Check the menu to see if you have a 'Horizon Correction' option. If so, turn it off. It's a bloody nuisance on the K-5 as the camera built in level keeps going out of calibration with the net result that images come out skewed. You don't really need it anyway - rely on your judgement and you can always straighten in PP if it's slightly off level.

Regards
David

Both very nice Dave, the kit lens has done a good job here. I would reduce the yellow saturation a little bit, particularly on the first one, so that the greens are a little more natural.

Regards
David

Thanks for the reply Jon, fascinating stuff.

Regards
David

Hi Jon, I'm interested in this post as I would like to get some decent shots of storms at night, although living in Sheffield this may be difficult!

Would it not be possible to use a lower ISO and leave the shutter open for longer? I think the reason for not doing this may be so you don't get multiple lightning strikes in a single shot, but I would be interested to know your reasons for using such a high ISO setting.

Regards
David

I like them all, except the Tulip image, but the ones shot into the sun are really impressive. You are making me want that lens!

Regards
David

That is a very good question and is not easy to answer. The only way is to test the lenses methodically. The way I do it is as follows:

1. Set camera up on a tripod

2. Get a subject that aids focussing, something like a cereal box with writing on it would be good, placed at a 45 degree angle to the camera

3. In the camera menu, make sure 'AF Fine Adjustment' is set to '0'; set the lens to its widest aperture and focus on a pre-determined spot and take a shot

4. In the camera menu, set 'AF Fine Adjustment' to '-10', take another shot and then set it to '+10' and take a further shot

5. Open all three shots at the same time in photoshop (or a similar program) and set the view to 'horizontal tiled view' so you can see all three images on screen at the same time

6. Increase magnification on the three images to the appropriate level so you can clearly see which text is sharp and which is not; it should be sharpest on the point you've focussed on. The '-10' shot should be focussed further back and the '+10' shot should be further forward

7. Continue this process by making adjustments to the 'AF Fine Adjustment' setting until you achieve the point where the lens is focussing sharpest exactly on the spot you are aiming at

Once calibrated, it's also good to take some test shots in a variety of situations to ensure the lens is performing correctly for normal shots. I also find that aiming at a textured surface at an angle (old bricks for example) is good for testing focus accuracy. If the 'AF Fine Adjustment' does not have sufficient leeway to calibrate the lens (which it may not have), you will need to delve into the K-5's 'Debug Mode' to make a bigger global adjustment. If you google 'K-5 Debug Mode' you will find ways of doing this, by using a program called 'PK_Tether' that you can download for free.

Hope this helps!

Regards
David

PS: If your lenses are OK, I doubt that your K-5IIs will need much adjustment. The K-5II models are very accurate focussers.

Just glorious, the light and composition in these is sublime.

Regards
David

I'm not sure if this question in tongue-in-cheek, but I'll answer it as best I can. What I meant by critical focus is pin sharp in the right areas. It is achieved if the lens is good, is calibrated correctly to the camera and the photographer has focussed in the right place. Images that do not have this level of sharpness where it counts can look very flat.

An example of this would be perfectly sharp focus on the eye when taking pictures of birds.

Regards
David

55-300 is great, but I've tried it with TC's and it doesn't seem to like them. IQ was poor and focussing dire. The siggy 150-500 is superb, but not very compact!

Regards
David

I think we all always want better but I also think there are too many people wanting to knock the performance of the current Pentax kit. I've done a couple of weddings recently with Shaun Wilson and the other shooters at both were amazed with the images our K-5's and K-5IIs's were getting without any flash, with wide apertures, at sensitivities up to ISO 3200. They were shooting Canons and Nikons with flash and consequently removing all atmosphere.

Regards
David