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Forum: General Photography
11-08-2021, 02:23 PM
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Fascinating thread that highlights how social consumption of photography is changing.
Yes, phones are now mind-blowing for perfectly good, social media ready, images with no fuss. No, they can’t compete with an ILC when blown up.
But think about how we’ve consumed images through history too. Like today, often small: the carte d’visite; the 110 and instamatic 6x4 holiday snaps; the Polaroid instant. The iPhone excels at all of these uses. And the best bit? It’s already in your pocket.
But there’s always been the market for quality enlargements too: the weddings, the enthusiast projecting his velvia holiday transparencies; the creative visual artist.
That’s why I have a bag full of Pentax lenses as well as an iPhone. They are both wonderful. And I don’t see either as a threat to the other.
What I think is more interesting is how we consume images culturally in an era where everyone now has a pocket video recorder, and how that affects how we perceive still photography . Citizen journalism. This is becoming the new credible news source - the eye witness tik toc video on the front line to supersede what film journos did in the past.. Think 9/11, how images instantaneously went around the world as it shocked us all. Then, think about the specific role of Joel Meyerowych’s ‘Aftermath’ of 9/11 large format film images in a city’s healing. Incomparable. Slow. Enduring. Poignant. Can’t do that on an iPhone. I love that Pentax sees this and is specialising in the creative joy of photography instead.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
04-04-2021, 01:04 AM
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Good review, thanks Stephen.
“it is a high-end record player in the streaming age. An anachronism that does well and proves that DSLR technology is far from finished.”
Exactly! I love how Pentax is carving out its niche here, rooted in both 100 years of history and pentaprism cameras. This was never going to be the cheap, mass-market mirrorless beater. Instead, those that appreciate Pentax’s OVF principles continue to have some high quality gear at their disposal.
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Forum: General Photography
03-04-2021, 12:59 AM
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I still wonder what percentage of all these increasingly large RAW files only see the light of day when exported from Lightroom as small .jpgs to put on Instagram. I’d love to know.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-01-2021, 10:24 PM
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I did that too! Spent ages scratching my head wondering what I’d done.
Was pleased to put all that motion picture tomfoolery behind me when I finally sussed it out!
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Forum: Video Recording and Processing
11-18-2020, 03:47 PM
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I did find one use for 4K. It’s just about enough to buy a K1 and 3 amigos...��
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Forum: General Photography
10-20-2020, 08:08 AM
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Exactly.
If you want ‘good’ images in most everyday situations, the phone wins.
If you consistently need excellent images (as defined by meeting/exceeding either your, or your customer’s pre-visualised expectations) you need a ‘proper camera’ that can cope with extremes of lighting, DoF, etc (whether this is achieved or not is down to the person operating it - but that’s another matter! The camera has the potential).
Also, some very good points made by others about machine learning and inevitable normalisation. How does your phone toting friend measure ‘better than’? It is certainly better at driving aesthetic convergence...
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-02-2020, 05:19 AM
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It’s the camera that moved me from Canon to Pentax. Although I went on through K3 and K1 afterwards I still have it and still use it occasionally. Although it doesn’t have a CCD sensor, the colours are just wonderful. Also, the infrared jpg effect was marvellous straight out of the camera. The lower resolution somehow made it more ‘forgiving’ about camera shake at low shutter speeds compared to the K3.
Yes, lots of other things have moved on technology-wise since. Dynamic range evaporates as you push the iso up. The small screen discourages chimping! But even now people look at some old prints and ask what camera I use, not realising it was that old. It does have a certain je ne sais qois about it.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-08-2020, 11:56 PM
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Ten years in, I’m struggling to see any downside of using DNG.
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Forum: General Photography
07-14-2020, 12:08 PM
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Been here and empathise. I decided to stick with Pentax.
I came from a pro Canon/wedding background. When the world went digital I saw it as an opportunity to reevaluate and nothing seemed to match what Pentax were offering for the money in a shiny new K20D and full kit of lenses.
But soon the noisy screwdrive lenses and lack of ‘the next best thing’ in TTL flash, etc made me worry about my decision. Also, people were asking me to do weddings again and I created a fear in my head that I needed the ‘latest gear’ to remain credible. Worse - the ‘Pentax is doomed’ brigade were telling me my investment might be unwise.
But, every time I added up the cost of changing it was prohibitive. I felt trapped. And despite there being more on the 2nd hand market for other brands it wasn’t actually cheaper when I got there.
However I did decide I wanted a small carry-everywhere Mirrorless to supplement my kit and so a Fuji was acquired.
Two years on, a few things have become profound learnings for me, which has settled the debate in my head:
1. Fuji/Mirrorless. I’ve tried really, really hard. But I can’t use it as intuitively as a Pentax body. Pentax ergonomics are sublime
2. Interestingly, more people have said ‘wow what camera do you use?’ Over images of my K20D and K1 and any other camera I’ve ever owned . The K1 sensor will do anything I ask of it. The K20D has a ‘look’ (I’ve not had the same feedback about the k3 interestingly...) I don’t own a KP so can’t comment there
3. I love the idea of getting off the ‘upgrade every year’ treadmill of Canon/Nikon/Fuji. The world is changing and I see this moving into the camera market too: the world has ‘peak stuff’. Buy great (Pentax) gear and I know it will serve me well for a good few years, it’s so liberating (for the planet and my wallet)
4, Pentax seem committed to their manageable niche. Slow but steady, good products. The ILC market is becoming smaller and more specialist - I’m not convinced £300 ‘starter’ DSLRs are the future any more. Pentax are ‘living within their means’ and getting there as able to. The 50mm FA* is amongst the best lenses I’ve ever used (I’m quite old!). The New 85 was released in the middle of a global pandemic (need more continued commitment?). The APSC wide angle zoom is a great lens.
So, away from the marketing hype, Pentax is giving me just what I need - great, affordable gear without the hyperbole and new products released at a slower pace that makes them more affordable!
I attended a portrait workshop in January with a renowned Elinchrom ambassador, he used Pentax, and was in the process of becoming a Pentax ambassador which meant dropping Canon. I rest my case.
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
04-24-2020, 11:43 PM
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Interesting debate which I’ve enjoyed following.
I have a strong film background but inevitably became more and more digital as time went on. I’m also part way through a photography art degree which stretches my creativity. I noticed in recent months that my motivation was waning and one of the many diverse things I did to reignite it was to shoot a b&w film again and develop it over the kitchen sink.
What I found was that this reestablished an emotional link in my work which had suffered with the onset of digital. It’s hard to explain in a logical sense, but it’s definitely there. Perhaps the analogue link through to the original subject, perhaps mere nostalgia, perhaps the ‘look’ or the heritage behind the process. Who knows.
I can see that colour raw files can produce beautiful monochrome images. So I’m sure colour negs and transparencies can do the same from the comments above. Fascinating to read. But photography is a creative language and I’m learning - for the 2nd time - that film has a unique but hard to define way of allowing us to express ourselves.
When we look back, colour was scoffed at until 40 years ago as not being ‘serious’. Then William Eggleston, Stephen Shore & co gave us a new way of seeing. Nowadays monochrome connotes age, authenticity, reportage, tonality, drama in a way that colour often cannot. They say quite different things. So what do we actually want to say?
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
12-23-2019, 11:01 AM
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Ultimately my philosophy on this:
Buying Pentax lenses helps Pentax survive.
Buying 3rd party lenses helps 3rd parties survive.
I want Pentax to survive.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-24-2019, 12:12 AM
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I’m with gerardbaron: standard zoom for travel. That way I can work fast and light, with a versatile set of focal lengths, without wasting time changing lenses in busy tourist crowds.
You’ll need a wide angle here in the UK because there’s so much really good stuff to fit in ;-)
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
12-03-2019, 02:29 PM
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Just had a DFA 24-70 2.8 back from repair with John Pye. The front of the lens had about 0.5mm wobble following a short drop onto carpet so I wanted to get it checked out.
The lens came back fully repaired and clean. It was well packaged for transit. It needed new internal parts, a clean and optical calibration.
Turnaround was about 3 weeks this included a slight delay while their head engineer was on holiday. It had to be shipped by them to the main repair site in France, as apparently most of the newer lens designs do.
Overall no complaints and they’ve done a good job of the repair.
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
11-28-2019, 12:32 AM
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Many people that I know have dropped Facebook, and we are the middle-aged demographic that are supposedly still using it. Reasons cited are time wasting, trolling and abuse.
The fascinating thing happening now is how society is polarising into online factions that only ever talk within their own bubble, giving rise to division and intolerance when they meet another group. We curate our news feeds, friends, etc. We see this played out at its angriest where disparate online politically-driven communities still have to mix - e.g. Twitter. We’re losing the ability for reasoned debate and tolerance. Instagram is particularly insidious in how it encourages people to believe their friends all have perfect lives and looks - whereas in reality they don’t. So resentment, one-upmanship and low self-worth have been linked to it.
As others are have said, I can’t see forums like this one dying though. Yes, we are in our own little pentax ‘bubble’, here but clubs, societies, etc have always been healthy and needed. Balance and focus groups are healthy. But we just need to keep that healthy context about the ‘non Pentax world’ that is out there and stay engaged with that too. Folks here seem opened minded, courteous and tolerant. So yes, I suspect things will evolve, but no, I don’t foresee that Pentaxforums is doomed.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
11-23-2019, 11:40 AM
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Never have I seen so many Pentaxians in the same place!
A thoroughly enjoyable day: good quality workshops and seminars, cake, celebratory fizz to toast, some really good discounts on lenses (ok, I did succumb to a 70-200..), buffet lunch, goodie bag...
Aside of the celebration side of it, it felt good to talk to other Pentaxians and make sure Mr Takahashi left with a positive view of the enthusiasm and number of brand supporters in the UK.
Big shout out to the team at SRS - they put on a memorable do.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
11-21-2019, 10:20 PM
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Yes, I’ve used it successfully with a K3 and K1 for several years. Especially useful for weddings. I do use Lightroom and have created ‘dual illuminant’ profiles which I then use as my defaults when importing new images from SD card. The ‘dual illuminant’ bit involves taking pictures of the passport both in daylight and artificial lighting. It then uses this as a reference point to how far from ‘normal’ the newly imported raw file is.
I was never quite happy with the skin tones I was getting before using this.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
11-06-2019, 02:27 PM
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I learned a few good tips there, you certainly reinvigorated my appreciation of Liveview. Many thanks Bruce.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
11-04-2019, 01:55 PM
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I never expected to have much use for it, but I actually find it to be very useful. Compared to to movable screen on my Fujifilm X2, the Pentax K1 screen is more intuitive, faster to use and faster to stow away. I love it.
In fact it’s like most things Pentax: robust, functional and obviously designed by a real photographer. :)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-18-2019, 01:26 PM
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So, Pentax chose to have a stall at the pro-oriented SWPP trade show in Jan 19, but not at the consumer-oriented Photography Show two months later. There’s also an Elinchrom announcement for Pentax and we are seeing more pro-grade D-FA* lenses trickle down the pipeline.
A clue about marketing strategy?
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-21-2019, 01:06 PM
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SorryClass A, I never got around to the separate post, but I currently use an old FGZ540 flash and cactus v6 triggers. I was asking about whether the cactus v6II with p-TTL capability worked well with Pentax (yes, apparently it does work well).
I also asked whether the firmware was improved in the newer FGZ540II flash, particularly with the K1. Apparently, yes, I should see an improvement in exposure accuracy too.
Given your post above I’m not sure it warrants a separate post as I suspect you know this stuff already!
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-19-2019, 01:53 AM
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Hi all,
I attended the SWPP trade show yesterday and had a good chat with the very friendly Ricoh/Pentax team present. It was encouraging to see them there once again this year as this trade show is focussed on the pro rather than consumer side of photography, showing their ongoing commitment to having a presence in this sector.
There was recognition that last year was disappointingly quiet for Pentax users but the emphasis was on the centenary celebrations coming up this year. The reps expected to attend their global team event in a few weeks where they would be shown the new products (under NDA until release date). But to broadly expect new camera, special edition of something and hints at a new ff lens. Ongoing investment in the 645 was underlined as was the overall commitment to the photography side. Theta is still a growing part of the business.
The point being made around any perceived threat to the Pentax brand from the declining camera market due to smartphones, competitor moves to mirrorless, etc was that Pentax knows its customers, listens and operates in its own market niche at a pace it can sustain. We also reflected on how market penetration is different in different countries. For example, I can feel quite lonely as a Pentax user in the UK, but in places like France and Australia the brand is apparently more dominant, adding up healthier global sales volumes than we might perceive locally.
In summary - 1. No, Pentax isn't doomed. 2. The rumours of shiny new things (both camera and lenses) for the centenary are definitely coming, but anyone who claims to know exactly what they are yet is likely to be fibbing a bit!
We also discussed technical things around flashguns and Cactus triggers - but these all belong in a separate thread.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
01-06-2019, 07:11 AM
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Ok thanks everyone. Completely reformatting the cards has restored performance again.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-14-2017, 01:08 AM
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Spoke to the Sigma rep at the SWPP trade show in London yesterday. Asked about their strategy around Pentax going forward. He wasn't positive saying that two more lenses were shortly to be pulled (didn't know which but doubted it was the 35mm Art). Said volumes just weren't there.
Pentax saying they were very pleased with K1 sales (although U.K. customers can expect more price rises due to exch. rates soon). They were quite open about their ongoing collaboration with Tamron, citing the new Tamron lenses as the probable new channel for more Pentax lenses in due course. Also said, in every case, they use the Tamron design but will continue to fit with their own Pentax glass.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-27-2018, 11:13 AM
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No, but I sold all my Canon gear 9 years ago to move to Pentax...and didn’t regret it :-)
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Forum: General Photography
06-27-2018, 10:17 PM
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To the layperson, bokeh (or ‘can you do that fuzzy background thing please?) has became a distinguishing feature between pro and amateur (because the phone has huge depth of field while bokeh requires serious money to be spent on wide aperture / long focal length lenses).
People now think they have this capability with ‘portrait mode’. So of course it will now go through a period of being over used...and then become boring through cliché. We will then see the inevitable ‘anti bokeh’ reaction for a while on instagram. Just as the Sublime followed picturesque 18th century landscapes, or punk turned popular music upside down.
In other words, bokeh is about to have a ride on the same stylistic rollercoaster that HDR did (and countless others). But quality work always endures.
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