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Forum: Pentax Q
12-18-2012, 02:33 PM
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Hi SonDA5,
It really depends on what you want to do with your Q and adapted lenses.
Here's where I stand -- I want to use the Q mostly for super telephoto and handheld macro shooting with flash (and secondarily as a high quality pocket compact). The very significant advantage of the Pentax adapter with the integral shutter is for the macro stuff.
With a 3rd party adapter, the Q defaults to 1/13 sec shutter speed with flash. This is because it can only use the electronic shutter in the sensor since only Q Quality Line lenses have mechanical shutters (leaf shutters in each lens). When shooting outdoors during daylight, the ambient light overpowers the flash at 1/13 sec, so using flash to freeze either camera shake, subject motion, or both in macro shooting is ineffective. The Q, with adapted dedicated macro lenses has a lot of potential, because the crop factor adds almost 4x perceived magnifcation, and the camera and lens combination is comparatively small and light -- macro shooting is often done in very awkward positions so the light weight is very convenient.
The Pentax adapter helps this situation, which I had tried to work around for the better part of a year. The shutter in the adapter allows me to use external P-TTL flashes with adapted lenses at up to 1/250 sec, which effectively can eliminate ambient light for outdoor daylight handheld macro shooting, and it seems that i can use external manual or auto thyristor flashes at 1/160 sec, which will also accomplish the same effect.
For super telephoto shooting, flash is not often a requirement, so the advantages of a mechanical shutter are a bit more esoteric. Electronic shutters are prone to "rolling shutter effect". This is visible as essentially a bending distortion of a subject that moves laterally in relation to the camera while the shutter is "open". It isn't really evident in most situations because shutter speed is usually pretty high during daylight, but I've seen it as a very subtle rippling in what should be a dead straight line on some shots taken with 3rd party adapters, even at relatively high shutter speeds. Granted, I had to really look for it at very high image magnifications, and it really didn't effect the viewing of the image at normal sizes -- but digital photographers, especially on forums like this can be a particularly picky lot when we choose to be. . .:o If this were the only advantage, I'd stick with the 3rd party ones and be satisfied.
Bottom line, to realize the Q's potential for getting very high perceived magnifications in handheld macros with flash, the high price of the Pentax adapter is worth it to me. I've got over 6x the price of this adapter already sunk into dedicated macro lenses, and though I'm not pleased to have to spend a lot more money to use them as I had originally envisioned, I'm happy that Pentax came up with a solution. Putting a precision shutter mechanism into an adapter is not an easy proposition, and the cost is justified IMO. Also, the aperture adjustment mechanism is easily the most precise and easiest to use of all the adapters that can adjust apertures so far, and the anti internal reflection treatment is also the best I've seen, so it appears they didn't spare much expense in building this adapter. I'm happy they didn't price it higher. . .
Bottom line, extrapolate your possible uses for this camera and adapter. It's better to buy the one that will meet all of your projected needs than to get the less expensive one, then find that it falls short, and have to buy the more expensive one in addition. YMMV of course.
Scott
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Forum: Pentax Q
11-27-2012, 09:53 AM
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The Q gets its revenge for every lazy, lack of vision review, and all the armchair pixel peeping scientists that condemed it. Love it.
thanks
barondla
The "photography can't be fun" people are gonna be miserable with this news. The Q is fun.
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