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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
16 Hours Ago
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If you read what I say in context, you will understand that I wasn't saying that these specifications aren't useful, but that their usefulness has a much more focused audience. Other than occasionally taking photos of my cat and dog (well and I did take some photos of our chickens too), it isn't something that I care about much. Many people are like me, although for a few these are killer features that they couldn't do without.
Maybe I could say that I think about what I said -- slowing down and appreciating the journey -- when I am shooting with my K-01. It is a slow camera that can basically do 1 fps in RAW, but it is still capable of taking decent photos if you turn it the right way...
 Sunrise by Vincent1825, on Flickr
 Barn at Dawn by Vincent1825, on Flickr
 Winter Road by Vincent1825, on Flickr
Of course none of these are wildlife images, but I do remember the circumstances of each one and the light on that particular day. Maybe that's why I still using my K-01, even if my cell phone camera has better specs.
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
1 Day Ago
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I shared some of this in a since closed thread, but in general, I think camera brands need to be looking at something different. I thought that Pentax did a little better in the past at focusing on the experience of photography rather than just the gadgets we use to take those photos.
Most of us aren't professional photographers. We don't need 20 frames per second or "Moose Eye Recognition" on our cameras. We do want nicely exposed, sharp images. At the same time, if we lose the joy of making photographs -- if the tools we use no longer provide some degree of satisfaction, we will burn out. I am convinced that this is why so many people stop the hobby after a while. You come to realize that every image you take has been taken by someone else -- only better, your camera does all of the work for you, and other than posting occasional images to social media for people to express their "likes" of your work it seems to have little purpose (and you get just as many likes with your cell phone pics). Eventually, even the dopamine hit you used to get from social media likes goes away.
This is the banality of photography.
The solution is to slow down and appreciate the journey and the tools you use along the way.
Someone mentioned film photography in this thread and I imagine film will continue to be a niche market, but I don't see it going away because film gets people to slow down, to experience photography in a tactile way that digital photography doesn't, and makes people delay gratification until the roll is done.
There is a reason why some people choose to go to monasteries to meditate and experience a simpler life. In a world where everything is super charged and moving at break neck speeds, maybe it is helpful to have a hobby that moves just a little slower. Maybe living life at 120 frames per second isn't just unnecessary, it is damaging to people who see the world at a maximum of 60 hertz.
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
1 Day Ago
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I think the problem with many of these features is that they have limited application to the majority of photographers. If you can hit 300 frames per second at 1/12,000 second shutter speed without a loss of image quality, that would be a "major step" in terms of camera specifications -- the only thing is that for anyone who doesn't do a lot of video or sports photography, I'm not sure that it would move the needle much, would it?
I think the issue is that cameras have turned into gadgets and as such, there is little reason to run out after the next one, even if it is slightly better specs than the previous iteration.
What most still photographers would like is improvement in terms of dynamic range, expansion of low iso options, and better high iso performance. Unfortunately, we have pretty much plateaued and the only way to bump dynamic range is through gimmicks like pixel shift. On the photons to photos dynamic range chart, the maximum for a full frame sensor (645z is ahead of it) is the D850 at 11.7 EV dynamic range. The interesting thing is that the D810 is 11.67 EVs and the K-1 11.3. To me, this says that sensor performance is not going to be a driver of major camera sales going forward, even if there is a global shutter at some point and 12K video.
(Interestingly the best low light ISO on Photons to Photos is the Nikon D5 -- once again not exactly a new camera.)
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Forum: Lens Clubs
5 Days Ago
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
5 Days Ago
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
6 Days Ago
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Forum: Lens Clubs
6 Days Ago
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
6 Days Ago
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Forum: Lens Clubs
6 Days Ago
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
6 Days Ago
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If I made decisions for Pentax, I would work really hard to emphasize the differences between SLR design and MILC and try to show the craftsmanship that goes into each one of their cameras as well as the benefits one gets by slowing down and paying attention to the process of photography.
Most of us aren't professional photographers. We don't need 20 frames per second or "Moose Eye Recognition" on our cameras. We do want nicely exposed, sharp images. At the same time, if we lose the joy of making photographs -- if the tools we use no longer provide some degree of satisfaction, we will burn out. I am convinced that this is why so many people stop the hobby after a while. You come to realize that every image you take has been taken by someone else -- only better, your camera does all of the work for you, and other than posting occasional images to social media for people to express their "likes" of your work it seems to have little purpose (and you get just as many likes with your cell phone pics). Eventually, even the dopamine hit you used to get from social media likes goes away.
This is the banality of photography.
The solution is to slow down, to enjoy the process of making an image as much as the image, and to take pleasure in all the aspects of that process -- even the clunkiness of using an SLR in an MILC world.
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Forum: General Talk
6 Days Ago
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The whole story over Ohtani's interpreter is crazy. I would think you would notice if someone had stolen a third of your money, but maybe Ohtani just doesn't own a copy of Quicken. Beyond that, the guy not only has a gambling problem, but he is a really bad gambler. From what I read he had 144 million in winning bets and 182 million in losing bets and stole 16 million from Ohtani before he was caught.
I just don't know how you gamble 19,000 bets in just two years time for that amount of money. Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter accused of stealing $16M from the MLB star |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-12-2024, 01:10 PM
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I think biz is simply saying that cameras are unlikely to be a growth item on Ricoh's balance sheet. Things that seem to be growing right now have to do with electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. Sort of the best case scenario for Pentax (in his view) is that they sell K-1 IIIs to all of the people who have purchased K-1 and K-1 IIs. I'm not so pessimistic, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that ILCs are shrinking and cell phones have eaten their lunch for the most part.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
04-12-2024, 03:25 AM
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
04-12-2024, 03:24 AM
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Forum: Lens Clubs
04-12-2024, 03:23 AM
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
04-12-2024, 03:23 AM
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Smith Mountain Lake Panorama (DA 18-270mm/pixel shift)
 Smith Mountain Lake Panorama by Vincent1825, on Flickr
The above image is four pixel shifted images combined in Lightroom to make a panorama.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
04-12-2024, 03:22 AM
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Smith Mountain Lake Panorama (DA 18-270mm/pixel shift)
Smith Mountain Lake Panorama by Vincent1825, on Flickr
The above image is four pixel shifted images combined in Lightroom to make a panorama.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
04-12-2024, 03:22 AM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-12-2024, 02:49 AM
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I suppose it is a balancing act -- if Pentax releases an SLR for 5500 dollars that seems to match up against an equivalent MILC that costs 2700, how many would they sell? Leica is going to sell their SL3 for 7000 while the Sony A7r IV can be had for 3000. Obviously the Leica name generates sales, even if the cost is quite a bit higher.
At the end of the day, Pentax either has to release something or close up their shop and declare surrender. Holding out hope that some component that is expensive now will drop in price at some point in the future is unlikely. Inflation seems to have hit every part of the market and I'm sure camera parts are no exception.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-09-2024, 02:20 AM
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My perception was that the issue had to do with the cost of the parts, not their availability, so that Pentax was hoping that the price would come down a bit so that their launch would be competitive. Obviously they made the decision with the 645z sequel that they couldn't launch it at a price that was competitive with Fuji's medium format cameras. I hope they don't decide the same thing with the next K-1 camera.
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Forum: General Photography
04-08-2024, 04:13 PM
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The issue that I have with cell phone cameras is that I have found changing settings to be challenging and ergonomics to be problematic. I don't have a problem taking a few snaps with my phone, although since it is an iphone 8 it is significantly worse than Wheatfield's cell phone image. I think it is fine for you to move into cell phone photography and sell your gear. I will say that there is a difference in the rendering of images from a cell phone lens and a decent ILC lens and I think it shows up in portraiture.
This is shot with the DFA *85:
 On a Bridge by Vincent1825, on Flickr
This one was with the DA *55
 Victoria by Vincent1825, on Flickr
This with the FA 77 limited.
 Elliot by Vincent1825, on Flickr
None of these are posed shots. They are just ones I grabbed as my kids were doing things and so they aren't anything wonderful, but I do think the rendering is above what I see with most cell phone images -- even when they have enable the fake bokeh feature.
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Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50
04-08-2024, 03:58 PM
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I had to work today, so it wasn't happening for me. I did poke my head outside a couple of times -- looked like it peaked around 85 or 90 percent of totality here. My wife and kids went to Erie, PA to see it and it sounded like it was pretty amazing there.
Maybe, for those who missed a trip to Iceland in August of 2026 is in order...
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
04-07-2024, 03:40 AM
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