The K-m is nothing like the KM that i used back in 1975! But Pentax are cashing in on their heritage and rightly so. The LX epitomised the ultimate in Pentax 35mm Cameras and i would love to see a DSLR WORTHY enough to carry that name on!

Regards - Pete

It has completely transformed my perception of photography, My only regret is that i was still a relatively immature photographer at that point and was totally oblivious to how privileged i was to in that lecture hall for those 12 weeks with such icons of Photography. I had heard of them of course but it is only now when i think back i begin to feel overwhelmed!
It was Don Macullin who made the biggest impression on me, I can still see his face as he spoke of his experiences of War photography, And this has been even more vivid in my mind since attending a talk by Philip Jones Griffith only a few months before he passed away.

Best Regards - Pete.

Hi,
You are right about it being an excellent course, It was more about the way photographers visualised their work and their approach to it. It gave an insight into how each of them ticked rather than focusing on the technical side.Each week covered a different aspect of Photography including some of the less tasteful areas.
I also had a habit of purchasing a lot of Magazines both photographic ans specialist ones appertaining to my personal interests. I would study how the images were taken, and figure out what lenses were used or how many light sources etc and i used to file any interesting images or articles in separate files so that i could refer to them for guidance or inspiration.
I also Found the Photographers Handbook by John Hedgcoe absolutely invaluable and still do now that i have a replacement copy. (The Dog destroyed my original copy¬)

Regards - Pete

A Digital LX would not have to replicate the Film Version in function just take on the mantle of its status as an iconic top of the range Camera!
And LX-D sounds classier than D1 or whatever number they come up with next!

Best Regards - Pete

I was using my 1970`s vintage Pentax`s up until four or five years ago and i still get regular sales from images taken with my old Ist DL, This Camera is still going strong in the hands of my daughter, I managed over 11,000 shots from it before moving on to the K10D which had 50,000+ clicks, It was put to one side as a backup for the K7. I completely missed the K20D out altogether. You don`t have to buy the latest model each time one is released as long as the one you have is giving you good enough quality for your needs then why upgrade at all! You will probably get just as good results by learning more about the Camera that you already own rather than the latest greatest hot item.

But to say that Pentax produces more entry level Camera`s than anyone else is way off the mark as the big two release 3 new Camera`s apiece to every one that Pentax put out!
As well as a raft of new lenses that don`t work on the older models!!!

Regards - Pete

Hi well done on both shots!,
If i may make an observation on the first image, I find that the bright sky above the boys hand is rather distracting. I think that it might improve things a little by either cropping or darkening this area. I hope that you agree?
As for rules, They are always a good starting point and if you know them well you will understand when it is appropriate to break them or at least understand why an image works or does not work and how to rectify it when it does`nt!

Best Regards - Pete.

My story begins with art as from an early age my father taught me to paint and draw. My first Camera was a folding Voightlander Bessa and used a Patterson Developing Kit though i still sent the negs for commercial printing. Whilst in the R A F i used to work on vintage Aircraft in my spare time so naturally i wanted to photograph the restoration progress. By that time i had a Zenit E then in 1975 a Pentax KM followed by two MX`s a couple of years later. It was then a friend encouraged me to join a local club and when i won 1st and 2nd in a club monthly competition on my first visit i was hooked! i later learned darkroom skills with an ancient Gnome Enlarger which i later had modified to take Cibachrom Filters. In 76-77 i enrolled on a fantastically inspirational 12 week evening course at Cardiff Uni with David Hurn and guest speakers like Terence Donovan and Don Macullin and (i think )John Hedgcoe. As i was posted here and there i would join all the clubs that i could, Often 3 or more at any one time plus we used to go out in small groups with our Cameras. I used a Superb Vivitar Enlarger and a motorised (Battery Powered) Cibachrom drum which could produce 16x12 prints. With which i used to demonstrate at the Club nights.I also visited loads of Airshows all around Europe and later USA also Steam Railways and anything else that i could point a Camera at. In the Summer i used 20-30 rolls of Kodachrom 64 every month!
This pretty much came to a halt when i got married and for 12 years i just took family mug shots!. But a number of Years after i was divorced Pentax released an affordable DSLR in the Ist DL, As i had a number of Pentax Lenses and following a bit of research, I found that the image quality would be good enough to sell. So i found a Photolibrary that accepted images from a 6mp Camera and because i already had around 3 years experience in Photoshop retouching my mouldy old Slides (Due to poor storage during the married years!)i was able to begin selling my Digital Images from Frame No 1 and have continued doing so ever since!

Regards - Pete.

Yes i found this remark a bit irritating as the review was based on the Camera with the 18-55 zoom with a maximum aperture of f3.5 at the wide setting, But what kind of sports photographer would use a lens like this anyway? With a good quality piece of glass fitted then the autofocus is fast, silent and as accurate as any other. Its a pity that Pentax dont have a half decent kit lens to offer as the few negative comments in the K7 review could be attributed to the lens. But a half decent reviewer should have pointed this out!

Best Regards - Pete.

Hi,
I was shooting some bands a couple of weeks ago using my K7 but at the same gig a year ago i was using my K10 which is probably closer to your K100D. With the K10D i used 400 iso and an aperture of F4 for most of the shots as i wanted to avoid shooting at full aperture. The best time to press the shutter is when the subject movement is at the peak of the action so as to minimise subject blur, Once you have established your best exposure setting don`t bother to alter it with the stage lighting changing so fast you will still get good interesting shots. As long as the lights are`nt pointing directly at the Camera just keep snapping and you will be surprised at the results!
As for Flash, If there is no smoke then a little fill in won`t hurt if you fancy trying out the effect on a couple of shots, But should there be even a small amount of smoke then the flash will just bounce off it and give you washed out images. Too much flash will kill the atmosphere of the lighting effect so use it sparingly if at all.

Another useful tip is to think about taking some shots with the camera tilted at 45 degrees, It can give some striking compositions if you get it right.
This year i was lucky enough to be able use my Monopod and with my K7 at 800 iso i could manage 1/200th sec at F4 and shoot Video too!

Regards - Pete.

Hi,

I just bought 2 copies of this weeks Amateur Photographer Mag (For the freebies on the cover) and happened to notice in the N-k-n D300s review summary that the Pentax K7 was a "compelling but flawed" alternative Camera.
Naturally i read the review but there was nothing to qualify the statement within the review or any hint as what this flaw might be.
I am quite perplexed!
It cannot be the resolution as the K7 manages a healthy 28 line pairs in comparison with the N-k-n 22. The Video can record for 10 minutes at 30fps compared to 5 mins and 24 fps. Both have a 100% viewfinder. The reviewer takes great pains to point out that at an Airshow the Autofocus did well at picking up aircraft against the Sky! (I don`t know of many better situations for an AF system to give its best other than against a plain wall!) The D300 is a fine Camera and i`m sure the D300s is a worthy update but there was little of any substance within the review to explain the writers up beat attitude towards this test, Or for the apparent sideswipe at the K7.
Regards - Pete