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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
05-14-2021, 11:43 AM
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More experience with Topaz sharpen AI.
Surprisingly, sharpened output quality of Topaz sharpen AI is even better if no sharpening was applied at raw to tiff (or jpeg) conversion provided as input. Any sharpening done on files before going through Topaz sharpen AI decrease the potential for high quality / halo free sharpening.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
04-23-2021, 10:05 AM
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Panasonic FZ1000 Llandudno, North Wales. Date is wrong in camera, exif should read 20/04/2021.
Was quite surreal to see, don't know if it was a religious ceremony or just some guys having a splash around.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-22-2021, 01:10 PM
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I want to see photos taken with the lens in question, along with the reviews...
I'll go to flickr and look up photos there, plus our own photo archive here....
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-06-2021, 01:19 PM
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Like it says...how do YOU do your AF fine adjustment?
I have experimented extensively with several camera bodies and lots of lenses, both Pentax branded and third party.
The official way to do this is to setup 40 times the focal length of the lens and then shoot a target and see the results. In fact, the Focustune software suggests just that.
How to optimize focusing accuracy with large-aperture lenses / explore | RICOH IMAGING
FocusTune
HOWEVER, my extensive experience with all of this lead me to use an INFINITY target for AF fine tuning....the results are sometimes significantly different than the closer setup and the real world results with the lenses has been excellent across the board, testing with infinity targets and close items.
So, for me, its an INFINITY target that is the key to good AF fine tuning...how about you?
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-18-2021, 11:51 AM
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"Worldwide Semiconductor shortage?" Why do you say that?
I don't see Covid affecting production much at the manufacuturers here where I live. Before I retired, my day job was working for some of the giant manufacturing companies in this region. Still in touch with them. At these companies, they are producing product just as fast as they did before the Covid virus. What makes you think that the production of camera sensors is down because of the virus?.
I would expect just the opposite to be true - that there's a surplus of camera sensors (and probably most other camera components too) because of the down turn in camera sales.
Also, every week I purchase dozens of items from other countries. For the most part, I'm receiving them in as timely a fashion as I did before the virus.
I don't believe Pentax/Ricoh's official "difficulty to get quality parts" excuse. Rather, I believe that Pentax/Ricoh has been shell shocked by the specs of the latest flagship offerings from their competitors, and they've decided to delay because they need to upgrade their new flagship to be more competitive against the flagships from Fuji, Sony, Nikon and Canon.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
07-21-2020, 06:46 AM
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All taken with the DA 10-17. Useful on a 20 ft boat.
 IMGP9811 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/132824483@N07/]
 IMGP9810 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/132824483@N07/]
 IMGP9980 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/132824483@N07/]
 IMGP9766 by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/132824483@N07/]
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-16-2020, 02:43 PM
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Touch-AF is very cool to use.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-10-2020, 07:19 AM
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-01-2020, 09:01 AM
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Hi everybody,
I was curious about the comunication protocol. At first I checked the internet but I did not found so much. And most things I found are wrong. So I switch on my oszi and did some research.
Attachment 485869
On this picture you can find a complete exchange of data. The K1 did this three times in a second.
On most pages about Pentax mount they talk about a special digital pin for communication. I think this is wrong. The new pin for KAF is power supply for the lens.
The camera uses the SPI protocol, but without /CS. I think CS is not necessary because there is only one ASIC(old lens) or one microcontroller (new lens) inside the lens.
After the ASIC is switched on the camera start communication to the lens. For this it uses the old KA contact. I think there are resistor in the ASIC or lens-PCB so a KAF lens
on older KA mount shows correct values for aperture. On KAF or newer the lens transmit and perhaps accept data on this lines.
On the picture you can see it is possible to detect the 19 databyte from the lens. There is no EEPROM in the lens. I think it is a least an ASIC because they values are changing when you focus the lens or change the focal length. Of course I started with an old Pentax F35-135 1:3.5-4.5 becaue it is KAF.
On the new KAF4 the must be also a way to send data to the lens. I thing this is done with the MISO line. But this is untested.
There is only on surprise now. The camera deliver 4V to the lens. I think it is an unusual voltage. You would expect only 5V or 3.3V for this. The reason is perhaps that it is 5V but curent limited inside the body in case someone exchange the lens when the body delivers power.
The next point is to decipher the meaning of the 19 databyte. Until now this is an exercise for the reader. :lol:
The picture shows two analog channel and four digital channel from my oszi.
Olaf
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-28-2018, 04:39 AM
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I am a fan of 21 Ltd for hiking and walking. The front element is much better protected than 15mm.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-06-2019, 03:28 AM
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This doesn't have anything to do with full frame usage. This is simply a situation where Ricoh had sold current DA 10-17 fish eye lenses and was going to run another batch and decided to tweak it a bit to perhaps bump sales.
The changes are small, but HD coatings do seem to reduce flare. From what I have seen, it is usable (without the hood) from 13-ish mm to 17mm on full frame, which is something, but not necessarily a reason to buy it for your K-1 (eventually Pentax will probably come out with a full frame fish eye if you like that look).
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-22-2018, 01:52 AM
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I stay with Pentax for the Limited Lenses.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-30-2018, 12:53 PM
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I'd rather have the DA12-24 to complement the 16-85 in this scenario.
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Forum: General Photography
06-18-2018, 10:50 AM
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Firmly in the APS-C camp. Not in some rigid or narrow-minded way, but rather because FF offers so comparatively little over what I can already do when pushing the envelope a little on APS-C.
Couldn't justify the costs for meaningfully upgrading anyway. (Currently, I own zero genuine FF lenses.) But even if I could, I wouldn't be willing to put up with the bulk and weight of a FF setup. Nor would I want to forgo my DA lenses (10-17, 55-300, 15 Ltd., 35 Ltd. Macro, 50).
Don't happen to like the KP ergonomics, but when Ricoh releases a true, more than incremental K-3 successor, I will be seriously tempted.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-15-2018, 01:31 PM
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It's the same reason they need these damn big heavy Canon & Nikon camera bodies -- male insecurity! ;)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-01-2018, 03:22 PM
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Yes the HD DA (& DA) Limited's are worth the premium price for APS-C shooters and they live up to a stellar reputation for those of us who shoot them. That's why I have the HD DA 15/21/35/40/70 set - each is unique with its own special uses and characteristics. I started with the 21 and loved it...added the 40 and was blown away by it's sharpness...had to have the 70 after that and became smitten with its pixie dust for portraits...and onward the addiction went...
With the HD DA Limited's you trade off a slightly wider aperture in favour of compact size, superb build quality, and buttery smooth manual focus. I believe the ISO performance of modern Pentax DSLR's offsets the compromise of a smaller maximum aperture. Sure faster glass offers shallower DOF but there are a lot of creative ways to isolate a subject including; shafts of light, moody lighting, plain backgrounds, colour pops, crushing ambient light and more.
As an APS-C shooter - If I could have only one it would be the HD DA 21 which is roughly equal to 31mm with the crop factor. It's a highly versatile focal length. That said; if I was a K-1 shooter it would be the FA 31.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-09-2017, 04:05 PM
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-07-2017, 12:50 AM
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At this point, I would suggest you stop doing tests and just send it back. You won't ever be happy with it and if you keep it, it will only annoy you!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-28-2017, 05:45 AM
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Honestly from looking at the original post, I would recommend looking at the DA 21mm Limited.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
09-09-2017, 01:18 AM
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Hey everyone! Long time lurker here, finally registered to chime in! :)
This one was taken in the Netherlands, just a few hours shy of new years eve 2015. Slightly color corrected and I was really blown away by the quality the 18-55 DA L WR can deliver on the K-50.
Cheers!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-03-2009, 10:43 PM
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Well, many folks on here (including me) have been pining for a DA 135/3.5 (similar to the M 135, which was very small). Beyond that, they could certainly add an 18-125 or something similar as a kit lens, and begin weather-sealing some of the existing lenses.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-20-2017, 06:05 AM
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Some more from Colorado...so many photo-ops there and more importantly the weather is so pleasant at least at this time of year :)
Voigtlander 58mm/1.4 Nokton
A50mm/2.8 macro
DFA 100mm/2.8 WR macro
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-20-2017, 03:41 AM
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It's amazing how far we have come with ultra-wides. In the film days 15mm lenses were expensive and incredibly rare, now you can get a good performing 14mm Samyang for a few hundred dollars.
Even though I am not totally sold on how wide spread they have become. As you go wider you get bucket loads of distortion and perspective starts to get weird. Ordinary landscapes with these lenses show lots of sky and little detail, and I think they are often used for novelty/convenience when stitching together several shots taken at 20+mm would have delivered a better panoramic feel (a trivial task in digital development). There are some really good shots involving scenes where only this kind of ultra-wide will deliver, but like fisheyes I feel that the results are something that really work with the subject being shot, or just don't.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-23-2016, 06:35 PM
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IMHO, the roadmap is simply a list of vaporware.
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