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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
1 Day Ago
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From Wikipedia:
Betteridge's law of headlines is an adage that states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."
I'll add that discussions about Kids These Days / People Are Doing It Wrong / Why Don't They Just will simply be an echo chamber and can be safely ignored.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
2 Days Ago
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Badlands, Murcia, Spain.
SMC Pentax 3.5/28mm on Sony NEX-6
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Forum: General Talk
2 Days Ago
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I am fascinated by the technical concept of mirror lenses.
So when a nice offer for the Pentax 1000mm F11 appeared in a nearby camera shop, I could not resist.
The only thing, it is massive when compared to the Pentax 400-600 mirror zoom lens....
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
2 Days Ago
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Yes, really.
Thread closed.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
4 Days Ago
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Running f1.2 like last month. Haven't really learned anything new. Little motivation problem on vacation. I still don't like to carry anything with me when I'm seriously skiing or snowboarding and I was too tired to go out with camera afterwards. When hiking to off piste the backpack is needed anyway so it's easy to take camera with me there and get some shots with decent view. I hope to improve my performance now that I'm back home and working again.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
6 Days Ago
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Good morning all. My wife thinks it's weird that I stare at the window during a downpour.
It would be a lot less weird if she'd just let me in, though.
I can't complain, I had a happy childhood. My dad used to put me in tires and roll me down hills.
Those were Goodyears!
Okay, so this week, I'd like to talk about controlling softboxes.
If your first purchase of a flash modifier was an umbrella (a good choice!), your second may have been some kind of softbox (also a good choice!).
They're great, but they throw light everywhere. The pictures can have even flat illumination, a bit like on a TV sitcom, where if you notice there are almost no shadows. That's because there can be several cameras going at once, and the chief technician ('gafffer') will put lights everywhere so whichever way a camera's located, all the actors and props are lit.
A movie can be shot with a single camera, so the scene can have much more carefully constructed shadows and highlights, and that's what we can do with our still cameras.
A grid looks a bit like a soccer goalpost net and attaches to the front of your softbox, usually with velcro. It consists of a series of black cloth cells that narrow the path of the light, reducing its spread and creating a more focused beam, allowing us to create dramatic shadows for mood and depth. A grid was applied to the strobe and softbox on the right hand side here in this pic taken with my K-1 and the Pentax DFA 50mm f2.8 Macro lens. You can see an ungridded strobe at the left, although it does have 'barn doors' to reduce its own spill.
To finish with, there's the story of the man and his wife awakened in the middle of the night by a loud pounding on the door.
The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.
'Not a chance,' says the husband, 'It's three o'clock in the morning.' He slams the door and returns to bed.
'Who was that?' asked his wife.
'Just some drunk guy asking for a push,' he answers.
His wife said, 'Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down on the highway and two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself!'
The man sees the error of his ways, gets dressed and goes out into the rain. He calls out into the dark, 'Hello! Are you still there?'
'Yes,' comes back the answer.
'Do you still need a push?' calls out the husband.
'Yes! Please!' comes the reply from the darkness.
'Where are you?' asks the husband.
'Over here on the swing!!' replies the drunk.
Find the rest of the series here: Clackers' Beginners Tips (Collected) - PentaxForums.com
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III Monochrome
6 Days Ago
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White Pasque Flower  |
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III Monochrome
6 Days Ago
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Peace Lily and Daisy.
Sigma 70/2.8 Macro.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-12-2024, 01:55 PM
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Thanks everyone. I'm back home and hopefully it is all sorted.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-10-2023, 07:10 AM
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-11-2024, 07:06 AM
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somebody explain this to me....
on Monday morning, I paid for a SMC A 645 45mm f2.8 (probably next month's lens choice) and it was shipped from Tokyo....
it arrived yesterday afternoon, here in SW Missouri (USA)....
just amazing...
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
04-10-2024, 10:15 PM
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-08-2024, 04:20 AM
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My computer is at the moment either off, because even at 1/5000 seconds flash duration, the vibration from the (quiet) fans is enough to reduce resolution in my 4x - 10x exposures using the rig clamped to my desk, or my computer and I are busy developing, stacking and retouching those stacks of 60-180 exposures each. I did take daily pictures with my s.i.c. lens, but they'll only come in a batch later this week. I'll make an effort to catch up on yours on my phone.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
04-08-2024, 03:33 AM
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The steps:
1.
Get the ready created debug menus from here:
a) PENTAX K-5
b) PENTAX K-5II
c) PENTAX K-5IIs
2.
Prepare your SD-card:
Paste both Debug Menu files "next to the DCIM-folder"
With the K-5 it looks like this:
3.
-Insert the SD card into your Pentax but leave the SD-carddoor open!
-Switch your Pentax on: Now you are in the Debug-Menu on page 1, which is called
DevelopmentMenu1:
4.
- With the 4-Way-Controller of your Pentax arrow-button scroll down to the 2.nd line:
*DEBUG MODE ....and then right:
Here you change from (= DIS abled)
(as you can see on the previous photo line 2)
to (=EN abled):
5. From here on it is about converting SDM to Screwdrive.
The following Pentax lenses can be converted and the procedure is the same:
- SMC PENTAX-DA* 16-50mmF2.8 ED AL [IF] SDM
- SMC PENTAX-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF]SDM (this is the one I use here for this tutorial)
- SMC PENTAX-DA* 200mmF2.8 ED[IF] SDM
- SMC PENTAX-DA* 300mmF4 ED[IF] SDM
The SMC PENTAX DA* 60-250mm F4ED [IF] SDM cannot be converted although it has an inbuilt screwdrive mechanism. The lens-rom datas are very complex, nobody succeeded until today.
The DA* 55mmF1,4 and SMC Pentax DA*17-70mm/F4,0 cannot be converted because they have no screwdrive built it, they are SDM only.
You have enabled Debug-Mode:
- With the 4-Way-Controller to page 4:
= Development Menu4
and there 2.nd line:
= *Lens Rom Dat Camera =>SD
6.
- Click on OK:
- The message "Wait" usually comes (but with some Pentax DLSR’s it doesn’t so don’t worry)
- When this task is done, all lens-rom data have been copied from the lens onto your SD-card!
- Remove the SD-card and connect it to your PC or Labtop, open it
Now you can see next to the two debug-files a new one called:
LENSEEP.LNS:
7.
For security make a copy of thisfile LENSEEP.LNS and secure it where ever you want/chose.
The Pentax K-5 (and others) create automatically a backup, but you want to be save
and have it secured on a place on your harddisk as well.
8.
- Now you open LENSEEP.LNS (on your SD-Card!!!) with Notepad++.
It will look like this:
In column 03 you have to change ALL "C0" entries into "80“.
!!!Those columns begin left with 00: One might mistake it for column 4, but it is 03!!!
I marked some of the "C0" enries with a green arrow and above some which have already been changed by myself into "80" with a red arrow.
Remember: You just change all the "C0"- codes in column 03 into „80“:
In column 5 you find usually 2 further "C0" entries: NO NOT CHANGE THOSE!
With my DA*50-135 there were 32 codes in column 3 in the following lines:
6,10,14,18 -- 25,29,33,37 -- 44,48,52,56 -- 63,67,71,75 -- 81,86,90,94 -- 101,105,109,113 -- 120,124,128,132 -- 139,143,147,151
9.
As soon as you have done this, click on "Save" (the top left tab of Notepad++)
For security open the file LENSEEP.LNS again with Notepad++ to make sure that there are no more „CO“ codes in column 03 but only the new „80“ codes!
Close Notepad++, remove your SD-card.
10.
Insert your SD-card into your Pentax (with your lens attached!) and leave the SD-carddoor open.
Switch your Pentax ON.
11.
Again you are in
- Development Menu1:
- Again DIS to EN = enable as before
- Again to page 4 = Development Menu4
- And there on first line:
=*Lens Rom Dat SD=>Camera
11:
- Click on OK.
- Now you can see the transfer of the data on the LCD Display.
- That was it! Well done!
My Pentax K-5 switched of the Development/Debug-Menu automatically on DIS (=disabled)
But this seems to be different with different Pentax DSLRs, so if it doesn’t do this, every time you switch your camera on you would arrive in the Debug-Menu.
So then you go to step 3 but this time with the cursor from to and then [OK]!
If you now connect your SD-card with your PC or Labtop, you can see, that your Pentax automatically made a backup of the old lensrom = BACKUP.LNS .
This is identical with the one you secured before hand.
Very important:
Even with 10 of the same lenses there can be minor differences between the lens-roms!
Thats why it isn’t a good idea to use ready LENSEEP.LNS from others!
They might even be transfered and you even get a Backup.LNS but it can lead to other problems because not specific for YOUR lens!
Therefore: Only change the LENSEEP.LNS of your lens!
Good luck!
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
04-07-2024, 03:31 AM
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Hey guys,
I'm in the process of trying to completely disassemble and reassemble a Pentax MX camera. I bought it in a half-working shape - shutter times seemed OK except long exposures when the mirror would sometimes stick, the bulb mode didn't work and light meter didn't work either. However, the camera was dirty and corroded, so I decided to dive myself into basically rebuilding it. However, I found that searching the parts in the exploded camera view takes a ton of time. So I spent some time in inkscape, adding a text layer to the figures to make them searchable. I hope someone else will find those useful. Also, a small peek at how the camera looks at the moment ;-)
TLDR.: attached are searchable figures from the Pentax MX Service Manual.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III Monochrome
04-06-2024, 08:49 AM
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Callas 
(helicon focus stacked) |
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-06-2024, 05:56 AM
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I had mentioned last month about the Fish-Eye-Takumar 17/4 needing a FF camera to really show off its distortions....
I even put it up for sale, thinking that it would possibly be never truly used to its potential here....
well, with the GFX behind it:
 morning light by Pepperberry Farm, on Flickr
 sunrise by Pepperberry Farm, on Flickr
yeah... so I withdrew the ad in the Marketplace....
(:
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-06-2024, 04:37 AM
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Hello Jani, what beautiful photos you put here!
But I was looking at your photos on Flickr, and honestly I don't even know what to say, seriously!!!
I really don't have words!!! I don't want to be banal and say a phrase that may be overused, but you don't take photos, you make photos! They are beautiful...
---------- Post added 04-06-24 at 12:52 PM ----------
Very beautiful photo! there are photos where the border between painting and photography almost disappears, as for me this is the case.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
04-05-2024, 02:32 AM
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Had a bit of an over the top effect with X polarisation on some red fungi. In real life they appear an opaque red much like the banners here on PF. Obviously the fungi are much more translucent than they appear so it is like red light is emanating from within.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-04-2024, 12:48 PM
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Hello, Forum
My MZ-S port covers have finally succumbed to rubber reversion and become little more than goo. To keep the contacts on the bottom plate covered I'd resorted to leaving the grip attached all the time. Of course, this eliminates one of my favorite physical qualities of the camera - its compactness.
My partner copied/designed some replacements for 3D printing the grip contacts port, grip latch port, and remote shutter port. After several many attempts with both resin and filament TPU filament seems to have the best combination of flexibility and durability.
Attachment 631664Attachment 631665Attachment 631666
 
The portions of the pieces not shown are more or less the original shapes since that's what keeps them in place.
Attachment 631663
The round cap in the photo is an earlier version of resin that had poor durability.
Link to Thingiverse: Pentax MZ-S Rubber Plug Replacements by mhubbard38 - Thingiverse |
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-02-2024, 02:56 PM
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I was going to do April but the end March sort of fell apart. Now I have already missed two days. I never decided on a lens either although I could just do the Sigma 18-35 Art since that would be an easy lens to do.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-01-2024, 07:36 AM
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Hoping to do a bit better this month - I only managed 3 pictures last month. I'll be using the Cyclop 85mm night vision lens. It has a fixed f1.5 aperture.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-01-2024, 04:30 AM
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Happy April 1st, everyone - it's soooo good to be back...
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