|
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-27-2015, 05:32 PM
|
| |
I solved my "street photography" question by purchasing a Ricoh GR 16.2mp point-and-shoot on ebay. I chose it after reading some street photography blogs. Now I gotta learn how to use it. I have also enrolled in a Street Photography weekend workshop run by Sydney Uni's adult Education Extension Center in late March.
I will still keep an eye out for 24mm and 200mm Primes for the Pentax on eBay. Amazing what you can get at a good price if you are patient.
Thank you all for the advice.
I would like to close this thread now.
Michael
|
|
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-24-2015, 05:26 PM
|
| |
I use three of the zoom lenses mentioned in this thread.
The best bang for your buck (in terms of price, zoom range, aperture, close-up photos and picture quality) would be the Sigma 17-70 in its latest version as a walk-around lens.
It lived on my K10D and lives on my K3 in fine weather when I bring my backpack with a few extra lenses. Many of my favourite pictures were taken with this lens.
I got the 16-45mm lens when I purchased my K10D. The 16-45 is a keeper. It even rates better than the starred 16-50, but I do not use it much now - I found the range too restricting. It was extra weight and space to carry with my 17-70. And, if I need a really sharp wider angle landscape lens I use my SMC DA 15mm Prime. The fact that it is f/4 is not important for most landscapes.
Recently I took the 18-135 WR kit lens on my K-3 with me to Lady Elliott Island - I needed an all-conditions general-purpose lens and had a severe baggage weight restriction. I took a variety of shots with it and was not disappointed. It was a little short for bird shots, and not the fastest or sharpest until stopped down a bit. However, the extra focal length and WR made it preferable over my Sigma 17-70. I took a couple of Primes along, just in case. (DA SMC Limited 15mm f/4, FA 50mm f/1.7, DA SMC Limited 70mm f/2.4).
So - consider the purpose of your lens choice and your budget and go for it.
Michael
|
|
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-24-2015, 04:56 PM
|
| |
Thank you all for your replies.
I will keep my eye on ebay for a suitable 200mm lens, either the A* or the DA*.
Ditto for the 24mm. My candidate list being the Sigma 24mm f/2.8 MF or the f/1.8 ED and the A* or the SMC DA 21mm f/3.2.
Once again thank you all for your advice.
Michael
|
|
Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-24-2015, 04:39 PM
|
| |
Thank you for your advice.
---------- Post added 02-25-15 at 10:44 AM ----------
Thank you all for replying.
I will try one of the low-priced adapters with my existing Pentax lenses.
If the low-priced adapter does not work then i will go for the expensive, but highly rated Novoflex adapter.
Michael
|
|
Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-02-2015, 07:43 PM
|
| |
Although I regularly use my k-3, I recently gave in to temptation and purchased a Sony 6000 mirrorless camera (as an experiment and backup), and for Street Photography.
I would like to be able to use my Pentax lenses on the Sony and vice-versa.
Which adapters do you recommend please?
1. There are a confusing number of adapters around for fitting Pentax lenses on an E-mount/NEX Sony camera. I would like to use a pentax 24mm lens on the
Sony as I cannot afford the Zeiss lens ($1400AU), and the Samyang/Rokinon is somewhat cumbersome for street photography.
2. I was not able to find the opposite adapter ... for fitting Sony E-mount/NEX lenses on my k-3 or k-01.
Does one exist?
You may well ask ... why bother, unless you have an expensive Zeiss lens (which I don't and cannot afford)? Well, I purchased two of the Sigma E-mount Art series Primes - the 19mm and the 30mm f/2.8 for $177AU each and thought they might be OK on my Pentax kit.
Thank you
Michael
|
|
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-02-2015, 07:31 PM
|
| |
I am looking for two lenses and would appreciate some advice please.
1. a compact high quality 24mm prime lens to run on my k-01 (or k-3) to use for "street photography", and
2. a compromise between price and quality 200mm prime to use on my k-3 for moderately distant nature shots and inside action or head/portrait shots in an auditorium.
1. 24mm Prime (for k-01 or k-3) for Street Photography
I would ideally like it to be sharp, at least 2.8 aperture and also have distance scales on the lens for Zone focusing or Hyperfocal focusing. I don't mind manual. From the forum database 2 Pentax lenses seemed to meet my criteria: the FA* 24mm f/2 AL IF and the A 24mm f/2.8. I have not yet checked non-pentax alternatives.
2. 200mm Prime (for k-3) for moderate distance nature, inside sports and head shots in moderate / poor light. Here I located 4 candidate Pentax lenses: Two k-mount lenses, the 200mm f/2.5 and the 200mm f/4; the A* 200mm f/2.8 ED and the A 200mm f/4. I must admit that the A* looks fantastic, but it is probably out of my price range.
BTW I do have a Tamron 200mm f/3.5 adaptall-2 Pentax-fit and a k-mount Pentax 300mm f/4. Unfortunately I cannot find the Tamron ... it is in the same box (somewhere?) as my old film camera. I am (still!) having difficulty with focusing, depth of field and contrast with the 300mm. I also have used a Sigma 120-400, for sports (soccer) qquite successfully but, when the light goes the ISO creeps up and noise takes over.
My question: Which pentax or pentax-fit lenses can you please recommend for these two purposes.
Thank you in advance for your suggestions.
Michael
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
09-12-2014, 07:00 AM
|
| |
Thank you for your replies and advice.
The lens is the old film camera K mount SMC 300mm F4 described in the database.
I experimented this week based on your feedback, and found that most of my problem was caused by my inexperience - a different camera, (K-3 instead of K10D), everything manual instead of P mode, an old Prime telephoto lens, instead of the two lenses I have been using for many years; and, when I re examined the photos, flare from the sun. Also when I looked at the exif info I noticed that I was taking quite fast shots wide open ... No wonder I had very little depth of field.
Once again thank you for your replies and hints.
Michael
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
09-12-2014, 06:43 AM
|
| |
Yes ... You are right Steve and Delegopa. I did another - the nsw first grade women's grand final soccer match on Sunday. My young friend was in the under-17s playing against the Camden Rams, at Leichardt.
I simply ran out of light. Last weekend, in my inexperience, I did not realise the significance of the flashing ISO indicator. At the time I was using the lens, the shooting mode and a heap of camera features for the first time. After your feedback my shots came out exposed correctly. Thank you so much for your advice.
I also learnt why f/2.8 lenses are prized so much ... As dusk fell I was forced to bump up the ISO again and again. Eventually I stopped shooting when 128000 was not enough.
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
09-04-2014, 07:46 PM
|
| |
I purchased a New Sigma 120-400 telephoto zoom lens for my k-3 in order to take soccer photos.
I should mention that I have just moved from a k-10d to the k-3 and I am still getting used to the differences and that I have not used a 400mm telephoto lens before.
I tried it out shooting a late-afternoon / early-evening under-lights soccer match last weekend.
I mounted the lens on my monopod for stability and weight.
I chose to capture 'jpg only' for speed, instead of using 'raw+jpg'.
I chose to run it in Tav mode so that I could pick a fairly fast exposure time and a mid-range aperture, letting the camera take care of the ISO.
I did this because I wanted to be able to freeze the action but also get better quality (f8-f11) shots than wide-open.
Well - that was my intention.
No luck.
Most shots were very very dark.
I tried increasing the +/- exposure compensation after reviewing on-camera.
Not much luck with that either.
As the available light diminished, the ISO crept up (I initially limited it to100-1600) and I even tried 3200 later.
Of course the darn shoots became grainier and noisier as dusk set in.
To add insult to injury even after editing in PSE 11 to attempt to adjust exposure, tone, shadows and highlights the PSE11 noise reduction seemed to be completely ineffective.
The odd thing is that when I popped on my very first "newbies long telephoto zoom" - Sigma 70-300 APO the shots were very very much better.
Any advice would be gratefully accepted.
Michael
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
09-04-2014, 07:26 PM
|
| |
I recently purchased a used K mount manual 300mm lens for my k-3.
Despite reading the various posts on using old manual lenses etc I have not been able to get decent shots with it.
I identified it as a 300 mm lens when prompted, on attaching the lens.
I run it in manual mode.
I tried using the green button as an exposure aid.
On some cases I end up with bland shots with very poor contrast.
On other occasions I end up with very limited depth of field.
I would appreciate your advice please.
Michael
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
09-04-2014, 07:19 PM
|
| |
Please note that there is the "Pentax" Flu card and there are the generic flu cards.
Do you have the right one?
I made the mistake of purchasing the generic card instead of the Pentax-specific one.
I hope this helps.
mekiAus
|
|
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
11-09-2013, 07:29 AM
|
| |
Still waiting for Paxtons to receive their shipment of K-3s.
|
|
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
11-03-2013, 05:34 PM
|
| |
Thank you for the welcomes.
I will look at the Sydney Pentax Club threads.
What type of bike do you ride p38arover? I ride a Suzuki C50, their 800 cc cruiser - very comfortable.
Cheers
mekiAus
|
|
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
11-03-2013, 03:34 AM
|
| |
When I logged on for the first time, the Forum asked me to introduce myself. So, here goes.
I was introduced to Pentax film cameras by my fiancee, an art student at East Sydney Tech in 1970. She was grafted to a Spotmatic. I did not purchase a Pentax until the P50 was released and I ran it with an incredibly solid Tamron Adaptall zoom lens, a 28-80mm I think. Both camera and lens were damaged beyond repair several years later when I carelessly left them on a table on a boat, which dumped them unceremoniously on the deck. They were replaced by a P30 and a rather soft kit lens after my insurance claim.
My first digital camera was a 2 megapixel Kodak fixed focus equivalent of a box camera. This was replaced by a Fuji digital bridge camera. Eventually the card slots died and I purchased my current Pentax SLR, a beautiful K10D.
I recently placed a deposit on a new K3 at Paxtons, a Sydney camera store. As you can see, I don't replace cameras until the advances in technology justify the upgrade.
As for lenses, I ran my K10D for years using the Sigma 17-70 and an APO 70-300 combination. They were what I could afford at the time. Later I purchased a Sigma 28-80 f/2.8 lens from eBay. It was seemed sooo heavy and had a lot of glass.
More recently I purchased a K-01, out of curiosity, when they were dumped. I like the pics it takes, but ... although it is a "csc" it seems to be missing the first C. I tried out some of the SMC DA primes and am still finding it difficult to adapt from my zoom lens habits.
My subjects are varied. I am not a natural photographer. My brother can virtually wave his Nikon in the general direction of something and come up with great shots ... I am lucky if I get one keeper in a hundred.
I mainly use my cameras for holiday snaps and photos of family, especially my beautiful new granddaughter. I have tried landscapes and portraits ... and am improving. My close macro shots ... difficult, still experimenting and reading. My little Pentax rugged waterproof camera takes great underwater shots and movies.
I am a retired university lecturer in information technology - 20 years in industry and 20 years at university. I wrote my first commercial program in December 1967, so I was fairly early in the field. I have been fortunate to work all my professional life at my hobby - both in programming and university education.
When I get my K3 I will take some comparison shots to see how much it differs from my K10D.
mekiAus
|
