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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11-20-2019, 02:26 PM  
DA 18-135 WR, Show us what it can do
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 4,711
Views: 741,724
To Des,

Thank you for your kind comments.

I dont plan to replace my K3 unless it fails, then the KP might be worth a look.

My Pentax gear includes a K30 which came bundled with the 18-135. It is much lighter than the K3, and handles nicely.
However, it started 2 years ago to suffer from the aperture motor failure: everytime I use it now, I need to exercise it before it starts working properly. The easiest way seems to be to fire a fast burst, usually the 4th or 5th image is OK.
But I dont trust it anymore and use it only at home.
My son, another K3 owner (after previously owning a K5) had recommended the K30 to several of his friends, but they all have met the aperture motor issue, which seems to plague also the K-S2.


Thus I dont want to invest in entry level models like K70.
And I dont like the handling of a DSLR in live view.

I am afraid I wont buy Pentax gear again, unless Ricoh sells a mirrorless K-mount compatible body in 2021 or 2022, or if the future APS-C Pentax flagship is really outstanding and not too heavy or bulky (I dont want to go big, if I wanted to, I would either buy a K1 or a Sony A7; my son has gone the A7 way, and he likes it better than his Pentax gear, though he owns the 31 and 77).


I might be tempted to buy a mirrorless K-mount to use with my nice DA limited primes 15, 21, 35 and 70, and my DA40 XS.


But it would be pure luxury, as I doubt I would bring it when traveling abroad: my Panasonic GX8 focuses as fast and more accurately than my K3; my Panasonic lenses are very sharp, even the entry level zooms, and the primes render as nicely as the DA limited. The K3 is only better on moving targets in poor light and higher ISO.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11-18-2019, 08:46 AM  
DA 18-135 WR, Show us what it can do
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 4,711
Views: 741,724
Previous post was the classic views of Macchu Pichu and Altiplano.
Here are some more from Islas Ballestas:

IMGP6131.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP6112.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP6064.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr


IMGP5955.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11-18-2019, 04:26 AM  
DA 18-135 WR, Show us what it can do
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 4,711
Views: 741,724
I did not use much my Pentax gear since this 2018 trip to Peru.
That was the last time K3+DA 18+135 has been my main camera when traveling abroad:

IMGP6679.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP6681.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP6676.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP6698.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP6518.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr



I now rather use my M43 gear when traveling: 3 bodies (GX8, G7 and GM5), 3 f3.5-5.6 zooms (12-32, 12-60 and 14-140), the tiny 35-100 f4-5.6 and 3 f1.7 primes (20, 25 and 42.5).

My K3 gets still some use when photography is the main purpose, but when traveling with my new girlfriend, my Pentax gear is just too big and heavy. I have also enjoyed the odd angles framing that mirrorless allows, be it from low or ground level or above my head when in a crowd, or in museums.

Yet, after now 2 years using mainly M43, I admit that the Pentax overall rendering, contrast and dynamic range is better, and the DA 18-135 checks these points: I can use my Pentax out of camera JPEGs with minimum post processing, whereas my M43 photography needs more post-processing, more often discarding the OOC JPEG and developing the RAW file to get the kind of 3D pop I get directly from OOC Pentax JPEG.

I hope Pentax will add a mirrorless light camera body to its offering, next year or in 2021.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 03-04-2019, 06:34 AM  
DA 18-135 WR, Show us what it can do
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 4,711
Views: 741,724
18-135 wont sell for much and there are many occasions in which it will be the most valuable lens: very compact, built like a tank, weather resistant, fast focusing, very sharp in the center, unmatched focal range from wide angle to true tele.
There are better lenses but none as versatile.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 03-31-2018, 08:41 AM  
DA 18-135 WR, Show us what it can do
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 4,711
Views: 741,724
Those who bash this lens didnt understand what it was designed for: the most convenient focal range with a good IQ and excellent colour rendering in a compact and rugged package, with very efficient AF and a better than average resistance to flare (you cannot fix flare in post).

It is not a lens for pixel peepers.

Let them be happy with different lenses, like the Pentax 16-85 or the older Pentax 17-70 f4, or Sigma lenses.

I have the 17-70 and that is why I didnt buy the 16-85: of course they are both optically better than the DA 18-135.
But they are both much bigger and heavier than the 18-135, which, for my kind of photography, means they are too big and heavy.
They start wider, but I use the 70-135 range more often than the 16(17)-18.

I take the 17-70 when I look for improved IQ for sessions in which photography is my priority and I need the convenience of a transtandard zoom.

But my 18-135 stays on my K3 80% of the time, it is the lens I have taken for once in a lifetime trips (Tahiti, Tanzania, Vietnam, Cambodgia, and soon Peru (Macchu Pichu), when I want to go light and not to bother about changing lenses.

I agree that the 18-135 IQ is average by today's standards in the 70-135 range. But is there another compact travel zoom going from 18 to 135 with very good IQ and sharpness stopped down from 18 to 70?

My travel kit is K3 with 18-135, plus DA15 limited for UWA and one or two fast and very small primes: DA70 f2.4 or FA50 f1.7 for subject isolation, and/or either DA35 f2.8 macro limited, or DA 35 f2.4, or DA40 f2.8 XS for low light. I may also use the tiny Panasonic GM5 with the miniature 12-32 kit lens at 12 as an eveready alternative to the DA15 for UWA.
If Pentax had not released the 18-135, I would probably have already switched to M43 (the Panasonic 14-140 is quite good and very convenient)

Some samples of my november 2017 trip to Angkor (more on my flickr gallery; the Vietnamese part will be posted later, and so will be the pictures from Corsica and Bavaria):

Le regard du Roi by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Dans l'enceinte du Bayon by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Arrivée au Bayon by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

En quittant le Banteay Srei by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Paysage lacustre by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 03-26-2018, 10:51 AM  
Infinity Adjustment
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 31
Views: 5,131
Your lens is a vintage one and may need servicing.
I recently had a F135 f2.8 serviced for other reasons, and when it came back, it could not focus further than 30 meters away. Like other posters have stated above, the guy who serviced it told me in these film era lenses, there are some inner screws to calibrate the focus, and he had just forgotten to check these. Now it is OK.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 03-26-2018, 10:44 AM  
-10 on lens adjustment
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 14
Views: 1,226
Be very careful, as the depth of field at f1.9 is very narrow and challenging in PDAF (viewfinder AF) even for a perfectly calibrated camera+lens.
The first step is to check whether your camera+lens can achieve perfect focus in live view CDAF (using a tripod to steady the camera).

Check both for close distance targets and infinity.



If the LV CDAF is OK, you should try different settings to find the correct PDAF fine tuning and be happy with it. Always use central point AF and dont move the camera after AF lock.

If the focus is perfect in live view but you cannot get a correct PDAF fine tuning, maybe your camera needs servicing.

If the lens doesnt focuses perfectly in live view, then either the lens (if only one lens misfocus) or the camera (if all three lenses misfocus in LV) may need servicing.
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 03-07-2018, 03:02 AM  
More Limited lenses
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 210
Views: 22,370
No, I think Asahi man was realy speaking of the 17-70 f4 SDM, I have it and it is a very nice piece of glass, not WR but there is obviously a rubber seal on the mount.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 03-07-2018, 02:58 AM  
K-1, K-3ii, or Kp for Safari
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 21
Views: 3,233
I never handled a K1 save a sample model inside a photo shop. Thus I wont comment about using the K1 for an african safari.

But I have been to north Tanzania in september 2016: Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Grumeti river and Olduvaï gorge, Manyara lake and Tarangire.

I was traveling with my son and daughter.
We had a stretched Toyota 4x4 with a private driver/guide for the three of us, and spent most of the time standing inside the car under the popping roof. We had a few walks with Masaï warriors in the Olduvaï gorge and with rangers at Grumeti river.

September was the end of dry season, hence the grass was low, which made it easier to see the wildlife, and there was plenty of light.
Wildlife was as well close to the car (lions having a nap in the shade alongside our car or even below the next car, elephants or gnus crossing the road alongside our car, hippo bathing in a nearby pond) as very far away.

My son and I had a K3. My daughter had borrowed my K30 (same camera as K50). My son and I mainly used the HD DA55-300 (the 2015 version with screwdriven AF), completed by one wider zooms (DA 18-135 for me, DA 17-70 for my son). I also had in my bag a high end compact (Fuji X10) as my second camera, which allowed me to shoot snapshots of close wildlife when the 55-300 was too narrow and I had no time to switch lenses. The only prime I used was DA35 f2.4 for low light landscapes, but it proved almost useless (much too wide) for wildlife nightshots.
On K30, my daughter used a cheap all plastic lens, FA 100-300 f4.7-5.8, that I had since the film era and which did the job. She used a high end compact (Panasonic LF1) when she needed to go wider.

My son shot raw only and PP in DXO, I shot mostly JPEG (with Pentax bright or landscape default JPEG settings), saving the raw (DNG) when I thought I might not be happy with the JPEG (high contrast or backlit scenes for instance), and PP in Lightroom, my daughter shot only JPEG and PP in Picasa (she is a software developer and doesnt want to spend much time in PP).

With our Pentax gear, we mostly shot in T-Av mode , around 1/800-1/1000 at f6.3-f8 (depth of field is shallow on focal length longer than 100mm, and you dont want only the eye to be in focus).
We didnt carry any tripod nor beanbag, shooting handheld with the DA55-300 and FA100-300, which are not heavy and rather compact.
Our experience was that we needed the driver not only to stop the car, but also the engine, otherwise there was too much shake and vibrations to steady our framing and get sharp shots.

If you can afford it, I would recommand to upgrade from K50 to KP or K3, mainly for much improved AF:
  • K30/K50 AF is reliable only with the center AF point: the other AF are too few and too wide, they will never AF on your target if there is a closer twig in their area. And the AF-C tracking performance is poor.

  • K3 and KP share the same AF engine, with, I guess, a more efficient software in the newer KP. All the 25 AF points in K3/KP work well. Our preferred setting is back button AF only, with the camera set to AF-C. The AF-C can track moving targets in the Z axis (=depth, target coming towards the camera or going away), using any of the 25 cross AF points, thus allowing better framing and more accurate focus, provided the photographer manages to keep the AF point on the target (tracking). The K3 AF-C is poor and unreliable at tracking the target across the frame (X and Y axis), the photographer can outperform it easily.

  • I would give a look to the DA 55-300 f4-5.8 PLM, according to most reviewers, it is said that its AF-C tracking performance on KP is close to the Canikon competition in the same price range. This lens is rather cheap, designed to shoot hand held, very compact (it is a collapsible design), and WR.

  • There was a lot of dust and I got dust on sensor almost everytime I switched lenses outside. The K3 and KP use an ultrasonic efficient dust removal engine, which cleans the sensor without removing the lens in a few seconds, and has a nice dust detection feature to check, whereas the K30/K50 use the SR mechanism, which is rather uneffective.

  • The 24 MP in K3/KP allow more cropping for distant wildlife than the 16MP K30/K50;

  • FF would be useful for low light or subject separation, but of course APS-C offers a longer reach with the same lenses, and is really cheaper: buying the 55-300 PLM and a KP with kit lens will cost less than a K1 body alone and be much more.

  • If you really want to go the K1 route, I would suggest to buy it with the compact 28-105 f3.5-5.6 which is highly praised by its users and would make a very nice FF two zooms kits with your Sigma 150-500. I guess the K1 AF is on par or better than KP AF, and the 15 MP in crop mode on K1 will allow you to get this AF performance with any Pentax APS-C recent lens, like the 55-300 PLM.

  • Unless you are on a tight budget, I suggest you keep the K50, which would not sell for much, and could be quite useful as a second body with a wide angle lens you already have or transtandard zoom (DA 16-85 or 18-135 or 20-40 limited for instance).

  • You do need something wider than 100mm, it doesnt need to be high grade, as you wont be shooting architecture, but you will appreciate to cover the 18-100 field of view in APS-C (28-150 FF). It may be a transtandard zoom on your K50 as a second body, or a high end compact like Sony RX100.

Some samples from my flickr gallery; feel free to browse for more:

Lioness and cubs promenade by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Savannah landscape with impalas by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Buffalo with cattle egret and calf, pelicans and ibis by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Red and yellow barbets - Manyara picnic area by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Pelicans landscape - Manyara lake by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Savannah sunset by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Giraff by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Hiking to sunset belvedere by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Watching Olduvaï sunset by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Elephants gathering at the river by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Elephant coming close by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Baobabs are really big! by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Cheetah, Serengeti by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Leopard, Serengeti by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Serengeti lioness yawning by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Ngorongoro lions do come very close by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

A link to a sample of my son's photography; many more in free access if you browse his flickr gallery:

Wildlife landscape by Nicolas, sur Flickr

A link to a sample from my daughter flickr gallery. As it is not BB-code, if it doesnt work, her user name is Caroline Bousquet and her pseudo Ya Pompon. Feel free to browse.
IMGP0982 | Tanzanie | Ya Pompon | Flickr

My last tip is to train a few times before the trip: you wont have time to fiddle with the menus and settings during the safaris, it must be automatic so that you can concentrate on the wildlife and the framing.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 02-24-2018, 03:07 PM  
K3 vs K3 ii for wildlife
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 37
Views: 6,253
+1
My son and I we have K3, upgraded from K5 and K30.
K3 has more AF points (25 cross type +2).
K3 AF-S is fast and accurate, even in very dim light and with screwdriven AF lenses like the FA 31 and 77, or the DA limited lenses.
AF-C is responsive in the Z axis (depth), and allows for accurate focus even with wide aperture lenses fully open, provided the photographer tracks the target across the frame, using any of the 25 cross type point (single point AF). But the camera cannot be trusted for tracking the target across the frame.
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 02-10-2018, 07:10 AM  
K-1 Mark II!
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 875
Views: 123,893
Not to mention that, with the Instax series, Fuji is earning a lot of money in a segment where it stands alone.
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 02-08-2018, 01:29 PM  
K-1 Mark II!
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 875
Views: 123,893
I have K3 and it already has no AA filter. Main improvement in K3-II was GPS and pixel shift feature.
AF software was said to be improved, but the major improvement in AF had been reached in K3, with new hardware replacing the 11 AF points in K5/K5IIs by a 25 points AF engine, and a more powerful in-camera screwdrive engine, both resulting in much more accurate and snappier AF.

The really improved AF engine was the reason my son upgraded from K5 to K3 ans I followed, upgrading from K30 to K3.
K3 was the first Pentax camera in which off-center AF points and AF-C were usable with most lenses even when using large aperture lenses on moving targets.
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 01-27-2018, 07:40 AM  
K-1 Mark II!
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 875
Views: 123,893
Not enough sales = not enough cashflow = no money for R&D = out of business soon!
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-25-2018, 03:32 AM  
DA 18-135 WR, Show us what it can do
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 4,711
Views: 741,724
Thank you Des, I did it!

---------- Post added 01-25-18 at 11:46 AM ----------


You posted some quite nice pictures in this thread, Normhead.

As for the DA18-135, though I have several other lenses, among with the very nice DA limited 15-21-35-70, and also the 40XS, it is my most used Pentax lens for its convenient focal range, fast focusing, nice rendering, WR and good to very good center sharpness.
When traveling to places I will go only once in a lifetime, it will always be stuck on my K3, yielding only at DA15 for large landscapes, at DA40 XS for low light, or at DA 55-300 for wildlife safaris.

But of course it is not a lens which will please pixel peepers, especially wide open in the corners. As for me, I never shoot brickwalls nor test charts, thus I dont care.

Though it may not be the best in everything it can do, DA 18-135 outperforms my skills.
Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories 01-25-2018, 03:28 AM  
Thematic Show your yachts, dinghies and sailing craft
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 276
Views: 21,051
Every year around october 1st, there is a huge sailing yachts gathering in Saint-Tropez, French Riviera.
Yachtmen compete in different regatas, from century old wooden goëlettes, cutters and ketches to modern Wally and America's Cup sloops.
It is a photographer's dream to go around, especially in windy days:

Sous le vent... by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP5658.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur FlickrAu vent... by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP5658.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr


Wally by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP5810.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur FlickrGoëlette by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP5989.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr


A border la grand voile! by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP6189.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur FlickrCôtre aurique by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP6201.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur FlickrRetour au port by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

IMGP6121.jpg by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

More on my flickr gallery....
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-24-2018, 02:29 AM  
DA 18-135 WR, Show us what it can do
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 4,711
Views: 741,724
In such sessions, I appreciate to have a WR all in one lens:
Sous le vent... by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Goëlette by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

A border la grand voile! by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr

Retour au port by Denis Bousquet, sur Flickr
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 12-12-2017, 03:29 PM  
Sticky: About those WR body weather seals...User responsibility and best practice
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 64
Views: 54,830
why not buy a special waterproof compact for the whale watching?
Forum: Pentax KP 12-01-2017, 08:16 AM  
Eyeing an upgrade from KS-2 to KP. Is it worth it?
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 20
Views: 3,842
The camera JPEG settings (noise reduction, sharpening, contrast, shadows) dont affect the raw files but they change the look of the jpeg preview encapsulated with the raw file, which is used in many raw converters as the default preview when opening a raw file.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11-01-2017, 01:54 AM  
DA 55-300 vs 55-300 PLM
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 18
Views: 6,467
If you do want better AF, KP or K3 is the way to go as regards the body. AF engine hardware in K70 is close to the one in your K5, only software improved since.
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 10-06-2017, 02:27 AM  
Live view button stopped working on K3
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 3
Views: 996
I am starting a new thread because my post on last year thread on the same topic has been unnoticed.

I just noticed yesterday that the liveview button on my K3 (which I use very seldom) doesnt work anymore, as well in still mode for liveview as in movie mode to start and stop recording.


Has anybody else met this issue? Is it an hardware problem or a possible bug?

I reinitialized the factory settings, then I reinstalled the firmware (version 1.3), but it didnt fix the issue.
As Adam suggested last year, I also fired some long fast bursts.

None of these actions fixed the issue.

Is there anything else I can do or must I send the camera for servicing (the two years european guarantee ends in january 2018)

Thank you for any feedback on this topic
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 10-05-2017, 02:29 PM  
Live view stop working on my k3?
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 3
Views: 1,131
:(
Has this last year question been answered?


Because I just noticed today that the liveview button on my K3 (which I use very seldom) doesnt work anymore, as well in still mode for liveview as in movie mode to start and stop recording.


Has anybody else met this issue? Is it an hardware problem or a possible bug?

I reinitialized the factory settings, then I reinstalled the firmware (version 1.3), but it didnt fix the issue.
As Adam suggested, I also fired some long fast bursts.

None of these actions fixed the issue.

Is there anything else I can do or must I send the camera for servicing (the two years european guarantee ends in january 2018)

Thank you for any feedback on this topic
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 10-05-2017, 01:13 AM  
Financial Results:FY2018/03
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 675
Views: 67,984
To offer the best is not enough to make your business a winner.
You need to make your customer's target want to buy your products, which is driven by multiple considerations, technical performance being only one of them.
And I am not sure Ricoh-Pentax still can offer a much better photographer's experience than its competitors.

Pentax cameras have an outstanding ergonomy and haptics, but Ricoh-Pentax AF-C performance and ergonomy are obviously outdated when compared to what Canon or Nikon, or even top end recent mirrorless ILC currently offer.

I am not chiming into the "Pentax is doomed" or "DSLR are doomed" choirs. My K3 and lenses are still what I pick when photography is my priority and I think the DSLR size and weight wont matter. But, there are many occasions where I value something less intrusive and much smaller, like a high end compact or a small M43 kit.

IMO, too many posters fail to see the facts, and statements like "sick of crappy KP" or "Q is a toy camera" only prove the poster ignorance or blindness.

I did handle a KP in a brick and mortar shop.

It feels very much like my K3, but with some different ergonomics and design choices which I can understand.
I dont know whether the KP will be a winner, the price tag is high and the competition is fierce in the declining camera market.
I wont buy one because my K3 is less than 2 years old and fulfills all my needs, save the AF-C performance and ergonomy, which is the same in KP. But it is a nice camera, whith which feels reliable and user's friendly to an old Pentaxian. :)
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 09-20-2017, 01:33 AM  
DA 18-135 WR, Show us what it can do
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 4,711
Views: 741,724
I also have all three which I use on k3 and K30.
But, since I bought the 18-135, the 18-55 and 50-200 spend most of their time in a drawer.
Why:
  • The 18-135 is built like a rock, you feel very confident it can whistand bad weather and shocks. Mine has been drenched by the rain in 2014 in Tahiti rainforest, tossed across the dirtyTanzanian savannah, brought hiking in the French Alps, and also shooting from a fast running Zodiac dinghy.

  • It is all in one: no need to change lenses in the field. And most if the time you dont need to carry another lens.

  • At 55mm, maximum aperture is f4.5, which is 0.7 stop faster than the 18-55 and only 0.3 stop slower than the 50-200.

  • Though I have the better (but bigger) DA 17-70 f4 and a nice bunch of limited primes, the 18-135 is my most used lens, almost glued on my K3. For long range telephoto, like african wildlife, I use the 55-300, which is much better than the 50-200 across their common range, and more rugged.

  • The 18-135 is better than the 18-55 across their common range, and not that much bigger.

  • It is sharper in the center and has more contrast than the 50-200 and has better resistance to flare than both 18-55 and 50-200.

  • It has a silent and very efficient AF DC engine, instead of the legacy screwdriven AF in 18-55 and 50-200.

A link to the reviews I wrote

-here in PentaxForums:
SMC Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR Reviews - DA Zoom Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database


The date shown is october 2016, but I updated the review in spring 2017, adding some samples



-on DPreview, with some full size samples (more in my flickr gallery):
A misunderstood gem: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 09-10-2017, 07:38 AM  
Ricoh Imaging Square Osaka moving and expanded
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 37
Views: 10,373
But almost all camera makers have said they will go this way.
The question is how many of them will be able to coexist in the declining photography market?
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 09-10-2017, 07:31 AM  
Financial Results:FY2018/03
Posted By Tatouzou
Replies: 675
Views: 67,984
On this forum and other photographic gear forums, most posters are photo enthusiasts and tend to forget most people dont even care about the whole photographic technology.

My daughter has a PhD in computer science, works as a software developer in avionics in Thalès, one of the world major defense hightech company.

For her travel and events photography, she prefers using a dedicated compact zoom camera rather than her smartphone, and she processes the OOC JPEG files in PICASA, to improve the framing and contrast, whereas most of her friends never do any post processing.

Her camera, Panasonic LF1, now discontinued, is still sold under the Leica brand as "Leica C". It is a very nice pocketable camera, with a built in (very tiny) EVF, it allows P,S,A, and M modes, and it can save the RAW files. But she never used anything else than the I-Auto or scene modes, and doesnt want to hear about aperture, shutter speed or raw processing (though she, of course, has a powerful laptop with a large screen, a Photoshop Elements license, and a tablet that can house a SD card and has a USB external port).

When we went together to Tanzania for safari, she borrowed my K30 and an old film era Pentax 100-300 FA zoom , but shot only in green auto mode, until I showed her she could get better results in long telephoto in TAV mode (but she just dialed the aperture and shutter speed I told her to, and didnt want to dig deeper in handling the camera).
When we came back, though I offered her to give her the gear with other kit lenses, she just said "no, too big and heavy to carry around, and I dont see the difference in the output for my photography".

What I mean is that, IMO, advanced post processing and shooting raw is now only done by some enthusiasts and/or very demanding photographers.
Already, not all pro photographers do process raw, because many have noticed that the in-cameras JPEG engines are much better than 10 years ago, and the OOC JPEGs are good enough for what they need, even for high contrast or low light/high ISO scenes.

As the cameras CPU will continue to offer more processing power, and as software is a cumulating science, this trend will IMO become predominant in the future, and most skilled photographers will be happy with the OOC JPEG, once the camera tweaked to their taste, and wont use the raw file anymore.
This will also be the rule for pros, they will maybe save the RAW besides the JPEG, but they wont take the time to do any advanced PP, save fo a very few outstanding pictures for very demanding uses.

Thus, IMO, the RAW processing process will become less and less important in photography within a few years, and the main question will be which sensor size will become tomorrow standard for advanced cameras, as even Canon wont be able to maintain several different systems in a declining market.

IMO, the 1" sensor will probably be the standard for future fixed lens cameras, and for ILC, the major battle will be between M43 and APS-C, and one of them will progressively win. The larger FF format inheritated from the film era will become a niche market like MF today. So will become our beloved SLR optical viewfinder, as less and less people will be interested by its specificity.

Dont misunderstand me, I do love my K3, its bright pentaprism viewfinder and its ergonomy. Shooting with it is the most enjoyable experience for stills. But I hate carrying a bag full of lenses and I think it will become tomorrow the same kind of niche product as today's Leica rangefinders cameras.
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