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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
12-13-2014, 08:47 PM
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Confirmed! good luck everyone.
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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
12-09-2014, 02:27 PM
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This lens would go so well with my exists-only-in-my-dreams 645D II! Might actually convince me to make it a reality...
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
10-29-2010, 07:08 AM
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Thought I'd chime in with some of my latest, as it's been awhile and Fall has been pretty inspiring.
All shot with my 645Ns on Velvia 50.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
07-30-2010, 11:54 AM
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Perhaps it's all in the settings used for USM and Smart Sharpen. What values do you typically use for screen resolution?
Or maybe it's all in the larger neg size from the 67!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
07-30-2010, 09:26 AM
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Fair point! I meant to say: your shots don't suffer from the usual film-to-scan-to-online quality loss that I see most of the time.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
07-30-2010, 06:15 AM
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Tuco - I would love to get a tutorial from you on how you scan, process, and sharpen your photos for online use. Your shots always look as good as any digital shot! AND you can print to ridiculous sizes :)
Care to start a new thread?
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
07-12-2010, 06:34 AM
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I think the most exciting thing to hear was that the meter in the D is just as good as it is in the N, which is something I've always said was the greatest strength of the camera but completely unquantifiable in marketing / advertising the thing. O, to have the DR of digital and my favorite meter ever... one day!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-21-2010, 12:57 PM
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do the aperture blades move when you press the lever with your hand?
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-16-2010, 07:42 AM
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Definitely a matter of personal preference, I'd say. I had a pan/tilt head on my first tripod and hated it so much that I never used my tripod. I found the need to think in terms of left/right OR up/down very handicapping.
My general approach is to focus first, then compose, then level, then tighten everything and shoot. For this, the ballhead works wonderfully as I loosen it and the middle column and can move my camera *almost* as though I were freehanding with it. Then when I find my focus and composition, I just level and tighten.
The fact that both exist suggests to me that some will disagree! :)
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-16-2010, 07:07 AM
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Why the TLR for hiking? Are they typically lighter / more compact?
And which folders do you use?
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-16-2010, 06:27 AM
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Also, I'll add that my whole view on carrying camera gear while hiking changed when I bought my Lowepro SlingShot, along with the accessory attachments -- my favorite is the water bottle pouch. It's extremely comfortable and gear is pretty easy to access. Great for travel, too.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-16-2010, 06:22 AM
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When I go out shooting seriously I take the following:
- 2 x 645N bodies (different films)
- 35mm f/3.5 FA
- 75mm f/2.8 FA
- 120mm f/4 FA
- 200mm f/4 FA
- 1.4x TC
- Manfrotto 055PROB legs w/ compact ballhead
The whole thing adds up to just under 20 lbs (~9 kg)
When I hike I don't carry that much:
1 x 645N body
35mm f/3.5 FA
75mm f/2.8 FA
120mm f/4 FA
1.4x TC
Adds up to about 10 pounds (4 kg).
I have started to think lately about the fact that I don't take many print-worthy shots on my day hikes, though, so I may start to pack my 35mm gear... but I'm not quite ready to part with my gear yet!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-14-2010, 11:26 AM
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I use my lenses at f/11 MUCH, MUCH more often than I use them wide open. So, from my standpoint, this was a worthwhile test, as the samples are as close as they can be to a real-life scenario in a controlled environment.
This is also the first I'm hearing about MF lenses being diffraction-limited at f/11.... got any sources to back that up?
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-10-2010, 06:14 AM
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Agreed. My friend's Mamiya 6 results make my Pentax scans look like they came from a Holga sometimes :lol: I always have to remind myself that my prints are still incredible AND I don't have to squint into the VF for several minutes just to focus!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-09-2010, 06:30 PM
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Can I generate these from a crop? Or are you saying you just want to see the numbers for reference?
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-09-2010, 01:48 PM
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Smolk - thanks for the reminder! All of my lenses are FA. I will adjust the initial post accordingly.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-09-2010, 07:03 AM
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Hi all - as promised, I recently tested some new 645 lens acquisitions and thought I'd share the results with you all. Pixel peeping is a rarity with me so this is all you'll hear from me re: sharpness of my lenses :)
Crops are 100% on a 4000dpi Coolscan 9000 ED scan from Fuji Provia F. No filters or PPing applied. All were shot with a 645N on a tripod and cable release at f/11. Subject is a side-lit fake palm tree in incandescent light.
In the below images, the lenses used in each crop were as follows:- Top Left: 200mm f/4 FA with 1.4x TC
- Top Right: 200mm f/4 FA
- Bottom Left: 120mm f/4 FA Macro
My conclusions:- The 120mm Macro is an incredible lens. I have never seen sharper scans
- The 200mm is still pretty sharp, but not as good as the 120mm. Nothing is!
- The 1.4X TC barely degrades image quality on the 200mm; I will no longer worry about losing IQ when using it. It even wins in some of the crops -- which suggests to me that focus is slightly different between the lenses.
- 645 lenses are pretty damn nice!
All in all, I'm going to use all of these with 100% confidence that I'm getting more detail than I'll ever need for my uses. Any thoughts?
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-01-2010, 08:19 AM
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Yes, touche, should totally have said "645" there again :)
Of course, you're still likely to get some strong opinions re: the 67's mirror slap 'round these parts....
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
06-01-2010, 06:24 AM
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The lack of mirror slap is pretty much limited to the 645 alone. Most MF SLRs have clearly demonstrated that their mirrors cause vibration in images -- just not Pentax!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
05-24-2010, 11:52 AM
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Man, these are all of the downsides of MF summed up in one photo. :D
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
05-24-2010, 06:16 AM
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I'll chime in by saying: I continue to motivate myself to carry a 20-pound set of gear (2 645Ns, 3 prime lenses - 35, 75, and 120, a teleconverter and a tripod) by telling myself that it's all for the eventual print. I usually print in the 20 - 30" range and I have yet to see a digital SLR pull that off 100%. Not to mention the price of that DSLR!
+ tuco's point about b&w film. that part's personal, but still important.
If you're choosing the Ricoh or the 645, get the 645. It's a more updated system and the handling could not be easier. Especially if you're shooting wildlife!!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
05-20-2010, 10:30 AM
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yes, the key point LL made was that all of the shaking you see the camera do when a picture is taken is all from the mirror snapping back into place, long after the shutter has opened and closed.
I have shot 100s of rolls on my Ns and have not once seen an issue with vibration.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
05-19-2010, 01:17 PM
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Not to rain on this parade, but my feelings in seeing these images are mixed.
On the one hand, the pixel dimensions are damn impressive and are close enough to what I'm getting with my 9000 ED that I'd consider the files large enough for the work I do. And the ISO performance exceeded my expectations. And it would be wonderful to use my existing lens kit.
On the OTHER hand, I'm not really that impressed by the image quality. All of the edges look REALLY "digital" -- I'd say almost a generation behind the latest from Nikon and Canon in terms of processing -- making it a great digital backup at best, in my book.
Just my $0.02!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
05-17-2010, 06:17 AM
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Considering your signature, you're biased :D
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
05-15-2010, 10:06 AM
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Not sure about you, but I can't tell the difference in quality at all. What about the corners? Are you seeing anything?
I'm headed out with my 1.4x / 200mm f/4 combo today to do some test shots. Results coming soon...!
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