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Forum: Ricoh GR
10-20-2021, 11:43 PM
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I'm sure you're right and I'm also sure that I do many things wrong even if things are not that difficult despite 50 years experience but why the aggression? There's rarely an excuse for bad manners, especially when someone is reporting something which is factual or are you not aware of the depth of field reduction when a longer focal length is used? If you want to visualise it, put the 2 cameras side by side, set to snap focus and look at the very handy depth of field scale displayed on the screen of both cameras. The difference is considerable and material, especially when the subjects are moving. They could step in or out of the zone very easily.
I stand by what I wrote: Snap focus on the 3X is far less useful than with the GR iii. Whereas on the latter snap focus might have been one of the overriding reasons why one might have purchased the camera this should not, in my opinion, be a consideration when considering the purchase of the GRiii X. Maybe that is clearer?
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
07-04-2021, 09:13 AM
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This time of year the landscape around our offices are littered with Horsetails (sometimes called mare's tails). The dew glistened prettily in the morning sun and a good opportunity to get to grips with this combination: K3-3 and 50/1.4. I know this seems illogical (I guess most would go for a smaller lens ?) but it suits what I want to do with the new camera.
A couple of points:
- Handholding with a big lens at close distance is a real challenge (nothing to do with the camera, just my choice). The AFC couldn't cope well with the slight movement hence AFS and holding the focus was was almost successful ;) To be fair, my stance was a bit wobbly half crouching, half standing.
- Even at this low ISO I notice some noise. Not disagreeable but there nonetheless.
Both picture processed with LR CC, no adjustments aside from the square cropping.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-14-2021, 05:06 AM
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....and simply delighted. It is denser (weightier) than imagined but feels good in the hand. I know that I'll have to read the manual at some point but for now all the buttons and functions seem to fall into the right place.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
06-03-2019, 02:53 AM
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And I suppose I owe you some pictures while I'm still solvent.
KP and 50/1.4 and 31/1.8 go to a Spanish wedding :)
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
05-30-2019, 11:12 PM
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Very pleased to have this trilogy :)
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
11-01-2019, 05:41 AM
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Thank you. For those interested in the 50/1.4 on K1, here are some examples:
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
05-31-2019, 12:20 AM
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Yes I am very lucky Jeff. Taking the 50/1.4 to a wedding this week-end but on the KP as having to fly there so I can do with minimising on the weight. It will give me the extra reach as well. I'll post something on my return :). Never used this lens before so am super excited!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-15-2019, 03:25 AM
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It’s about the lenses, it’s about the form factor, it’s about the usability.
Call it what you will, streamlining or downsizing, but a few months ago I decided to rationalise my camera collection from a random assortment of makes to just one brand and I did this by standardising on Ricoh/Pentax in the shape of a GRIII, KP and K1-II. In each case the lenses determined the camera choice; not the file type or resolution. To illustrate this point; the 15-30 was a focal length zoom I wanted but it would look ridiculous and would be unwieldy on a KP and the same for the 50/1.4.
So the choice came to this:
The GRIII when you really cannot carry anything bigger
The KP with 33 and 77mm as a general carry around
The K1-II with a 50mm/1.4 and a 15-30 zoom, for portraits and landscapes.
I’ve used each of these fairly extensively on a recent trip for work (and a little play) to Singapore and New Zealand.
For my purposes, the resultant file type and resolution from each camera is more than good enough and below are some examples.
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Forum: Pentax Compact Cameras
10-09-2019, 06:00 AM
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I've just returned from a couple of weeks in Uzbekistan. In my camera bag, K1, 15-30 and 50/1.4. Of the 400 odd pictures, 95% were with the GRIII. It was a matter of convenience due to some roughish trekking, wanting to be more discreet in for example mosques, mausoleums, markets.
At pixel peeping levels the K1 shows more detail. In real terms, the GR has given me fantastic results.
Some observations: In the very bright light there, the screen is unreadable. The OVF add on was essential. The ring, as reported by many others kept falling off. It's a miracle that I didn't lose it but duck tape will come to the rescue in future.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-17-2019, 10:51 PM
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Haha, you're no help at all ;)
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Forum: General Talk
08-16-2019, 03:02 AM
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Great advice so far and here's a couple more:
- In some countries, for example India, security wants cameras and lenses to be scanned separately as they would a laptop. If you are travelling with your wife and you haven't confessed to new acquisitions be prepared to answer some questions.
- Agree a fare with your taxi driver in advance. Unless you are fluent in the local language you may not be able to spot that the meter has been set to a night rate tariff
- Only use official and registered taxis
Happy travels :)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-15-2019, 11:37 PM
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Hello Alex
There's a few reasons.
Generally I like borders around my images. I used to do this in Photoshop but then I discovered NIK from DXO and that is easier so I round trip from LR to NIK producing a TIF file which then returns automatically to LR. NIK allows for several film emulations and I've been experimenting a bit. They also allow a choice of borders and I'm still experimenting with those as well.
For B&W I use a Fuji Acros 100 simulation because it is a film I know well and used a lot during the film era.
Digital has made all our lives easy but I'd still use film if I had time and hadn't become so lazy. For some years I scanned negative and positive film but found it a right royal pain. Scanning is a black art as far as I'm concerned and I never mastered it.
So to cut a long story short, I hanker nostalgically for the film era but have been seduced by the ease of digital and hence the reason for using the film emulations.
All best and thanks for liking some of my pictures.
Vincent
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
08-16-2019, 02:08 AM
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The DFA is a wonderful lens and well priced in my opinion. It can deliver beautiful images.
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Forum: Pentax KP
05-21-2019, 11:47 PM
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Hello. A KP and 31mm f1.8 is added to my camera bag :) Still getting used to the menus and lens but so far it's looking good. The KP will be used for street and portraits and for lower light situations. For landscape I use MF and a GRII (soon to be replaced with a GR III) is my "always with me" camera. The 31mm is likely to be the only lens for the KP. As you can see this is frame 0006 :)
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
05-29-2019, 12:18 AM
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It is easy to be seduced by mirrorless which has a great many advantages and the same goes for the newest technology which is just amazing.
But when looking dispassionately at a system, simply as a tool for making photographs, then there are other considerations. A photographer called Sean Reid who reviews many cameras and lenses (on his paid site) says that occasionally, as he tests something, he forgets the camera he is using because it becomes a part of him and this has to do with the sum of all the components of the system: how the image is viewed, the ergonomics, the haptics, the quality and colour of the files and so on. It is because of him that I recently purchased a KP followed rapidly by a K1-II.
Pentax cameras are not the most up to date and lack many of the features of newer iterations. In that respect it is difficult to make a case for them based on specifications, but as a tool for making photographs they get an awful lot right. It is obvious that Ricoh/Pentax employs some very good engineers who understand the photographer and succeed in giving him or her a very competent image making machine. It is equally obvious that their marketing team finds it hard to convey the strengths of the brand so it can achieve a higher level of recognition.
Aside from the Ricoh GR, I am new to Pentax but now wish that I had come across them before because it would have saved me a lot of money and frustration in getting used to a variety of other systems each of which had their own peculiarity. As such I understand well the author of the article who has tripped over many brands before arriving to the conclusion that the Pentax K1is a very suitable and competent camera which will suit his needs better than other systems.
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Forum: General Photography
05-25-2019, 11:36 PM
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I can only speak for myself but I'm one of those that has moved back to DSLR in the form of a KP. I bought this camera for a specific purpose. I travel a lot and I'm often in countries with very bright light. Conversely I also like to photograph street at night. The intention was to use this second system when my primary camera, a Hasselblad X1D, was too challenging because of its general slow-ness, relatively poor EVF and general unsuitability for the aforementioned type of photography.
Now there is no question that the Hasselblad produces some magnificent files with amazing resolution and colour but even after only one week with the KP I've realised again how good an OVF is as a means of viewing and framing a shot. I know that there are now many cameras with EVFs several grades better than that of the X1D but still the OVF seems to suit my eyes and how I can see the image before I take the shot.
Then there are the ergonomics and the haptics. I'd forgotten how important they are and the KP has got all the buttons, of the right size, in the right place and the fingers just fall naturally on where you want and need them to be.
And so, to cut a long story short, I've decided to sell the Hassy (at some loss) and replace it with another DSLR in the form of the K1-II paired with a 15-30/2.8 and a 54/1.4. Impulsive? Perhaps a little but I am willing to forego some of the resolution and file quality of the Hasselblad for a system that just feels better in the hand. As a tool for making photographs the Pentaxes just seems better for me than the Hasselblad.
To now have the two Pentaxes, KP and K1, also means that the menus and buttons are almost identical and this is a huge advantages when switching cameras.
I cannot pretend that my motivation to revert to DSLR will necessarily confirm a trend that would suggest that the future is not in mirrorless, but for me, and perhaps some others, it is not too far fetched to suggest that an individual's taste is sometimes better aligned with a DSLR and that therefore, some, like me, will switch back from mirrorless.
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Forum: Pentax KP
05-23-2019, 12:14 AM
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Thanks Mikesbike. Yes I was very lucky to find this lens in mint condition and for half the price of a new one. I'm partial to older lenses which seem to render in a way that some modern lenses cannot.
I do like to use jpegs when I can and as this camera is mainly intended as a supplement to my other system (Hasselblad x1D) for street and portraiture and poor light, jpegs will mostly be quite sufficient so I'd love to get some pointers from you. So far I've not opened a page of the manual but just trying to get accustomed to the feel of the camera and the rendering of the lens. The additional dials and multitude of custom settings is a little overwhelming but no doubt I'll slowly get there. I found in the past that it can take months before being able to "read and write" with a new camera.
From the little I've experienced, I'm finding the colours great and they also convert well to B&W (with a rather attractive grainy-ness) which I often use for portraits. The type of work that very much interests me is people at their jobs and here are a couple of examples. As you can see, lighting can be a challenge. (These are taken with Nikon and Fuji resp). These are the types of scenes I'm intending to use the KP for.
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Forum: Pentax KP
05-22-2019, 03:10 AM
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Sorry, wrong format, now as .avi
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