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Forum: General Photography
12-27-2023, 08:50 PM
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Photography is a hobby for me, and in some years a very infrequent one. So I sometimes have to relearn things after blowing a bunch of shots, or I revert back to habits from my film days. There's two habits I still think I need to break, or perhaps just update in my brain for those moments when I get to take the camera out so I don't need to rethink what I'm doing every time I get a few moments to shoot.
The first is to become more comfortable letting the ISO creep up. As a film shooter I'd normally have stuck to 100 or 200, and only used 400 or 1000 when I knew the situation called for it. And I still have a reluctance to go too high on my K5, because noise can become an issue. But with each iteration of post processing software getting better at removing noise, there's really no reason not to let it creep up, and I know I'll get fewer blurry shots by allowing the shutter speed to get faster. So I'm partway towards breaking this one.
The other is that often I'm out shooting on a walk with other people. That may mean being able to stop for a few moments to capture one or two shots at any one location. But even when I'm not as pressed for time, I still get into the mindset of taking a few photos and then moving on to the next location only to find when I get to see the pictures on a big screen that a few steps to the left or right, or a slight change in height might have made for a much better shot. It isn't that I'm opposed to shooting lots of pictures. I'll often turn on exposure bracketing so that I can let the histogram move around a bit and not worry about it for each individual shot and one of the few feature I miss on the K5 is DOF bracketing. But I really need to sometimes stop myself from trying to chase down the next great location only to take a bunch of mediocre shots at each one, instead of trying to get one winner out of a single venue.
Anyone else have habits they in their shooting (or image archiving or post-processing) they are trying to change?
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-27-2023, 07:03 AM
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Much sagacity in this, and very similar to my approach these days. I certainly don't recommend Pentax "proactively". After 20+ years of teaching English lit at secondary level to foreign language learners, it's a bit like giving book recommendations or picking novels for coursework. Certain books matter too much for me to let students further ruin them for me. With enough maturity and refined tastes, they may find them on their own (or not).
When people notice that I shoot Pentax or have specific books in my library, I essentially go, "Well, I guess they wouldn't be there if I didn't like them. Your mileage may vary." Only when people insist on learning more, I will reveal in fairly succinct terms what it is I like about them. :)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-26-2023, 11:53 PM
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For the last decade press and public opinion about Pentax has ping-ponged between amnesia and taking bets on whether it would be the next camera company to follow Olympus out of the business.
Then came 2023.
This year Pentax and Ricoh Imaging introduced:
- The K-3 III Monochrome
- The SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F1.4 Classic
- HD Pentax-FA 50mm F1.4
- The K-3 III Monochrome Matte Black Edition
- The GR III Diary Edition
They also became the official US Kenko distributor, announced the Pentax WG-90 tough compact camera would ship in 2024, and gave more details on the Pentax Film Project. And parent Ricoh Company repeatedly cited the camera business as a profitability bright spot in an otherwise tough time.
The K-3 III Monochrome in particular created a press storm. It’s the only available monochrome dSLR. And the other widely available monochrome digital cameras — the $6,195 Leica compact, fixed lens Q2 Monochrom, and the $9,195 interchangeable lens rangefinder M11 Monochrom — are 3 to 5 times more expensive.
So what say you, Pentaxians? Is 2023 the year Pentax got its mojo back? Or is Pentax still DOOOMED!!! Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know your thoughts in the comments! And if you haven't had a chance to sign up yet for The Best of Pentax Forums weekly newsletter, please join us! We need just 38 more subscribers to reach 1,000!
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
12-05-2023, 11:00 AM
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It's also a sweet looking lens besides being a great optic...and bit of a confidence booster. Not long ago I was shooting a concert for my sister (who was performing in a choir) and an organizer looking person asked me for whome I was shooting. 😅
Here I would also highlight the ISO and SR performance. The concert was in the evening and I was shooting across a basilica (in Třebíč). I was shooting on 12500+ at pretty much constant 450mm and 120ish shutter and a lot of the pictures were usably (for family remembrance anyways) sharp with manageable noise in post (I use Darktable) an all that with me being a total novice with maybe a quite shaky hands (tho maybe I've got that impression from most likely faulty SR on my ancient Panasonic point and shoot since I don't have that problem on other cameras).
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
11-26-2023, 05:57 AM
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Am very grateful to all of you for your advice and guidance. Ordered a K1ii and 28-105 yesterday from MPB. Can’t wait to receive them this week and reacquaint myself with the Pentax way of doing things.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-30-2023, 07:19 AM
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I should add that the K-70 also takes nicely surreal wildlife photos given the "proper" settings!...
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-30-2023, 05:10 AM
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The 18-135 is a good overall lens but a bit short for wild life unless you are teaching your son to stalk. I would be concerned about disappointment if he cannot get close enough to get good shots, but I have a question. You want your son to develop interests in wild life / nature, and while some of his interests surely will overlap yours, others may diverge greatly he might like macro, and close ups etc, or wide angle vistas as opposed to focusing in tightly on one subject. So on that side, the 18-135 might just start him down a slightly different path that can be satisfied with a more “focused” lens selection if and when the time comes
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-30-2023, 04:07 AM
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Hiking or sailing, my basic outdoors kit always includes the 16-85mm and the 55-300 PLM. (I'll often throw the 40mm Ltd in a child's sock in a shirt pocket too!). With a K-70 or KP it's a fairly light, easily portable kit. For out-and-back day sailing or for in-and-out hiking, I'll often switch from one to the other on the return as it changes your perspective.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-30-2023, 02:26 AM
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I have a K-70 and the older DA 55-300 because I got it used at a good price. The PLM version is definitely meant to be better, but I know it is possible to get decent wildlife images with the older version, just it's harder, so might be frustrating for a 7 year old.
My daughter is 12 now and uses my old K-x and has done since she was about 4. For the last 3 years for hiking I've taken a D-FA 28-105. It's a full frame lens, but it was going cheap, (as in 1/3 the price I could get a DA 16-85 for), and I've found it's served well. It's not quite as wide as I'd like for landscapes, but I've managed to get some nice landscapes with it all the same, and the extra reach at the long end is useful if you're only carrying one lens.
I've used it for some fungi and plants, but obviously it's too short for birds unless they're large or really close. (That has happened on occasion, and I've had some great images on the rare occasion it did.)
The 55-300 in its various forms is a bit long to rely on as an only lens for landscapes, but the kit 18-55 is light, and actually not too bad if it's stopped down a bit and you get a third party lens hood (assuming you have the D-AL kit version which lacks quick shift and a lens hood.)
I recently acquired a DA 16-85 with the express intent to use it as a hiking lens, but haven't had a chance to put it through its paces yet, to compare with the 28-105. By rights it should be preferable on a K-70, but I don't know if I'll miss the 20mm extra reach on the long end.
If you want to go hiking and travel light, it's a tough choice if you're interested in a broad range of subjects.
My natural history kit now is actually two cameras. I take the K-70 with a 55-300 on it for birds and the like, and I have an Olympus TG-6 for macro. It's tiny and fits in my pocket. The image quality of the TG-6 is much inferior as it's got a tiny sensor, but I'm not going to do giant prints of macro images, so it's good enough, and it's waterproof so I can take photos of fish and invertebrates in streams. It actually does a fairly decent job of macro photography.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 05:31 PM
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Are you kidding, if I was a 7yo aspiring photographer I'd be in heaven with either the K-70 or the KF :)
They are basically the same camera, but only the more recent K-70 cameras are safe from the infamous solenoid aperture failure - which won't affect the 55-300mm PLM anyway, it uses a different aperture system.
Someone suggested the K-S1 and while I love that body, it's not the body for longer lenses, the grip is too small. I use it with small lenses and it's great for that.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 04:41 PM
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Going away from the brand of Pentax , i would highly recommend the Panasonic lumix fz82 ( I think they call it the fz80 outside of Europe ) as a good beginners camera without the weight of worry of interchangeable lenses. It has a superzoom 20 to 1200 mms efl and powered zoom so no need to twist . There are a range of accessories available , I had the 1.7 x converter and adapter tube also which was great for moon shots .
There's a guy called Graham Houghton on YouTube that has done tons of free tutorials for that camera .
That's what I started with back in 2021 when I got the bug for photography....
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 02:51 PM
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I used my K-70 extensively for wildlife photography for about a year (~20k exposures), before I was fortunate enough to be able to upgrade to a KP, so I know it's well up to the job.
I'd have no reservation about recommending a K-70 (or a KF) under normal circumstances, but, as others have pointed out, especially with a longer lens, it might just be a bit too much of a handful for a youngster.
Several local "birders", especially some of the ladies, use the Nikon P900 very successfully, quoting weight issues for their choice ... so I'd suggest at least look at something similar for starters and maybe work up to a DSLR in a few years.
Whatever your choice ... good luck to you both :)
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 03:38 PM
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For small hands the K-S1 if you can get one.
Just remember, you might one day have to change the solenoid:
Manual: Solenoid replacement: Pentax K-S1 - PentaxForums.com
Kids also might love the gimmicks the K-S1 can do. Not important but it is a mighty Pentax. With a DA50 and DA35 light.
With a A50/2,8 macro even with a smaller lens but no AF but good to learn.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 03:50 PM
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I think I have to agree here. I would suggest a “superzoom compact” may be a better starting point. Having said that, we don’t know your son. I couldn’t imagine myself carrying around an SLR with a large lens when I was 7.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 02:13 PM
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I'd go with whichever one you can get for a better price. Pentax just dropped the price on the KF, but the vendor I just looked at still has the K-70 at $200 less than the KF. I have a K-70 and it does everything I want a digital camera to do, but then I use it for a lot of macro photography rather than wildlife photography, so YMMV.
When I bought my K-70 the KF wasn't out yet, but if it was, I think that $200 difference would have swayed me to the K-70 anyway. Ultimately, they are both good cameras, and both will probably be great cameras for your child to learn photography on.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 02:09 PM
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Perfect body given the proper lens.
Not 100% sure it's the best child beginner's system, though.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 01:37 PM
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The only question I would have is whether a 7 yo would find a KF and DA 55-300 PLM too heavy and bulky. (I might also say "too complicated", but wouldn't underestimate kids when it comes to tech!) I wonder whether a compact camera like a Panasonic Lumix ZS220 (about 350g with battery) might be better.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 12:33 PM
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+1 for the KF alongside the 55-300 PLM
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 12:11 PM
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I'd go with the KF too.
As you mentioned wildlife photography as a predominant interest:
The 55-300mm PLM lens is good for hiking, as the weight is reasonable to carry (the cheap, but even lighter, DA 50-200mm lens might be a good starting point too, although it is not that well regarded in general).
If longer lenses are required in the future (for ornithology, or the like) you will have fewer choices available in K-mount as with other brands however.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 11:36 AM
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Have been using a K70 and 55-300mm PLM combo for a few years now. A lot of yard bird and insect shots. A lot of bang for your buck in my opinion. This Finch was shot at 260mm, f/5.6, 1/400, 800 ISO. And cropped quite a bit in post.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 11:22 AM
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definately the later model!
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
11-29-2023, 11:05 AM
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I don’t have either, but the KF would be fine, a little newer, though not much different than than the K-70. The biggest thing is the lens, get the DA55-300 PLM. There are many versions on the 55-300 but the PLM is by far the best, and it is not close. It has the fastest autofocus by far, silent autofocus (helpful with wildlife), lightest weight (helpful for a seven year old), best image quality, etc. it’s also smaller when retracted. Any of the other versions may cause a lot of frustration with the slow autofocus. The PLM also focuses closer than the other versions, allowing better access to shooting butterflies or other interesting nature along the hike. There are a couple of other good wildlife lenses in the DA*300 and DFA150-450, but these are way too big for a 7 year old to handle.
Again, don’t settle for any 55-300 that’s not the PLM
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
11-28-2023, 12:31 PM
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I was in KC visiting my sister last week and always like to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum when I'm there.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
09-04-2023, 11:30 AM
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My thoughts would be to keep the OM and the one lens covering the range you would not want to give up, ie that 12-100 Pro you mentioned, then look at one of the crop-body Pentax cameras. The K3iII can now be found at far more wallet-friendly prices than it was at launch.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
09-04-2023, 11:18 AM
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Would you be crazy - no.
Would the weight bother you - unknown. Easy to test the waters. Add weight to your existing kit. Ergonomics won’t be the same so don’t go nuts adding to the actual camera. Add to the bag.
12-100/4 is a very nice lens. 24-200 equivalent. It’s said to be f8 equivalent in terms of effects on noise and aperture but that 20mp m43 sensor probably isn’t as noisy as that implies. I’d say f5.6 is closer to the effective difference. But the 28-105 despite being really nice doesn’t offer 24-27.99mm or 100+mm. The 18-135 offered in apsc is a nice lens covering 27-200mm equivalent at lower quality in the corners above 70-80mm (real mm not equivalent). The 16-85 is chunkier and less long but as wide as what you are used to. It also covers corners better but whether this is a factor depends on how you use it.
The real question is what are you willing to give up more? My dad has gone through cycles. He is 86 this year btw. He shot Pentax apsc (k50, k-3, many many lenses). Then m43 (many different bodies and lenses) Then Sony FF (a7r II plus several lenses). Then only the RX100. Now back to m43 (em1.2, 12-45/4) he is a bit of a rolling stone.
You need to decide what is the most important to you. Talk it out with us.
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