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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-11-2017, 04:06 PM
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Q can go too. Light it on fire and send it over a cliff if it saves K mount.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-07-2017, 03:06 PM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-07-2017, 01:20 PM
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I just turned on my K-01 and asked it what it thought of the rumor. It twirled it focus motor and laughed.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-27-2017, 06:46 AM
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Feel free to go if you don't feel comfortable with Pentax.
But perspective is important. Pentax have a venerated position in the history of photography, but that respect does not accrue from being the biggest, the best capitalized, or the fastest-moving company. The Pentax culture is conservative. For decades it was built on delivering a bulletproof student/art camera (K1000) and a bulletproof pro camera (6x7) that hit a sweet spot that did not require radical rethinks over the years. Pentax's move into DSLRs was carefully considered. They could have had one of the first DSLRs, and jumped into full frame straight away. When the sensor was problematic, Pentax pulled back. Contax didn't and it doomed them. Pentax took their time to get back into DSLR, and the history from the *ist D to the K1 has been of careful, slow iteration. They find what works, stick with it, and innovate around the edges in ways that are meaningful to working photographers. This approach either suits you, or it doesn't. Because it's a culture that's unlikely to change. I suggest that Ricoh has a very compatible culture to Pentax, taking a similar approach. So I don't expect any changes in strategy.
You mention jumping to Canikon. I can't speak to Canon, but whether you like their products or not, they are the elephant in the room. The system is huge, the "mindspace" of the brand is equally huge. Canon invested in the system, and bought that mindspace, largely through sports. And Canon have never wavered in that strategy. Buying Canon is safe. It's like the old saying from IT management -- noone ever got fired for buying Microsoft. Ditto Canon.
Nikon is a different story from Canon. Nikon has a deep system and has good mindshare -- basically inheriting the photojournalist slot from Leica by building a series of rugged SLRs. The brand positioning for the D6 and the D800 doesn't seem any different than they have had for decades, whether that's the F5/F100 or the F2. But Nikon users don't have the same "carefree" attitude as Canon users and you may find yourself haunted by similar doubts as you have with Pentax. Concerns commonly voiced on Nikon sites/forums include:
- Nikon is an "all eggs in one basket" company. They don't have the deep pockets or diversification that Canon (and ironically Ricoh) have, to weather storms in the photography world.
- Nikon isn't committed to building out the lens portfolio (especially DX / APS crop lenses)
- Nikon is slow to adopt useful / novel features (mirrorless, in body image stabilisation, etc) enticing users to more exciting platforms
- Nikon doesn't take video seriously
- Nikon holds onto flagship bodies for too long, letting other companies leapfrog (D300s ....)
- Nikon has poor software and doesn't understand the "digital native" kids and the connected world
Some of these criticisms sound familiar to Pentax shooters.
I think that Pentax is actually in a really good position - that is compatible with it's historic strategy. It has the 645Z, offering a solid and respected tool that is unapologetically for professional shooters; the K1 for the discerning small format shooter, and a small selection of entry level cameras that have enough novelty and value to build (or hold) the entry level customer. We'd all love Pentax to spend a bit more on marketing, but unless Pentax decides to "own" the next Olympics and repeat Canon's strategy, there is no point going head-to-head against their mindshare.
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Forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive
05-08-2016, 10:07 AM
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lovely monochrome photos sage97.heres a few of my favourites with the DA15
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Forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive
05-08-2016, 06:00 AM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
06-24-2016, 05:27 AM
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Pentax K-1 Themes
You may use specific Pentax product names and product logos ( in this design is K-1 logos)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
06-23-2016, 05:52 PM
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Forum: Sold Items
06-10-2016, 09:13 PM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-29-2016, 02:10 PM
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For those defending Sigma and saying Pentax deliberately or ignorantly messed up the clearance - ask yourself this. If the spec is xyz, but they allowed for much greater than that - an amount that happens to be about the exact amount plus a bit of the Sigma clearance - and the only lenses scratching the mount are those that seem to have a poorly machined eliptical rather than round part - how exactly was Pentax able to predict this?
It seems simple enough. Some reasonably sloppy machine work was done to make some mount spacers. These did not cause issues with past cameras and so Sigma let them slide because they did not detract from the usefulness or put off buyers. They never anticipated this change from Pentax and despite the fact that Pentax appears to have attempted to make allowances it seems like Pentax did not know about the eccentricity of the parts.
It doesn't take malice or failure - it just happens. Sigma did nothing wrong by accepting the eccentric parts since they caused no issues prior to this. Pentax wasn't trying to harm Sigma users and force them to Pentax products either. Kudos to Sigma for stepping up and offering a solution - there is nothing practical that Pentax could do in this situation other than perhaps make the repairs available to Sigma and perhaps cut them a break on price.
In any case - I have no idea why people take umbridge on this topic. Problem exists, sigma offers a fix, the end.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
05-27-2016, 07:05 PM
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This might win the prize for most trivial thread of the months, but I noticed that K-01 has been included on some new merchandise from the Japan Ricoh store. Of course this stuff is primarily to promote the K-1, but I just thought it was an indication that someone within the company is proud enough of the K-01 to place it among a collection of great Pentax cameras over the years.
????????2016 | RICOH IMAGING
On a mug
On a Towel
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
05-05-2016, 10:32 PM
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K-1 + silver A 50mm F1.2 shot with another K-1 ;)
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
05-06-2016, 03:57 AM
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Ok.... this is getting a bit weird now.....
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-23-2016, 04:09 PM
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
05-22-2016, 10:46 AM
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Thank you ALL for the Welcome!
I'll post more photos soon & hope you'll enjoy them too..
Jacob - PentaxBro ;) |
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Forum: Sold Items
05-22-2016, 07:57 AM
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I can say this lens loves K-1.:)
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-20-2016, 01:25 PM
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After paying for my K-30, I asked to handle one of the "dummy" K-01 bodies they had in the case, just so I could say I did. And look how THAT turned out. :D
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
05-20-2016, 03:09 PM
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I'm still working on a case for this, but so far I'm loving the lens. I'll also post more in a separate thread when I get the case ready.
There are no front filter threads. After being unable to find a pinch cap, I found a great front cover from lenscoat.com. It's similar to the original Pentax leather front cap, but this isn't leather. Plus it was only $16 shipped.
This was the day it arrived:
And this was the day I took it to Yellowstone earlier this week:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-20-2016, 12:55 PM
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You lost me at the oxymoron of "rational...love."
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-19-2016, 03:20 PM
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As a volunteer photographer with the Arizona Humane Society, I have the privilege of photographing quite a few homeless animals. These pictures were all taken with the K-3 and the 18-135. Studio equipment with flash triggered by radio sending unit attached to the hot shoe. The photos are used to help potential adopters find a furry companion.
John
PENTAX : PENTAX Photo Gallery artist page
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Forum: Lens Clubs
05-16-2016, 09:56 AM
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Using a 15mm at an airshow...check....I think is mind controlling:D:D (Frecce Tricolori PAN-Italian aerobatic demonstration team)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-18-2016, 11:12 AM
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I just love all of the big cats. These are a couple of my first with the new lens. Shot at full length (630mm reported)
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Forum: Photographic Technique
04-11-2016, 05:27 AM
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Figure out how big of an area you want to photograph- e.g. a butterfly with a 10cm wingspan you'd like to fill up 2/3 of the horizontal space needs 15cm or 150mm total. If you're using an APS-C sensor, it's roughly 16mm by 24mm. Divide 150mm by 24mm to get 150/24 = 6 (close enough:)). This means you're after a magnification ratio of 1:6. The scale on the DFA100mm shows "1/x", where in this example "x" is 6, so turn the focusing ring so the 6 lines up then slowly approach your butterfly until it's in focus and fire away.
In practice, it's usually easiest to
1) Roughly manually focus
2) Move to adjust your composition how you'd like it
3) Roughly manual focus again
4) Move the camera in and out to achieve fine focus
5) Take picture
6) Repeat steps 4 & 5 a few times to make sure you've nailed the focus where you want it.
7) Make a note after the fact of the magnification you used
Step 7 is optional, but it's a handy reference after the fact as you can reverse the calculation above to get a rough idea of the size of your subject. It also makes a handy reference point for the next time you photograph the same subject - you already have a good idea where to start.
A Macro rail lets you perform step 4 with higher precision. The more magnification you have, the more worth it a rail is to lug around. A rail also lets you 'Focus Stack' much more easily than hand holding and more accurately than turning the focus ring (which changes the magnification). Here's a nice short https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/177-macro-photography/314313-focus-stacking-tutorial.html
Don't discount the AF, I've been finding it handy for accurately fine-tuning the focus on some subjects at magnifications less than 1:2 or so. There are many ways to achieve focus - find whatever methods work best for you. Expect to need practice, lots of practice, but you will get better.
And what the others have said - a 100mm macro will work just fine for subjects at any distance where 100mm is appropriate. If I can get close enough to the squirrel on the tree that I can use my DFA100mm and don't mind the background differences, I'll probably use the macro over my da300mm. The macro is just so tiny by comparison and optically top drawer.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-17-2016, 12:54 PM
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
05-16-2016, 06:32 PM
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DFA 100 f2.8 WR:
A 50 f2.8:
F 85 f2.8 Soft:
K 50 f1.2:
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