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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-30-2020, 03:43 AM
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The Sigma 10-20mm is great on an APS-C camera. The Samyang 14mm is also an excellent lens (way better than the Sigma 14mm which I also have) although I only really use it with the K1.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
04-27-2020, 01:03 AM
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Here's an old one using my FA* 85mm F1.4 and a *ist DS of my son:
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Forum: Lens Clubs
04-27-2020, 01:00 AM
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I've got quite a few old soviet lenses that I must dig out and have a play with on the K1. Here's a shot from one of them, a Mir-1B, using my K10D. Quite an interesting rendering of the out of focus highlights.
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
04-27-2020, 12:57 AM
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Back in my film days the FA* 24mm F2 was one of my most used lenses. I sold it when I went APS-C (and regret it now that I have a K1) but eventually got one of the Sigma 24mm F1.8's, which is a nice lens although a lot bigger than the FA*.
I don't tend to carry that 24mm much though, as my main lens on the K1 is a 24-70mm F2.8 zoom. While the prime is faster and a little bit sharper the zoom is good at 24mm. Instead of carrying the 24mm I tend to carry either a wide angle zoom (I have a few of those including a Tokina ATX-Pro 18-28mm F2.8 that I thankfully did keep from my film days) or an ultra-wide prime (usually the Samyang 14mm).
I am keeping my eye out for another FA* 24mm though, and if I do get one it'd be fun going out with an old school 3 lens prime set-up and the K1.
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Forum: General Talk
03-15-2020, 11:24 AM
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Now that we have a fairly large dog (a Labrador) I needed something better so he'd have plenty of room, and as my ancient Mazda 4x4 needed replaced anyway this is what we went with:
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
12-27-2019, 04:10 AM
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My K1 kit has slowly been revising but has settled down for the moment.
In my camera bag this is what I usually have with me now:
- Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 (this is by a long way my most used lens on the K1)
- Samyang 14mm F2.8 (a very good lens, especially given the low price - and massively better than the Sigma 14mm that I also have)
- Tokina ATX-Pro 20-35mm F2.8 (which I might stop carrying as it's not getting a lot of use as more often I'll use the wide end of the Sigma or, for wider, the Samyang)
- Sigma 50mm F2.8 1:1 Macro (while a nice lens it might well get replaced as I find I prefer a longer macro lens)
- Pentax FA50mm F1.7 (always nice to have something reasonably fast along and it doesn't take up much space)
- Sigma 100-300 F4 (this is a recent addition and has become my preferred long option - and I don't now tend to carry the Tokina ATX-Pro 80-200 F2.8)
- Sigma 1.4x TC (for use with the 100-300 and works well)
A lot of the time I travel lighter with just the 14mm, 24-70mm F2.8, 100-300 F4 and the TC in my hillwalking rucksack.
I might put together a small(ish!), prime only bag, for occasional use - and that'll be:
- 14mm F2.8 Samyang
- 24mm F1.8 Sigma
- 50mm F1.7 FA Pentax
- 85mm F1.4 FA* Pentax
- 400mm F5.6 Sigma
I might also put together an manual-focus only bag as well - need to give some thought what'll go in that.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-08-2019, 08:55 AM
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My most used lens is a 24-70mm F2.8 zoom. I personally find that 24mm instead of 28mm at the wide end makes in a huge difference in usefulness - so I'd much rather have a 24-70 instead of a 28-105, although that of course relates to my own personal preferences. I also don't put a lot of weight on WR for lenses either (I've shot a lot in the rain with no WR lenses and never had an issue).
In my case it's not the Pentax lens, instead I'm using the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 which is a very decent lens and can be had very cheap in comparison to the Pentax lens. I'm sure the Pentax will be a better performer (and I might indeed get one at some point) but in the meantime I've been very happy with the Sigma.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-08-2019, 08:34 AM
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What's the Sigma 12-24 like for flare? I have the 10-20 for APS-C and it's pretty good, but the full frame Sigma 14mm is awful (close to unusable).
I'm quite tempted by the 12-24 as I'd like a wider angle zoom for my K1 than the Tokina ATX-Pro 20-35mm F2.8 that I currently use. I have the 14mm Samyang, which is very good, but a zoom covering that range would be useful.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-05-2019, 01:11 PM
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14mm: I've got the Samyang and the Sigma and it's a no brainer - the Samyang is much, much better. It's a very nice lens and not too expensive.
20mm: I've never really had a 20mm prime I got on with (and I haven't had that many) so instead I cover that with zooms, The main one I use is the Tokina ATX-Pro 20-35mm F2.8 but the cheaper Tokina 19-35 is also quite decent. For APS-C I have the Sigma 10-20mm and found that pretty good.
24mm: The FA* 24mm F2 is lovely and I really which I'd kept mine - sadly I sold it when I went APS-C although if I still had it then it'd be getting a lot of use now I have a K1. Instead I now have the Sigma 24mm f1.8 which I do like, however I find use the 24mm end of my Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 a lot more than I use the prime.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-05-2019, 01:01 PM
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I've got several 28mm lenses including the mini-wide. It's a nice little lens and handles well but I wouldn't put it above the SMC-M 28mm F2.8 - which I also have. If you wanted another 28mm then why not look for one of the Vivitar/Kiron F2 lenses instead?
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Forum: Lens Clubs
11-05-2019, 12:52 PM
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
11-04-2019, 01:14 PM
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I've been searching for a longer lens for my K1 for a while. I bought a Sigma 135-400mm but have ended up giving that to my son for use on his K5 (he likes long lenses so will probably love it), replacing that with a Sigma 400 F5.6 which I quite like. Today I've got my hands on a Sigma 100-300mm F4 and that seems more my sort of thing, so I'm hoping for good results with it.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-12-2019, 09:41 AM
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I've just done that - got it printed to 20" by 10" and is now mounted and hanging on the wall of my study.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-01-2019, 01:36 AM
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My wife and dog above Loch Katrine in Scotland:
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-20-2019, 02:38 PM
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I used to have a FA* 24mm F2 back in my film days and, now I've got the K1, really wish I kept it. I might try and get hold of another but for the moment I'm happy with the Sigma 24mm F1.8 although that is a pretty big lens in comparison.
Still not sure what I'm going to do for ultra wide. I've got a Sigma 14mm F2.8 but don't rate it, and have recently got one of the manual focus Samyang 14mm F2.8's but haven't had a chance to use it much yet (although I've seen enough to know it's a lot better than the Sigma).
Mostly for wide angle I'm using a Tokina ATX-Pro 20-35mm F2.8 which is a good lens and not to big & heavy.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
03-13-2019, 01:37 AM
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That 4mm difference is a big one for me and I find a 24-70 a lot more useful than a 28-75. The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 is a decent alternative to the Pentax lens and can be found a lot cheaper - I paid £199 for mine.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
03-12-2019, 01:05 AM
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I cover wide angle with my K1 using a few lenses. My standard lens is a 24-70mm F2.8 (the Sigma one), because 24mm is perhaps my favourite focal length. For wider than that I have couple of Tokina's - one is the 20-35mm F2.8 (which is great) and the other is a consumer spec 19-35. (which is surprisingly decent) If I want to go really wide I've got 14mm primes - originally the Sigma F2.8 (which is rubbish) and now the Samyang 14mm F2.8.
On APS-C I used to use a Sigma 10-20mm and that was very decent as well as being pretty wide (15-30mm equivalent on full-frame). I'd quite like an equivalent to that range on FF to save a bit of lens switching - but I'm not quite ready yet to drop the cash on the Pentax 15-30.
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Forum: General Talk
03-07-2019, 02:34 AM
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I've got a bit of a fleet but will start off with my main bike, which is a 2009 Honda CBF1000GT which I've owned since new:
---------- Post added 03-07-19 at 02:37 AM ----------
One of my bikes is a Honda "thumper" - an XBR500 from 1987:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-06-2019, 01:26 PM
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One thing I quite like to do with a super-wide is take night shots of building and street lights etc. and the Sigma is useless for that. I'm assuming it might just be the copy I have which I suspect is knackered.
Anyway I've added a Samyang 14mm F2.8 to the collection and from a first play that seems a lot better than the Sigma.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
03-04-2019, 02:57 AM
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Welcome.
Personally I'd consider looking at a K10D as those can be had cheap and they're a big leap up from the *ist DS.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-04-2019, 01:56 AM
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I have the 10-17 and did usually carry it when I was still APS-C but find I didn't use it that much. I did also carry a 10-20mm Sigma (the first and cheaper version) and that did get a lot of use - I found it a very good lens. It's now been passed onto my son along with my old K10D and he's also using it a lot.
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
03-04-2019, 01:54 AM
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I went through a tent buying phase a few years back which means I have loads of tents up the loft, most of them lightweight ones. As well as the Laser Competition (bought cheap in an end-of-season sale) and that Vango in the photograph (and for some reasons I've got 2 of the single man version of that as well as a 2-man), I've also got another lightweight Terra Nova (can't remember what one though!), a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 (bought on a US trip) and a very light 2-man plus another very light 2-man also bought on a US trip.
I really should get rid of most of them as I'm only really like to use the Laser Compeition if it's just myself, or the 2-person US one that I've forgotten the name of when I'm with my wife.
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Forum: General Talk
03-04-2019, 01:38 AM
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If you're purchasing a computer just for image manipulation and can afford a decent Mac and like the ergonomics then Apple would indeed be a decent option.
I think they days are very much long gone where Apple could be viewed as either the only viable option or indeed the best option though. These days a decent Microsoft PC or laptop is also very capable for image processing and in fact I tend to mostly use either my office laptop (which is an Lenovo i7 with 16GB of RAM, an SSD and decent graphics capability) or my home Alienware gaming laptop which is also very capable. Both laptops get used with a nice curved screen Samsung screen that was not expensive.
I wouldn't be as keen to use a cheap PC or laptop and sadly it's often those that get compared (for performance and reliability) to Macs costing many times more.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-04-2019, 01:31 AM
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I've still got some soft focus filters that I occasionally used back in my film days when I shot more portraits and used the mighty FA* 85mm F1.4. I used to sometimes deliberately over-expose shots as well, as that helped smoothing skin tone - especially in B&W.
I haven't done much portraiture with the FA* 85mm F1.4 and my K1 since I got the latter, but suspect I might need to dust down the soft-focus filters.
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
03-04-2019, 01:27 AM
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There are a few places in Scotland that are easy to camp near a car that are similarily problematic - Glen Etive being one, and another being near the A93 leading into Braemar.
The wild camping legislation in Scotland actually excludes "car camping" but I don't think many people realise that.
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