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Forum: Pentax K-1
02-17-2021, 12:43 AM
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I have some comparable older FA zooms but the DFA 28-105 is certainly better. The DFA has better IQ, WR and quiet AF.
I have several times taken shots with the DFA and later on mistaken them for being taken with one of my primes. Sure its not very fast and not as good as a good prime (like FA limited or DFA 50 / 100 etc) but its surprisingly good for the money.
While I'm fortunate to have the FA limiteds (which I really enjoy using on the K-1 and they never disappoint), I often take the DFA 28-105 when shooting in adverse conditions or when traveling light.
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Forum: General Photography
02-12-2021, 01:39 PM
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Back in my film days, I had a camera bag in the back of the car when we were driving on a remote gravel (dirt) road for several hours. Found that the boot (trunk for some) was not quite closed and it was filled with dust. Another surprise came when I found the camera bag also wasn't well closed and was full of dust too! Not great for my lenses! For some reason it took me ages to get rid of all the dust (basically washed it out multiple times) but I still have the bag and use it when I need to carry more gear.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-09-2021, 12:51 PM
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Congratulations! The FA 43 a little gem (especially on FF - excellent all round FL). But watch out the FA 31 is great too (mine gets a lot more use than the 77 - which is also great)!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-09-2021, 03:07 AM
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Well since getting my K-1 I have not used my K-5 but I still use my K-01 when traveling light.
My K-1 is good enough that I don't crave any other camera at the moment!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-07-2021, 12:52 PM
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I have a DA 18-135 that occasionally has issues with not wanting to AF. Its a DC motor, and in my case I think its probably not the motor itself but probably contacts internally in the lens somewhere (possibly on a sensor).
For mine, it usually occurs at just certain focal lengths and I can usually clear mine by racking the zoom in and out a few times. For me its not worth getting it repaired and its actually pretty usable most of the time anyway.
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Forum: Pentax K-1
02-04-2021, 12:55 PM
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Well the K-1 is heavier than say a K-3 but its not that much bigger. I went from a K-5 to a k-1. Personally I quite like the weight as the camera fits in my hands very nicely.
Agree that with the faster zooms, it does make it a big and heavier system (too big for me anyway). Personally I have opted for the DFA 28-105 (surprisingly useful performance and a nice size) along with FA 31, 43 and 77. Also use a A 50 f1.2 (I really like it on the K-1), a K 17mm fisheye and, as a stop gap, a FAJ 18-35.
I shoot mainly landscape but walk a lot with my gear and so weight and size is a factor for me. Sometime I might just take a couple lenses - in which case usually one of them is the FA43 as its a very useful lens on FF.
The system is working out really well for me. I really really really would like that DFA 21 though to fill stop gap though (FAJ 18-35 is nice and light but performance is a bit marginal)!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-02-2021, 12:54 PM
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Possibly dust on the AF sensor (assuming its just happening with the OVF. I suggest searching for some posts on how to clean AF sensor (sorry I can't remember where it is off the top my head).
That said upgrading the K-r to a more recent body like the K-p would be a significant step up.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-01-2021, 11:02 PM
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On FF I am pretty happy with the FA 35 f2 and FA43 Limited (my favorite). To my eyes those two star better than my FA 31 limited (which is generally brilliant in all other regards) but it depends what you like.
FA 43 Ltd:
The FA 31 is pretty busy looking to my eyes:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-15-2021, 12:52 PM
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I have always found 28mm a useful focal length on both FF and APS-C.
On APS-C its the equivalent FOV of a 42mm on FF and I really like the FOV of the FA 43 on FF. I have a FA28 and while I don't have extensive experience with it on APS-C (I got it after getting a K-1), its a great little lens. Compared to the DFA 28-105 (which is already a very good lens), the FA28 is a little bit faster, maybe slightly sharper overall (but there's not much in it!), has nicer colours (IMO), a little better bokeh, and is oh so small.
I used to use 28mm lenses on my K-5, and although my 28mm lenses at the time were not as good (as I have now), I really liked the focal length. As others have said 21mm is also a useful FL on APS-C but it depends on what you like to shoot really.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-11-2021, 01:26 PM
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It's good all round lens. When I travel light with my k-01, I take DA15, DA40 and DA70. They take up little room. The 40 is nice but FOV wise I'm tempted to take my FA28 instead. But the 15 is often useful to me.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-10-2021, 01:25 PM
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Forum: Do-It-Yourself
01-10-2021, 01:09 PM
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Thanks! I don't need the instructions yet but they greatly appreciated, as this is the sort job I'm happy to do.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-09-2021, 01:02 PM
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A bit of corner softness, most of the time, doesn't matter much.
If you are doing exhibition sized prints then it may be important for deep field of view landscapes - in which case you are probably want the best lenses.
In any case if you have a lens that sharpens up once you stop down then you probably have it covered. An exception I can think of is night landscape shots with a subject in foreground and stars in the background where you don't want star trails - in this case you want pretty good performance with wide apertures.
Personally a significant proportion of my own shots I like, involve some amount of bokeh around the edges anyway.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-06-2021, 01:11 PM
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Congratulations! The 31 is certainly a gem - love mine!
That said the 35 is no slouch (have plenty of keepers with it) - for me the 43 seems to fill the role of what I used to do with my FA 35.
Enjoy!
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Forum: General Photography
01-05-2021, 12:58 PM
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Thanks for posting - I had not seen that particular article and now looking around the site!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-02-2021, 02:35 PM
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You don't mention whether you are after a lens for FF or APS-C but some popular choices:
FF:
* FA 43 - although technically not wide, its certainly very useful for landscapes
* FA 31 - a great performer!
* DFA 21 - hopefully coming soon!
APS-C
* DA 21 - I don't own one but its very popular and a great focal length
* DA 15 - A nice compact lens that performs well. I like mine
* DA 20 - 40 - again I don't have it but its a versatile lens with most of the ability of the primes
Of course there are lots of great non limited lens options (both prime and zoom) too.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-30-2020, 07:31 PM
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Thanks, that sound plausible and doable. I will take a look.
---------- Post added 12-31-2020 at 03:36 PM ----------
Yeah it really is a bit too far out for night landscapes with stars (where I want to be able to use f2.8 or faster to freeze stars). Thanks.
---------- Post added 12-31-2020 at 03:42 PM ----------
Thanks - you are right it is the same lens, although those instructions are for K variant (although there is some mention of the A later on in the thread).
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-30-2020, 03:27 PM
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I'm delighted to have received an A 50 f1.2 for Christmas. In virtually every way its a mint example - I could almost believe it was brand new. Its sharp too (review to come) - even wide open its pretty good (although edge and corner sharpness falls off for close up shots, as has been reported by others).
However it does not quite reach infinity focus - as in it approaches it but comes up a little short. At infinity focus position its more like 60m (180 ft say). I also verified the same is true with it mounted on my K-01 as well. For most situations that does not matter much and stopped down to f5.6 its sharp at infinity, however I'm keen to use the lens with night shooting (often with stars in the background) and so this is an issue.
I read a few posts about people adjusting lenses but there seems to be quite a bit of conflicting information (confused by earlier K 50 variant in which you unscrew the inner face plate) and while I'm pretty handy mechanically (and have done minor adjustments on lenses before), I'm not keen to tinker with my lens unless I have a clear idea of what exactly needs to be done to adjust it because I want to minimise the chance of marking / damaging it.
If there is anyone who has done this adjustment on an A 50 f1.2, I would greatly appreciate any hints you can give.
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Forum: General Photography
12-30-2020, 01:00 PM
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Spend more time shooting with my K-1 and lenses!
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Forum: Pentax K-1
12-22-2020, 12:06 PM
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If you press the INFO button a couple times (or is it 3?), it should show a selection screen that lets you select what to shown on the LCD in shooting mode. Does that not work?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-21-2020, 12:39 PM
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Congradulations - hopefully you will love the 43 (most do!). Love mine - optically its not as good (in the lab at least) as say the DFA* 50, but it has a nice character and is an amazing balance of size, build, speed and versatility (43mm is a very universal focal length on FF at least).
No tips other than spend some time getting to know it with lots of random shots and then just enjoy it!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
12-17-2020, 12:47 PM
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Kodak Instamatic --> Canon AE-1 Program --> Various compact digitals --> Pentax k-x --> Pentax K-5 + ME Super --> Pentax K-1
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
12-08-2020, 12:54 PM
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I have one also. It does have a pretty close focus distance for a zoom - especially for the time this lens came out. But no, not as close as a dedicated macro lens.
On a side note, maybe its sample variation but I definitely wouldn't call mine a stack of primes as on FF the corners are pretty soft at the wide end of the range and fairly soft wide open too. I remember thinking it was better on APS-C. I have a DFA 28-105, and it eclipses the A 35 - 105 in virtually every way - which really impressed me when I got it.
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Forum: General Photography
11-12-2020, 12:45 PM
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Thanks for posting. His lighting is very impressive - especially for his age.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
11-08-2020, 12:54 PM
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Its not weird, as I have read of a number of photographers (some quite notable) who to the same thing and often to their advantage.
Having said that I don't as its not practical for me owing to me being left eyed (most cameras are in the way of the right eye).
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