Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 
Log in or register to remove ads.

Showing results 1 to 25 of 41 Search:
Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways 12-14-2014, 04:27 AM  
3 Million Post Giveaway: Confirm your entry!
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 2,853
Views: 133,334
Confirmation :)
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 12-10-2014, 08:49 AM  
Incoming: X100....
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 4
Views: 1,088
Another happy X100 user here, I haven't touched my Pentax gear since receiving it a few months ago and am thinking of selling most of my Pentax gear except the body and macro/tele lenses

Greatest pros:
-viewfinder (both the evf and ovf)
-JPG quality
- built in film and B&W filter modes
- build quality, manual controls
- high flash sync speed and great ttl when using the onboard flash as a fill flash (which you can do in broad daylight!)
- built in ND filter
- silent

biggest cons:
- manual focus is horrible even with the newest firmware and especially if you are used to Pentax limited lenses ;) the ring is as smooth as a limited's but it just doesn't do anything!
- the minimum focus distance for macro mode is too large.
- in AF mode the camera often focuses on the background instead of the subject with close subjects, especially when using the optical viewfinder. This is a major drawback as you can't just hand the camera to someone who never used it without setting it to electronic viewfinder and macro mode.
- auto iso switching is a pain to change, there should have been a dedicated iso button
- Hood and adapter needed to mount filters do not come included with the standard model. Cheap third party alternatives are available.
Forum: Photographic Technique 05-23-2010, 02:38 PM  
Are you also shooting raw ONLY?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 51
Views: 8,942
I used to shoot only in raw, but recently with the k-x I've been switching back to jpg often. Especially outdoors, when sunlight is the only light source the auto white balance of the k-x works very good, and I get better colors than when processing the raw files with lightroom. I also use the "vivid" color setting in the menu.

Like the following image, only cropped and flare spot removed.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 05-06-2010, 04:06 PM  
Best Lens For Color & Contrast
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 28
Views: 7,893
If you are looking for great colours/contrast I would suggest not to look for lenses but look for a good polarizing filter (if you haven't done so already). Especially photos with cloudy blue skies or trees/plants/foilage will benefit greatly from it, as will any photo where the subject has a lot of reflected light. See e.g. these pics of a sail taken with the DA 21mm and a polarizing filter, left is minimum effect, right is maximum:




That being said I like the colours from my DA lenses the most. Some other suggestions:
- look for good light (when the sun is low, mornings and evenings)
- If you use lightroom use the vibrance and clarity sliders until you find something you like
- the in-camera jpeg processing can be really good, I have my K-x set to "vivid" and often the colours in the jpegs are better than when manually adjusting in raw.


edit: oops I see you already have a c-pl, then my suggestion would be to get one for the lenses for which you don't have one ;)
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 03-30-2010, 10:56 AM  
hoya Pro1 vs S-HMC filters
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 20
Views: 13,163
Ok then that would be an option, but it would probably be too bulky for my taste, if you have to use a Z one and matching hood then using that on the FA 50 would lead to a weird combination ;)

Come to think of it, if I would have to choose now I would buy a DA 15mm with 49mm polarizer, that combo is probably the same price or cheaper than the DA 14 and a 77mm polarizer, and the filter will fit on my other DA limited lenses and the FA 50.

The DA 14 is excellent but since I obtained some DA limiteds I really like small lenses ;)
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 03-30-2010, 10:02 AM  
hoya Pro1 vs S-HMC filters
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 20
Views: 13,163
I have both the DA 14mm and a Hoya S-HMC polarizer and they are an excellent combination.
I wouldn't use the cokin system because a. it is very bulky and b. you cannot use the hood with it which is essential on the DA 14 especially with a polarizer. The hood has the nice polarizer window!

I never use UV filters even when near the sea, they are a waste of money and image quality.

btw you do get the darkening mentioned in the LL article with blue skies, see the pic below for an example shot with the combination. It can be lessened by not turning the ring to maximized polarization. I actually like the effect most of the time.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-26-2010, 08:49 AM  
35mm-105 pentax f3.5 M $100?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 3
Views: 2,060
Be sure to check whether the lens remains focused when zooming in or out, it should do that. Mine didn't, probably because of tampering by the previous owner. I bought it for 40 euros used, I might have used it more if it where a good copy, as image quality is very good. I found it to be too heavy though, and since I have the limited primes i would never use such a heavy zoom lens again.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-10-2010, 02:40 AM  
What lens hood for the 50mm F1.4?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 29
Views: 14,856
The hood of the DA70mm limited works very well also on the M 50mm 1.7 and FA 50mm 1.4. Plus it makes them look really cool ;)
Little bit an expensive solution though if you do not own a DA 70 yet :p
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 02-10-2010, 02:01 AM  
New Samyang 14mm f/2.8 Lens for Pentax
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 48
Views: 23,036
I think the huge depth of field on a 14mm lens, combined with the extra perceived depth of field on modern focusing screens makes it harder to achieve critical focusing with them when manual focusing. Things will appear to be properly focused even when they really are slightly out of focus. Sometimes I take a photo with my DA 14mm 2.8 and while the subject is in focus the photo will appear front or back focused which is distracting.
Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing 01-30-2010, 01:54 PM  
Pentax Kx Lens Correction Software
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 5
Views: 4,953
Barrel distortion can be corrected using the in-camera lens correction feature of the K-x and K-7 (DA lenses only). This works less well for lenses that have barrel and pincusion distortion (moustache distortion) such as the DA 14mm f2.8. This works with jpeg, as well as raw (at least when I'm using lightroom)

PTlens software does a better job than the in-camera correction though:
PTLens
Forum: Photographic Technique 01-26-2010, 04:20 PM  
Used K-x body clunk, gross fungus stuff?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 11
Views: 2,410
The clunk is normal, it is the sound from the sensor moving around in the SR mechanism.

Probably the seller kept the new body cap and stuck a molded one from an old camera on yours. I had it happen to a lens that I bought too. A stupid practice, it's certainly not like new!
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-26-2010, 12:49 PM  
DA14mm F2.8 - soft at F2.8?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 9
Views: 3,120
Some quick answers:

My DA 14 would hunt sometimes when focusing near infinity on the K100DS. Other than that it worked quite fast and ok. On the K-x I have no problem at all.

The K-x in camera lens correction corrects only for the barrel distortion and not for the pincushion distortion it seems.

Regarding sharpness, I recently made a 50x70 cm print of a photo taken at f3.5 with the subject in a corner, and it turned out really well. With proper focusing it is really sharp, more than enough for real world use.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-24-2010, 02:45 PM  
Post your ideal prime lineup!
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 64
Views: 8,256
My ideal lineup with lenses I already own depends on the type of photography:

Cities/people:

DA 14mm
DA 21mm
FA 50mm (maybe switch to the DA 40mm)
DA 70mm
maybe K135mm

Nature/landscapes:

DA 14mm
DA 21mm
FA 50mm with the DA 70mm hood
Tamron 90mm macro
M 200mm f4

When I don't want to bring a bag:
DA 21mm on camera and hoodless DA 70mm in pocket.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-23-2010, 05:11 PM  
Image quality question and be nice
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 52
Views: 7,401
This is in my opinion the best advice in this topic, especially if this will be your first DSLR camera. The kit lens is the best value for money. If you really want to jump right in the deep you could buy an FA 50mm 1.4 as well, or a DA 40mm 2.8 if you like your camera to be as small and fast focusing as possible.
I wouldn't buy an external flash unit yet, 99% of the time it is not needed.


To answer your flash question, I own a metz 48, it is a really nice flash for the price but I use it much less than anticipated.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-21-2010, 01:24 AM  
Poll: Are you satisfied with the K-x image quality?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 37
Views: 11,936
I think IQ is a tie although I haven't done any objective comparisons, the K-x colours are more muted "out of the box". The resolution of the K-x is of course much higher giving it greater cropability.
Although ergonomics are better on the k-x, build quality was better on the k100dS (for example the pop up flash wobbles a little bit when not used)
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-20-2010, 07:11 AM  
super wide for restaurants? 14mm, 15mm or 12-24mm?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 23
Views: 5,438
I think PTlens does the best job, especially on the edges. Maybe the in-camera correction can only correct simple distortion, either barrel or pincushion.

People in the far corners are going to look weird whatever rectilinear wide angle you use. I think the DA 14 is a good choice because of its close focusing and speed, if you can live with its size.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-20-2010, 06:22 AM  
super wide for restaurants? 14mm, 15mm or 12-24mm?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 23
Views: 5,438
Downloaded the PTlens trial, here is the same image corrected with PTlens DA 14 profile:
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-20-2010, 05:14 AM  
super wide for restaurants? 14mm, 15mm or 12-24mm?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 23
Views: 5,438
I took some test shots with the DA 14 on a K-x:

With lens correction off:


With lens correction on:


No pp, K-x auto white balance slipped here under fluorescent lighting as the tiles are actually white. The camera was not held perfectly perpendicular to the wall, which is probably why the vertical lines are a little off.

It does correct the barrel distortion quite well, but not the pincushion distortion on the edges.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-19-2010, 04:09 PM  
Poll: Are you satisfied with the K-x image quality?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 37
Views: 11,936
I changed to a K-x from a K100D Super, and it's a big improvement. AF accuracy, white balance and auto exposure are much better. Ergonomics are also better, and with a DA limited attached people wonder whether it is an SLR.
Menu structure is also way better, look for example at the way of setting the auto iso range.
Minor annoyances are the battery problem, and the shutter button half press being more sensitive, so i often press it by acident when viewing images.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-17-2010, 06:33 AM  
BEST lens for fine art repro?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 14
Views: 5,411
I wouldn't use one of the standard zooms because they have a lot of distortion. I think the DA 35mm 2.8 macro would be the best as it is a short focal length and has very little distortion.
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 01-11-2010, 01:54 AM  
pentax kx shaking noise loud loud ?
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 15
Views: 7,208
This is noise from the shake reduction system working real-time (it is LIVE view after all), and is nothing to worry about.
If you want to record a video with sound you have to turn it off or the noises will mess up the sound recording.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-09-2010, 09:23 AM  
DA 21mm limited polarizer question
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 6
Views: 3,593
Thanks for the tips, I think I'll just buy a 49mm polarizer then, or look for a linear 43 mm one.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-09-2010, 09:20 AM  
@@@ Legendary PENTAX SMC-K 135mm f/2.5 Performance @@@
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 112
Views: 64,485
A great lens, mine is sharp (enough) from f2.5. Only downside is quite heavy CA wide open.

Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-08-2010, 02:19 PM  
DA 21mm limited polarizer question
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 6
Views: 3,593
I recently got a DA 21mm limited, and was wondering about which polarizer to use on it. I would prefer to use a 43mm one in the hood (you can screw one into the hood) I was wondering wether it is possible to use a circular polarizer filter reversed?
I have a 77mm hoya cpl, and if I look at my computer screen through it with the threads facing the screen (reversed) it doesn't black out when you turn it, which it does when you hold it with the threads facing my eye.

Maybe it's better just to buy a 49mm filter and a rubber hood, although that would make the lens less "pancake" and pretty ugly.
Forum: Lens Clubs 01-08-2010, 11:52 AM  
The DA Limited Club
Posted By Lodewijk
Replies: 6,011
Views: 1,211,971
Just got the DA 21mm, so I can join this club now as well :cool:

A great combination with the K-x!

Great flare resistance as well:


Search took 0.01 seconds | Showing results 1 to 25 of 41

 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 11:00 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top