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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-08-2024, 07:20 PM  
Should built-in lens hood on Pentax-M 200m f4 slide out on its own?
Posted By richfam
Replies: 8
Views: 558
An alternative to repairing your loose built-in hood would be to purchase a 3rd party lens hood. The one I like quite a lot is the Sioti Long Focus Lens Hood. This hood is made of aluminum, includes a plastic clip-on lens cap that attaches to the front of the hood, and it screws into your lens' filter threads (52mm for the M 200/4). It adds just under 2 inches to the length of the lens. Available for about $10.
Forum: Pentax K-3 III Monochrome 11-12-2023, 04:16 AM  
Techradar reviews the Monochrome
Posted By richfam
Replies: 7
Views: 893
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).
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 09-24-2023, 06:23 PM  
Vintage M*/A* 300mm's vs. modern 55-300's
Posted By richfam
Replies: 19
Views: 1,168
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.
Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF 09-08-2023, 04:14 PM  
K70 with aperture block failure. Repair? Replace? Or do nothing?
Posted By richfam
Replies: 15
Views: 1,576
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.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-26-2023, 10:41 PM  
'best' non-Pentax MF K mount prime lenses
Posted By richfam
Replies: 36
Views: 2,605
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.
Forum: General Photography 12-17-2022, 07:37 PM  
Pentax was once one of the top camera sellers - question
Posted By richfam
Replies: 20
Views: 2,034
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



Forum: Welcomes and Introductions 06-22-2022, 01:44 PM  
Hello from the Midwest of the United States!
Posted By richfam
Replies: 11
Views: 425
KEH currently has a K-7 body (14MP) for $209 and a K-5 body (16MP) for $229. Both rated in Excellent condition and both with 6 month warranties. My sister has a K-7 and really likes it. keh.com
Forum: General Photography 06-04-2022, 08:23 PM  
Was there any recorded interactions between Canon and Pentax?
Posted By richfam
Replies: 4
Views: 724
This might not be exactly what you're looking for, but there was a time when Pentax controlled the rights to multicoating technology, and any optical company (presumably including Canon) that wanted to use multicoating had to purchase a license from Pentax and pay them royalties.

There's some discussion of this in a forum thread from 2014 on DPReview:
Interesting discussion about origins of lens coatings...and other photohistory: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras 06-02-2022, 04:37 AM  
Any recommendations for a fully manual rangefinder with a 35mm lens?
Posted By richfam
Replies: 38
Views: 5,245
I'll second steephill's recommendation of the Canonet G-III QL17, a fine rangefinder and readily available on the used market.
Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing 05-10-2022, 08:07 PM  
Having trouble opening RAW images from KP in older PS (CS2)
Posted By richfam
Replies: 12
Views: 1,161
I decided to test this again: I shot several DNG raw files with my K-70 and tried to open them in Photoshop CS2.

They would not open; CS2 reported an unrecognized format. I can open DNG files from some older cameras, and from Adobe DNG Converter when it is set to create a DNG file compatible with Camera Raw 2.4 and above.

I suspect the issue is that CS2 came with the Camera Raw Plugin version 3.0. I think I have all of the updates that Adobe released for CS2, but none of them updated the Camera Raw Plugin. And although Adobe has several Camera Raw versions available on their current web site, I don't see anything that looks compatible with CS2. None of this actually matters to me; my PEF --> DNG --> CS2 workflow has handled thousands of images without any problems and with excellent image quality, so I have no reason to change anything.

If you are able to open a DNG from a Pentax KP in Photoshop CS2, then I guess one of two things is happening: either your CS2 is using a Camera Raw Plugin newer than version 3.0, or the KP is writing an older version DNG file than the K-70.
Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing 05-08-2022, 05:21 PM  
Having trouble opening RAW images from KP in older PS (CS2)
Posted By richfam
Replies: 12
Views: 1,161
If you have the current version of Photoshop, or any comparable modern image editor, then yes, you should be able to open any DNG file. But that's not true for older ("obsolete") software. My Photoshop CS2 cannot open a raw file created by my K-70, either PEF or DNG. But if I use the Adobe DNG Converter to convert a K-70 PEF to the earliest format of DNG, then CS2 will open that file correctly. You can select the format to use in DNG Converter's Preferences settings.



Yes. My copy of DNG Converter, which I downloaded about four years ago, converts PEF files from my K-70, K-3 I, and K-S1, but when I downloaded a sample K-3 III PEF file it could not convert it. If I ever buy a K-3 III, I'll have to get the current version of DNG Converter to be able to use its raw files with the old CS2 software (assuming that Adobe has now added support for the K-3 III PEF format).
Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing 05-08-2022, 01:49 AM  
Having trouble opening RAW images from KP in older PS (CS2)
Posted By richfam
Replies: 12
Views: 1,161
Adobe DNG Converter can convert to many different versions of the DNG format: you need to set it to use an early (older) version.

For Photoshop CS2 - which I also use - shoot in PEF raw format and convert to one of the two earliest versions of DNG and CS2 should read them without problem.

With older Pentax cameras you can shoot in DNG raw format and CS2 will read them OK, but I don't think CS2 can read any modern raw format, PEF or DNG.
Forum: General Photography 03-26-2022, 09:09 PM  
Vivian Maier -The Destitute Street Photographer Whos Work Was Posthumously Discovered
Posted By richfam
Replies: 34
Views: 1,803
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.
Forum: General Photography 01-08-2022, 03:45 AM  
Ricoh/Pentax Photogarpher Instagrams??
Posted By richfam
Replies: 11
Views: 822
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.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 12-18-2021, 06:16 PM  
Aperture block on K50...Finding legacy lenses with aperture rings give new life!
Posted By richfam
Replies: 49
Views: 3,593
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.
Forum: General Photography 12-16-2021, 12:12 PM  
Realistic photo wish list
Posted By richfam
Replies: 45
Views: 1,825
I'd love to get a K-3iii but, realistically, getting a second K-70 at about 1/4 the price would work for my needs.

(My K-70 takes great images at ISO 6400, but I could really use a second body for high ISO work.)
Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom 10-25-2021, 02:40 PM  
Shout out to Dwayne's
Posted By richfam
Replies: 8
Views: 1,117
This clip has some scenes of Dwayne's Kodachrome processing:

CBS Sunday Morning "Photo Finish-Kodachrome"















Youtu.be



Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II 09-05-2021, 03:25 AM  
New K1 Mark II. I think I've gone too far.
Posted By richfam
Replies: 110
Views: 7,441
To date, I've used 21 different camera bodies, and still own 19 of them. I shoot regularly with 3 of these (K-3, K-S1, and K-70), while 3 others are dead. Most of the remainder would need some CLA work to become fully functional again.

Interestingly, my total outlay for purchasing these 21 cameras was only about $4000. My most expensive camera purchase was the Pentax K-70/18-135 kit that I bought in 2017 for $850. My most expensive film-era camera was a Canon T90 bought in 1987 for $528.
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 03-07-2021, 07:51 PM  
DP Review Shooting Video using the Pentax K-01
Posted By richfam
Replies: 19
Views: 1,628
Jordan Drake did comment on a similar thread on the Pentax Forums on DPReview four days ago:

Re: Pentax K-01 finally recognised by DPReview TV!: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 02-16-2021, 03:00 PM  
Canon RF 800 mm for $ 1250 Cdn. ! Will this be a hit...or what ?
Posted By richfam
Replies: 34
Views: 2,109
The fixed f/11 generated a lot of derisive comments when the lens was first announced, but reviews have been very favorable and people actually using it in the field seem to love it. With that combination of size/weight/reach & price I think that Canon does indeed have a hit on their hands.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-06-2021, 04:42 PM  
500mm Aubell Lens, F8, is this worth buying?
Posted By richfam
Replies: 9
Views: 1,362
That's interesting. Modern Photography magazine, back in the day, did an in-depth lens review matching a 500mm f/8 preset with a 400mm f/6.3 preset. The review concluded that both were good – but not great – lenses that worked best when stopped down about two stops. But the 500mm lens had slightly better resolution results. Might just be lens variation, or, if your 400mm f/6.3's had automatic apertures they might simply be a newer, better optical design than the older preset lenses.



I find Live View to be unusable outdoors in bright light, so no, I was focusing strictly with the OVF. I spent over 20 years photographing sports with manual focus cameras back in the film era, so with all of that experience I don't find using manual focus with the OVF on DSLRs to be all that difficult. Although I will say that focusing on a fast moving subject with a 500mm preset stopped down to f/16 is a bit of a challenge!
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-05-2021, 09:39 PM  
500mm Aubell Lens, F8, is this worth buying?
Posted By richfam
Replies: 9
Views: 1,362
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

Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 12-18-2020, 07:37 PM  
And my new to me K-3 is toast. Another K-3 or a new K70?
Posted By richfam
Replies: 36
Views: 18,006
For reference, note that your K-S1 will still work fine with any KAF4 lens, like the 55-300 PLM, and it will also work fine in Manual Mode with any older lens that has an aperture ring (K, M, A, F, FA).

KEH.com regularly sells used K-3's for $450 or less with a 6 month warranty (12 month warranty if purchased before Dec 31, 2020). They currently have one EX+ K-3 priced at $429 in stock. I purchased a EX K-3 from them about 6 months ago: it was in great shape and has worked without trouble through some heavy use.
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 11-16-2020, 07:39 PM  
Lens adapter for Canon lenses on Pentax
Posted By richfam
Replies: 5
Views: 2,950
I bought one: a Fotodiox Pro Lens Mount Adapter - Canon FD & FL 35mm SLR lens to Pentax K (PK) Mount SLR Camera Body, but I can't recommend it except for macro work.

It does allow a Canon FD/FL lens to focus to infinity when mounted on a Pentax body, it does have a control ring to manually stop down the lens aperture, but it also acts as a 1.4x teleconverter (in addition to the 1.5x APS-C crop factor from your K-3ii body; it turns a 20mm ultra wide lens into the equivalent of a 42mm normal lens).

But...

There's only a single optical element, and the image quality is absolutely ghastly (good teleconverters often have 5 to 7 elements). I tried several of my Canon FD mount lenses with it, and the images were all fuzzy, low-contrast, soft-focus disasters.

You can remove the optical element and just use the adapter as a short extension tube for macro work, but without infinity focus. This is why I bought the adapter: I use it to mount a Vivitar 90mm f/2.8 macro lens in Canon FD mount to my Pentax K-70. It works really great for macro shots, but the maximum focus distance is about 5 ft. (with the lens set at infinity).

The optical element is easily removed if you have a spanner wrench; not so easily removed if you don't.
Forum: Photographic Technique 10-12-2020, 07:04 PM  
Sports photography - single images
Posted By richfam
Replies: 798
Views: 132,560


Interception! (Oct 2020)

Avila University vs Bethany College

The Bethany quarterback (#10 in the background) looks on in dismay as his pass intended for wide receiver #11 is intercepted by an Avila defensive back.

I think that this is the first time that I've ever got a quarterback, his receiver, and a defender all together in a single shot!

Pentax K-3
SMC Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5
ISO 400 | 1/500 sec, f/8
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