All Forum Comments
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on First DSLR, K5, shutter count... at 28/04/2017 - 06:07
As to why I ended up with so many cameras and lenses -- it isn't just one thing. Here is recent example: I was using the K3ii for a few months but then (after being influenced by a discussion on the U.S. Pentax forum) tried the K-S2 -- liked it and thought it would make a nice alternative when I wanted to hike a bit lighter, but it had an AF problem when using both the 55-300PLM and the the 16-45. I had bought those two lenses, the former new and the latter used with the idea of having convenient overlap for hiking, and since the AF problem was with both lenses I thought the camera the problem and returned it. It wasn't. Time passed. I returned both the 55-300PLM and 16-45 after trying them on the K3ii.
I already had the 55-300WR so after my trouble with the 55-300PLM decided to stick with the WR for the time being. I spent more time in the 16-45mm range anyway; so I spent some time looking for a good copy of the 16-45 and did in fact find a very good copy. I used the K3ii and the 16-45 for hikes for awhile.
There was a rumor (since denied) that Ricoh might discontinue their Pentax DSLRs, so I decided to get a feel for what it might be like to have only discontinued cameras and lenses. I dusted off my Olympus E-5 and 12-60mm lens and used these on a couple of hikes. The photos seemed especially good.
Ricoh said not to worry. They were going to sell "high value' cameras. I'm not sure what a high value camera is, but thought that might not be the K-70 (the K-S2 successor) and decided I wanted to try one, especially for its low-light capabilities. I bought one and tried it on a hike for the first time on 24-4-17.
In the Apr 2017 folder on my photo-site [ https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Apr-2017/ ] you can see the rather good Olympus E5 & 12-60 shots on two hikes and then the not quite so good K-70 & 16-45 shots from this Monday 24-4-17 -- the poorer quality of the latest outing was a result of the weather. I wanted to see how the K-70 would do on a very dark morning. The clouds were so dense the sun couldn't shine through. I used the K-70 at ISO 1600 mostly but got it up to 6400 on occasion when I was under some trees or the sky was especially dark.
When I checked the 24-4-17 results later in Light Room, I probably kept more than was warranted but I to get such clear results on such a day and this was not something I had experienced before. The Olympus E5 and 12-60 wouldn't have done nearly as well I am quite sure.
And now I am looking forward to taking the K-70 and perhaps the Samyang 35 and the Voigtlander 90mm on a clear day to see how well the K-70 works with these high-quality manual lenses.
It is one adventure after the other and I don't want to abandon any of it.
Lawrence
I already had the 55-300WR so after my trouble with the 55-300PLM decided to stick with the WR for the time being. I spent more time in the 16-45mm range anyway; so I spent some time looking for a good copy of the 16-45 and did in fact find a very good copy. I used the K3ii and the 16-45 for hikes for awhile.
There was a rumor (since denied) that Ricoh might discontinue their Pentax DSLRs, so I decided to get a feel for what it might be like to have only discontinued cameras and lenses. I dusted off my Olympus E-5 and 12-60mm lens and used these on a couple of hikes. The photos seemed especially good.
Ricoh said not to worry. They were going to sell "high value' cameras. I'm not sure what a high value camera is, but thought that might not be the K-70 (the K-S2 successor) and decided I wanted to try one, especially for its low-light capabilities. I bought one and tried it on a hike for the first time on 24-4-17.
In the Apr 2017 folder on my photo-site [ https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Apr-2017/ ] you can see the rather good Olympus E5 & 12-60 shots on two hikes and then the not quite so good K-70 & 16-45 shots from this Monday 24-4-17 -- the poorer quality of the latest outing was a result of the weather. I wanted to see how the K-70 would do on a very dark morning. The clouds were so dense the sun couldn't shine through. I used the K-70 at ISO 1600 mostly but got it up to 6400 on occasion when I was under some trees or the sky was especially dark.
When I checked the 24-4-17 results later in Light Room, I probably kept more than was warranted but I to get such clear results on such a day and this was not something I had experienced before. The Olympus E5 and 12-60 wouldn't have done nearly as well I am quite sure.
And now I am looking forward to taking the K-70 and perhaps the Samyang 35 and the Voigtlander 90mm on a clear day to see how well the K-70 works with these high-quality manual lenses.
It is one adventure after the other and I don't want to abandon any of it.
Lawrence
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on How many of you have a second body? at 27/04/2017 - 02:32
I have the K5, K5iis and K3 and used them alternately. I use the K3 for modern lenses and the K5 & K5iis for manual focus lenses. I don't notice a difference but then I shoot in Manual Mode.
Lawrence
Lawrence
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on K5iis or k3 question. at 09/01/2016 - 20:15
https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Jan-2016/
I started the hike with the Samyang 35mm. I liked the 85mm Samyang, but I may like the 35mm better, at least in terms if IQ -- definitely not in terms of weight. When I switched over to the Voigtlander 90 and put the Samyang in my camera hip bag it was so heavy and uncomfortable that I stopped and transferred it to my knapsack -- where it was also uncomfortable until I stopped again and stuffed a sweater between it and my back.
The previous time with the Voigtlander 90, I had trouble getting a good focus, but I paid attention this time and had very little trouble.
In editing I noticed that there was no softness in any corner of any photo. I took a bunch of shots of the mountains with both lenses and got very good clarity (IMHO). With the Voigtlander I took some shots of distant buildings and a dairy. The clarity dropped off but I think that was a function of atmospheric haze.
The Voigtlander is very comparable to the Pentax LTDs in size, albeit heavier, but not so heavy that I had a problem or complaint.
I checked eBay to see if there were other Voigtlander's I might add to my MF collection and saw a 180mm which the seller wanted $1,2131.23 for. I would have to want this lens more than I do to pay that much.
Lawrence
I started the hike with the Samyang 35mm. I liked the 85mm Samyang, but I may like the 35mm better, at least in terms if IQ -- definitely not in terms of weight. When I switched over to the Voigtlander 90 and put the Samyang in my camera hip bag it was so heavy and uncomfortable that I stopped and transferred it to my knapsack -- where it was also uncomfortable until I stopped again and stuffed a sweater between it and my back.
The previous time with the Voigtlander 90, I had trouble getting a good focus, but I paid attention this time and had very little trouble.
In editing I noticed that there was no softness in any corner of any photo. I took a bunch of shots of the mountains with both lenses and got very good clarity (IMHO). With the Voigtlander I took some shots of distant buildings and a dairy. The clarity dropped off but I think that was a function of atmospheric haze.
The Voigtlander is very comparable to the Pentax LTDs in size, albeit heavier, but not so heavy that I had a problem or complaint.
I checked eBay to see if there were other Voigtlander's I might add to my MF collection and saw a 180mm which the seller wanted $1,2131.23 for. I would have to want this lens more than I do to pay that much.
Lawrence
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on Samyang 35 & Voigtlander 90, on hike 1-1-16 at 02/01/2016 - 04:19
johnriley wrote:
There's no 90mm option because Pentax have never made a 90mm lens. I would set to 85mm, which is close enough. It does matter as it guides the SR system into knowing how much camera shake compensation might be needed. This will vary with different focal lengths.
I'm not sure Ken Rockwell is the best place to go for Pentax advice.
Optical viewfinders like the Pentax pentaprism finders are ideal in very bright conditions, so I'm guessing that you're not pressing your eye right up to the viewfinder but are letting in extraneous light. Don't forget to set the dioptre correction for your eyesight. Point the camera at a blank wall or sky and adjust until the etched lines in the viewfinder are sharpest. This is best done with an unfocused, blank image, so you can see the lines clearly.
Well, I tend to switch eyes depending on the extraneous light -- plus I was using sun glasses at the time. I manage well enough with other lenses -- eventually. I had trouble initially with the Samyang lenses initially but finally adjusted to them.There's no 90mm option because Pentax have never made a 90mm lens. I would set to 85mm, which is close enough. It does matter as it guides the SR system into knowing how much camera shake compensation might be needed. This will vary with different focal lengths.
I'm not sure Ken Rockwell is the best place to go for Pentax advice.
Optical viewfinders like the Pentax pentaprism finders are ideal in very bright conditions, so I'm guessing that you're not pressing your eye right up to the viewfinder but are letting in extraneous light. Don't forget to set the dioptre correction for your eyesight. Point the camera at a blank wall or sky and adjust until the etched lines in the viewfinder are sharpest. This is best done with an unfocused, blank image, so you can see the lines clearly.
Lawrence
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on Voigtlander 90 on a hike at 31/12/2015 - 14:50
The K5iis doesn't have a manual-lens setting for the Voigtlander 90 I discovered when I got out there. The settings available went from 85 to 100. So what should I use, 85 or 100? I chose to use 85 for most of the hike but shot a few at 100. Back at home in Lightroom it seems the 85 was the better choice. But I do wonder how important the manual lens setting is.
I had the K5iis set for MF at home but by the time I took it out of my bag, the lever had moved to "C." Since there is a manual focus override, I assume I was still okay, but I didn't discover the setting malfunction until after I had been shooting for a while; so now I had two reasons for fearing my shots for the day weren't going to turn out well.
A third reason was the OVF. The day was bright and I wasn't seeing the info in the OVF clearly. I went by the beep of flashing red focus setting most of the time. I got away with that with the Samyang lenses (35mm & 85mm) but may not have with the Voigtlander. There were more out-of-focus shots when I was editing in Lightroom than I expected. So the next time I take this lens out I should not take a shot until I see the solid focus dot (if I can see it).
Ken Rockwell has a review of this lens at http://www.kenrockwell.com/voigtlander/90mm-f35.htm Notice that he writes, "The Voigtländer 90mm f/3.5 SL-II is a high performance tele and macro lens that comes in versions forNikon, Canon EOS and Pentax mounts. The Pentax mount has been discontinued from lack of interest." I wonder if this "lack of interest" is evidenced by Pentax not providing a 90mm manual lens setting.
I read "As you may have guessed the Voigtlander 90mm f/3.5 is a full-format lens . . ." on another review: http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/266-voigtlander-sl-90mm-f35-apo-lanthar-nikon-re... -- Perhaps this will weigh on the side of my getting a K1 later on. How heavy that weight will be will depend on better results next time out.
I did like the results I got from "close focusing," (Voigtlander's term for "macro") of a tree stump: https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/i-vJhzkBJ/A and some cactus: https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/i-wWrT6V4/A
This lens exasperated Ken Rockwell. His emphasis was Nikon (as was the other review above) but the same sort of exasperation probably exists in Pentax. As for me, although I was exasperated today, I like its size as a lens to have in a bag with other primes on a hike. As to the other problems, I hope they are just mine and not the lens's.
Lawrence
I had the K5iis set for MF at home but by the time I took it out of my bag, the lever had moved to "C." Since there is a manual focus override, I assume I was still okay, but I didn't discover the setting malfunction until after I had been shooting for a while; so now I had two reasons for fearing my shots for the day weren't going to turn out well.
A third reason was the OVF. The day was bright and I wasn't seeing the info in the OVF clearly. I went by the beep of flashing red focus setting most of the time. I got away with that with the Samyang lenses (35mm & 85mm) but may not have with the Voigtlander. There were more out-of-focus shots when I was editing in Lightroom than I expected. So the next time I take this lens out I should not take a shot until I see the solid focus dot (if I can see it).
Ken Rockwell has a review of this lens at http://www.kenrockwell.com/voigtlander/90mm-f35.htm Notice that he writes, "The Voigtländer 90mm f/3.5 SL-II is a high performance tele and macro lens that comes in versions forNikon, Canon EOS and Pentax mounts. The Pentax mount has been discontinued from lack of interest." I wonder if this "lack of interest" is evidenced by Pentax not providing a 90mm manual lens setting.
I read "As you may have guessed the Voigtlander 90mm f/3.5 is a full-format lens . . ." on another review: http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/266-voigtlander-sl-90mm-f35-apo-lanthar-nikon-re... -- Perhaps this will weigh on the side of my getting a K1 later on. How heavy that weight will be will depend on better results next time out.
I did like the results I got from "close focusing," (Voigtlander's term for "macro") of a tree stump: https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/i-vJhzkBJ/A and some cactus: https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/i-wWrT6V4/A
This lens exasperated Ken Rockwell. His emphasis was Nikon (as was the other review above) but the same sort of exasperation probably exists in Pentax. As for me, although I was exasperated today, I like its size as a lens to have in a bag with other primes on a hike. As to the other problems, I hope they are just mine and not the lens's.
Lawrence
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on Voigtlander 90 on a hike at 31/12/2015 - 02:16
https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/
The last 28 shots in the above gallery were taken today -- "test drives" of the Samyang 35mm and the Pentax-M 200 mm.
The Samyang 35mm impresses me enormously. A couple of shots, especially the one of Ben standing hunched-over in the dry river-bed struck me as extremely dramatic. All of the 35mm shots came out in good detail, accurate color and good IQ.
The manual Pentax-M 200 was another story. There is probably nothing wrong with the lens but it apparently requires more of a learning curve, at least for me. A wasn't always getting focus confirmation and assumed that if I was shooting something at infinity, as long as I had the focus ring set on infinity I was okay. Apparently not. Those shots were blurred.
I had been comparing the K5, K5iis, K3 etc. One of the K3 improvements was a better viewfinder. I think the K5iis's inadequate viewfinder was hindering me in getting a focus with the 200mm. I sent for a PENTAX expand o-me53 eyecup Perhaps that will help me using the K5iis for manual lenses -- although I have just this one (the 200MM) manual lens that doesn't have an "A" lock. The Samyang lenses do and work fine with the K5iis.
I spoke earlier of hiking with three LTD primes. If I'm hiking with Samyang primes, two of them will fill my bag. I don't know whether the Samyang 35mm or the 85mm impresses me more, perhaps the 35mm. The shots seem flawless in every respect, excellent resolution, accurate color, and when I expand the shots as much as I am able I don't seem to lose any detail. I had everything I shot today in lightroom but in shot after shot from the 35mm decided that any change I considered would make the shot worse than what I got straight out of the camera.
If anyone is interested enough to look at these, they are mixed in with the 200mm manual lens shots. Perhaps those 200mm shots were a little darker than they should be. I probably should have changed the exposure a bit in lightroom.
I'm feeling like a Luddite when so many seem to be longing for a K1. I have been interested in discussions surrounding the K1, but just the other day checked the prices of Nikon full-frame cameras and can't see spending that much for a camera that will be heavier and require some new "heavy" lenses to get the best out of. And would a K1 be able to give me better Image Quality (which is what I'm primarily interested in) than the better shots taken with the 35mm today? Not (IMHO) unless you blew the FF shots up larger than I have the capability of enlarging them.
Lawrence
The last 28 shots in the above gallery were taken today -- "test drives" of the Samyang 35mm and the Pentax-M 200 mm.
The Samyang 35mm impresses me enormously. A couple of shots, especially the one of Ben standing hunched-over in the dry river-bed struck me as extremely dramatic. All of the 35mm shots came out in good detail, accurate color and good IQ.
The manual Pentax-M 200 was another story. There is probably nothing wrong with the lens but it apparently requires more of a learning curve, at least for me. A wasn't always getting focus confirmation and assumed that if I was shooting something at infinity, as long as I had the focus ring set on infinity I was okay. Apparently not. Those shots were blurred.
I had been comparing the K5, K5iis, K3 etc. One of the K3 improvements was a better viewfinder. I think the K5iis's inadequate viewfinder was hindering me in getting a focus with the 200mm. I sent for a PENTAX expand o-me53 eyecup Perhaps that will help me using the K5iis for manual lenses -- although I have just this one (the 200MM) manual lens that doesn't have an "A" lock. The Samyang lenses do and work fine with the K5iis.
I spoke earlier of hiking with three LTD primes. If I'm hiking with Samyang primes, two of them will fill my bag. I don't know whether the Samyang 35mm or the 85mm impresses me more, perhaps the 35mm. The shots seem flawless in every respect, excellent resolution, accurate color, and when I expand the shots as much as I am able I don't seem to lose any detail. I had everything I shot today in lightroom but in shot after shot from the 35mm decided that any change I considered would make the shot worse than what I got straight out of the camera.
If anyone is interested enough to look at these, they are mixed in with the 200mm manual lens shots. Perhaps those 200mm shots were a little darker than they should be. I probably should have changed the exposure a bit in lightroom.
I'm feeling like a Luddite when so many seem to be longing for a K1. I have been interested in discussions surrounding the K1, but just the other day checked the prices of Nikon full-frame cameras and can't see spending that much for a camera that will be heavier and require some new "heavy" lenses to get the best out of. And would a K1 be able to give me better Image Quality (which is what I'm primarily interested in) than the better shots taken with the 35mm today? Not (IMHO) unless you blew the FF shots up larger than I have the capability of enlarging them.
Lawrence
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on Samyang 35mm and the Pentax-M 200 mm test drives at 17/12/2015 - 12:45
https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/
I didn't mention it in the previous hike thread but there was a smear of something on the inside of the aft lens. One reads sellers of used lenses to say that though there is debris, dust, even fungus inside their lens it doesn't show up in the photos, so I wanted to spend some time thinking about this smear before returning the lens. I took a lot of photos of the sky today, enough to convince me that the smear was showing up in the photo. I didn't upload most of them to the gallery, but a few because there was something of interest going on will show the spots in the sky.
The most interesting photos this time were of a flock of seagulls cavorting about above a pond near a dairy.
I decided to ask for a replacement rather than get my money back. The lens is a bit of a challenge to focus. Also, I have to step it down fairly far to keep the action of my dogs, birds etc. from blurring so on a dark day like today the shots are darker than I would like.
Amazon is shipping a replacement lens which they say I should get in a couple of days, but in the meantime I just received a 60-250. Good grief, that thing is heavy. It's likely to shorten my hikes by quite a bit.
Lawrence
I didn't mention it in the previous hike thread but there was a smear of something on the inside of the aft lens. One reads sellers of used lenses to say that though there is debris, dust, even fungus inside their lens it doesn't show up in the photos, so I wanted to spend some time thinking about this smear before returning the lens. I took a lot of photos of the sky today, enough to convince me that the smear was showing up in the photo. I didn't upload most of them to the gallery, but a few because there was something of interest going on will show the spots in the sky.
The most interesting photos this time were of a flock of seagulls cavorting about above a pond near a dairy.
I decided to ask for a replacement rather than get my money back. The lens is a bit of a challenge to focus. Also, I have to step it down fairly far to keep the action of my dogs, birds etc. from blurring so on a dark day like today the shots are darker than I would like.
Amazon is shipping a replacement lens which they say I should get in a couple of days, but in the meantime I just received a 60-250. Good grief, that thing is heavy. It's likely to shorten my hikes by quite a bit.
Lawrence
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on Last hike before Samyang 85 will be returned at 07/12/2015 - 00:09
https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/
Before going on a hike today I checked the K3 manual and found out how to increase the illumination of the OFV metering information from 10 seconds to 30. Later at the hiking area I turned on the camera and it, in effect, said "we notice you have a manual focus lens installed. What is its focal length?" I specified 85mm. When I prepared to take the first photo the metering information was clear and useable.
The day was heavily overcast and I wanted to see how well this very large-light-gathering lens would do on such a day. I guess it did okay, but not as well as on the previous time out which was on a much brighter day.
So I guess the shots of today don't prove anything, but I posted a few in the December 2015 gallery anyway.
Lawrence
Before going on a hike today I checked the K3 manual and found out how to increase the illumination of the OFV metering information from 10 seconds to 30. Later at the hiking area I turned on the camera and it, in effect, said "we notice you have a manual focus lens installed. What is its focal length?" I specified 85mm. When I prepared to take the first photo the metering information was clear and useable.
The day was heavily overcast and I wanted to see how well this very large-light-gathering lens would do on such a day. I guess it did okay, but not as well as on the previous time out which was on a much brighter day.
So I guess the shots of today don't prove anything, but I posted a few in the December 2015 gallery anyway.
Lawrence
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on Samyang 85 on a hike at 04/12/2015 - 23:39
McGregNi wrote:
I'd try this .... Make sure the lens aperture ring is set firmly to the 'A' position. Now set Av mode on the camera mode dial. Your e-dial which is set to control aperture will now directly control aperture, which will be indicated in the viewfinder and LCD. A half press on the shutter will activate the meter circuits, taking a reading and automatically setting a shutter speed. Any changes you make to the aperture with the camera e-dial will automatically cause the shutter speed to adjust to hold the same exposure value. Try this and confirm that it's all working.
I think there is an additional custom setting for controlling how long the metering circuit stays active .... You may need this set to a higher figure in order to keep seeing the settings values for longer.
Note that none of this is anything to do with the focus type ... Manual and autofocus lenses with aperture rings that have A positions work exactly the same way in these respects.
Okay, that makes more sense than the way I was doing it, and I'll check the manual and see if I can increase the time the info stays lit in the OVF. I'd try this .... Make sure the lens aperture ring is set firmly to the 'A' position. Now set Av mode on the camera mode dial. Your e-dial which is set to control aperture will now directly control aperture, which will be indicated in the viewfinder and LCD. A half press on the shutter will activate the meter circuits, taking a reading and automatically setting a shutter speed. Any changes you make to the aperture with the camera e-dial will automatically cause the shutter speed to adjust to hold the same exposure value. Try this and confirm that it's all working.
I think there is an additional custom setting for controlling how long the metering circuit stays active .... You may need this set to a higher figure in order to keep seeing the settings values for longer.
Note that none of this is anything to do with the focus type ... Manual and autofocus lenses with aperture rings that have A positions work exactly the same way in these respects.
Thanks,
Lawrence
Comment by LawrenceKH posted on Samyang 85 on a hike at 04/12/2015 - 18:37
The second Pentax I bought was a K7, used, but the seller claimed to be near new. It had a one year warranty and lasted a week or so over one year before needing work. I had it repaired but while it was in the shop I decided I was going to give up buying used cameras. I then bought a K5 new. The K5 was the best camera I'd ever owned up until that time. It was flawless -- perfect. I did eventually get a K5iis, but it wasn't because I thought there was anything wrong with the K5. I just tend to buy newer cameras after a while and give my older cameras to my son.
I personally would never buy a camera with 66,000 shutter clicks on it. Unless you have a lot of camera experience and want some of the exotic new features, you will probably be happy with the K5.
But like someone else mentioned, you might shop around and get something with fewer clicks yet. You mentioned the K5ii, but the K5iis has the aliasing filter removed and has received much better reviews -- although most of us probably wouldn't notice the difference.
Lawrence