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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-06-2023, 04:30 AM
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Same on my KP with several lenses (e.g. yesterday with the HD-DFA 100mm AW macro), but only in live view. It also happens on my K-1, I think, but not as often or intense. So far, I have not noticed any problems.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-02-2023, 08:05 AM
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While I don't have experience with the Canon or Nikon lenses, I really appreciate the small outer diameter of the lens, in combination with a good working distance for available light shots, compared to any other current alternatives. Flowers turn with and attract insects facing the sun, so you're often blocking the light when you go for 'deep' shots, e.g. the tongue of a bee, with the - optically excellent - Irix 150mm or Laowa 100mm lenses. The slim profile of the D-FA 100 lenses (both smc WR or HD AW versions) simply gives you more angles. Similarly, it's easier to light the front of a tiny subject with less of a ring effect - I'm e.g. using a styrofoam disc lit from behind.
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Forum: General Photography
05-02-2023, 03:39 AM
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When going for camera JPEGs, I usually start with +/-0 and enable the D-Range setting in auto mode with matrix metering and obviously adjust for the JPEG image when required. This both protects highlights, 'underexposing' and lifting the image in high contrast situations automatically and produces well balanced JPEGs. When I plan to post-process from raw files, D-Range-Extension is off and I judge EV compensation image by image - essentially ETTR or, for specific subjects like insects in natural light, even below, because going above ISO 400 on the K-1 merely gives better previews, but no other advantages for a given required time/aperture pair, at the price of less headroom. My starting point for landscapes and architecture in sunlight or in the evening is often -0.7EV, in overcast situations however +/-0 and -1.5EV for urban areas at night. So I have different 'defaults', depending on the situation.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-25-2023, 09:17 AM
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I was rather surprised about the split, but I have experienced mergers twice and sometimes they just don't work out. It felt like some of the Ricoh knowledge would have gone into the KP JPEG processing, which felt quite a step up from prior models. But that may well just have been parallel work.
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
04-25-2023, 09:11 AM
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Tolkien's Smaug in The Hobbit would be a superb reference.
If you don't feel compelled to use the lens, there would simply be more space for a different one if you sold it. :hmm:
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-25-2023, 08:25 AM
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The DFA 28-105 was available at product launch of the K-1, and was even used to showcase Pixel Shift, so Pentax was very convinced about its quality. But the two are different enough, addressing rather distinct uses, not to compete very much - another viable strategy. In terms of overall strategy, different initial monochrom choices would indeed compete and a potential FF or compact 'upgrade' could still be attractive later, if there are enough buyers now.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-19-2023, 03:05 AM
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I had sent in both for repair and received them back, with some replaced electronic parts according to the invoice, in total well below used prices, the DA is close. As I had bought another one, the DA18-135 is now a spare, the DFA28-105 back as my main compact and competent landscape full-frame lens. Both are essential parts of my kit, despite my love for primes, because they're hard to beat as quick and compact companions for outings with family and friends. Given that the DFA has served me well for 6+ years, spreading out its slightly higher repair cost, the 'wear' is rather insignificant in the overall expenses for my hobby. My DFA had an unusual kind of failure btw.: It always stopped just shy of correct focus for phase detection (viewfinder), but worked fine in live view - something that the repair shop had not encountered before.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-15-2023, 07:17 PM
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Half month already and I missed a few days. No complaints about the DFA 21Ltd, I was just not in the mood yet for ultra-wide shots. It takes some effort to find what I'm looking for in our cluttered urban environment. The wonderful close-up rendering often comes
to the rescue. I have at least three great places in mind that I want to shoot in the 2nd half of the month though.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III Monochrome
04-14-2023, 02:42 PM
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My usual raw processing programs, darktable and Rawtherapee, both know about monochrome pass-through and can be configured to automatically apply it. No need for additional software.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-14-2023, 11:39 AM
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I backfilled 9th, 10th and 13th, but will spare you 11th and 12th - days on which I could not get myself motivated to make an effort for a good shot. A walk on the 13th through the neighborhood resulted in more than I'd show even as bonus shots (I'll adds some more later). Strange month, a lot going through my head.
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Forum: Product Suggestions and Feedback
04-14-2023, 02:34 AM
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Arca is well suited because it's not constrained to a certain length. The original slide-out protection using screws does protrude a bit, but the lens feet that I know omit those. Even if they included them, being small screws, they could be removed. In contrast e.g. the Manfrotto 200PL does have a fixed length, so it is not well suited to sandwich other plates underneath.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
04-13-2023, 02:59 PM
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
04-13-2023, 02:25 PM
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The linear ratio of the pixel pitch is not that high: sqrt(36MP/60MP) = 0.77, which means that a potential 60MP pixel shift exposure still allows for 77% of the movement that the K-1 resolution allows. Noticeable, but a night and day difference.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-13-2023, 02:16 PM
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In addition, try turning the camera upside down while doing the above. Even though it's spring loaded when fully functional, gravity may help to let the locking pin slip out if somehow the spring broke and is jamming the mechanism to pull it up.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-13-2023, 01:14 PM
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Slim and variable are contradictory and the thicker 'sandwich' will likely impact sharpness at the edges. I'm using fixed ND filters and usually just carry an ND64. If I need longer times, interval composite does the job - the roughness from using it exclusively instead of an ND filter, e.g. in moving water, is usually sufficiently smoothed out with the 64, so that a 16-image composite using an ND64 is nearly indistinguishable from a ND1000-filtered exposure. Of course, things like a dominant light source moving through the image would have small gaps in their trail at the interval boundaries. So far, I have done little with lower density NDs other than using an ND8 once to balance sun and flash without the "slowing" effect of HSS flash.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
04-13-2023, 08:58 AM
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If you can give an idea about what size and kind of objects you have in mind, it would be somewhat easier to give relevant information.
I do stacks occasionally, most of them for documentary/scientific purposes. I just recently converted a forum-originated automated stacking rail using a geared-down stepper motor for objects of ~2mm size, for highest resolution using a Componon 50/2.8 on K-Bellows using a reversal ring, but for larger things my usual macro suspects do the job, like in this 5-exposure stack example of a tiny spider, taken handheld - the spider started to move in the 6th image for the foreground ... My first stacks were taken on a table, camera on a tripod, moving the subject placed on a reversed butter dish along a ruler on the table by hand (tilting finger nail) in small increments, with very usable results. Moving focus manually on a lens is another viable option to start with at moderate magnification. A ruler as a depth indicator helps in live view with even increments.
Software-wise, the best free (of charge) program that I have found is Picolay, which also has some unique features. But I did obtain a license for Helicon Focus for general use, which I need to renew though for this season ...
So best start with what you have lens-wise and free (or available) software, try some stacks and learn what you want/need first.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-13-2023, 03:19 AM
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I guess my currently infrequent ventures into monochrome terrain don't warrant a dedicated camera, and for sure not a new focus on the smaller format. So for now, monochrome interpretations of color-filtered raw data from the K-1 and KP:
Leuschnerplatz Station Entrance
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Forum: Product Suggestions and Feedback
04-13-2023, 02:25 AM
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The Arca-compatible Irix 150mm foot happily accepts Manfrotto or even Arca plates. In general, I don't see how it might cause distress other than maybe not being wide enough for super-heavy stuff.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-13-2023, 12:47 AM
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The toning settings in the custom image are hopefully more subtle than in the KP and K-1, where they are over the top even at +1/-1 for my taste for many images. It is possible to overcome this in-camera (using "digital filters"), but a lot more difficult than needed.
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
04-12-2023, 08:21 AM
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The slow sensor readout requires a lot of time: First one pass to clear the sensor, then trailing behind by the exposure time the readout for the electronic shutter, or alternatively the close/clear-open-close-read-open cycle for switching to the mechanical shutter, exposure and back to live view, which is required when using flash. Shutter lag in LV is somewhat inconsistent, around 250ms, blackout period maybe double of that - there is a blue waiting circle before the 'LV' image is back on the screen, even with processing configured down to the minimum.
So it's a combination of slow sensor readout and slow processing/writing to the memory card, maybe with sub-optimal firmware. The mirror/shutter is faster than the sensor in FF mode, it does support the 6.5/s rate for APS-C mode, whereas in full frame, the sensor limits the rate to 4/s.
The combination of 250ms+ shutter lag and 1/2s blackout means slow to me and makes well timed macro shots of living creatures, that move around, very difficult. I use the viewfinder, which has about 70ms shutter lag and maybe 150ms blackout, whenever practical. Sometimes I even eye through the viewfinder from a distance instead of using LV.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-12-2023, 07:21 AM
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The H6D-100c indeed lists 53.4 x 40.0mm˛ sensor size in the data sheet, whereas the 50c 'only' covers 43.8 x 32.9mm˛.
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
04-12-2023, 07:10 AM
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My most desired change is very closely related: I want much faster life view, which could be a by-product of a faster readout for video, however retaining the robust and easy to use on-axis screen. The shot-to-shot time is very long in LV, which I use for macro when the optical viewfinder is not an option. I maybe would have switched to a different system for macro purposes if it wasn't for the screen. The screen could be brighter though - an actual level instead of the curve adjustment in '+2' would be great.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-12-2023, 06:59 AM
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Yes, at least turning on the light before closing the development tank. Or opening the camera back instead of releasing the transport spool for rewind. Or shooting an entire roll - without any film in the camera or without checking that the film actually moves, shooting 36 exposures on the leader. Or shooting without a memory card, which however becomes evident more quickly if you check the histogram or focus.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-12-2023, 01:05 AM
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It looks like they kept the effort and upfront investment minimal, noch even changing the K3 III logo at the front. They likely can add the 'Monochrome' lettering to regular parts stock according to the demand, the rest is 'just' sensor and flashing the right firmware. I have no idea how well the sensor is decoupled from the rest of the main board, production-wise, though.
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