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Hiding in the bushes

pschlute
Posted 18/04/2017 - 15:32 Link
Was playing with an old lens M 200mm f4 on the K1 at the weekend and spotted little Ripley in the bushes. Just managed to get exposure and focus together before he moved. I quite like the way the 200mm has isolated him.

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Mag07
Posted 18/04/2017 - 19:57 Link
Beautiful.
'Photography...it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten....' (Aaron Siskind)
McGregNi
Posted 18/04/2017 - 20:47 Link
Nice focus effect! That is a lovely lens .... I still enjoy my M75-150 F4, which I guess is from the same era. Your shot shows good contrast and strong colours, and great exposure.

And yes, 'getting focus and exposure together' is quite a feat with an M lens ! Its a different ballgame to modern optics, where one press of the shutter button could potentially be all thats needed.

I find the main mistake I make is forgetting my aperture setting, or forgetting I need to change it, plus of course forgetting to re - meter with the green button when I've moved position or angle into different light!
My Guides to the Pentax Digital Camera Flash Lighting System : Download here from the PentaxForums Homepage Article .... link
Pentax K7 with BG-4 Grip / Samyang 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC / DA18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR / SMC A28mm f2.8 / D FA 28-105mm / SMC F35-70 f3.5-4.5 / SMC A50mm f1.7 / Tamron AF70-300mm f4-5.6 Di LD macro / SMC M75-150mm f4.0 / Tamron Adaptall (CT-135) 135mm f2.8 / Asahi Takumar-A 2X tele-converter / Pentax AF-540FGZ (I & II) Flashes / Cactus RF60/X Flashes & V6/V6II Transceiver
Edited by McGregNi: 18/04/2017 - 20:51
doingthebobs
Posted 18/04/2017 - 23:46 Link
Nice.

I have always thought this lens is a bit of a sleeper in quality terms. They are also quite compact and a built in lens hood.
You can pick them up fairly cheap too.
Bob
pschlute
Posted 18/04/2017 - 23:58 Link
McGregNi wrote:
I find the main mistake I make is forgetting my aperture setting, or forgetting I need to change it, plus of course forgetting to re - meter with the green button when I've moved position or angle into different light!

Haha, yes likewise. We are so used to auto exposure that it is easy to forget to re-meter when using a manual lens.

I really do love the feel of the focus throw of the old K and M series lenses. Even though this one is 40 years old the feel is still so precise and smooth, it makes manual focussing a joy. Modern lenses just aren't the same.
JAK
Posted 19/04/2017 - 00:06 Link
I sometimes find instead of pressing the green button I press the exposure lock and wonder why the images come out under exposed.
John K
McGregNi
Posted 19/04/2017 - 19:26 Link
I was out at Embankment Gardens just earlier photographing the magnificent Tulips with the M75-150 .... yes, a real joy to use, and from what I can see on the camera screen some great looking results .... but on my Battery Grip for the vertical shots I sometimes pressed the AF button when I wanted to meter. Kept wondering why nothing was happening!
My Guides to the Pentax Digital Camera Flash Lighting System : Download here from the PentaxForums Homepage Article .... link
Pentax K7 with BG-4 Grip / Samyang 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC / DA18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR / SMC A28mm f2.8 / D FA 28-105mm / SMC F35-70 f3.5-4.5 / SMC A50mm f1.7 / Tamron AF70-300mm f4-5.6 Di LD macro / SMC M75-150mm f4.0 / Tamron Adaptall (CT-135) 135mm f2.8 / Asahi Takumar-A 2X tele-converter / Pentax AF-540FGZ (I & II) Flashes / Cactus RF60/X Flashes & V6/V6II Transceiver
derek897
Posted 19/04/2017 - 23:06 Link
That's a really sweet shot. Well framed too.
There's something special about the k and m series lenses. You can feel the quality of them. So smooth to use.
I have never used the green button. Is there any point when shooting in manual ?
I know what i like, If not always why.
pschlute
Posted 19/04/2017 - 23:34 Link
Hi derek, thanks for the kind comments.

The green button is very handy when moving from one scene to another with a big difference in lighting. it will instantly get you a "correct" exposure and you can then tweak it as you see fit.

Further, on most Pentax SLR cameras i believe you can change the action of the green button in manual (and indeed other modes). On my camera I have set the green button in manual mode to operate by shifting the Tv value. So I will select an aperture that I wish to use and one press of the button gives me a metered shutter speed. It is quicker than thumbing through the front e-dial and looking at the meter, as long as i dont press the playback button by mistake !
McGregNi
Posted 20/04/2017 - 00:18 Link
I don't think it would be possible to have an exposure indication with an M or K type lens, because there is no aperture information for the camera to use. The green button is required to perform a physical stop down action to read the actual light passing through the lens at the set aperture.

In M mode you can set an exposure compensation offset, but after moving the indication with your input it disappears. It remains effective though for subsequent green button pushes.
My Guides to the Pentax Digital Camera Flash Lighting System : Download here from the PentaxForums Homepage Article .... link
Pentax K7 with BG-4 Grip / Samyang 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC / DA18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR / SMC A28mm f2.8 / D FA 28-105mm / SMC F35-70 f3.5-4.5 / SMC A50mm f1.7 / Tamron AF70-300mm f4-5.6 Di LD macro / SMC M75-150mm f4.0 / Tamron Adaptall (CT-135) 135mm f2.8 / Asahi Takumar-A 2X tele-converter / Pentax AF-540FGZ (I & II) Flashes / Cactus RF60/X Flashes & V6/V6II Transceiver
pschlute
Posted 20/04/2017 - 07:46 Link
Nigel is correct, green button is a neccessity with a K or M lens.

My last comments refered to using manual mode with a lens that the camera can read.
derek897
Posted 20/04/2017 - 08:16 Link
Creature of habit that i am, I'll probably continue as i am and not use it
I know what i like, If not always why.
pschlute
Posted 20/04/2017 - 10:39 Link
One little trick i do like when using manual mode with a modern lens is once i have set the exposure i wish, if you press the exposure lock button you can turn either front or back e-dial to change Tv or Av setting and the camera will adjust the other to keep the exposure the same. This is useful for shooting the same scene a number of times with different DOF for example.
derek897
Posted 20/04/2017 - 13:38 Link
pschlute wrote:
One little trick i do like when using manual mode with a modern lens is once i have set the exposure i wish, if you press the exposure lock button you can turn either front or back e-dial to change Tv or Av setting and the camera will adjust the other to keep the exposure the same. This is useful for shooting the same scene a number of times with different DOF for example.

I understand how that works. But why not shoot in tav or av then. Why shoot in manual but switch to tav or av halfway through ?

I shoot in manual as i like to choose iso, shutter speed and aperture myself. No other reason.

I can see how the last point around dof and multiple shots at different apertures with same exposure would be far easier your way.
I know what i like, If not always why.
pschlute
Posted 20/04/2017 - 13:59 Link
derek897 wrote:


I understand how that works. But why not shoot in tav or av then. Why shoot in manual but switch to tav or av halfway through ?


I think you are misunderstanding me. i dont switch out of manual mode. Just press the exposure lock and move the aperture wheel (Av wheel) to change f stop and the camera will move the shutter speed to maintain the total exposure setting I originally chose.

This is not the same as Av mode where the camera will be constantly re-evaluating the light and applying its own shutter speed setting.
Edited by pschlute: 20/04/2017 - 14:01

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