PentaxLife: Last 35 Posts

nonfan on "Pentax Dishonours Warranty"

nonfan — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:11:09 +0000

I've had Pentax SLRs since 1967 when I bought a Spotmatic. Since then I have had K1000, ME, ME Super, K10D and now K20D. For all I have a range of lenses, and still use them all. In all these years no warranty claims were necessary, until the seal strip came out of the 16-50 2.8 zoom, and the autofocus failed. I was shocked when Pentax refused the warranty on the lens, claiming it had been dropped. When I asked for proof they sent a photo of the inside at the back, which clearly showed the problem: One mounting screw had been over-torqued, probably in manufacture, because the mount must be removed to see it. The screw fractured its mount, and slightly warped the lens case, causing the failure of both the seal and the autofocus. With the photo came a new claim, that the lens had been on the camera when it was dropped. Donkey-dust.
Neither the lens nor camera has suffered any trauma, and there are no marks on either that would indicate abuse. There is only a severely overtightened screw inside the seven-month-old lens. I guess its time to move on to Nikon, with a much better engine, far less image noise and a warranty that can be trusted.
PS I was also responsible for the purchase of more than 800 k1000s, MEs and ME Supers during the '70s and '80s while teaching a course in composition.

CGORNEY on "Flash compatibility???"

CGORNEY — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:24:24 +0000

I have recently upgraded to a Pentax K-x. I was hoping to use the third-party flashes that worked on my Canon with the Pentax, but the K-x manual says there may be a compatibility issue. How do I know if they are compatible??? Thx.

iamatuxian on "low light lens for K10D"

iamatuxian — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:51:00 +0000

I saw your old post and had to reply...

For a zoom indoors I use my favorite outdoor lens, the 50-135mm f2.8. It might not be as fast as the 50mm 1.4, but the zoom add more to the equation than the speed of the other lens. Sporting events indoors are hard to shoot. Any fast action is tricky and takes practice and luck. Experiment with apertures and sensitivity settings until you find one that works for you.

Pentaxfan on "Carl Zeiss on K7?"

Pentaxfan — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:26:41 +0000

Hello Petercrane. There's no need to purchase adaptors for Carl Zeiss for Pentax. The mount Planar is not for Pentax. You must look for ZK series (Distagon). I have one and it's great. Try this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/520388-REG/Zeiss_1486_389_50mm_f_1_4_ZK_Manual.html

pentaxme on "Carl Zeiss on K7?"

pentaxme — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:49:25 +0000

Carl Zeiss lenses does come with K mount, ZK series
url//http://www.zeiss.com/photo

I just purchased a Distagon *T 2,8/25mm while on a business trip in Japan ;) really nice on the K-7. However, the Planer *T 1,4/50mm.

If you are already having an M42 Zeiss lens then you would need to purchase a Pentax K Adapter which is a M42 to K mount adapter.

http://www.yodobashi.com/ec/product/000000102109901327/index.html

benjikan on "Post Processing Technique Adendum"

benjikan — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:05:50 +0000

Post Processing Variation to “Add Dimension to Your Flat Photos”

Original is HERE http://www.benjaminkanarekblog.com/?p=796

Hello all of you Pixel Peeping Maniacs…LOL!!! When I
posted my work flow, nothing is carved in stone. There will be
variations dependent on the contrast of the original photo as well
as the shadow definition. You may for example wish to stop at the
0.3 pixels from 200 to 330 percent and keep it as such. You may
wish to pop up the contrast by using the 40 to 60 pixels from 10 to
15 percent to give it more depth. You may decide not to add this
process knowing that you will add a duplicate layer in Soft light
which will enable you yo go higher in the Fill and Opacity
coefficient. You mat not wish to sharpen at 0.3 percent at 300
pixels but just do the contrast pump formula of 40-60 pixels at
10-15 percent. You may wish to de-saturate your duplicate layer to
give great B&W dimension which subsequently reduces the saturation.
You will add saturation once flattening the layer…etc etc etc. I
use which ever process works best for me.

http://www.benjaminkanarekblog.com/?p=192

petercrane on "Carl Zeiss on K7?"

petercrane — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:57:27 +0000

Hello there. I plan on purchasing a Pentax K7 in a few days and want to know if there is an adaptor out there to mount a Carl Zeiss Planar 1,7/50 (as seen here http://flickr.com/photos/50201821@N00/282576293) to my future Pentax.

Any ideas? I live in Australia and require international shipping :)

benjikan on "Continuous vs Flash Lighting and Everything in Between Pt 5"

benjikan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:16:30 +0000

Continuous vs Flash Lighting and Everything in Between Pt 5

In Part 4,we were left facing the subject, we had tested the light and had to determine the difference between the foreground and background intensity. That was a very personal decision. You also had to decide how much of the principal subject was going to be lit.

Now that you have done your test shots and are satisfied with how it looks, you can commence shooting with this very simple lighting set up. The first thing to consider is, how will the focal length change the overall look of the image and to this end I highly recommend using a wide to medium telephoto zoom. The reason I say this is that the closer you come in to the image the less intense the contrast will appear between the foreground and the background. It is for this reason, that I want you to experiment with a 16,17,18 to 45,50,70 lens. This is much more dramatic than you can imagine using this lighting technique.

In the last segment I also mentioned considering a different approach and this has been one of the very seminal moments of illumination for me in my 25+ years in photography and that is "Always break away from your assumed position and orientation, without changing the lighting of the principal person or object..." This approach has always given me some of my best images. In other words, when you have set up the lights for a particular orientation i.e. you are here and she is there, start to move away from that position and start to rotate around the subject having them follow you with a slight change of the head position and eye orientation, then gradually having them follow your movement or moving against your movement. Lay on the floor, or stand up on a cube, or come in really really tight or pull back really far and place her at the bottom right quadrant of the image, taking up only 20 percent of the surface area.

As you start to do this you may find that there might be some additional lighting that you wish to introduce, especially in very wide angle shots for this scenario.

We shall get in to more detail in Part 6

http://www.benjaminkanarekblog.com/?p=572

benjikan on "My first ever Benjamin Kanarek Blog..."

benjikan — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:14:28 +0000

Hello All;

I have just posted my first blog ever. It is very recent, i.e. today and yesterday. It will be a general, photography, advertising, marketing and creative blog, that will NOT be brand related.

Please feel free to contribute comments etc.

Thanks
Ben

http://benjaminkanarekblog.com

mattdm on "K-7"

mattdm — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:47:59 +0000

So, unless this is the only Pentax site you ever visit, you know that the K-7 is out and it looks awesome.

This place just seemed so dead I figured someone had to say *something*!

fritzwd on "Pentax P-TTL options: a comparative overview"

fritzwd — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:30:15 +0000

Do you have any suggestions on a Quantarary 9550U with the QDA-PAF module that fires a pre flash but then flashes only a full output without any reaction by the Pentax K100D Super camera. ie, the pictures are all over exposed. Do I need to go to an all manual mode? Seems there should be some work around or way to make it all work

If I go back to my old manual flashes and work in manual mode, should I use an adapter shoe to isolate the camera from any voltage from a Vivitar 3500 or a Soligor MK-32A. What is the limit of voltage that the K100 series can stand without damage
Went to your site but did not see the 9550U in the Promaster listing. I think it is a Promaster.
Thanks for the work and any response
Bill Fritz

billlozon on "low light lens for K10D"

billlozon — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:35:56 +0000

I've having a difficult time selecting a lens that will let me take reasonably good action photos of my daughter's indoor track meets. The Quantaray 70-300 F4-5.6 I have isn't getting the job done. Before I go looking on Ebay or Craigslist I need to have some idea of what to look for. Any suggestions/advice is welcomed.
Bill

MJBDIGITAL on "645D releasing in japan"

MJBDIGITAL — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:03:08 +0000

It's been a long time since I've posted here (just like everyone), I actually had to sign up again.

...but I thought, if you havent seen this, you might like to...

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/PMA_Pentax_revives_medium_format_digital_camera_plan_news_278069.html

enjoy

benjikan on "Happy Holiday"

benjikan — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:04:20 +0000

Just want to wish everyone here a Happy Holiday!

Ben
http://www.pbase.com/benjikan/publishedworks

camel58 on "autofocus trouble w/k10d"

camel58 — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:28:56 +0000

hi everyone i'm needing help.AF on my k10d does not work i've tried with 3 lenses so i know it's the body i have cleaned all contacts,reset to default settings taken battery out and put back in i don't know what else to do someone please help.my camera has become my life...thanx

mattdm on "Pentax P-TTL options: a comparative overview"

mattdm — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:40:59 +0000

I've put some more work into this, and moved from the google knol to a much-expanded site on its own domain. Please see the new Pentax Flash Guide at http://pttl.mattdm.org instead of the above link.

Vortex on "Advice on buying a DSRL"

Vortex — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:23:18 +0000

25 years ago, I was into phtography. It died after about a yesr. Recently, I see mysef fascinated by some of digital photos I see & the amzing detail of nature-related subjects.

So, I am building my small set of camera for general use & macro/tele shooting. This is what I am thinking:

>> I get a small P/S for general use and landscape photography. I get a DSRL with a single lense (somthing like 70 - 200 or 300) for tele shooting. I already got Canon SD990 for my general use. I like its IQ & am happy. I am very badly torn between Pentax K20D & Canon xsi or 40D.

I used Canon xsi for a short time and very much liked the zoom capability of the liveview, i.e. 10x, for macro focusing. I read that Pentax liveview really sucks & the 8x zoom cannot be used.

My questions are:

Does k20D liveview zoom responds to manual focus, i.e. if I use manual focus do I see a focused 8x window or it is blurred.

Second question: What do you think of my setting plan and am I better of with K20D or Canon, considering that I have Canon SD990.

Third question: Which lense is more appropriate for general/flower/bird photogrphy: Pentax 55 - 300 or Sigma 70 - 200 f/2.8 and 2x teleconverter.

Thanks

mattdm on "Pentax P-TTL options: a comparative overview"

mattdm — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:00:55 +0000

I've created a Google Knol page about the various Pentax and third-party options for P-TTL flashes. Please visit:

http://knol.google.com/k/matthew-miller/-/3jwk7bitq8i8/1#

This is a work in progress. More description of features is planned (and more in-depth discussion of which flashes have which features). And I welcome your comments and contributions!

shoottothrill on "Speculation about K300D and K30D"

shoottothrill — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 02:21:13 +0000

I can't see anything that says the images are 17mp.

Simen1 on "Speculation about K300D and K30D"

Simen1 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:41:06 +0000

Here are a 17 megapixel Pentax Photo:
http://www.pentaxslr.com/lenses/lens_35

Does this mean that there will be a K20D sucsessor soon? I really hope it features HD video capability like Nikon D90 and Canon 5Dmk2. I altso hope the megapixelmania doesent hurt the dynamic range and ISO properties to much.

Simen1 on "Mirrorless "DLSR" from Pentax/Samsung too?"

Simen1 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:31:31 +0000

Recently Panasonic and Olympus announced the new mirrorless micro Four Thirds (mFT) system. I want to start speculating if Pentax/Samsung is planning something similar. Hopefully with 1,5 crop sensor size. If not, maby with a smaller sensor then the mFT system.

The mFT may switch me over to Olympus/Panasonic, but i hesitate a bit bacause of the smaller sensor size and would prefer a Pentax sticker on the camera.

Canon, Nikon and Sony is not very interessting to me of various reasons.

Vitali on "New lenses froom Pentax!"

Vitali — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:30:25 +0000

loveking, it will

The only significant difference of K100D Super is exactly what you need - SDM (in lens motor) support.

loveking on "New lenses froom Pentax!"

loveking — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:20:58 +0000

Will the Sigma 70-200 HSM works on K100D Super,
I knew it does not work on K100D

Vitali on "Plans for new 28-105mm or 28-80?"

Vitali — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:17:22 +0000

28-105mm will be 42-152mm on a APS-C cameras like K20D. I doubt Pentax will rool out something like this until there will be at least a couple of more or less affordable K-mount full-frames.

Ojay on "how to switch off OPS in SAMSUNG GX-10?"

Ojay — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:00:42 +0000

Switch at the lower right-hand corner of the screen (with the hand icon on it)

signamax on "how to switch off OPS in SAMSUNG GX-10?"

signamax — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:03:42 +0000

subj is the question.
I attached manual lens to the body, and manual call for OPS being switched off.
In the menue the OPS option is AUTO and not highlighted so cannot be switched to MANUAL. cursor skips it.
folks, please, adivise.

Max

chewbacca on "Plans for new 28-105mm or 28-80?"

chewbacca — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:30:55 +0000

Will either of these two be produced? Hopefully the 28-105mm, since now the 17-70mm is at the door, hopefully with a Star attached or atleast SDM. If it was upp to me i would like to se it with weatherseal instead of SDM but both would be best :)

Any one who knows anything about this?

silas on "K10D lcd preview"

silas — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:39:46 +0000

This might be a dumb question... Just recently bought a Metz 48 flashgun. Used it as bounce flash off ceilings etc.. The previews I was getting on the K10D lcd screen looked a little darker than final result viewed on a laptop. Overall the pics came out great. Although some shots were overexposed. Is there a way of getting more accurate previews while shooting?

Vitali on "That full frame camera on the new/cover of this site."

Vitali — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:53:57 +0000

This was photoshopped image of the MZ-S based MZ-D a.k.a. K1D prototype. Chinese took this image to illustrate the news bit about upcoming Chinese Patrion-Aigo branded DSLR. It is, actually, seven - eight years old for now.

Mitchel109 on "That full frame camera on the new/cover of this site."

Mitchel109 — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:24:04 +0000

Isnt that a really really old picture of that camera? I saw it over a year ago, although it didnt have that patriot logo on it, and it said pentax on the popup flash....

Vitali on "Hi"

Vitali — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:35:28 +0000

Try to find Lenspen lens cleaning kit.

Also, Marumi, Hoya or Kenko circular polarizer would be nice addition to your 17-70mm Sigma.

>> If I could get some help with a way to keep my kit dry as my lenses are not weather proof.

Just avoid shooting in too dusty conditions and under the rain (use umbrella in that case).

europanorama on "Zenit N1 manual focus DSLR from Russia"

europanorama — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:08:50 +0000

this could be highly interesting if the mount can be exchanged. 2nd
i have signals fromk kmz-zenit that there will be a digital horizon(rotating pancam). we will see if its a 360 or a swinglens((short rotation). with changing lens and 360-wow. i would only miss a 24mm shiftlens(135)if its 4/3 we would need a 12,13 or 14mm shiftlens( fx2) 24, 26(roundshot 65/70/220-rsp 65el) equivalent) or 28mm.
but stitching noshift and shiftshotshould be no problem i was told. i will try it out with my roundshot. rectiliniar superwideangle-shots-up to appr. 160 degr can easily be created. using panoramafactory or altostorm rectiliniar and other software.
michael przewrocki
www.europanorama.ch.vu
3dstereo-aeropanoramas
marspanoramas like never before

EvilRobotSanta on "Hi"

EvilRobotSanta — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:33:51 +0000

I am new to photography in a way as I have only just purchased a new DSRL camera (PENTAX K200D).I have some equipment ,but am looking to make the most out of my upcoming holiday to Las Vages and Canada. Can I get some ideas as to what I should get in the way of lens filters and cleaning equipment.

Body : Pentax K200D
1st lens : Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 DC Macro
2nd lens : Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro
2 x 4GB SD cards
Tamrac 3340 carry bag

If I could get some help with a way to keep my kit dry as my lenses are not weather proof.

Ojay on "Samsung GX10 support & overall longevity"

Ojay — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:31:55 +0000

Apple update 10.5.3 with camera raw update (includes Pentax K20D) and still no support for the GX10!

I've been getting ready to buy a GX20 but I think I might make it a K20D for convenience sake.

Pity...I much prefer the grip on the Samsungs.

Aspex on "Samsung GX10 support & overall longevity"

Aspex — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:20:51 +0000

Hey all, can anyone lend a hand as to how i properly update to version 1.3..being new to the digital cameras all i keep reading is to load it to root directory?????? but i must not be doing it properly because everytime i hold the menu button while switching on it just say ver 1.00 then turns on???? if anyone can help it'd be awesome..Cheers