Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
03-22-2011, 05:03 AM
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DJB77, how do you check the "internal" serial number?
I had my K5 repaired by Pentax Canada recently, they had told me 4 weeks turn-around time, it took exactly that. There was confusion at one point as to wether my cam had been returned to Japan for repair but it appeared at the end Pentax Canada did the repair themselves (I'm glad it did not go to Japan...). The Sensor Assembly was replaced as per the repair bill. One thing curious though, I had a small scratch on the back screen which is gone now. Also, the two little leather tabs that protect the strap loops were replaced as well... curious... The body serial number is the same (3858xxx) but I now suspect they may have just slapped the old bottom cap on a new body (or a refurb???). Hence my curiosity about checking the "internal" s/n...
Gene
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-05-2010, 12:09 PM
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Why the condescending tone? He just said English is not his first language. Give the guy a break! Or is it becuase he doesn't have as many posts as you??? If you feel you are repeating yourself or it's not worth repeating, just don't.:hmm:
xGene
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-13-2010, 06:57 AM
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Just quickly tested my new 18-135 on the K5 during the week-end, despite the terrible weather in the Toronto area ... Three short words: Very nice indeed!
One would think that because it is a relatively slow lens (compared to a f/2.8 anyway) this would make for a "compromise" lens; but it is just not so. Pretty much everything about it feels upscale. Not quite as upscale as a DA*, but surely better than the 18-55 kit lenses. I did not used the grip during this outing but the lens balances well on the "naked" body, it's not too heavy and does not make the handling awkward...
In terms of IQ, I could not detect, from the quick and dirty shots I took, anything grossly problematic. Sharpness is actually quite good for a "super" zoom. Especially at the long end, it looks like Pentax decided to optimize IQ for the longer end. The only relative weakness I found was at wide-angle and high aperture. This seems to be a trend with Pentax' wide-zooms (and most other manufacturer's I recognize). There is visible CA and distortion at 18-20mm, greatly reduced when stopping down. Contrast is excellent as well as color tones, albeit a bit cooler (I find) than on the DA*16-50.
Mechanically, it feels sturdy, tight, very little play in the extended 2 parts barrel when extended (less than in my DA*16-60 actually...), no zoom creep unless I violently shake it. It's a bit strange to have the zoom ring behind the focus ring (from the shooter's perspective) and I found myself reaching for the focus ring for quick adjustement and hit cold air instead...:(. However, after a while it becomes second nature.
As reported previously by someone else, auto-focus is quite snappy, not sure however if this is contributed more by the K5 or the DA's new DC motor... Very little hunting. Nice!
All in all, I suspect this will become a very popular lens from Pentax. No serious nor obvious flaws.
And, BTW, the WR is not a joke, it was windy and snowing quite badly on the week-end... no problem there!
Cheers!
Gene
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-08-2010, 08:41 AM
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Another useless post by Wheatfield... That's what's annoying! So, if I understand you correctly, in spite of this being a Pentax Forum, people who feel have a problem with their brand new cameras shouldn't be posting it here?
I personally have no sensor issue with my K-5 (serial 3858xxx) but I am still interested in knowing what is happening out there, learned a lot about the entire issue actually and perhaps how is Pentax reacting to this.
Hey, Wheatfield, if you want "only positive" in these forums, why don't you start your own and call it "Pentax is Perfect, Don't Post Anything About Pentax Issues Here" . 6000+ posts don't give you any special privilege or the right to be condescending to people who post their potential issues...
Cheers!
Gene
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-23-2010, 01:22 PM
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K-7 with firmware 1.02, all SDHC cards:
Does NOT Pass:
Transcend Class 6
Kingston Class 6
Patriot Class 6
Panasonic Class 10
A-Data Class 6
Pass:
Lexar Pro 133X (Class 4?)
Panasonic Class 6 K-7 with firmware 1.03, same cards:
ALL PASS except Kingston Class 6 and A-Data class 6 still do not pass. Definitions:
Pass => camera will burst rate and record video per Pentax performance specifications
Does NOT pass => burst rate below spec and video recording buffer fills-up after 2-3 minutes.
I am glad to share that with you guys, I spent HOURS testing this as I thought my camera was at first defective. I agree with what someone said above, STAY AWAY from discount cards, you get what you pay for. As you can see above some Class 6 cards were out-performing Class 10 before firmware update, still issues with some Class 6, but to be honest, I cannot see any diff between the working Class 6 and 10 as the former now perform per spec. Class 10 will not improve perfomrance if your Class 6 already perform per spec, at least on the K-7
1.03 firmware improved things significantly on my Camera. Nothing beats empirical research...
Hope this helps
xGene
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