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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
10-25-2022, 01:27 PM
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I don't suppose there's been any change with respect to this issue with the new firmware that just came out? Has anybody been able to test it?
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-19-2022, 03:29 PM
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@kobie: That's interesting! Do you think that it may be that in full auto mode the camera is choosing a compromise between several AF points, and maybe that's resulting in sharp images in some cases?
@licht96: Wow, thank you for that update. That's very disappointing that you've tested that many copies and still seen the same issues. And even more disappointing that you've seen it (to a lesser extent) with other lenses.
I'm new to the K3 III, but I see that the last firmware update was fairly recent and it dealt with autofocus stuff. So maybe there's hope that there will be another one that will address this problem.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-19-2022, 08:13 AM
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Oh interesting -- yeah please let us know here what you find!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-18-2022, 10:12 AM
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Yep, that's totally reasonable to keep it all in one place. I've replied there. Thank you again!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-18-2022, 09:13 AM
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Just purchased a K3 III + 16-50 PLM and ran into the same issue randomly while testing. It seemed so weird and random that I believed it was user error until I was pointed to this thread by @licht96. I don't see the issue with my older 16-50 SDM + the K3 III, and focusing in liveview works fine with the PLM.
I'm concerned that since this issue has apparently gone on for so long that it may be a hardware fault in either the camera or the lens, and maybe can't be solved with firmware (there's already been a firmware update addressing focusing with this lens). I'm reminded of the original K5 which didn't focus correctly in the OVF under incandescent light. It wasn't solved until the K5 II/IIs.
I'm going to (sadly) return both the lens and the camera and wait to see what happens with this issue. I use the 16-50 lens almost exclusively, and again almost exclusively work using the OVF + selecting focus points so this really impacts my work.
I was really excited to upgrade: having a silent lens again after using my screwdrive-converted 16-50 SDM, plus all the advances in the K3 III over my old and beat up K5 II really are exciting. I love the new viewfinder, and all the focus points, and the focusing with the PLM lens is so snappy, and the extra stops of ISO are all really exciting advances for me. I love Pentax and have had bodies from the K10D -> K5 II and have a bunch of lenses. I hope that the issue can be solved because the K3 III seems like a fantastic tool otherwise.
Thanks to everyone here for documenting the issue and letting me know I wasn't crazy!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-17-2022, 11:50 PM
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Wow, thank you!
It sounds like the problem is quite widespread and is specific to the combination of the K3 III + the 16-50 PLM. I just tried the K3 III with my older 16-50 SDM and yeah it doesn't seem to exhibit the problem.
I certainly feel concerned that this problem hasn't been resolved yet. I'm on the latest firmware, as are others in that thread, and although one of the firmware updates dealt with focusing with this lens it doesn't seem to be resolved.
I feel concerned that maybe there's a hardware problem here that might not be solvable with firmware, and maybe I should return the camera + lens and keep an eye on the issue then rebuy when it's resolved. Both the body and lens are very expensive, and selectable focus points are important to my way of working.
Thank you again for pointing me to this information!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-17-2022, 10:40 PM
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Hello, I just picked up a K3 III (and 16-50 PLM) and I've been testing them out during the window when I can still return them (I'll definitely buy the camera, just wanting to make sure that there's no problems with this specific copy)
One thing I've noticed as I've been testing is that when I focus with any point other than the center one, the resulting image is out of focus. When I use the center point, and focus and recompose the image is sharp. But when I compose and move the focus point to the subject then take the photo it is consistently out of focus, without regard to which other focus point I selected. Maybe the ones closest to the center are a little better, but the rest are significantly out of focus.
I'm in AF-S SEL mode. I have focusing disabled on the shutter half-press and I'm using the AF button. I'm making sure I'm waiting on the camera to confirm focus before taking the photo.
I have it set so that when I review the image, it zooms in on where the focus point was so I believe I'm not making a mistake selecting the focus point.
The lens seems good to me: I did some newspaper tests and didn't see any centering defects and everything looked quite sharp across the image.
Is it possible that I have a setting wrong somewhere? Or that I'm missing something else? I've used Pentax cameras for years now (the latest being the K5 II), but I'm pretty unfamiliar with the K3 III and I only have a short window to be able to exchange this unit if it is indeed defective.
(As a side note, I've noticed that pressing the joystick left works great but sometimes pressing it right it doesn't register. The issue seems to come and go and I'm not sure if there's user error somewhere there. Similar for up (works every time) and down (sometimes doesn't register))
Thanks for any help you're able to give me! I hope I'm just missing a setting somewhere: it seems like such a strange problem!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-08-2022, 11:29 PM
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Thank you all again!
Yeah, now that I understand better what all the numbers actually mean, I was going to double-check the specs for the camera against them before making a final decision. This is definitely going to be the fastest camera I buy for quite a while, so no sense in overkill! Googling for specs I just found this thread Max writing speed on K-3 III?: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review where there were some tests of burst shooting and it seems that the limiting factor isn't the card slot type (UHS I or II) but something else in the pipeline, and the camera as a whole seems to max out at around V30 speeds regardless of which slot you're using.
@btnapa that's very interesting about your tests! Yeah, I definitely default to Sandisk just based on personal experience. And yeah, I don't like leaving large numbers of files on them either, but sometimes out in the field I need to shoot a lot on a particular day before being able to dump the photos and wipe the card ready for the next day.
The Sony Tough one certainly sounds interesting, although I've beaten up my K5 II pretty badly in the rain and grit and the actual SD card was never in jeopardy. Interesting that it might be a little faster in practice though! (I just found your post here with more details: Anyone really measured the UHS-II write speed in the camera? - Page 5 - PentaxForums.com)
The Lexar also does sound interesting, especially for the price! Googling some reviews it does sound like a good brand, and certainly the price is very tempting.
So it sounds like either of these or the Sandisk is a good choice and I can't really go wrong. Thank you all for saving me from buying a super-expensive V90 card that would have been totally unnecessary!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-08-2022, 01:35 PM
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Thank you everyone so far! So for size it sounds like DNG files may only be a bit bigger than my current ones, although according to the manual they could be twice the size. I wonder if there's a compression option for DNG and/or PEF that accounts for the size differences that people are seeing, and especially vs what the manual says? I'll have a look through the options when I get the camera.
I really appreciate the comment that at first when the camera came out some people went overboard with card speed and have found it's not strictly necessary. I read a bunch of early threads and I was hoping to hear an update exactly like that -- thank you!
For the speed, I'm still a bit confused: V30 is only for UHS I, I believe, from what I just googled after reading the responses here: "V60 and V90 are used in UHS-II mode or faster" from Speed Class | SD Association . So given that the K3 II has a UHS II slot, I should get a > V30 card?
Or am I misunderstanding? I'm definitely confused on this point :)
I get the idea of buying two of the same cards for sure -- if I can find a card that's sufficient to max out performance but not terribly expensive then that absolutely makes sense.
All of the Sandisk UHS II cards that I can find seem to be V90. They're also super expensive. So maybe I want to look for a UHS II V60 card? I've used Sandisk forever and it's always been good to me, so I'm a little reluctant to switch out. I see a Sony Tough UHS II V60 -- maybe that's a better choice? Sony SF-M Tough 128GB UHS-II SD Memory Card | Best Buy Canada
Thank you again everyone!
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
05-08-2022, 09:20 AM
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Hello, I've got a K3 III on the way that I'm upgrading from a K5 II and I'm wondering which memory cards to buy. I did some searching around but couldn't find all the info I was looking for.
I've previously used a Sandisk Extreme Pro 64MB, which gives me about 2600 shots since the DNG files are about 25MB or so.
How big are DNG files on the K3 III? I'd like to have about the same number of shots (or more) available on the new camera. I tend to shoot pretty heavily, so I run into the buffer limit on my current camera from time to time.
Would this card be a good one to maximize the performance of the primary slot without being overkill? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1617741-REG/sandisk_sdsdxdk_128g_anci...981&
And would this one be a good one for the second slot, again to maximize performance without being overkill? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1431034-REG/sandisk_sdsdxxy_128g_anci...981&
I'm new to the UHS world, so I'm not quite sure how to interpret the specs, etc.
Thank you for any help you're able to give me!
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
06-26-2016, 10:59 PM
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The local news did a story on a project I just completed, and at about the 1:00 mark you can see the K5 II and 16-50 I used to shoot most of it (a couple of the photos in the project were shot with the 12-24): Art project showcases ‘trail fairies’ who maintain North Shore mountain trails - BC | Globalnews.ca
I got them pretty wet and muddy over the course of the project, but they're still working great! The worst was the day where I went out in the pouring rain for hours and didn't realize I'd forgotten the hotshoe cover! Water eventually trickled into the body and it started acting pretty weird. An emergency run to the local camera store for some silica gel got it straighten out though. Now I've learned to leave a towel and ziplock bag + silica gel in my truck for after cold rainy shoots.
I got a lot of grit ground into the 16-50's focusing mechanism which I think led to the motor frying, but thanks to the instructions on this forum I was able to hack it to use the screwdrive instead! I don't post here very often, but this forum is a great resource and I really enjoy lurking! Thank you!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-13-2015, 03:26 AM
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I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for this thread, and in particular @pjm1 for his instructions way back on post #274 that worked perfectly for me and my K5. I was able to convert a 50-135 with a dead SDM motor that I picked up inexpensively, and my old 16-50 whose motor had died for the second time, and I couldn't be happier. Thank you everyone!
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
01-28-2015, 10:21 PM
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This is from a project I've been working on for the last few years about medieval re-creation in a group called the Society for Creative Anachronism. I’m trying to show what it’s like to be in the SCA and specifically what it’s like to do heavy combat (fighting with a sword and shield while wearing armor).
I tried to show not only the tournaments and wars and big ceremonies, but also what goes on behind the scenes to make them happen: making armor and costumes, training at home, and going to fight practice. I hope that I’ve shown the dedication, the pride, and the humor that I’ve seen in the SCA.
It’s not intended to be comprehensive, but I hope I’ve got across some of these feelings.
I shot this project using a K20D and K5, mostly using the 16-50 and a few shots with the 12-24. I also used a LumoPro 160 flash for a few shots. For this one, the camera was at the end of my tripod (several forum members here helped me choose it: a Gitzo GT2531 with a RRS BH-30 head) which was held above my head and I used a couple of PocketWizards to fire the camera (a lot, since I couldn't see what I was shooting :p).
If you're interested, the rest of the project is here:
https://vimeo.com/118087780 |
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
06-16-2012, 07:30 PM
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Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thanks again for all the helpful replies!
I've received my tripod, head, and plate, and so far I love them all -- I'm super happy with them, and I'm looking forward to using them for a long time. Using the screw type head is much less fiddly than I was worried it would be -- I think that was totally the right call: thank you!
I've attached the first photo I took *with* the tripod (of the Gordy sling strap I got at the same time -- he asks for customers to send him a photo of their new strap), as well as my first (only?) photo *of* the tripod :).
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
06-04-2012, 06:59 PM
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Thanks very much again for all your replies everyone!
WobblyGoblin: Thanks -- I didn't know about those tripods. I read some reviews and they sound like a great deal. I think on the legs though I'm going to go with emotion rather than logic and stick with Gitzo :).
After a bunch of thought, I've decided to take jatrax's advice and give up on the lever release, and then went with the Markins plate that he recommended. So I ordered those along with the RRS BH-30 ballhead and Gitzo 2531 legs. I am very stoked to receive them, and I hope that they'll help me on my road to loving tripods :)
Now for less research and more photos!
Thanks again everyone -- that was super helpful, and I feel relieved to have finally navigated (hopefully successfully!) the tripod-buying minefield! :)
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
06-01-2012, 01:17 AM
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Interesting, thanks guys -- that's very good to know that there's more adjustable options out there. Yeah, I'll have to figure out whether to give up on the lever release, or go with one of those instead.
More reading to do! :)
Thanks!
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
05-30-2012, 04:26 PM
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Thanks very much for the replies everyone -- that's some helpful information! Looks like I've got a lot more reading to do :)
From doing a little more research, it seems that a stumbling block is that the RRS lever release head doesn't work with many plates. I tried calling them, but they were unable to recommend a plate that had what I'm looking for (they have a generic one that may cover the battery door on the K-5, and doesn't have a tripod hole on the bottom)
"Choose a Lever Release clamp ONLY if you have quick release plates from Really Right Stuff or Wimberley. Lever Release clamp are not user-adjustable, and different manufacturers may follow different standards when producing Arca-Swiss compatible plates. Specifically, our Lever Release clamps do not work with plates from Markins, AcraTech, Arca-Swiss, and some Kirk plates–the dovetails are too shallow. Choose a screw-knob clamp if you have plates OTHER than those from RRS or Wimberley." B2-40 LR clamp with 1/4-20 screw - B2-40-LR-1/4-20 - Kit Configuration Page
Mareket: Yeah, sounds pretty similar to my thought process, although since I'm lucky enough to have the cash on hand I'm leaning towards the fancier legs first.
jatrax: That sounds like a good setup, and I'll take the time to look more closely. I like that camera plate a lot, except that it apparently won't work with the lever release I was looking at :(. I'm keen on the lever release thing over the screw type, if possible. Not sure if I'll have to give that up yet or not :).
jac: Thanks -- I'll take a closer look!
hcc: Thanks, yeah, I had a read through that and it was helpful
steve1307: Oh cool, I didn't know about those -- that sounds pretty rad. I've contacted the 3LT guys to see if their plate will work with the RRS head
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
05-29-2012, 01:26 PM
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Hello,
I've been a longtime reader of PentaxForums, but now I was hoping I could ask some advice.
I'd like to buy a new tripod, and I'm finding myself quite intimidated by the number of options. I wanted to sanity check my choices, as well as ask some specific advice about base plates.
I shoot almost exclusively wide: most often with a 16-50 (my heaviest lens: it totals 3 lbs with my K-5), and also with the 10-17. I can see occasionally using this tripod with a 55-300. I use a tripod for shooting late-night outdoor events (where I alternate between both handheld and on a tripod), for taking mountain biking self-portraits (so I need to strap it to my pack and be able to ride with it), and for still-life shots around my (small) apartment.
I've read, and buy into, the famous Thom Hogan article. I'm fortunate enough to be at a point where I can afford to buy a tripod that I will enjoy using and that will hopefully last me the rest of my life. I want to be smart about the money I'm spending, but I'm willing to spend it if it's warranted.
For a ballhead, I've been looking at the RRS BH-25 LR. It seems to be all I need, although I can't shake the feeling that maybe I should go for the BH-30 instead. For an extra $100 and 100g, it seems like it would be completely future-proof for my needs.
For the legs, I've been heavily influenced by Mike from TOP's recommendation of the Gitzo GT2531. I like the flexibility of the different leg configurations even though it holds more weight than I need (I'd like to be able to get the camera very low to the ground if possible, and I like the idea of being able to hang a weight from the centre column). Otherwise, I guess I'd look at the GT0531 or GT1541.
Do these sound like good choices for my needs?
The last part is the baseplate. I didn't see a K-5-specific one on the RRS site -- will any plate do? Are there any that would allow me to use my BlackRapid sling strap (that currently hooks into the tripod hole on my K-5)? I like the way the camera hangs with that setup, so I'd prefer not to hang it from one of the side lugs if possible.
I'm undecided if I'll get an L-plate as well or not. They seem to be body-specific and I've gone through a few bodies over the last few years (K10D, K20D, now K5), so I'm worried that I'd be spending a fair amount on something I wouldn't use for very long (or very often - I mostly shoot horizontal).
Thanks very much in advance for any help or insight you're able to give me.
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