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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
01-13-2015, 10:53 AM
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In case anyone with the E-mount Touit 2.8/12mm or 1.8/32mm has not heard, Zeiss is now offering a firmware update, to "support phase detection autofocus and the fast hybrid autofocus of newer Sony E-mount cameras".
http://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_us/service/download_center/touit_e-mou...l#improvements
I was so relieved to hear this. The update requires a return trip to Zeiss America in New York state, but that's a minor concern. I was worried that the PDAF update may never happen. It was supposed to be ready in August, then September, then silence. I shipped my Touits on the weekend.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-25-2014, 06:57 PM
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I've tried many before settling on the Russian-made Tair 3M-5CA 500/8, which is a fine performer. Here's a few I shot with it:
A couple of nice things about a mirror lens are of course the compact size and light weight, but also they have no chromatic aberration.
The Tair is definitely a keeper, IMO. The Tamron 55B or 55BB are also good. In my experience, these three are the only ones I'd care to use. The rest I've tried have varied from lackluster to awful.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-29-2013, 10:40 PM
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Hello all you medium formatters...
Just to let you know I've published some vector artwork for all Pentax's MF cameras, from the 6x7 to the 645D. The artwork is editable in almost all modern graphic editing programs, e.g. Adobe Illustrator, and is part of a continued project of mine to compile vector artwork for Pentax products.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-23-2013, 07:58 PM
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Have had the opportunity to spend much time at Tennessee's newest wilderness area lately, enjoying the lush green start to summertime. Here are some random scenes, flowers, and critters, mostly from Rocky Fork.
Since my last thread was about the "queen" of the lady's slippers, let's get a look at an emperor - the Hackberry Emperor butterfly. These rather small butterflies only perch briefly, but are bold enough to perch on us, as well as on more "typical" plant perches. Their caterpillars feast on Hackberry tree leaves.
Summer's warmth and this year's abundant moisture means plenty of dragonflies. Here are a few views of a common, showy species - the 12 Spotted Skimmer. Very easy to approach, and keep returning to the same perch, so easy to photograph as well.
Rocky Fork is a great habitat for Swallowtail butterflies too - plenty of their favorite foods, plenty of sunny openings, and plenty of mineral-rich puddles. Here's a "flock" of Tiger Swallowtails puddling, and one rather faded Pipevine Swallowtail enjoying my sweaty hand!
With at least 5 species of Milkweeds, Rocky Fork is also a haven for Monarch butterflies. Here's a just-hatched Monarch caterpillar, surrounded by its favorite dinner - milkweed leaf.
Young Black Rat Snakes are hatching in good numbers. They sure look different from the adults!
How about some flowers? Here's a plant with an odd name - Daisy Fleabane. You can see where the "daisy" part comes in - they do look a lot like small daisies. But why "fleabane?" These plants were once thought to work to repel fleas! Apparently they do NOT repel our small native bees...
Yellow Wood Sorrel is a common "weed" in many lawns. Children call them "sour grass" or "sour clover," and enjoy nibbling the sour leaves. Here are two of its less common cousins - the purple wood sorrel (lower elevations) and the mountain sorrel (higher elevations). Can you see the family resemblance?
Down in the lower elevations, the Crossvines, Fire Pinks, and Tulip Poplars are pretty much past blooming. But many early-season blooms persist up in the higher, cooler places.
And the Pink Lady's Slippers are still blooming here and there...
One more odd little native orchid: It's called Puttyroot, and blooms in early summer, long after the leaves have withered away...
Yellow Flag Iris is not a native species, but is widely naturalized in our region. Makes a bright accent to the wetland areas.
I will end with a few shots of some "mini-waterfalls" along Birchfield camp branch in Rocky Fork. Hope you enjoyed this warm, wet hike, and that you will share your comments & critique!
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
11-10-2011, 02:01 PM
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Man, don't be too pathetic :D
I know about image processing quite a lot. And I'm too lazy to do the work the lens (which is quite pricey) supposes to do itself.
I'm very doubt you are capable enough to get this, but I'll try to explain it anyway with two samples, one taken with CZ Distagon 21 and one with 15Ltd:
Distagon: 8 seconds exposure
15Ltd: f8, 6 seconds exposure
So, the distagon works as a DR compressor compared to 15Ltd. This difference shows what I meant under the «contrast». This is not the local contrast, but the scene contrast between light and dark parts of an image. The light parts are already about to be burnt out but the parts in shadows didn't take enough light yet. And thus the scene gradient tends to be large on the transitions.
With the distagon the gradient is not so strong, and the scene itself looks more smooth.
So, either try to make the DA ltds to perform like these, or to stop calling these overpriced things "Limited". The thing they aimed to do is to produce tasteless overcontrasted pics with cartoonish colors. Period.
One can avoid these problems (part of them actually. 15Ltd is already killed many midtones), but I don't see the point why to buy these things, if, for example, the NX system provides better lenses for less money.
I really doubt you can get this, though :)
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
07-06-2011, 06:51 PM
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I have heard the old 300mm 2.8 is really sharp. To bad... I'll tell you the sensor in the K-5 and ISO is much better than the 7-D. I just read Adams report on it and it is spot on. When you sharpen the noise really get bad. The K-5 was a real winner for birding. I hope Pentax Japan can fix mine...... Damn. With a little AF adj. and shutter fix. It would be top notch... Oh well we will see.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-12-2011, 09:37 AM
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Based on a true story... I had two of these lenses fail on me so I felt the need to vent with this haha
You Tube
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QIyFOJdbznQ?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Forum: Sold Items
04-28-2011, 01:02 PM
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If you have your Green Button correctly set up (in the menus), automatic operation with these kinds of lenses is very easy. Set your camera to M mode. Select your desired aperture on the lens. Hit the green button, and the shutter speed is selected for you.
People who think they have to have "A" lenses are a great boon to those of use who don't. (Keeping prices ridiculously low like on this crazy fine piece of glass). :)
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