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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
05-30-2015, 10:25 AM
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Again .. all with Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX DG.
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
05-30-2015, 10:09 AM
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As a recent poster experienced ... big challenges, as most of these were through wire fences.
Red Panda was 40' up tree .. waited ages for it to look in my direction.
Lots of fun though.
All taken with my Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX DG .. first time I've used it for a while.
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
05-12-2015, 10:45 AM
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Anyone see the persons head / face on the right hand side water of the 'bridge' ? Almost looks as if 'he' is looking at a less clear one opposite.
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
04-10-2015, 03:40 AM
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Animals taken at the botanical gardens and a Llama park.
Paul
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
04-10-2015, 03:25 AM
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From a short stay in Sussex, England - Royal Botanic Gardens
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
01-09-2015, 11:30 AM
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Same walk as earlier ... kind of spooky ..
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
01-08-2015, 12:27 PM
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You can tell I don't really have a plan can't you :-)
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
01-08-2015, 12:19 PM
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Went out to play with my new D-FA100 but couldn't find much to take close ups of ... so grabbed a couple of sunsets. I know there have been a few, but I liked the silhouette of the trees and church against the rich clouded sky in this one.
The second I call mystery tunnel ... we had a full red sun down a very long straight path that looked like some fantasy door when cropped.
Also found some interesting ice shots ... all new territory for me.
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-30-2014, 11:07 AM
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Hi
I had little idea what I needed when I started building out the K3 kit.
I figured a metal case would be too cumbersome but one of the rather loose sacks or bags would not offer enough structural support for the delicate lenses.
As such, I decided upon a rucksack that appeared to have good padding and basic structural shape. I also wanted something that could 'grow' if necessary, The bag would need to hold two long lenses and at least two others with a TC. I also liked the idea of having a pocket to hold an iPAD safely that would open separately from everything else. The final possible, was to hold my as yet unpurchased Benro ... although in practice, it is rare I would go out with all because of the weight.
There were a few makes ... Tamrac was recommended by a shop I trusted ... and they had the add on pouch system. It was then just a case of choosing one big enough. I nearly went for the smaller size, but eventually chose the Tamrac 5586 Expedition 6x and got a single MAS Medium case which could either hold my Flash or my Panasonic SD700 camcorder.
I'm very happy with it. It actually now has 5 lens and the TC with the body. The only slight frustration is that if you remove a short lens and stick on a long one, you have to mess about with the Velcro and shift the lens around in order to put the camera back in the bag with the long lens on.
The Benro does fit fine with two of it's feet in the lower specifically designed pocket. The two front pockets hold batteries, pens etc. The main inside opening (not the separate ipad / laptop one) has two clear full width pockets that I just use to hold the filter boxes.
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
12-28-2014, 09:28 AM
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Well ... it's just become a quintrinity ... or whatever :-)
I started with a
Standard Zoom - Sigma C 17-70 F2.8-F4
Pentax DA*60-250 F4
I had issues with the 60-250 (and the shop had issues with the other two they had, so I changed for DA*300 and Sigma 70-200.
I purchased an HD1.4x to permanently attach to DA*300 to take to 420mm (circa 600mm at full frame)
I then wanted something really wide so got Sigma 10-20
And this Christmas finished the set with a DA-F100 WR Macro ...
So .. now ...
Ultra wide rectilinear - Sigma EX 10-20 F3.5
Standard Zoom - Sigma C 17-70 F2.8-F4
Tele Zoom - Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM
Pentax DA*300 (I leave my HD 1.4xTC on all the time taking)
Pentax D-FA 100 WR Macro
and I think I'm a really happy bunny. Just got to learn to get the most out them now.
Paul
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
10-20-2014, 11:38 AM
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Hi Steve
I know there are different approaches in different regions. In the UK we tend to have better protection in some areas and not so good in others. We have something called sales of goods act which can cover things like fit for purpose / of merchantable quality for up to 7 years I think. It's often hard to prove, but decent stores will normally replace if less that 3-6 mths ... sometimes you have to threaten a little.
You are right ... pricing in the UK stinks. In many cases it is still pounds for dollars. We certainly are not getting the heavy Pentax discounts you are seeing right now.
For me ... I pay a premium ... not just for the UK, but also because I'm usually daft enough to buy when things first come out. I live with that ... but it's important for me to know I've got protection against things not meeting expectations of quality. Distance selling act gives you no questions asked refund but only for a week. Other protection tends to give you solid cover in the first 3 months at least. Interestingly with Amazon, with very little trouble, I've had things that have failed in a year replaced with new. With an AEG drill that had a hammer drill selector fail after 13 months ... (it had had virtually no use at all), Amazon refunded total cost including return and original postage ... I only called them to get their support with the manufacturer.
I'd just hate to have something less than 6 months repaired ... I'd feel cheated. I guess that is quite a personal / subjective attitude.
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
10-20-2014, 10:07 AM
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Why would you accept this for repair ?
It's brand new ... if you give to someone to play with and worse still take apart, there is a good chance it won't be the same again. I'd certainly consider it second hand repaired rather than 'nearly new'. In the UK, with something this new, you'd get the supplier to replace with a new boxed one.
I certainly had no problem with my 60-250 ... in fact, having realised that two other shop samples had the same problem (it was perhaps 3 months after purchase), the store gave me option of refund or credit for other lens. I took up the latter. To me ... less than 3 months ... it's DoA.
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
10-01-2014, 03:37 AM
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Rondec ... that has to be one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen in a long time.
Paul.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
09-23-2014, 05:51 AM
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I have the SD700. I only ever shoot 1080p. Manual tried to suggest it wasn't standard AVCHD (where as lower outputs were) ... but I've never had an issues. I store all on a mediasmart and can view directly with my Samsung TV. In the main, I stream via an Xtreamer Pro ... again ... it supported the format without any issues. I have used the supplied tools to reduce without any obvious issues. I will check again in case I'm remembering incorrectly. I'm pretty sure you can even use Slysoft CloneDVD mobile to directly convert to a multitude of output resolutions. Again ... haven't tried for a while because I mostly store native for in house streaming.
Cheers
Paul.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
09-15-2014, 10:08 AM
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mtux ... gulp ... amazing.
I'm a keen enthusiast ... not talented or well practiced. I hope some of that will come.
I have a nice selection of lenses right now and I don't really want to spend more if my skills are likely to be the limiting factor in the short to medium term.
The 17-70 Sigma C macro can produce nice pictures. I've put a few on the image samples K3 thread ... but nothing like mtux's.
If a new lens like the Sigma 70, Pentax 100 or Tamron would help me learn faster and produce better pictures more quickly than the 17-70 .. then I would go for it. If I'm unlikely to see major improvement beyond what the 17-70 could achieve in the next year .. I'd hold out to see if Sigma or Pentax ... or indeed Tamron bring out a new lens in the K mount. Most of these lenses are fairly old now (up to 4 years) ... so I'd think it was quite likely we'd see new Macros. They may not be any better ... but if I couldn't exploit the difference ... I'd wait.
I guess that is the decision I'm trying to make.
Huge thanks for the advice .. any the images ... breath taking !
Paul.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
09-10-2014, 12:02 PM
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Tests and reviews for the lens Pentax smc D FA MACRO 100mm F2.8 WR - DxOMark - sharpness / resolution seems to get a very poor result. I have to confess, I struggle with this because I love the DA*300 which didn't do great .. but it does suggest that the lens isn't meeting capabilities of the K5, let alone the K3. I would want the lens no to be the limiting factor in imaging.
How is there this disconnect with apparent image reviews and technical performance ?
Paul.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
09-10-2014, 10:25 AM
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Thanks all.
I think the complaint re the auto focus related to the lack of focus lock which meant that if you were using the lens for non Macro and it missed initial focus, the long throw and hunting resulted in inordinately long focus times. As said, either way, I don't think that would be an issue for me.
What I want is something that provides a significant improvement on an otherwise good close up zoom like the 17-70. My worry is that Pentax lens doesn't appear to receive good technical review ... even from years ago ... I know technical and actual subjective image quality are often different things ... but it is just a worry.
I'll follow on correct forum now :-)
Paul
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
09-10-2014, 09:39 AM
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Hi all
I have most lenses I need and had hoped my Sigma 17-70 C lens which allows circa .2m focus would meet macro needs ... but whilst it's a great lens for most things, it's not quite the quality I want for ultra close ups.
I'm thinking I would like a 90 to 120mm prime macro lens and really want the best handling, best built lens that ensures the highest keep rate of the sharpest, brightest images possible.
My first choice was the Pentax smc DFA 100mm f2.8 WR Macro. Autofocus isn't supposed to be great .. and it would be good to at least have that work well when using for portrait etc ... but I could live with that as most Macro would be manual focus ... but technical reviews going back a long way suggest it wasn't great from resolution perspective even when used with a K5 ... DxO was one of those reviews. Given we are now using a much more detailed K3 .. surely that is not a great place to start ... even though web images do look good.
Sigma doesn't have it's 105 or 150 on k mount which is a shame ...
The only other options seems like the Tamron 90. I've been reluctant to look that way because of build quality, but reviews do seem to suggest the Macros are an exception and indeed a highlight for Tamron ... but again ... it's an old lens and surely not matched to what should be available for a body like the K3.
I don't want to buy a dedicated lens if it won't offer very significant benefits over the Sigma 17-70 (which is pretty good ... just not exceptional) ... what do people suggest ?
Cheers
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
09-02-2014, 09:33 AM
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
09-02-2014, 09:30 AM
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Just a small selection from circa 1500 that I liked.
All lenses got some use. This was the first trip with the Sigma 10-20 which I love - it probably got used 40% of the time for indoor (National Trust etc) and landscape.
Cheers
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
06-27-2014, 10:37 AM
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Just because someone makes an observation, it doesn't mean people need to get all sensitive ... I love my K3 to bits.
I'm not saying they are immoral or illegal. I'm also not suggesting the advertising suggests it can be immersed.
I'm simply saying that the market positioning clearly says it will not suffer adversely to being used normally in heavy rainfall.
I would expect Pentax / Ricoh to be a little defensive if you used it like this and ask you to confirm exactly how you'd used it. If they say clear evidence of leakage through a part of the camera that shouldn't be opened (because it is sealed), then they would obviously push back. If it was clear the leakage was a result of seals not working when used properly in rain, I'd hope they'd cover the costs.
I've no idea if they would or wouldn't ... I hope they would. If they didn't ... I'm saying they would lose in a UK court.
If the camera was immersed ... even sat in a rain puddle more than 5mm in depth for any time ... all bets would be off ... that is a different scenario .. and perhaps the main focus of the thread .. I suspect it we all chill, we'll realise we are all kind of saying the same thing.
Paul.
---------- Post added 06-27-14 at 06:38 PM ----------
yes ... limpet ... agree .... although it would need to be upwards of 3-5mm to even breach the thickness of the bottom shell of the camera ... I'd suspect.
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
06-27-2014, 09:43 AM
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Previous contributors to this thread who said that the Pentax release and subsequent marketing for the K3 clearly positioned the camera as one that could be operated in heavy rain are correct - If you use the camera with a degree of care (i.e. not opening sealed doors or changing lenses in rain) and the camera suffers any ill effects Pentax could be forced to offer a free repair or taken to court if they couldn't prove the damage wasn't caused by negligence of the user - at least that would be the case in the UK.
You don't need an official WR rating like phones are coming out with now for this to hold up in court ... the marketing shows a camera being actively used in pouring rain ... they would have no legal standing at all. Even if Pentax released information to the market now saying that it wasn't to be used in rain and indicated the warranty wouldn't be honoured, anyone that purchased the camera before that communication would still be able to claim and succeed.
If the UK, advertising standards come down like a tonne of bricks on things like this if people make enough sense ... I can't argue for other regions.
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
05-31-2014, 10:30 AM
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All with 70-200 f2.8EX
Paul.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
05-30-2014, 05:57 AM
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Had some great birds of prey ... but just not got the skill yet to turn can capture fast enough :-(
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
05-30-2014, 05:53 AM
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All with DA*300 and HD1.4TC.
Paul.
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