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Forum: Sold Items 02-01-2011, 07:47 PM  
For Sale - Sold: All my Pentax gear: K-7, K10D, 10-17mm, Sigma 30mm 1.4, FA50mm 1.4 , more. (C
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 19
Views: 9,091
Final bump for the last item! My living room is so sad and empty without the giant pile of Pentax loot...




Already sold, sorry. One thing to note is that USPS only ships overseas via airmail now, so it is very expensive to ship. I made two exceptions to my CONUS only policy, one package to Australia cost me $55 dollars and one to Canada cost me $38. Lost a bunch on shipping and it's a hassle to ship from the post office so I won't be shipping overseas in the future..
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 01-30-2011, 05:42 PM  
Pentax K-5 on the cover of Amateur Photographer
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 36
Views: 10,520
.... I don't think the K-5/K-7 loses in build quality or ergonomics to anything less than a 1D or D3 series camera..




I think the ludicrous DR on the K-5 is largely in part due to the almost non-existent readout noise. If you look at the DPreview, the K-5 is showing a fairly standard for APS-C 2.9 stop range on the highlight side. Turning on highlight priority, which underexposes the image then boosts the shadows, brings the highlight range up to 3.9 stops without any impact on the shadow range. The 5dmk2, however, also has a highlight expansion mode which brings it up to about 4.3 ev on the highlight side.

As good as the K-5 is, I just don't think APS-C sensors can hold on to DR in the highlight range at high ISOs as well as FF sensors. But, in the shadow range, I don't think there is anything on the market that can compare to the K-5 sensor's low readout noise.
Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 01-30-2011, 05:22 PM  
Sigma dp1s
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 5
Views: 2,615
One thing to note about how silkypix develops images--it runs the blackpoint pretty much at 0 so the contrast is a little flatter than something you'd get out of most other raw converters at default settings.
Forum: Sold Items 01-30-2011, 04:49 PM  
For Sale - Sold: All my Pentax gear: K-7, K10D, 10-17mm, Sigma 30mm 1.4, FA50mm 1.4 , more. (C
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 19
Views: 9,091
Got some interest on the K10D + 16-45mm combo, so no package deal on the K-7. Sorry.
Forum: Sold Items 01-30-2011, 08:20 AM  
For Sale - Sold: All my Pentax gear: K-7, K10D, 10-17mm, Sigma 30mm 1.4, FA50mm 1.4 , more. (C
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 19
Views: 9,091
PMs replied, picture added, and prices updated.

Remaining items going up on ebay later tonight, at which point the prices that were dropped will go back to their original values.
Forum: Sold Items 01-28-2011, 06:18 PM  
For Sale - Sold: All my Pentax gear: K-7, K10D, 10-17mm, Sigma 30mm 1.4, FA50mm 1.4 , more. (C
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 19
Views: 9,091


Well guys, I've gone to the dark side. It feels a little sad moving away from Pentax, but another system had some things that intrigued me so everything Pentax related must go. For the time being I'm only going to have the items listed on the pentax forums to give the users here priority, but I will be eventually be posting the items on ebay/CL/FM.

  • Pentax FA 50mm f1.4 Comes with screw on lens hood. $290SOLD!

  • Shutter Release Cord - $5Threw in K10D package as free bonus!

  • Pentax 10-17mm fisheye - $350 SOLD!

  • Pentax K10D 7599 actuations. Includes 2GB sandisk extreme card and two extra 3rd party batteries. Has issue with aperture stop down lever (see description below). - $190 SOLD!

  • Pentax DA 16-45mm f/4 Dropped once, but still functions perfectly - $190 SOLD!

  • Promaster TTL Sync Cord - $30 SOLD!

  • AF360FGZ Flash - $155 SOLD!

  • Pentax K-7 48xx actuations. (now showing 76xx, see below) Includes extra 3rd party battery. - $680SOLD!

  • Sigma 30mm f1.4 EX (non HSM) - $325SOLD!

  • Pentax DA* 16-50 f2.8 - $600SOLD!

  • Pentax DA 18-55mm II - $50 SOLD!

  • SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4 Includes bower m42 adapter. - $75 SOLD!

  • Pentax FA 77mm f1.8 - $650 SOLD!

  • Pentax DA* 50-135 f2.8 - $650SOLD!

  • Pentax DA 50-200 - $75 SOLD!

  • AF360FGZ (bare flash only, battery door broken) - $80SOLD!

  • Knockoff K-7 Grip - $25SOLD!

  • Sandisk Extreme III 16GB SDHC Card - $80 SOLD!


Everything is sold! Thanks for looking.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-26-2010, 11:36 PM  
Sigma 30mm f1.4 sample photo request
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 32
Views: 10,960
Well, let's revisit what I said.


So...

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 peak center resolution: 2,453LW/PH @ F/4

Pentax 14mm f/2.8 peak center resolution: 2,178.5LW/PH @ F/8
Pentax 15mm f/4 peak center resolution: 2,352LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 20mm f/2.8 peak center resolution: 2,195.5LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 21mm f/3.2 peak center resolution: 2,290.5LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 24mm f/2 peak center resolution: 2,327LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 31mm f/1.8 peak center resolution: 2,345LW/PH @ F/4
Pentax 35mm f/2 peak center resolution: 2,336LW/PH @ F/4
Pentax 35mm f/2.8 peak center resolution: 2,256.5LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 40mm f/2.8 peak center resolution: 2,274LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 43mm f/1.9 peak center resolution: 2,422LW/PH @ F/4
Pentax 50mm f/1.4 peak center resolution: 2,320.5LW/PH @ F/4
Pentax 55mm f/1.4 peak center resolution: 2,318LW/PH @ F/4
Pentax 70mm f/2.4 peak center resolution: 2,238.5LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 35mm f/2.8 peak center resolution: 2,256.5LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 77mm f/1.8 peak center resolution: 2,326LW/PH @ F/4
Pentax 100mm f/2.8 peak center resolution: 2,109.5LW/PH @ F/8
Pentax 100mm f/2.8 peak center resolution: 2,194LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 135mm f/2.5 peak center resolution: 2,130.5LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 200mm f/2.8 peak center resolution: 2,074LW/PH @ F/5.6
Pentax 300mm f/4.5 peak center resolution: 2,082LW/PH @ F/5.6

As for the Sigma 30mm vs 50mm

30 @ f/1.4 = 1,880.5 LW/PH
50 @ f/1.4 = 1,779.5 LW/PH
even up at f/4 with 2,117 LW/PH

And on the pentax side of things
30 @ f/1.4 = 1,850 LW/PH
31 @ f/1.8 = 1,848.5 LW/PH
43 @ f/1.9 = 1,774.5 LW/PH
50 @ f/1.4 = 1,669 LW/PH
55 @ f/1.4 = 1,633 LW/PH
77 @ f/1.8 = 1,932.5 LW/PH


I never once said that the corners weren't soft, or that the sigma was anything other than a specialty lens. I was merely refuting the unfounded assertion that the lens was soft and lacked contrast with personal experience. If we're talking overall performance then obviously the FA31 is leagues better. However, the quality of the DA*16-50 and 50-135 wide open at f/2.8 make the performance of primes at f/2.8 and greater irrelevant to me. I was going to buy the FA31, but I opted for the 30 instead having happened across it by accident on PhotoHito. IMO, the bokeh and overall quality of the sigma wide open is as good or better, plus it's 2/3rds of a stop faster.

Horses for courses. If you want a super fast normal for either low light, maximum separation, or to recapture what a 50 1.4 does on film/ff the Sigma 30mm is hard to beat. If you want an all-around technically perfect lens get the DA40 or FA31. There really isn't anything to argue.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-26-2010, 06:36 PM  
Sigma 30mm f1.4 sample photo request
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 32
Views: 10,960
Saying it has soft edges is different from saying that it has low resolution or lacks contrast, though. Going off center resolution, the Sigma beats nearly every prime in the current lineup. It is also probably the most punchy lens I own in terms of contrast and color rendition, especially wide open.

The corner resolution isn't stellar but the nature of the lens makes it a non-factor. LoCAs are really well controlled and, outside of sharpness, the lens doesn't gain anything past f/1.4. Basically the Sigma is a lens you buy for the f/1.4, use at f/1.4, and love at f/1.4.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-26-2010, 05:39 PM  
Sigma 30mm f1.4 sample photo request
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 32
Views: 10,960
Er, where have you heard that? I almost only ever use the 30 at f/1.4. Apertures above f/2.8 account for less than 10% of my usage of this lens--usually I'll switch to a different lens rather than stop down.

30mm @ f/1.4, 1/160, ISO 100


30mm @ f1/1.4, 1/60, ISO 1250


30mm @ f/1.4, 1/25, ISO400


30mm @ f/8, 1/60, ISO100 (one of three shots ever taken at f/8)
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 10-25-2010, 04:53 PM  
is my 2 days old k5 faulty?
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 78
Views: 27,562
That sounds like what my K-7 does with my bracket. The Promaster TTL cable I bought, as it turns out, doesn't have a hole for the lock pin on the flash. When I change the bracket position sometimes the flash slides out <1mm and will fire at full power. The flash screen will still indicate P-TTL, but it won't adjust to zoom settings on the flash.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-25-2010, 12:28 PM  
Vintage Pentax Prices Circa OCT 1975
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 24
Views: 6,675
Yes, but you're forgetting film. Take a look at your shutter count and divide it by 36 and multiply that number by 10. My K10D has more than tripled its value of what I paid for it in terms of cost of film savings. I've only had my K-7 for 6 months and I've already made back what I paid for it in what I would have spent on film.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-22-2010, 01:12 AM  
Da 40mm f/2.8
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 87
Views: 15,202
The DA40 is as close to a technically perfect lens that exists. No barrel distortion, limited vignetting, sharp corner to corner at every aperture, almost zero CA's, etc. I've always liked the color, contrast, and bokeh I've seen from examples as well. However, the f/2.8 max aperture makes it hard to justify when I have the 16-50 and 50 1.4.

As for the 16-50 I think the early QC issues have made it one of the most underrated lenses in the lineup. I've always liked samples I've seen, but in the back of my head I kept thinking "but, people on the internet say this lens sucks.." I finally broke down and bought one and I haven't been disappointed. It does suffer from some massive color fringing wide open, but the problem vanishes when stopped down and it's sharper than my 16-45 f/4 at all apertures.

I think it's a pretty easy choice to make the two lenses, though:

Do you want weather sealing, versatility, and to carry your setup in a bag? 16-50

Do you want discreetness, no CAs/corner resolution wide open, and to carry your camera in a jacket pocket? DA40.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 10-21-2010, 08:20 PM  
Opinions on third party battery grip for K-7
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 31
Views: 9,305
I don't know, soldered connections don't typically unsolder themselves. Also, we're dealing with a device that is designed to work with batteries. There's no inverters, rectifiers, transformers, or anything else that's meant to modify the current in these grips. It's impossible for a grip like this to deliver a "spike" of voltage, what would happen is simply that the power would cut out and cut back on. Also, crappy connections don't make electricity "dirty," they only induce resistance and no matter how bad the wiring the amount of loss in such a small circuit is irrelevant.

The worst thing that could happen is if somehow the pins for voltage got crossed with the pins for a button. The only thing, though, is electricity won't flow unless there's continuity so unless both the positive AND the negative battery leads got connected to two pins that happened to complete a circuit within the camera, nothing is going to happen. The only plausible cause of failure would be water intrusion.





I couldn't progress further with the disassembly since there was a screw that wouldn't back out. The plastic on the internals is pretty fragile, but the exterior shell is strong enough. There's really not much to the grip, and it certainly isn't weather sealed.

The grip itself is pretty solid and the textured rubber feels pretty nice. The texture on the plastic looks similar to the official model though, not having handled a Pentax grip, I can't say if it's the OEM is nicer. Probably the biggest flaw with the grip is that the K-7's e-dials/buttons feel like silky magic so the 3rd party grip just feels like mushy garbage in comparison.

For fifty dollars the grip accomplishes the only thing I need it for: working with my flash bracket. The offset tripod mount on the grip puts the bracket exactly where I need it, and since it's just a cheap grip I can torque the hell out of the mounting screw without worrying about damaging my camera. The loss of water sealing isn't really an issue when I have a TTL cable and flash dangling off my camera.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 10-20-2010, 08:06 PM  
Frustrated With My K-7 (Blurry Muck)
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 52
Views: 11,975
Why not show the blur-free shot so we can see the difference? I'm not seeing any problem here.
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 10-20-2010, 07:37 PM  
From K-X to K-5... or D7000?
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 80
Views: 18,956
Honestly I'm a little confused as to why you feel you need to pay the brand-new camera premium on the K-5. Pretty much the only two needs you've identified are mirror slap and weather sealing. You can get this in either the K20D or K-7. The K-x already has one of the best APS-C sensors on the market, so if you're somehow expecting your pictures to be any better you'll probably be disappointed.

As for the lenses the 18-55mm is decent, but the 50-200mm just isn't that good. For the price of a K-5 right now and a 18-55/50-200WR setup you could get a used K20D, 16-50 f/2.8, and 50-135 f/2.8. Ultimately, the quality of glass has the biggest impact on the quality of the images produced. The difference is that in two years, the 16-50 and 50-135 will still be good and selling for the same (if not more) amount of money, whereas the K-5 will superseded by a new body and selling for $500 on the marketplace.
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 10-15-2010, 11:39 AM  
Japan K-5 Samples.
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 38
Views: 9,192
In the top picture he lists (縮小) and in the bottom he lists (当倍). "縮小" means "reduction," but I have no idea what "当倍" means though I think he wrote the wrong kanji? "等倍" means "magnification," plus "当" and "等" have the same Chinese (Japanese on) reading.

So if I had to guess the top is a resize and the bottom is a 100% crop. My Japanese is limited to very basic conversational stuff and google so maybe someone who can actually speak the language will chime in.
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 10-15-2010, 07:40 AM  
What about the K-5 body makes it "worth" 2x the price of the K-r KIT?
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 144
Views: 24,054
Here's a simple solution to those who don't think the K-5 is worth double the money over the K-r:

Don't buy it. Was that hard?

The Nikon D3s is $4,750. I could buy it, but would I be flat broke? Yes. Would I take pictures that were six times better and worth living off of cup of noodles? Hell no.

I don't care if the K-x/K-r could do ISO 102,400 that looked like ISO1600 on the K-7, you'd have to pay me to use a crippled consumer grade single e-dial camera again.
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 10-15-2010, 07:28 AM  
Japan K-5 Samples.
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 38
Views: 9,192
キタ━━━━(゚∀゚)━━━━ !!!

Check out this shot at ISO1600, 600 second exposure, in camera NR off:

K-5 ??????????????? - ???????:photohito

The poster mentions that he isn't sure if there is a demand, but hopes that the test will be useful to someone. All I can say is very yes; that dark noise is pretty impressive!

I'm hoping the current MSRP is in place to help curtail demand/fight backorders while they get their distribution channels spun up. But, if not, I'll just have to patiently save up..
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 10-14-2010, 08:25 PM  
K-5 possible diffraction limitations
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 37
Views: 10,236
You know that calculator doesn't use the megapixel value for anything, right? Put in 1mp then 1,000mp and see if you see a difference in diffraction limit. I don't see how the diffraction limit should be a surprise. I figured that one out a month after I transitioned to digital with the K100D and was shooting with film sunny 16 rules. All my photos were very soft and I wasn't sure why! IMO the practical limit on APS-C is f/11.

As for whether or not the smaller pixels are worse, here's an answer straight from the very page you linked:

"Are smaller pixels somehow worse? Not necessarily. Just because the diffraction limit has been reached with large pixels does not mean the final photo will be any worse than if there were instead smaller pixels and the limit was surpassed; both scenarios still have the same total resolution (although one will produce a larger file). Even though the resolution is the same, the camera with the smaller pixels will render the photo with fewer artifacts (such as color moiré and aliasing). Smaller pixels also provide the flexibility of having better resolution with larger apertures, in situations where the depth of field can be more shallow. When other factors such as noise and depth of field are considered, the answer as to which is better becomes more complicated."
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 10-13-2010, 12:19 AM  
Price drop on K7?
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 12
Views: 4,372
You won't see the K-7 for 550 new. The K20D didn't fall that far and the K-7 certainly won't. There are two things to consider: 1. The K-7 is a higher specced camera than the K10D was and 2. The yen is significantly stronger vs the US dollar than it was two years ago.

Once the K-5 hits and the K-7 stock starts to dwindle, expect the prices on remaining K-7 units to start going up.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 10-12-2010, 06:12 PM  
K-7 and the opinions of high ISO shooting.
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 23
Views: 4,609
The thing about the K-7 is that, on paper, it doesn't seem like much of an upgrade. When looking simply at noise grain, the K-7 really isn't better than my K10D, and is allegedly worse than the K20D.

The thing is, though, that the K-7's grain distribution is very, very evenl and takes well to noise reduction. Furthermore, the K-7 leaves very little color cast when shooting high ISO. With the K10D I find ISO 1600 usable for abstracts, but hesitate to use ISO 800 for color portraits due to uneven gradation of the skin tones which the human eye tends to notice. The K-7, however, I won't hesitate to use up to ISO1250.

I've been without my K-7 for a couple months as I broke the focusing screen assembly and took my time sending it in (just got the invoice from C.R.I.S. today for $265). I wasn't in a huge rush to get it fixed since the K10D was handling my limited shooting needs, but going back to the K10D has definitely made me appreciate how much better the K-7 is. Nearly everything is a huge upgrade: the af is faster, the mirror blackout is nearly instantaneous in comparison, it has better DR despite DXO's test saying otherwise, the high ISO is better, the metering is better, P-TTL is better, and the white balance is worlds apart. The only thing that I feel the K10D handles better is white balance under daylight at base ISO.

I look at my K-7 shots at times and think, "I thought this camera was bad at high iso?" All shots are default LR conversions with no adjustments done in post.


50mm @ f/1.4, 1/30s ISO 1600


50mm @ f/1.4, 1/60s, ISO 1250


50mm @ f/1.4, 1/8s (handheld), ISO1250


30mm @ f1/1.4, 1/60s, ISO 1250
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 10-12-2010, 11:29 AM  
best pentax commercial yet!!! love it
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 42
Views: 10,206
Would you prefer, "Delighting you always"?
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 10-11-2010, 09:09 PM  
Improving K7 dynamic range
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 23
Views: 5,434
I didn't look at the PEF since the link was posted after your post, but I just pulled it down and..


I think we have different definitions of "expose to the right." Mine is as follows:



Here is an article that covers the expose to the left vs right debate and the pros and cons of each. He pretty much eloquently sums up what I was trying to convey earlier: "You should expose as bright an image as you can without clipping."


My wide DR example took literally 30 seconds to accomplish. The OP was looking for more DR, but didn't really want the perceived work and inconvenience of raw. Thus I was giving examples of the extra headroom in RAW files to try to convince him to switch. As for the techniques, many of them can be performed on JPG images as well, though with reduced effectiveness.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-11-2010, 03:54 PM  
Another lens dilemma...
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 36
Views: 5,369
Cost and weight savings, mostly cost. The metal mount is more durable, but at the same time I haven't really heard of problems with Canon's 50 1.8 plastic mount. Quick shift is a nice feature, but I'm not sure I'd pay £120 for it..
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-11-2010, 03:23 PM  
Another lens dilemma...
Posted By Kirivon
Replies: 36
Views: 5,369
If you're willing to wait a week or so I'll probably put together a comparison of the DA*16-50, DA 16-45 and DA 18-55 II.

As for the 55-300 vs the 50-200, I'd go with the 55-300 unless you expect to get soaked constantly. The 55-300 is technically better in pretty much every category: it's sharper, suffers from less vignetting and CAs, and is 100mm longer. Also, if you decide to sell it down the line it'll hold its resale better since the 50-200 is kind of considered a kit lens.

I have a 50-200 and honestly I've never liked it. It produces pretty nice contrast, but there's a nervous quality to the bokeh that always bugged me. That and the color reproduction is a little cool for my tastes. From what I've seen of the 55-300, it has some pretty nice bokeh at 300mm.
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