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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-10-2015, 03:57 PM
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I haven't seen any footage from the NX1 but if that is the case it ought to be quite good. It also means the processor is off the charts fast. I've never even held a Samsung camera, but if I was looking to change systems I think I'd be pretty intrigued by their whole lineup.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-10-2015, 03:34 PM
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The issue with video in the 645z is line skipping, at 1080p the line skipping is going to be very visible regardless of the codec and bitrate. If they went up to 4k they could dramatically reduce this issue, but then throughput becomes so high that they need a completely new processing engine. Suddenly the 645z is 15% bigger and significantly heavier, not to mention more costly. If Pentax wants to get into the video market they need to take a cue from Black Magic. Make a camera thats built from the ground up to provide the highest data throughput, and the best video oriented sensor. However, this would go completely against their existing legacy and user base. If Pentax wants to fight in this market they can, but it will mean starting from nearly scratch with very little support from their current market. It can be done, and Black Magic has proved that, but I don't know if it makes sense.
For years I hoped Pentax would make a good video mode in their dslr's, when it got worse instead of better I went out and bought a BMPCC. I was amazed at how different the camera operates and how much better the video quality was than any dslr I'd seen. I can still use my Pentax lenses, and its small enough to be hardly noticeable in the camera bag. This is a better solution. If you care about the quality of the video you need a camera designed for video, as well as a host of accessories like mics, steadycam, follow focus, etc. The convergence of the two is a fad driven by amateurs. I'm not saying its going away, just that if you're serious then you want a precision tool, not an amalgam of mismatched technologies.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-31-2015, 09:41 PM
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Fuji has obviously taken some market share, but do you really think the whole camera market wants a retro camera? I think older men who frequent forums are enamored with the look of cameras past, but the rest of the camera buying public I'm not so sure. I think Pentax is more in the fight than they appear. They haven't actually hit on a design that works yet, but they're trying to figure out what the camera of the future will actually look like. And while its kind of hot right now, pretending at the designs from 40 years ago is not a sustainable plan.
A couple of important things to consider. Despite Pentax long term commitment to compact design, bigger cameras sell. Canon doesn't have to make their cameras so bulbous, they do it because people love to pretend that a bigger badder camera will make better photos. Small is for the discerning buyer, big is for the pretenders, and pocketable is for the normal not camera obsessed general public.
The current retro fad will end, and probably soon. It will end because it is a look driven by an ageing demographic and it offers no improvement in an of itself. It is not more ergonomic, or functional, and only more beautiful to hipsters and those with a bit of nostalgia.
While I don't know the exact sales numbers of the k01, it was made clear that it was a limited run and it sold enough to justify a rerelease in the special edition blue k01. Despite the critical backlash and a release price that was never going to work, the k01 was a successful product that brought many new customers to the brand.
I don't dislike the retro look, I just want the design of my camera to be informed by function, and ergonomics first.
So what can Pentax do to design the camera of the future, please existing pentaxians, and gain market share? They can design a camera that uses newly developed tech to genuinely improve the photographic experience. No one has done this is in quite a while IMO. The best thing about the retro movement is an improvement in the tactile feeling of the materials. We like metal, and we like tactile feedback. People are very conflicted over mirrorless and EVFs, because while they offer improvements they also have serious compromises. I think this is reason enough to wait for the tech to get better before jumping into mirrorless.
However, right now, Pentax could make a compact DSLR, with top quality ergonomics, excellent metal build, good manual focus feel(no focus by wire), with incremental improvements to the design that are forward thinking and useful. For example if we see an EVF it should be bigger and better than any OVF it replaces. I could live with a 645 size evf in an apsc camera. If the camera is to be more compact, they should not sacrifice the grip to save a few milimeters. Any changes should atleast be an attempt to improve the camera. Unlike Sony and Fuji , who are just throwing ideas at a wall hoping something will stick. Sony is close to haveing something with the A7 series, but the lenses if they exist at all are overpriced, underperforming and oversized. Fuji has great lenses, but their camera design is all looks and no substance. The bodies are plasticy, the lenses are focus by wire(which I hate), ergonomics are ok but not great, and the mirrorless tech additions are gimmicky and distracting. I'll give Fuji one thing, I like the form factor. There is absolutely a place for a Leica style rangefinder in todays camera market.
I think the Pentax strategy is fairly in line with what I'm asking for, they want to compete by making a better product. Which means their flagship will continue to be conservative but solid. And their entry level will split between the conservative and the experimental until hopefully they find the next idea worth pursueing.
I'm hoping for a 645_k01 that can compete with higher end full frame on price. Something like Mamiya might have made in the 80s, the cheapest possible medium format with great lenses and a compact design.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-22-2015, 05:36 PM
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Well, its purely speculation/dreaming, but I would love to see the k01 idea reimagined as a square format k mount. 1:1 or 4:3 aspect to maximize sensor size for current lens designs. Basically an apsc version of a Mamiya RZ. The body could be made smaller by squareing off the design, no grip, no prism bump, just a flat lcd waist level finder with flip up shade. I think this would offer a truly interesting combination of novelty and useability. In particular a massive electronic waist level finder would be amazing for portraiture and street shooting, video as well.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-21-2015, 01:02 PM
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I wonder if any actual sales number of the K01 were ever shown. We all assume it was a disaster because reviews hated it and prices were slashed to unheard of cheapness. I only bought one because it included what is essentially the 40 Limited for less than the price of the 40 Limited. However I've never had a camera that generated more interest among my friends than the K01. I'm personally responsible for 5 K01 sales among friends and acquaintances. Some of them owned other brand dslrs, others just upgrading from point and shoots. One of which switched from a D800 and 2.8 zooms to a k01 and da Limited setup. I would not be surprised if the K01 project was actually pretty successful, maybe not profit wise but in bringing new people to the brand.
Its easy to get caught up in the PF, DPReview, internet forum view of the camera market, but I think the rest of the world has a very different perspective and probably represents much more of the market. If Pentax had the visibility of the big two the K01 would have been a big hit. It was well liked by design enthusiasts, hipsters, and in general people who want better cameras but don't care to look like pros or rich hobbyists. The goofy playskool look was by far its best asset.
The full frame is clearly targeted more towards serious, conservative types who want the maximum kit, and as such will not have much in common with the K01, but I hope the brand continues to defy expectations with its entry models. If the brand is to gain market share it needs to differentiate, not just with features but by appealing to a new generation of photographers. The next spotmatic will not look like a spotmatic but it will be fun, stylish, distinctive, and priced to attract students and trendsetters, not pros.
But this is the FF thread, so back to that. For those who buy good glass ie full frame shooters, cameras and especially lenses are a fairly liquid asset. I know for a fact that if I sold my lens collection I could recoup atleast 85% of my expense, some lenses have actually gone up in value. The cameras less so, but if someone wants to switch from Canon or Nikon the barrier is lower than it initially appears, that d700 will still sell for something. If Pentax makes a good offer that plays to their strengths(small,solid,ergonomic,versatile) people will buy it.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-19-2014, 04:59 PM
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I do think there is a market for a digital Mamiya 6, and it will happen eventually. Fuji will almost certainly jump on this idea the moment they can manufacture the sensor at a price that will turn a profit. I don't think this is far off either. In fact I'd bet Sony's sensor price is in or atleast close to that range. However I don't think Sony has the branding to do it, they're not seen as a serious photographer's brand and they won't be able to make this kind of product as anything more than a novelty. Fuji on the other hand has a long history with exactly this niche. I think its still a few years off though, Fuji won't compete with Leica at Leica prices, they need to get the price down to 5 or 6k.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-14-2014, 06:44 PM
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Are there any video samples available? Video is not a market Pentax really goes after, but depending on how the video is processed off the sensor it could be very good or very bad from a sensor this big. I'd be interested in any thoughts you might have on how it works with the 645Z. Thanks!
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-20-2014, 11:56 AM
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The scanners that are out there currently are also quite expensive and not fun to use. I had a coolscan 4000 for a while and its the reason I went digital. Scanners are slow, and frustrating, often leaving a great deal of work to be done in post. I feel like the scanner market was intentionally ignored through the 2000's in order to push people into a more profitable digital market. The only good scanners available are made for labs and not as a realistic option for the home studio. I'm not going to pay $1300 for this but I sure would like to be able to. I would love to be shooting 6x7 and digitizing with a k3. That workflow sounds pretty appealing to me. There are also a fair number of people, even pros who still embrace the look of film, even to the point of wanting less resolution not more. I know a guy who shoots weddings with an old Hasselblad and one lens, and he's making very good money. Mostly because he's a very good photographer but also because he delivers something unique. So I'm a fan of this offering and I think it will be good for Pentax's high end market. If they can't eat Canon's market they can atleast take Mamiya's.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-10-2014, 02:16 PM
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The older 30/1.4 is not a bad lens, in fact I think it's likely to go back up in value as the newer version replaces it in the market. The old lens is maligned for the very thing that makes it great IMO. It has very unusual rendering, that when used right makes stunning images, and when used wrong is visibly not good. I don't know that Sigma has ever made any statements about their intention with that design, but it's almost like the old soft lenses. The center sharpness is exceptional, and peaks pretty early probably around f2, but the field curvature is so strong that it gives the illusion of even narrower dof. The corners aren't great at any aperture, but approach acceptability around f8. If you shoot landscapes with this lens you'll hate it, but for closer more portrait type shots it has rendering in line with the FA limiteds, namely an emphasis on perceived depth, micro contrast,, and tonal clarity. It's not a test chart type of lens and seems way out of character for Sigma, but it has a well loved place in my kit. I like to carry around the Sigma and the the FA35/2 at the same time, they each have a completely different role despite similar focal length and aperture. The 35 is a classic landscape lens with low distortion and consistent across the frame performance, the Sigma is a special effect lens that makes stunning environmental portraits in situations where the FA might render a little flat. Its no 31 Limited, not by a long shot, but it has it's own look and I find that far more interesting than the bland rendering of most modern lenses. I'm not saying technology hasn't improved lenses greatly, just that in my experience there's more to the perceived sharpness of a print than resolving power. And most lenses are designed with the goal of conquering the test chart without much consideration for creative rendering. Here's an example of an image shot with the sigma that isn't really that sharp, and probably should've been stopped down a little more, but it prints far better than what pixel peeping would suggest.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-03-2014, 07:27 PM
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I would kill for a limited prime between 23mm and 28mm, maybe a 25mm f2. IMO this has been the biggest hole in the pentax lineup for quite a few years. There are some 3rd party and out of production options, but none really nail it. The samyang 24/1.4 is huge, the pentax 24/2 has mixed reviews, the sigma 24/1.8 is huge and has mixed reviews, the Zeiss has great iq but is rare,expensive, and manual, am I missing any? Give me a 25mm f2.5 Limited WR DC for less than $900 and I'll be so happy.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-01-2014, 06:35 PM
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The k60 would be plastic, which isn't bad, but I'll pay for metal. In fact the only time I've seen a Pentax break was a k20d dropped onto pavement while stepping out of the car. Camera still turned on but there was a hole busted through the bottom corner and the memory card wouldn't read. I've dropped my old k7 from a higher height onto solid granite(by accident) with no damage beyond some scuffs. In fact I've dropped that k7 more than a few times. Maybe its because I've already got my money's worth, but I trust that camera to take abuse more than any of my others(k20,k01,k5IIs). I trust it because it feels like metal and now that half the paint is worn off it looks like metal too.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-20-2014, 02:41 PM
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The reason there are so many available is because the market has crashed. Those search results are mostly old models that have unsold inventory. This is actually a bit of a boon for Pentax, because the big two are bleeding money dealing unsold stock in both the p&s category and in the enthusiast market. They're not losing money on the whole, but they will be forced to restructure their product lines to accommodate a smaller market. At the same time Pentax is solidifying its own product lines having hardly felt the pinch of the markets contraction.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-19-2014, 09:29 AM
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I think it very unlikely that the form factor of Sony's qx10 experiment will last more than a generation or two, the idea however is clearly important. The ergonomics of it just do not work, its hard enough to take a good picture with a big clumsy smartphone let alone adding a big lens velcroed to the back. I just don't see people carrying around a new device that does nothing on its own and has to be removed from a case, attached to the phone, start the app, then take a photo. Too many steps, half the reason people bought dslr's over point and shoot cameras was the time from off to shooting. Connectivity is important, and as the market matures the differentiator between products will be the usability of the design. The shape of the camera isn't going to change overnight. Even something like the NEX series, is a bit of a novelty that sells because its new and small and exciting. But it isn't really all that easy to use, and ultimately may even turn people off to the more serious camera market in favor of the simplicity of a smartphone. My bet is on several years of market decline followed by a consolidation of products into essentially the same form factors we've had for 30 years; the enthusiast/pro SLR, the rangefinder/milc, and the pocket camera. Only big difference coming is a return to the norms of the film days with sensors nearing an even playing field, and lenses being the difference.(obviously different formats will still have advantages/disadvantages)
If you use a smartphone then you probably carrying around less stuff(watches,notepads,address books,etc) and have more opportunity to bring a good camera than ever before.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
01-18-2014, 02:38 PM
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Most of the night scenes are shot at 25 seconds, f2.5, iso 1600. But you have to vary this a bit with different lenses and lighting conditions. If the moon is out you have to shorten the exposure or drop the iso because its too bright, and wider lenses can take longer exposures without the stars streaking. I also do a little bit of processing in LR, typically pushing the whites and the clarity slider up to maybe 25 or so. Its tricky to try to get the stars to boost up a little and still have a dark night sky. I'm not totally happy with my technique just yet, but getting this far is easier than it looks. It also doesn't hurt that most of this was shot in the middle of the Weminuche Wilderness, 20 miles walk from the nearest road, and more than a hundred to the nearest real city. Its pretty awesomely dark there.
Thanks again for all the compliments!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
11-17-2013, 04:38 PM
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Be confident, weddings are all about timing. Your kit isn't the critical issue, see whats happening and catch the moment. Fast lenses are nice though, I would work that 85mm pretty hard, but something a little wider would be nice for the reception. I'm not a zoom guy, when I shoot weddings I use an 85 or 105 for the ceremony and carefully plan a few key shots. Then I run and gun with the 30mm for candids.
Being close with the wedding party is a great opportunity, as JPE mentioned discretion is important, as a friend you can be more involved and make the photos a fun thing for people to be involved in as opposed to observing from a distance.
A good photographer can happily shoot a wedding alone with nothing but a manual hasselblad and a standard lens. The thing is not to take every possible photo, but to key in on the moments that are really valuable.
Also, like any other photography, you have to find the light. So if you can scout the locations before the wedding that'll be a huge help. You're looking for window lighting, outdoor portions of the reception at the golden hour, unobtrusive flash placements, you could even rent and setup studio lights(non strobing) in the church to give a fixed bright light during the ceremony.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
11-16-2013, 12:37 PM
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Forum: Pentax K-01
11-16-2013, 12:34 PM
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Barondla, bulb ramping is when you use an external trigger to control the exposure in bulb mode and the trigger is programmed to adjust the exposure over the course of the timelapse. Sunsets for example might shift quite dramatically from 1/500 all the way down to 20 or 30 seconds as it becomes completely dark.
Ron, I'm at 22,000 shots on my k01. No trouble so far, but I might buy another k01 as a backup if a deal comes along.
Thanks for the link Mamethot, somehow I missed that thread. Focus is really tricky for astrophotography. Focus peaking helps a ton, but is still difficult at night. I've also found that none of my lenses, even my limiteds are exactly accurate with their infinity mark. So in good light, I've taken my lenses and very carefully in magnified live view with FP on, focused on a distant subject and marked the lens barrel with a new infinity mark. This helped quite a bit. Another issue is keeping the camera stable, and the exposure short enough to not streak the sky too much. I don't own a super heavy tripod and probably wouldn't want to carry it anyway. I've actually had better results with the camera just sitting propped up on rocks, than using lightweight tripods. Different lenses perform very differently at night as well. If your lens suffers from coma it might be awesomely sharp in good light and weirdly terrible at night. Aperture is very important for getting the light from faint stars but I've yet to see a 1.4 lens that actually performs well at 1.4, on the other hand some slower lenses are excellent at their max aperture. Most of these shots are from the Samyang 14mm@f2.8, the Da15@f4, Sigma 30mm@f2.8,da35mm@2.8. The sigma is an interesting example in that its absolutely terrible at 1.4, and still has very visible coma at 2.8, but has a certain look that makes it seem better than it is. Rendering is just as important at night, the sigma is a flawed lens that renders beautifully, the contrast between the sharp center and soft edges makes the center appear sharper than it really is. Just something to think about.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
11-13-2013, 12:03 PM
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Thanks for all the nice comments everyone.
Dosdan, daylight shots with changing light are mostly on Av w/ f8 or so depending on the lens. None of the exposure modes will give me a good night exposure so thats all manual.
I've played around with the interval movie mode, and it is better than expected but still doesn't compare to RAw. its also nice to be able to pull the best stills from the sequence. The amount of space required is a minor inconvenience, The price of data storage is hardly an issue relative to the cost of all the other photography gear. I just recently picked up a trio of Silicon Power waterproof, dropproof, usb3 high speed, 1tb drives for $70 a piece, so I'm set for atleast a little while. The cost of good, fast lenses on the other hand, that haunts me.
The workflow is not as bad as it sounds, I import to Lightroom, develop the first image in the seqence and then copy past the settings to all the rest. There is also a Lightroom plugin that automatically curves the develop settings between keyframes, but usually thats unnecessary. I copy the settings for the whole sequence, hit export, go drink some coffee, encode the sequence in virtualdub, and within a few minutes I have a finished timelapse in lossless h.264.
I am very curious about how the k3 performs in this regard, auto hdr timelapse encoded to 4k resolution might even be better than my raw workflow. At 24mp I might find myself a lot more concerned about file size and processing time as well. But the k3 probably won't be finding its way to my door for atleast 6 months.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
11-12-2013, 05:18 PM
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Thanks JinDesu, its done in 1080p but I didn't buy the pro account at Vimeo so they resize it back to 720 which likely does reduce the quality even before its scaled up.
The music is by Mogwai, from the soundtrack to Les Revenants. Mogwai : Rave Tapes : Out January 20th 2014 |
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Forum: Pentax K-01
11-12-2013, 04:27 PM
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https://vimeo.com/79227495
Here's a montage of some timelapse stuff I've done recently with the k01.
I bough the k01 on a whim, mostly because it was cheap and came with the 40xs. I was thinking about buying the 40 Limited, but why not get the lens and a camera for just a few bucks more. And after the early reviews I didn't expect to be too impressed.
But this camera is awesome, and very likely the best ilc for timelapse currently on the market. Here's why:
1. Better metering than any other camera I've used. Unlike my dslr's the k01 uses the entire sensor to provide accurate consistent metering. This means I can get perfect unflickered exposures in Av mode. To do this with my k5,k7 or even the d600 that I bought and quickly returned, I would need an external trigger with programmable bulb ramping. Which would still require manually calculating exposure beforehand, not to mention added cost, complexity, weight, weather corncern, etc.
2.low investment, my most used timelapse setup is the k01 with Samyang 14mm lens, total cost less than $500. If this setup gets damged by rockfall, stepped on by mountain goats, stolen, rained on, or otherwise broken, I won't be too heartbroken. I won't be out a thousand dollar camera or a thousand dollar lens. This makes me feel way better about leaving the camera unattended for days at a time.
3.Great battery life, timelapse work is not very automated, manual exposure, manual focus, the only automation is the interval timer. Consequently I regularly get 800+ raw images from a single battery. I'm not sure any other mirrorless can match this, of course my dslrs can, but they cost far more and take up way more backpack space, not to mention looking very stealable.
4.looks like a cheap toy, and I don't think anyone would steal it.
5.very good internal intervalometer. I wish it had proper bulb ramping, but currently no camera has this internally, so I can't complain. Compare it to an NEX, which has no intervalometer, and no remote port.
6.build quality, for the money I paid for mine the build is stellar, despite its fisher price looks, its a brick. I wish it was sealed, but not having seals is not that big a deal, its held up to some pretty heavy abuse to this point and I'm not worried about it the way I would about an NEX or Rebel. When I'm timelapseing I typically cover the camera with a small plastic rain cover, this i has held up through severe mountain thunderstorms and -20 degree temperatures with no trouble.
7.IQ, the images this camera produces are phenomenal, better than my k5 in most cases. In this instance even the 12bit files are an advantage. The 14bit k5 dngs are slightly more workable in post, but when I'm working with a 1000 new raw files a day, that small storage savings is notable. Maximum IQ per megabyte.
Does anyone else use their k01 in a similar manner? How has your experience been?
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-24-2013, 10:09 AM
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I think this would be possible. I don't know that SR has the accuracy to make single pixel movements, but the software argument isn't completely unfounded. The camera could shift the sensor with an accuracy of maybe 3 to 10 pixels and the software could align those images to increase color accuracy, and to some extent resolution. If they could do this and keep everything in RAW I'd be totally sold on it. But they wouldn't do that. In which case I see this as more plausibly a gimmick for the Q in with the filters and hdr stuff. Any features that don't maintain RAW support are pretty useless, atleast to me.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
08-04-2013, 12:29 PM
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I have the same problem with a recently purchased sony 32gb class 10, and a friend had the same issue within days of mine failing. Nearly new cards not working in k01 nor NEX7. However they both work fine in the k5 and k7. It would seem to be a problem with Sony's cards not the cameras.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-19-2013, 11:32 AM
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I wouldn't discount Samyang for being cheap, their designs really do hold up. Atleast the 14mm sure does. I have the Samyang 14, the Pentax 15, and previously the Pentax 14. The Samyang is by far the best of the bunch, sharper wide open than the Limited at 5.6. The only thing holding it back is the coating, which is not up to Pentax's SMC, and ofcourse AF. Its a big brick of a lens, but I am regularly astounded by the IQ, great sharpness, great contrast, minimal aberrations, and perfectly controlled coma, even the color rendering is quite nice. I probably use the 15 more often for its size, handling, and AF, but when I know I want to print big the Samyang always comes with.
I expect Samyang to get steadily more relevant, their aspirations of being the poor man's Zeiss are very achievable.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-05-2013, 11:02 AM
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I would agree that it wasn't looks that killed the k01, but a muddled feature set. I'm enjoying mine, but its primary use is to back up my k5 and k7. As a single camera solution its not enough. However I think it would have been a resounding success had they had half the ambition of this little brick Blackmagic Design: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
If it had an evf port and clean HDMI that could have been enough to get some attention. I wouldn't be surprised to find that Panasonic sold more gh2's to videographers than photographers. Its a serious market and Pentax is in a great position to go after it without compromising other products the way Panny, Sony, Canon, etc have to.
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