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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
01-02-2014, 08:09 AM
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The X10 is silly money at the moment though - just bought one and it takes proper pictures. I generally use it in 6 mpx mode to get large sensor dynamic range and low light performance - not something you can do with the x20 sadly.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR and Camera Articles
11-12-2013, 07:16 AM
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I've a similar knock-off and on mine there is a neoprene seal around the multiway plug so that water can get between camera and grip, but not into the camera. Veyr pleased with it - everything works as it should, it allows 4 AA battery use (the main reason I bought it - as an emergency power supply on long trips) and though the wheels aren't rubber covered as in the original they work OK. Having fun using it in the vertical plane.
Mind you makes it as big and heavy as my old TLR!
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
11-05-2013, 05:41 AM
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I'd also like to see them ditch all but a couple of buttons from the back and instead have a fold out and twist display as on my old Samsung EX-1 - much of the time this will be folded back so the back of the camera is metal and not a distraction - then make it touch sensitive and you can have as many pointless bells and whistles via that in a much more user friendly (and modern) form - after all your i-Phone dropped buttons and dials long ago...
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
11-04-2013, 01:54 AM
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Don't get me started about size! The one reason these things are so massive is because 'bulk' = professional - there's no need for it. A clockwork MX had to find space for a film cartridge and equally a space for the wound out film. It also had to have all the mechanism for winding that film on and the space for the clockwork shutter and mechanical links. I simply do not believe that it's impossible to get a modern full-frame SLR down to the same size. The pressure plate and film lid holder on the back must take as much space as the whole sensor system alone. A quality camera has to be the size of a Twin-lens reflex to be taken seriously in the market - or does it?
It's time someone did what Olympus did with the OM-1 and turned the world upside down.
As for the modern design being more versatile - well yes, but is it just me that keeps moving dials and buttons inadvertently as I move the camera around in my hands or as I walk along? I spend more time looking at the bloody display in the viewfinder than I do the subject. I want f-stop round the lens throat, shutter dial on the top. Both with 'A' stops so you can get aperture/shutter/program there instantly and it'll stay put. Those are the fundamentals of shooting - just about every other parameter can be fiddled with after the shot is taken so you don't need a mass of buttons and dials and menus. Bury most of it in menus for those that want to play rather than take pictures and just have metering/focus/drive options on little dials as present. It could all be so much cleaner and more sexy.
I know I sound like a luddite, but cameras are becoming increasingly full of features that I don't want and which get in the way of the job in hand.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
11-03-2013, 10:03 AM
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Well Nikon have done what Pentax should have...
Their latest SLR is classically styled with shutter speed dial etc. It was a wide open goal for someone with real 35mm heritage and Pentax missed the chance... It's the first time I've ever wanted a camera other than a Pentax - just why has it taken 20 years of digital photography for people to realise that the ergonomics evolved over 100 odd years actually had some validity - just look at Fuji cleaning up for a start.
Come on guys it's not too late - a new Spotmatic please;-)
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-04-2012, 01:43 AM
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I'm afraid the K5 Optical finder is about as good as you are going to get with an APS (even the *ist DS was better than the competition) just the limitations of the small sensor and the optics needsed - you're never going to be able to quite match an MX for example. It's already better than most though.
Swivel screen? It's very personal of course but the only ones I would even use would be twist and fold ones that allow the screen to reverse into the camera to protect it and to stop it distracting you.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-04-2012, 01:36 AM
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Excellent:-)
And as for the 60" museum prints - first, big posters are designed to be looked at from several metres away - at that distance it's like an 6x4 in your hand - and to satisfy the punters who do lift up their glasses and touch the canvas with their noses you'd use a medium format digital where the lenses are able to resolve the required amount of detail...
I like the 400 hp analogy - in the photography world maybe we've reached the Leica 111 moment - want something small that takes fabulous pictures? Well here it is - 80 years ago.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-04-2012, 01:17 AM
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You're kidding right? You're saying that the kit lens has the same resolving powers as one of the better 'limiteds' when on a K5? i.e. that when it comes to detail the kit is as good as you'll even need with 16 mpx?
Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I could see more detail with a prime than the kit lens when using the 6 mpx *ist DS...
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
04-23-2012, 08:50 AM
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First off is that these big mpx give only theoretical resolution advantages that need a perfect lens and technique to show. The other thing is that if you are printing big - then people don't stand 6 inches in front of it! A 16 mpx SLR will make 30' images beautifully if they are viewed from the correct distance:-)
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
04-23-2012, 06:25 AM
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If you use fixed primes, only shoot at optimum aperture, bolt the camera to a bench and lock the mirror you will probably notice the extra resolution of 24 mpx over the K5's 16. You'll also notice the even bigger more unwieldy files, greater high ISO noise and poorer dynamic range.
If you just take pictures like a normal person then 16mpx on an APS is enough for anyone.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-24-2012, 05:15 AM
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Dunno - just set everything on 'green' and the camera does it all - then the capability is there as you learn yourself. It's a question of knowing your own character - if you are into buying the latest thing every 12 months then yes, get a cheaper camera and then 12 months down the line whatever takes you fancy then. But if you don't have itchy pockets then the K5 (or 7000) is a camera that is already pretty much at the limit of what an APS sensor is capable of with current lens technology and in 10 years it will still be taking beautiful pictures - next years new toy will no doubt have more bells and whistles but I doubt it'll be fundamentally better. However if you buy an entry level camera, in 12 months you may want features and flexibility the K5 offers now.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-24-2012, 02:52 AM
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For stills the quality of output will be almost identical - both are the best APS you can get at the moment.
If you want to shoot lots of video then get the 7000
For stills the Pentax has some fundamental advantages - in camera anti-shake - worth a stop at least and if that means lower ISO in low-light conditions then the Pentax shot will be better. The Pentax has the magic 'RAW' button which means you can save any shot in RAW after the picture is taken. The Pentax Auto ISO mode appears better and I (much to my surprise) use it a lot. The water resistance of the Pentax is much better and matched by several reasonably priced lenses - if you want to take pics in the rain, mist, beach, sailing or anywhere dusty then that's a biggie. But most of all the camera is back compatible with a biggest range of very high quality and dirt cheap lenses on the planet (autofocus excepted). In my kit I've a 50mm f1.7, a 35 f2.8 and a 40mm pancake - the lot cost me about £100 and are of the very highest quality.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
02-25-2012, 04:46 AM
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The K5 has one unique feature for people like you. You take a pic using 6mpx and then realize (on review) that it's a one in a million. No problem - just hit the AE-L button and the camera records a full quality RAW image file of the picture.
Sheer genius...
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-06-2012, 09:14 AM
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Ding - I had to sell my Samsung EX-1 because by the time the damn thing was far enough away i couldn't see detail.
I'm guessing of course, but I'd be willing to bet that 30% of the market for prosumer cameras have the same problem, i.e. anyone who needs reading glasses and has the income to blow 500Euro+ on a camera - for those screen only cameras are not even an option.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
02-06-2012, 02:23 AM
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-05-2012, 12:05 PM
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-05-2012, 06:59 AM
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Now Pentax are employing top furniture designers for their camera bodies I thought I'd put out an idea to see who bites...
So for my dream camera.
'Retro' is seriously fashionable right now, not just because of classic looks but because 100 years of camera evolution ended up with a camera that was a beautiful fit in the hands and which was both logically and ergonomically set out - so rather than re-invent the wheel I would dip into Pentax heritage. My first serious camera was the Pentax MX - 35 year on I still have that camera and every time I pick it up and look through it I realize what I miss - even from my K5 which in many ways is it's spiritual successor.
So with the MX body as the base here's how to work it...
1 - I don't buy the 'needs to be huge' philosophy of modern SLRs. Looking at the empty space left by the film canister and opposite film chamber there is room for a decent battery in one and a lot of electronic gubbins in the other. The one snag is the autofocus, but does that really take up that much space?More than all the gearing for the wind-on? If I'm wrong, and it can't be done just apply all the below to a KX or LX (film) body.
2 - Shutter speeds. A traditional dial. We prefer them, the market loves them (see Fuji, Leica) so why not just stick with the MX dial - just add an 'A' for auto and 2000, 4000, and 8000ths to the dial. Remove the 'B' and 'X' positions as the camera will sort flash automatically. Add an 'L' position which gives access to slow speeds and 'B'.
3 - ASA. Keep the same ASA dial inside the shutter dial - simply add an 'A' position for Auto,
4 - Aperture. Around the lens throat where it always should be so that people learn to hold the camera properly. Add an 'A' position.
5 - Where the film label is just fit a really good (OLED?) screen - 2" would do.
4 - On the rear, right at top right have three buttons. Far left 'green' (as on K5), and then two others that will do 'up and down'. These to be used for things like the range of auto ASA, 'L' shutter speeds, white balance etc.
5 - Below these a configurable AE-L.
6 - On the left of the screen (because there's lots of space there!) have any other access buttons you need, though personally I'd keep it as clean as possible with just the review, delete, menu buttons and the K5 type lever for metering options..
7 - A RAW button as on the K-5 and the focus type lever (plenty of room).
8 - Battery grip based on the old winder - they wouldn't even need a new mold and here fit a meaty pop-up flash coming out of the grip. NO flash on the camera body. I know this is 'brave' but with the High ISO performance of the K-5 I've taken two pictures with flash and regretted not using faster ASA instead on both occasions. Built in flashes are generally feeble and too close to the lense. Put it into the battery grip where it can pop up further away and draw on much bigger battery reserves and be bigger and you have something worth having! Want a bigger tilt/swivel flash, just use the old MX motor-drive case and make a beefier version.
Operation will be pretty intuitive - if both lens and aperture are on 'A' you are in program mode (which can be configured as with the K5). Both Speed and Aperture on 'manual and the ASA on 'A' you've got auto ASA and so-on.
Any good or should I design sofas..?
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-03-2012, 10:33 AM
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Volvo were very close to bankrupcy and were bailed by their government in 2010
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-03-2012, 08:07 AM
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I suspect this may be the truth - the K-01 a 'bastard' child spawned by Hoya and soon to be abandoned by Ricoh as it makes a rather more serious assault on the market. If so the K-01 may end up cheap as chips and then a funky back-up:-)
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-03-2012, 03:42 AM
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Absolutely, but irrelevent - Land and Kodak/Eastman are gone... They popularised photography by being affordable, convenient and easy to use, certainly not quality of image. That market is what iphones are for.
But here I'm going to show my ignorance. One problem seems to be the K mount and flange distance. With a big empty 'mirror' box the 01 could have a range of lenses that extent into that box and so will be just as compact as other APS mirrorless cameras - i.e. the lens/body combination will not be too big. That way they get backwards compatibly.
So you'll get a small range of 01 specific lenses and the rest will be compatible with all Pentax. And is that actually the case already and why we seem to be getting two stories on the 3 new lenses not being SLR compatible?
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-03-2012, 01:57 AM
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1. Because it looks retro and retro is in . Svelt piece of high-tech is also in (NEX) - (LEGO is in only for under 12's)
2. Is much smaller than an SLR but gives the same quality.
3. It's cheaper than equivalent SLR's
4. the lenses are smaller than SLR lenses.
If (as many have stated) we're all old fogeys who just don't understand that youth of today never use viewfinders then why are we expecting said 'youths' to value and understand the legacy of old fogey lenses from Pentax? There is a fundamental disconnect there than leaves a wafer thin market for people who want something the size of an SLR, that uses a range of old lenses, but doesn't have a viewfinder - and pay more than entry level SLR for it.
Fuji, a company no-one would take seriously for digital have totally turned the market on it's head and right now are cleaning up, and why? two things - the best viewfinders on the market and gorgeous retro looks. And retro also means great to use because there's 100 years+ of trial and error design decisions that evolve something nice to use. Getting a furniture designer to reinvent the wheel isn't necessarily going to work.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-02-2012, 10:03 AM
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But put a viewfinder on it and then you'd have a camera as big as a KX? Is that the future for Pentax - no new KX but a weird looking pseudo SLR with AVF? The size is the biggest issue - if it's as big as an SLR but offers nothing beyond them at the same time as losing the viewfinder why buy one for a second body? A small SLR would do the same. I would hope any KX replacement will have the 16mpx and video capabilities - certainly the Nikon 3100 replacement will have and at a similar price.
Just a deeply puzzling camera for me. I really hope it works out and that there are many people looking for such a camera as I've been a 100% pentax man for 35 years and love my K5 to bits.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-02-2012, 08:25 AM
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So did the press release on this site
"We expect a larger series of XS lenses to become available in the near future; these lenses will be extra-compact and are said to only function with the K-01.
More Pentax news at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/news/pentax-k-01-officially-announced.html#ixzz1lEp7vMro"
If that is so then we'll have another unique, and incompatible range of lenses from Pentax which rather spoils the point of sticking with the K? Hopefully the lenses will work.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-02-2012, 06:08 AM
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Whatever the actual mm here and mm there I can see no-one taking the 01 rather than the KX (or even K5) because of its size.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
02-02-2012, 05:59 AM
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Sorry - I stand corrected - the video said it was Canon Rebel sized and I assumed the KX to be fractionally smaller. However bare dimensions are a bit misleading when something is styled like a brick - I bet if you put it into a bucket of water it'd displace much the same amount as the KX (and be fubared because it isn't sealed:-) The 40mm XS is smaller of course but why won't it fit an SLR - is it that the rear element intrudes too much? Shame because I'd like one on my K5:-) Most will use it with zooms anyway, and with a zoom it's small SLR sized.
So the questions remains - it's small SLR sized but with no viewfinder. What advantages will it therefore have over such a camera?
It seems Pentax are banking on there being a whole load of buyers who want access to Pentax lenses, but without the pesky nuisance of a viewfinder. Hmmmm....
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