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Forum: Post Your Photos!
03-19-2024, 07:03 PM
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Took a trip to Guadalajara last weekend, and stumbled upon interesting people. Let me know your thoughts, it was my first time traveling with the Leica D-Lux 7 . Mostly I travel with my K-01, K3 ii, or K1 with the limited lenses.
Let me know your thoughts!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-16-2024, 02:14 PM
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Winter is giving us a bit of a break for right now
That's ok with me
I have been busy as can be, with little time to commit to a photo excursion, so I have been packing the ist-D with me
This is in theme with others we're seeing here - I pulled off the trail for this one this morning on the way to get some chores done
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-19-2024, 11:44 AM
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The *istDS was my first digital camera. It punched well above it's weight and produced great images.
But yours is 20 year old tech. The internal battery has certain gone west. If you want to keep using it you may want to find a way to replace that if possible ?
I am not surprised Pentax are not interested in looking at your camera. Try asking Apple to repair the original 2007 iphone !
I took this image 16 years ago with the DS ..............
 IMGP3748_edited-1 by Peter Schluter, on Flickr
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
03-06-2024, 05:49 AM
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I re-edited this photo to reflect the mood and my vision regarding the scene. I provided the original picture below, and finally got to edit according to what ran in my mind when I composed the frame. Let me know your thoughts. All I wanted to do is reflect this grungy vibe that was going on at the drag race.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
11-04-2023, 07:32 AM
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Rainy day today and went for a walk anyway. Nikon D40, Vivitar 24mm f2.8 lens
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-11-2023, 03:16 PM
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-13-2023, 03:36 PM
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FA* 200mm F2.8 on DS2.
Distortion with moving object is where CCD shines over CMOS.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
07-28-2023, 11:57 PM
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Old Super-Takumar 50 mm f1,4, full aperture, on Pentax K5II. Iso 100, 1/160 sec.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
07-19-2023, 01:52 AM
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Manual Priority Mode with Multi-Segment Metering. F/L @80mm.
Thanks very much for viewing. :)
Tony
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-29-2023, 05:54 PM
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Belmont After Dark
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Stepping back into history, it's challenging not to be in awe of the Belmont Courthouse, standing proudly as a testament to the silver rush era of central Nevada. Built in 1876, this architectural gem witnessed the influx of prospectors seeking their fortune in the nearby silver mines. As the mines eventually closed their doors, people stripped roofs for their valuable timber. However, the Belmont Courthouse was mercifully an exception. The Courthouse is being painstakingly restored by Friends of the Belmont Courthouse. As a bonus, there are several hundred signatures on the interior walls. Eerily, one of the names carved on the wall says Charles Manson. For fun, I left the camera in Bulb Mode for the amount of time it took me to walk down to the Courthouse, bathe the Courthouse in the warm glow of my handheld light, light painting the interior of each room as well as the exterior, then walking back up the road to my camera to turn it off. That was 9 minutes and 16 seconds, the longest single exposure star trails I've done in years (my longest ever is 36 minutes). The moon came out during my exposure, so the star trails are very faint. Oh well. I photographed this after a really fun night photography workshop in Nevada.
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For photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 0090) Pentax K-1/28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. 556 seconds f/4.5 ISO 200. May 2023.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #YourShotPhotographer #mojave #mylensrental #nightportraits #astrophotography #universetoday #astrophoto #nightsky #nightscaper #starphotography #landscape_nightscape #igsouthwest #divine_deserts #splendid_earth #instagood #beautifuldestinations #humanmade #urbex #urbanexploration #BelmontCourthouse
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-09-2023, 11:06 AM
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Hi,
here is my contest submission.
A lightning hitting towers of Prague´s Old Town. Rain was pouring down in thick threads and thunder constantly ripped the air. I waited for a shot like this, fully trusting the weather sealing of my trusty camera, which had so many times served me well. However, after this exposure ended, the display started flashing and the camera went dead and silent. Long story short, after a flippy screen replacement it works just as fine as before, probably the weather sealing got worse with time. What do you think of the picture? Please let me know, if it was worth the struggles afterwards.
Regards,
Jan
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
03-01-2023, 06:54 AM
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Although i pick 'People' for the 'Category', this image really is more about the polo tee the gal has on AND also about the evergreen legend of a Pentax lens, the F*300.
2 or 3 years back (cannot recall), group of us Pentax users in Singapore decided to do up a polo tee to commemorate 101yrs of Pentax.
One of the more design-minded among us came up with this design, with the AOCO crest at left front [AOCO = Asahi Optical] and a "Pentax 101" at the back.
Back then we hired a model for a shoot, with the polo tee as the attire.
This image was my effort back then (this is a slightly cropped image).
Honestly, cuz it is a film image, and i do not keep details of exposures, i have No idea as to what actually was the shutter speed and aperture.
But i do remember it was snapped with the F*300 [cuz that day i was using only the F*300 and the FA77), was either f4.5 or f5.6, mounted on the MZ-S, with Kodak Portra160, snapped in Aperture Priority mode.
The creamy background you see is the natural rendition of the background by the F*300.
No Topaz or whatever applied.
To say the F*300 is one hell of a lens, is not exaggerating.
It is one of a kind special lens with Pixie dust magic.
They just don't come up with lenses like that anymore.
Hope you guys enjoy the image.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-25-2023, 08:16 AM
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The North American Moose (Alces alces) is the largest species of deer. This image is of a cow and calf in a hard-hitting early season snowstorm in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, USA
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
11-19-2022, 02:48 PM
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Albeit at a very early stage...
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
08-20-2022, 05:07 PM
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Stopped by our local thrift shop yesterday and saw a lot of silver Pentax boxes. Ended up scoring a nice P30 (needed a bit of CLA), a Pentax-A 50mm f/2 lens, a Pentax-A 28-80mm f/3.5-f/4.5 lens, a Pentax-M 135mm f/3.5 lens and a Pentax-A 70-200mm f/4 lens. The camera and the three A lenses came with boxes. There were also a few filters and some random camera and lens cleaning supplies as well as the original owners manual and warranty card for the U.K. The 70-200mm lens had a receipt dated from 1996 from Jessops, issued to a person with a Bristol, U.K. address. It was purchased used for 86 pounds.
I live in the U.S. so I presume a U.K. ex-pat that lives local probably donated the lot to the thrift store. They had everything priced (fairly) individually but I picked up the lot for $50 (US). The shutter wasn't working reliably and, using info I gathered on here and a YouTube video, I figured out what needed to be cleaned/lubed to get it working reliably. I've been playing with it today with a roll of color film, so I don't have any results yet. I'm also taking it on an upcoming trip to the west coast to put it to use there.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
10-21-2022, 09:21 AM
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Hello,
On today's episode, another K1000 makes a frantic call for help.
A coworker of a fellow photographer friend told him he had a K1000 from his university days but it was probably too far gone. No need to continue the story as you know what happens next.
In a phone conversation with the owner, he told me he took a photography class in college back in the 80's and bought this camera for that course. It accompanied him for a long time before slowly sliding into dis-use, but it now has great sentimental value.
So I got this: Humidity and time are relentless.
Not only looks bad, it is totally jammed and seized. Never seen a mirror that seized!
The camera came with 2 Sears lenses. A 50mm f2 and 135mm f2.8
The mirror was so seized that once I got it to get down it refused to go up again
It went into ICU
Over an hour of intense work on the top cover showed some promise.
It eventually raised from the ashes!
The mirror was stuck because it was ashamed of the viewfinder :)
Those 2 springs disguised as prism hold downs are really patience draining devices!
The lenses were also serviced. They were both very dirty and had some fungus.
The 50mm
The 135mm
Despite been a cheap lens even in its day, the 50mm came out nice.
It was tested in a DSLR. Not bad!
The 135mm on the other hand had front element damage. It was cleaned and polished the best I could.
The back element came out better than the front.
As suspected, contrast is a challenge. But still usable.
Anyways, after long days in surgery and recovery, I present this for your approval.
Important to note: Not a single part was replaced. Every single part and screw were restored and reused.
The patina says High Mileage and begging for work!
Yeah, yeah, but does it work?
Youtu.be
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vOCjanFPcAQ?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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I hope you approve.
Thanks,
Ismael
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
11-18-2022, 11:57 PM
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So I’m not sure if I am reviving a dead-old thread here but I simply love my K-1000 cameras. I currently have four and I am getting one more soon.
My very first camera I bought when I started my work life was a K-1000.
I simply love them!
---------- Post added 11-19-22 at 08:59 AM ----------
OK, my bad…getting my head around the layout of the forum…apologies!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-17-2019, 01:16 PM
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I'm not really quite sure why I'm writing this thread. A good portion of the people who read it will rebut everything with slightly better worded retakes on "You suck" and/or excuses for how I'm expecting too much or otherwise chide me on not using the gear in the way it "should be used." Maybe I'm hoping that Pentax brand managers or something will read this and see where they need to make some improvements if they hope to retain their customers. I don't know.
After 5 years with the brand and over 75,000 shutter clicks between my K-5IIs and K-1, I am leaving the Pentax system behind and moving over to Nikon.
I don't think Pentax is bad. I think the K-1 is an excellent camera and I've used it to make some wonderful images (or so I think, with some validation from my community lol) that have made me a mainstay in several cosplay communities across the country. The high quality images and colors I've been able to extract from it have wowed my models and satisfied them far beyond their expectations.
So what's the issue?
For me, it's two things. The biggest is the lack of progression the brand has shown. The K-1 has been out for coming-on three years now and aside from the three lenses released near launch (before K-1's date, actually), we've gotten one new lens for the camera in all that time.
We don't have a modern 35mm or a modern 85mm still. The latter of these is coming but we've been told that for years. I don't feel I can wait much longer. I love my 77--it's my favorite lens--but it doesn't have the resolving power of the lenses my peers are using and in a semi-competitive environment, falling behind is not terribly fun. The lack of a modern mid-wide angle is more distressing because the options at that focal length are the FA31, about which's volume distortion on the outer thirds of the frame I have complained about before and found unacceptable for my usages, and the FA35, which is....very middling. The performance of the 35 at a recent shoot was so disappointing I had to apologize to my models for the poor technical quality of the images it produced.
Photography is not a race but my work is displayed next to and amidst a sea of many others'. My peers on other systems have many more options and continually receive new updated tools. It doesn't make for a "spirit of photography" but they don't have to work as hard to make their gear do what they want and can chose from a much wider variety of options that offer different technical and aesthetic capabilities. I want my gear to work for me, not I work for it. I've been though pretty much every autofocus prime Pentax has made and there's simply nothing else to try out.
The second is the technical performance isn't going to cut it for much longer. Specifically, the autofocus is a big concern and I no longer feel I can rely on it as I need to. I've had a few notable failures that have been very disappointing and infuriating:
1) At my girlfriend's black belt test, the K-1 was unable to keep up with the motion and I got just a few usable images from this once-in-a-lifetime event.
2) We went to Disneyland and I just wanted to take a few snapshots of her in her costume. I had to take over 15 clicks before I got one in acceptable focus.
3) At f/3.5 from a few feet away, one of the best poses from a photoshoot turned out to be slightly out of focus, all copies of them. I do review as I shoot and the screen wasn't quite good enough to show this. I kept the shot as it was 85% ok, but it's going to show when the image is printed.
I've had issues before this, always shooting 8-10 of every pose I take to make sure one is good, but these kinda broke what remained of my confidence because I'm missing good moments.
It's been a good run with the brand but in the time I've owned it, I've been able to grow so much but the brand has remained stagnant. When everyone else can push forward with new technologies that enable them to do things easier and faster, Pentax is holding me to 2016's (and often before that) technical capabilities. I'm not the perfect photographer and there's much I can learn and do differently, but I've hit technical walls more than once and find myself limiting what I do based on what I can do versus what I want to do. And for that reason, it's time to move on to another system that offers far more than I can hope to do and try to grow with it instead of just past it.
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Forum: Pentax Q
01-11-2019, 08:33 PM
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True. But never say never.....
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-18-2018, 02:02 PM
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This is a series of shots I took less than 2 miles from where the river meets the portion of the river that is affected by tidal actions of the Atlantic. More than several inches of rain as well as most of the last remaining snow on the ground have melted over the last few days so a normally fairly peaceful little river was roaring. Third shot is just a cool looking roots from a toppled tree.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
12-19-2017, 12:26 PM
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I only have a K-01 and still take wonderful photos with it. It's a very good camera.
(Sorry for sensor dust)
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
11-18-2017, 07:57 AM
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I never could figure out why some said the Pentax system wasn't great with AF. I started photography in 1968 with my Pentax S1a, then continued with different SLR Pentax models, medium format, Leica Rangefinder, etc...till 2007 when I got my first digital DSLR, a K10D.
I didn't have an AF lens at first, used my MF 35-105 A Macro Zoom on it and all was well. After a few months I got a Pentax 16-45 , my first AF ever. I was astounded at how fast the AF worked, but then I had nothing to compare it AF wise. I've used Pentax AF for wild birds...which can be a challenge..at first....till I spent a morning or two by a wild bird feeder with lots of Chickadees and Pine Siskins, etc. Those small, fast , darting birds really upped my ability to anticipate, pan, track, focus on their eye...and eventualy I got better to the point where it's not that big of a deal to get flying birds.
The key for me, seems to be the more I practice, the more of a thing I do...eventually I get better at it. It's like manually shifting a car/truck/motorcycle. At first I was lousy...but the more I did it ...and I did it a lot...when I was younger...I became good at snapping off fast, quick , accurate shifts in just about any vehicle. But practice, practice and more practice...even with shifter mechanisms that are renowned for accuracy...like the old Hurst aftermarket shifter. In other words it can be a fantastic mechanism...ie; AF, Hurst manual shifters...but you still have to work at it...to improve your abilities.
You're competing against yourself...to improve yourself...refine your muscle memory, your 'eye'...the way you hold/position the mechanical device, etc. It's not quickly a situation where you plunk down your money and takes your choice to paraphrase Dickens...you have to understand that AF like everything else...is a tool....and a tool when you use that you are still going to have to learn to use that tool to the best of your ability. AF maybe be 'automatic'....but that doesn't mean that you don't have any role to play. You still have to learn to use it.
Ok, ramble from an old guy over. :)
BTW the best manual focus I've ever used is my very old Leitz Elmar 50mm lens on my old Leica llf rangefinder. Think the lens is from the '40's and the body is a 1951. This RF focusing system in the camera, coupled with this old lens and it's fast little focus lever on the lens...is still the fastest, most accurate system I've ever used to manually focus on a subject. It's not AF, but boy is it good, accurate and fast...and a satisfying pleasure to use.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-28-2017, 05:04 PM
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Better breast milk than bowel movement right?
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-25-2016, 12:19 PM
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This...exactly.
My definition of "pro" is an attempt at the highest craft, for the most money.
In 2016, most professional work that has photography, has video.
There is *no* stopping it. If you consider yourself a photographer, then you are also a cinematographer. You can be a purist, or you can live in 6 figures and run with change.
What kind of pro do you want to be? No shame in your choice, just pick it, and do your best creative work with the best tools.
All over these forums I've shown my cinema work using the K5, K3 and K1 cameras, so Pentax gets in there when needed. I have lamented on deaf ears, so I won't do it again.
I create a multimedia piece every single day on average. Last year I singlehandedly created over 250 discrete pieces for various projects.
I will never need to endorse any product to pad my bottom line. I will forever be behind the camera(s). I *need* to create things. I became a creative professional here on Pentax Forums, and I will forever be a Pentaxian. If it were not for Pentax cameras following with me, it would have been a different life.
There are two cameras that sit on my desk ready to go at a moment's notice.
A Sony FS7 with their 28-135 f/4, full extension for batteries, VCT-14 and shoulder ready, NTG-4, Sony Wireless Lav, all part of a full ENG setup.
and I have my K1. 24-70 and 70-200 f/2.8, batteries, filters and a flash or two.
It would be nice to leave the FS7 on my desk in a run and gun situation, but the FS7 is a pure visual and technical machine. It's addictive to work with stellar hardware making creative things.
It could have happened for Pentax/Ricoh, but they chose not to make it so.
Close, but not good enough.
Choose your path (and tools) wisely.
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