The assessment of 'where Pentax is' has enthusiasm in buckets. It's right in singling out the 645Z as something currently rather special for the medium-format sector. And the K3 is undoubtedly a fine camera, though not without decent rivals. The Q is interesting but its success has been very modest, at least in western markets. WG-M1 is a 'me too' camera; nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it isn't going to knock Go-pro off its perch any time soon. The KS-1 reveals a sense of the market that is rather out of touch. To say that other companies have nothing quite like it may not be a distinction to shout about too loudly. FF nice if true; but the rumours have been disproved year after year. If it does materialize, it will be partly because of the success of others in that area having shown the way.

I hope the resources of Ricoh can find a place in the sun for Pentax. But so far innovation has been in shorter supply than in some other camera companies. It isn't Pentax's moves that will be troubling the likes of Nikon and Canon at the moment.

Of course there are variables, but to all intents and purposes a larger sensor will usually give more opportunity for a satisfactory result at large scale

You'll have seen from the galleries on here, if nowhere else, what the K5 is capable of. You will get a result that is closer to your preferences if you shoot RAW. You may not like the decisions Pentax has made on your behalf to produce jpegs.

But I can't help but feel that the issue must lie elsewhere. RAW or jpeg, your images should not be soft, at least not in the first half of the focal lengths available to you with this lens, provided you are stopping down sufficiently. There are of course better lenses, but before spending on one it might be wise to try to pin down what is going wrong. Have you checked that the lens is not front- or back-focusing? It's easily remedied if it is. Try taking two identical shots of a subject with sufficient detail, one using autofocus, the other manually focused (using live view perhaps).

The video, whatever the merit of its message, needs a good editor. The speaker never uses one word where a dozen will do ...

As for the message, a good deal of the 'advantage' of any given format depends upon the use to which you hope to put the result. If you like printing crisply at A2, most medium format cameras will do a better job than a 35mm, and most 35mms will trump an APS-C. That does not mean that APS-C cannot print at A2, but it does it less satisfactorily than the larger formats.

If you confine your viewing to a tablet, pretty much any format will be fine.

It's the usual story of diminishing returns. You can get a decent image from a lens costing a few hundred quid and you will notice the difference if you spend a few hundred more on a * lens, but the extent of the difference depends on the particular lenses involved. I actively decided to go for a DA17-70 rather than a DA*16-50, but willingly plumped for the DA*50-135. My favourite lens in many ways is the FA31, which is superior to the well-regarded DA35 ... but (at retail price) the extra quality is delivered at a cost. And I could go on to say that the FA31 may be near the top of the tree in Pentaxland but is outclassed by other lenses from other makers (eg Leica). But where do you draw the line? The Leica is four times more expensive.

The best way to minimise the actual outlay involved with a * lens is to buy second-hand of course.

I certainly agree that it is highly likely, if only because the mechanics of the mirror will come to be more expensive than a piece of silicon once the initial R&D cost behind EVFs is amortised.

I'd be interested in knowing how you did the conversion. I have seen some instructions on the Internet, which suffered in the translation from (I think) French. It seemed a rather formidable undertaking. I'd be happy with screwdrive if the SDM motor failed!

Yes, still available. If interested, please PM me. (I am away from the Internet after today for a week so my reply to you may be delayed.)

STRIKING SIMILARITY



Mr Gradgrind




Mr Riley


At the risk of diverting the thread, I thought readers might be interested in the strong similarity between these two figures: John Riley of Pentax User and Thomas Gradgrind from Dickens' novel Hard Times. Both are from a northern English town, too; but I'm pleased to say that there the similarities end (as far as I know), for one is inflexible and authoritarian, while the other.... cont. p.94

Impressive photography well displayed on your new website. I agree with the comments about the text colour. It may visually suit some of the gloomy interiors, but it doesn't fulfil the primary requirement of any text: to be easily read.

Your captions are rather too economical, perhaps. I'd be interested in more detail, at a minimum identifying the places you've photographed.

Nass's points about improving the site's 'findability' are all good.

Btw I'm not sure what a 'classic English castle' is, but I'm doubtful your castle, in the 'Historic' section, is one. It may have started out as an approximation to one, but it's been extensively remodelled and 'improved'.

These are all nitpicks compared to your primary achievement. Thanks for sharing.