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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 09-23-2018, 02:20 AM  
K-3ii to D500... Is this the right move?
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 262
Views: 18,950
I admit I didn't read all 17 pages.
My take on this: I was in the same boat, K3 II, 300/4 and 1.4TC. For perchad birds from hide I had no problems. Then I went to Farne islands in UK to photograph puffins. Out of over 1000 photos shot in 1 hour I binned 850 without even going to 100% view in lightroom due to missed focus. I was fighting with the camera all time I was on this island.
I had a choice: get 150-450 for 1200£ hoping lens will be faster and better at focusing, or switch to Nikon D7200 (D500 was out of my budget) and one of the 150-600 zooms breaking even and knowing it will be better.
I went for the latter and my next outing for BIF yielded 1500 photos with only about 200 discarded as obvious missed focus.
I also tried my kid running towards me and Nikon with 55-200 lens nailed every photo while I had problems with K3 II and tamron 70-200 (allegedly one of the fastest focusing screw drive lenses) in the same situation.
I still prefer Pentax menu and handling but for AF tracking performance for me Nikon is much better.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-24-2018, 05:08 AM  
How to cure a Pixelpeeper??
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 50
Views: 4,051
That's a simple one.
I've printed a poster size (it's so big I have nowhere to hang it) portrait of my wife taken at ISO 1600 with available light using K-5 II. It's black and white so a bit of cheating, but it's surprisingly sharp and detailed. Not pixelized at all.

That cured my pixelpeeping and obsessing with noise. I don't shoot Pentax anymore but I happily went to 4000 ISO on K3-II when I had it without even worrying about noise.

I also have A4 size photo of my kids hanging on the wall. One of them has face slightly out of focus at 100% (should have used smaller aperture) but at viewing distance you can't tell.

So print something big and see the results.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 05-09-2017, 11:09 PM  
Catch In Focus (Almost a great Idea) Sorry for beating a dead horse
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 68
Views: 6,363
Canada_Rockies: in AF2 you need to press and hold back button focus before pressing shutter. I just tried with sigma 18-35 which has AF/MF switch and it works as well.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 05-09-2017, 02:56 PM  
Catch In Focus (Almost a great Idea) Sorry for beating a dead horse
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 68
Views: 6,363
OK, so I just checked how it works on K3II.

First DA 300/4:
Lens with AF switch set to AF, camera to MF, pressed back button and it fires when no focus achieved.
Lens set to MF, camera to AF, pressed back button and camera doesn't fire until it's in focus.

M 50/1.7
Camera set to AF, back button pressed, camera doesn't fire until it's in focus.

DA 50/1.8
Camera set to MF, back button pressed, camera fires with no focus.


Bottom line:
CIF works with back button but you need lens with AF/MF switch.
Confused myself as I was sure lenses without switch worked. I never use it though so not much experience there.


Greg
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 05-09-2017, 10:11 AM  
Catch In Focus (Almost a great Idea) Sorry for beating a dead horse
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 68
Views: 6,363
Are you guys sure CIF doesn't work with back button? I could swear it did.


Switch to MF, hold back button AF and trip shutter? I'll have to check when I get back home but I'm convinced it worked with all lenses, even ones without MF switch and with back button when I tried it. I'll have to try later.


Greg
Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing 04-01-2017, 05:57 AM  
B&W or Color Negative in Lightroom
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 4
Views: 1,552
Yes.

Import photos, go to develop tab and tone curve tool. Drag upper righ point all the way down and lower left all the way up. That will flip it from negative to positive. B&W areeasier than colour as you won't have problems with WB.
Bear in mind that all basic controls will flip as well, so if you want to increase exposure you have to drag it to negative value.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-07-2017, 01:02 PM  
Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 Di LD Macro - Teleconvertor Compatibility?
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 6
Views: 1,247
Pentax 1.4x HD converter works fine,
Kenko 1.4x hunts a lot and can get stuck at extreme focus end without any intention of coming back.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 12-12-2016, 05:46 PM  
what has been your most "disappointing" lens?
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 178
Views: 17,294
DA15mm for me. Bought it for landscape but them soft corners killed it for me. Maybe I had a proper lemon but it looked softer in corners than Sigma 10-20 I had before. Sold it after 3 months. Starburst were excellent though.
Forum: Pentax Price Watch 11-20-2016, 03:44 AM  
SRS Pentax deals for black friday 2015
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 12
Views: 4,669
I didn't think they'd go that low on DA* 300 so I bought used in mint condition with 6 months warranty from ffordes for £600.

I don't regret it. Knowing my luck if I waited the used one would be gone and SRS black Friday price would be £800 😀.

Edit: just read above post, lol. Youre right, these are last year deals. 😁
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 08-24-2016, 02:01 AM  
K-3 II + Manual Lens + Live View + Green Button = ???
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 43
Views: 7,390
Seems to be fixed with new firmware. Mine now works like it should.
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 08-24-2016, 01:57 AM  
K-3II firmware - anyone know what is fixed?
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 64
Views: 7,657
Green button metering with M lens in Live View works like it was supposed to.
Forum: Photo Critique 07-20-2016, 12:10 PM  
Landscape Scafell Pike panorama
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 4
Views: 993
View from top of Scafell Pike, highest mountain in England. 5 images stitched in Lightroom,
It was very warm and cloudy day, most of the mountain top was in the clouds, just few moments when I could see anything.

All C&C welcomed.

IMGP3160-Pano.jpg by Grzegorz Furmanski, on Flickr
Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II 06-11-2016, 11:31 AM  
Credit where credit is due
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 13
Views: 1,526
I had similar experience with UK authorized Pentax service centre.

Rang them on Monday to ask about K3 II power off issue, courier picked it up on Tuesday (free of charge), rang them again on Friday for update just to be told it's on the bench being fixed. Had it back Tuesday. 7 days turnaround with weekend in the middle. Doesn't get better than this.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-04-2016, 12:32 PM  
Pentax K-3 focusing screen
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 20
Views: 6,208
I bought Canon EE-S from Amazon and cut it myself. Can't get much cheaper than this.

You just have to calibrate it after putting in camera by using shims. In my case I had to remove stock shim from K-3II and use it without any. Manual focus was easy, especially with longer lenses. I also have Canon split screen cut to size. This one require shimming and I've done it with narrow strips of low tack masking tape. But for manual focusing I prefer the EE-S screen.

Just one warning. A lot of dust can get into mirror box while you messing around with screens. I had dust stick to prism and screen itself. And cleaning the screen can easily get it scratched.

Good luck.

Greg
Forum: Photo Critique 05-30-2016, 09:11 AM  
Black & White fence
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 1
Views: 631
I started playing with B&W recently. Any advice will be appreciated.

IMGP2999.jpg by Grzegorz Furmanski, on Flickr
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 05-28-2016, 04:03 PM  
K3 II and beach exposure ????
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 8
Views: 1,450
I slipped on a hillside once and went down a few meters on muddy ground. Half of K3 II covered covered in mud, half of me covered in mud. It all dried out before I got home.

The problem is I don't have WR lens to just put camera under the sink. What I did was put a lot of bluetack on body cover to seal it of and washed camera under the tap, had to use toothbrush in some places. It works fine.

Lens wasn't WR but luckily I always have hood on so glass was clean and only barrel was muddy so I managed to clean it with dry cloth. It took couple hours but it's fine now.

So you can put body under the tap with no fear and it will survive.
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 05-10-2016, 10:41 AM  
Focusing screens for K-50 necessary?
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 9
Views: 1,772
If you on a budget you can buy canon ee-s screen from amazon for 35 bucks and cut it to size yourself. Tape it over with low tack modelling tape (yellow Tamiya), trace over the tape the size of pentax screen, cut with fine tooth saw (I used one for steel). It won't look like Katz Eye but will do the same job for half the price. But you'll have to calibrate it, mine required removing original shim from my K3 II to make it focusing spot on.

As for metering - all lenses I own are f2.8 or faster and I haven't noticed any issues. Even Tamron 70-200 with 1.4 converter (which makes it f4) meters fine.

Even though it doesn't have split or microprism it's great for manual focusing.

Greg
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 05-05-2016, 03:58 AM  
Tamron 70-200 and the Pentax HD 1.4x
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 16
Views: 2,232
OP question was about autofocus, not build quality. I only compared Pentax converter to Kenko in terms of autofocus.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 05-04-2016, 01:18 PM  
Tamron 70-200 and the Pentax HD 1.4x
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 16
Views: 2,232
I had Kenko 1.4x Pz-AF converter before and the biggest issue was autofocus. It would focus if it was in the ballpark already, but if it had to travel a bit it would just go to the extreme end of focus throw and stay there. So I had my reservations before buying Pentax one.
Happy to say that AF works fine, goes from close to far end and back without any issues. It's not as snappy or definite as lens itself, there's some micro movements just before it locks, but way better than with Kenko.

Image quality - still great. Wide open it makes the lens f4 but at that aperture there are green halos around sharp edges, by f5 they disappear and f5.6 is sharp with no fringing.

Quick and dirty test images from my garden:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/120246773@N07/26214488953/in/dateposted-public/

Slightly cropped, the strange out of focus line going across the image is washing line which I didn't see in viewfinder. It spoils the bird a little bit but you can see around it, eyes, legs and fence pretty sharp.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120246773@N07/26725247802/in/dateposted-public/

This one was shot through the window, even with glare from it you can still see a lot of details in the feathers.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120246773@N07/26725197162/in/dateposted-public/
No windows or washing lines in this, just a bit of cropping.


Overall the combo works fine, still a bit short for birds but I don't have 900 quid for DA 300 to put on the converter, so cropping will have to do for now.

On the side note:

It works quite well with DA 50/1.7 but not so much with Sigma 18-35/1.8. With Sigma AF just hunts without even trying to lock. Don't know why anyone would want to put those lenses on the converter though, bigger magnification at close distance possibly?
Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras 03-03-2016, 09:26 PM  
Information about the Pentax MX
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 13
Views: 2,903
I bought mine from UK ebay for 40 GBP with M50mm 1.7. I just had to add 12$ for new lightseals (easy to fix). It's not mint condition, only got some scratches. Just make sure battery compartment is not corroded.
Viewfinder is AMAZING. When I first looked through that after K3II and MZ3 I was shocked how big and bright it is.

Greg
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 03-03-2016, 07:19 AM  
The simpler the lens design - the better!
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 62
Views: 8,015
I've read this and few other posts on his site. I tried to see the difference he's talking about in this post Depth vs. Flat Lens Quick Comparison ? YANNICK KHONG . I can't see the flatness or 3d effect he's talking about.
Forum: Photographic Technique 02-29-2016, 10:52 AM  
Why didn't I know this???
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 20
Views: 2,992
Hmmm, for some reason direct link doesn't work. But you can go to main site Gerd Waloszek select english at the bottom then gxr from menu and manual focusing and focusing support from articles.
Forum: Photographic Technique 02-29-2016, 07:05 AM  
Why didn't I know this???
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 20
Views: 2,992
Ricoh GXR does that, It has distance scale on left side of the live view screen and green band on it showing depth of field amount. Lenght of green bar changes when changing aperture. I guess GR and GR II has that too.

Edit: http://www.waloszek.de/gxr_focus_e.php
scroll half way dwn and you can see example how it works.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 02-17-2016, 03:53 AM  
Looking for a WA lens on my k3 ?!
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 14
Views: 1,075
I think he meant Walk Around. But I thought it was about wide angle as well.
Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 02-12-2016, 09:12 PM  
Picture of K-1
Posted By gfurm
Replies: 352
Views: 70,637
Apart from guide lines on focus screen do I see microprism circle in there?
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