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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways 12-15-2014, 07:39 AM  
3 Million Post Giveaway: Confirm your entry!
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 2,853
Views: 133,241
Hope I'm not too late!
Forum: Pentax Price Watch 12-10-2014, 08:27 AM  
Pentax DA 50mm f1.8 lens for $129.95 and free shipping
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 3
Views: 1,284
If it's your first lens, stick with the 35mm. More useful all-around. You can have more fun with the 50mm, but you'll find you want a wider lens for everyday use.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-05-2013, 10:04 PM  
A wide angle zoom to compliment DA* 55mm, DA* 50-135, & Sigma 100-300mm F4
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 19
Views: 2,635
General purpose? The Sigma, because it has a bigger range. I mean, you knew that. All I can tell you that you didn't already know is that I have the DA and I love it. And don't forget, you have a K-5; cropping to make up for a lack of range is no tragedy when you have 16 MP with which to work.
Forum: Video Recording and Processing 10-14-2012, 07:07 AM  
Love Metaphor
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 14
Views: 1,746
That really great stuff, easily one of the best videos I've seen posted on this forum.

Where was that filmed? The setting was spectacular! Obviously some Spanish-speaking nation. And you guys are German, I'm guessing?
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 08-12-2012, 11:40 AM  
Pentax To Announce the K-3 Full Frame DSLR At Photokina
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 662
Views: 117,971
Other than as nouns, how else might one use a plural of a number? Also,

"In British usage, we do not use an apostrophe in pluralizing dates: This research was carried out in the 1970s.

American usage, however, does put an apostrophe here: This research was carried out in the 1970's."
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 08-20-2009, 08:32 AM  
WANTED: STRONG OPINIONS as to which camera I should buy?
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 88
Views: 11,758
The only reason you shouldn't get the K20d is if the size and weight are too much to handle for you, but I've never found them to be a problem.
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 08-17-2009, 07:33 AM  
2 new K-7 magazine reviews
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 49
Views: 12,848
Perhaps for professionals. But believe me, I could have used decent ISO 1600 or 3200 on my most recent trip to Kenya. There were tons more opportunities at dawn and dusk because fewer animals were hiding and sleeping in the shade.

With regards to these magazines, I just think they go to show how close the abilities of these cameras are. In reality, they're all very good. But reviewers can't write that. Any minute difference in features or image quality in certain situations is going to be magnified and affect the score greatly.
Forum: Post Your Photos! 08-09-2009, 07:18 AM  
In the Hood ( literatly )
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 36
Views: 4,031
I'm rather horrified by some of the comments in this thread.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 08-09-2009, 07:07 AM  
Lenses for Africa...
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 19
Views: 4,101
I just got back two weeks in Kenya. While not on safari, I did a lot of riding around in open roof Land Rovers photographing every creature I could possibly find.

I WAS permitted to use a monopod, and it really was a life saver. It doesn't take up any extra space, it helps steady the camera, and it makes it 100 times easier to hold the camera when not taking pictures. If I were you, I would double check the tripod/monopod policy if even one car allows you to use it, bring it. Actually, I'd just bring a monopod with you anyway because I really don't think it could hurt; it don't take up took much space in your suitcase. On a day off we made a stop at Tsavo East national park (I even had room to set up my tripod: boy, did that make things easy) and I took note of the other people I saw with DSLR's. Those with smaller lenses like 70-300mm zooms usually just hand held the thing. People with bigger lenses tried to rest either the lens itself or their elbow on the roof of the vehicle.

Now, as for the lens itself, you have quite a few options as you have seen. If the Bigma or 150-500mm are too expensive and too heavy, I'd guess the choice I made will fall under that same price and size category. But I'll tell you about it anyway. :D I purchased a Tamron Adaptall 300mm f/2.8 and added the Pentax 1.7X AF teleconverter. This combo worked great; the image quality was fantastic (save for the purple fringing, which is not too big a deal), and I was able to get much tighter shots than anyone else on the expedition. I don't know if you've read about this teleconverter or not, but what it can do, in addition to what a normal teleconverter does, is auto-focus itself even while using a manual lens (with some limitations). There were only a few times when it was too close and I had to switch to my 28-75mm, leaving the monster on the mono/tripod.

For landscape stuff I used my 16-45mm and that was fine. The 18-55mm kit lens should be sufficient. As for theft, I stopped worrying about that when I got the Lowepro Flipside 300. Check it out, it's awesome. I kind of wish I had gotten the 400, but the 300 fit all the stuff in my signature just fine, plus it saved me $60 US.

Long story short, 300mm is fine. 510mm (300 X 1.7) is better. The other photographers in our group all had 300mm zooms and were able to get fantastic shots. I am currently uploading photos to our group's SmugMug page, if you want to take a look at some examples of how my lenses served me.

Lions of Tsavo- powered by SmugMug
(click on "Mikey's Photos")

P.S. If anyone is curious, we were on an Earthwatch Expedition: The Lions of Tsavo.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-01-2009, 04:22 PM  
My new K-200D doesn't beep!
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 13
Views: 3,839
Just be glad you don't hear it. I find it incredibly annoying when people's cameras beep, especially in quiet environments and the users (usually Nikon D40 owners) don't even realize that it can be disturbing for others and that they have to ability to disable it.

Sorry, I can't help any more than the above posters have already. If you can't figure things out, give Pentax a call and ask them if you should send it in.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 08-01-2009, 11:16 AM  
Pentax DA* 55mm F1.4 lens review in dpreview.com
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 31
Views: 9,262
Realistically, though, how many sales could Pentax possibly lose from this review? The people who were planning on spending $700 or whatever on what is essentially a weather-sealed fast 50 are probably still going to do so.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 07-31-2009, 06:39 AM  
Pentax DA* 55mm F1.4 lens review in dpreview.com
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 31
Views: 9,262
How in the world is "Build Quality" an 8.5?
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 07-28-2009, 05:00 AM  
should I buy a K-m?
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 19
Views: 3,998
Boy, that is one happy customer. Look at all those exclamation points!
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 07-07-2009, 08:19 AM  
Poll: How wide is wide enough - and why?
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 81
Views: 18,662
I've never felt restricted with the DA 16-45, nor have I had a desire to go wider than it allows.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 07-06-2009, 03:39 PM  
Lens reviews
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 28
Views: 5,746
I would like to point out that post count and join date have little to do with actually photography knowledge (though they may in my case) and ability to accurately assess lens quality. Although, I have to admit that I tend to put a little more weight on reviews done by veteren members on this forum. But the reviews posted by low (or even non-existant) post count members cannot be overlooked.
Forum: General Talk 07-06-2009, 06:58 AM  
Ricehigh: No More Hope With Pentax
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 143
Views: 18,130
Haha! :lol: That's incredible. I have to find that.

And, on the topic of RiceHigh, who cares?
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 07-03-2009, 01:53 PM  
Need recommendation on good value 200mm+ lens
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 18
Views: 6,376
Tamron Adaptall 300mm f/2.8. I just got mine a week or so ago and so far I love it. It's very big, so check out its specifications and make sure that's something you can deal with, but its size is nothing out of the ordinary considering it's a 300mm f/2.8.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 07-02-2009, 09:59 AM  
Help Needed: Tamron Adaptall Aperture Mechanism
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 3
Views: 2,731
Wow. I feel like I just wasted a lot of time. I fiddled around with the PK adapter (read: took it off and put it back on again) and stuck the lens back on the camera. And, would you believe it, it worked. I can change aperture, I can use the DOF preview button, everything! Changing the aperture actually changes the exposure now. Yippee!

And I spent all this time writing this whole thing for nothing....:hmm:

But my lens works! :lol:. I must have put that adapter on wrong in the first place.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 07-02-2009, 09:46 AM  
Help Needed: Tamron Adaptall Aperture Mechanism
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 3
Views: 2,731
I just purchased a Tamron Adaptall 300mm f/2.8 (model 60b) off of eBay along with its coupled 140F teleconverter. It came with a Nikon and a Minolta adapter, so I got from B&H a PK adapter. While I wait for the Pentax 1.7x AF teleconverter to arrive from China, I've been practicing manually focusing with this monster of a lens. I'll be bringing this on my Earthwatch Expedition to Kenya, so I want to be able to take full advantage of the photographic opportunities I'll have there. (Here's the link to the Earthwatch page if you're curious: Earthwatch: Lions Of Tsavo - Earthwatch)

I have encountered a problem, though. When then lens is not attached to the camera, I can rotate the aperture ring to manually change the aperture. And since I do not have the PKA adapter, this is how I'll have to adjust the aperture settings (right?). The problem is, when I put it on the camera (a K10d), this does nothing. Now I have (some) experience with manual lenses, so I know that the change in aperture does not happen until you press the shutter button or use the DOF preview thing. But still, no matter at what aperture I put the lens, it remains at f/2.8 when I take the picture. This is the case with or without the teleconverter. I tried another manual lens just now to see if the issue is with the lens and not the camera and, sure enough, the lens stopped down correctly.

Now this a huge issue because I'll likely be using one or both of the teleconverters most of the time, but I still want to be able to stop down if I have sufficient light. Any recommendations or advice would be tremendously helpful; I really want to get this to work. If supplying pictures or anything else would aid in this situation, I'd be happy to try to accommodate those.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 06-30-2009, 06:01 PM  
Sigma 30mm F1.4
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 28
Views: 5,033
This might be able to help you out:

Sigma AF 30mm f/1.4 EX DC (Pentax K) Review / Test Report
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 06-26-2009, 12:48 PM  
Pentax Lenses - Really the Best?
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 39
Views: 38,229
I don't think it matters all that much. Pretty much every brand has excellent lenses; the differences are minescule. It's all about preference.
Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras 06-22-2009, 07:36 PM  
Bye-Bye Kodachrome
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 59
Views: 9,230
Rochester sheds a tear. :(
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-22-2009, 06:40 AM  
Best lens combo for birds?
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 16
Views: 7,021
Don't forget about the Tamron Adaptalls: 300mm f/2.8 and 400mm f/4. I just got the 60b (the 300mm), but my PK adapter has not yet arrived, so I can't tell you how the image quality is. These are all over eBay and regularly pop up on KEH, so you should be able to find them with some patience. They usually come with a 1.4x teleconverter specially designed for it, which is reported to be excellent. I'm planning on adding the Pentax 1.7x AF teleconverter because these lenses are manual focus only.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-21-2009, 07:30 AM  
Poll: If you weren't using Pentax, which DSLR brands would you consider?
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 74
Views: 11,664
I would consider all of them, as they all may have something to offer that others don't.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-19-2009, 03:06 PM  
How do you focus?
Posted By ballgofar
Replies: 17
Views: 3,452
Perhaps this question has an obvious answer (though not to me; otherwise, why would I be asking it? :D ), but why would you set your camera to center-point autofocus? Is there a disadvantage to l setting it to SEL and then just leaving it in the middle? Isn't that the same thing, but with the added ability to select a different point if needed without having to flip that little wheel?
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