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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-15-2024, 10:24 AM
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In today's instalment of "Will I fry my camera?", I got my hands on the Raeisup PD K-AC50 ( https://www.amazon.ca/Raeisusp-K-AC50-D-AC50-K-AC132-Adapter/dp/B0BXPK8GYB ) to go with my Bluetti AC60P to power my K5 during the upcoming total solar eclipse.
I have done a preliminary power up check to test if the camera recognizes the power station's USB-C PD port via the cable and it does. However, my concern is that the USB-C PD port on the Bluetti is a 100W port while the manufacturer only recommends using up to 65W. I suspect that the 65W warning might be a case of corporate ass covering since you can't "push" amperage and, by extension, wattage.
However, just in case the voltage converter they used is really bad and before I start taking pictures, I am curious if anyone has any long term experience with the cable and the AC60P or any other high wattage USB-C PD port. Also, since I plan to get a USB-C extension cable at some point, anyone have any recommendation for an inline fuse holder that can be connected between the extension cable and the Raeisup?
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-12-2023, 05:06 PM
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First, the bad news. You should have asked this question at least a month ago.
An annular eclipse is basically full disk solar photography and you need to gear up to do it right; both in terms of safety and results regardless of what lens you use. You also need to test your gear to ensure you don't need to buy anything else, to establish a start target for your settings to cut down on experimentation if you are facing partly/mostly cloudy skies on Saturday, and to simply know what to expect on the big day.
That said, since there is the big eclipse in April and you might still have a chance to get what you need by Saturday, you'll need two more things in addition to what you have: a field monitor and a solar filter.
The field monitor is because solar camera filters tend to not be rated for direct solar viewing. You can still burn out your eyeball using the viewfinder with a camera solar filter on. Switch to LiveView and use the monitor to stretch out the camera battery. Neewer's F100 is a decent basic monitor for the job.
The second is filters, You need a ND solar filter with an optical density of 5 (16.5 or 16.6 stops) or more to not fry your camera. You also need a UV/IR cut filter to eliminate the non visible portions of the sun's light if the solar filter doesn't have the UV/IR cut ability included. NiSi's Solar Filter is what I'm going with stacked with an ND 8 or 16 filter to get the optimum sharpness from my Bigma. However, NiSi's filter is new and this eclipse is basically its coming out party. I may use a different one in April depending on what the universal consensus is for it after Saturday.
Finally, the orange-yellow glow of the sun you see with solar/eclipse photos is either caused by the colour shift of the filter or done in post. A true colour ND filter will make the sun look white/bluish-white depending on your white balance settings.
Good luck and don't melt your camera or your eyes.
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Forum: General Photography
12-20-2020, 10:05 PM
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Looks like my plans to capture the moons at the conjunction is a bust due to my Sigma 50-500 with the teleconverter being too slow and bad light pollution along the horizon.
Now I just hope I can get clear sky tomorrow night for the big event.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-20-2020, 09:50 PM
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F2. ISO 400. 3/5s.
Unfortunately, I started getting a handle on stacking as Neowise was pulling away. (This was taken on the night of July 24-25th.)
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-14-2020, 08:04 PM
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No astrotracer? No EQ mount? No problem.
Just stack.
And stack.
And stack some more.
Then you stack.
And stack again.
Neowise with 300 exposures taken with a Pentax-A 50mm 1.7.
 25-07-20-1 by Nicholas Luton, on Flickr
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Forum: General Photography
12-14-2020, 06:21 PM
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With one week to go, time for teasers. (Pentax K-5 w. Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM @ 500mm & Sigma APO EX DG 2x teleconverter. Manual focus. F-6.3. 1/125s. ISO 51200.)
 _NRL7503 by Nicholas Luton, on Flickr
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Forum: General Photography
12-05-2020, 09:29 PM
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I've known about it for the past year and my Sigma 50-500 is ready now that my 2x teleconverter has arrived. The funny part is, I'm aiming for a Jupiter-Saturn "system" shot rather than a double planet one.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-27-2018, 04:10 PM
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I'm also considering going to one extreme and try for the "windows in the dark" look. So I'm curious to see how my new polarising filter can aid that by eliminating the reflected light off of the cars.
---------- Post added 12-27-18 at 04:22 PM ----------
Fair enough. Although, I should point out how long 2 seconds are during the dead of winter. ;)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-27-2018, 06:18 AM
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I know. I was just being snarky. However, the problem is that there is a semi-busy T intersection to the left of frame which results in annoying light painting of the scene with long exposures due to turning cars.
I really should see what my A 50mm/1.7 can do before I ask where I should throw my money around. The hoods and filters that came with it might achieve what I want better than a new lens. (Or fix the problem with A, F & FA lenses.)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-26-2018, 05:01 PM
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Well, daylight clear exteriors won't happen unless I would detonate nukes in orbit as the mother of all flashbulbs. ;)
However, what I'm trying to do is to produce a sharper image. Eliminating the graininess is out of the question since I'm fairly certain now that I can't drop the ISO to 1600 with any lens and I won't have the funds for a new body in the time frame I have. However, considering the high contrast of the subject matter, I was considering the possibility that the glass in the DA might make a difference by itself especially since I won't be using it fully open. I believe the term of the problem with my K that I've been describing is called coma with some general CA and fringing thrown in which may have been improved with modern coatings. If I was wrong about improvements to lens coatings, or vastly overestimated the improvement they would provide, I'd go with a DA 1.4 and possibly reconsider the A & F & FA 1.4's to get F1.6 & F1.8 that I can't get with my K 50mm/F1.4.
And I've been using a heavy tripod from the start with this type of shots.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-25-2018, 09:01 AM
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Indeed it will be an interesting and inexpensive experiment. :) It looks like it's comparable to the K 50/1.4 at F2, which is why I started musing about the DA 50/1.8, and it came with all the toys to push it to the limits. At the very least, I'll be able to decide if the A 50/1.4 and 1.2 are worth it before I go with a new body.
The big headache with depth of field is that I'm trying to freeze motion with photos like the one above so that I can bring out the interiors. Simply put, light streaks are boring. Unfortunately, the minimum shutter speed I need for photos like that is 1/125s which means wide open and high ISO. Add to that the train in the photo is switching to a daylight schedule in four months which is well before I planned to get a replacement body which forces me to decide if this is the best I can do now with what I have and with what lenses are available. :S
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Forum: General Talk
12-24-2018, 09:07 PM
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An interesting little packaged which was delivered by Canada Post on a Sunday. I burned out the fungus (none internal) on the lens with hydrogen peroxide. However, I may need to use some ammonia to eliminate the "shadow" of the fungus on the glass.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-24-2018, 08:50 PM
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In my case, it's for night shots taken beyond 10 meters (infinity). So depth of field is less of a concern.
Basically, I'm looking to improve the quality of images like this:
In a perfect world, the lens I'm looking for would improve sharpness and allow me to open the lens wide enough to drop the ISO to 1600 from 3200 to reduce the graininess.While I doubt that the difference between 1.8 and 2 would be enough to drop the ISO, I'm ultimately hoping that 30+ years of improvements in lens making technology would make a difference with sharpness even if I'm still shooting at F2. But, ultimately, I know that there is the possibility that I won't do any better no matter how much money I throw at fast 50's and I'll need to move on to my next Pentax body.
In the short term, I'm going to see what the A 1.7 can pull off.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-24-2018, 02:23 PM
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So as the giftmas season starts to transition to the cold dark of winter, I'm starting to look at a supplement/replacement to my Pentax-K 50mm on my K5. The problem I have with it is that when shooting in low light conditions at F1.4, point light sources turn into horrendous blobs of light. As a result, I've been stuck at F2 or narrower. Now, my impression is that this was something that wasn't fixed with the M, A, F, & FA lenses and I'd prefer to avoid doing post work to fix it. As a result, and considering the cost of digital 50/55mm 1.4's, I'm looking at the DA 50mm F1.8.
The thing is though, I haven't seen a head-to-head comparison between the two lenses. So I'm not sure if the DA will be able to at least match my K at F2. So does anyone with experience with both lenses in low light conditions feel that the DA is an improvement over the K or should I hold out for a digital 50/55mm 1.4?
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Forum: General Talk
12-03-2018, 07:33 PM
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I don't expect anything special or even good. However, the chance to play with an extremely long lens (1-4 meters!), no matter how slow or poor quality images, was too tempting to not gather all the adapter parts for it. That and I'm in it for less than $100 total.
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Forum: General Talk
11-13-2018, 02:52 PM
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Well, if I had any doubts that Magnicons were rebranded Tokinas... (Finally got the SH-522 hood for it.)
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Forum: General Talk
11-06-2018, 10:48 AM
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Forum: General Talk
11-05-2018, 01:22 PM
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-31-2018, 01:44 PM
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I should point out that my interest is nothing more advanced than KA lenses around the early 90's. So, aside from the differences in how each company implements camera aperture control, electronics shouldn't be much of an issue.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-30-2018, 08:28 PM
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That's what worries me the most since it's possible that some lenses might have reverse threading on the front group even though they are also Sigma λII's.
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Forum: General Talk
10-30-2018, 07:25 PM
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I wasn't talking about lenses in general. Just Sigma telescoping zoom KA lenses. ;)
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-30-2018, 04:39 PM
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In this case, I mostly need the front focus group (I'm not sure if it's fungus or the coating) and the mount screws. So those are the most needed if I have to junk everything else.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-30-2018, 03:20 PM
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Since I decided to start playing the "as is" game on eBay, and I realized that my Sigma 75-300mm needs work, I began to wonder which lens mount versions would have the same components as the K-mount version with third party lenses? Basically, and it probably is easier said than done, if you were to replace the existing mount on a lens with a K-mount, it would more or less be identical to the k-mount version of that lens. The idea is that if I need parts, I don't have to wait for another k-mount version of that lens and I only have to worry about throwing out the mount components.
I have read that the Nikon AI/AI-S version of third party lenses might achieve what I want, but I want to be sure and to see what other options I have.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-30-2018, 05:56 AM
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Although, I do plan to get another one of the same model to restore this lens. So I may take a stab at seeing what would happen if I were to create the error I thought I originally did.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
10-30-2018, 05:42 AM
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Basically the photo that convinced me that my Sigma lens was worth restoring to its full capabilities. (And to buy more from that era.)
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