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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-15-2019, 10:49 AM
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Wow, this is great stuff.
Thanks!
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-15-2019, 05:03 AM
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I like to shoot the epic grandeur of the skies and sometimes very bad weather. I owned a Pentax K5 IIs and I really liked the image quality, but ultimately I decided the two-lens/body combo was too big, too heavy for everyday carry. I now have a small M43 kit for assignments (primarily because it is "good enough" and very quiet), but now I am thinking a used Pentax body, plus possibly the 18-135 WR (also used) to live in my car and be available for use in very difficult conditions.
Used sounds right, because the failure of a $400 lens/camera combo is less dismaying than the failure of a $1500 combo.
Suggestions? Ideas? (Or should I go back to "the home" and start taking my meds again -- grin --).
Additional: I already have a "rugged" camera, and the image quality isn't good enough.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
08-09-2018, 05:51 AM
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Stormy skies, romanced with DXO 11.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
08-08-2018, 02:59 PM
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Dpreview specs on the K-5 IIs says battery life is 980 shots, which is way better than my previous cameras.
If you turn off the rear screen so that it is black except for reviewing shots, does that extend battery life beyond 980?
If so, has anybody tried it and what kind of results have you gotten?
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: General Photography
08-05-2018, 02:06 AM
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Hanging a heavy camera from my neck is uncomfortable. Slinging a camera or camera bag cross body seems the best way to go. There's no weight on the neck, no need for melon-sized deltoids or epaulets to keep the strap in place. During my initial research, the Internet kept tossing up ideas for camera straps of various sorts made of braided parachute cord.
Then it occurred to me: why not simply extend the factory camera strap with a bit of parachute cord? It would sling cross-body and slide, but not too easily, and it wouldn't have any metal that could make noise or potentially bump into the camera body.
So here is the result (yes, I realize that is not a Pentax below, but I tried it for my K-5 IIs, and it works just fine, even with the 55-300 attached):
It stays in place but it slides when needed. It doesn't rotate, so the camera stays in the same orientation.
Nobody is going to approach you on the street and ask, "Where did you get that beautiful camera strap?" (So your carefully prepared story -- these straps are made by direct descendants of Norgay Tenzing above 15,000 feet in Tibet -- will have to wait for another day.)
If you find the ragged ends of the parachute cord distressing, you can up your game by melting the terminus of the cord, like so (do this outside and don't breath in the fumes):
Of course, at Classless Camera Research Laboratories, we charge extra for that.
Cheers, Jock
PS A hank (about 18 feet) of parachute cord can be had in various colors at a big box store for about $2US.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
08-01-2018, 07:29 AM
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Well, I think I may have solved it. I did a "reset all" on the camera on the theory that some combination of software selects is causing misbehavior in the auto-ISO function.
After the reset, I can see the camera changing ISO as I move from dark areas to light areas . . . and it wasn't doing that before.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
08-01-2018, 02:23 AM
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No . . . I checked. But I did have the highlight and shadow protection turned on.
So I turned them off -- just in case they caused something regarding ISO selection -- set the ISO range to 100-400, and set the rate of change to SLOW.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
07-31-2018, 02:10 PM
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Now, where did I leave that epoxy?
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
07-31-2018, 01:52 PM
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Well, now that you mention it, I have been having one issue with the K-5 IIs: when I use the auto-iso, it seems to always go to the highest ISO, no matter what.
What I would like, if I have my preference, is that the camera would maintain lower ISOs automatically and then increase the ISO when it was really needed.
Any advice or counsel to offer?
Cheers, Jock
PS -- Thanks for the feedback!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
07-31-2018, 11:54 AM
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A few more photos? Well ... twist my arm!
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
07-31-2018, 10:07 AM
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Mine currently looks like the bottom one.
I have reached out to Pentax to see if I can get the "hatch cover" from them.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
07-31-2018, 10:02 AM
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Now, I know what you’re thinking: Whaaaat? Wasn’t the K-5 IIs breaking news like, five or six years ago?
Well, you’re right; this is my first look at an older camera. This is the cumulative result of several things happening in rapid succession here at El Rancho Elliott. First, I sold all of my M43 gear . . . every last scrap of it. I just wasn’t using it, and rather than wait until its value approached zero, I jettisoned the lot. Second, my Scottish thrift genes kicked in, and I decided to experiment with a strategy of adopting “trailing edge” technology. Why take a beating on new stuff when you can pick up some very nice gear for a fraction of the price when brand new? Third, while toodling around the Internet, I noticed that the Pentax K-5 IIs has been given a very high rating for dynamic range by DXOmark. Like most Pentax DSLRs, it is weather-resistant, which is a quality that I admire.
The conclusive factor was that KEH had a used K-5 IIs in nice condition for about 1/3 the price when new. I gave KEH magic numbers, and soon the camera and a couple of WR lenses were headed my way.
My very first impression of the K-5 IIs (hereafter: K5) was that it was heavy, but I quickly realized that wasn’t quite right. The K5 dense . . . ie, it is surprisingly heavy for the amount space it takes up. Almost immediately, I thought: this is too heavy, I’ll return it.
But then I actually shot with the K5, and two factors have me definitely leaning toward keeping it. The first is the quality of the images. They have a look and feel – and a sense of depth in the images -- that I really like.
The second is that I like using the K5. It feels very solidly built and great in my hands. Two days ago I needed to cover a small outdoor event, and it felt very comfortable in my hands. I didn’t spend any time thinking about how to operate the K5. Instead, it was “frame the shot and shoot.”
And that brings me to another key point: I had read online from some sources that maybe the autofocus speeds of Pentaxes as a brand were kinda slow. I have not found it to be so with the K5. With the 18-135 lens mounted, autofocus is virtually instantaneous and very, very positive. Just put the focus square over what you want to focus on, press the shutter down halfway, and – zip – subject snaps into focus, even in very low light. The 55-300 lens will sometimes hunt, and it makes more noise while focusing (a kind of zeet-zeet sound), but it is commendably quick the vast majority of the time. So I am very pleased with the overall performance of the K5. In addition, in actual use, I didn't notice the weight of the K5, so maybe that's a thing that you become accustomed to.
Another thing that is interesting and useful about the K5 is the overall operating scheme. It seems like the Pentax design engineers had a meeting one day and said “If it’s important, we’ll have a button to access it and a dial to adjust it. So there is a dial on the front of the pistol grip and one on the back of the camera near where you rest your thumb, and quick-access buttons all over the place. There are buttons for ISO and exposure compensation on the top plate; buttons for auto-exposure lock, white balance, exposure mode (bright, natural, etc.), flash and self-timer on the back of the camera. Basically, if there is something that you would likely adjust frequently, there is a button to access it, and a dial to change it. There is also a quick access panel, and a menu system that seems actually comprehensible. About the only aspect of the control system that I don’t like is that the photo view and delete buttons are at the upper left (to the left of the viewfinder) and the OK button for confirming deletions is on the right side of the camera in the middle of the four-way controller, so it is awkward to try to do everything is just one hand . . . but that is a minor quibble.
Overall, I find the K5 is robust, fun to use, and produces images that inspire me to hunt light and beauty.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
07-30-2018, 08:18 AM
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There is a port that is apparently used to connecting a battery grip. Should there be a cover for that port when a battery grip is not in use?
The manual doesn't seem to say anything about it.
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Forum: General Photography
04-10-2018, 10:39 AM
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That's actually an intriguing suggestion. Of course, channeling my inner (intelligent buttocks), I immediately thought:
1. That would only work in Australia
2. But all the pictures would be inverted! :D
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: General Photography
04-10-2018, 08:25 AM
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I agree entirely in principle with you, and I already own a rugged camera, and it has all the wonderful properties you outlined. BUT with the light at the right angle, the viewfinder becomes unusable. This isn't theoretical . . . the first time I took my rugged camera kayaking, I found myself having to put the camera on full wide, pointing in the general direction of the subject, and pressing the shutter . . . because I couldn't see the screen.
I have written to Olympus and begged them to make a rugged camera with a viewfinder, even one of those not-so-excellent optical tunnel viewfinders that you could find on the Canon G12, etc.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: General Photography
04-10-2018, 01:53 AM
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I don't know of any with a viewfinder.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: General Photography
04-09-2018, 07:34 AM
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Mainly, I plan to shoot some nasty weather. No real expedition planned for me, but it seemed a good way to frame the question.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: General Photography
04-09-2018, 03:45 AM
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So, in the scenario posted above, would a photographer be better off -- from a reliability standpoint -- with WR lenses?
An aside: I've tried to do some research on the whole weather sealing/weather resistance issue. I've seen the video of the soldier dumping sand on his Pentaxes and then rinsing them in the shower. I've read anecdotes of Olympuses (Olympi?) dropped in a stream or a lake or even inadvertently lost and left in a snowbank for months. I've read Lens Rentals tear-down of a SONY exposed to salt water (bad news). Hard data seems tough to obtain. Read about some guy lying in the snow to shoot arctic wildlife, and he's got a Canon. Counteracting that, I read of folks on an antarctic tourist trip relying on their "rugged" cameras because they were afraid to expose the expensive gear to salt water in the zodiac. It's a somewhat confusing landscape. I, too, have a tough camera, but when the sun is at the right angle, you can't see the screen, and there is no other way to compose a shot.
Sorry for ranting.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: General Photography
04-09-2018, 03:12 AM
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I will now flaunt my ignorance: What are "SDM failures"?
Also, I thought the DA star lenses were supposed to be "extra special weather sealed" . . . no? (Not questioning your expertise here; I'm in learning mode.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: General Photography
04-09-2018, 02:35 AM
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Let's suppose for a moment that you've been invited to document an expedition where you might be exposed to all sorts of weather conditions and environmental hazards (except being underwater).
You have to get the pictures, and the camera has to be dead reliable. You can choose any camera/lens combo or any fixed lens camera, so long as it is a digital Pentax, but it has to have some sort of viewfinder.
What would you choose, and why?
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
03-07-2014, 03:37 AM
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Calicojack,
As they say in the islands, "I'm heep, mon!"
Thanks for the welcome,
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
03-06-2014, 07:45 PM
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Okay,
Here are somef examples.
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-06-2014, 12:55 PM
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Pentax K-5 IIS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 WR Lens Kit
Pentax HD DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR 55-300mm
cheers, Jock
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-06-2014, 09:23 AM
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Very nice!
Cheers, Jock
---------- Post added 03-06-14 at 09:27 AM ----------
Very nice!
Is that a Pentax teleconverter you are using?
Cheers, Jock
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
03-06-2014, 08:36 AM
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