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Forum: Pentax Full Frame 04-05-2019, 07:26 PM  
K1 users: what lenses do you use?
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 197
Views: 23,786
I hear ya. My first camera was an 'Exa' of the 50 years ago vintage--- as I was in college and couldn't afford better--- the Exa was the down line
version of an Exacta and my; dream was to have a Pentax Spotamati which I got as soon as I could, (and was an early adopted of the K mount
system, but I think I have gotten rid of all my screw mount lenses now but I kept my Full frame glass when the 1/2 frame came out for which
I am greatful. I've still got a half frame body but I don't use it for much.

Indeed my signature line is so old it doesn't show the K1 but I love it.
Forum: Pentax Full Frame 04-03-2019, 02:29 PM  
K1 users: what lenses do you use?
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 197
Views: 23,786
I look back at the photo as displayed... I agree with you as to what I see displayed.

Part of the issue that I see as I look at it now is that the monitor has stretched, the photo horizonally---- which seems
to blur it some. On the original the face is sharp as are the fingers and toes, but the tail is blurred somewhat.
also I no doubt compromised thequality some by the fact that the photo is taken through a patio door, but there
wasn't a lot of choice as the "douglas Squirrel" was sitting on top of a post on my patio rail and there
was not a chance in you know what that I could open the door and still get the photo.

the FA 600 has a good reputation---It's just that they have become so valuable that one worries about taking out of
the vault to actually use it. I took about half a dozen photos of it at the time, mostly on manual focus because
the auto focus really didn't want to work, and I've got pictures focused on the fir cone he was eating, and on his tail
and everywhere between. In retrospect I probably should have cranked up the ISO above the 12,000 that I used.
and grabbed a couple more f stops . This was taken at very close to the minimal focus distance--- maybe 20 feet
and what really interested me is what he was eating.

It's not uncommon to see these guys eating cone seeds as by definition that is their primary diet, and the do like to
sit up on something when they do it, and it's also well known that they 'squirrel' the cones away for the winter, but I had never really thought of how gross the cones look after spending a winter buried somewhere.

these critters are actually the soloution as to how you collect seed for Douglas Fir trees. These trees grow
a 100-200 feet tall and the cones are often in the tops of them (or at lease the upper 1/3rd of the tree eliminating
the feasibily of climbing the trees---as the cones are on the ends of the limbs anyway.

It turns out that when the cones are precisely ripe, these squirrels will run around in the tops of the trees,
and cut the cones and drop them Kurthunk.... on the ground. The way you gather seeds for seedlings is to
go out in the woods with a bucket/sack and listen for the Kurthunks.... and then swipe the cones before the squirrel
gets down out of the tree and packs them off the bury them. I've seen that sequence often, but seeing a grungy
one fished out to eat is something unusual. As they only see the seeds out of the cone which are about half the
size of a small pea---the fact that the cone looks like it'been buried somewhere for a while doesn't matter.
Forum: Pentax Full Frame 04-01-2019, 10:26 PM  
K1 users: what lenses do you use?
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 197
Views: 23,786
I've become in my old age sort of a fan of long lenses. It lets you get views you simply would never see other wise, but lack of adequate depth of field is always
the devil. the attached is an uncropped unretouched example of a very long Pentax lens on the K-- at a high ISO, but still a bit more depth of field
would have been welcome. Had to accept soft focus of his tail for seeing his whiskers, and the green in the background is a holly tree about 4 feet behind him
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 03-17-2018, 02:31 PM  
FF TC - full frame teleconverter
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 338
Views: 56,093
I was sort of tauht in the old school---to keep your TC's away from zooms on the theory that the zooming had already pushed the optics to the limits but I have a really nice FA 300 f 2.8 and an FA 600 that would
appreciate the FA feature added I have the older manual ones.
Forum: Homepage & Official Pentax News 02-06-2018, 11:11 PM  
Pentax K-1 II On the Horizon
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 6
Views: 1,306
Indeed. I have used pentax equipment since the days of the spotamatic. of the Bayonet mounts, I shall never forget my enduring love for the K-2, though I haven't bought a roll of film since
I went digital, but my real favorite in the K-1. It made top spot because it got rid of the need for most flash photography which never worked right for me even after 40 years of practice.
Forum: Lens Clubs 06-03-2017, 02:44 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
here is a couple of views of a Douglas squirrel.
the first is a k1- fa*300 -----uncropped. --near minimum focal distance.
Hand held --- 1/800 sec at f/5.6 ---- using ISO 12500


this one with a little less camera HP is taken with a K3 using a 60-250 at 250.

Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II 05-19-2017, 11:30 PM  
How high do you push the ISO on your K1?
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 24
Views: 4,933
I don't have a big problem using high ISO routinely. My mindset is that more photos are ruined by camera movement or bad focus than high ISO
this attached photo was taken at 12,800 with decent lighting at 1/5000 and F/14 using an FA300 f/2.8 lens. --- hand held.

I put the camera in the P mode, --- force the ISO high. When you drive up on a herd of elk as here you want to get out of the car and take some photos quick.
With the camera already set to a high ISO even though it's a pretty long lens you don't worry about motion/dof/focus issues. you don't have time
Likewise getting out the tripod etc. may not get you the best photo.... IT may well be a photo of an empty field. I've also got an FA600 F/4 and I'll do hand held wild life/bird photos with
it as well. After I get a bunch of photos, if my target is still there, I may if I think of it, lower the ISO and take some more

Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 04-30-2017, 04:17 PM  
For each Pentaxian buying K-1 another Nikon/Canon shooter jumped ship to Pentax
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 1,039
Views: 100,901
Agreed, though it's been a difficult process for me to admit it. do I have much use for a Pentax-A 400 F2.8 with a 1.4x dedicated extender or an FA-600 f4 lens, when I can get the same photo without 2 tripods
with the D FA 150-450.... by setting the ISO up to 25000 or so.? Similarly---what's the macro ring flash for if you have a good working ISO 25000 etc?

The photo that follows is a K-1 with a fa100mm macro 1/1600 f/13 and ISO12500 now if you compare the bug on the bottom flower to the bug on the middle flower, it's clear the the focus on the middle flower is soft
From the settings I got (using the program mode) and a hard set 12500 ISO I had plenty of 'camera' left to tweek the DOF if I wanted to.
Forum: Post Your Photos! 04-17-2017, 10:59 PM  
Landscape cow pasture with a view
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 3
Views: 881
The prarie land in the foreground is widely used by quite a number of cattle feed lot operations. The foot hills are used
for logging and you can see a logged off area in the middle of the photo. And the Mountain--- well what can I say---it's
an active volcano----but not an ongoing one--- just every century or so it does something very bad

European settlers became common in the area in the 1840's and though it had apparently done a bad deed
shortly before then, it was generally treated as a dormant volcano until it blew up with a few weeks notice in 1980 and has
largely been quiet since thing
Forum: Post Your Photos! 04-16-2017, 10:12 PM  
Landscape cow pasture with a view
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 3
Views: 881
An image of Mt. St. Helens, some 37 years after the May 18, 1980 eruption which lowered the summit by some 1300 feet and triggered the collapse of the north flank ( on the left side of the mountain). This photo
taken April 16, 2017 (today) from a vantage point just east of the Jackson Highway a few miles north of Toledo, Washington, and perhaps 30 miles west of the mountain.
Forum: Lens Clubs 04-06-2017, 07:26 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
the K-1's are easier to find than a Pentax-A 400- F.2.8 and cheaper too. I've actually been looking, though for a lighter lens for some of my work (trying to decide between the new DFA* --- to 450 zoom
or the classic FA 400 f/5.6 on which I wouldn't hestitate to use the older dedicated extenders --- the 1.4x-L or 2x-L

With the rising levels of useful ISO, the speed of the glass is less critical. and portability becomes easier.
Forum: Lens Clubs 03-18-2017, 10:11 AM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
That's what the camera makers have been doing since they have hit the practical limits on increased pixel counts is making each generation
of sensors do better in low light. The rest of the settings were 1/100 at f/9. If I count right the ISO is 6 stops above Kodacolor 400. The approximate
exposure could have been replicated at 1/25 at f2.8. for exposure with kodacolor 400, but the cost would have been shake issues and depth of field.
The thing that makes this picture to me is the background----you usually find doves in places of really bad backgrounds--- parking lots, lawns etc. but here we have
the utter chaos of the background contrasting with the peaceful bird to make an interesting picture and without the high ISO you just can't get there.
Forum: Lens Clubs 03-17-2017, 10:59 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
I accomplished this with the K-1 using Pentax-A 400mm f/2.8 and a Pentax 1.4L converter. it was late on a dark cloudy rainy day (today). Used 25600 ISO to close the deal.
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 01-31-2017, 11:02 PM  
Seven months before the successor of the K3II?
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 418
Views: 73,327
I don't really agree with that. I have both a K-3 and a K-1 (oh yes K-2 also. I've liked them all.
I've nursemaided and augmented my full frame glass from the K-2 days as I see it what
the k-1 can never match is the extra range of the half frame camera body.

What's really missing in my option from the entire pentax line for wildlife photography is a power zoom that is quiet and can be remote controlled.

add a power tripod to a K-1 with a power remote zoom so you can rotate and elevate and zoom as well as control all the other camera functions
on your cell phone app within wi-fi range and then you have a real wild life camera......

you can set the camera remotely to observe a wide field, and if something shows up whether a mouse or a moose, you can bring the camera to bear,
adjust the zoom, pick an ISO that makes sense and get your photos.... all from far enough away that you presence isn't disturbing it...
Forum: Pentax Price Watch 01-28-2017, 11:17 PM  
A* 1200 for $5500
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 21
Views: 2,599
Well one thing is clear--they aren't needed as badly as they used to be--- which is probably why the declining interest.

I went to Alaska last summer with particular intent on taking wildlife photos and didn't even take my FA600 lens.

When you combine the impacts of the half frame camera bodies, good quality TC's, and the high ISOs now available, you can get the functionality of a 1200 f/8
in a package that will fit in your airplane carryon.... the head and tail of this juvenile eagle were cut off on this photo because I had too much horsepower on this photo shoot.

Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 01-27-2017, 04:09 PM  
Pentax KP - High ISO Samples
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 350
Views: 60,192
I quite agree that I'm not likely to us 819k ISO, but I don't use the highest numbers on my present cameras others. What I do see is evidence that it will work and provide nice photos at higher ISO's than existing models.
This is progress. I remember being excited when I learned how to cook TRI-X in the darkroom and get 800 out of it. I've purchased almost every top end Pentax ever made beginning with the Spotomatic---oh did I like
an auto coupled light meter, though the K2 was my all time favorite film model. what I've seen in the digital models is steady improvement in low light abilities with the possible exception of the K10 which I regarded as
really lame in low light situations. I now have a K3 and a K1 as cameras of choice, as I have sort of migrated into bird photography.

What I'm finding is that decent bird photos are becoming progressively easier. Birds, it seems, commonly roost in the shadows which has made photographing them difficult and expensive.
implying that my lens collection has such monster lenses as the A-400 f/2.8 -- one of my all time favorites as well as an FA-600 F/4. These are the 16" guns of the navy. They shoot long and hard
IF you can bring them to bear before the target is long gone.

I'm now using ISO 6400 pretty much as my default setting on the K3 and the K-1. IF this new model enables a few higher f stops it will we more than welcome. It means more and more bird photography can
be hand held with affordaable light weight optics.
Forum: Lens Clubs 09-04-2016, 08:48 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
Some juveniles get their feather ruffled easily..... must have flunked out of grooming school to play on the beach...
Forum: Lens Clubs 09-04-2016, 08:34 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
another BIF uncropped specimen. I"m vetry disappointed---- or am I setting expectations too high.
Forum: Lens Clubs 09-04-2016, 08:14 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
IT seems like ther are some days that you just have the wrong lens on the camera. Often a 300 mm is a good bet if you are birding, but then this happens.

this is a full frame shot of an eagle with a 300mm f/4.5 lens on a K-3

---------- Post added 09-04-2016 at 08:31 PM ----------

IT seems like ther are some days that you just have the wrong lens on the camera. Often a 300 mm is a good bet if you are birding, but then this happens.

this is a full frame shot of an eagle with a 300mm f/4.5 lens on a K-3
Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals 09-04-2016, 08:15 AM  
Latest Pentax Rumors
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 598
Views: 61,153
You know, there are a couple features still missing that are needed to support full remote control of a camera.... It seems with the built in WI-FI we can adjust every button on the K-1... Haven't tried it, but think that is the case, but what
is missing are two critical things----- the ability to Zoom and pan. Now the panning could be handled by building it in to the Aux-battery pak that can be added to the bottom of the camera bodies...-- simply put a tripod mount that can be
rotated by a worm gear motor. the second is a zoom lens that can be remotely controlled.
Forum: Lens Clubs 08-17-2016, 08:38 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
here is a sequence--- not of the greatest quality as I was trying to use an improvised support with a fa600 plus a 1.4x extender.
but I was interested in the the way that this large bird commenced flying.
Forum: Lens Clubs 08-02-2016, 10:30 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
we feed sunflower seeds and some smaller bird seek.

The steller jays are always there we have around half a dozen of them regularly...

what we haven't seen since spring are the camp robbers (gray jays).
Forum: Lens Clubs 08-01-2016, 08:29 PM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
Do you suppose there is a reason these birds are called "Grosbeaks". Don't think I'll win
any prize for a pretty picture here.
Forum: Lens Clubs 07-31-2016, 10:52 AM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
here is another take of the day. A "Brush Rabbit" native to Western Oregon.---sylvilagus bachmani

fairly small -- around 12" long, little or no tail. Really likes to eat grass.
Forum: Lens Clubs 07-31-2016, 10:25 AM  
300mm plus Lens Club: discuss your long lenses
Posted By rvannatta
Replies: 40,769
Views: 4,310,367
Stellar's jay shows it all.
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