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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
2 Days Ago
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Yes... or, as the locals say "Yah sure!"
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III Monochrome
11-12-2023, 04:16 AM
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The fact that he lists being a DSLR as a con suggests that he doesn't know what he is talking about. If you put a monochrome sensor into a mirrorless camera you cripple the autofocus (see Leica Q2 monochrom) because phase-detect autofocus only works with a color sensor. A mirrorless monochrome camera can only use contrast-detect autofocus (what DSLRs use in live view).
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-24-2023, 06:23 PM
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I'll second the suggestion of the F* 300/4.5 -- it's a superb lens that works just as good in manual focus mode as in autofocus mode. I bought mine new in 1988 and used it exclusively as a manual focus lens for several years with great results.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
09-08-2023, 04:14 PM
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The aperture block on my K-70 failed almost five years ago. Since then, I just use it manual mode with my aperture ring equipped lenses. It works fine; it's my primary camera for low light work (at 6400 ISO), and I also use it for all of my film scanning (articulated screen works great on a copy stand). My main camera is a K-3 that can use all of my modern lenses.
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Forum: Pentax K-S1 & K-S2
10-02-2019, 06:34 PM
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I purchased a used K-S1 earlier this year to back up my K-70; I shoot many events where having two bodies is extremely useful. I'm really liking the K-S1: I got used to the odd ergonomics and minimalist controls very quickly, and I really appreciate the camera's small size and light weight.
And I've been getting some good shots with it! Here, a gull soars over the water at the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area in Kansas.
Pentax K-S1
SMC Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5
ISO 400 | 1/1000 sec, f/8
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-26-2023, 10:41 PM
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For me, it's the Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 -- one of my all-time favorite lenses to use. It creates superb images under any lighting conditions. Note that I don't shoot portraits, and I never shoot it wide open, which are the two things most photographers think about with such a lens. It's great for so much more than just bokeh portraits.
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Forum: General Photography
12-17-2022, 07:37 PM
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A couple of data points:
1966: Asahi is the world's first camera manufacturer to produce one million SLRs (after only in 14 years of manufacturing)
1981: The first camera manufacturer to reach the production milestone of 10 million SLR cameras (Asahi Optical)
And a collection of three Japanese TV commercials from Pentax's heyday (featuring the famous "Pentax Girl"):
Youtu.be
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9LyyPGgE5Gk?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-02-2022, 04:37 AM
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I'll second steephill's recommendation of the Canonet G-III QL17, a fine rangefinder and readily available on the used market.
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Forum: General Photography
03-26-2022, 09:09 PM
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I have compiled a list of YouTube videos about specific photographers on my web site that you might find useful:
https://jayarichardson.com/videos
Scroll down a bit past the "GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHY CHANNELS" section to the part labelled "SPECIFIC PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THEIR WORK". There you'll find a list of nearly 200 photographers that have had videos made about them (many of the photographers have multiple videos listed).
The quality varies quite a bit, of course, but I have watched each of these videos, and I don't list a video unless I find something of interest in it. I'm continuing to add to this list on a regular basis.
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Forum: General Photography
01-08-2022, 03:45 AM
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Hmm... Lots of dislike for Instagram here.
Well, for those who do use Instagram, here's a link to my account and a few others that might be of interest to Pentax shooters.
@pfgkansas
My personal Instagram account. All of my digital work is done with Pentax equipment, but back in the film era I shot primarily with a Canon FD system. Lately I've really been moving my effort to get those old film photos digitized into high gear, so most of what you'll see on my account is old Canon film images with just a few modern Pentax digital images mixed in.
@pentax.photography.official
The official Pentax European Account, shares photos made with current Pentax equipment by photographers who post using the official lens hashtags. Includes links to each photographer's account, so it's a great way to find other Pentax photographers on Instagram.
@renefisher_photography
A Ricoh Imaging Ambassador, posting excellent photos taken with current Pentax equipment.
@ogunturkay
A Pentax Nordic Ambassador who posts stunning bird photos, many taken with the DA 560mm. Includes extensive notes on each photo's subject.
@pentaxians_yearbook
Photos submitted to the annual Pentaxians Yearbook, posted to Instagram with the permission of the contributing photographers. Mostly inactive these days.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-18-2021, 06:16 PM
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My K-70 suffered aperture block failure at around 14,000 clicks; I chose not to get it repaired (or try to repair it myself) and have since put another 14,000 clicks on the body in manual mode. It still works great, and I have no complaints. I expect that my "crippled" K-70 will continue to work fine until the shutter wears out.
I chose not to repair it because I shoot in manual mode most of the time anyway, and 15 of my 19 lenses have aperture rings and are thus usable with the K-70 in manual mode. For my 4 modern lenses without an aperture ring, I use them with a K-S1 and a K-3.
So, with my current set-up, the rugged K-3 is my main camera; the K-70 pretty much stays at ISO 6400 for low-light photography and night/indoor sports; and the K-S1 backs up either of the other two whenever I need to use two camera bodies to cover an event.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-05-2021, 09:39 PM
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Probably not. I tested this idea with my 500mm Kalimar f/8 preset telephoto vs the superb SMC Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5.
I shot the same static subject with both lenses on a 24MP APS-C camera, and then cropped the 300mm image to match the field of view of the 500mm lens. When viewed at the same size, the 500mm image had slightly better sharpness and detail... and a bigger problem was that the cropped 300mm image was simply running out of pixels: it was about 7MP in size. Crop the 500mm image even a little and the matching 300mm image will drop under 5MP and become unusable for many purposes.
Below is a cropped image taken with my 500mm Kalimar. It doesn't match the image quality that you'd get from better lenses like the 150-450mm or the 560mm, but it's not bad. My local newspaper was delighted to run it.
Pentax K-3
Kalimar 500mm f/8 Pre-Set
ISO 1600 | 1/500 sec, f/16
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-20-2020, 04:10 PM
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Contact! (Jun 2020)
All eyes are on the ball as it meets the bat in this summer high school baseball game.
The regular Spring seasons were cancelled due to the Covid-19 lockdown, so once the restrictions had eased a bit area coaches arranged a series of unofficial summer games for any players that might be interested. The games went well, with no reported infections among players or spectators.
Pentax K-3
Kalimar 500mm f/8 Pre-Set
ISO 1600 | 1/500 sec, f/16
Manual focus, single shot mode
(Note that there's an error in the EXIF data: it reports a 600mm lens because I accidentally clicked on the wrong number when I mounted the lens.)
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-02-2020, 07:23 PM
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I have a collection of short reviews of some older photography books on my website:
Book Reviews - Jay Alan Richardson Photography
Most of these are not technical "how-to" books but rather collections of great photographs. Almost all are now out of print, but you can often find used copies at reasonable prices, and a large library may also have some of them. Parental discretion is, of course, advised.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-27-2020, 03:42 AM
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I own a K-3 (very similar to the K-3II) and a K-70, so I'll list the key benefits of each, as I see them.
K-3:
* Much more rugged
* No aperture block to fail
* Dual memory card slots
* Useful top LCD display
* More fun to shoot (this is subjective)
K-70:
* Better low light performance
* Fully articulating LCD screen
* Smaller, lighter
I like them both, but the K-3 is the better camera... except when shooting in low light, where the K-70 is superb.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-18-2020, 06:11 PM
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Yes! I've used the F* 300mm extensively with my K-70 and it remains the same superb lens that it was when I purchased it new back in 1988. It also works equally well with my K-S1 and K-3 cameras. The screw-drive autofocus is plenty fast for sports... if you have some skill in shooting sports to begin with, and it also works well as a manual focus lens. It's the best lens I've ever used!
Pentax K-70
SMC Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5
ISO 400 | 1/500 sec, f/8
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-18-2020, 01:40 PM
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KEH is a good place to look for used Pentax bodies.
They currently have a K-3 for $414 and a K-5iiS for $330. Both rated "Excellent" (EX) with a 6 month warranty.
I've recently purchased a K-S1 ($218, EX, 4000 clicks) and a K-3 ($439, EX, 1000 clicks) from them and have been very pleased with both cameras.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-05-2020, 11:41 PM
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I have that Vivitar lens in M42 mount. It's an excellent lens for close-ups: very sharp while providing a comfortable working distance. It's not quite as useful for normal subjects, as the focusing throw (designed for near-macro work) feels a little awkward when focusing on distant subjects.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-06-2020, 12:06 AM
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The K-70 doesn't support in-camera panorama photos. But there are computer programs (some free) that will stitch together a series of overlapping still photos to create a panorama image, and I think some photo editors also have this capability. I don't think there are many full-size cameras with panorama capability; it's possibly easier to do with the smaller sensors found in compact cameras and cellphones.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
02-02-2020, 12:24 PM
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If you use the Fotodiox adapter to mount FD lenses on your K-70, the resulting image quality will ghastly; I know, because I tried it. The adapter is basically a 1.4x teleconverter using just a single glass element, so sharpness & contrast are totally trashed... and the combination of 1.4x and the APS-C crop means that a 20mm ultrawide becomes equivalent to a 42mm full frame lens. If you remove the glass element, then the adapter will work really well as a short extension tube for macrophotography with your FD lenses, but they won't focus infinity. Good teleconverters usually contain multiple glass elements and cost far more than the Fotodiox adapter.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
11-10-2019, 04:31 PM
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In September I participated in a sunset photo tour at the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas. The refuge is a native prairie preserve that is home to a large herd of bison. We went out into the refuge about an hour before sunset to shoot grazing bison backlit by the setting sun; I'd guess that there were probably 30 to 40 photographers participating. Although I did talk with some of the other photographers, I didn't pay much attention to what gear they were using. I figured there was little chance of running into another Pentax shooter in such a small group in the middle of Kansas.
But a few days ago a Pentax photographer from Wichita, KS posted a sunset photo from Maxwell over on the Pentaxians Facebook group. I commented on his photo, and discovered that we were both present on the Sept sunset tour. Hopefully we'll have a chance to meet on a future tour.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-05-2019, 06:53 PM
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Here's a video review of this lens (posted on 4 Dec 2019), including many sample & test images. Interesting that it has an optional mini LED ringlight that will fit on its front filter threads:
Youtu.be
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L_GCNHdA3cY?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
11-26-2019, 11:43 AM
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Welcome from Lindsborg. The K-70 is a fine camera; it's what I use (along with a K-S1). If you plan to buy more gear, the user reviews section here can be very helpful.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
08-16-2019, 09:51 PM
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I bought my SF1n in June, 1989 ($375 body only from B&H) and loved it. (And it's still fully functional.)
It does have a VERY slow autofocus: completely unusable for sports/action, and, with the lenses I had (F 50/1.7, F* 300/4.5) I found that even with stationary subjects it was just easier to focus manually. I never used the autofocus for anything other than test shots.
But, it does have an outstanding focus-assist system for manual focusing. In addition to beeping/flashing a red dot when focus is achieved (as modern digital camera do), it also had two green arrows that would light up in the viewfinder to tell you which way to turn the focusing ring to achieve focus. That was surprisingly useful; I wish modern cameras had it.
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Forum: General Talk
08-12-2019, 10:07 PM
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Ok, South Korean actress Ha Ji-won. Probably unknown to anyone outside of Korea other than fans of Korean shows, but she is a talented actress. She's not drop-dead gorgeous like typical movie stars, but has more of a girl-next-door appeal. Check her out in "Secret Garden," a romantic comedy in 20 one-hour episodes (subtitled in English).
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