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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
04-03-2022, 07:36 AM
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Often overlooked... natures marvels to behold.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-01-2022, 09:52 AM
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Yes - when you look at any of the photos! :D
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
02-07-2022, 02:55 PM
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A trailside shot from yesterday's ski outing. Irresistible!
K-3iii & 20-40
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
11-29-2021, 03:11 PM
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Since the Greek alphabet is kind of trendy nowadays, let's wait for the 645Ω, the ultimate Pentax 645 camera, the one none can 'resist'.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
10-09-2021, 10:28 AM
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K-1 | FF | 450mm |
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
09-22-2021, 09:53 AM
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Hello everyone,
Have read a lot in this great forum but not posted yet. I can contribute some experience by upgrading from K3-ii to K3-iii recently, I find this camera really amazing. Recently, I tried some astrophotography using the smc PENTAX-DA★300mmF4ED[IF] SDM together with the external GPS for Astrotracer.
Attached is Andromeda M31 from 8 frames stacked using DeepSkyStacker, 20s at ISO 6400; didn't do any post processing in Photoshop, just some curves to enhance the galaxy arms, but still noise is quite low, I think. I'm very, VERY happy with the sharpness of this lens at F4 (I bought it with the K3-iii) and with the performance of Astrotracer! Full size image can be found on flickr: M31_stack8_6400_20s_full | Picture saved with settings embed? | Flickr |
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
09-02-2021, 08:49 AM
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1. buzzard visiting
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
08-07-2021, 07:20 AM
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"Minor cosmetic issues, otherwise perfect. Have no battery so cannot test it."
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
08-01-2021, 04:38 AM
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
06-27-2021, 08:35 PM
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K-1 ii on a Astro-Tech At127EDT 952mm f7.5 triplet refractor in crop mode.
40 images processed with PIPP, 20 images stacked with AutoStakkert!3, then processed with StarTools.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
06-17-2021, 02:45 PM
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I've been drivin' all night, my hands wet on the wheel
And there's a voice in my head that drives my heel
It's my baby callin', sayin' I need you here
And it's a half past four and I'm shiftin' gear...
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
06-15-2021, 03:47 PM
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When I was in Badlands National Park, I was only lucky enough to have clear skies for one of my five nights. Glad I went out and made the most of it! This was shot at the Pinnacles Overlook at 0131 MDT. I used the K-3 iii's astrotracer mode to shoot a 110 second exposure at ISO 1600 and f/2.8 using the Pentax HD DA* 11–18mm lens at 11mm. This is cropped slightly. If you pixel peep too closely, you'll see that the astrotracer is giving a bit of star trails on the edges, even though there are spot stars in the core. Given that I cropped in for the final image, I probably should have shot at 16mm where astrotracer is known to do better. (I blended the foreground from another shot with astrotracer off.)
Big shout out to Erik Kuna of KelbyOne for both the Outdoor Photography Conference and KelbyOne classes. I used the low level light painting Erik taught at the Outdoor Photography Conference to light the foreground and the postprocessing followed Erik's class on postprocessing Milky Way images.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-08-2021, 06:22 PM
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I have zero need for a D FA 21mm limited as an APS-C and 645 shooter. But as someone with a PhD in mathematics, I would have to buy the lens if it were f/e.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-22-2020, 06:17 PM
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The FA Limited series was supposed to have the following characteristics when Pentax started with the project. This was information from someone involved in the project who gave a presentation at last year's 100-year anniversary events.
Specification characteristics
- The lens should be ready to shoot, with the hood integrated, as soon as the lens cap is pulled off
- The maximum aperture should be f2 or wider
- The lens should be compact, with a filter diameter of 49mm (obviously they broke this requirement for the 31mm already)
Design process
- The objective of the lens design was defined in descriptive terms, not numerical terms. For example, for the FA 77mm "able to depict the glint of a white button on a white shirt"
- Computer modeling was not used in the design process (this was already the norm back in 2000, so it was an unusual decision)
- Results of design iteration were judged by human evaluation of high quality prints
I've never liked the term "pixie dust", because it seems to imply that Pentax has been selling some kind of snake oil, or perpetuate the myth that the lenses were the unrepeatable work of an individual genius. In fact, they were designed quite rigorously by a team, and some of the people who were involved in that process are still with Ricoh Imaging in one capacity or other.
I was interested by the Pentax Forums review of the DFA 85mm review which compared the new lens to the FA 77mm. Aside from holding its ground overall in IQ against the 85mm, the one area where the FA 77mm held a discernable advantage was showing superior gradation in the bright areas of the image. This struck me because it was exactly what the designers intended with the lens. It was no fluke.
As for the new one, I think they will be targeting f2 for the design. Of course, it's possible that they could change the concept of the FA Limited series for the new DFA Limited lens, but I don't think they will reduce the aperture to f2.8. In this day and age, any prime lens with an aperture not wider than a f2.8 zoom is a going to be a hard sell.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
12-03-2020, 05:07 AM
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 The Last Light II by Yasir Nisar, on Flickr
The Last Light on one of the highest mountains of Pakistan, Ultarsar
Shot with Pentax K-1, 80-200
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
11-01-2020, 10:18 AM
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Good optical viewfinders are IMO the ultimate. Is this really info we need to discuss?
---------- Post added 11-01-20 at 12:43 PM ----------
I absolutely love what they are doing. Just like I liked to know what Steve Jobs was thinking, I absolutely admire the company CEO, head body designer and head lens designer being made available for marketing videos, honestly explaining what it is that gets them excited.
Most companies use association with positive ideas to sell. They make an ad that has little to do with their product or the philosophy behind it. Many are remotely related jokes to help you identify the brand name, and have very little to do with the product. That's nothing but lying made legal.
Honesty folks, Andre Agassi knows nothing about cameras, nor does Maria Sharapova. But they sure sold a pile of them.
I have absolutely no use for folks who think that style of advertising is better than what Pentax does. I have absolutely no use for people influenced by that type of advertising, and I definitely have no use for people who champion it. It's dishonest, unethical and the basis of modern marketing. Most companies are hiding what they are behind a marketing department created myth. Pentax just gets out there and says "This is what we are about." Some seem to judge that as emotional, I think the marketing those people admire is fake, unethical, and immoral. And I respect them a lot less because they fall for it. It speaks to their inability to engage in critical thought.
But go ahead, promote the glitz and glitter school of marketing. It has nothing t do with the company, it has little to do with the product. It's dreamed up by some dude in a small office or cubicle far from the the actual company and product being made. It's designed to obscure not inform.
So, you have shallow people who need beautiful actors and ridiculous beautiful locations to sell them product. And here they are criticizing Pentax for doing it differently. To, me, brought up in a household where the flaws of marketing were pointed out on a regular bases, it seems like the commentary of people who don't know as adults what I knew when I was 10.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
10-18-2020, 08:42 AM
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Startrail Below Piano Teeth
Once there was a photographer who wanted to photograph the stars with his Astrotracer unit that he bought for his first Pentax DSLR, a Pentax K-5. The years went by and he never did.
Today he thought if he ever will, he has to prepare for it, i.e. he should try to use the Astrotracer before going into the field. But is there any interesting application at home? He discovers that the Astrotracer works in his room, but because it's early afternoon there's too much light. So the photographer decides to simulate the night by using a 10 stop filter. His 30 years old digital piano shows a small red light at the front when it's switched on - this will be his star! 
So he sets up his tripod, K1 in Bulb mode with GPS and astrotracer switched on, attaches the 10 stop filter to the DFA28-105 and cable release to the camera - 105mm, f/8, 2 minutes and 12 seconds exposure. The "star" will be shown as a short streak at lower left corner of his composition when the sensor follows the earth's rotation and the piano's keys will look like blurred square teeth. 
This was the photographers first application of Pentax' Astrotracer. :) |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-04-2020, 01:04 AM
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Geez..... tough audience..... I can't think of anything in my work life that I effected a real 10% change in.... personal life is somewhat different.... have disappointed heeps of people by way more than 10%.
---------- Post added 04-08-20 at 05:38 PM ----------
I worry about what I left in the truck getting stolen whilst out walking..... so 1/3rd in my trailer, 1/3 stashed in hidden spots in truck and 1/3 on me. Now my biggest worry is just mostly finding the truck later in the day.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-31-2020, 09:35 AM
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And the Sunshine Band...
But how is that going to work with SR?
Youtu.be
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xWxLc555sgU?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-30-2020, 06:19 PM
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Thank you everyone for your sweet condolences. I just found this thread and it brought me to tears. I miss him immensely every day. He was a smart, very hardworking and dedicated to anything and everything he did. He loved writing those books and I’m grateful he did so that he will live on. I hope he’s taking some beautiful pictures up there to pass the time. <3
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
05-30-2020, 09:49 AM
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Cross posting from the M Club.
K1 + M* 300mm f4. Captured at f8
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-11-2020, 01:10 PM
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You and I (and everyone else here) know nothing of Ricoh Imaging's "workflows". To surmise from an out-of-date lens roadmap that there is a "huge problem" and it's "a mess" is, frankly, ridiculous and not just a little inflammatory. Let's keep things in perspective, eh? :cool:
I remind you of our recent exchange:
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-11-2020, 01:05 PM
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Always when you think you have already seen the most nonsense childish "reasons" for internet users to become agitated and teach the world the "truth" how it has to be (stomping of the little feet), then someone comes along with a new low point.
Today en vogue: A consumer electronics company did not update a speculative content file when Joe the Plumber wanted it. Darn!
Geez.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
11-02-2019, 03:05 AM
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I was somewhat annoyed when the K1 didn't have a flash.... but it seemed to coincide with my retirement home not letting me out after dark anymore (insurance reasons they reckon).... so in the end, Pentax were just being visionary regarding their aging demographic. GPS also helps when I get disoriented on my outings.... so....another case of Pentax being visionary I guess.
My money is on the next flagship coming with a walking stick.... maybe that unmarked button on the back will deploy it from the base. I think they will call it a selfie stick..... so as not to offend the sensitive amongst us.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
10-05-2019, 10:31 AM
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Eventually this trend will have to turn. Thing is that reviewing beyond the charts and numbers is very demanding. Requires very high level of seeing, thinking, writing. Not skills that abound. It's also very hard for manufacturers to claim superiority and high price.
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