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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
03-23-2010, 10:44 PM
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Renaissance Center
Ambassador Bridge
Traffic (long exposure braced against a light post)
Filter test
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
08-13-2011, 04:13 AM
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I need to be more careful judging level while shooting handheld with my 645 - I had a couple of shots that were off ~2.5 degrees. Generally the framing was loose enough that I didn't lose anything important.
Pentax 645, A 75mm f/2.8, expired Fuji NPH 400.
img698 by Steinback, on Flickr
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-09-2009, 08:41 AM
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Here's one more for now:
Fuji Superia 400, KX, FA 50 f/1.4
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
08-04-2016, 05:28 PM
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Just had my 120-400 HSM updated by Sigma Canada. They swapped the mount and updated the software on the lens control board but it still doesn't work on my K-1. The camera locks up as soon as it is turned on and the battery has to be pulled to reset the body. If/when they have a software fix that works I will send the lens back to Sigma again.
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Forum: General Talk
08-27-2016, 03:41 PM
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A new control board for my Sigma 70-200 HSM II. One trip in to Sigma to swap the mount and a second trip for the board and now it will actually focus on the K1 instead of freezing the body. Hopefully this means my 120-400 will reappear next week. Both lenses have been out of service since May.
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Forum: General Talk
03-19-2015, 08:23 PM
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Epson V500, $2, new condition except for a missing 120 film carrier.
Looks like the original owner couldn't figure out how to disengage the transport locks to release the scanning and light heads and thought it was broken.
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
05-18-2014, 03:01 PM
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An adapter of some form with a flange for screwing the lens to a camera with 4 screws.
The lens has been converted to something other than K mount; I would guess it was used on a video or movie camera based on the length of the adapter. Note that the A lock on the aperture ring is missing. Who knows how much of the K mount, its electrical and AF contacts still exist under the adapter and how much it would cost to convert back to K mount as anything other than a manual focus, manual aperture lens.
I wouldn't touch it for 10% of that price without inspecting the lens in person and disassembling the conversion to see what damage (if any) was done by whoever modified it.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-16-2013, 02:10 AM
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Depending on your firmware I think you can hold down OK and then use the front scroll wheel to change ISO regardless of what lens you have on in M mode.
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
05-27-2012, 07:03 PM
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From Brampton you might give Millennium Photo in Mississauga a call (on Erin Mills Parkway at the 403). Downtown you could contact Downtown Camera.
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
04-22-2012, 12:20 AM
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Meet Details for Saturday, May 26th:
Start at the Redpath Sugar Museum; aim to meet there in the 9:30 to 9:45 range to get on the first tour starting at 10:00am. I'm curious to see what the sugar storage area looks like. City of Toronto - Doors Open Toronto
Then head over to Sugar Beach and Sherbourne Common Park to check out the architecture (not part of Doors Open, but nearby and interesting).
After the parks, we'll head back to the Toronto Harbor Commission and the Waterfront BIA or the John St. Roundhouse depending on what time it is and what people feel like seeing, probably grabbing lunch somewhere along the way.
If people want to hit the first couple of stops to meet other Toronto based Pentaxians and then wander off to see other buildings and do their own thing then that's fine too.
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Original post:
In Toronto, obviously.
City of Toronto: Doors Open Toronto - 150 buildings citywide open their doors
I'm posting this so early the list of buildings hasn't even been finalized yet. Once they're up we can decide which sites to visit - the more popular ones are usually pretty busy by mid-day.
I'll update this post with the final list of buildings to visit once its decided. People are also welcome to come out to the first stop to meet everybody and then wander off to do their own thing.
Last year we met at Little Trinity Church, walked down the street to an architectural firm's offices, had lunch at the Gilead Cafe, drove out to the R.C. Harris water filtration plant (where parking was a bit of a challenge) and finished up at the new natural gas power plant on the waterfront.
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
02-28-2012, 10:26 PM
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I still don't know if the little guy(?) in the green was advertising something or some nut who likes dressing up in costumes at public events. The lady with the tongue seemed to appreciate him.
No shortage of other people with cameras out there (White Lumix DMC-LX5 with matching leather case?).
IMGP7548_c by Steinback, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-19-2012, 08:57 PM
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I don't know what other problems your body may end up having, but the mount ring from an '80s or '90s autofocus film SLR should have the same contact pattern and corresponding holes. The thickness or width of the mount ring may be a bit different - the mount ring on my MZ-5n is a bit narrower than the one on my K10. Many of the lower end SF series bodies don't sell for much over $10 and the low end MZ bodies don't go for much more .
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-17-2012, 05:19 PM
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All I can say is good luck. On the plus side, with a working DS or DL body worth something like $100 to $150 finding a replacement shouldn't be too painful if the repair fails.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
01-28-2012, 03:29 PM
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Travelling on an overpass crossing Hwy. 407.
407 by Steinback, on Flickr
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
11-06-2011, 09:18 PM
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@gofour3 - A quick levels adjustment should sort that out. Sample (with all of your other editing untouched):
It also looks like you horizon is tilted by a degree or so, which could also be left over from the scanner but is fairly easy to correct.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-22-2011, 07:49 PM
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I told RioRico that since I happened to have both of these lenses at the moment I would put some sort of comparison together. So, reusing some of my initial impressions, here we go:
Without the lens hood on the D-FA the overall size and weight is very close. The hood makes the D-FA twice the length and quite a bit wider than the A at infinity focus, and because the front element is so deeply recessed the A doesn't need a separate hood. Up to 1:2 magnification (where the A tops out) the sizes without hoods remain roughly the same, then the D-FA extends its length another 30% or so to hit 1:1 with the front lens element even with the front of its hood.
The focus ring is much lighter and smoother on my copy of the A (almost too light), however it has obviously been apart at some point in the past. I didn't notice until I set the lenses beside each other but the focusing scale on the A rotates past the infinity marking by about 1 cm in order to actually reach infinity (which I will fix shortly). Manual focus on either lens is perfectly acceptable for macro or portrait distances.
My initial impression is that both lenses are brutally sharp, meter well and produce colours that I'm happy with. The lens formulas are quite different, and the A has 6 aperture blades vs. 8 on the D-FA. The build quality of both lenses is excellent - much better than kit lens level, more solid and with better focus feel than an FA 50mm f/1.4 or other similar FA series lens, but a long ways off from an all metal Takumar prime.
Various photos to show size with and without the D FA's hood (keep in mind that the A 50mm only reaches 1:2 macro on its own at full extension):
D FA vs A 50mm f/2.8 macro by Steinback, on Flickr
D FA vs A 50mm f/2.8 macro by Steinback, on Flickr
D FA vs A 50mm f/2.8 macro by Steinback, on Flickr
D FA vs A 50mm f/2.8 macro by Steinback, on Flickr
D FA vs A 50mm f/2.8 macro by Steinback, on Flickr
And finally some comparison shots under a florescent desk lamp at ISO 800 and ranging from f/2.8 to f/8. I metered at f/2.8 with the D-FA and then shifted the settings in full stops until I hit f/8 with each lens. Hand held because that's how I actually use the lenses most of the time, and the little spider tank (Tachikoma) is about 2 1/4 inches wide by 2 inches tall at the highest point.
A at f/2.8
A 2.8 by Steinback, on Flickr
D FA at f/2.8
D FA 2.8 by Steinback, on Flickr
A at f/4
A 4 by Steinback, on Flickr
D FA at f/4
D FA 4 by Steinback, on Flickr
A at f/5.6
A 5.6 by Steinback, on Flickr
D FA at f/5.6
D FA 5.6 by Steinback, on Flickr
A at f/8
A 8 by Steinback, on Flickr
D FA at f/8
D FA 8 by Steinback, on Flickr
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Forum: General Talk
09-17-2011, 05:48 PM
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I haven't really taken photos of the same subject under the same conditions with each lens yet (A 50mm macro, D-FA 50mm macro), but there are a number of physical differences.
Without the lens hood on the D-FA the overall size and weight is very close. The hood makes the D-FA twice the length and quite a bit wider than the A at infinity focus, and because the front element is so deeply recessed the A doesn't need a separate hood. Up to 1:2 magnification (where the A tops out) the sizes without hoods remain roughly the same, then the D-FA extends its length another 30% or so to hit 1:1 with the front lens element even with the front of its hood.
The focus ring is much lighter and smoother on my copy of the A (almost too light), however it has obviously been apart at some point in the past. I didn't notice until I set the lenses beside each other but the focusing scale on the A rotates past the infinity marking by about 1 cm in order to actually reach infinity (which I will fix shortly).
My initial impression is that both lenses are brutally sharp, meter well and produce colours that I'm happy with. I'll put a more detailed comparison off until daylight and I'll probably stick it in the lens forum along with this preamble. The lens formulas are quite different and I'm not sure how much of a difference 6 aperture blades (A) vs. 8 (D-FA) will make in the highlights.
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
01-02-2011, 02:16 AM
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Now that I have access to a flatbed scanner with a transparency unit I've stopped getting prints and scans from the developer. All of the labs near me print from scans and only one of them does a decent job (most of the time). Even the "pro" labs do a worse job than the drugstore that used to develop most of my film before their lab closed.
Eventually I decided that if the files are being printed from scans anyways I might as well do the work to get the scans right and then run the files through photoshop to clean up colours, contrast and dust before paying to print them.
Back in the '90s I got better prints from one hour labs than I do from the places that are currently developing and printing with one week services near me. For your purposes it wouldn't hurt to show the lab the difference between your scans and theirs. If the technician is knowledgeable they may be willing to take a look at how their scanning and printing processes are calibrated. As a point of interest, I've had dramatically better prints from stores using Noritsu scanners and printers than those using Fuji equipment, regardless of how much they charge for processing.
My local camera store does a decent job of printing if I give them digital files that have been processed to my liking and tell them to print the files as is. From the store's point of view the jpegs they get from my film scans are printed the same way as the jpegs coming from my DSLR.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
06-30-2011, 09:50 PM
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Part of the problem is the focusing screen. The stock screen exaggerates the depth of field available with fast lenses and you probably won't see a difference in depth of field between wide open and about f/3.5 or so. There are a number of old discussions here on the forum about different aftermarket screens and their advantages/disadvantages with regards to depth of field, metering and focus accuracy.
It is also possible that your current focus screen would benefit from a different shim to adjust the point where objects appear to come into focus. Have you tried any other fast lenses on the camera?
Sample discussion thread: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/118633-split-p...libration.html
The diopter setting should have more to do with your eyesight than it does with where the camera focuses. You adjust the diopter until the display in the viewfinder appears sharp and then you should be able to leave it.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
06-11-2011, 12:32 AM
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To some extent what order you buy things in depends on what you want to take pictures of.
- If you want pictures of big things, you buy a wide angle lens.
- If you want pictures of small things, you but a macro lens (or tubes, a reversing ring, bellows or an add on magnifying lens) and maybe some form of lighting and a tripod.
- If you want pictures of far away things, you buy a telephoto lens and maybe a tripod and some quick release plates that suit it.
- If you want to take pictures of things in the dark you buy a fast lens, a flash and/or a tripod.
- If you want to take pictures of yourself you buy a tripod and possibly a remote.
- If you want to take pictures in the IR spectrum you buy an IR filter or a converted camera.
- If you don't like changing lenses or really need flexibility, you buy a superzoom.
- If you want to play with lighting, you buy some combination of a flash or flashes, studio strobes, light modifiers, remote triggers, light stands and various other accessories.
... and so on.
I recently picked up a D-FA 50mm macro from a guy who used it as his only lens for 6 years. For his shooting style and subjects, it was all that he needed.
Shooting in low light was important to me so I picked up some fast lenses, several flashes and a tripod fairly quickly. I also wanted to shoot sports and events from a distance, so that led to a fast telephoto zoom. Most of my other acquisitions have been to to make sure that I have the right equipment to shoot in a wide range of situations because there isn't any one style of photography I focus on.
It is possible to plan out a lens and equipment roadmap that will allow you to share filters, batteries and other accessories between equipment if that is important to you.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-01-2011, 11:06 PM
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Black specs can also be dust or small paint, plastic, or metal chips inside the lens.
Mold and fungus often have a more organic shape with filaments or branches (like fungus on food, rocks or trees) and they come in a variety of colours. It really depends on how much the fungus has grown and the type. If you ever look through a lens with a serious fungal infestation you will recognize it right away.
Generally speaking, small dust specks don't noticeably impact image quality. The same is true for small amounts of fungus, however there is always a concern that fungus will continue to grow. Either can be cleaned out of a lens but a professional cleaning may be more expensive than replacing a cheap lens.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
01-05-2011, 05:48 PM
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The second photo looks like the camera ran out of shutter speed for the settings you were using. Aperture priority, f/1.7 and ISO 400 called for a shutter speed higher than 1/4000 and the camera couldn't provide it. Dropping down to 100 ISO would have helped, but you still may have needed either a neutral density filter or a smaller aperture.
1 and 3 also look grossly over exposed, but there isn't enough exif data posted to diagnose what the problem was. If you hit the exposure lock button while metering a darker area and didn't re-meter for the brighter conditions that could have caused the problem. If you had the camera in a forced flash mode that might explain the 1/180 shutter speed on 3, even though you were using aperture priority.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-29-2010, 06:50 PM
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@Reds - For loose built in hoods I put an elastic band around the lens barrel. Putting the elastic in front of the hood keeps it from extending, and moving the elastic behind the hood when the hood is extended keeps the hood from retracting.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
12-07-2010, 02:16 PM
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The 55 and 50mm lenses will work very well for macro. The longer lenses will also work, but they will need more extension and they will be more difficult to use without a tripod at high magnification. The 28mm lens would probably work better with a reversing ring than with extension tubes.
I would suggest the you look into M42 bellows rather than extension tubes. They sell for similar prices and give both greater flexibility and a wider range of magnification. My bellows adjust from about 10mm to 135 mm of extension, which gives 1:1 magnification with a 135mm lens or about 2.2:1 with a 55mm lens.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-06-2010, 01:20 AM
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They seem to be listing in the $250 to $300 range, though location and condition will probably make a difference. For whatever reason, back when the FA 50 was available for ~$200 new they seemed to sell for around $200 used here on the forum as well, but after the MSRP hike the retail price (around $370 or more, plus applicable taxes) and resale prices have spread out quite a bit.
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