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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
09-01-2019, 06:04 AM
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voltage drop under load will increase as the battery voltage drops since the current required goes up. When the battery is mostly full, it won't sag nearly as much as when it's empty so that weird behavior is usually only observed at the lower battery levels. It is standard behavior for all batteries, though lithium are more stable than other chemistries in this department. Batteries are cheap, if you think it's acting weird, recycle it.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
09-01-2019, 05:27 AM
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my K5 had some issues yesterday when one of the batteries got low. If I was in burst mode it would shoot 3-4 shots then the mirror would lock up and the whole thing was frozen. On/Off switch wouldn't do anything, no buttons worked, etc. Pulled battery out and put it back in and all was resolved. It still had one bar left, and I normally change when they go from 2 to 1 bar to prevent it, I just hadn't noticed.
In terms of going one bar to two when you reset, it's possible that the voltage is right at the transition point between the two and when you turn it off the voltage comes back just enough to be at the 2-bar level. Normal behavior for a battery.
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
08-30-2019, 05:01 AM
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they're exchanging it. This one was serial starting with 902, the replacement is 905 which looks like it is after the supposed fix
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
08-28-2019, 05:34 PM
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whelp, it arrived today and it is going right back in the box. Bought it at EX+ quality and was only missing the box. Problem was SDM is dead on it, apparently they are only doing visual checks and not any functional tests.... Real bummer since it looks nearly new otherwise
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
08-24-2019, 03:45 PM
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correction, could grab the 16-50 for $320, I got it! Thanks for the link!!
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Forum: General Talk
08-24-2019, 10:23 AM
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was torn on a new faster wide/normal lens and found on Adorama a demo grade 16-50. I had tried grabbing a 17-50 Sigma on Amazon but they shipped me a Sigma mount instead of K mount. I've been wanting this lens since I got into photography so figured it was a sign from the camera gods
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-15-2019, 05:59 AM
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thanks, unfortunately the way the courts are set up long lenses are impractical. You can see in the picture below how the field is setup and the courts on the left are the "normal" spacing compared to the ones on the right. Any longer lenses typically have my shooting through another game to get anything at the net which is why this is an abnormal request.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-15-2019, 05:16 AM
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thanks. I think right now the plan is going to be 14mm and K3 as primary and see what's coming next before investing in the expensive zooms. Now to wait on the marketplace!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-14-2019, 07:02 PM
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@hcc, this is mostly outdoor tournaments. Courts are set up very close to each other *maybe 2m between the lines* and nowhere to get "up". I do have a FA 50mm 1.4 that I use for indoor along with the 80-200, but outdoors the angles are just strange so I have to get in right at the net. It's a weird beast trying to shoot these outdoor tournaments with 20 nets crammed into a football field
I've been in shutter priority with 1/2000 and getting great results with that outdoors on the 18-135.
@adam thanks. I think it is sounding like a K3 with a 14mm is going to be the ticket for this first round of upgrades
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-14-2019, 06:26 PM
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AF speed is rather important as prefocusing during volleyball is nearly impossible hence the desire for 2.8 vs 4. 17 is out since it only gives me 3* more FOV than the 18. The 16 gives me almost 10*, and the 14mm gets me all the way to 90* which will be nice.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-14-2019, 05:39 PM
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true, but no K3 for rent, and since I'm buying used, I'd rather buy it, use it for a few months and I'll be no worse off than renting from them for a week so I'd rather grab a used one and sit on it until it sells if I really don't like it, but the closer reality is I'll probably just keep it as a "just in case" since I have no real need to sell them.
@clackers the 11-18 was on the list, but got written off. Same price as the 15-30 and don't think I'd actually need the ultra-wide angle. On the 18-135 I've been going between 18-40ish regularly. I could go without the 30-40 range, but if I get to choose I'd rather not give up the 18-30 range.
The 12-24 was on the list based on cost though, but think I'd rather have the 2.8 for when I have to shoot at night since it is on a football field without great lighting
Another option is a 16-50 which I have wanted for a long time and think it will be wide enough. Downside there is no FF compatibility if I go to FF in the future, but neither will the 14mm
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-14-2019, 05:27 PM
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brilliant shot! that said, when I saw the title I was expecting a bassoon lol
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-14-2019, 05:07 PM
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Like the title says, I think I got stuck by my own research. Long time Pentax owner starting with a K10, and currently on a K5. My wife has asked me to take pictures of her volleyball tournaments and that has me severely lacking in a couple areas.
The biggest one for me is the body itself. The K5 just can't write to the SD cards fast enough. I rarely hit the buffer on a single burst, but I have hit the wall several times on rapid plays. An improvement in AF would be nice, but the bodies aren't usually moving all that fast.
Second one is a new lens. I'm used to most sports being shot with my Tokina 828AF Pro but the way the tournaments are set up I usually end up sitting indian-style with the post between my legs because the nets are close together. It allows for some really cool shots, but the 18-135 that I've been using isn't wide enough. Having it a bit faster for playing at dusk would be nice.
Where does this leave me. The 14mm/2.8 seems like it would be the best option from a cost perspective. Downside is lack of WR which is lower priority, and lack of zoom for trying to shoot serves. Don't want to shoot with a second camera for this stuff, so that puts the 15-30 which used seems to be about 3x the price for a lens I'll be shooting at 15mm the majority of the time. Also will be taking my wife to the UK for the first time later this year and she's going to be shooting the living daylights out of this thing while we're there. She usually walks around with the 18-135, but I think the wider lens will be nice for that trip which has me leaning towards the 15-30, especially for WR since it's October and rather wet. Advice?
Next up is the body. I think I need to upgrade to get over my frustrations with the K5 in this application. Won't be selling the K5 since it will be nice to have a backup. Right now the three options are K3, KP, and K1. Downside to K1 is it would force me into the 15-30, heavier for all handholding at awkward angles, and costs 4x what a K3 does used. Upside is it is FF and that much better. KP seems to only win in better AF performance vs the K3, but since I have big hands I'm really concerned about ergonomics. Option 3 is wait for the next crop sensor flagship. IQ is less of a concern since most of these will never be blown up past 12x18.
Thanks guys!
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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
08-26-2014, 09:58 AM
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is it bad that all I would do is replace the old manual 50mm/1.8 with a new AF one.....? I use that lens all the time, but would be convenient to AF and A mode
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-25-2013, 10:45 AM
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it could be that the lenses and the camera are all within the limits of the spec, but on the end of the spec on the front side which is causing the front focus. If they are all doing it with the exact same bias, and it isn't doing it on another body then it is your body. Check one or two of the lenses on another body and see if you can find another lens or two and check with those.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-18-2013, 06:20 AM
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Which the p/k would indicated, so you should be good.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-15-2013, 03:11 PM
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agreed with the above. It is a fantastic camera and I use mine as a backup. It also has WR which is a good feature
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-14-2013, 06:55 AM
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I agree with most of what is said above, but here's my take.
I'm an avid scuba diver and do lots of crazy stuff like 300+ft wreck diving and cave diving. Dive computers are quite expensive pieces of equipment and recently a few of the high end manufacturers have come up with a great system.
ONE computer! Multiple software options.
The hardware in this GPS unit doesn't cost them very much, BOM is probably $20 or there abouts. What the computer companies are doing, is integrating all "normal" features for "normal" divers out there, and then selling software upgrades to unlock more advanced features. This allows more units on the market, less engineering time overall because there are less types of units out there. Same concept as trim levels on cars. A VW passat stripped out is still the same basic car as an Audi A4.
With this GPS unit, they should have given it basic GPS functions for geotagging, sold for $100 which would have helped spread the bulk of the engineering costs out with more units, then for another $50 or $100 sold a firmware update to unlock the geotagging feature for those that want it and are willing to pay for it. I bet if they took that concept they would have sold 10x the units that they have to date, and while only a portion of those would have been geotag option, they would have had a much larger market presence.
Nikons absurd pricing is because they are Nikon and like raping people with costs because they can and people pay for it. It's not a great business model, but when you're one of the big players it works. Same as the Audi vs VW above. A loaded VW is almost identical to the A4, but you pay $15k more for the rings.
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Forum: Pentax Q
02-13-2013, 06:46 PM
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
02-13-2013, 08:38 AM
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I kept mine for a backup as well as for landscapes as I prefer the color rendering from the CCD. Sending it off to KEH/BH/Adorama is always a good option as well
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-12-2013, 06:36 AM
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no 120-300/2.8 or 300-800/5.6? Those are the two that i'd like to see since pentax doesn't seem like it's going to bring the FA* 250-600 back.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-11-2013, 06:36 PM
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realistically only the big telephotos will have larger rings, 77mm is the largest "normal" filter size.
Hoya filters I believe are actually made by Tokina. The few that I have say manufactured by Tokina on the boxes spare one. Not that it really matters as they are still top notch filters. One of the UV filters from hoya doesn't say that, but the CPL's and ND's and 2 of the UV's all do.
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Forum: General Talk
02-10-2013, 09:16 AM
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New England has quite a bit of that. I'm biased being from here, but Acadia Nat'l park has tons of wildlife and not much of a human footprint up here. Lot's of other stuff in and around the area too
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-10-2013, 05:31 AM
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not all tripod heads have them, so having one on the body is helpful.
So if you're doing long exposures of water, are you always going to be able to wrap that gorillapod around something? Depending on what lens your using, you can get a relatively cheap tripod around the same price of the gorillapod which realistically doesn't take any longer to set up by the time you're done wrapping the gorillapod around something and fiddling with it trying to get it secure. That tree is not always going to give you the right angle and with the gorillapod you can't adjust up or down an inch or left or right 3 inches to get the right angle. Might not sound like much, but it could make or break the picture.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-09-2013, 04:53 AM
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to each his own on Ken and the use of a tripod. I don't agree with a lot of what he says, but he makes a valid point in this article. Unless you have large heavy lenses, require long exposure times, or are shooting macro, a tripod is not usually needed for carrying around all the time. The iso performance in our cameras, as well as the SR give us much better shutter speeds than in the past, and if you are shooting a 2.8 or faster lens, you're getting oodles of light to the sensor. We have no idea what lenses are being used or any idea as to what the shooting style of the OP is. A gorillapod is a great accessory but no substitute for a normal tripod in most circumstances because it wasn't designed to be. It was designed to latch onto weird objects where you can't set up a normal tripod easily. Group shots and landscapes? probably a bad idea with a gorilla pod unless you can magically conjure up a post to wrap it around since the thing is so short. City shooting? No tripod really needed except for long exposure, and even then, the gorillapod is usually wrapped to something that isn't rock solid so for the real long stuff they're not the best option.
Carry a monopod if you need to move quickly, carry a light tripod if you need it for some of the above mentioned situations, and carry a heavy one if you really need one. A cheap tripod lives in my car all the time, my trekking poles have monopod threads on the top, and I have a solid Induro for when I really need it, but the tripods don't come with me most of the time because they do get in the way. Oh, most important accessory when using a tripod is a trigger release. Wired or not, it will generally make much better images than if you have your hands on it and risk causing a vibration
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