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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio 03-02-2016, 10:52 PM  
Thoughts on AlienBees B800?
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 8
Views: 1,534
One more vote here for Buff.


I currently use Einsteins, have used Alien Bees, White Lightning Ultra series, all the way back to the WL 5,000 and 10,000 from the 80s. By far the best bang for your buck in the industry.


The only reasons I can think of not to go with Buffs products would be if you live outside the USA or have a need for some extremely unusual feature that they don't offer.
Forum: Pentax Price Watch 11-27-2015, 11:42 PM  
Black Friday Pentax Flash Deals
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 6
Views: 2,466
They are identical except for the amount of light they put out at full-power. The 540 puts out a little more than twice the light of the 360.


A rough conversion of the guide numbers into feet for this metric-challenged American gives me 120 and 180. So for instance if the smallest aperture you could use with the 360 was f12, you could shoot at f18 with the 540.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 10-21-2015, 09:31 PM  
L-Bracket + Plate for K3 + Grip
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 1
Views: 1,308
Not many options for the Pentax grips because of the shape of the base and the off-center tripod socket.
I bought two of the Mestos regular plates for my K-5 and can attach it to just about any flash bracket, but right now it looks like for the K-3 they only make the L-Plate.

Have a look here;
Mestos PD-K3HL

Pentax - Mad for Camera
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 04-23-2015, 10:57 PM  
Specs of K-3II
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 780
Views: 82,669
I would disagree. The APSC market fits a space between mirror-less and pro-oriented full-frame. Many want the ability to have better quality than mirror-less, but they also don't want to carry around all the larger, heavier pro equipment. I'll use an external flash on a job, but I'm not going to carry an external flash with me everywhere.


The K3 fits a unique sweet spot. I can use it on a job with the grip, a large lens like the DA* 50-135, and a flash attached, and then I can take it on vacation with the grip removed, a small limited lens, and the built in flash. GPS does absolutely nothing to improve the quality of a photograph. Balancing the light and shadows with flash makes a HUGE difference in many cases.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 05-15-2014, 05:06 PM  
L Bracket K3 with Grip Mestos PD-K3HL
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 54
Views: 11,689
I asked them the last two times for the K-7 and the K-5 and they said they would not be coming out with one for the grip, only the camera body. Have they changed their minds recently?
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 05-15-2014, 05:00 PM  
why I won't buy a k3 (Warning: Satire Thread)
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 102,909
Views: 4,785,452
Finally this thread is back on topic!

I love Cheddar!
Forum: Pentax Full Frame 05-10-2014, 06:10 PM  
What could be 'different' about Pentax FF?
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 863
Views: 84,720
Interchangeable optical or electronic view finder would be interesting, but definitely NOT in the hotshoe. That is where the flash or flash trigger goes.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 04-11-2014, 03:03 PM  
My K3 arrived to-day
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 13
Views: 1,408
Tom, You already have a "decent" portrait lens with the 18-135.

If you want a "great" portrait lens, the 55/1.4 DA* or the 70mm/2.4 Limited are about as good as it gets I have both and use the 55 DA* the most.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 04-11-2014, 02:43 PM  
why I won't buy a k3 (Warning: Satire Thread)
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 102,909
Views: 4,785,452
I think the title of this thread should be changed to "Why I bought a K-3 and am about to buy another one"

or "My Pizza is better with lots more cheese"
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 04-07-2014, 04:57 PM  
K3 aggressively underexposes with flash?
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 64
Views: 8,059
My Manual Focus lens. is an "A" lens, doesn't that work with matrix metering and PTTL? The K-3 manual says it does, and it sure seems to work fine.>

I have the 540FGZII, it has min 1/256.
It doesn't matter whether the min. distance is 2.3 or 2.5 feet, when the inconsistency happens at 3.5 feet it's not because I'm closer than the spec because I'm not.

We're still talking apples and oranges here with distance. Flash to subject distance is not the same thing as camera to subject distance unless the flash is on top of the camera pointing forward.

I think what I may be missing is understanding why the camera processes the amount of light from the pre-flash differently when in bounce mode than when direct. Shouldn't it just measure how much light comes back regardless of the path it travels?

In any event, the problem can easily be avoided, I'm just curious because I notice similar behavior as the OP.

---------- Post added 04-07-14 at 04:12 PM ----------



I agree about the tech trying to be smarter than the photographer and failing. I typically would only use PTTL if I'm moving around, such as a wedding or event. In most cases I generally prefer to use manual because I know what to expect.
However, I am impressed at how accurate the PTTL exposures are with the K-3 and AF540FGZII when I don't get close to it's limits.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 04-05-2014, 08:19 PM  
Focus screen for K3
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 17
Views: 3,406
After using both the Katzeye split screen and the canon ee-s screen in my K-5, my vote goes for the ee-s screen.
I have always preferred a split screen or micro prism screen for manually focusing , but the ee-s screen really does make it easier to get accurate focus.

With the split in the center of the screen, I always had to do lots of "focus and recompose"

With the ee-s, I just focus and shoot.
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 04-05-2014, 07:56 PM  
Z countdown
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 285
Views: 40,884
Z was chosen because the new 645D was manufactured by Nissan ;-)
Forum: Pentax Medium Format 04-05-2014, 07:49 PM  
Explain something to me: wouldn't a video capable 645 be revolutionary?
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 20
Views: 2,394
FYI, Nikon used to make medium format lenses for Bronica cameras, and they also used to make lenses for large format view cameras. Now if the lenses are F mount, then they wont fit a medium format camera.
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 04-04-2014, 01:53 PM  
Z countdown
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 285
Views: 40,884
I consider the DA* 55 a strong point. It was the deciding factor in my becoming a Pentax user

I currently own 11 Pentax lenses; the 21-40-70 Limiteds, the 16-50, 50-135, 55 DA*s, the 18-135 and 50/1.8 DAs, and 28/2 and 135/2.8 "A'

I would give up every single other lens before I let anyone touch my DA* 55/1.4.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-31-2014, 10:09 PM  
WARNING! Manfrotto L-Bracket fit on K-3
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 13
Views: 4,872
Good Luck.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-31-2014, 09:48 PM  
K3 aggressively underexposes with flash?
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 64
Views: 8,059
That makes sense, but I don't think you read what I wrote carefully.
I am NOT exceeding the spec!

The distance the light from the flash is traveling is about 7-8 feet. That is NOT less than .7m. According to my google calculation, .7m is 2.3 feet.

If I put the AF540FGZII on top of my K-3 and put it in PTTL mode with the flash head facing direct and not bouncing, it says the flash range is 2.3 - 18.2 feet (I'm at f 5.6) If I take a photo 2.3 feet from the subject with the flash head facing forward, the exposure is nearly perfect every time. The camera can obviously calculate correct exposure at 2.3 feet.

If I take a photo 2.3 feet to about 3.5 feet from the subject with the flash head turned so that it bounces off the wall/ceiling the photo is about 4-5 stops underexposed. When I have the flash head turned so that it is bouncing off the celing/wall, the distance is definitely more than the minimum of 2.3 feet and definitely less than the maximum of 18.2 feet.

When I back up a little so the camera is more than about 3.5 feet from the subject, the bounce flash exposures are correct every time.

when I take a photo with a manual focus lens and bounce the flash off the wall/ceiling, this error does not ever occur regardless of the camera to subject distance

There must be something other than the preflash influencing whether it exposes correctly or not.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-31-2014, 02:32 AM  
WARNING! Manfrotto L-Bracket fit on K-3
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 13
Views: 4,872
The grip isn't flat, and the tripod hole is not centered. If it fits the camera without the grip, it's not going to fit with the grip on.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-31-2014, 02:17 AM  
K3 aggressively underexposes with flash?
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 64
Views: 8,059
If the flash is bounced and the distance from the flash to the wall/ceiling back to the subject is about 7-8 feet, how is that less than the minimum distance of .7m?
If I exceed the minimum distance, in other words get too close, it should be overexposed, NOT underexposed.

As I said, with my manual focus A 28/2.0 I can shoot as close as it can focus (1 foot) and get properly exposed bounce flash pictures every time.

What possibly could explain the difference in behavior of the PTTL between autofocus and manual focus lenses?
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-28-2014, 09:17 PM  
K3 - two questions important to my choice to buy
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 29
Views: 5,301
My experience is the K-3 is easier to manual focus than the K-5 with the stock screen. I have the ee-s screen in my K-5 and it's great. When I bought the K-3, I thought I would put the ee-s screen in the K-3, but so far have not had any problems manually focusing with the K-3 and it's stock screen. I don't use focus peaking, just focus the way I always did in the film era. I hate to admit it, but I'm also finding the auto focus on the K-3 is pretty good too.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-28-2014, 08:55 PM  
K3 aggressively underexposes with flash?
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 64
Views: 8,059
OK, I guess I should repeat. I'm using an AF540FGZII on a K-3. The problem only happens with bounced flash when the camera is less than about 3 feet from the subject. It is very repeatable and never happens when I am further from the subject or if I use a manual focus lens. With my A 28/2.0 I can shoot as close as it's min focus distance of 1 foot and get accurate bounced flash exposure every time. With 21mm Limited, Sigma 30/1.4, 40mm Limited, DA* 55/1.4, DA 18-135, and DA* 16-50/2.8 the underexposure problem is consistent at less than three feet. All my other lenses don't focus closer than 3 feet except 70mm Limited which is the odd one of the bunch. The problem seems to be hit and miss with the 70mm. The manual focus lenses are "A" lenses. I read somewhere in this forum that the camera uses focus distance in some instances to determine proper flash exposure, that's what it seems to be doing in this case rather than calculating exposure based on the pre-flash. That is what seems strange. The underexposure is not a case of not being able to illuminate part of the frame due to not having enough coverage. It is almost like the flash thinks you are shooting the flash straight at the subject rather than bouncing. So lets say the bounce distance is about 7-8 feet from the flash to the wall to the subject, and it's putting out enough power if it was 2 feet. About 4-5 stops underexposure. With my K-5 I get overexposure with bounced flash in the same conditions.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-28-2014, 03:59 PM  
K3 aggressively underexposes with flash?
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 64
Views: 8,059
I noticed something new on this issue. If I use a manual focus lens, the problem never happens. I get consistently exposed pics every time regardless of distance from the subject (provided I'm not blocking the bounced light). If I use an auto focus lens, I still get very underexposed shots nearly every time if I'm real close to the subject whether it's switched to auto focus or manual focus. This seems to suggest that the K-5 uses more of the focal distance data to calculate the exposure than the pre-flash since a manual focus lens cannot communicate distance to the camera.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-26-2014, 09:11 PM  
L-Bracket for K-3
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 28
Views: 6,841
Mestos may be making one for the K-3 with the grip. I received a response from "Mad For Camera" that one is coming soon, but it was unclear whether it was an L-Plate or a regular plate.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-23-2014, 08:22 PM  
K3 Owners with No Mirror Flap Problem
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 46
Views: 11,854
My K-3 has never flapped yet. I always have the grip attached. I always use only Pentax batteries, and the only non-Pentax lens I have is the Sigma 30/1.4 which I rarely ever use. Purchased Dec 2013 S/N 4851816
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-23-2014, 08:12 PM  
Help me make a decision please
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 25
Views: 2,392
I would go for the special they have now at B&H with the free grip, 50mm, and 32GB SD card. I would buy the 18-135 next.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 03-23-2014, 08:07 PM  
K3 AF speed - the cake is a lie??
Posted By NotaxPen
Replies: 47
Views: 6,913
My personal experience; my K-3 autofocus is noticeably faster and more accurate than my K-5. I have not yet used the focus calibration on the K-3 for any of my lenses, where my K-5 definitely needed adjustment. I have not compared to Nikon, since all my Nikon lenses are manual focus.
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