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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-31-2022, 09:56 PM
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A budget choice is the v1 Sigma 17-70; the screwdrive one. It's actually one heck of a lens; and available used quite cheaply. If WR and/or silent focusing wasn't a concern, I'd take that over my 16-85 most of the time. The 18-135 is also a great choice with more range, but slightly worse IQ (but of course it's silent AND WR). The V2 Sigma is about the same IQ, but silent focus for a bit more money.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-31-2022, 04:24 PM
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I do use the 18-35 on my K3III. I've had relative success with focusing. No, it's not as repeatable as some of my other lenses, but how many other lenses give F1.8 at sub-30mm focal lengths? With the K-70, I pretty much stuck to center point for all of my lenses, but with the K3III, I use a variety of tracking modes. With the 18-35 I think I get about 10% or so where the focus just goes totally wrong; but the other 90% are either tolerable or better. My other lenses are maybe 5% poor focus with the 3iii.
Edit, I found one of my photos with AF-C, so this would have been in matrix mode and allowed to track the (moving) train. As you can see, it focused precisely. Single button press; no high-speed spray and pray here. There were 4 more with the train, and I'd say 50% were focused on the front of the train. Looking through photos with eyes in them, then the hit rate gets closer to 90%
 K33A1832.jpg by Kozlok1, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-14-2022, 07:24 AM
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My best guess is the cost of parts and labor to repair is greater than the value of the lens, so they just don't make those parts available. The zoom helicoid should be the same part across all mounts for that lens, so I wouldn't think it's a Pentax specific thing.
I'm not sure if the Tamron is still available new, but used copies are around, and I think you can still get the Sigma new. The Pentax 16-50 is available used quite cheaply, though with the worry of SDM failure always at hand. Of course it can be converted to screwdrive and ends up still being a fine lens.
On the other hand, if you don't really need the constant f2.8, you can get a Sigma 17-70 quite inexpensively, and it's a pretty brilliant lens. A Pentax 16-85 is a more expensive option that includes weather sealing and Pentax coatings. I use my 17-70 and 16-85 both more than my 16-50.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
01-07-2022, 09:56 AM
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If you shorted out the pins on the mount with a piece of foil, the camera will think it's an M-Lens and let you set the FL. I'm sure it's one specific pin, but don't know which one. You could experiment.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
12-25-2021, 07:25 AM
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As a suggestion, Do a web search for “photoshop benchmarks” and then put in the exact CPU name. It should be I7 1170k or some other number. Do the same for the I5. Compare. If they are the same generation chips and similar clock speeds, it won’t make much difference. If they are different generations, the performance may be significantly different.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-22-2021, 10:27 PM
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We’re you, I would look at Flickr lens pools for each lens, decide which YOU like the best. What do you mean by sharp? Center sharpness? Across the frame evenness? Each of those lenses is sharp. At some point if all the lenses are sharp enough, something else matters more. Contrast, flare, bokeh, colors.
Buy any one of them from a good shop. Return them if you don’t love them. Each of them is the right one for someone.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-03-2021, 11:20 AM
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The coating on the 8Element lens is quite warm in color, distinctly golden, not blue/green like later SMC coatings. My Takumar 55mm is also about the same, so it was what the coating looked like.
Neither the 8E nor the 55 have thoriated elements, so not likely to be yellowing.
Is the rear element distinctly convex? It's one of the undeniable hallmarks of an 8E lens.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
11-03-2021, 11:15 AM
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I'd bet that acetone WILL ruin the leatherette, since that is likely a polymer based material. I'd be tempted to try a little Isopropyl Alcohol, but again, keep an eye out for damage. Another tactic may be to use warm soap and water; but be mindful of how much you put on; you don't want it wandering around. I'd probably get a cloth hot, wet and soapy and try to soak it off. Put dry towels around the outside to prevent water migrating anywhere else.
Another method that would be dry is to get it warm with a lamp or hairdryer (but keep an eye on it; not too hot!), and then use some duct tape to try to pull it off.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-03-2021, 07:07 AM
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Your 11-18 seems to expose brighter than the 12-24. The 12-24 images look more dramatic as a consequence. Did you apply any post processing to these images, other than the obvious B&W? I'd be tempted to click the "auto" setting for exposure just to put them on an even keel.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
11-02-2021, 09:25 AM
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I have the 18-35, and have used it on my K3III (but only about 250 shots total). It has maybe a bit worse keeper rate than my 16-85, but not unreasonably so. On my KS2, that lens worked well in single point focus mode, but not so well in multi-point mode. The K3III seems much more adept at managing the lens. Setting Autofocus to Auto multi-point mode and taking pictures of the grandkids worked out very well. Again, not a perfect keeper rate, but not bad.
I looked through a sequence of 11 shots at f1.8, and only 2 of those weren't focused on the eye. There were 2 more where it was just off the eye, but good enough at normal viewing magnification. 7 were basically perfectly focused on eyes in the shots. These were in good light. Indoors, my keeper rate was worse, maybe 20% were just terrible, and maybe another 20% where it focused on some random thing like a coffee cup. Again, not amazing, but workable.
At f2.8, my keeper rate seems to improve dramatically, with maybe 5% of shots just rubbish, and the rest better than adequate. By f5.6, it seems as good as any lens.
Here's a shot at f2.8 to whet your appetite.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
10-27-2021, 10:13 AM
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I was surprised to not see the viewfinder feature more prominently in the review; I'd have expected an entire section devoted to it. I think Ricoh spent a small fortune giving us this finder, it should have been more thoroughly discussed. My only real beef with this camera is that the viewfinder light shuts off when it locks focus, but I didn't see where any of this was even mentioned. I would have wanted to show just how much larger the finder is relative to old cameras, maybe a brief discussion on how they got there.
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
10-24-2021, 06:55 PM
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I would have been all over that at that price
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III
10-20-2021, 08:50 AM
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My only real complaint with the K3 III is the stupid autofocus points. I can turn on the viewfinder light and get really nice bright red lines and squares, but when the camera locks focus, it shuts the red light off, and I can't see any of the grid lines nor focus points. It's a stupid way to function.
Tracking works better than any Pentax camera that comes before, and I've not had a lot of problems especially when using the 55-300 PLM since it's able to change focus so quickly. The 16-85 just isn't in the same league, speed wise. The tracking is good enough for dogs at speed, and the grand kids are nowhere near fast enough to confuse it. If I fire off bursts, I usually get 80 to 90 % keeper rates, with an occasional truly awful focus.
Getting the camera to auto-select high ISO for me only happens in program mode with it set to action bias. Also, the high-ISO is so good, I don't really mind and use that setting frequently.
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Forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive
10-12-2021, 06:35 AM
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Impressive. Almost enough for me to consider adding a Fuji system to my pile of cameras.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-06-2021, 07:15 AM
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For me, the APS-C has a huge IQ difference due to the fact that the K1 is too heavy and I would tend to leave it home, whereas with the APS-C camera, I usually take it along whether I plan to use it or not.
I agree with the others that there is not a huge IQ difference to the K3III, but that autofocus performance blows me away. I get a much lower rate of poorly focused shots (grand kids mostly), and high-ISO is better. For a well-focused, low-ISO landscape at f5.6? Zero difference.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-01-2021, 07:11 PM
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It's like the old adage: Long, Cheap, Good. You only can choose any 2 out of the 3. And the more of the two you choose, the more the third one suffers. A very long, cheap lens will be awful. A very good very long lens will be VERY expensive. A really good, really cheap lens will be 50mm. It seems a simplification, but it's quite true.
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Forum: Sold Items
09-30-2021, 10:11 AM
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I wouldn't worry about the hood. I put mine in the box and have never used it. The front element is very recessed, it's not a big loss. You can get a 62mm rubber hood for when you (rarely) need it.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-29-2021, 05:27 PM
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My experience is that HDR is next to impossible in camera. You are much better off taking the three shots and combining in a post-production software. In the end, most everyone gives up on HDR eventually.
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Forum: General Photography
09-29-2021, 10:42 AM
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I only shoot APS-C, and I prefer the 43 most of the time. I have a Tak 50 I quite like, but it's more due to its old-fashioned rendering which just looks different than a modern lens. (it's the 8 Element version). I also like my Pancolar 50, but again mostly due to special rendering rather than focal length.
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
09-27-2021, 02:41 PM
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My own experience with Pentax weather sealing has been very positive. I've rinsed my KS-2 and K-30 both under tap water, and had them both out in the weather many times. I've not had a need to test the K-3III yet, but this tale does not fill me with confidence.
One thing I've always been careful of is to not zoom with a wet lens. I always carry a dry towel (or multiple towels) that I use to wipe off the lens before zooming. I've shot in some pretty wet conditions without a hiccup, mostly with either the 18-135 or the 16-85. I also make sure the camera is dry before going back into a bag.
For the time being, I'm going to go back to one of my less expensive cameras for shooting wet. Replacing those if they get trashed isn't as daunting of a proposition.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-23-2021, 06:29 AM
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I use BigMacCam's CCD lightroom profile quite frequently. There are some shots that it just really makes pop. Here's a shot with and without the CCD preset applied.
For this shot, it's pretty subtle, but CCD makes her face pop a bit more, and the blues in the ball look better.
Without:
With CCD:
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-15-2021, 07:02 AM
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It is difficult to handle an actual K1, so when I was faced with the idea of jumping to FF, I handled one of the Nikon FF cameras that was more or less the same size as the K1. I decided it was much too large for me, and I've happily stayed with APS-C ever since. I've still toyed with the idea of adding one, just to use the FA31 in its natural FOV, but alas, I chose the K3III instead due to the autofocus. It really is pretty spectacular. The online reviewers all say mirrorless is even better, but this gets my keeper rate high enough for my needs.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-14-2021, 06:58 AM
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Not to completely derail the thread, but it doesn't look like you have many WR lenses. What lens was on it when it flooded? In my experience, the weather seals on Pentax cameras with a WR lens on it are good for being under a running faucet, hurricane rain, and I've seen folks submerge them for a second or so at something like 1 foot below the water to photograph swimmers.
I recently upgraded to the K3III, and the autofocus is quite good. It's probably not what the mirrorless folks get, but it's good enough for following around kids and dogs and such. Just get the 55-300 PLM.
 K33A0104.jpg by Kozlok1, on Flickr
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Forum: General Photography
09-09-2021, 07:00 PM
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In this day and age, owning a large printer is not necessary. Just order them from a printing house. They are barely more expensive than the cost of ink in your own printer, look better, and don't take up space.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-07-2021, 01:02 PM
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The sun's irradiation does vary by location quite a lot. But helpfully, there is a nice map on Wikipedia to help you estimate it (look at the bottom half of the map for on the ground values). The irradiance in northern Britain is about half of what it is at the equator, so your Sunny 11 seems to be about spot on.
Solar irradiance - Wikipedia
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