blurred vision normally associated with canikon kit lenses, causing....

A while back, there was a Canadian Pentax rep that posted here looking for photos to use for marketing.
Do to the way he worded the request, and the number of spammers and scammers you find trolling the board, he got a less than friendly reception from some of the regulars.... like me...... needless to say when his claims to represent Pentax got verified, he got a few takers of forum members offering up some nice shots.

Why am I mentioning this?

I was a Pentax film shooter before going digital.
I opted for a canon g5 over a dslr for two reasons...
Pentax was slow to the market with the *ist d line and there were dust issues with the sensors on the first dslrs to hit the market, as well as price concerns.

This Pentax rep did check out my site and enquired about a number of images he found suitable for his purposes.... about half were shot with the g5 the other half split between scans off negs shot with the mz5 and a few shot with the ds2....

Conclusion: it was hard to tell the shots from the g5 and ds2. The reason the rep like so many canon shots? there simply was more images on my site that got shot with the canon at that point.... we had just bought the ds2 and had only updated the site with a couple images from it.
Why? I was using the g5 as a digital proofer for studio strobe lit work when shooting film until I realized how good the g5 was and stopped shooting film, I bought the ds2 to avoid buying a new lens selection. and waited and waited for the k10 which I bought two of.

The truth is in low light the compacts suck..(even my k10's aren't that great in low light to be honest, they're good but the kx is better) but with good light, or advanced flash or studio strobes they can match our d-slrs for image quality. Handy little back-ups to have... also they are good in the dark as most can focus in pitch black conditions, again the secret is to have off camera flashes!

I for one would not refuse to buy a g12, were it not for patiently waiting for a decent Pentax to replace that dearly missed g5.

if Pentax wants to improve a compact camera line, why not release an optio wr, and an 1-10 and an rz with threaded lens barrels and then offer a handful of screw on lens adaptors, like some companies do with video cameras? also add built in flash control function for the Pentax p-ttl flash units?

as for evil, I already stated my case...

the only area Pentax needs to give serious consideration to is the Nikon, Lumix and Canon "Serious" compacts segment.... an all metal, weather sealed, p-ttl hotshoe upscale compact with a nice sharp zoom.... just to compete with the g12 class cameras?

I have both the 18-55 and the 16-45.
I won't go so far as to say one lens is dramatically better than the other....
but there are subtle differences that make one more useful than the other....

as already stated the 16-45 is slightly wider, and has less distortion so I reach for it when shooting architecture shots more than the 18-55... but also constant aperture of the 16-45 when working in the studio... I use studio strobes and not having to re-adjust my exposure when zooming is important for me... the edge to edge sharpness is important when photographing groups in small spaces..

now for outdoor use, the 18-55 may get used for outdoor portraits where the p-ttl flashes are being used for fill... the longer focal length is handy and the lens is suitable for general photography... also I have many filters fit it easily... so the edges are a little softer wide open... at 55mm shooting an individual portrait wide open, this does not in any way detract from the portrait in fact it is good.

so I use them both, while playing to the strengths of each...

but the primes... you can't beat a prime if you ask me..
I have two fast fifties, an 85mm soft, a 100mm macro and now a 35... you can't go wrong with the primes.

1/1/11

to clarify what I'm saying...
it costs money to engineer and retool for a new from the ground up camera....
now if you could take the tiniest model in the lineup... improve the video capabilities by controlling the heat from the sensor better... use a partially silvered pelicile mirror... (with Pentax sp coating to make cleaning it easier) and gut the mirror swing mechanisim you got a camera that sits with one foot in Evil territory and the other foot in Sony's d-slr line up... that should appeal to a broader market than another evil camera...

video d-slr shooters, evil shooter as well as d-slr shooters...

the last thing I want for Pentax is to see them spreading thier resources thin with another lens mount, line of cameras and such....

keep the k lens mount, and focus on releasing more lenses in the line-up.....

that is an older rumor... never happened... yet..

Pentax would be better served to put a pelicile mirror, and maybe an articulated lcd viewer into a kx and call it a day.

Most Evils are only smaller than the kx until you put the lenses on them..... now put a pancake lens on the kx....

they could simplify the camera by removing the mirror mechanism... and install a mirror...add a heat sync to the sensor for video, and put in a glass pentaprisim to help with viewfinder brightness....

Speaking of wine making... anybody here have any experience making wine?

The kit I got for Christmas, is a rather inexpensive kit.
I was thinking of hacking it.

I am contemplating pulling some of the concentrated juice out, and holding it for later..

mixing it for 19 liters (instead of 23 liters) adding some banana, oak chips and raisons to the must, then after stabilizing it just prior to bottling adding back some of the concentrate to sweeten it a bit....


I know this is an odd question to ask here but I suspect someone here will have a good answer...

I'm not looking for perfection here, just a slightly sweet, interesting red for drinking...

Churchhill Manitoba is a great place to see polar bears.

Straight north of here...

I suspect that we'll be seeing either a mass die off or a migration further south if Iceflows continue to decline.

I'm not as worried as some...

They recently found an entire fossilized forrest of poplar trees near Baffin Island that had previously been hidden under glacier ice. That is over a hundred of miles north of where the coniferous tree line is and hundreds further north of any deciduous trees at our current time. So it was warmer climate up there before the last ice age, and the polar bears splintered off from Kodiaks so it would seem bears as a species are adaptable enough to survive massive climate change.... I doubt they will go extinct....
and yes Gwyn, you better call us!

ditto....
You might consider asking the Easter Bunny for sleeping pills...
By then you'll need sleep more than chocolate...