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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
01-08-2013, 01:14 AM
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zkarj - I agree totally with you on this, there was no way I was going to outpace this fella as he came in to land over my head. Assuming I got it right and the picture appears it was taken on Sunday from the layby at the northen end of the main Christchurch runway. There is a time and a place for everything but under these circumstances a prime doesn't cut it.
Cheers
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
12-24-2012, 03:57 AM
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Class A
One of the things I really like about this group is the feeling that we can say what we think without fear of flaming. I appreciate the fact that we all see things differently as do you, and in this forum we have the freedom to express our views as we see them. Your comments are welcome mate and they are taken in the spirit they were given.
Best regards
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
12-22-2012, 08:52 PM
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Sadly one less now, I confess I've just defected. I will miss this group, while I've had little to say I have called in each morning as part of my start up process at work and at various times on weekends. I haven't always logged in but it has been a long term part of my routine and one I have enjoyed very much indeed - thank you all for making this group sing.
Why have I moved?
1) I now have a gold card and I really can't hang around for Pentax to get its act together which is sad as I really liked the K5 but there is no room for progression beyond that in the Pentax road map, certainly not in the immediated future.
2) My two stalwart lens, the DA*16-50 and the DA* 50-135 were fine performers but each time I turned the camera on the thing that was formost in my mind was "will it work?", enough said. The silence from Pentax is deafening and until that issue is formally resolved I was not prepared to invest in further glass and any enjoyment I had in owning those lens evaporated long ago.
3) Finally the lack of support from the local distributer along with difficulty in getting product - again enough said.
I called into Photo and Video here in Christchurch on Friday afternoon and walked out with a Nikon D800 and an AF-S 24-70 f2.8 ED A quick trip home to recharge the visa and pack up the pentax gear then back to P&V where I spent the rest on a AF-S 70-200 f2.8 VRii. These two lens have a field of view on the FF sensor that matches what I had on the APS-C pentax.
I had done my research and decided that if I was to leave Pentax then Nikon was the way to go for what I do. I had also decided on what I needed for starters and so basically went in to see if they had a body I could handle. They did and they also had a brand new boxed one and the lens were also new and boxed. What staggered me after using Pentax for more years than I could remember was this gear was in stock and the demo model was back on the shelf.
No system is perfect and each brand has its share of problems but the move was right for me and that is the important bit, sad but having now played with this stuff there would never be a going back. I'm not going to start making comparisons since the D800 cost about two and a half times a new K5ll and apples don't compare with oranges.
Please accept my very best wishes for your future and I do hope Pentax finally gets it act together; it will be too late for me but just now I'm one seriously happy chap.
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
11-17-2012, 03:21 AM
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
11-07-2012, 01:52 PM
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Any idea of price, a quick look around came up with nothing. However when I recently got my K5 I decided that for what I do the K5 ll or lls didn't offer enough extra to make me pay full retail. I paid $1399 here in Christchurch and decided that would do me and getting it locally has given me the protection of the consumers guarantee act. It's a nice camera and since then the K10 has stayed in the drawer.
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
11-05-2012, 01:22 PM
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Just starting to get into printing although mainly for larger prints such as A4 or even A3 on rare occasions- for snaps its likely I'll just use the local outlet. Screen is on the laptop and so I plan to get a photo quality one before Christmas - just doing the research now. I have a copy of Photoshop Elements 9 that came with my scanner and I've recently got Light Room 4, both of which have a serious learning curve.. Also entered the promo so sorry GUB, the lens is mine:D
I also ordered a complete set of printer cartridges from Red River. The R3000 takes nine and the NZ retail price is enough to make my eyes water at $57-00 each or $513-00 for the set. On Red River the set cost .is $US244.8 which works out at $NZ296.62 and even if I get stuck with GST its still$340-00 approx. The free shipping promo certainly helped.
If I want to put up a photo in a post do I need to cut it down to 900 odd pixels wide first or does the IMG utility do that? I'm not quite sure from looking at the site information just how to go about posting one.
Cheers
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
10-31-2012, 02:29 PM
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I don't know is i should thank you or otherwise for pointing me to this trade NZ_Ross. I resisted manfully for the duration that auction but when it was re-listed I succumbed and got it. It is as described and indistinguishable from new so I'm happy. Additionally the seller was very forthcoming about its history which helps a lot. It makes a great partner for the DA*50-135 and I really like them both. The only cloud is the possibility of SDM failure but the 50-135 is still going strong and looking positively if 10% fail that means 90% don't.
I haven't been very active for the last couple of years with events in Christchurch here and other things going on but the time has come to become more involved again; so aside from getting this lens I've also recently bought a new K5 at what seemed a good price and that is a camera I really do like.
Class A,, I had a quick look at my early posts and profile and see I joined in January 2008 as a member of the original group, when you set up this thread I was the third posting! Hopefully there will be a few more now.
Cheers
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
02-01-2010, 11:59 AM
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Hi Emma
I agree with ARPE one hundred percent. I get all my digital Pentax gear from them and they are very good. Alistair Kinniburgh is the person I deal with. On my first visit he showed me Nikon and Canon as they do but the moment I said I wanted Pentax then he just accepted it without argument or comment and really has looked after my interests since then. I also think those blokes know far more about their business than many others in this fair city.
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
12-06-2009, 11:58 AM
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Thanks Arpe, pretty much what I thought. I hope I don't get the opportunity to test Little's response to an out of warranty repair request.
Cheers
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
12-02-2009, 07:26 PM
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I don't have much to say but check in most mornings to see what's going on.
I'm curious if anybody has had experience of the NZ consumer guarantee act. I have a DA* 50-135 and recently have seen a number of posts related to SDM failure with these lens. So far mine is fine but it occurred to me that if it did fail outside its warranty then under the act Littles would be obliged to repair it within a reasonable time. The question I have is that the case and if so what would be a reasonable lifetime for such an expensive lens and is there a precedent?
In the meantime I'm enjoying it and not losing sleep over it all but I would appreciate any comment you might have.
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
01-18-2009, 12:59 PM
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Now you have all scared the living daylights out of me, mold is something I have never worried about, in fact never heard of it till recently but having invested in three good lens over the last 12 months maybe its time for some silica gel. My question is where does one get it from in NZ and more specifically Christchurch.
Also I've heard that the water crystals available from garden shops really soaks up moisture but the resultant mess may not be the best for a lens. I keep my gear in a LowPro bag with the lid unzipped.
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
01-15-2009, 12:40 PM
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So far I've not had to use the service facility, just hand over buckets of money for my camera and lens. I deal through Photo and Video International here in Christchurch who are very good. Normally when I have a question they just get on the phone to Littles and get an answer on the spot while I'm in the shop.
I looked up Fototech and see they are based in the Littles building in the city proper, (not the main one out by the airport). Also in the same building is a company called Tecnar Electronics. This company was run by a Jack Ruth who I worked with many years ago before he went out on his own. Tecnar was also involved in photographic servicing from memory. Is this a coincidence or are the two related. Fototech's phone number is (03) 962-1271 and Tecnar is (03) 366-3747. It may well be worth you giving Tecnar Electronics a call and see if they can shed any light on what is going on. If Jack is still there he will know.
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
01-14-2009, 12:28 PM
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Make that thirteen, unless I've already been counted :) I got my K10 about this time last year and I'm also in Christchurch.
Cheers
Brian
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
11-04-2008, 12:14 PM
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-12-2008, 11:12 PM
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Three more Dazman.
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-12-2008, 11:04 PM
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Thanks Dazman and Wheatfield, sets my mind at rest.
Daxman, I don't have a lot of ChCh itself, all my work is just trying out the system and seeing what it will do, hence many chuck outs. However I've reduced a selection to 800x536 and if the attachment works (haven't done this before) there are some you may find interesting though bear in mind these are all experimental - but I suppose much of photography is. There are a couple of the New Brighton Pier I have and I'll try and load these on the next post.
cheers
Brian
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-12-2008, 01:27 AM
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Hi all
Today I took my new DA 50 - 135 F2.8 lens out for a trial, and what a magnificant lens it is. However I found it wasn't always communicating with the body and that I had to take it off and remount it to get it all going. I've now cleaned the contacts and made sure that when I mount it I give it a good twist and all appear OK now.
However when I checked the contacts I found one on my camera looked odd. The camera is a K10D and if I look at the front of it at the six o'clock position is a screw head. Moving to the left up to about the "twenty to" position are seven contacts, six of these take the form of a spring loaded dome headed pin that protrude slightly above the mounting ring. One of them, the fifth one, appears not to be so domed and to be recessed somewhat. Is this normal or do I have a stuck contact. Any comment welcome. Everything seems to be working but I am concerned that one of the contacts is different.
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-21-2008, 01:06 PM
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Hi Astroid
I went from the MZ-5 (which I still have) to a K10D, to my mind a very good camera indeed. Like you I had the Pentax smc FA 28-70 and also a Tokina 75-300 with the MZ-5 and both perform just fine on the K10D, the only thing you will need to be aware of is the focal length increases by 1.5 due to the sensor in the digital camera being smaller than standard 35 mm film. For instance the FA 28-70 performs as if it were a 42-105.
I can only speak of the K10D from personal experience but posts on this forum indicate that all Pentax digital cameras are very good and so it comes down to what you can afford and what functions you want.
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-26-2008, 01:15 PM
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I suspect this has been discussed before but I can't find any related threads so please bear with me.
I shoot mainly in P mode with my K10, it allows me to instantly select either aperture priority or shutter priority depending on which wheel I move. ISO settings can be adjusted by using the OK button and the front wheel. So why does this camera have dedicated aperture and shutter priority modes as well, do they have additional functions or benefits I'm missing out on?
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-22-2008, 03:43 PM
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Hi Sweet Bay
I use PhotoFiltre, its a freeware package and seems to work well, it allows you to select the number of pixels across and down and will then resize the picture to fit that. For instance I've resized some of mine to 1024 x 768 which then fill my screen when used as wallpaper.
Good luck
Brian
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-14-2008, 01:45 AM
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Ian R Little Arpe, based in Christchurch. My experience so far has been good with them as far as rapid delivery of items held in stock. At least we have the k20 readily available here, I was in Sydney last week and both JB hi fi, oposite QVB and Georges by King Street had K10Ds on the shelves but no K20ds. In fact Georges had the DFA 100mm macro f2.8 on special for AU$919 which is quite a bit more in Australian dollars than what I paid for mine in NZ dollars. I have no experience with Littles for service or getting something out of the ordinary and so can't comment on that. I note the Crusaders are still going well - real sad that Robbies going to Australia, they will take the next world cup.
Cheers
Brian
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-25-2008, 12:05 PM
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Thats an interesting thought aleonx3, after reading this thread I downloaded PhotoME and checked my K10D to find it was manufactured in November 2007 (purchased in January 2008) and it has a revision of 2.1 Has anyone on this forum compared cameras known to have the problem with production dates or revision numbers?? I haven't noticed an issue yet with my photos but also its not something I've gone looking for.
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-16-2008, 05:20 PM
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-16-2008, 12:12 PM
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Thats not my experience cpopham, when I got my K10d quite recently the shop had it in stock but I wanted to upgrade the kit lens to the 16-45. The salesman got on the phone to Ian R Little while I stood there, had a apparently positive conversation with them and the lens was dispatched by one hour courier at no extra charge to me, and this after negotiating a small discount. Similarly when I went to buy my 100mm Macro a quick phone call and it was again dispatched by one hour courier. I must admit that the agent is also based in Christchurch and again I'm not sure what would happen if they were not holding stock or I needed a repair etc.
Regards
Brian
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-10-2008, 12:18 PM
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I have a K10D and a mate of mine has the Canon 400D, I've used both and yes they are different and most comments in this thread apply. However he is very happy with his and I am very happy with mine and I must admit it does feel much better to me than the canon.
The only comment he made when he first saw the K10D was that he thought the top LCD panel was a good idea and wished he had it on his. Its likely not an issue for a novice or someone moving up from a point and shoot, but if Canon are aiming at attracting photographers then maybe they got it wrong by deleting this feature.
Regards
Brian
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