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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
09-07-2016, 05:59 AM
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-26-2016, 05:36 PM
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Thank you for posting your photos in this thread. Your work is wonderful whether landscape, seascape or macro. You should be proud of these images. I hope to see more!
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-02-2016, 12:01 PM
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We expect better of lovely butterflies but this is normal behaviour.
Not carnivorous, though. They are saprophagus: consuming decaying organic matter.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-25-2016, 11:33 AM
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None of my photos have been taken with the use of a focus limiter, aperture ring, bellows, extension tubes or macro adapters (e.g. Raynox), although when I started out I assumed I'd need all that. But once I got started with dedicated 1:1 macro lenses* I realized that macro is brutally hard to get good at and the difficulty increases [exponentially?!] with magnification. I've got a long way to go learning about lighting (and perhaps focus stacking) before I begin on the path beyond 1:1, if ever.
I wouldn't factor future adapter needs too heavily in your decision at this time if you are beginning with a dedicated macro lens. In a nut: adapters are primarily used to allow close-focussing on non-macro lenses OR going beyond 1:1 magnification. When you experience how hard it is to get a good shot at 1:1, you may be happy to stop there! You can always swap out your macro lens in the Marketplace later if you feel the need for a feature yours lacks.
If you do want to go beyond 1:1, I recommend you read this excellent resource by one of our fellow forum members:
Extreme Macro Photography
Finally, thanks for the compliments on my photos. I really appreciate it! :)
*Pentax FA 100, D FA WR 100, 35mm Limited and Tamron 90mm. These are all tagged in Flickr, click on the tag to subset the photos taken with that particular lens.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-24-2016, 06:13 AM
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I have owned both the FA and D FA WR 100mm macros*.
There is little to choose between them in terms of images. Optically very similar; however images from the FA need a bit of contrast in PP to match those straight out of the the D FA WR.
The differences are mostly in the packaging/handling. I sold the FA in favour of the D FA WR because it feels smaller, lighter and tighter/sturdier than the FA, and for it being WR, and for having a dedicated adapter to work with my 160FC ring flash.
Some may prefer the FA for its aperture ring, focus clamp and focus limiter. I don't plan on using tubes to go beyond 1:1 (yet) so I didn't care much about the aperture ring. The focus clamp is not really a feature, but a kludge that compensates for the lens' focus mechanism being very loose when in Manual Focus mode. The focus limiter is a useful feature missed by some in the D FA WR; however, I rarely notice and find the quick shift focus good enough.
Finally, some pictures!
The D FA WR first:
 Four-spotted skimmer by Mark St. John, on Flickr
Now the FA:
 Bird poop, up close and personal by Mark St. John, on Flickr
*(as well as the tamron 90 2.8 and the DA 35mm Limited Macro).
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
02-20-2016, 07:07 AM
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I agree, and that is good design when an innovation seems obvious in retrospect. I think many photographers who try composing on a K-1 will go back to their flippy screens and only then realize how irksome they are.
---------- Post added 02-20-16 at 09:12 AM ----------
I've had that pleasure: it is seriously disorienting and frustrating.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
02-19-2016, 07:10 AM
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Perhaps, but "bit" is actually pretty accurate given how many people (reviewers included) seem perplexed about the "why" of this design. Ricoh could have done a better job stating it simply. It wasn't until Mike Johnston mentioned how much better the K-1 screen will be compared to flip-out screens that the penny dropped for me, even though I was often very annoyed trying to compose shots on my flip-out-equipped panasonic M4/3 cameras.
---------- Post added 02-19-16 at 09:24 AM ----------
I'd agree it's not a big deal, just a little one.:) But to very loosely, perhaps botchingly (new word?), paraphrase a design concept: don't underestimate what a pain in the ass little things are when you have to do them often. I like that Ricoh is thinking about little things like this. It gives me confidence that they are making good decisions and compromises. But, the proof will be in the using of it, which I clearly have not. For all I know I'll hate it for some other reason. Although I suspect not.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
02-19-2016, 06:42 AM
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I'd add that this is an example of the photographer-centric mindset at Ricoh/Pentax that appeals to our niche despite not keeping up with the more marketing-friendly metrics of other manufacturers.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
02-19-2016, 06:35 AM
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Being in line with the axis makes it much easier to compose your shot in live view because there is a 1:1 relationship between what you are doing by moving the camera and what you see on the screen. It's for similar reasons off axis tripod mounts are frowned upon. Having used flip out screens and struggled with composing macro shots I believe Ricoh/Pentax deserve praise for this innovation. Hopefully it will get better promoted when people start using the K-1 for real.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
02-18-2016, 03:00 PM
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
02-18-2016, 06:40 AM
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I'm in the same position. My K-5 is plenty of camera for me and none of the improvements since have been enough to make me want to part with more cash. However, if for some reason I become separated from my K-5, I'll definitely be buying the K-1 given its reasonable relative price and improved feature set.
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Forum: General Talk
02-10-2016, 02:20 PM
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
12-13-2015, 05:31 PM
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Great idea for a thread.
I only have this one frog shot, but I was really happy with the results at the time.
 Insectivore by Mark St. John, on Flickr
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
12-12-2015, 07:05 PM
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Very cool. They can get up to the size of a mouse!
I used to do entomological research in New Zealand, including some island sanctuaries, and would sometimes see these impressive beasts.
Thanks for sharing.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-25-2015, 07:19 AM
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Something you can do is go to flickr and browse the lenses by the "tag" to give you an idea of the sorts of photos people are producing with either lens. This will give you an idea of which most fits with what you want.
Pentax 35mm Macro Limited
Pentax DFA 100mm Macro
We also have "lens clubs" threads here but at the moment I can only find the one for the 35mm Limited. Perhaps someone else can provide a link to the DFA 100mm thread.
FWIW, I own both of these lenses, and they are both excellent. If you were asking because you are serious about getting a macro lens specifically, I'd say the 100mm hands-down. But for general shooting (including close-up options) it's the 35mm Limited all the way. The 35mm Limited is always in my bag (and often on my camera); the 100mm only comes out when I know I want to shoot macro.
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Forum: Sold Items
07-03-2015, 07:35 PM
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That is a great price. I paid $580 CND for my use copy a couple months ago.
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Forum: General Talk
06-12-2015, 04:23 AM
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Sounds like you're going to have to wait them out! As the pesticides have not been effective you might want to stop using them for your own health. In the mean time keep a look out for rich organic wastes that they might be developing on and get rid of them. Good luck!
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Forum: General Talk
06-11-2015, 07:03 PM
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Has it been unusually wet this year? Do you have lots of rotting leaf litter or rich compost material around? Fungus/mould? Have you been watering a lot?
If you can dry things up and get rid of decomposing organic matter from these areas you'll likely see a lot less of the springtails. I'd expect them to effectively disappear. And they will naturally decline as the season progresses. You may just need a good stretch of hot dry weather.
If nothing else, take solace in knowing they are otherwise harmless (and kinda cute in my opinion, although I wouldn't want masses of them all over me, either).
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Forum: General Talk
06-11-2015, 05:40 PM
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Are the springtails always there or have you only seen them recently? I would be surprised if you have a real problem, but I don't know what part of the world you are in so can't say for sure what to expect of your particular fauna. However, in general springtails have boom/bust population blooms. You'll see them crop up where some resource has allowed their numbers to grow (usually under moist conditions), they 'swarm' a bit to reproduce, and before long they are gone.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
06-07-2015, 06:02 PM
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Phew, found a solution!
I'm up and running again, but that was a wake up call. I need to do my homework and start getting to know my Aperture replacement soon.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
06-07-2015, 04:46 PM
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Erm, this may have come sooner than I expected! Just updated to Yosemite 10.10.3 and now Aperture won't open, saying I need to update it to the latest version. So I click the link to getting it from the App Store and get the message that Aperture is not available. Seems I was supposed to upgrade Aperture to 3.6 BEFORE upgrading Mac OS X Yosemite to 10.10.3.
Sigh. I should have cloned my drive before upgrading, which is my usual practice. My bad. Looks like I'm a very-soon-to-be Lightroom user!
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
06-01-2015, 03:31 PM
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My favourite stage of their development. Nicely captured.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-31-2015, 12:47 PM
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Forum: Lens Clubs
05-25-2015, 07:23 AM
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Been quiet around here lately.
I confidently left my 100mm macro at home knowing the 35mm ltd would be a great all-rounder for an outdoor family adventure. This frog didn't mind me getting in its face at all.
 Insectivore by Mark St. John, on Flickr
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