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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
09-16-2020, 04:06 AM
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Single out one of these to win? I just can't do it; so I won't.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
07-08-2020, 09:54 AM
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I would like to nominate this photo
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
07-08-2020, 09:53 AM
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I would like to nominate this photo
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
05-16-2020, 01:56 AM
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I love the sense of a story here; but one that does not readily submit to a linear narrative.
The photo says something that words cannot. A brief glimpse into a much larger history.
It's also beautifully constructed and photographed, whilst seeming like something that just happened by chance.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
05-02-2020, 07:22 AM
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Taken on one of those occasions when it felt like a good idea to wander round the garden with no particular agenda.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-29-2015, 10:04 AM
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Thank you, all of you, for some really helpful comments. Food for thought which I now need to go away and digest.
Wishing you all well,
William
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-29-2015, 06:47 AM
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I have a K-5 II, bought about two years ago.
In the interests of carrying as little about with me as possible, I also bought a SMC Pentax-DA 18-135 Zoom.
In terms of convenience (and price) brilliant! In terms of picture quality, something about it always seems to disappoint.
This was thrown into sharp focus (pun sort of intended) when I recently resurrected my Pentax-M 85mm f2 portrait lens, left over from my pre-digital days. I've always thought this a wonderful lens, and it doesn't disappoint today. Wonderfully clear. The down side comes when stopping down. Being totally manual, in bright sunlight (particularly) it can be a pig to see properly in order to focus.
So two (linked) questions come to mind:
If I were to buy an up-to-date lens today, with all the bells and whistles useable on my current K5, is there a single zoom lens which will give me the convenience of the 18-135, together with the clarity of my old portrait lens?
Alternatively, given the sort of clarity I'm looking for overall, what are people's views on the following:
Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8
Pentax Telephoto SMCP-FA 77mm f/1.8.
The main questions for me are:
Will the 50-135 be an improvement over my 18-135?
In terms of the 77mm can I expect the same level of clarity as I get on my old manual portrait lens, or is there a trade-off in clarity to be made against the convenience of a fully automatic lens?
Thanks, people.
William
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
08-17-2014, 03:44 PM
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In the days when I did film photography - and had my own darkroom - I did nothing but black & white. Without the benefit - or distraction, depends on how you look at it - of colour, everything comes down to line and shading. There's something almost abstract about B&W. Since the world is always in colour, a B&W photo is never going to look like the subject originally photographed. You have to see the form and line of a scene, or person etc. in a quite different way. And with film, of course, you have the grain as well.
I chose number 14. I love the stark simplicity of it; and yet it takes a remarkable eye to see the possibilities of it - and distinct skill to obtain just the right balance against the setting sun. With colour there would be a temptation to balance out the light and shade to give due importance to the foreground. Here, everything is, quite literally, black and white, with the sky holding the balance between the two.
Wishing you well,
William
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
08-17-2014, 01:50 PM
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Normally I wouldn't vote in a poll like this; there's not normally a clear winner.
This time, to my eye, there is, and I'm happy to cast my vote.
I used to do nothing but black and white. There's something about the challenge that really does seem to bring the best out in photographers. These are all superb - well, nearly all. And one that really did it for me.
William
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Forum: Pentax K-3 Photo Contest
05-17-2014, 07:34 AM
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Luck plays such a large part.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-01-2013, 01:15 PM
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Hi there,
When I said "fully charged", I meant that they are full strength, new, lithium batteries. They're not rechargeables. The indicator suggests that the camera is happy with both the internal battery, as well as the AAs in the grip. What it says, of course, may not be the whole truth - as others have suggested.
I can see this being a tricky one to prove one way or the other. I'm something of a "binge" photographer, which means there are quite long periods when I don't use the camera at all. The problem I encountered came up after I had been using it a lot. So the static theory may be correct, though this doesn't discount it being provoked by the third party grip.
I note that the one thing no-one has suggested is that what the camera might need is a thorough inspection under warranty. The shop I bought it from are quite helpful, so I might give them a ring all the same, just in case this has come up with a particular batch as a recognised problem.
Thank you again to everyone who has responded. You have all been most helpful.
William
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-01-2013, 05:40 AM
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I'm using Energizer, lithium AAs. I tend to find that anything less powerful just doesn't work properly; that, at least, was my experience with my K100-d. It's a third party grip, so maybe I'll have to fork out some extra cash for a Pentax one.
Thank you all for responding.
William
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-01-2013, 05:37 AM
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Thank you for that. I'll try removing the grip (or at least taking the batteries out of it).
It seems to have calmed down for the moment at least; so maybe it was just a weird series of atmospheric conditions creating static. We have had a very strange spring and early summer here in Europe - so who knows?
William
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-01-2013, 04:56 AM
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I have a brand new K-5II, bought just over a month ago.
A couple of times it just would not turn on. The sequence when this happens seems to be as follows:
- Turn switch to "on"; nothing, not even a battery indicator.
- Turn off and turn on again; a slight pause, then the battery indicator shows full charge, but nothing else shows - no menus, no ability to take photos.
- After a few goes of turning on and off, the camera finally clears itself and turns on quite normally.
- On the first occasion that this happened, despite the switch being turned to off, one bar of battery charge still showed.
On one occasion, when I could not get any response whatsoever, a friend suggested I take all batteries out (I have a back-up grip with AAs in it as well as the main battery), leave it for a few moments and try again. This worked.
I note that there is a comment under the trouble-shooting section of the manual that static can occasionally cause this issue; so taking all the batteries out would make sense.
What was more disturbing was the fact that this happened three or four times in one week.
One other comment that might be helpful: I make a point of programming the batteries so that the camera chooses the main battery as first priority, rather than putting it into any sort of automatic choice mode. Both sets of batteries are fully charged.
Is there a simple (and unworrying) explanation? Or should I look at getting the camera checked over whilst it's still under warranty?
William
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