All Forum Comments
Comment by tobinobin posted on Another pointless thread at 01/03/2013 - 22:03
Going to see Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree songwriter) and co. in Glasgow tomorrow. Should be 'awe'some. Also been watching Charlie Brooker's weekly wipe, and I never realised I could share the beautiful feeling of bitingly dry wit and scorn for the world with another human so poignantly before..
Comment by tobinobin posted on Another pointless thread at 01/03/2013 - 21:52
JohnX wrote:
Do you reckon the kit lens isn't great for starting? I ask as most other zooms of better performance are extremely expensive. My plan was to buy a few older primes to test after finding what focal points I prefer.tobinobin wrote:
The cheaper camera is sold by some reseller on Amazon, so I'm slightly dubious. SRS Microsystems are very trustworthy from what I read though, so it might be good just for their excellent reputation as well. My last thought is I can purchase a K-30 with a DA-L lens for £20 more, or buy body-only and purchase a DA-L water resistant lens separately for £60 extra. Any suggestions?
If you haven't done so, chat to 'SRS' - they might do a slightly better deal if you ask. WR is worth having, but...is the kit lens right for you, if not, put the money towards a better lens.The cheaper camera is sold by some reseller on Amazon, so I'm slightly dubious. SRS Microsystems are very trustworthy from what I read though, so it might be good just for their excellent reputation as well. My last thought is I can purchase a K-30 with a DA-L lens for £20 more, or buy body-only and purchase a DA-L water resistant lens separately for £60 extra. Any suggestions?
Comment by tobinobin posted on How Valuable is a Warranty? at 01/03/2013 - 19:24
The cheaper camera is sold by some reseller on Amazon, so I'm slightly dubious. SRS Microsystems are very trustworthy from what I read though, so it might be good just for their excellent reputation as well. My last thought is I can purchase a K-30 with a DA-L lens for £20 more, or buy body-only and purchase a DA-L water resistant lens separately for £60 extra. Any suggestions?
Comment by tobinobin posted on How Valuable is a Warranty? at 01/03/2013 - 17:44
Hello pentaxians, I've recently been weighing up the value of a warranty. I'm about to make a purchase of a pentax k-30 (second purchase, I better get it right this time!), and one of my options is to buy it with a two year warranty from srs microsystems, which costs £20 more than a camera in similar condition (700 shutter actuations, no marks or damage). The cheapo in me says to buy the cheaper so I can spend on lenses, but I realise that a warranty might be handy in case things go downhill. Any thoughts?
Comment by tobinobin posted on How Valuable is a Warranty? at 01/03/2013 - 17:11
davidstorm wrote:
Hi Tobie, that's an interesting post and I'm sure you will get some great advice on here. For what it's worth, here are my thoughts:
- The SMC Pentax-M 50mm F1.7 is a great lens, but you would be better with the Pentax-A version as it has auto aperture control. Build quality is a bit less tank-like, but image quality is superb
- I can't comment on the Helios, but if you can find a SMC Pentax K55mm F1.8 that would be my preferred option
- I would recommend you give a decent old 300mm telephoto a try - I picked up a Tamron Adapt-A-Matic 300mm F5.6 (circa 1972) in absolutely mint condition on ebay for £20! It's great fun taking bird pictures with this lens - all manual focus and manual aperture, but you can set it to F8 and put the camera on Aperture Priority and let the camera work out the correct shutter speed. Something like this or a 300mm Takumar would make a cheap birding lens that is capable of stunning images
- I would also recommend something around the 100 to 135mm focal length, e.g. a SMC Pentax K135mm F2.5 (fabulous if you can find one) or a cheaper alternative such as a Pentax-M 135mm or even an M42 screw mount Takumar 135mm F3.5. All of these will give you lovely warm, organic looking images
- Finally, a manual focus macro lens would be a great addition. If you can get one with auto aperture control all the better. You might find a Sigma 50mm F2.8 Macro (manual focus) for between £50 and £80 if you are lucky - this is a very sharp macro lens with 1:1 magnification. Even better would be a 100mm macro but these tend to be more expensive. BTW, I agree with Bill in that the kit lens in not at all 'crappy', in fact it is a rather decent lens with great colours and contrast and perfectly capable of taking stunning landscape shots.
Hope this is useful.
Regards
David
Thank you for your helpful post! I'll definitely look into these.Hi Tobie, that's an interesting post and I'm sure you will get some great advice on here. For what it's worth, here are my thoughts:
- The SMC Pentax-M 50mm F1.7 is a great lens, but you would be better with the Pentax-A version as it has auto aperture control. Build quality is a bit less tank-like, but image quality is superb
- I can't comment on the Helios, but if you can find a SMC Pentax K55mm F1.8 that would be my preferred option
- I would recommend you give a decent old 300mm telephoto a try - I picked up a Tamron Adapt-A-Matic 300mm F5.6 (circa 1972) in absolutely mint condition on ebay for £20! It's great fun taking bird pictures with this lens - all manual focus and manual aperture, but you can set it to F8 and put the camera on Aperture Priority and let the camera work out the correct shutter speed. Something like this or a 300mm Takumar would make a cheap birding lens that is capable of stunning images
- I would also recommend something around the 100 to 135mm focal length, e.g. a SMC Pentax K135mm F2.5 (fabulous if you can find one) or a cheaper alternative such as a Pentax-M 135mm or even an M42 screw mount Takumar 135mm F3.5. All of these will give you lovely warm, organic looking images
- Finally, a manual focus macro lens would be a great addition. If you can get one with auto aperture control all the better. You might find a Sigma 50mm F2.8 Macro (manual focus) for between £50 and £80 if you are lucky - this is a very sharp macro lens with 1:1 magnification. Even better would be a 100mm macro but these tend to be more expensive. BTW, I agree with Bill in that the kit lens in not at all 'crappy', in fact it is a rather decent lens with great colours and contrast and perfectly capable of taking stunning landscape shots.
Hope this is useful.
Regards
David
Comment by tobinobin posted on Pentax K-30 and Legacy Glass at 28/02/2013 - 11:26
jamieallan wrote:
Tobie,
Funnily enough I've just done this. I bought a job lot which included a Pentax A 50mm F2 and had a play at the weekend. Here's an image with the K-30 and 50mm I took Sunday after spending Saturday cleaning it up.
https://www.pentaxuser.com/photo/loch-lomond-looking-north-59169/large
Looks nice! That's funny you were in loch lomond, I live over the big'un (Ben Lomond) near Aberfoyle. Great place.Tobie,
Funnily enough I've just done this. I bought a job lot which included a Pentax A 50mm F2 and had a play at the weekend. Here's an image with the K-30 and 50mm I took Sunday after spending Saturday cleaning it up.
https://www.pentaxuser.com/photo/loch-lomond-looking-north-59169/large
Comment by tobinobin posted on Pentax K-30 and Legacy Glass at 27/02/2013 - 19:13
Hello guys, I've recently purchased a Pentax K-30 (stormtrooper colouring of course) that comes with a DA L 18-55mm lens. I plan on buying one WR lens, perhaps the 18-135mm. Most of the modern zoom/prime lenses I see are way out of my budget though. I've been eyeing up some legacy glass, and some of the photographs taken with these things are phenomenal. My main aims are to capture lots of landscape, nature, architecture and some portraits (large range and generic, I know). What should I know before jumping into the world of legacy glass? Should I just wait and experiment on the crappy kit lens to figure out my preferences?
Two lenses that appealed to me are;
SMC Pentax-M 50mm F1.7
KMZ Helios 44-2 58mm F/2
These lenses seem so full of character...great bokeh and pretty darn sharp too. I can get both for under £30 each easily. Will manual focussing be too much of a pain?
Thanks for being patient!
Tobie
Two lenses that appealed to me are;
SMC Pentax-M 50mm F1.7
KMZ Helios 44-2 58mm F/2
These lenses seem so full of character...great bokeh and pretty darn sharp too. I can get both for under £30 each easily. Will manual focussing be too much of a pain?
Thanks for being patient!
Tobie
Comment by tobinobin posted on Pentax K-30 and Legacy Glass at 26/02/2013 - 22:32
I chose the K-30 guys! A few things really stuck out to me on the k-30 (improved video, better autofocus, peak focus, updated sensor, lighter, newer technology, cheaper). A lot of features like the top LCD, battery grip option, slight improvements in shutter speed, more buttons etcetera I feel would be a bit wasted on me. I'll probably upgrade to a K5-II or something in the distant future, who knows.
Comment by tobinobin posted on Pentax K-30 Price Question at 26/02/2013 - 22:29
Hey all, so I have two options for buying a k-30;
1. Buy body-only from SRS for £380, only 440 actuations.
2. Buy with 18-55mm DA L kit lens (not WR) for £370 - like new condition (but white colour).
I realise the latter deal is good, but I'd like a WR lens. Should I just sell the DA L lens, and buy a WR 18-135/18-55mm? I really don't mind the white colouring, in fact I like the casual attitude it conveys.
1. Buy body-only from SRS for £380, only 440 actuations.
2. Buy with 18-55mm DA L kit lens (not WR) for £370 - like new condition (but white colour).
I realise the latter deal is good, but I'd like a WR lens. Should I just sell the DA L lens, and buy a WR 18-135/18-55mm? I really don't mind the white colouring, in fact I like the casual attitude it conveys.
Comment by tobinobin posted on Pentax K-30 Price Question at 26/02/2013 - 02:43
Bloody hell! Would love to see Steven Wilson or Porcupine Tree. I have so much of their stuff it's untrue. Most people have never heard of them!
PS Never been inclined to post in this thread before.......