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Forum: General Photography
01-16-2022, 06:57 PM
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As personal experience they're all equal and valid. Sometimes we just think our own opinion is more equal and valid and create arguments where one shouldn't exist.
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Forum: General Photography
01-16-2022, 11:28 PM
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Opinions are like armpits, we all have them and without care they can smell.😀
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Forum: General Photography
12-22-2021, 05:52 PM
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Heretic!
But seriously use what helps to get the job done. Personally I find Pentax AF to be up to the task for the stationary objects I shoot.
It's also good to get different views from people who use other equipment which informs our possible choice in the future. But for now Pentax provides more than I need.
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Forum: General Photography
12-24-2021, 07:57 PM
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Folks who think this thread is "pointless" simply don't have to participate in it.... or they can, if they wish. It's not my call :lol:
I generally enjoy reading what the Pentax to xxx brand switchers have to say.
I switched from DSLR to MILC then back to DSLR, but one particular MILC was probably the most fun camera I ever owned.
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Forum: General Photography
12-25-2021, 10:36 AM
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If you treat camera as a tool switching will not improve your composition or or overall abilities, but it may (or not) improve experience of using camera. Which may lead to using it more often and with more fun in the end resulting in better photos. Sometimes it is worth switching, or renting and trying (and then switching or not) as this may improve your photography. Even if not directly.
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Forum: General Photography
12-24-2021, 08:06 PM
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The point of this thread was to compare the two systems alikes and differences for anyone cross shopping the two. Like I didn't know Nikon had focus confirmation with old manual lenses similar to Pentax until I was learning the camera. The purpose wasn't to compare dogs chasing balls off in the distance outdoors to toddlers indoors nearby running at you or debate if a lens was decentered when just about every Pentax lens I've owned fringed wide open to some degree whereas I'm 4/4 no fringing with Nikon so far. I'm done with this thread too, off to take some pics tomorrow morning with my Nikon, or even my cell phone if I feel like it :) Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
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Forum: General Photography
01-11-2022, 09:43 AM
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I was out of the photography seen all together for a number of years. Previous new camera was a canon EF in the 70's. When I finally had $ to purchase a DSLR I bought strictly for price, KS2 with kit zoom lens. I would simply not do without the adjustable viewing screen and the mirror as I use them both equally. I've had my KS2 for about 4 yrs. and can't believe the features it has! I don't care to list them all here, but because of them my creativity just plain blooms at times because of them. I do get looks occasionally from people when hiking the US, mostly western states - love the desert! When at Calf Creek Falls in Utah a Pentax guy from France with a fully loaded bag tapped me on the shoulder and handed me his Pentax fisheye and motioned to me to put it on my camera and shoot a few. Knowing the cost of that lens I was quite surprised to say the least. We compared a couple pix on our viewing screens, shook hands and parted company. When I started to look into better lenses I found out what a niche brand Pentax is. Gratefully I now have a large selection of lenses from 10mm thru 300mm. I bought 2 old, used, but great condition, lenses which are totally manual - back to the good old days! In short I'm happy to be a "Pentaxian" because of all the additional creative and fun opportunities I now have despite my lack of $, oh yes the weather sealing is fantastic, too!! While I'm not a professional by any means I do enjoy this sport tremendously and with digital I get enough pix from one trip to keep me busy until the next one. Another note: I always liked the sound of David Bowie like que es tu! Wish I could catch a ride with "Major Tom" to get some pix from the window of his "tin can"!
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Forum: General Photography
01-10-2022, 05:11 AM
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A TRUE noncorformist doesn't want to be noncorformist so much as simply is noncomformist!
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Forum: General Photography
01-09-2022, 01:32 PM
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Hmm. You mean we’re all kinda nerdy??:lol
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
07-15-2020, 08:07 AM
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I claim no expertise
I just read and research and post a lot :D
hopefully other members can be more helpful
the key is, from what I have read, is not how it looks but does it affect the photo ?
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-17-2020, 07:40 PM
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It's great that you and your partner are enjoying this. Like any skill, once you get the basics the scope for creativity increases. After a while, the basics like setting the aperture and shutter speed, focusing and adjusting exposure don't require so much conscious thought - you can then devote your concentration to composition. You mentioned earlier that you and your partner both do sketching and painting, so you are probably ahead of most beginners when it comes to composition. I can see a good eye in the sample shots.
Here are some to go on with:
1. Technique in stance and shooting. On this, make a careful study of this excellent article: Making the Most of Long Exposure Handhelds - Introduction - In-Depth Articles I mentioned it earlier, but I mention it again because it is really invaluable.
2. Focusing. Read about the camera's different focusing modes and when to use one or another. (I used to use centre point focus and recompose, but at the suggestion of a member here I have switched to selectable single point. It takes some getting used to but have come to prefer it.) Read about the sensitivity of various focus points. Try practising in challenging situations like low light and when the subject is obscured. Try manual focusing and manual override of the AF. For tracking moving subjects, read up the various threads here which suggest suitable settings. Try back button AF and see whether it works for you.
3. Exposure metering and adjustments. Read about the camera's metering options. Read about whether to link AE point to AF point. Look up stuff on "exposing to the right" and avoiding blown highlights. Read about exposure bracketing. Exposure choices are greatly affected by whether you are shooting RAW - if you are, it often pays to underexpose, because you it helps to avoid blown highlights and the shadows can be brought up easily in PP.
4. Using flash effectively. This is a big topic but here's a good start: Strobist: Lighting 101: Introduction
Some people might add setting white balance (WB), but I'd put that down the list; most of the time Auto WB is OK, and if you shoot in RAW you can adjust it afterwards. It's always helpful to take a shot early in the session that provides something to meter from - there are gizmos for this but a grey card (Gray card - Wikipedia) is generally enough. Even something that is 18% grey will do fine! There are situations where manually setting the WB helps though - where you can confidently predict that the camera will get it wrong. Indoor lighting is often like that.
It's just a hobby for me, so take what I say with a grain of salt. ;-) There are many here who are current or former pro or semi-pro photographers or photography teachers. Their advice is always to be respected.
Lots of good stuff here. You should be very pleased.
I'll just comment on the bird ones.
The parking lot shot shows the limits of the 18-135 for birding. The subject is too small in the frame (especially with a 16mp sensor, which doesn't offer the same scope for cropping as a 24mp sensor) to produce a useful image. If you want to photograph birds at this sort of distance, you really need at least 300mm. (That's a subject for another discussion, but note that the DA 55-300 f4.5-6.3 PLM which is a darling of forumites won't work with the K-5, so you need to look elsewhere.)
For all that, you got the bird in the air in focus and at a suitable shutter speed, so well done. You probably had scope for a narrower aperture - f8 would have got the other bird in focus as well. The extra stop of aperture (f5.6 to f8) would have meant pushing the ISO from 320 to 640, but the difference would have been scarcely noticeable.
As for the blackbird, you picked one of the hardest subjects - a dark bird, in shade, with branches in the way, against a bright background. That's tough for focus and tough for exposure. The focus isn't perfect but it's close. Again, a narrower aperture would have reduced the degree of difficulty. You would probably need to use manual focus (or manual override of AF) to get the focus exactly right. The bird is a bit underexposed even though you used +1 exposure adjustment. Spot metering often helps in this situation but can still underexpose. You could adjust exposure in post-processing - ideally increasing the exposure on the bird and decreasing the exposure of the background - but the result can look rather artificial.
This is why, personally, I often use fill flash in this situation, so that the subject is better exposed and there isn't the same disparity between the subject and the bright background. Like this:
The results are hit and miss though. And unless the flash is HSS the shutter speed is limited to the sync speed (1/180th second for Pentax APS-C cameras).
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-18-2020, 03:02 PM
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I agree!! And lots of good advice from Des. I even find the small figure shot of interest- small figure and lots of stairs. The design of the railings also adds to the sense of ongoing upward motion. Just a wee might over-exposed, however. Very good that you are learning the use of your exposure-comp button! I think you are doing terrifically well for just starting out!
The 28mm FL you are contemplating on an APS-C body will provide a semi-wide "normal" field of view (FOV), AKA angle of view. This means neither wide-angle nor telephoto to any extent, but in this case just a bit wider than the typical "normal" 35mm FOV, thus letting more into the frame for better versatility. This also means such a lens would be an exceptionally good walk-around prime lens because of this versatility- applicable to various scenes. Either the Pentax "F" or "FA" f/2.8 would be a good choice. I have long had the "FA" version, which got excellent lab test reviews, and have found it to be exceptionally good, even quite good when shooting with wide open aperture (F/2.8). It would provide you with good experience in having a useful prime lens with fine image quality. It does not come with a lens hood, however, though you could obtain a screw-on rubber type for this focal length- and for the correct filter thread size, at low cost. A lens hood is important to get the best results from your lens. Just remember to be very careful- that only screw it on ever so gently! it can even be slightly loose and still do its job. Those screw-on devices, even filters, will quickly grab on very tightly and will thus be very difficult to remove! The rubber type can be rolled back for storage.
Note that along with FOV comes differences in the perspective achieved in a photo, how elongated or compressed the front-to-back aspect will appear, which also entails the shape of people and objects, and the sense of depth or lack thereof. That is getting a bit deep (pardon the pun) at this point, just putting it out there to make you aware.
Another useful prime at low cost is a 50mm f/1.7 or 1.8 lens. A used "F" or "FA" f/1.7 would do very well. I have long had the "F" version. Or you could get the plastic-fantastic current DA 50mm f/1.8, not built as well as those old ones, but still a very fine performer. Again, no lens hood, but there are the rubber ones made for 50mm FL and to fit the correct filter thread size. You notice, these lenses have a significantly wider aperture capability- f/1.7 or f/1.8 being much wider than the maximum of f/3.5 your zoom lens can deliver, or even the f/2.8 of the 28mm lens. This will be useful when facing lower lighting situations, or when otherwise needing higher shutter speeds, or to reduce DOF. The moderate telephoto FOV effect of 50mm on an APS-C body is also very good for framing a portrait, as well as being able to reduce DOF to make your subject stand out better from the background.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-30-2020, 08:44 AM
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My wife Tess shoots the original K-5, and the K-5 IIs is better.
The image quality of the K-5 is excellent. people claiming you can do more... well "you can do better" never stops, you can always do better, that's not an argument for anything. so cancel that out and replace it with a K-5 can replicate 95% of what a k-1 or 645z can do an you'll understand the irrelevance of that consideration. Buy an 18-55, you can do better. Buy a DA* 16-50, you can still do better. Buy a K-1 with 28-105, you can still do better, that never stops.
The DA 18-135 has excellent focussing speed.
I used the kit lens 18-55 on Pentaxes from 2006 until 2010. There was not one circumstance I can think if where I took an image that was un-useable for the purpose I wanted to use it, mainly images for websites like canoeing forums, and images of family gatherings etc. where I looked at an image and said to myself "you need a better lens."
People forget, one of the selling points for Pentax 10 years ago was that the kit lenses were so good. I suspect that was before Tamron started making kit lenses for everyone else. Of course these lenses were optimized for 6 MP sensors.
My advice has always been that you should buy new lenses based on what you can afford in the focal length you want.
SO for my two cents I'd just like to re-iterate. In the somewhat limited Pentax ecosystem
One lens for a new camera an 18-135 will do you a long time
For a two lens purchase I'd go with the 16-85 and 55-300 PLM.
If you are interested in UWA, even if you buy the 16-85, you'll still want some thing like the 11-18 or Sigma 8-16 or for the sheer fun of it the DA 10-17 fisheye. When I go out with my 18-135 and Sigma 8-16 or DA 10-17, having a 16-85 or 18-135 would be moot. So if it was my choice, I suspect the 18-135 would have fewer lens changes than would a 16-85 in a three or four lens set.
You don't even know what you're missing until until you expand your range. The 18-135 is the best out there for coming in cold, and finding out what ranges you might be interested in next. 135 is barely into telephoto range, you won't learn much about shooting with a telephoto shooting with a 50mm or 70 or 85mm lens. 135mm APS-c or 200mm on FF is still in walk around lens range.
As for WR not being important. Hogwash. The seals make the lens feel much more secure, prevent front element wobble (which the 16 45 is famous for) and provide peace of mind in bad weather. There were a lot of days at Niagara Falls when the breeze from the falls was on shore, and I was one of the only ones out there with a decent camera still shooting, Are you really going to take the chance that you pay the big bucks for great photo opportunity and have it washed out by a light mist? You already paid your money and you're not getting it back.
Seriously, the above suggesting of the 16-45 as a replacement for the 18-50. A bit of personal experience
I paid almost $700 for my 18-135 as an early adopter. A new friend whose' husband had died offered me his 16-45 for nothing. I used it for an afternoon then returned it. To me, it wasn't worth taking even for free. Everyone thinks differently, but, you have to recognize with any lens you might be buying something you won't use. For me the 16-45 would have spent most of it's time taking up shelf space. WR and the electric focussing systems both make that less like to happen. I see the 16-45, 16-50, 18-50 or 18-55 as functional only in the context of at least a 2 lens set. I've actually been asked to stop using my screw drive lenses on a number of occasions, so I'd cross out screw drive right off the top.
Of course some people really dislike the DA 18-135, but then, anyone who gets a lens at the low end of the sample doesn't like it. There are people who based on their experience dislike almost every lens out there (The DA*50-135 might be the exception, at least optically, people have had problems with it's SDM motors, which bring up another point, on second had lenses SDM is a gamble. The DC lenses have a solid track record.) You really have to be careful with negative advice. So really the 16-45 might be the lens for you. But many of us would find it extremely limiting. But we aren't you.
To me the biggest advantage to the 18-135 is, it was the first Pentax "better than kit" lens released with a DC motor, which has proved much more reliable than even SDM on DA* lenses. If you want a modern lens with WR and DC at a good price, you won't beat a second hand DA 18-135. It will allow you to explore "better than kit" optics at an extremely affordable price.
But bottom line, these are personal decisions, what myself or anyone else thinks may not work for another individual. Obviously what works for one, doesn't work for everyone. Listen to the advice, and then make your choice, based on what you think will work for you.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-28-2020, 03:01 PM
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Yes it is. It uses a DC motor with the SDM system, which is ideal for fast, quiet autofocus. If you're mostly going to AF, then it's a great choice. If you're going to want to do a lot of manual focusing, it's not ideal. Also note that lenses designed for AF have short throws so that the motor can quickly focus. For manual focusing, it's harder because there is less room for error.
I am still a fan for the highly undervalued 18-55mm WR kit lens. With that lens, manual focusing is very straight forward and the only downside is that it's noisier when AF. My son has three lenses with his K50 and most of his keepers are with the 18-55mm.
Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens 21880 B&H Photo Video
Then if you want more reach, you can consider a 55-300mm or a 100mm WR macro.
If you want wider, you can get a 15mm prime.
And if you want a lens that will just make everyone smile because it's so small and light and not intimidating, the 40mm pancake.
Pentax HD Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 Limited Lens (Silver) 21400 B&H
The 18-135mm is extremely popular, but I believe that a jack of all trades are masters of none. On the other hand, it's very convenient and cost effective.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-28-2020, 02:32 PM
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A very good entry into primes are both, the DA50/1,8 (nice fast, i.e. good for low light) and the DA35/2,4
The DA50 is also very good for portrait, not so much the DA35.
The most important when you got your DA18-135WR (a good choice!) is to take a lot of shots and check them for sharpness.
If necessary you start a new thread, upload photos and as questions if there is any daubt.
If you want to go for a manual lens, I'd recommend SMC Pentax A-primes:
Pentax A Prime Lenses - Reviews and Specifications - SLR and Interchangeable Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
There you can find one of my favourites, the SMC Pentax A50/f2,8 macro.
It isn't a 1:1 macro but "just" 1:2 but it is a fantastic lens and very small and very light.
Not f1,8 as the DA50 but amazing sharp and great colors.
My wife loves it on her K-S1. For Christmas I got her the D-FA50/2,8 macro but she prefers the A50macro!
The A50/1,7 can be found very cheap and is great as well. As good as the DA50 but no AF of course.
I would not recommend to use full manual lenses (such as the Pentax M or K) because you then have to learn to use the green button method which
to many of us having learned with manual cameras and lenses is kind of natural but often not so for those who never experienced "analogue".
(Similar as with recordplayers, tape-machines etc.)
I would not recommend to start with a very light sensitive lens such as the FA50/1,4 or the A50/1,4!
If not used to what is called narrow DOF one might get frustrated!
Good luck!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-28-2020, 04:53 PM
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My partner has small hands and (because of a chronic health condition) can't hold much weight at all. But she is fine with the 18-135. She can't be bothered with learning about aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings - she just wants to shoot, and she wants to be able to shoot from wide angle to telephoto with one lens. The 18-135 is ideal for that.
I think the plan to start with the 18-135 and add a prime later is a good one. As you say, when you start out it's impossible to know what focal length will prove the most useful to you. All of us differ about that.
These are all good points, Alex, and I know your insights come from long practical experience as photographer and teacher. But here's a different perspective.
Like many photographers, over time I have transitioned from more generalist lenses to more specialist ones. Wide-ranging zooms like the 18-135 are a compromise. I think at every focal length in that range, I now have another lens that would do at least a little better (whether because of better corner resolution, HD coatings, wider aperture, better bokeh, more resolution or whatever). But not by as much as might be expected. The 18-135 is good enough right across the range. I couldn't say that for the 18-250mm superzoom that I had before. When I look back on photos with that lens now, I wish I had moved up earlier. I don't feel the same way about the 18-135.
Often as not, I feel that if I hadn't had the 18-135 on the camera, I would not have got the shot. I can be picky and say ...
... the DA 12-24 would have been better here
... or here (would have got the whole staircase in)
... the HD coatings on the DA 20-40 Ltd would have been useful here
... the DA 35 f2.4 would have provided more resolution here
... the FA 50mm f2.8 macro would have been better here
... the nisen bokeh here is horrible
... the 55-300 PLM would have been better here
But I'm not weighed down with regret. Sometimes good enough is good enough.
The biggest regret is the shots you don't get. If I'd had the DA 20-40 on the camera (instead of the 18-135), I could have got this (31mm)
.... but not this shortly afterwards (135mm)
The more you have to change lenses, the more shots you miss.
And if what you are doing is not mainly about photography but about a family moment or a walk or some other experience, changing lenses is particularly disruptive. And to the extent that you are concentrating on photography, if you are trying to learn about the exposure triangle, and about trying to avoid motion blur, and to improve the steadiness of your shots, and to improve composition, having a versatile lens takes out the additional distraction of swapping lenses.
To the OP, I'd say this: with more experience, and for when you are concentrating on photography rather than something else, by all means upgrade the kit to meet changing needs and more demands. But in the meantime, the K-5ii and 18-135 will serve you fine. It's the skills rather than the gear that is the real limitation when you are starting out.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-23-2020, 11:39 PM
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The PF specs (SMC Pentax-DA 16-45mm F4 Reviews - DA Zoom Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database) say its maximum magnification is 0.26x? Still pretty useful for pseudo-macro but more like 1:4 than 1:3 and about the same as the 18-135 (max of 0.24x).
FWIW, I agree with @Mikesbike that, as a single lens to start out with, the 18-135 might be the better choice. For most people the extra reach (coverage in the 46mm-135mm range) would be much more useful than the extra 2mm width (16mm v 18mm). You can do a lot with the telephoto coverage on the 18-135.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-26-2020, 07:20 AM
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If you know my story of why I became interested in Pentax, you'll get your answer!
The first time I bought a pentax k5, camera was with a kit lens and was shooting industrial photography on top of a pool. The camera fell into the water while shooting. it was in the water for 5 minutes! After we barely pulled out the camera we saw it was still lit and even shot under water! After a few minutes it went off and I took out my camera battery and let it dry for 1 days! Surprisingly the next day worked like the first day! It happened that even though I have a Sony R3, I have never left Pentax and now I have Pentax in a country that does not even have Pentax representation and is not supported! So believe in Pentax AW and WR !
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-23-2020, 12:46 AM
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The DA 18-55WR has its values mainly being cheap and still good enough. But it won't really get the most out of the K5II!
The advantage (to some, if needed is the WR).
It very much depends what you need.
One lens which is very underestimated but needs to be in really good condition, i.e. not wobbly!
But it is a larger lens for a reason. I had some contact to a person who serviced Pentax for decades, knew all lenses inside out.
He brought me to this lens and I never regreted it. He told me that the construction is similar to the FA31/1,8 and the K28/f2,0, i.e. a floating design.
It was developed by one of the japanese master-engineers of Pentax, I forgot his name.. but I remember he applied for a patent for this lens because it was the first and only zoom using this floating element design (a design invented by Zeiss and applied in their Distagon T* lenses)
- 16mm are very nice wide-angle for landscapes, almost 15mm and with excellent optical quality
- very nice close-up abilities (28cm and what I measured 1:3 macro at 45mm)
I personally don't like the DA-18-50WR
Good zoom lenses you can find from Sigma, the Sigma 17-50/2,8 is supposed to be very good if it's a good sample, many like the 17-70 (17mm make a noticable difference to 18, and yet, 16mm are quite a bit more wide-angle).
The DA18-135WR is a very quiet zoom due to its DC Motor (as are Sigmas with the HSM motor). It has 1:4 Macro at 135mm but minimum focus distance is only 40mm.
The quiet but fast DC Motor can be an argument when you want to take photos of little ones, because they very quickly can react to the sound of the screw-drive mechanism. They hear the sound an change position.
My favourite Zoom is still the DA20-40 limited. It is DC, i.e. quiet, amazing built quality, almost as good as 3 prime built into one lens.
The forum test ranked it higher than the legendary FA31 (which I don't fully agree with) but you have the DA21/DA35/DA30 in one go but without the macro qualities of the DA35/2,8macro limited.
It very much depends on how much you can or are willing to spend.
If a DA20-40 is possible, you won't lose money with it!
A DA16-45, allthough a bit bulky, is almost as good and very cheap. But do consider the size and get only a really good sample.
I know a famous photographer who uses it with his K70 and KP and is thrilled, he never really considered it before.
A cheap and yet better lens than the Kit 18-55WR is the Sigma 18-50/2,8. But again, a bit larger.
Important to know if you buy a Sigma with inbuilt OS (antishake): The OS draws enery, i.e. the battery empties quicker! Even if the OS is switched off!!! That one must know.
Also you don't want to use the OS together with the Pentax antishake! One or the other!
Hope now your head is not spinning more...:fedup:
This is the difficulty of receiving many well meant opinions.
And they are well meant!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-22-2020, 09:19 PM
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Yes, focus peaking display can be of value, particularly in macro shots as done with a macro lens capable of very close work, where focusing becomes very critical. On a tripod of course, as the slightest movement can throw the focus off again in this type of photography. At the same time, for most needs, a top-notch VF is an essentially important aspect of having a DSLR, an advantage in fact over other picture-taking devices, and each of these camera models indeed does provide a top-level VF. Such quality in a VF available at the price point of the K-70 or certainly the price point of the K-S2, is virtually unheard of outside of Pentax. That was one of the upgrades that motivated me in buying the little K-S2 new at such a remarkable price, reduced after its replacement, the K-70 arrived, and then giving away my old K-r to good friends.
Practicing and learning to focus by eye using the VF is extremely important as a basic. Practicing manual focus using the VF will be essential in achieving the ability to keep an eye on the camera's result during autofocus, As we know, sometimes AF can and does grab onto something other than our intention! That can happen to the best of us in the haste of the moment.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-22-2020, 03:32 PM
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Yes, pixel shift can be nice, mainly for still scenes without wind factors- cityscapes and the like, on tripod, of course. There are definitely some advancements from 8 years ago, and the lack of AA filter is the reason I chose the K- IIs instead of the II. Norm brings up the KAF4 lenses, a good point regarding the PLM lens factor. Another advancement. But all of the latest lenses have not been KAF4, thank goodness, like the recent DFA 70-210mm f/4 and the excellent DA* 11-18mm f/2.8 premium lens. Most KAF4's in the schedule are of premium expense types, other than the 55-300mm PLM. I still use my older HD 55-300mm WR, which is still available new, as I am very happy with results I get from it. The KP has improved the AF performance of all my screw-driven lenses. The very fine Limited series of primes continues to be very traditional and conservative in design, still screw-driven- perhaps for maximum reliability. Even with these advancements, which are also found on the KP, now my most often-used camera, I still continue to value my K-5 IIs for its durable construction, fine image quality, and as an efficient tool of photography.
---------- Post added 04-22-20 at 03:32 PM ---------- |
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-19-2020, 05:24 AM
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I forgot to answer this part, I also agree with a lot what Mikesbike wrote but have a slight different suggestion.
Maybe best to start with a K-S1. As you said, you feel confident to fix a stuck solenoid, so could even buy a K-S1 with faulty solenoid (they do show up) and right away set it alright the prober way, i.e. implant the Japan solenoid into it.
As your partners hands are tiny, the K-S1 is really the best for her!
Nothing is better than actually touching / holding a camera with lenses in real life.
Size/weight on the screen is different.
I felt the same as Mikesbike when I got my K3 and compared it to my K5IIs.
For a longer time I kept the K5IIs and sold it for the KP.
Allthough the KP might be right for you, it very well might not be right for your partner!
Another option:
Find two defunct Pentax bodies:
K30 or K50 (K500 is alright but can't take the PLM lens!)
and
K-S1
Find as well a defunct ist-DL, DL2, K100, K200, K110 as they have 2 Japansolenoids inside
Then you repair both and you have two great cameras, can switch lenses etc.
Both use the same batterie, charger etc.
I have both bodies here, the K-S1 is my travel camera when traveling light.
With the DA40 or DA21 very light, small enough to put into a pocket.
Fantastic camera for what it is!
And... scene modes which are better than automatic
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