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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-05-2023, 11:57 PM
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The Casio uses a larger-than-average sensor (I think it's 1/1.8") and that Canon 34-102mm (35mm) F2-2.5 lens. Not sure who made the sensor, but one could get the same optics in a variety of different cameras around ~2000-2003. Some were upfront, others felt the need to rebrand them... like Sony of course. ;)
Sorry, I'm not going to post six full-size images in here. That'd be like taking over an entire page of the thread - hence the thumbnails being only one click away for those interested. It's not really worth arguing over anyhow, I think.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-05-2023, 04:21 AM
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Old P&S are good fun, aren't they? Here's my Casio QV-5700 again with (very close to) OOC. Got a couple dead pixels but is otherwise still in good health.
 
Also saw the D40 in here, and the D50 should have the same JPEG color science. By far my most used camera for whatever reason despite having more modern gear available. I also occasionally use it to upload images to Wikimedia and it really stands out among the "clinical" look of the current crop of cameras, I think. Not a judgement, just a biased observation. Anyhow, here's a couple of recent shots.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-10-2023, 04:29 AM
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Thought I'd pull the Casio QV-5700 back out of storage. Still a pain to use and also painfully slow, but the results may speak for themselves. I adjusted two black levels just a tiny bit, otherwise it's OOC.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-02-2023, 01:41 AM
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Nikon D50 with my F-mount copy of the Sigma 70-210mm F4-5.6, straight out of camera. Cheap body, cheap lens. Would recommend in case you've got some old screwdrive AF glass laying around.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-01-2023, 06:24 AM
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Well, the gift has been presented. Did more testing since the last post, packaged everything nicely and wrote a custom quickstart plus quick reference guide for them. Hope they'll enjoy the bundle and who knows, maybe they'll even get bit by the bug? Including all accessories (a bag and that stupid propriety USB cable) and shipping, everything came in under just under €145. Probably doesn't get much cheaper for a reasonably modern APS-C camera with two lenses and a one-year warranty. Could have put together like an antique D70 with an old film-era third-party kit lens for quite a bit less, but I cannot hand over something like this to a novice shooter in good faith. Certainly not in 2023.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-12-2023, 07:58 AM
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Perhaps; I was looking at cheapo 55-200mm copies previously. But I don't want to go out and buy additional lenses right away in case they don't want or like the bundle as is.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-12-2023, 05:00 AM
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Okay, so I've had a chance to try out the K-x and both lenses. Some quick observations:
- The e-dial is way too far inward / out of easy reach for my thumb. And directly below the mode dial, which cannot be locked in place. Guess what happens all too often!
- Not having any visible AF points in the viewfinder basically means "central AF only & recompose" as if it's a 1989 electronic SLR. Auto-5 and -11 are quite confusing even for me because there's zero visual representation as to what the camera is actually trying to focus on. No good for a newbie, I'd wager.
- High-ISO performance seems really good for an old body! Even ISO1600 and I'd say the noise profile is also rather more natural than the other 2010 body I have (a Nikon D7000).
- AE does not seem to be particularly smart in backlit situations. Gotta use +1 EV most of the time, but at least it's predictable.
- Body and 18-55mm together aren't that much larger and heavier than some old bridge cameras I've used. Nice travel package.
- Infinity focus on the Sigma isn't well-behaved. Everything's in focus but the body seems to think otherwise. Better with AF-C. Guess it's just an compatibility issue.
I do really like the OOC JPEGs after setting some parameters: bright preset, saturation +2, contrast +2, fine sharpening. Goes together exceptionally well with the typically warm colors of Sigma lenses of that era, and it also renders that lovely vintage push-pull bokeh I appreciate so much. The 18-55mm is a bit more muted in color reproduction and while serviceable, nothing special really. Lightweight, sharp enough but not overly so, plain/generic/inoffensive/characterless/etc modern lens bokeh. Find it hard to muster some excitement but it does do its job for snapshots.
Anyhow, I'll do more testing. Here are some unmodified JPEGs. Should be easy to identify the Sigma. ;)
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-10-2023, 10:47 AM
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Well, the gear's here now and so far, first impressions are favourable. The K-x looks brand new, literally not a single sign of usage on the body. Same for the AL II. Even the the 1988-vintage or so Sigma looks to be in excellent condition! Shutter count just over 5300 and it even came with the v1.00 firmware still. Guess it spend most of the past decade in a drawer or closet?
Hope it performs as well in the field. I'm excited to give it a thorough test.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-05-2023, 02:50 AM
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Yes, I understand. We've already invested quite heavily in AA infrastructure for our various other devices, so I hope it should be okay. The camera comes from MPB with a one-year warranty in case something goes wrong or isn't as described. Also going to thoroughly test the gear before gifting it to its new owner. And then having trouble parting ways with it, presumably! Gonna keep that GAS under control.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-03-2023, 07:53 PM
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Thanks for the input! That should give me enough info to make a meaningful decision. Reason I was looking at the K-x in particular is that around here, (some) old Pentax bodies and lenses seem to be consistently cheaper than concurrent Nikon and Canon stuff due to, I assume, low demand. The K-x with IBIS would only be slightly more than something as ancient as a D70, and the 18-55mm AL II is like less than half the price of Nikon's VR II with optical image stabilization. I would consider OIS mandatory for a new shooter, personally. And the Sigma's sub-€30.
WR bodies and the 18-135mm would be out of our price range.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-03-2023, 05:34 AM
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Yes, but I would like to know how reliable AF and most importantly AE are on full auto. That's the important part because I've no experience with the K-x.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-03-2023, 03:55 AM
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Howdy!
I was looking at the used market for someone who's currently using an old Canon P&S for snapshots, something nice and inexpensive to try out whether or not "serious" photography actually tickles their fancy or not. Nothing too heavy, nothing too elaborate or complicated.
Seems to be coming down to two options right now:
* K-x & 18-50mm AL II & Sigma 70-210mm F4-5.6
* Sony NEX-5N & Sony 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
The Sony would obviously be more familiar to a P&S shooter and is a MILC with good live view, but it doesn't have a viewfinder or much in the way of fantastic ergonomics. The K-x is quite light for a DSLR but much removed from their comfort zone and LV (when needed) is said to be terribly slow as with most DSLRs from back then.
My question now is then: are AE and AF accuracy reliable through the OVF? I know there isn't even a FOCUS OK indicator. If they shoot away and get crappy photos, it's not going to do much in the way of long-term motivation to even try out some of the more advanced features.
Thanks!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-18-2022, 05:44 AM
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My Casio QV-5700 at F2.8. Completely OOC JPEG. Again, that bright and vibrant color science is quite something.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-13-2022, 04:14 AM
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Nice! Please consider to share some photos in the CCD thread if you're interested.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-12-2022, 07:04 AM
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Interesting, my Canon's CPU must be particularly weak-chested then. With the stock firmware, it takes a good three seconds or so to save a full-res JPG. With screen blackout of course. I suppose not all PowerShots are created equal? ;)
I'll take it back then, sorry for the confusion.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-12-2022, 05:37 AM
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-12-2022, 05:21 AM
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Six seconds seems very optimistic to me! I'm afraid we'd probably looking at something closer to 60 seconds. Takes 56 to save one TIFF on my ancient P&S from 2002, and it was at least 30 for one RAW on my PowerShot SX160 running CHDK, which is a much more recent camera. So slow that I didn't want to bother with it any longer in fact.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
07-09-2022, 12:19 AM
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Canon PowerShot SX160 IS. OOC JPEG, neutral color profile.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-08-2022, 07:12 AM
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Oh, I see! Thanks for clearing up the misunderstanding on my part.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-08-2022, 06:51 AM
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Not to dispute your statement, but I suspect that easing people from film to digital in the mid-2000s may also have something to do with it. From what I remember, some JPEG engines (or at least profiles) were tuned for film-like colors specifically, if not simulating any particular stock. Either way, can't argue with the results!
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
06-08-2022, 06:44 AM
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Sure! Here's one from the first and second roll respectively. Nothing special, just walking around taking snapshots.
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
06-08-2022, 01:01 AM
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For those interested, here's what came to pass. Can't really say I'm satisfied with the lab; took 4 1/2 weeks to get the negatives back and they also didn't bother to scan anything but the first four frames of the first roll, but still charged me for it. Of course they did. Anyway, my ancient flatbed scanner comes with accessories and software for scanning 35/120/220mm negatives (as well as slides). Not ideal, but it'll do for two rolls and one cannot expect technical perfection from expired film anyway!
Some observations:
- Slightly underexposed despite shooting at ISO100 with the DX contacts taped over instead of box speed.
- As per your advice, the film did indeed experience a distinct magenta color shift especially in the shadows. Also some random but strange red pigments there.
- The chemical layer of some frames appears to have been broken down along the edges, too.
- Despite that, I was able to somewhat correct said color shift for every shot I wanted to keep but one, while still preserving what I think should be the look of that particular film stock. Well, in its expired form, that much is obvious by looking at it.
- Have just started on the second roll, however it appears to be in much worse shape even though it's the same batch and was stored in the same package, like side by side. Probably only B&W-converted stuff from this one.
Overall though, I'm not upset. Still more than a few decent photos to be had and I had tremendous fun (as well as physical exercise) exploring my city on foot. Also like the grain and look of what is clearly film as opposed to something simulated in software. But don't think I'd bother with expired color film again.
Well, nothing else to add to this story really! Thanks again for everybody's input.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-03-2022, 06:08 AM
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Nice, the color science seems really solid for a camera of this vintage! The sensor in mine appears to be particularly sensitive to IR light (I think...no expert), so strong red tones end up super-saturated. Sometimes to the point of losing any and all texture or detail! When it works, it looks really nice, when it doesn't... well, bummer!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-22-2022, 07:10 AM
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Casio QV-5700 showing off its F2-2.5 lens together with the bright and warm color science. This is an OOC JPEG. I do not know if the JPEG engine was modeled after any particular film stock, but if you do recognize that look, please do drop a line!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-21-2022, 12:13 AM
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Always nice to see those in bloom. I bought my own one in Dec 2016 as a tiny plant with three or four stem segments; now it's a rapidly growing mess of branches in a 20cm pot! Was surprised to see that the oldest segments can become woody, but I suppose it makes sense for a hanging plant. Needs some support after all.
I also have a smaller specimen from cuttings rooted in water. A cactus in hydroponics. Yes, it works!
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