|
Forum: Pentax Price Watch
12-11-2014, 08:26 PM
|
| |
I have an XF-1 and I'm very pleased with the image quality. No problems with it, either. I get lots of remarks about the "cool camera," too. But... even with the two-thirds sensor, the lens stops down very fast. The XZ-2's lens stays much brighter for much longer and external controls are generally superior. I prefer the XF-1's manual zoom but I could certainly live with the XZ-2's power zoom. I'd open the Olympus box first.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-01
12-11-2014, 02:57 PM
|
| |
Mine is still fine in all this time having used contact cement.
Personally I think it's wasting everyone's time sending it in under wty for such a trivial fix.
|
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
09-07-2014, 04:20 PM
|
| |
Loons aren't ducks, they don't quack...
One of the oldest families of bird, modern loons are in the fossil record, 37 million years ago, with related ancestors 100 million years ago, long before ducks. They have 60 calls all with different meanings, none of which sound at all like a duck.
Check them out here,
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_loon/sounds |
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-29-2014, 02:48 PM
|
| |
Nice image, when I first read the title I thought someone was feasting on squirrels. :lol:
|
|
Forum: Lens Clubs
08-11-2014, 05:35 PM
|
| |
I've discovered one trick for focus peaking is to enable the dark/light notification on the K-30. As long as you aren't going for sliver-thin depths of field, it will read the sparklies from the focus peaking as dark/light areas and flash yellow and red. The combo makes reading the focus peaking a lot easier.
EDIT: May as well add another shot. Its that 300mm again. This lens continues to impress me. I'm including a wide angle shot of that same bridge to get an idea of the distance involved here - it was shot from the same basic spot.
Maine Central 52
by Jody Roberts, on Flickr
(this was shot from my Sigma UWA @ 16mm just as an FYI)
Head of Falls; Waterville, Maine
by Jody Roberts, on Flickr
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-21-2014, 10:31 AM
|
| |
The Pentax DA* 16-50mm is not as beloved on these forums as some other lenses are. You might prefer to spend a little less on that type of zoom and get some high quality primes instead. You can get Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 as a significant improvement over the DA 18-55mm (and its still 2.8), and a DA 21mm for landscapes. And you will still have some money left over, you can get a DA 35mm f2.4, DA 40mm XS, or DA 50mm f1.8. All of these lenses would give top image quality, in the same ballpark or better than the Pentax 16-50mm
And you can keep the 18-55mm for those occasions you need WR, provided your camera is WR
Just my opinion
|
|
Forum: Sold Items
08-20-2014, 02:35 PM
|
| |
Hi Photolady,
I know this doesn't exactly answer your question, but you might be interested in this thread;
Cosina 100mm F3.5 MC Makro Lens Reviews - Cosina Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database
The Cosina-made 100mm f/3.5 Macro (Makro) appeared in at least four badgings, Cosina, Pentax, Vivitar and Promaster. Same optics, same plastic outer shell, slightly different cosmetics like lettering, DoF scale and of course brand name. Several of the posters on the Review link mention that they have the Vivitar version, and you can see the score is pretty high for a (basically) budget, 3rd-party-made, lens.
I own the Pentax-branded version and have been very happy with mine. https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/SMC-Pentax-FA-100mm-F3.5-Macro-Lens.html Yes, it's only 1:2 and the plastic housing doesn't exactly inspire confidence for durability. Pentax also made an f/2.8, 1:1 100mm Macro in this series (FA) and for three times the price, is certainly a higher-quality macro. But this plastic fantastic (as the Cosina was called at the time) is no slouch, I've recommended it many times as one of the best under-$200 AF macros available.
I believe there's also a manual-focus version of this, too. Mine is A/F and has a real aperture ring, very helpful for macro.
JMO, hope this helps!
Ron
|
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-12-2014, 08:54 PM
|
| |
Good hand. I read once that after each photo session return your camera to default settings, something I never do and end up as you did.
|
|
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-04-2008, 08:19 PM
|
| |
When I introduced my Auto-Focus charts, It was both accepted by many people but also discredited by others. I received many constructive comments and suggestion, and some were incorporated in the current design.
The time I took to design the charts was to help other Pentaxians. I sent the charts to Pentax and asked them for an opinion. Because Pentax is International, with the head office in Japan and also because they now are owned by Hoya, I will not mention the names at Pentax but here is the email received from them.
Hi, Yvon.
Actually the chart worked just fine for me. A co-worker also tried it. He’s an old hand with the popular one on DPReview, but he says your chart seems just fine. He and I both liked that it folded out to a 45° angle block, which seemed to make the process pretty easy.
Thanks for working on this and making it available.
Best regards,
~~~~~ PENTAX Imaging Company
You can check and download the charts for free here: AF Charts
Thank you for reading. With Pentax, you're in good company,
Yvon Bourque
|
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-02-2014, 04:23 PM
|
| |
Grey Squirrel in Pennsylvania.
|
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-02-2014, 07:21 AM
|
| |
I posted this over at Pentaxians too before I saw this thread.
 _IGP2218 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
|
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-02-2014, 07:45 AM
|
| |
| |
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-01-2014, 11:52 PM
|
| |
WSSA 474PX
|
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-01-2014, 06:15 AM
|
| |
Here are three more just before we leave on our two week trip:
Columbian ground squirrel
Mountain Chipmunk
WSSA # 456 PX
|
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-01-2014, 06:08 AM
|
| |
This handsome and inquisitive little fellow had a posh British accent, from the West End.
strolling on the "the Serpentine" Hyde Park, London, UK May 2007
WSSA #464 PF
I'm heading back there in September so might catch some with Pentax gear this time, if those little furry chaps are out and about.
|
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-01-2014, 10:42 AM
|
| |
Frenzy? What frenzy?
K100D, DAL 50-200
 |
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-06-2014, 08:30 AM
|
| |
Siberian Husky
 |
|
Forum: Photo Critique
08-21-2013, 09:47 PM
|
| |
Shauntae, her husband, and I went for a little hike outside Tucson. We encountered some lovely weather and had a little shoot.
I've been working on using only natural light and aiming for a softer, hazy look.
Larger, more detailed images can be found here. Just click the image to see it bigger. You can see rain sprinkles in the 3/4 length one. :)
 |
|
Forum: Pentax Price Watch
04-24-2014, 03:04 PM
|
| |
I just noticed that somebody has a Sigma 85mm 1.4 for K-mount on eBay ending in a few hours. Second-hand copies of this lens in K-mount come up for sale very rarely. Searching the marketplace, it looks like in the last two years there have only been two or three listed for sale.
Sigma 85 mm F 1 4 HSM EX DG Lens for Pentax 085126320614 | eBay
I'm guessing that most people who have one tend to hold onto it. I know I'll never let mine go! It is easily my favorite lens, and from what I've seen it is a legitimate contender to the legendary Pentax 85mm 1.4. It captures skin tone and texture like no other lens I've ever used.
it seems like the few used copies that have come up usually go for $700-$800 shipped. Finding one on eBay as no-reserve auction is also unusual, and probably won't happen again anytime soon. There's 4 hours left as I post this, and it's only at $500, so maybe somebody will get lucky.
BTW, it looks like the seller ships only in the US.
Here are a few samples from my Sigma 85mm so you can see what I'm talking about. The first picture is a snapshot from last summer of one of my daughters playing in the sprinkler in our yard. The other three pictures are kids from church. All of the pictures were taken with natural light, with absolutely no kind of lighting equipment or modifiers. I've linked to the full-size shots so you can pixel-peep them to see what I'm talking about.
 |
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-11-2013, 10:09 PM
|
| |
| |
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
07-02-2013, 01:32 PM
|
| |
| |
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-14-2014, 03:00 PM
|
| |
alternative name "candle" :o
 |
|
Forum: Lens Clubs
03-28-2014, 06:30 PM
|
| |
It took me roughly .3 seconds to realise we don't have wolves in Amsterdam-East... funny when you're out doing urban birding and unexpectedly stare into the face of this, a Saarloos Wolfdog. DA* 300mm with 1.7x AF-adapter (on a K-3), straight jpeg extraction without additional PP.
Hmm. Flickr has now definitively changed their share link format to something the forum software can't interpret. Unmolested picture is here, here's a crappier downsized photobucket version:
 |
|
Forum: Sold Items
04-11-2014, 05:23 PM
|
| |
Please mark thread as sold.
|
|
Forum: Pentax Price Watch
04-11-2014, 01:49 PM
|
| |
Why don't you see if your buyer would like to resell it back to you? Maybe he or she didn't like it or wants to be extra nice. Or maybe you can pay them a little profit.
M
|
