|
Forum: Pentax K-3 III
01-24-2023, 06:50 PM
|
| |
Hi all.
For the digital age I had a k7 followed by a k3 and just today received the k3-iii and all I can say is I wish I had bought it when it first came out. The autofocus is so vastly better that it’s a very different experience. And being able to control the camera from my phone makes me not care about a tilting screen. Haven’t attached a plm lens yet (tomorrow I’ll try a few others) and even still am loving it. Glad I didn’t dump Pentax for Sony after all. If you’ve been on the fence for a few years like me don’t hesitate. It’s a much better experience in my opinion. I was very close to tossing in the towel for better autofocus. I’ve yet to see what it’ll do for birds but so far I’m very happy.
|
|
Forum: Photographic Technique
10-14-2022, 07:36 AM
|
| |
Shot a volleyball match last night. Here are a few shots from the evening.
Set...
Spike...
 ]
Dig...
 |
|
Forum: Photographic Technique
12-07-2022, 11:19 AM
|
| |
First time to shoot sports with my Pentax D FA* 70-200. It is heavier than my Sigma 70-200 but I was pleased with the results using it with my K1ii for basketball.
First up, the girls' game.
Followed by the boys' game.
Turned just in time to get a shot of the only dunk in the game.
Same photo, different crop
 |
|
Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
12-07-2022, 05:05 PM
|
| |
Hello,
Go for the K3 III. You won't regret it. I don't think Pentax will go away anytime soon. And even if they do, the law will protect you with warranty and stuff.
When I bought my first camera, I was told "Beware. Pentax is doomed and may not be around in the next 2 years or so" The catch? That was in 1989 when I bought my K1000.
Just my 2 cents.
Thanks,
Ismael
|
|
Forum: Photographic Technique
10-28-2022, 07:47 AM
|
| |
Another volleyball game and images taken with my K1ii and Sigma 70-200.
And 2 shots from a sequence
 |
|
Forum: Pentax K-3 III
08-09-2022, 06:03 PM
|
| |
I've been extremely happy with my DA* 60-250mm on my K-3 III. I have it mounted on my Pentax HD 1.4X teleconverter. This is crop of a shot taken at 350mm at a distance of about 3100' (945m).
 |
|
Forum: Pentax K-3 III
11-24-2021, 03:18 AM
|
| |
I recently bought a 50-135 SDM and when trying it out in the shop on the K7 it had been traded in with, found the slow startup to be an issue and almost didnt purchase it until I later tried it with my K3iii, wow what a difference that made to its 'startup'
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-3 III
12-11-2021, 05:23 AM
|
| |
For years, my 'old" DA*55/1.4 SDM's AF has been dead on my K-3 II & K-1 MkII (GRRR :mad:). So I've tended to avoid its use and when I did give it a 'try', I used it like a manual focus lens. :o
------
Enter K-3 III...
Mount the 55/1.4... camera ON... in OVF, using back-button (BB), AF = DEAD! :(
Camera OFF. :hmm:
Change to LV... camera ON... in LV, using BB, AF = DEAD! :(
Again, in LV, using touchscreen AF... the lens responds with a slight wiggle, then comes fully ALIVE :eek:.
Return to OVF, hit BB AF... again, it's ALIVE! :eek::D
Its AF now behaves LIKE NEW... Touchscreen AND BB! :D:D:cool:
Removed the lens from the K-3 III... remounted it on my K-1 MkII... camera ON... hit BB for AF... BINGO... it's ALIVE! :eek::D:D:D:cool:
-----
Say what you will about the K-3 III being overpriced, I don't know what happened, but I now have a refreshed 'like new' $645.00 lens, and it saved me a ton of hassle.
Cheers and enjoy the season... M
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-31-2021, 02:27 PM
|
| |
My month with the DA*300: I was a little concerned that the long focal length would make a difficult month. Well, it did :), but I enjoyed the results from the lens.
I liked the short minimum focus distance, that allowed me to easily fill the frame with some of the flowers and butterflies around the yard. I had trouble trying to shoot one handed from the car (my morning, and evening drive shots), and usually ended up stopping on the road to use both hands and a better technique. It did not disappoint me with the level of detail in some of the images, even at F4.
A few of my favorites:
 Reflection in a flooded field by riggomatic, on Flickr
 Finn, always watching by riggomatic, on Flickr
 Golden Dragon Fly by riggomatic, on Flickr
 Monarch in the Zinnias by riggomatic, on Flickr
 Deer at the edge morning by riggomatic, on Flickr
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-31-2021, 11:06 AM
|
| |
My first SIC, and even though posting and commenting took some days, I managed to fire the shutter at least once each and every day of the month. Hooray!
And even though there were quite a few days where I didn't invest more than a few minutes, in the end it was still worth it because otherwise I would have probably missed to motivate myself at all on most days.
I only got the SMC DA 21 a few weeks before this month. It's so unobtrusive, pairs nicely with the K-S2, and the copy was already used well by its previous owner, so I had no problem throwing the battered lens cap in a bag with other stuff without worrying about it (will be different next month lol).
It's such a useful focal length, you can shoot anything with it if you can get close enough (that excludes mostly birds and other wildlife). And you CAN get close with it. And it's sharp. At least after converting the RAW with DxO with the proper lens correction module (ooc jpgs couldn't compete), and I think stopping down to f/4 helps a tremendous deal with better sharpness towards edges and corners (I felt it lacking a bit wide open), though that doesn't matter that much if the subject is placed in the center. I'm still overly obsessed with sharpness, aren't I?
I found that I disabled vignetting correction more often than I didn't, to help guide the view a little more (and naturally so).
The field of view is close to the standard smartphone camera field of view. But I took pictures with it that I wouldn't have taken the smartphone out to snap, and I'm not sure how pictures of the two would compare. Doesn't even matter. It made me pursue my hobby and enjoy the process. It paired nicely with the 55-300 PLM for a compact two lens kit. There were a few times where I wished it was longer and fewer times where I wished it was wider. I think it's in an area where I prefer the flexibility of a zoom, even at the cost of more weight and size. Wide open on this lens compared to standard zoom lenses doesn't even make a difference big enough to mention it.
I'm not sure how exactly it compares to the zooms I have regarding rendering/colours, strong light sources in the frame,... I think it's got more contrast/sharpness than the 18-135 at 21 (just a feeling). The sun stars are a bonus for some pictures, big and small alike they add a little something, but that can be overdone quickly.
I think if I stay with SIC, I'll give it another go in 2 years or so. Until then I'll probably put it in the bag with some other primes every now and then and see how often I will be going for it.
Rain Check
Away from the Sun
Bridge Silhouette
Colour vision
Spotmatic SP II + S-M-C Tak 55/1.8
Webs
Cloud Silhouette, Nik Silver Efex |
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-31-2021, 09:55 AM
|
| |
All done with the HD 55-300mm WR. I know this is a good lens but this month has been a blast. I used it on the KP and K3 and spotted no obvious fall off in IQ. The lens was excellent. It was very much a stop gap as I was awaiting the arrival of Sandy's 20-40mm and so wanted a lens that covered a different range. It also turned out to be two years since I last Sic'd this lens so it was pretty fitting. I think we all know this lens is nmoisy and slow when winding from zoomed in to zoomed out but it was OK, a bit of pre-focusing sorts that. The colour saturation is nice and the sharpness is excellent for what is a budget super zoom.
 PKKP2814 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKK35130 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKK34991 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKK35069 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKKP2338 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKKP2560 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKK35184 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-31-2021, 05:52 AM
|
| |
This month's daily grind has given me too many distractions from photography, but I've enjoyed looking at the images you have all submitted.
Today, I'm going to visit another nearby city to see an Ansel Adams exhibit, and possibly a transportation museum just a few blocks down as well. With any luck, I'll get to try some street photos as well. I think a change of scene would do me some good, I have not really felt like using my camera lately.
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-31-2021, 01:07 AM
|
| |
I'm done. No missed days so I made it by the book, thought yesterday was close. I only took up the camera due to commitment, but few weak efforts kept me going and I actually found myself enjoying the shooting. Which has been lacking this month. Lens itself works fine. There is little distortions and weak corners, but it's totally usable. It just doesn't suit my vision and I mainly used it as point and shoot. I really had to push myself to find other views than landscape at f8 and infinity.
Still, I probably keep the lens. It might give me the shot on a single click where I otherwise would have to stitch panorama. Still this month has lowered my interest in coming DFA21ltd. I'm not worth it.
Few from the month:
 |
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-17-2021, 01:13 PM
|
| |
No need to feel sorry. Enjoy it while it lasts :)
Sorry about that :( I hope it will only stay like that for a short while. How are vaccinations moving forward in Finland?
Here in Germany we're right in the valley, regarding confirmed cases, enjoying the most "freedom" we've had since last summer, with the cases starting to creep upwards again slowly for now. But our neighbours in the Netherlands serve as a cautionary tale of what can happen if we're opening too fast and/or being too nonchalant about it. And of course we're looking to the UK to see how that increase in cases, half of which in fully vaccinated people, will manifest itself in hospitalizations and deaths, with so many people vaccinated already. I fear that the upcoming autumn and winter could not be that different from the last one.
This being my first rodeo, I'm getting a little tired, not only from "having to" get a shot each day, but also from the wide focal length of the SMC DA 21. If I'm going out for longer, I'm always taking the 55-300 PLM with me as well, and this lives on the camera more than the 21. Partly because, if I encounter some animal, there's sometimes not enough time to change lenses before it's gone, while a landscape or such will not run away. And I also enjoy longer focal lengths more. They provide more subject separation and I don't have to think as much about compositon, which elements to exclude from the frame,... it's fun if it's "grab a lens for a day and see what you can do with it", but a whole month (or even half now) is starting to feel like a chore.
The wider focal length is more suited to creating documentary style pictures, and while I thought that that's what I like, it's hard to make mundane scenes look special with it, and I think wide open close focus pictures with a little background separation can wear themselves out fast.
That said, I do like some of the pictures I shot with it so far, and I feel like the limitations of the lens force me to get creative, which I definitely see as a benefit. Looking forward to the rest of the month now.
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-17-2021, 06:52 PM
|
| |
Holding the 300 and camera one handed in the car is really tough to do...
But I have been enjoying this lens.
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-18-2021, 03:49 AM
|
| |
welp ... I'm staring down the barrel of even slower processing and posting for a while. I no longer have an iPad. Well... technically I suppose I do, but it's at 3 or 4% battery and this evening the USB connector suddenly stopped functioning. Add in random restarts, shutdowns, and failures to turn on, and I think there's a fairly convincing case for saying IT BORKED.
Long chat with Apple Support, it being *one month* before the expiry of my Apple Care+ WOOHOO!! and I'll be sending it in for "repair" - which in Apple-land of course translates to "sending me a new one".
But that will all take a bit of time. And the iPhone can't do everything that the iPad does.
Happily I just happened to have processed the last couple of days' photos on my iMac. (phew)
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-18-2021, 07:26 AM
|
| |
I remember that struggle to find shooting for a full month. With experience you learn to push thru. I have some series I can always fall back to. Also I do some test shots during the month to figure out how well lens works wide open, against sun, in artifical light, etc. And then there is advanced skills. Full month push you to try different angles, lighting, etc that help you to be more versatile. Also lowered expectation on targets help. Like the screwdriver shot I plan to post today :lol:
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-18-2021, 07:43 AM
|
| |
I do remember how the first few SIC felt - intimidated, exhilarated, but by week 3 or so.... what the hell am I gonna shoot today?
that's when the SIC became a tool for me to do lens evaluations - weed out the average/mediocre lens from the lenses that are still here today...
I normally travel out and about with two camera bodies, one with the SIC lens mounted and the other with something completely removed from that lens...
OR if I know that I'll be here at home all day, such as work days, I may do some actual comparisons between lenses of the same focal length...
but there will be days that the SIC is a drudge, which means probably a safety shot and call it good...
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-09-2021, 03:14 PM
|
| |
I've got no excuse like that, but the situation is the same here.. got my shots in each day so far, although I'm one day behind on culling/editing/posting them, and I will have to use the weekend for catching up on commenting... it's as tough as I thought it would be.
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
06-26-2021, 12:13 AM
|
| |
Gee - can’t think what I’ll be shooting. ;)
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
06-30-2021, 05:16 AM
|
| |
June done with M40-80/f2.8-4 macro. This was better experience than my first run with zoom lens. Still think manual is not the way to shoot zooms and still prefer primes. I rather limit my focal length than aperture and sharpness. But all in all for such cheap old zoom I've been quite taken with images it has provided this month. In decent size they are perfectly fine and rendering is quite lovely. MFD of 1,2m if not in macro mode is quite limiting, so without that feature I'd blame this useless. And wide open in macro mode the bokeh is special enough to justify a spot on the shelf. Thought I don't know if I'm ever going to use it again. I bought the lens just for SIC in a punch of lenses at average price of 12,50€ so it clearly has earned its price during this month.
 |
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
06-30-2021, 07:11 AM
|
| |
Quite a busy month and I skipped a few days. The lens - SMC-DA15 - requires no introduction and was a very good companion, although a bit demanding at times. To me, wide-angle usually means outdoor and open space but the lack of time had been keeping me within my house/garden area quite often. Some of m faves below.
 |
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
06-30-2021, 02:25 PM
|
| |
Takumar 100mm f4 Macro, done, thank god! OK, its a great macro lens but my copy needs its helicoids greasing. Also I found the (overly stiff) focus throw to be too long for general, ad hoc photography. Still, thanks to @minimonster teaching me to use catch in focus, I got some great images
 PKKP1760 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKKP1740 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKKP1935 (2) by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKK34923 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKK34760 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKK34892 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
|
|
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
06-30-2021, 07:07 PM
|
| |
My month with the SMC-K 50mm f1.4:
I'm not real excited about the 50mm after using it for the month, but not disappointed either. My copy's sweet spot seemed to be around f4, which made lunch time photos in bright sunlight a little tough, but doable. Bokeh and center sharpness are wonderful, but missed the extra "pixie dust" I had in other SMC lenses (28mm f3.5, 30mm f2.8).
I did struggle with this focal length, and I think it had to do with the minimum focus distance feeling so long compared to the wider lenses I've been using.
All in all, I still had fun, which is my main objective.
 Growing by riggomatic, on Flickr
 IMGP5168 by riggomatic, on Flickr
 Bunch of Clematis by riggomatic, on Flickr
 Pepper with her highlights by riggomatic, on Flickr
 Finn bored by riggomatic, on Flickr
 Lighting up by riggomatic, on Flickr
|
