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Forum: Pentax K-01
01-05-2019, 05:17 PM
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I love my K-01s. I shoot with my K-1 also, but the K-01 sensor is awesome and the K-01 is more fun to shoot with. Pentax should update the K-01 with the KP sensor and software, improve the rear screen for sunlight, and add manual SR for video....it would sell like crazy. They already paid for much of the tooling and mirrorless makes a lot of sense. Others must agree as the used prices are higher than what I paid for the K-01 brand new! Wake up pentax!
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
12-21-2018, 12:52 PM
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The reason I have not bought this lens, is....what is the point in carrying a large, heavy 2.8 lens if it's not that great at 2.8?
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Forum: Pentax K-01
04-13-2018, 01:37 AM
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I love the K-01. I have shot some fantastic pics with it that rival the pics I have shot with my K-1. Great sensor and compact body.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
12-14-2016, 01:42 PM
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I wish Pentax would update the K-01 software one more time for these new lenses. I love the K-01.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-08-2014, 06:44 PM
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I just received a brand new Sigma 18-35. Tested it carefully with K-01 versus Pentax 20-40 Ltd, Pentax 20/2.8 FA and Pentax 16-50 DA*. I have good, pretty centered copies of all these lenses. I tested at 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8 where possible.
Here goes:
- Sigma 18-35 is optically superb across the frame. Amazing. At 20, the Pentax 20-40 is very close but the Sigma beats it just slightly in the extreme corners. My Pentax 20-40 did very well at 20 2.8. At 35, the Sigma was just a little sharper than my Pentax 20-40 overall.
- My Pentax 20 2.8 FA is a great small lens, and is full frame. The Pentax matched the Sigma at all f stops except 2.8, where the Sigma has just slightly better contrast.
- The Sigma 18-35 and Pentax 16-50 were pretty much equal in the centers at 18 and 35, but the Sigma wins out at the edges especially from 2.8 to 4.0. By a significant margin.
- The Sigma underexposes at 35 1.8 for some reason with some vignetting. All other settings superb.
- The Sigma AF is so quiet it can hardly be heard, if at all, when the K-01 is taking video. Excellent.
Regarding autofocus, listen up. On the Pentax K-01 v1.05, this lens is fantastic. The CDAF is pretty fast, very quiet AND EXTREMELY ACCURATE. I had not one out of focus pics out of hundreds taken today, under all kinds of light and conditions. Bravo to the K-01 which will probably sell like crazy now. I love the K-01 even more after this test, as without it, Pentax fans could not really use this lens.
HOWVEVER, USING PDAF ON MY PENTAX K-5, I HAD THE SAME ISSUES AS ADAM. EXACTLY. A DISASTER. SOME PICS WERE IN FOCUS, OFTEN THE CLOSER FOCUS SHOTS AND MACRO, BUT GET ANYWHERE NEAR INFINITY AND THE FOCUS DOES NOT WORK RELIABLY AT ALL. PERIOD. I MEAN MOST WERE OUT OF FOCUS, NOT A SMALL PERCENTAGE, LIKE 85% BAD. LOW LIGHT MAKES IT WORSE. And I adjusted the fine AF in my Pentax K-5. This is not the issue or cure. And the infocus shots seem totally random.
So this is a great lens on the K-01, or using the clumsy live view focus on a Pentax DSLR (good luck), but forget using it with PDAF.....until maybe a firmware update? I hope Sigma goes back to work on issue.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-12-2014, 01:18 PM
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>HOWVEVER, USING PDAF ON MY PENTAX K-5, I HAD THE SAME ISSUES AS ADAM. EXACTLY. A DISASTER. SOME PICS WERE IN FOCUS, OFTEN THE CLOSER FOCUS SHOTS AND MACRO, BUT GET ANYWHERE NEAR INFINITY AND THE FOCUS DOES NOT WORK RELIABLY AT ALL. PERIOD. I MEAN MOST WERE OUT OF FOCUS, NOT A SMALL PERCENTAGE, LIKE 85% BAD. LOW LIGHT MAKES IT WORSE. And I adjusted the fine AF in my Pentax K-5. This is not the issue or cure. And the infocus shots seem totally random.<
OK, I have had several more days to experiment with my new Sigma 18-35 on my Pentax K-5. Good news. Clearly, this lens is VERY sensitive to FINE AF adjustment on the K-5. If this is off, the AF is really bad. I was able to take a lot of test shots, and readjusted the Fine AF settings on my K-5 after a lot of testing, and the keeper rate has improved dramatically. Even shooting at 1.8, using PDAF, I am getting pretty decent hit rates. It is still missing once in a while, but overall not too bad. I am verifying all this by shooting Live View and then PDAF for every shot.
So I am now inclined to keep the lens, get a dock, and finish adjusting settings even better. Clearly CDAF is a no-stress option (I love the K-01), and I may never totally trust PDAF on this lens, but I think it may work out after all. I would be very interested in hearing other owner experiences and I also wonder if Adam played with the Fine AF adjustments on the K-3s.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-10-2014, 10:19 AM
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First Day Testing New Sig 18-35
I just received a brand new Sigma 18-35. Tested it carefully with K-01 versus Pentax 20-40 Ltd, Pentax 20/2.8 FA and Pentax 16-50 DA*. I have good, pretty centered copies of all these lenses. I tested at 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8 where possible.
Here goes:
- Sigma 18-35 is optically superb across the frame. Amazing. At 20, the Pentax 20-40 is very close but the Sigma beats it just slightly in the extreme corners. My Pentax 20-40 did very well at 20 2.8. At 35, the Sigma was just a little sharper than my Pentax 20-40 overall.
- My Pentax 20 2.8 FA is a great small lens, and is full frame. The Pentax matched the Sigma at all f stops except 2.8, where the Sigma has just slightly better contrast.
- The Sigma 18-35 and Pentax 16-50 were pretty much equal in the centers at 18 and 35, but the Sigma wins out at the edges especially from 2.8 to 4.0. By a significant margin.
- The Sigma underexposes at 35 1.8 for some reason with some vignetting. All other settings superb.
- The Sigma AF is so quiet it can hardly be heard, if at all, when the K-01 is taking video. Excellent.
Regarding autofocus, listen up. On the Pentax K-01 v1.05, this lens is fantastic. The CDAF is pretty fast, very quiet AND EXTREMELY ACCURATE. I had not one out of focus pics out of hundreds taken today, under all kinds of light and conditions. Bravo to the K-01 which will probably sell like crazy now. I love the K-01 even more after this test, as without it, Pentax fans could not really use this lens.
HOWVEVER, USING PDAF ON MY PENTAX K-5, I HAD THE SAME ISSUES AS ADAM. EXACTLY. A DISASTER. SOME PICS WERE IN FOCUS, OFTEN THE CLOSER FOCUS SHOTS AND MACRO, BUT GET ANYWHERE NEAR INFINITY AND THE FOCUS DOES NOT WORK RELIABLY AT ALL. PERIOD. I MEAN MOST WERE OUT OF FOCUS, NOT A SMALL PERCENTAGE, LIKE 85% BAD. LOW LIGHT MAKES IT WORSE. And I adjusted the fine AF in my Pentax K-5. This is not the issue or cure. And the infocus shots seem totally random.
So this is a great lens on the K-01, or using the clumsy live view focus on a Pentax DSLR (good luck), but forget using it with PDAF.....until maybe a firmware update? I hope Sigma goes back to work this problem, which is clearly in the lens software (not optics) and has been reported with users of some other brands as well. Corrections with the Sigma dock may help, but I kind of doubt it.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-05-2014, 12:07 PM
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I got two copies of the 20-40, and have tested them with about 150 shots against several lenses like the Pentax 16-50, 35 DA Macro Ltd, etc. I've got to say that this is one fine optic. Very sharp over the whole range, even wide open. Focuses very accurately on my K-01 and K-5. It's a winner for sure. My first copy was a bit soft wide open on the extreme right, the second copy a bit more even on the edges...so kept the second one. But really no complaints about either one.
I wish it started in the 16-18 range, but other than that, this is a great lens for sure.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-16-2013, 01:52 PM
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Grokh, your comments about Sigma color are no longer true, with their new lenses. They have really improved their coatings.
Testing my Sig 18-250 at 20mm and 40mm, you can really not see any major color difference between it and the 20-40 ltd.
Older Sigma lenses had a yellow cast and lesser color vs Pentax, for sure. I bet the Sigma 18=35 colors will be just as good as Pentax at this point.
Ted, re the FA 20-35, here are my test results:
Overall, somewhat better contrast than FA 20-35
At 20mm 4.0 the 20-40 sharpness center/corner was close but FA 20-35 was better; my 20-40 copy is decentered and weak on the right. Same at 5.6. At 8.0, 20-40 finally slightly better at edges.
At 24mm, 20-40 beats my FA 20-35 at edges at 4.0 and 5.6; are equal at 8.0
At 35mm, 20-40 beats my FA 20-35 with much better edges at 4.0, slightly better at 5.6 and 8.0
Again, no question this lens can perform very well 24 to 40. My issue is at 20mm, which given that is 30mm in 35mm format and not that wide, will be used extensively by most people. I would prefer strength at 20, and less at 40 if a compromise was needed. My FA 20/2.8 was WAY better than the 20-40 at 2.8 and 4.0, for example. In fairness, the 20-40 is way better than my Pentax 16-50 at 20 and 2.8 at the far edges (not center), so every lens has it's issues. The Pentax 16-50, for edges, is just not great at 2.8 but really improves by 4.0.
So I'm really struggling with my feelings on the 20-40. I am leaning toward the Sigma 18-35 when it comes out. Yes, it's bigger and heavier but SO much sharper and faster, by all reports. Many lenses can match the 20-40 at 20, and it's range is just so limited for the slower speed.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-18-2013, 01:11 AM
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Adam, please get an in-depth review out on the Pentax 20-40 before year end. It seems like a pretty good lens, but clearly some of us have some decentering issues and perhaps some focusing issues. The question is: are these quality control problems or inherent in the design?
Thanks.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
10-21-2012, 04:30 PM
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OK, I spent half a day shooting comparative videos between my K-5 and K-01. There simply is a huge difference in video quality...the K-5 videos are MUCH sharper, much less artifacts, etc. I mean, it's not even close. How come no one else has mentioned this before???? I'm shocked. Due the huge AVI K-5 files make the difference vs compressed MOV files used by the K-01??
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Forum: Pentax K-01
10-22-2012, 01:54 PM
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I just finished testing my K-5 video vs my new K-01. Much to my dismay, using SR on both, the K-5 has MUCH, I repeat, MUCH less rolling shutter problem than the K-01. It is really noticable, and the reason I am returning my K-01. Basically, on the K-01, you have to:
- Turn off SR to avoid the rolling shutter, which in turn produces shaky videos unless you use a tripod all the time, which for most folks is a deal breaker. You can keep SR on with the K-5...I have shot pretty steady K-5 videos from a moving train for example.
- Use fixed aperature (not program) video mode, because on the K-01 (not the K-5), any aperature changes are loudly picked up on the audio by the mics near the front of the lens mount. Therefore, you can't use the red button for quick videos, since the videos must use program mode with the red button. Ugh.
- K-5 videos have better, lower contrast and better color, IMO
- Movie AF on K-01 is too slow to really use...manual is better, not as noisy as well
- K-5 optical viewfinder is often better to use is sunny conditions for video as well
- Only downside to K-5 video is size of files, which can be converted maintaining quality to mov..but takes time
So basically, the K-01 is NOT a better video camera than the K-5. Pentax really messed this up on the K-01, and some of these traits may be on the new K-30 as well. I think a lot of camera reviewers are really lousy at testing cameras, as these issues are obvious when using the K-01 for a day or more.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
11-02-2012, 09:41 PM
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Anyone who thinks the K-01 is vomit inducing probably thinks his rusty Chevette is a sexy car.
Get real. For those of us who actually have seen the K-01 in person, it's great looking and extremely well built.
Pentax deserves a lot of credit, IMO.
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