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Forum: Pentax K-01
07-04-2023, 02:12 PM
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Forum: Site Suggestions and Help
07-13-2023, 06:05 PM
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Thanks for this thread, I was wondering the same thing, I could not like any post. Disabling Ad-block fixed the issue for me.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
08-15-2023, 05:53 PM
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Here is a fusion of 5 shots at 12MP
 Autoroute 19, Laval
---------- Post added 08-15-23 at 09:05 PM ----------
Also a comparison between a 12MP shot and a 48MP shot. Look at the yellow signs, you can easily read the numbers on the 48MP version but barely on the 12MP one. You have to open them in Flickr to see the full resolution.
12MP:
 12MP version
48MP:
 48MP version |
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
08-15-2023, 07:38 AM
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I wanted to do a little bit of aerial photography. So I bought a DJI Mini 3 pro. Here is a small review after using it for a few weeks, from a photographer perspective.
It’s a sub-250g drone, which means it does not have as many restrictions on where you can fly it compared to bigger drones. But that also comes with a few limitations of course, especially concerning the on-board camera.
The camera is a 1/1.3” sensor 48MP Quad-bayer coupled with a 24mm-e f/1.7 lens.
The sensor size is nice, it’s bigger than most smartphones and compact cameras but smaller than the 1” sensors in the Sony RX100 for example.
48MP is actually a 12MP Bayer sensor but each pixel is splitted in 4, hence the 48MP total. In my experience 48MP gives you slightly more details but also many false colors (at the pixel level). Usually I shoot in RAW 48MP for the best quality. Of course I’m not expecting the quality of a 36MP K-1 or even a 16MP K-5 for that matter.
The images are sharp, but there is one big limitation with the lens: the aperture is fixed at f/1.7. No stopping down possible. Good for low-light but the downsides are multiples. For photography the corners tend to be smeared, a defect that would probably be fixed by stopping down. For long exposures, you also need ND filters. Flare control is also not too great.
I feel the camera is more tuned for video than for photography. But it is certainly usable.
What is impressive is the stability of the camera mounted on a gimbal even with good winds. As a matter of fact the camera allows you to set the shutter speed to as long as 2 seconds (which is good but not enough for the night city shots I like to do). It does not always work, but I’m impressed nonetheless by a flying device able to be that stable.
There are some nice automated shots for HDR and Pano but they are limited to 12MP per shot. HDR is 3 or 5 pictures but you cannot choose the exposures as they are set at 0.7EV apart. Pano works well (better than I was able to do manually in LR) but again limited at 12MP per shot.
In conclusion, for photography it is OK and the limitations are accepted due to the sub-250g requirement. I wish that for the next model they will allow for stopping down which is essential in my opinion to produce better pictures. The possibility to try longer exposure would also be welcome although at the moment even 1s exposures don’t always result in sharp pictures.
Otherwise it is a very well made piece of gear and it’s a lot of fun to use.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
07-03-2023, 03:33 PM
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K-1 II, D-FA 28-105mm @37mm, 1/200 f/5.6 ISO 100
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Forum: General Talk
07-16-2023, 04:47 PM
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I bought the Pentax F 17-28 from the marketplace and I'm disappointed. Not by the seller, mind you he was very nice and all went smoothly as it should but... I made the mistake to think the FE 17-28 is just the FF version of the DA 10-17mm which I have too. Unfortunately it is not, the build quality of the F 17-28 is not as good but that's not the issue. It's not the sharpness or the quick-shift. No it's the MFD, the DA 10-17mm has an impressive 0.39x magnification while the F 17-28 is only 0.07x. The DA 10-17mm is a lot of fun because of its close focusing abilities. The F 17-28 is just an uncorrected boring UWA. Pentax, please release an updated version for FF.
I had to fix my disapointment by getting the D-FA 15-30mm... We'll see, magnification is 0.2x not too bad for a rectilinear UWA zoom.
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Forum: General Talk
06-20-2023, 06:53 PM
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I have all the DA Ltd. 15. 21, 35, 40 and now recently 70. By order of preference: 15, 40, 21, 35, 70. I don't know I recognize the 35 is objectively a better lens than the DA40 but I could never really warm up to it. For macro I prefer the D-FA 50mm and for general photography the DA40 has a more interesting rendering and FOV. As for the other limited, the 15 is a legend, the 21 has an interesting FOV and color rendering. The 70 is too new, and I don't know if will keep it. It seems sharp wide open but I think I prefer the FA77 and the MFD is a downer. In my Ltd collection I miss the DFA 21 (would love it but it's big and expensive, the most expensive Ltd), the 20-40 (do I need a zoom?), the FA 31 (I already have the FA35, good enough for a FOV I'm not using much) and the FA43 (I may be tempted to use it on a K-1).
Ah yes, back to the topic, I'm planning to do some cleanup of a 17-70/4 (dead SDM, not as good as 16-50 SDM IMHO), Sigma 28-105/f2.8-4 (need to compare it to DFA 28-105 first), Tamron 17-50/2.8. Maybe an old 55-300. So, mostly average zooms. Exception: a Sigma 30/1.4 that does not cover FF.
Lenses I will (probably) never sell: FA77, D-FA50 Macro, DA15, DA 50-135.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
06-29-2023, 04:05 PM
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Funny coincidence, I went there the exact same year. A lot of colorful vintage cars.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
06-28-2023, 02:02 PM
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I love this last shot, the composition and light is very appealing.
Shooting in a show or a museum is very difficult, especially indoors where there are lots of distractions like lights etc. Using wide apertures, combined with a telephoto can help isolate the subject. The best is really outdoors where the background, even if busy, will look more natural.
The best advice from this thread is shooting from a low angle, at least as low as the car lights.
Here at 35mm, I had a good background
Pontiac Silver Streak 1947 by Manu H, on Flickr
Wide-angle at 15mm
Pink Cadillac and a Ferris Wheel by Manu H, on Flickr
28mm, colors and lines
2 Old Cars and a blue building, Matanzas, Cuba by Manu H, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
06-25-2023, 01:32 PM
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That's interesting. I have the K-1 II and these 2 lenses. I read about the shutter shock and I was a bit afraid of it since I’m shooting a lot between 1/30s and 1/125s… But, knock on wood, I’m getting sharp pictures with these 2 lenses. If my memory is good, the only Pentax I had that was somewhat plagued by the shutter shock was the K-7.
To get back to the topic, if the K-3 Mk.III is of any indication, the K-1 Mk.III will not come cheap. So the K-1 II is still a good buy, especially used. But that depends on which feature would really be important in a Mk.III. Personally, the sensor resolution is good enough. I'm still astonished at how a small patch on my 30” monitor can be a readable plate at 100% view. So I would not wait for an Image Quality improvement on Mk.III. But a touch screen LCD for easier focusing in Liveview would be nice. And of course bring the AF improvements from the K-3 Mk.III. Otherwise not much is missing from the K-1 which makes it still relevant today IMHO.
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Forum: General Talk
06-20-2023, 07:01 PM
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The SMC DA 70mm Limited that I got for 150$. Only missing the pouch, otherwise in very good condition. I already have the FA77 (and a K-1) so if it was not for the great price, I would have pass.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
06-17-2023, 07:25 AM
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My GF has a Canon 7D, and I find it fits well in my hands but the rotating dials are really in an ankward position IMHO.
Otherwise, the latest camera we own is always the best (or at least it should). I started my DSLR journey with a K10D, and I upgraded to each flagship until the K-3. I now recently upgraded to the K-1 II and yes it is the best Pentax DSLR I ever had. I didn't expect that I would enjoy it so much but I do. First of all we need to enjoy using the camera and the K-1 delivers a great OVF and very good ergonomics.
And of course the image quality is top notch. Enjoy your camera and your pictures.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
06-09-2023, 12:35 PM
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Thanks Rondec. I finally pulled the trigger on an used K-1 MkII and 28-105mm combo from the PF market place. Since it was a local buy I could already take a few pictures with it. So far, so good, the images seems sharper than my K-3, the kit lens performs well, only downside it does not focus very close and it uses the not very common 62mm filter. On a Pentax 49, 67 and 77 seem more common, I already have CP filters for them, but not 62...
I appreciate the new functionnalities, it was relatively easy to familiarize myself with it coming from a K-3. The only thing I will need to get used to when switching bodies is the play/LV buttons being inverted.
The OVF feels much bigger and brighter, a joy to frame pictures.
It's noticeably heftier than K-3. I will keep K-3 and DA lenses.
The articulated LCD seems overly complex, but it does what I need. One of the reasons I bought the K-1.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
06-10-2023, 04:46 AM
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Don't get me wrong, I didn't say I don't like the articulated LCD. It was one of the major reason I bought the K-1 (and I skipped the K-3 Mk.III). It's just that the design is a bit more complex than needed IMHO. But it has some advantages, for example it has the LED on the back to illuminate your other buttons. I prefer this to the videocam style were the LCD would protrude on the left side. The most important for me is the ability to see the screen from above so my knees and my back get happy.
As for the filter, the step down may work but I searched in my old stock and I found a 62mm CPL that was used on a Tamron 18-250mm that I sold a long time ago.
I continued to try all my lenses on the K-1. I was disappointed that my Sigma 30mm EX f/1.4 is actually not a FF lens... At least I have the old FA 35mm f/2 which works perfectly. I thought that the DA40mm Ltd may work, it does in a way but it is not as good as on APS-C.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
06-10-2023, 08:09 AM
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You are correct. I feel stupid but I never use that fonction and the previous owner did set it up that way. Anyway thanks for giving me the solution.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
06-04-2023, 06:05 AM
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To be frank, to produce good pictures I already have everything I really need.
I started with a K10D, then at some point I had a K20D, K200D, K-m, K-x, K-7, K-5 and now K-3 and K-01. I have 2 great zooms (DA* 16-50 and 50-135), a 10-20, 8-16, DA15Ltd, DA21Ltd, DA35Ltd, DA40Ltd, FA35, FA50, DFA50 macro FA77Ltd, 55-300 (1st version), Sigma 150-500, Sigma 30 f1.4, an old Sigma 28-100 (f2.8-4), a broken (SDM) 17-70/4 and a Fisheye 10-17.
As you can see, it’s mostly APS-C. So if I’m getting into FF, I will have to work in crop mode in a lot of cases before I can switch to FF equivalent lenses. At least I could use my current lenses which would not be possible at all on a 645Z. So I’m discarding this one for now unless I would find a really great bargain on it.
So… Why the K-1? As I said earlier I want to get more into photography again and to regain some motivation, I think I need to explore new things, like a new format for example.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-26-2013, 04:52 PM
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The FA 50mm has not so bad resolution at f/1.4, it's just low contrast that kills apparent sharpness, but with some PP it's somewhat fixable. What is less fixable is the bad bokeh (IMO) at f/1.4, but around f/2 it's creamy enough.
I'd like the DA* but the high price, slow focusing and above all the big size make it low on my lens wish list. I love portraits done with the FA 50mm @ f/2.0 and it satisfies me enough that I don't see a big need for the DA*. Otherwise, objectively speaking the DA* has slightly superior IQ, particularly below f/2.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-10-2013, 07:56 AM
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I maybe in the minority here but I prefer an EVF for its unmatched previewing capabilities. I used a GH2 for a while and I would die to get an EVF like this on my K-01. The OVF will die faster than we think IMO, especially in high end cameras where the mirror box is just to slow to compete : the Nikon V1 is already capable of doing 60fps at full resolution. I cannot see how a DSLR could match that with an OVF and mirror unless there is some sort of hybrid solution.
As for Pentax FF, why not a K-01 type of camera? But add an EVF, PD-AF, flippy LCD and WR... and it can be made cheaper and much lighter by removing the prism/mirror box. And start selling it for 1200$. I would buy that in a heart beat, even at 1500$.
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Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50
08-13-2012, 08:55 AM
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It's because they don't explain how to use it correctly. I found it very useful on more than one occasion, especially when traveling. I don't have to time to go back to hotel, check on the computer, etc. While my K-5 doesn't often get dust, frequently changing lenses will always get some dust at one point. And since the K-30 doesn't have the ultrasonic dust removal but the poor (and probably useless. never worked well on my K10D and K20D) sensor shake, it's even more useful to check for dust.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
07-03-2013, 04:04 PM
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I agree for the horizontal borders but in the center, I don't think there's many lens as sharp as the DA 15mm even at f/4. That's maybe why the borders disappoint. But in many situations it's not a big deal.
Another one of mine for this thread:
L'Accalmie au petit matin by Manu_H, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-03-2013, 03:56 PM
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Your call but you're delaying your pleasure with this unique lens :)
There's a lot of drama around this name change but for now it's only a label change on the bottom of the camera, nothing to worry about. The real test will be when they will release really new models. When Sony took over Minolta, it took them at least a couple of year before releasing anything substantial, they only had the rather average Alpha 100 for a while. I expect the next big advances will come around september/october.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
11-15-2010, 11:51 AM
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I have a simpler answer that does not involve conspiracy theories: incompetence. TBH it's very difficult to make objective measurements but DPR are centering their reviews mostly on IQ and unfortunately they are not that good at that. DXO certainly gained more credibility, at least to my eyes.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
09-25-2011, 07:23 PM
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Forum: Lens Clubs
09-08-2011, 05:40 AM
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