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Forum: Winners' Showcase
02-09-2024, 07:54 AM
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-09-2024, 07:54 AM
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delightful street photography.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-09-2024, 07:54 AM
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Lovely handling of challenging lighting.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-09-2024, 07:53 AM
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Manages to be both funny and technically sound.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-09-2024, 07:53 AM
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unusual yet powerful composition.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-09-2024, 07:52 AM
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Masterful interplay of elements and colors.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-09-2024, 07:51 AM
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Forum: Weekly Photo Challenges
01-14-2024, 01:46 PM
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Fun contest idea!
Pentax K-S2 with Lensbaby Twist 60 defocused and pointed out my window. I have another shot of the same scene, "properly" focused, but I prefer this one.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
01-13-2024, 10:36 AM
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What's great about this shot is that I can't even tell if it's day or night. Could be the sun under heavy clouds, could be the moon. Just a great picture, strengthened by the ambiguity.
Gorgeous and epic. Well done!
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Forum: Lens Clubs
01-08-2024, 12:50 PM
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Fantastic facial expression on the owl!
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
01-04-2024, 04:39 PM
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30 seconds exposure time, tripod shot
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-30-2023, 05:04 PM
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I mean, that's just it: a parent in the stands would do just fine with the DA 55-300 PLM. As per reh321, separation of subject from background is hardly a concern at that level. Parents want "my kids face in the frame" and other considerations matter far less.
But yeah, a newspaper editor (or even a decent college yearbook editor, these days) is going to expect low grain and thin depth of field. I daresay Pentax could more easily convince K-3 mkIII owners to pay up for a DA★ 50–135 mkII then they could convince a significant sliver of sports photographers that the separation-of-subject aesthetic that has prevailed for decades is due for disruption. :p
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-30-2023, 04:43 PM
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We've moved a bit far from the silly "DOOMED!" nature of the OP, and I'm guilty of that, too. (I jokingly posted that the absence of a refreshed DA★ 50–135mm F2.8 would mean Pentax were "DOOMED!" and then…I realized I kind of meant my point.)
It has been a good year for Pentax, I think. Actually, going back to late 2022, the release of the KF reassured me that some of the things I love about the brand were still going strong.
My consternation about the (confirmed?) end of the DA★ 60–250 and the (rumored?) end of the DA★ 50–135 is that ending those lenses creates gaps in the lineup that were already nicely filled. Similarly, I was bummed that Pentax discontinued the DA 12–24, but I understand that the DA★ 11–18 covers (most of) that gap, albeit at a higher price point. Since Pentax seems to be forging ahead with pro-grade APS-C cameras, I can't fathom why they would back away from pro-grade APS-C lenses.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-30-2023, 10:04 AM
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I think we should give Pentax/Ricoh one quarter of leeway. If Q2 2024 gets here and we don't have a clear successor to the DA★50-135mm F2.8, then surely Pentax is DOOOOMED!!!
---------- Post added 12-30-2023 at 01:10 PM ----------
I 1000% agree with you on the DA★ 50–135mm and the DA★ 55mm. I own both of those tack-sharp lenses, but I would love to upgrade for a tripod collar on my 50–135 and a faster AF on my 55. These two lenses have been around for a decade, they are foundational to a credible APS-C professional lineup headlined by the K-3 III, and I hope they get here in 2024.
I highly doubt a DA★ 33mm F1 is on the cards, though.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-30-2023, 07:02 AM
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Did you visit the north of the island? My understanding is that the southern region of Tenerife is somewhat cookie-cutter beach resort, where British tourists go to drink and party in the sun. But I don’t speak from experience.
I’ve been to the northern towns in Tenerife three times in 2023, all during the winter slow season(s). (I went in Jan, Feb, and Dec, so two winter seasons in one calendar year.) I found the place to offer a simply astonishing variety of sunny landscapes and rugged seascapes. Just marvelous opportunities for photos. Plus, once one gets past the considerable hassle/expense of getting there, the place itself is quite affordable during the slow season. I’ll post some more photos.
The lighthouse was built in the mid 1990s. I understand it was almost a government “gift” to northern Tenerife. The resort towns of Bajamar and Punta del Hidalgo (rightly) worried that the huge new airport being built in southern Tenerife would shift tourism to that half of the island. So they got a fancy lighthouse to lure sightseers.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
12-29-2023, 03:05 PM
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It was too rainy to go out and shoot, so I made a little studio setup and photographed my two favorite landscape lenses.
 Limited Lens Study by PocketPixels, on Flickr
I've had these since 2020, but they are still delightful to behold and to use.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-29-2023, 02:54 PM
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I agree. The DA 70 was my first Limited lens, and oh how I wish I had packed it when I moved to Europe for a year. I wanted to travel light, and somehow that meant leaving a pancake prime the size of two Oreo cookies in storage. :o
Great shot of that curled fern.
---------- Post added 12-29-2023 at 05:56 PM ----------
That swan has such energy! Seems almost to be blowing the reeds away from her. You must have been very close to get that shot with a 40mm.
---------- Post added 12-29-2023 at 06:47 PM ----------
Three shots of the otherworldly Faro de la Punta del Hidalgo lighthouse in Tenerife, Spain. All taken with the smc DA21. The lighthouse has no doors, windows, stairs, railings, bricks, or other architectural details that might give it some scale or approachability. So please know that it is a functioning lighthouse, about 50 meters (150 feet) tall, on an island territory of Spain. Yes, it's weird, but that's partly why I love it so.
at sunrise:
 Faro Lighthouse Punta del Hidalgo sunrise reflection by PocketPixels, on Flickr
during the day:
 Faro Lighthouse of Punta del Hidalgo by PocketPixels, on Flickr
working hard at night, showcasing the DA21's starburst:
 El Faro de la Punta del Hidalgo Full Moon with Mist (vertical crop) by PocketPixels, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-12-2023, 09:15 AM
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Those Fujifilm lenses will get even more expensive when Pentax exits the market. It'll be Leica S system, Hasselblad, Phase1, and Fujifilm, with Fujifilm representing the new "budget" option. Once all the 645z and 645 lenses sell out, Fuji will feel zero downward price pressure in the medium-format space. That's why I root for all camera manufacturers, from Leica to Canon to Casio. We all benefit from having lots of choices at many price points.
I understand completely why Pentax cut the 645 system, but I still feel sad about it.
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Forum: Visitors' Center
09-12-2023, 02:50 AM
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If I were Pentax, I would not expect any points for working "for several years" to find a basic component to do a basic task. Let us not mistake dereliction for dedication. If a component supplier can't meet quality standards, Pentax has three valid choices: find a suitable supplier quickly, learn to make the part in-house, or redesign the cameras so they don't require an unreliable part.
Pentax designed and shipped the K-30, K-50, K-70, K-x, K-r, K-S1, and K-S2 using an unreliable part. That's not the fault of the Chinese supplier. That's the fault of Pentax/Ricoh.
It is believed by whom? Not by me. I haven't seen any language from Ricoh/Pentax stating that the KF is free from the problem. In 2024, we may well have newcomers to the forum asking why the KF cameras they bought in 2023 are suddenly taking dark pictures.
OP, Pat, my advice doesn't change, and neither does my sympathy for the situation you're in. Pentax sold you a defective part, and that stings. But the overall camera is still good, the overall product line is excellent, and this forum is full of people who are rooting for you. I hope you get your camera fixed with a proper white solenoid, and I wish you many happy years with your fixed K-S2.
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Forum: Visitors' Center
09-11-2023, 09:06 AM
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Hi Pat:
Yup, that sounds like aperture-block failure. I had that happen to my K-S2 in November 2022. It's terrible. Pentax/Ricoh used an error-prone part for years in their mid-range and entry-level cameras, and it looks as though yours failed. I'm sorry it happened to you.
The K-S2 is a delightful, capable camera, so I hope you will elect to repair it. There are several options:
- You can send it for repair to Pentax (that's Precision Camera Repairs in the USA). Pentax does not officially acknowledge this defect, so I'm afraid they don't offer a recall or free repair for it. As mentioned, they will use an "official" green part. I don't recommend this course of action. That official part has an unacceptably high failure rate. You might get the same problem next year. Plus, you are allowing Pentax/Ricoh to earn money from a manufacturing defect, which sends a terrible message.
- You can use older, less-capable lenses, such as Pentax FA-series lenses. You will also need to adjust your technique to press the green button on your camera before each photo you take of a new scene (if you are taking studio shots where the lighting doesn't change between shots, you will only need to press the green button once). This approach does not appeal to me, but there are those who enjoy it.
- You can obtain your own white part ("white solenoid") and do the repair yourself. Numerous videos exist for how to do this, but you will have to obtain an older Pentax white solenoid, which may entail buying an old/broken Pentax DSLR. You will also need some basic soldering tools.
- You can pay someone to do the repair for you. This is the approach I took. I used a small, independent repair shop in Oregon, USA. He supplied the white part, and he had done dozens of similar repairs, so he had no problems fixing my camera. My K-S2 works perfectly after this repair, and I feel confident it will not fail again.
It should not have happened, it's unfair that it happened to you, and I'm very sorry that your camera broke because Pentax switched to a junky part to save a few dollars. But that's where we are. You still own a powerful, capable camera in the K-S2, and I hope that time and finances allow you to get it fixed to your satisfaction.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
09-11-2023, 05:44 AM
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I held this one back a bit so I could enter it in the July 2023 contest. No starbursts, which is unusual for city lights with this lens at ƒ/11. What I love about it, what one can't get every day, are the rainbow lights in the 3 building. Taken with a graduated ND filter to hold back the bright Dublin sky in late June.
 Beckett Bridge Evening by PocketPixels, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-09-2023, 09:17 AM
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Are we sure it's fair to say that the Z5 and the KF are in the same price range? A Nikon Z5, no lens, costs $1297 at B&H today. A Pentax KF, no lens, costs $847 at B&H. Moreover, the Z5 is a full-frame camera, while the KF is APS-C. So the Nikon costs an extra $450 and leaves a new user buying heavy, expensive, full-frame glass, although I don't dispute that Nikon offers a lovely selection of that.
My only problem with the KF is that they call it a KF, when it's really a K-70s or a K-70 mk2. A tiny, stopgap upgrade to acknowledge that certain components were no longer widely available as parts. To give the KF a letter designation puts it in the same mid-range company as the KP, K-R, or K-S2, but the specs and options don't keep faith with that nomenclature.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-03-2023, 05:08 PM
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I agree. I appreciate that the DA18–55 WR has slightly better specs (faster at the wide end, longer at the long end), but the 18–50mm RE that came as a kit lens with my K-S2 is far faster, quieter, and more elegant. I've never had trouble with the retractable zoom of it; maybe I just got a particularly good copy?
Sometimes overlap is good: I for one think there ought to be room in the DA lineup for both the DA★ 11–18mm and the DA 12–24mm; these have two different price points and quality levels. But I totally get there being room for only one kit lens in the 18–55ish range. No reason for overlap on a lens most people don't even choose, but just get with the camera. I just don't understand why that kit lens would be the 2011-era DA 18–55WR instead of the far more modern and enjoyable DA18–50RE?
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
08-13-2023, 02:06 PM
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
08-13-2023, 02:05 PM
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