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Forum: Photographic Technique 06-27-2009, 02:35 PM  
Brussels - old lenses - m42
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 1
Views: 3,100
This is one of the best - if not the best - for second hand photo gear in Brussels:

SECOND HAND SHOP-CAMPION
Sint-Bonifaasstraat 15
1050 Elsene (Brussels)

++32 2 512 17 21
michel.campion@scarlet.be

Best regards,

Bsbxl
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 06-20-2009, 02:03 PM  
Some thoughts on lens reviews and methodology
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 2
Views: 1,704
Lens reviews in magazines and websites such as DPreview or Photozone seem to generate quite a lot of interest and discussions on the internet forums. But how good are tose reviews? In my opinion they are lacking severely in methodology and that is why I giving them less and less importance...

The problem that is most neglected in those reviews is reviewer bias. Reviewer bias does not mean that reviewers are intentionally dishonest. But measures should be taken that even unintentional bias is excluded. Usually it is done in the form of blind testing. Applied to lens reviews it means that the reviewers should not know what lens was used when evaluating image quality or technical test shots. They should purely focus on evaluating the images, without knowledge of the equipment used to make the images. A blind testing procedure could be as follows:

1) Technicians do the necessary measuring and they make al sorts of technical test shots. They should however not evaluate the measurements nor the test shots.

2) Different photographers (let’s say at least 3) will then take the lenses out for some intensive shooting. The photographers can comment on the practical aspects of the equipment tested (balance, robustness, etc.) but again, they should not evaluate the image quality of the pictures they made.

Of course it would be really difficult to do the first two steps blind.

3) Different experts (again let’s say at least three) should then independently evaluate the measurements, technical test shots and pictures made by the photographers. They would have to do that without having any knowledge at all about the lenses that are being tested. Perhaps the only thing that they are allowed to know, is some sort of lens category (ultra wide, wide, standard, short tele, extreme tele). They have to base their evaluations solely on the image quality itself. In short they should make an evaluation in absolute terms, without regard of brand name, price, aperture or whatever. Also, tests of different lenses should be mixed (and anonymised) so that all test shots and images will be evaluated in isolation (one picture is not necessarily related to another one). This would also avoid that for example an MTF resolution chart would have an impact on the evaluation of an image made with the same lens (if image sharpness is correlated with resolution it has to be observed independently).

4) The panel of technicians, photographers and image expert will come together to put the absolute image evaluations in perspective. Now brands, focal lenghts, prices etc. will be revealed to the image experts and the image evaluations can be put in perspective (eg. „low distortions for the focal length” or „very sharp for the price” ec.). Of course, the public should be given both the absolute and relative evaluations!

I don’t know if there are magazines or websites that use this kind of methodology. However I do think that such a review procedure bring a lot of surprises for all lens brands.

Bsbxl
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 12-06-2008, 01:23 PM  
How to mount a takumar lens? + an exposure question
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 10
Views: 2,652
After reading ALL messages in the Takumar Club thread and seeing many top quality pictures in it I decided tot get myself some Takumar lenses. So now I have got the SMC 55/1.8, S-M-C 35/3.5 and S-M-C 135/3.5. My genuine Pentax M42 adapter ring (ordered new from Pentax) arrived today.

When I screw in a lens, is the focus distance window supposed to be right on top? I can't screw it in far enough so that it sits in the middle on top.

I have been playing around a bit with the 55/1.8 and to get a correctly exposed image I need to dial in 2 extra stops of exposure compensation on my K200D. For the test shots I used aperture priority and set the meter tot spot metering (perhaps I should have used centre weighed metering?). I know there are other people who also have to use exposure compensation with the Takumars but isn't 2 stops a bit much? I also read in a previous thread that fellow forum member Mike Cash said that he doesn't use exposure compensation at all. Mike, if you read this, how do you do that? Thanks.

On a side note, the build quality of the Takumars is indeed top notch! The focus ring is a joy to use and the Takumars seem to be easier to focus than my M-series lenses. I am eager to discover their optical qualities now!

Bsbxl
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11-23-2008, 10:53 AM  
Optical differences between Takumar and K-mount lenses?
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 3
Views: 4,809
Can somebody clear this up for me? The K-mount series of Pentax lenses and the Takumar lenses seem tot resemble each other very much (eg. K28/3.5, K35/3.5, K55/1.8, K105/2.8 have similiar Takumar counterparts). Are the K-mount lenses in fact Takumar lenses with a different mount and esthetics or are there other (optical) differences? Thanks.

Bsbxl
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11-18-2008, 04:17 PM  
What are the real gems in the A, M, K and Takumar series
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 74
Views: 12,473
That was my impression also after seeing all those marvelous pictures from the 55/1.8 in the Taukumar Club. So, an SMC Takumar 55/1.8 is on its way from eBay... I can't wait to give it a try! If it lives up to the expectations, and I am sure it will if I do my part, more Takumars will follow! On my shortlist are: 28/3.5, 35/3.5 and 105/2.8 (the shortlist may eventually become a longlist...)

Bsbxl
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11-17-2008, 05:12 PM  
What are the real gems in the A, M, K and Takumar series
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 74
Views: 12,473
I have been reading the posts in the different "club" threads (last weekend all 1000 in the Takumar club!). From reading all those posts I concluded that there must be a number of real gems in the different Pentax series of lenses, eg. the Takumar 55mm F1.8 seems to be very highly rated by everybody who has ever used the lens (and the outstanding pictures in the Takumar club prove it!).

Is there some sort of general consensus on what the real gems are in the Pentax A, M, K or Takumar series? A gem should not only be a very good lens but also way beyond expectations. An expensive A* lens should be high quality but it should also perform beyond its price class to be considered a "gem". Again, a good example would be the 55mm F1.8 kit lens of the past (K series or Takumar).

Bsbxl
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-22-2008, 02:53 PM  
Why aren't modern (pro) cameras more modular?
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 5
Views: 2,601
Thank you for your thoughts.

I was looking at Dimitri Bojidar's Pentax K-mount website before I posted my thread here. If you look at all the accessoires that were available for the LX, it is quite impressive. Basically the LX was a rather compact camera that, with just a lens mounted, could be used for discrete photojournalism. On the other hand, if your photographic needs required it, lots of bells and whistles could be attached to the camera to make it do better what you wanted it to do. I kind of like this modular system approach. I think IIRC that the pro Nikon and Canon offerings of the same period where similar.

The current top end Nikon and Canon dSLRs are of course of very high quality, no doubt. However, they are "all in one" machines. I can imagine that a photographer would like to have the image quality of a Nikon D3 but at the same time would have absolutely no need for the 9fps. Or vice versa, that for example a newspaper photographer would need even higher fps for shooting action sports but his newspaper only requires medium quality jpeg images.

So instead of buying THE Canon 1D or THE Nikon D3 or THE Pentax K1D you could buy a configuration of the 1D system or the D3 system or the K1D system. The buyer would have some choice in putting his system together (body, sensor, processor, flash system, power, etc.). More like when you buy a computer. You can choose the housing, the processor, video card, hard disks, etc. according to your needs. The camera configuration could be fixed after being manufactured (like the iMac) or still be customisable by the user (or a technician) afterwards (like the MacPro). I am not necessarily advocating the opening of proprietary technology to third parties, however third party software plug-ins could prove to be useful.

Bsbxl


P.S. I am not a pro photographer and I have no intention nor the need to buy pro gear. My personal dream dSLR would be a dSLR inspired by the Pentax MZ-5n or MX...
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-22-2008, 12:01 PM  
Why aren't modern (pro) cameras more modular?
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 5
Views: 2,601
If you look at the latest generation of manual focus pro camera's of the seventies and eighties they seem to be conceived as a "system" that could be adapted to suit your needs: winder, motor drive, extra large film housing, data back, replacable focus screen, interchangeable view finder, etc. All film cameras also have an important built in modularity: the film. The choice of film type (Velvia, T-max, Kodachrome, etc.) offered a wide range of creative possibilities that are not easily replicated by digital post processing and/or changing the ISO value in the DSLR.

Wouldn't it be useful to have more modularity on DSLRs? A few ideas:
  • A power pack for high fps. Many people need high fps, many don't need it, why not make it a choice?

  • A slap on memory module to contain extra memory cards or for very fast writing speed.

  • A flash interface that can be exchanged for a dedicated studio flash interface.

  • Especially the sensor should be interchangeable. Now, the sensor has to be good in all situations, kind of a Jack of all trades but master of none. Why not having a sensor tweaked for low light photography or black and white or portraits or action shooting etc. Also, sensor design progresses very quickly, why letting a camera become obsolete just because of the sensor?

  • DSLR cameras also have some modularity built in: upgradable software. Perhaps part of the camera software should be made accessible fo third party developers?

Do you think there will be more of a system or modular approach in futur DSLR cameras and what kind of modularity would you like to have in your camera?

Bsbxl
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 10-12-2007, 11:57 AM  
Pentax News...Something Interesting..Really!
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 707
Views: 141,135
It's good to hear that something is happening at Pentax! I am curious, will there only be high-end stuff in Januari (flagship camera, expensive tele lenses)? The Pentax camera line up is rather limited at the moment (K100D and K10D). Ideally it should comprise 4 models (IMHO), something like this:

1) Kx000D: intro amateur camera for people migrating from a P&S or bridge camera or people starting with the hobby. An updated version of the current K100D would be ideal: auto and program modes but with the posibillity to do Av, Tv, manual etc.

2) Kx00D: a more advanced amateur camera for people who already know something about exposure and metering etc. Direct hardware controls for the essential exposure, metering and focusing variables should be provided on this camera. This kind of camera is currently lacking from the Pentax line up. I would like something like a DSLR version of the Pentax MZ-5n film camera to fill this gap (ok, I confess, this is the camera I am really hoping for!).

3) Kx0D: the basic pro camera, the K10D fills this place very nicely!

4) Kx: The flagship pro camera with all the bells and whistles the Pentax engineers can dream up. To be introduced in januari?

Pentax has always had a very nice range of lenses in between the budget models and the expensive fast pro stuff, eg. the FA and DA Limited lenses. I hope they will continue to develop lenses in this category. This is something were they can make a real difference with Nikon or Canon.

In short, I hope we will we see something new in january besides the high end pro stuff!

Best regards,



Bert
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-28-2007, 08:04 PM  
Moving from MZ-5n to DSLR
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 2
Views: 1,556
Thanks for your reply. Indeed, if you look at it from a price point view there isn't much room between the K100D and the K10D. However, in the past Pentax made different cameras available at very similar price points, eg. MZ-3 and MZ-5n or MZ-6 and MZ-7 (IIRC). Those cameras had slightly different specifications and targeted different buyer groups.

Although there isn't much room between the prices of the K10D and K100D, I think there is a niche between the user groups of those cameras. In the analog line up of the past the MZ-5n catered for such a public. It had the compactness of the MZ-6 but was slightly better built. The MZ-5n had more advanced metering than the MZ-6 but lacked the differerent program modes of the MZ-6. At the same time it also lacked some the features that belong in a real pro camera (like weather proofing or high speed motor drive).

I guess it's clear that I liked the MZ-5n form factor very much and I would really love a similar DSLR. Probably I am just wishing for a camera that Pentax will never produce :( On the other hand, the K100D Super looks like a very good camera. I will have close look at the specifications again. There is a good chance it's got everyting I need.

Bert

EDIT to add: the price difference in Europe seems to be a bit bigger (prices from a German reseller): K100D Super body only 519 euro, K10D body only 829 euro. I don't know whether there is a rebate program in Europe.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-28-2007, 05:28 PM  
Moving from MZ-5n to DSLR
Posted By bsbxl
Replies: 2
Views: 1,556
I am going to move from analog to digital (finally). My most used analog camera is an MZ-5n. I really like the MZ-5n form factor (compact, well built, ergonomic and just the right feature set for me). So, basically I am looking for a comparable Pentax DSLR. This would be something in between the K10D and the K100D (Super) I am afraid... Feature wise the K100D looks to be comparable to the analog MZ-6 and the K10D to the MZ-S. Would that be a correct assessment?

Does Pentax have something in the works that would fill the niche between the K10D and the K100D (Super)? I am not really in a hurry to buy the DSLR so I could wait for some more months. Otherwise I think I would go with the K100D Super. My brother in law has a K10D and it is a really good camera but I would prefer something a bit more compact.

Regards,


Bert
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