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Forum: Pentax Q 06-24-2011, 02:41 AM  
Pentax Q in the Flesh
Posted By oliver
Replies: 1,310
Views: 223,124
seems to me that most people's concerns about the Q are

(I) the price (which will come down after launch)

(II) the small size of the sensor and the potential negative impact that will have on image quality, particularly noise, DR and control of dof.

Perhaps we should all have a more open mind and just wait and see how this back illuminated sensor performs in reality - I suspect that it could be much better than many fear. The fact that they offer iso 6400 surely tells that they have confidence in its low light abilities.
The bokeh control option may also work well and solve concerns about dof.

Let's not kill this thing before its even hit the streets. It may actually be far more fun and perform better than many expect.

Oliver
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 06-02-2011, 04:49 AM  
advice please
Posted By oliver
Replies: 8
Views: 1,909
thanks for the advice everyone.
To answer the questions above. I currently use the fa35 as my most common walk around lens. The idea would be to replace that with the da40. I'd then switch to the 21 if I wanted a wider view or the 70 for something closer. As for other lens I also have the 18-55 and 50-200 and the sigma 10-20 which I all plan on keeping for time being as a convenient zoom option across the range if I need it. But most of the time I do prefer using primes.

The only real thing holding me back is that I will be losing some speed if I move to the da primes .
1 stop from fa 35 to da 40
1/2 stop from k24 to da 21
1/2 from m85 to da 70

But on the lure of the da primes is their quality, that they are good wide open and more compact and completely compatible with a modern body.

Oliver
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 06-02-2011, 01:32 AM  
advice please
Posted By oliver
Replies: 8
Views: 1,909
I know that ultimately its up to an individual to make their own choices about what's right for them but I am really struggling to reach a decision over an idea I have in my mind and I was hoping to gather some opinions of wisdom from the forum.

Over the past few years I've built up a collection of old lenses (various k and m and fa primes, mostly) as it was a way an affordable way of getting some fast lenses when starting out on a limited budget. The lenses in question are the k24/2.8, m50/1.7, m85/2, fa35/2 and a couple of old tokina zooms 20-35/2.8 and 28-70/2.8. My current body is a k-x.

All have served me well but I'm trying to come up with a more portable system that will be easier to take out and travel with. In particular, while I do love the build quality of the k and m lenses they are not that convenient to use -- only in m mode with stop down metering, no AF, no compatibility with PTTL flash etc. And neither the Tokina or FA are compatible with automatic CA or lens distortion correction.

Now, I've done some calculations and realized that if I sell them all along with old k100d body it would almost exactly match the second-hand price of a trio of limiteds (da 21, 40 and 70) based on prices at my local camera store. This would then give me a lightweight and compact wide, normal-ish, and tele that along with my k-x could always be with me.

So the question is does this make sense? Would you do it ?

Oliver
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 02-14-2011, 03:50 AM  
10-20mm back focus, what should I do?
Posted By oliver
Replies: 5
Views: 2,424
I also have the sigma 10-20 and a k-x and I find that focus is problematic in certain circumstances
a) at the widest angles of view i.e. around 10-12mm focal length.
b) when the object is very close, i.e near the minimum focus distance
c) in dim or unnatural lighting.

I've found that the best way around the problem is either to use live-view contrast detect focus or zoomed-in manual focus in difficult situations or to simply stop the lens down to f11 so that the depth of focus makes everything in focus anyway.

I agree with the other poster that checking for severe asymmetry in the image sharpness is important.

Oliver
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-13-2010, 11:11 PM  
Pentax High ISO Gallery - post here
Posted By oliver
Replies: 1,383
Views: 325,846
Here's my example -- k-x with k135/2.5 wide open at iso 4500

Oliver

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4055/4690588202_07c5485e2a.jpg
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-03-2010, 06:46 PM  
upgrade dilemma!
Posted By oliver
Replies: 27
Views: 5,343
K100d is a truly great camera.
I definitely recommend upgrading the glass before the body.
Pairing it with a good lens such a prime or a higher-spec zoom will definitely produce images of very high quality that rival more expensive bodies for reasonable print sizes, e.g up to 8x10 in my opinon. I've recently upgraded to the k-x but there's not a big difference in image quality unless you're working at iso 3200 or above, or need to print big or crop heavily. Indeed at iso 200, I probably prefer the output from the k100d.

Oliver
Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras 03-25-2010, 02:42 AM  
MZ-3 focusing problem
Posted By oliver
Replies: 7
Views: 2,773
Thanks Alan, given that the camera is immaculate condition (I hardly think that its been used) it does all seem v strange.

Given that its my understanding that there should be a shim under the focus screen, and I can't see one I'm hoping that this is the cause as I could try and fix it with some carefully cut paper (I'm assuming that original parts will be hard to come by).

However, if its 1,2 or 5 on your list then its going to be a job for a trained specialist.

PS thanks for the tip about checking manual focus, I don't have a loupe but I may have a magnifying glass lying around somewhere.

Oliver
Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras 03-25-2010, 02:01 AM  
MZ-3 focusing problem
Posted By oliver
Replies: 7
Views: 2,773
A while back I rescued a MZ-3 from my office where it was going to be thrown away and its been sitting around at home begging to be used.

Yesterday I finally got round to sticking a couple of CR2s and a roll of neopan 1600 into it and put my FA35 on the front. I quickly noticed that the autofocus and manual focus were at completely different positions, suggesting that something is wrong. In particular, the manual focus point is at a far shorter distance than autofocus.

Any ideas what could be going on? (yes, I have adjusted the diopter to suit my eyes!)

Without developing the film is there anyway of knowing whether its the AF or MF which is faulty?

My suspicion is that the AF is ok, but the optical path to the viewfinder is for some reason incorrect. I did briefly remove the focusing screen and couldn't see any kind of shim underneath and I'm wondering if that's the reason?

I'll know more when my first roll is developed but they may all be blurred.

Oliver
Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 02-05-2010, 03:08 AM  
ball head -- too good to be true?
Posted By oliver
Replies: 8
Views: 5,680
I'm looking for a small ball head for a lightweight travel tripod and came across this KS-0 head from the firm Gadget Infinity which is (in)famous for its cactus flash triggers. I'll mostly be using primes or light-weight zooms, mostly likely nothing more than 2kg in total.

First impressions suggest that this is a cheap copy of far more expensive designs.
Has anyone used one?
Junk or good value?

Oliver

http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/...t.php?productid=16988&cat=260&page=1
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 12-09-2009, 11:26 PM  
Which is worse for noise? Long Exposure or High ISO
Posted By oliver
Replies: 7
Views: 5,085
Here are my thoughts:

1) from a noise only point of view, a long exposure at a low iso will usually be better than a high iso shot. It will not only look cleaner but will also have a better dynamic range.

2) However, you may only be able to adopt this low iso approach and the resulting long exposure if you have a tripod and/or its a static subject where motion blur won't be a problem.

Often the motivation of raising iso is one of necessity to either get a faster shutter speed e.g. shooting sports inside or getting more depth of field. In these cases you often don't have another option.

I apologize in advance if you know all this already.

Oliver
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 09-25-2008, 03:48 AM  
Owners of 12-24 + 50-135 but no zoom in between.
Posted By oliver
Replies: 26
Views: 3,174
Well I'm very happy with my budget and compact set-up of sigma 10-20 (Landscapes, architecture, interiors etc) + FA 35/2 (general walk around, low light, bokeh, super sharp) and DA 50-200 + raynox 150 (head-shots, macro, close-ups).
I find that this covers everything I need with 3 lenses that are not too big or expensive. The exception would be a wedding when you need the flexibility of a mid-range zoom.
While I've often thought of adding a 18-55, 16-45 or 17-70 I really don't want to carry another lens.

Oliver
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 09-25-2008, 03:39 AM  
K-m to be available as *Body Only* in UK
Posted By oliver
Replies: 11
Views: 3,332
Well I'm not sure that its a reflection of sales of the k20d.
In general, most pentax stuff here in Japan (aside from DA*) is very moderately priced in my opinion. For example, a new DA 12-24 can be had for GBP 350.
The odd thing is that Sigma stuff is just as expensive as UK or more so.
I'm fighting temptation to upgrade my k100d which I've only had for 18 months given the prices of k10d and k20d.

Oliver
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 09-25-2008, 12:49 AM  
K-m to be available as *Body Only* in UK
Posted By oliver
Replies: 11
Views: 3,332
Have to say I'm surprized by those figures. Here in Japan at my favourite camera shop in Tokyo the K-m costs
GBP 280 body only
GBP 300 + kit lens
GBP 350 + double lens kit

What's ironic is that a new k20d body now only costs GBP 400 !

Oliver
Forum: Lens Clubs 07-02-2008, 09:42 PM  
The M Club!
Posted By oliver
Replies: 9,615
Views: 1,442,713
Here are a few portraits from the k55/1.8 and k135/2.5
Still desperately looking for a k or m85 at a reasonable price, hopeful that I'll get one someday.

Oliver
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 02-10-2008, 08:08 PM  
Opinion/experience with cheap flash
Posted By oliver
Replies: 20
Views: 4,053
The sunpak 383 is great value if you don't mind using an auto flash (just set iso and aperture on flash to match camera) instead of P-TTL.
It tilts and swivels, has three aperture settings and manual power settings as well.

Oliver
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 12-10-2007, 10:08 PM  
Just in: a second hand SMC135/2.5K lens
Posted By oliver
Replies: 11
Views: 2,144
Yes, I also thoroughly recommend this lens.

I picked it up in Tokyo a few weeks ago and just love the smoothness of the bokeh -- see examples below.
It's also quite sharp wide open at f/2.5 and seems to work well with my x1.5 kenko TC - making a 200 f/3.5.

It is a bit heavy heavy (500g) but feels very solid and well put together.
You also have to watch out for flair and avoid shutting into sunlight or there is a loss of contrast.

I'm hoping to use for shooting images of bands and sports in low light where the DA50-200 is not fast enough.

Oliver
Flickr: Photos from on6702






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