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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-09-2016, 04:53 PM
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I may have forgotten to mention I used the 80-320mm at Daytona too during the day, it was decent there but I kept wishing I had a little more for the backstretch and turns (we were at pit entrance). given we're at a "corner" so to speak, the distance to turns 3-4 is probably in that zone as well.
So it sounds like a prime isn't a good idea after all? Are there any other lenses available for rental? It's very hard to find Pentax lenses on these sort of sites, let alone large zoom ones like this.
I kind of have my doubts I'll go more than once. I'm trying to get some variety in every year, and the only track I seem to go back to on a regular basis is Daytona (mostly because it's the closest - close enough to a relative I don't have to pay for a hotel which makes attending a race really affordable)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-09-2016, 03:23 PM
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As sorry I thought I had it in my signature but that's apparently nonexistent. I have a Pentax K50.
At Darlington I had a lot of trouble because it was a night race. The track wasn't as evenly lit as I would have hoped, so I wound up using TaV mode to try and balance things out. I had ISO as high as 6400 to try and maximize shutter speed, thereby minimizing the blur effect from the fast cars. I shot at f/5.6 (fastest setting at max zoom on the lens) the whole time because, again, I needed to maximize shutter speed and minimize blur.
This race is going to be a midday one, so I expect to have much more light even if it winds up being overcast.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-09-2016, 03:04 PM
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Hey everyone, I'm looking to take my camera to a Nascar race again this year (went last year to Darlington and had a blast). I'm headed for Homestead-Miami Speedway, sitting about 3/4 of the way up the stands entering turn 1. I want to rent a better lens this time around because I had a struggle with my 80-320mm in terms of focusing and having a slow aperture (It was a night race). I've been looking at lens rentals because the fast 300mm+ lenses are extremely expensive. I've seen two models that are available on cameralensrentals, a Sigma 50-500mm F/4.5-6.3 APO DG OS, and a Pentax 300mm f/4 ED IF DA*. I'm leaning towards the prime but I'm not sure if it's a bit too much for the pit road exit and turn 1, plus I've never actually used a prime lens before so I'm not used to having to frame everything in an immovable focal length. Is this a good idea or should I go with the Sigma? They're both around the $80 range to rent for 4-5 days so price isn't really a differentiating factor.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-23-2016, 11:50 AM
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I was thinking about a monopod, actually. Specifically because I needed to buy one for an evening fire show in July and figured I may as well get used to it ahead of time.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-21-2016, 12:16 AM
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Wait, no I see what's happening. I'm not actually saving the adjustments, On most of the adjustments I was pressing "menu" to get out of the screen, and that's actually the cancel button. The few times it seemed to work I was probably using the OK button like I'm supposed to :o.
I stopped being stupid and cancelling the adjustments, now I can get decent results after all. Looks like my four lenses are -3, 0, +5, and +8. That makes me think that it's just the various lenses needing adjustment, not the camera itself. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me, every single lens I have other than my 50-200mm WR (the +0 lens) are older and have gone through several owners, and the +8 lens (my 80-320mm) is the oldest, worst-focusing, and worst-condition lens in general that I have.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-20-2016, 11:02 PM
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Thank you for the link, I'll look into that.
As for the softness, I'm taking multiple photos with the same lens in the same position, lighting, settings, and object and seeing a difference with consistent results based on the AF setting. The only thing that I'm changing is the AF fine tune setting (or a very meticulous manual focus as a baseline). I do believe that rules out the other factors you listed?
---------- Post added 02-20-16 at 11:39 PM ----------
Hmm, okay so I took a look at the article linked. I don't have any fancy calibration cards around but I did have a ruler that is accurate to 1/32", so I laid that at about a 40 degree angle and focused on the center line to test. The result was that two of my lenses have back-focusing issues that cannot be compensated for (they hit +10 and it's still not in focus), one is perfect as-is, and one of them front focuses to the point I can't compensate for it either (-10, still not centered, but it does come close). Does that sound like lens issues or a camera issue to you? The lenses are all older and out of warranty, but the camera isn't.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-20-2016, 10:48 PM
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Hey all.
While testing some various lenses this evening, I noticed that all of them seem to be consistently out of focus (ever so slightly) on my K-50, enough that 100% crops at 100 ISO are being affected in clarity. I know there is an autofocus fine tune setting in the camera, but I can't seem to discern any difference between the individual steps of the fine tuning. How am I supposed to narrow down the fine tune settings so I know exactly which one to use? I can't tell the difference between +6 and +7, for example, but I can see a clear difference between 0 and +5. The result is I know the general direction I need to tune the setting, but I don't know where to stop. Is there some sort of method I can use to see minute details of how in-focus something is?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-20-2016, 07:44 PM
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Hmm, I didn't really think much about the AF, I suppose loss of quick-shift wouldn't be fun on the 35-70mm. Plus the quiet DC motor on the 18-135mm would be nice, as will the 18-29mm range in total. I'll have to really think about this one...
From what I can tell about the car show itself, it's in a local park and you should be able to just walk right up to most cars. I've searched Flickr for pictures from past year's events and most seem to involve rows of cars with pretty much equal access to everyone. Not even the Bugatti Veyrons and even more expensive 2-of-a-kind cars were roped off :eek:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-20-2016, 05:52 PM
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Would you recommend the 18-135 a ton over the 35-70mm? Reason being the 18-135mm is NOT pocket friendly, but the 35-70mm and the 10-17mm are. I could probably manage, but I'd be concerned for the well-being of the lens to be honest.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-20-2016, 05:37 PM
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It would be between 10 and 4 on a sunday afternoon in FL, so unless it's cloudy/rainy it should be quite bright. Sunset should be around 8pm that time of year.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-20-2016, 05:29 PM
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Oh interesting, I had no idea you could rent lenses that cheaply! The 10-17mm can be had for $45 for 3 days (incl. shipping to and from), damn good deal if you ask me. Thanks for suggesting it, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for a rental at that price, it'll let me test it out at a show before I decide to commit to such an expensive lens.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-20-2016, 04:30 PM
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Hmm, okay. The Samyang looks to be a bit difficult to find at my price point. What if I were to increase my budget to around $400? Could something get done then? I could possibly manage that, but it would involve cutting my budget on a different purchase I was going to make (unrelated to photography). For that price I'd be okay with getting another zoom or a prime, either or. I think I have things covered in the cheap and lower quality zoom range though :lol:
That looks pretty good for the 35-70mm. You would be right that I'm leaning more towards wide angle, though the benefit of the 35-70 is that it's small enough I could fit it in my pocket if desired. I might just take it along now as a second lens, thanks!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-20-2016, 04:23 PM
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^I sure would love to know where you got one of those beauties for just $150! :lol:
That was a list of lenses I own haha. I said it was a bad choice because no way I fit a whole car at 80mm from 3 feet away :lol:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-20-2016, 03:45 PM
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Hmm, I guess that's what I expected to hear. I was able to find an okay-looking Vivitar 28mm MF, but otherwise not much in the sub-35mm category. I suppose it doesn't help that you didn't often find those types of lenses in the film era either. Thanks for the input.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-20-2016, 03:22 PM
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Hey all, I've picked up tickets to an outdoor car show in St. Petersburg, FL in April, and I will only be able to bring one (maybe two) lens with me when I go. I have no idea what to expect in terms of layout, but since it's a city setting, I'm expecting it'll be mostly cars lined up in rows or parked on the streets. I'm looking for suggestions on what I should bring, or if I should consider buying a cheap prime (new or used). I have the following lenses:
- Pentax DA 18-135mm WR
- Pentax F 35-70mm "macro" lens (has a macro setting, but not a true macro in terms of max magnification)
- Minolta MD Celtic 28mm f2.8 prime (Never really tested this one thoroughly, but aperture doesn't work right on the adapter I have, so I'd have to stick to one setting all day)
- Pentax FA 80-320mm - a REALLY bad choice for up close but I'm including this for completion
So I was thinking potentially the 18-135mm just because it goes to a wide angle (plus weather sealing is nice in case it rains), but I was also considering buying a cheap prime (~$150). Would something in that price range have a better quality than the 18-135mm zoom? If so, can anyone suggest one? I'm not 100% against MF, but I would prefer AF, and also something that doesn't require an adapter.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-19-2016, 12:27 AM
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The one redeeming quality of the 80-320 to me, having used it in several trips, would be simply how cheap it was. Nothing really is particularly great about it compared to most of the recent lenses, the AF is slow and loud, the lens creep is bad, and it doesn't deal with lens flare or CA well. That said it's my go to lens when I needed some extra reach. Even though I don't plan on getting a FF camera anytime soon (if ever), I'd love to see them release a new version instead that addresses some of these issues (and of course weather sealing would be great!). I'd consider replacing mine with a new version once it fell within my budget.
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Forum: Sold Items
02-19-2016, 12:18 AM
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Bumping this.
I also would like to mention that I have found the original lens box, so that will be included in the sale. I will update the sale post with this information and a photo of the box soon.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
02-16-2016, 02:11 AM
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I was at the Daytona International Speedway this past Saturday and decided to take single car shots of all 44 cars during the morning Sprint Cup practice. I took these mostly as an exercise in consistency, and I took the opportunity afterwards to learn a bit about how to use Lightroom. I'd appreciate it if anyone could provide suggestions on how to improve consistency or post-production, I'm fairly new to this! I've got more from the actual races later that day which I want to sift through and feature, but I'll have to save those for another thread.
Shots were done with a Pentax K-50 and SMC Pentax-FA 80-320mm 45.-5.6 lens in TaV mode. I jumped around a bit, but mostly stayed with a 1/400 shutter speed and f11 or f13 aperture.
I found the lens to be adequate, but the autofocus on that particular lens is severely lacking (almost half of the rejected shots I took were out of focus, I had to rely on several repeated shots to get a good result). The only shot posted here that I was completely disappointed in was for the #78 car. Unfortunately when I got to the track I had my 18-135mm lens on the camera (it's the only one that fits on the camera in the travel bag I have). I quickly took that shot when I got to my seat then changed lenses to something with more reach, but that car never returned to the track afterward. The resulting less-than-ideal shot is included for completion, but little else.
Clicking the images will bring up 100% crops, names will bring up the Flickr page for the photo. Feel free to comment and/or critique, please:
 Jamie McMurray
 Brad Keselowski
 Austin Dillon
 Kevin Harvick
 Kasey Khane
 Trevor Bayne
 Regan Smith
 Danica Patrick
 Denny Hamlin
 Casey Mears
 Brian Vickers
 Clint Bowyer
 Greg Biffle
 Rickey Stenhouse Jr.
 Kyle Busch
 Carl Edwards
 Matt Kenseth
 Trevor Bayne
 Joey Logano
 David Ragan
 Chase Elliott
 Robert Richardson Jr.
 Paul Menard
 Josh Wise
 Ryan Newman
 Bobby Labonte
 Chris Buescher
 David Gilliland
 Landon Cassill
 Reed Sorenson
 Kurt Busch
 Kyle Larson
 Aric Almirola
 Brian Scott
 Michael Annett
 A.J. Allmendinger
 Jimmie Johnson
 Michael McDowell
 Martin Truex Jr.
 Michael Waltrip
 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
 Matt Dibenedetto
 Ty Dillon
 Cole Whitt |
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Forum: Sold Items
02-13-2016, 04:12 AM
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Forum: Sold Items
01-14-2016, 09:44 PM
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50-200mm lens is still for sale.
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Forum: Sold Items
01-09-2016, 06:41 PM
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Giving this another bump. I'm back tomorrow so no more delay in shipment.
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Forum: Sold Items
01-02-2016, 01:25 AM
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18-55mm is sold, 50-200mm remains available but shipping will be delayed until January 11 due to travel. I am still available to discuss terms of sale during this time, though response times may be slower than normal.
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Forum: General Talk
12-25-2015, 09:56 AM
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Merry Christmas everyone! Can't take a photo with my camera since it's over 200 miles away this weekend, but here's my best smartphone shot instead.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
12-23-2015, 04:35 PM
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Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I have gone with the Sunpak 433D model flash which had the auto thryistor, a very good GN, and had the bounce and swivel options the Minolta Auto 200x I own lacked. I was able to find a like new model for only $25 including expedited shipping to get it before my trip, which was great! This left me with enough budget to get a few travel accessories for the flash as well, so I think everything worked out nicely :)
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Forum: Sold Items
12-22-2015, 06:34 PM
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