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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 02-02-2018, 04:48 PM

What do you think are the K-3's biggest weaknesses?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 44
Views: 5,244

Why the rudeness?

Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 02-02-2018, 04:00 PM

What do you think are the K-3's biggest weaknesses?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 44
Views: 5,244

The K-3 and K-3 II have a lot of strengths. I think those are mostly obvious or else we wouldn't all be here. But the camera has a lot of weaknesses too. I don't necessarily specs that lag behind other brands, but inherent weaknesses to the K-3 design that can get in your way while shooting. Here's a list of my own top 5, uh I mean...7 weaknesses of the ergonomics and controls.

Confusing front buttons: Including the x-sync socket cover, there are four little nubs running up the front left side of the camera that you need to press by feel alone. The AF mode and Raw/Fx button have exactly the same tactile response, and if you're not careful, it can be easy to grab one and think you have the other. The problem could easily be solved by texturing one of the buttons. They could make it even better (for use with gloves) by utilizing the other side of the camera front for the custom function button, like Nikon, Canon and Fuji all do.

Too few Fn buttons and lack of many functions for them: Even though Pentax offers a good amount of external controls and customizations available to the dials and green button which confusingly change in each respective shooting mode, there's only one button on the camera that could truly be called a function button, which has a rather limited set of possible functions. I have mine set to toggle SR, and then I menu-dive to change JPEG image size, which is tedious.

Playback button location: I prefer to keep automatic image review off and only review images as needed - this preference mainly comes from the fact that I need to use the rear LCD to change certain settings on the K-3 like white balance or certain drive mode specifics, which don't show up on the top LCD. So, an automatically displayed image can get in the way of a quick follow up shot with different settings. Needing to use my left hand to toggle playback is annoying and tedious. I might be supporting the lens with my left hand, so I end up breaking my shooting stance just to review an image, which ought to be a quick process.

Changing AF mode: The K-5 had a beautifully intuitive switch for AF point selection on the back of the camera. With the K-3, we lost that and gained a movie mode toggle that nobody needs to access so quickly that they can't shift their grip. As I've been shooting with my 55-300mm PLM more and more, I've been discovering how badly set up the K-3 is for changing between AF-S and AF-C modes. Namely, when I change from AF-S with spot (not Select) center point to AF-C with 9 point area selection, that the 4-way controller is automatically toggled to become an AF point selector, and I then need to press an additional button (not conveniently located, and the indicator for which is not easily visible in the viewfinder if you wear glasses) to switch it back and access those controls, namely WB and drive mode, again. My workaround has been to assign one of my custom user slots to be my dedicated "action" mode because otherwise, there are just too many tedious button presses for a simple AF mode change.

Live View button location: This is another one that mystifies me. Live View can be a useful way to confirm focus while shooting MF lenses, so moving it all the way to where you can't reach it from a shooting grip just makes the camera less useful.

Rear LCD screen in shooting mode: There's no single button press to make the Info screen go dark while shooting, and also no eye sensor to make it go dark when you bring the camera up to your eye. It will go dark with a shutter half-press, but The only way to turn it off permanently is with five (count them) total button presses across three separate buttons (Info, Info, Right, Right, OK). Getting the Info screen back is just about as bad (Info, Info, Right, OK), so it's not really a "quick info" screen. This is mostly an annoyance because the top LCD is missing certain important info (namely, white balance and AF mode), so I end up looking at the rear LCD most of the time instead of the top LCD, but bringing the camera up to my face in low light, I get light in my face.

Switching between cards while shooting: Strangely, there is no obvious menu setting to set to only record to card 1 for a while, and then change it to only record to card 2 for a while. And if you power on the camera while only card 2 is in the camera, and then put card 1 back in the camera later, then the camera will now record to card 2 as default. The only way to change it back is to physically remove card 2 and power on the camera with only card 1 inserted.

So what are your biggest gripes with the K-3/K-3II?

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-01-2018, 11:46 AM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

The only insults here are coming from the emotional insinuations in your post. I never insulted anyone or made claims about people's character. I just asked people to prove what they were assuming or claiming. I only care about what people say.

Summary of my replies:
Builttospill said "soccer moms will typically spend more than the pros." I questioned this claim.
Builttospill then claimed that "the moms" (I'm assuming this means "most moms" but I think that's a fair interpretation) at the children's sporting events he attends use 5D Mark IV's. I questioned whether his experience really translated to the world outside of his life, which might be biased by his socioeconomic circle.
Wheatfield implied that the claim "very few pros actually buy 'pro equipment' and that the vast majority of 'pro' equipment is bought by amateurs" is true. I questioned his premise by pointing out that it's not really self-evident, as his phrasing would suggest.
Monochrome said that there are "8 billion amateur photographers on the planet" and implied that this means more amateurs own pro equipment than pros do. I questioned both his claim and the validity of his logic with an analogy.
Wheatfield said he wasn't interested in what I thought. I called BS.
Beholder3 made certain claims about professional equipment purchasing habits and made the same logical fallacy that Monochrome did, that because there are more amateurs buying photography equipment in general than pros, therefore more amateurs are buying pro equipment. I asked for sources, and when he presented some, I asked for him to present evidence to support all of his claims, not just some or partial. I also asked a few questions to illustrate the logical disconnect from some of his sources and the claims he was making. It may surprise some people, but not just any source is relevant to any given claim. The people who think I was nitpicking him are not thinking critically.

Finally, I made a kind of joking post poking fun at some of the claims I had just finished addressing, only to be met with emotional responses from some of the people who'd defended or originally made them. When you start a post with "Lol," I hope people understand that the tone is going to be humorous. I think most people who read it would agree that I said nothing inappropriate.

Normhead, I don't believe I've replied to you until now on this topic, but all of a sudden you come at me with these emotionally-charged weasel words, saying I've done such horrible things in this thread.I hope you can see the irony in the fact that such unprompted venom as I highlighted in bold in your post is more troll-like than anything I've written.

Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 02-01-2018, 11:02 AM

Why is the battery life of the K-3 lower than the K-5?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 42
Views: 4,410

These are incorrect assumptions, and I'll explain why. The specs for the K-3II do not specify both with and without flash - it just gives a single value and you assumed it was the number of shots with a flash. If you compare all the other values, especially the playback time, it's clear that this is actually the number of shots without a flash. The K-3 gives both values. The K-5 gives both values. The playback time is key. The below excerpts are exact quotes. Each one was most likely written by a different author because each spec sheet has its own idiosyncratic formatting conventions. All I did was insert line breaks and changed the color of the text to make it a little easier to digest.

K-5 II:
Number of recordable images: approx. 740 images* (with 50% flash usage); approx. 960 images (without flash usage).*
Playback time: approx. 440 minutes.

K-3:
Number of recordable images: (with 50% flash usage): approx. 560 images, (without flash usage): approx: 720 images
Playback time: Approx. 370 minutes

K-3 II:
Number of recordable images: Approx.: 720 images
Playback time: Approx. 370 minutes

Edit: Of course, this should be obvious to anyone who actually owns a K-3 II (neither of us, apparently, lol), since the K-3 II doesn't even have a flash.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-01-2018, 10:42 AM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

Lol, people sure get triggered easily when asked to support their claims with reason and evidence. If you make ridiculous claims like that most parents who can be found at children's soccer games own Canon 5D Mark IV's, that all 8 billion people in the world can be defined as amateur photographers, or that tens of millions of people in Germany are buying professional photography equipment, please be prepared to be met with a little skepticism. I'm not being argumentative for the sake of being argumentative. I simply don't live in the same reality that you do where every ILC sale in a country equates with a soccer mom or dad buying a 5D Mark IV.

Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 02-01-2018, 01:56 AM

Why is the battery life of the K-3 lower than the K-5?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 42
Views: 4,410

Did you even open the links? The numbers are directly comparable.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-01-2018, 01:31 AM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

Why do you think pros only have one camera each? Why think they buy a new camera only that often? Why are you equating a single ILC sale with the concept of professional camera equipment? Does owning a Rebel make one an owner of professional camera equipment?The conversation originally started when one person saw an amateur in the park with a 5D Mark IV and extrapolated this to mean that most amateurs buy 5D Mark IV's. Is that what you're talking about, or are you making a different claim? How do you define amateur photographer? Because if you're trying to say that all 80 million people in Germany are amateur photographers, then your definition pointlessly overlaps with the concept of "living," and we're going to need a new definition for this conversation.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-01-2018, 12:31 AM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

Sources for any of these numbers?

Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 02-01-2018, 12:14 AM

Why is the battery life of the K-3 lower than the K-5?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 42
Views: 4,410

My source is the horse's mouth.

See:
Specifications?K-3 | RICOH IMAGING
and
K-5II / K-5IIs | RICOH IMAGING

K-3 II is presumably the same as the K-3, but they just list the number without the use of the flash: Specifications? PENTAX K-3 II | RICOH IMAGING

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-01-2018, 12:10 AM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

And according to your "law of large numbers," do tell me what percentage of the 1.3 billion people living in India (India's GDP per capita is $1,989, in case you didn't know that) are buying up Canon Mark IV's. Is it ninety or ninety-five percent of them?

You do realize that you've taken an irrational position, right? Actually, it's not just irrational, it's completely insane.

Who are you trying to fool? If you didn't care, you wouldn't have replied.

Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 01-31-2018, 11:53 PM

Why is the battery life of the K-3 lower than the K-5?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 42
Views: 4,410

K-5 & K-5 II battery life: 980 shots
K-3 & K-3 II battery life: 720 shots without flash

Anybody know why the battery life went down so much between camera generations from K-5 to K-3?

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-31-2018, 08:32 PM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

I am immediately doubtful of any claims presented in the format of "you do realize X, right?" where X is sneakily implied to be a self-evident truth, when in fact it's not. Can you prove that amateurs buy the "vast majority of 'pro' equipment"?

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-31-2018, 05:13 PM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

Non-professionals with $3500 camera bodies: you sure that's really a common occurrence and not just a result of being enrolled in a more affluent, "top 1%'er" school district? ;)

All the soccer moms I know have Rebels and D3000 series cameras.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-31-2018, 01:14 PM

Where is the DA version of the FA* 28-70 f2.8?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 69
Views: 4,715

I don't think you're using the phrase "crop factor" the way other people do. Most people use it to refer to the apparent field of view you get from a given focal length on each size sensor, respectively. A 16-50mm lens on APS-C is a standard zoom, the same way a 24-70mm lens on full frame is a standard zoom. I'm using this term to refer to a single zoom lens that does the work of the following three primes: wide angle, normal and short telephoto. When you put a 24-70mm lens on APS-C, it's slightly less versatile because it lacks wide angle ability (not that it really matters, of course). It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, is what I want to say.

What rarely gets mentionedin these conversations is that the equivalent depth of field, for equivalent lenses, is also not apples-to-apples. Using this online depth of field calculator, I calculated that a normal FOV, 28mm, lens at f/2.8 on APS-C, focusing on a subject at 12 feet, produces a depth of field of about 6.75 feet. By comparison, a normal FOV, 43mm, lens at f/2.8 on full frame, focusing on a subject at 12 feet, produces a depth of field of about 4.1 feet. Therefore, a 16-50mm f/2.8 lens on APS-C is actually the full frame equivalent of a 24-75mm f/4.5 lens (which is probably not what most people think they're getting when they buy one!). To have a truly comparable lens to what the 24-70mm f/2.8 can do on full frame in terms of both focal length and depth of field, a standard zoom lens for APS-C must cover 16-50mm while having a maximum aperture of f/1.8. Perhaps this is part of the "pixie dust" effect that you have in mind, which you say you're not seeing in images from the DA*16-50/2.8.

As for the lenses mentioned, I have experience with the DA*50-135mm f/2.8 and it was noticeably soft in the center of the frame at the 135mm end until I stopped it down to about f/8. By contrast, my Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 lens was sharp wide open across the entire range (and cost less brand new, at that!). Maybe I got a bad copy because this lens is highly rated on PF, but my experience, in addition to the notorious SDM failure rate, has soured me a bit on Pentax's DA Star lenses. The DA*16-50/2.8 is also highly rated here, but given the above-mentioned non-equivalent depth of field capabilities, it may be the case that you'd be happier on a full frame system.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-31-2018, 12:20 PM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

Uh.... Not so sure about that, builttospill. Maybe single people who are more interested in their hobbies than in dating (of which I should include myself :D), but I never knew a so-called soccer mom (or dad) who owned a lot of expensive hobby gear.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-30-2018, 11:10 AM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

To me, this is really a question of mid range lenses for full frame. Nobody is talking about "cheapo" lenses. The $550 range is the realm of mid range glass - lenses that would be a huge step up for hobbyists, while not paying extra for features or attributes that only a professional could truly take advantage of. There's usually a big quality gain from the $100 lens to the $400 lens, but only an incremental quality gain from the $400 lens to the $1400 lens. This is why mid range lenses sell so well, and why I think Pentax/Ricoh are stupid for virtually ignoring this whole class of lenses. I also don't agree with your statement "the vast majority here doesn't want this type of [lens]," since the 85mm f/1.8 $550 lens option was the second most wished for lens in the survey, out of about 50 other choices.

On Canon, the EF 85mm f/1.8 is a $369 lens, brand new. It's a fast lens at f/1.8, it's very usable wide open and sharp when stopped down, it has a metal mount, and it has Canon's fast, quiet and "quick shift capable" USM focus motor, same as what they put into their premium "L" lenses. You mention the DA50/1.8, and although the optics of a lens like this could probably be compared directly with Canon's mid range lenses, the build quality is significantly inferior to a true mid range lens.

Personally, I also don't see the need for an 85/1.8 on Pentax APS-C, since the DA*55/1.4 and DA70/2.4 are fantastic portrait lenses and both are priced very reasonably, IMO. However, for full frame, I can understand the desire for a good mid range portrait lens.

As for resistance to purple fringing, that's very overrated, IMO. It doesn't affect every photo, and it can also be corrected in post to a degree. If a hobbyist doesn't want to be restricted to, for example, no portraiture against a bright sky background without color fringing, then they can always cough up the $1000+ for the pro glass. It's not a deal killer for most people who would buy a mid range portrait lens.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-29-2018, 10:40 PM

Anybody use the square lens hood on a DA 35mm f/2.4?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 10
Views: 1,780

I use a hood as a way to protect my lens (and entire camera) from scratches and bumps. If the hood isn't welded to the lens, then the point of using it as a bump protector goes away. It sure looks snazzy, though. I may have to get an FA 50mm f/1.4 at some point just so I can have a lens with a period correct 90s square hood.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-29-2018, 10:36 PM

Pentax prime lens wishlist survey 2018
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 178
Views: 10,144

Just my opinion, but Pentax needs to focus more on their mid range telephoto lenses - I mean lenses for less than $1000 MSRP that produce images that are actually usable at the long end and have fast autofocus - before introducing another $6,000 telescope that most hobbyists (and let's face it, Pentax is a hobbyist brand at this point) will never, EVER be able to afford.

Canon, as a brand, is helped IMMENSELY by the existence of lenses like the EF 70-200mm f/4L (IS and non-IS), both of which can be had for very affordable prices used ($450-650) - and even the new price for the non-IS version is pretty low ($599). I can't think of which Pentax lens is supposed to be comparable. All of them are either flawed by things like softness at the long end, having a narrow variable aperture, slow/noisy autofocus, defective autofocus in older production (so the used market on SDM lenses is a big gamble), or by simply being priced way out of anything that would be considered "mid range."

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-29-2018, 06:13 PM

Anybody use the square lens hood on a DA 35mm f/2.4?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 10
Views: 1,780

I was browsing ebay and saw that Pentax makes a square lens hood that either fits the FA 50mm f/1.4 lens, or perhaps it fits any lens with 49mm filter threads. I haven't been able to find any pictures that really explain how it attaches to the lens, whether it screws into the filter threads or whether it clamps on the outside of the barrel with spring tension... Has anyone here ever attached said lens hood to their DA 35mm f/2.4 lens, and does it seem secure on that lens?

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-13-2018, 03:41 PM

DA 16-85 issues
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 23
Views: 5,124

I owned one in the past and never had any issues with the build quality. I take my gear into the outdoors and am often hiking with the camera out, exposed to the elements. That said, this lens didn't see that much use before I sold it because it was just too big and awkward to hike with. I eventually replaced it with a DA 20-40 Ltd WR, and it's a lot more compact, but you lose A LOT of reach on either end. The 16-85mm focal length range is a very useful one. If I were you, I'd give the lens another shot. Get it repaired, sell it, and use the proceeds to buy a new one with a new warranty. You could have just gotten a lemon.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-13-2018, 03:25 PM

If Pentax made a HD DA 28mm f/2.8 Limited......
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 105
Views: 7,283

Because people can't decide on what they want (i.e., welcome to any internet message board). One group vociferously wants such a lens to have FF coverage, while not understanding why the other group vociferously wants such a lens to be lightweight and inexpensive. Each group wonders why their preferences can't reconcile with the other's and balks that they can't have both.

IMO, there is a gap for a fast, "true normal" field of view prime on Pentax APS-C, if you assume the following: 1) many APS-C users use the format because the K-1 costs too much (this rules out the 31mm Ltd for many users and potential users), and 2) many Pentax APS-C users specifically have come to like the compactness that their DA Limiteds offer them (this makes the trade-off of losing FF coverage to gain compactness a logical one for many users).

My take is that FF shooters can use the 31/1.8 Ltd if they want a fast, wide angle prime with FF coverage (and the price wouldn't be so different from other premium FF lenses), but that lens is just too big and expensive for the average APS-C shooter who can get a DA Limited in other focal lengths for half the price and half the weight. I think it would be neat to see a lens like the 43/1.9 Ltd scaled down in focal length and coverage to be a fast 28mm lens that's optimized for APS-C in the same way that the Canon EF 40mm STM was scaled down as the EF-S 24mm STM without any change in bulk. I'm not totally against the OP's idea of a f/2.8 prime if it's the only way to make the lens compact; I just think it's not as simple of an issue as "you can't have a fast pancake below an arbitrary mm focal length"). Maybe I'm just ignorant of lens design, but I haven't seen egineering credentials from any of the nay-sayers either.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-10-2018, 02:04 PM

PLM autofocusing, is it really that fast?
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 29
Views: 3,239

OK, I just got my 55-300 PLM, and it's everything you guys said it was. I like how with the lens retracted and the hood on, it's the same length as the 55-300/4-5.8 was without its hood. Just testing it around the house, the focusing is extremely fast, even from minimum focus transitioning to infinity. Pre-focused from approximately the same distance range, it's instantaneous. The older lens feels ancient by comparison with its slow turning and noisy screw drive. I should have a chance to test this out with a friend's very active puppy this weekend. Thanks for the feedback!

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-10-2018, 12:36 AM

If Pentax made a HD DA 28mm f/2.8 Limited......
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 105
Views: 7,283

How on earth was a lens that isn't even on the market yet able to outperform anything, much less the Canon? Do you have any kind of self-awareness of how deluded you sound when you say something like that? It's one thing to have faith in a brand, but you exceeded the level of believer and became a preacher when you pushed your delusion onto me, twice now, unsolicited. No, thank you. I'm interested in fact-based reality only, please!

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-09-2018, 03:35 PM

If Pentax made a HD DA 28mm f/2.8 Limited......
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 105
Views: 7,283

L = Canon's premium/professional tier with highly corrected optics, latest focus motor, weather sealing, all the bells and whistles.
D FA* = Pentax's premium/professional tier with highly corrected optics, latest focus motor, weather sealing, all the bells and whistles, but somehow it isn't equivalent at all to the Canon L series because kunzite said so.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-09-2018, 02:46 PM

If Pentax made a HD DA 28mm f/2.8 Limited......
Posted By Gimbeley

Replies: 105
Views: 7,283

Kunzite, Last time I'm doing this. I didn't say "no reason to make that lens," in reference to the D FA* 50/1.4 or any other lens. I said there's no reason the new D FA lenses need to be so big and expensive in general. I further clarified the comment by framing it in the context of a comparison with Canon's premium lenses, which are good enough designs to be lauded as the standards in their niches, yet are often lighter and less expensive than their equivalent D FA's. What's not to understand here? I feel like I've explained myself forwards and backwards and upside-down already, but you keep finding ways to put words in my mouth. Re-read my earlier posts if you still don't understand.

In regard to the DA FA* 50/1.4, in the same focal length, Canon's L lens equivalent is 8 ounces lighter, according to the weight of the D FA* 50mm that you cited earlier. The Canon 50/1.2L is also a half stop faster than the Pentax and the image quality is so good that it's doubtful, to me, that Pentax could out-of-the-blue bring a design to market that just happens to be that much better optically to justify the added weight.

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