Comments made by GeoffMoore - Page 7

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rick wrote:
Nice one Geoff, another excellent video and shared photos.

Thanks for taking the time to post it on Pentax User.

Rick

Thank you Rick and thank you for allowing me to do so. There only a few of us, perhaps 5 I know of who are flying the Pentax flag on youtube, and it feels dwindling numbers on the interwebs as a whole, so doing my bit to keep it going

Comment by GeoffMoore posted on Normanton Church: A Photographic Gem In Rutland Water at 27/09/2023 - 15:48

An overnight visit to Normanton Church saw me photographing this iconic location before and during sunrise where I managed to capture a beautiful astro landscape, and a colourful morning sunrise.

Above ^ is a the supporting video. I'm trying to grow the audience on my ittle youtube channel, so, if you would like to help, please do share the video on your social media and with your camera clubs.

Thanks
Geoff

Comment by GeoffMoore posted on Normanton Church: A Photographic Gem In Rutland Water at 27/09/2023 - 12:32

Gareth, the 60-250 makes everything look amazing. Thats why its seldom off my K1. Really nice set of images and you can really get a feeling for the environment you were in.

Comment by GeoffMoore posted on Atmospheric Seascape at 27/09/2023 - 12:24

Nice selection of images Gareth. I rather like the colour ones and the muddy/earthy tones you have captured.

Comment by GeoffMoore posted on Tresaith & Llangrannog at 01/08/2023 - 13:22

Lubbyman wrote:
At minimum focus distance (1:1 mag), the working distance for the Irix 150mm is 13cm with hood attached, which is close to the 14cm you give for the Zhong Yi with hood attached - so much the same for a biting insect evaluating the threat from a manually focussing photographer! Without lens hood, the subject distance to front of lens is about 18cm for the Irix, about 10cm less than the 28cm you give for the Zong Yi without hood. But of course, the Irix lets you focus with aperture wide open at f2.8 as well as having full aperture control from the camera (so you don't have to put your hand on the lens and closer to biting insects if you want to change aperture :wink.

However, for bothering bugs and wee timorous beasties, and for any other macro subjects that require the photographer to do strange and unnatural contortions of the body, I reckon that the ergonomics of camera + lens is even more important than the technicalities of the lens. If you find it comfortable to handle and operate you might get the shot, if you don't then you probably won't. And that's impossible to cover in a review because everbody is different (which is a Good Thing or life would be so boring...).

Steve

Quite agree... and with age, those contortions you mention lol 😂

Comment by GeoffMoore posted on New Zhong Yi Optics 200mm f4 Macro 1X Lens converted to Pentax K mount at 26/07/2023 - 15:21

Lubbyman wrote:

GeoffMoore wrote:

I hope you enjoy the video and the images at the end.

I did indeed . It seems to me to be a fair and reasonable review, points made clearly and concisely and no superfluous waffle.

I don't think I'll be getting one to replace my Irix 150mm macro, though, even if they do release it in K mount...

Steve

Thanks Steve,
I'm pretty wedded to the Pentax 100mm, that being said I f I was using a different brand, and now being spoilt by the 200mm working distance the price of the Zhong YI lens at release price of 499$ would be tempting. I'm sure that price will drop in the future too.

Comment by GeoffMoore posted on New Zhong Yi Optics 200mm f4 Macro 1X Lens converted to Pentax K mount at 26/07/2023 - 12:09

Mike-P wrote:
From the mounts available and no contacts the lens is obviously meant for mirrorless bodies where dark viewfinders aren't an issue.

I would guess the only thing in its favour over the Irix 150mm would be price.

Yes, this make more sense to me now. I have covered this thought in my reply to John above. But in summary and as i mentioned in the review, the lens probably would really shine on a modern Mirrorless body for macro work so Its nice to read that at least 2 of us think the same

As regards the Irix, I have the Pentax 100mm 2.8 Macro and you really are on top of the subjects often, so the working distance of the Zhong Yi offering made for a considerable improvement in working distance, I suspect the middle ground of the 150mm gives the best of both worlds, not that I have used the Irix, maybe something to try in the future.

Cheers Mike

Comment by GeoffMoore posted on New Zhong Yi Optics 200mm f4 Macro 1X Lens converted to Pentax K mount at 26/07/2023 - 12:07

JohnX wrote:
Thanks for the review. Not clear if Pentax mount will be offered or if this was a one off?

If a one off, could the mount conversion be part of the issues you experienced?

And how weird if not being made with a Pentax mount that they go to the trouble of converting the lens (where'd they get the mount from?) and asking a Pentax shooter to review it.

Its a good question John. From my discussions with Zhong Yi, the mount conversion was not a problem at all. It's not something they stipulate or mention on the website however, so i suspect the target audience is the mounts they mention. I too thought it slightly odd, reaching out to me as Im very obviously a Pentax shooter on social media and YouTube channel. --- I'm happy to reach out to ZhongYi and ask for clarification if it helps though?

As for the mount conversion and issues I experienced. Its quite possible I suppose, but I wouldn't have thought so as the lens is 100% manual and without any data transmission from the lens to camera and back again, that's true for K Mount version they supplied me as it will be for any other mount, however, I think its the issue of the light transmission through the optics being low and using the Optical viewfinder on the K1 over the Live View.... retrospectively I should have been a little more specific in my review/usage (it was my first attempt at doing a review) that the live view mode on the K1 was useable, but the low resolution of the Pentax K1 LCD made focusing difficult. There simply isn't enough fidelity/resolution on the 1037K dot display to see what your doing with complete certainty with this lens.

Thanks for you comment though, plenty to think about.

Comment by GeoffMoore posted on New Zhong Yi Optics 200mm f4 Macro 1X Lens converted to Pentax K mount at 26/07/2023 - 12:00

I was lucky enough to have been sent the new Mitakon Zhong Yi Optics 200mm f4 Macro 1X Lens converted to Pentax K mount for review. This is my first lens review/impressions video so please be gentle on me. The lens does produce some very nice images, and the colour rendition is superb, but its not without its flaws.