703
Sometimes, the images I really like from the Irix 150mm and K1 Mark 1 are those taken at medium apertures. Here, I wish I'd been braver and opened up a little further than f/9.
Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II 07-07-2022, 02:21 PM  
Post your K-1 pictures!
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 37,969
Views: 3,726,587
Original K1 and Irix 150mm, natural light.
Forum: Pentax KP 06-27-2022, 02:44 AM  
Post Your Best KP Shots
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 4,384
Views: 439,280
More from the D-FA 100 WR and KP, specifically to show bokeh and transition, but in reality everything about this combination is on show here.
There was a thread recently asking what camera & lens you would buy first, if you had to re-equip. Here's my answer.
Forum: Pentax KP 06-25-2022, 11:18 AM  
Post Your Best KP Shots
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 4,384
Views: 439,280
If you plan to walk all day, the KP and D-FA 100 WR is an excellent choice for fieldwork.
Forum: Lens Clubs 06-25-2022, 11:11 AM  
*Macro* lens club
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 5,102
Views: 682,703
Oedemara nobilis, on Cow Parsley. KP and D-FA 100WR, natural light.
Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II 06-19-2022, 02:51 PM  
Post your K-1 pictures!
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 37,969
Views: 3,726,587
Sigma's slow masterpiece, the 180mm f/5.6 MF macro, in its natural full-frame environment.
Forum: Lens Clubs 06-18-2022, 03:24 PM  
*Macro* lens club
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 5,102
Views: 682,703
Down in the long grass at the end of the day are the dragonflies that you couldn't get near to when it was warmer.
Forum: Pentax KP 05-18-2022, 12:14 AM  
Post Your Best KP Shots
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 4,384
Views: 439,280
Thank you!
Forum: Lens Clubs 05-16-2022, 02:29 AM  
*Macro* lens club
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 5,102
Views: 682,703
Manual focus, handheld, but the absolute key is fieldcraft. I can see "different" as an insect flys by - this individual was not flying the same as the others due to its "load". Feeding damselflies are quite unlikely to take off as you approach.

I like to keep the KP on or around ISO640, where the accelerator kicks in. This can imply setting Av mode on a fixed ISO, or TAv (as here) if the ISO comes out at 640-800.

The short KA tube is a perfect match for the Sigma. It doesn't quite get you 1:1, but it does get you extra working distance - about 75cm here.

A KP and Sigma 180/5.6 make a very compact and lightweight kit for fieldwork.
Forum: Pentax KP 05-14-2022, 11:48 AM  
Post Your Best KP Shots
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 4,384
Views: 439,280
The Broad-bodied Chaser has a reputation for being the very first to colonise new ponds and mineral workings. This female was hunting in the hedgerows close to a pond I have been passing for over ten years, yet I have never seen a dragonfly there. Well, I have now...
KP with DFA 100 WR:
Forum: Lens Clubs 05-14-2022, 11:37 AM  
*Macro* lens club
Posted By Shedking
Replies: 5,102
Views: 682,703
Large red damselfly and victim (Tiger Sawfly?). Sigma 180mm/5.6 with 20mm extension tube, KP, natural light.
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