mostly right

self portrait with mirrors

I've always had a soft spot for the underdog.  The Pentax K-01 fits this role perfectly (as the K-s1 did later). It was reviled by the press for being unconventional yet delivering big-time on image quality. It's a K-5 in everything but shape viewfinder and AF system! It's not a great fit with bulky telephoto lenses but give it lightweight lenses and it will produce consistently excellent images.

I have another white K-01 body and recently I attached the Quantaray /Sigma 28-90mm 1:2 'macro' lens on it. Generally it's fast to focus (the K-01 CDAF is not swift at all times, but firmware has improved it!) and the 28-90 is a sharp lens, on APSc at least. 

I have found that 1:2 satisfies my closeup needs quite nicely and this is a $30 lens that does the job very well.

I may be moving the K-01 soon to finance a K-3 body - and I'll miss it again.

the Contestants

In the category of Most-useful Compact Camera with Interchangeable lenses in a Personal role, we now have three* possibilities.

the Big Little Three: EM5, ePL5, NX300 (clockwise from top). Image taken with K-01.

Samsung NX300. Largest sensor, most pixels (20M), a few great little lenses.. and a system whose future is in doubt. Samsung has gone totally silent, and no rumors suggest that another brand is picking up the tech.  Nobody wins with this: bad Samsung PR, poor user comfort even if they own great gear. They still have nice small primes (16, 30, 45, 60 macro), the compact 16-50 with optical stabilization and very few telephotos that are either massive (50-150/2.8) or the 50-200, a decent but not amazing lens.  So Samsung has chosen to take itself off the radar.. too bad as the NX300 is a really nice camera.

Olympus ePL5. The best micro4:3 sensor to date (this is the 16Mpix sensor, the new 20Mpx has not been reviewed much), NX size or a bit smaller, all necessary controls and an option to add a viewfinder. Very comparable to the NX300 but with a future that's more visible and reasonable.

Olympus em5. A bit larger than the ePL5 but same imaging pipeline (sensor, processing, options).  A bit taller since the eVF is built in, and weather seals too. Two control dials for easier adjustments while preparing to shoot. And at some point one might be able to see the 5-axis stabilization win out over the ePL5 and its lesser axes of correction. I don't plan to actively seek out the difference so I'm not greatly concerned.

*The fourth possibility is the Pentax K-01 that took these photos. Far larger than any, another great 16Mpix sensor but APSc / NX300 size. Also white like the NX300, curiously enough. It uses a bunch of lenses that I already own, has focus peaking (the Olympi do not) and can take decent movies.  Here's the K-01 and ePL5 matched up, the 28mm f/2 Kiron is on the K-01.



*Might as well include the fifth option, which is/was the Oly ePM2.  The red one I briefly owned was great fun and smaller then the PL5 but it has no tilt screen. The VF option is there though, and that does tilt - and images equal those from the em5 and PL5. So the PM2 is still a decent choice, really, and the bargain of the bunch. The shot at right compares the PM2 and NX300.

So how do they all compare in the real, non-laboratory world?

All are quite good at what they do, and any differences in image qualities would not impact me. I owned the Pentax and Samsung first so they are more familiar to operate, and in many ways do things in similar ways. I do wish Pentax could take over the NX technology but no news of that = no more time spent on that dream. The Olympus menus are a bit more dense than the others, but worse than that is their cryptic, non-traditional references to what is actually being adjusted.  Irritating, but ultimately one can adapt.

Having seen the various results I'd say the most recent Micro4:3 and APSc sensors are quite evenly matched - it took a few years to get there but with Sony making sensors for both sensor types that's not a great surprise.  No doubt shots above iso6400 will reveal differences, but one can fine-tune the camera before the shot and mess with images later with desktop software. Therefore the differences aren't sufficiently relevant to me that any of these cameras is rejected or required.

For basic zooms the kit 14-42mm is much smaller than the Pentax 18-55, though Pentax now has a retractable 18-50 kit zoom which I have not tried. I've found that the NX 16-50 is pleasantly small and images with it are quite nice. As to primes, all three systems make excellent primes and the 'larger' Limited lenses from Pentax are easily as good as the others. So the wider end is not as big of a deal using any of these systems for lenses that I tend to choose; it's the telephotos that show the most difference.

The Olympus 40-150mm and Samsung NX or Pentax-DA 50-200s (all 80-300mme) do similar work, but the Oly is much less bulky and therefore more likely to come along. If one must have f/2.8 telezooms those lenses for all systems will be large, and I would want a large body to hold such lenses; however I am not interested in shooting at f/2.8 above 100mm so it's not relevant to me.

Given similar enough results and both lens sizes and Samsung's uncertain future, I feel that the micro4:3 gear will serve me/us best going forward. My wife and I can enjoy the ePL5 and em5 with pretty much identical results. The issues between them are small but could become nagging, as they use different batteries. I'm tempted to seek the em10 as a swap for the em5 - I would lose the weather seals but gain a match for power source and get a slightly smaller camera as well. We'll see about that. Or the ePM2 could make a return visit and go along with either of these. In any case images will be more than sufficiently excellent for my needs and uses, and I will dare to say for my wife as well.

hate when this happens

The K-01 passed over on its way from Kent to Portland. Its Thursday arrival date still shows on my Friday-morning search which shows it in Portland on Thursday morning. This is really not informative. It's probably in Longview now (24h later) and about to be 'out for delivery' - but why have a website if it cannot keep up?

Five minutes after that post.. see what happens when you complain? :^)

Return of the Thing

Yes, this thing.  The K-01. 
Another barely-used white version is coming!

A familiar friend is coming home again: a K-01 in zuzu white (Zuzu's our tuxedo cat). I enjoyed my time and images with this camera quite a bit. Yes a few things are disturbing about the K-01, most notably the viewfinder and glare off the screen on bright days.  I bought a flip screen cover long ago to help with that, and really this is the best way to acquire a super-16Mpx sensor on a budget. The K-30 is commanding cult prices and the K-50 has yet to fall to this point. So I'm regaining native mode for my K lenses, time-lapse stills/videos, and 500 shots per battery charge (that addresses my biggest grouse about µ43 bodies). I even have a white 18-55mm sitting near that screen shade - it needs a new mount, but perhaps I can pirate one off another old lens.

Part of today's problem for me is that the em5 is not quite the ideal body for me. How can that be, with all its great features?  Beats me - but every setup I try seems to have an issue for me that the ePM2 did not have with its single control wheel.  I've run into this 2-wheel mental lockup before, for unclear reasons adding a second wheel does not improve my interaction with my cameras. The best way for me to use a camera with two control dials is to completely ignore one, then act surprised when I see it work.
Call me crazy.. I often do!

image via imaging-resource.com

Since the em5 and epm2 were both just a pinch off, one way or another, I'm splitting the difference with a nicely-priced used ePL5.  Goldilocks lives! 
The epl5 will have the the em5's tilt screen, mode dial and image quality and a size closer to the epm2. It's quite tiny, sized between the Q and NX300 - so for my wife it will be ideal and the nx300 is free to travel. Whether the em5 or a second epl5 + viewfinder is the best answer for both of us, let's just say.. reply hazy, ask again tomorrow.

One thing is quite clear though:  the gear swapping must end!  Again.

K-s1: what do we know 'for sure'?

On the Ricoh Japan site, we know this -
2014年9月11日までにご注文いただくと、発売日（2014年9月26日）

Other sites say shipping in September, so the 9/26 date seems more likely than the 11th - especially since it's the 12th now and I have no confirmation e-mail :^(  Originally the blue/white/black were supposed to ship two weeks earlier than the other colors, so these might be correct ship dates - for Japan!

 edit.. the translated page says 'Come out in 2014.09.26'

Given that it's hard to reshape a camera body, we presume that the sensor, SR, button availability & layout, and other hardware bits are well-known quantities.  Oddly we haven't heard the shutter fire in any videos, so some of the inner hardware is still a mystery; will it be fairly K-5 silent, or more K-50 'clacky'? 
Edit - Adam at pentaxforums says it's very much a K-50 clack, not a K-5 swoosh.

So what's on 'paper' from Ricoh?

• A new 20.12Mpx sensor (let's call it twenty) for a pinch more resolution and cropping relative to the sweet-16 sensor of past models, a pinch less than the K-3, and reviews (of Sony cams) that show it to be a good performer.  It's noteworthy, a slight positive in my Book (and I'm glad it isn't 24M) so some joy but overall to me: no big deal.
• Size: for the specs this is a small and light camera, like a melded K-x mark II and a K-01 mark II with a few good K-3 parts within.  For me small is good, and my search for a small camera with indifferent small sensor ends now!  That IS a big deal to me, and I'm happy to see it.
• Weather Resistance: nope.  The price I seem to pay for smaller size is battery and WR.  I have a K-5 for wet shots though, so as a primary camera this one is just fine.  The control ring on the back means less entry points for mist on top anyway - and like most intergalactic hitch-hikers I know where my towel is!
• Li-109 battery, weaker and smaller than recent flagship cams - oh yeah this Isn't a flagship!  I can carry a spare, and I did anyway with the K-5 - so another note without complaint.  We film veterans used to go about 38 shots max before having to open up the camera, so making a battery change around 400 shots isn't really that bad :^)
• ISO 100-51200.  Several early reviewers say 102400, implying iso expansion or perhaps early firmware - but again, 'subject to change' applies, and as I type Ricoh says 51200 max.
• AF features are similar to the K-3 with AF expansion and hold functions - BUT Safox IX+ means fewer actual points, and no word on f/2.8 sensors.  Focuses to EV-1 not -3 so low-light skill is not up to K-5ii or K-3 models.  AF-A shows on the rear screen shots, so that's either a menu thing or another firmware question-mark; the switch on the side only does MF/AF and the K-3 choose-which-AF button is not present.
• One control dial.  Yes, a tragic loss - oh yeah some of my best images were taken with the K-01, K200d and Sony A200, all 1-dial cameras.  Worse yet the 2-dialers often find me spinning the wrong one (yes that's on me, I should change the way they operate.  I continue to seek My Answer on the K-5!).  So again, noted but not mourned.
• Settings dial is on the back!  And it lights up!! OK, what's wrong with me, I should be upset and all fired up - but this is fine by me, as I've heard that the lights can be turned off (but do we know that 'for sure'?). I hope I can keep the shutter LED light on though!
• Video is on the power switch and the LED lights red in video mode, green for stills.  This will be valuable to users I know (there's one in my mirror) who take very short videos unintentionally!
• PRIME M-II sensor processing.  This is a mystery that only time can resolve.  The PRIME M came with the K-01/30 intros, but the only visible change is that the video is now accessed by the power dial.  Ah, the 640x480 setting is gone too, maybe that's part of it?  Some day we will know what this means - or maybe not!  The M-II does give us compressed video with good specs, focus peaking (yay!), interval movies (not compressed!) and some other things I probably didn't notice when I owned my K-01.  Video isn't a big deal to me... yet I keep thinking it will become interesting again; in the late '90s I backpacked for a week with a DV camcorder AND an SLR, so video has been big before!  Edit: Since the pipeline went two directions with PRIME M and PRIME II, maybe all future cams will use the M II as the latest and best reunification of the component - that makes enough sense that it could be true!  We also wonder if video bit-rate quality is adjustable now; time will tell.
• The flash is a bit weaker, guide number of 10m not 12.  I often throttle back on flash to keep things more natural so that's noted but not significant to me.
• Full viewfinder, nice screen, and the usual DSLR features like a hot shoe.  Check!
• Green button, Sv, TAv, -10°C operating minimum, and other Pentax special touches.  Hooray!
• Strap lugs holding the strap to the camera, Not jingle-clips like the K-5 models have.  Thank you, thank you!
• Misc. and sundry updates include UH1 and FluCard capability, rotation-axis SR (which allows for AstroTracer with O-GPS1), multi-auto WB from Ricoh and K-3 products, and ?14-bit RAW files.   The ? is because specs show 14 and 12 bits, so that's another unsettled parameter like ISO max.

I think that will do (I don't find fonts worthy of a bullet, so there).  I added a few things that aren't clear yet: ISO range, shutter sound, and in fact everything about the firmware other than a font change.  

I downloaded the spec sheet and highlighted changes from the K-5, and many purple items are in there.  Many other features are on the K-50 but some are not, suggesting the answer to many people's question
"why buy this when the K-50 is cheaper, has two control wheels and WR??".

Or just go with the easy answer - We are not all the same.

---

Edit: the Ricoh page has been updated as of the 19th and more has become clear.  Only 12-bit raw is referenced now, and additions made to include AF adjustments similar to recent Pentaces.  I see playback editing includes moiré reduction, that's new to me but was probably on the K-3.  Also seen now are 'slant correction' along with different aspect-ratio crops, and all the lens corrections and custom images are here.  It's still unclear if saving custom settings is possible now; no C1/C2 setting on dial or USER option seen anywhere.  Like the K-3 it comes with the new Pentax DCU5.x software, still based on SilkyPix but a later version.
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
Update.. Photkina 2014 is over, and hands-on reports are better than visual 1st impressions.  Firmware 0.3 was on test cameras and iso102400 was 'available' though no keepers were allowed.  For a camera due out in a week the firmware seems quite unsettled!
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Final edit / K-s1 update, 27.Sep
Given the ever-changing specifications online, and a bill that I did not expect, I have canceled my order.  While examining cheaper options I encountered a barely-used K50 in white for half the price of the K-s1.  Since I have the WR kit lens, and since the K50 has all the items that appear to be removed or unmentioned for K-s1 specs, this cannot be passed up.  Now the K-5 can go into the shop without worry and I have focus peaking and compressed video like my old K-01 but with a real viewfinder.  I hope the K-s1 does well without me, as I shall do without it - and the expense of it.  When Pentax can access Sony's sensor with phase-detect AF points I'll probably go shopping again.

when one cannot afford a 70-200 f/2.8

The elite speed lenses of the current era tend to be a 70-200mm f/2.8 more or less.  These are fast at 200mm unlike many more typical f/5.6 designs, but a large penalty comes along - literally, the fast telezooms are large, heavy and include their own tripod socket since they outweigh nearly every camera that will be attached to them!  They are also multiple hundreds of dollars, and right now I have nothing like that to throw around.  What to do?

Well try this: for $24 I picked up an 80-200mm f/3.5, so only fractionally slower than the modern beasts.  This one still weighs in at over a kilogram (about two pounds) and outweighs my camera bodies, so thankfully it also has a tripod socket.  What's not to like about that?

OK for one it's manual focus.  I'm not planning to shoot sports (though I can if I want to!) so I'm OK with that.  Also it's an ancient screw-mount lens - so I forgot to add $10 for the PK-M42 adapter to make it $35.  Screw mount means manual aperture setting.  Most curious of all perhaps is the brand: JC Penney!  No they never made lenses in department stores, but many department stores added their labels; many Sears lenses were Ricoh-made and plenty of lens companies allowed another brand to be stamped on their lens.

On the good side, the tripod collar will lead to steadier shots with tripod or monopod, a slide-out lens hood improves contrast, and nine aperture blades result in very nice blur to either side of focus.  It also is an internal-zoom lens so its length only varies by the range of the focusing ring, which covers infinity down to about five feet (1.8 meters).  Clearly the price is right, so how's the performance?

Let's get one thing straight: this is a very nice, little-used copy of whatever brand it really is.  Everything works very well on it, though the zoom ring rattles a bit.  Images from a tripod look quite nice, no complaints from me while using the K-01.  The shot at left is 100mm f/6ish on a wet day.
It's very hard to hand hold and keep the camera's live screen more than 10" away from my face, but on the K-5 it should perform better in that respect.  I'll be trying it on the Q soon, that should be very fun!

Anyway, I'm impressed.  Just in case I have another $20 lens that may be coming soon*, so we'll have a contest and keep just one.  Oh what fun!  In the meantime, the all-manual kit now looks like this:

• SMC 17mm f/4 fish-eye
• SMC-A 24mm f/2.8
• SMC-M 50mm f/2
• Quantaray 28-70mm f/2.8-4
• this JCP 80-200mm f/3.5 M42 mount/PK
• Hanimex 400mm f/6.3 T-mount/PK

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

* p.s. it's true - a Sigma δ 75-250mm f/4.0-5.0 is on its way.  No it's not a whole fraternity, it seems that early Sigmas used extra greek letters to mark their lenses!  So this is a variable-aperture zoom but still, 250mm at f/5 is slightly faster than most - so we shall see if the extra reach is worthwhile.  It says 'for Pentax' but nowhere does it show a bayonet mount, although the rear cap is thicker than for most M42 lenses.  Again, we shall see... in any case this 80-200 does pretty good work!

turnovers!

What an interesting few days.  The 50-150 is sold and the funds mutate into the DAs 21/3.2 Limited and Sigma 105/2.8 macro, and the DA16-45 is converted to a DA50 f/1.8!  It's clear from the number of 18-55 and 16-45 lenses in my history that I find these two interchangeable, especially with a good sensor whose ISO talents can compensate for the slower 18-55.

Deals have been too complicated to tell if a net $ gain or loss occurred on all the above, but more gear will depart in the next few months, once the K-5 comes home from the service trip I have planned for it.  The SMC-A 24mm is definitely out of work now that the DA21 is coming to town.


So here is the latest scoreboard:

• primes: 8 fisheye, 21, 50, 70, 105 macro, 400 (8 & 400mm both manual focus)
• zooms: 18-55 + 50-200 WR, 28-90 1:2 macro, 100-300 f/4.5-6.7 (latter two full-frame)
• bodies: κ-5ii, K-01 (white with white 18-55 DAL), K-5 (injured reserve)

moving and imaging

I've now reached the point of packing up the home where living minimally will need to serve.  With several items in the kit not receiving much use, some lenses can pack up easily - but others should be more visible.  The challenge of not cramping one's style is now in play!  Worse yet is the risk that, once all is unpacked again, I may have learned to do without what was packed... not a bad thing really, but sobering.

Step one is easy: I really don't need the two full-frame zooms in my APS-C bag right?  Well, one is my only 1:2 closeup option (though I have several 1:3ish that will do), and the other gets me to 300mm.  I'll take the chance and pack them.  The two Limiteds will stay out, as will the DA16-45.

For lighter telephoto and poor weather the DA50-200WR should stay - wait though, that doesn't really matter with the K-01 does it?  The K-5 is being packed as its electronics are in need of service, and that includes SR - so really the 50-150 f/2.8 is as useful for low light as the 50-200 f/4-5.6 is for weather seals.  Ah well the WR lens is pretty small so it can stay, and the SMC-A 24/2.8 and new 8mm fisheye can go in the packing box.

The easy-to-pack items are the SMC-M 50mm f/2 and the 400mm f/6.3 preset; those are very rarely in use and can be done without for a bit.

So for the next month or three this is my mini-kit:
K-01 ghost-camera + DA16-45, 50-200WR and Sigma 50-150 zooms + DA Limiteds 40 and 70

And the Q might as well be easy to reach too, being so small.  As daylight weakens it shows its limitations with the small sensor though.  Were I seeking a small camera again, the Lumix GM-1 looks mighty handy: Q size but m4/3 sensor, and a 12-34mm zoom that would play nicely with the two adapted Limiteds.  Oh yeah, I'm not seeking a small camera... shame on me for speculating so much.

tests at 50mm

Another common focal length in my collection (and others' as well) is around 50mm.  I have five ways to play right now: Rikenon XR and SMC-M f/2 primes, the DA50-200 (max f/4), a Quantaray 28-90 macro (f/4.5 at 50) and the DA40 Limited is close enough.  Oh rats I forgot the 16-45 at f/4 - so a supplement will follow soon!

Tests were not precise: hand-held and manual focus at the widest apertures, since they will all be fine at f/5.6 anyway.  All were shot with auto ISO and WB, and as DNG raw files with the K-01; no processing other than posting from Picasa so its raw defaults are shown here.

Depth of field was an issue with the f/2 primes, as the center of the bud and the pollen stems are not a match with the petals.  Anyway, in this case the no-surprise winner was the DA40 Limited, which loses a stop to the f/2s but is a modern optical marvel and a mechanical throwback with its all-metal construction.  Second* would go to the 28-90 macro; this lens dares to perform well despite its bargain-bin price of $35-50 most of the time.  If you hit the first Ritz closeout it was under $10, which is what I paid to go with my Sony Alpha A200!

The two 50mm primes did pretty well but contrast was down a bit, likely from their older coatings.  The 50-200 has a fairly long minimum focus that is better suited for flower shots above 100mm.  Still, the image is decently sharp with great color & contrast. 

I've tried the DA40 with a bargain +1 and +2 closeup filter attachment, and while this brings one closer the images are just not the same.  Sure your DoF is razor thin, but it just looks less saturated and less amazing.  No doubt a $100 closeup filter would outperform a $10 one, but we use what we have not what we might consider.  The DA40 Limited does excellent work and can get pretty close, and for me that'll do.

* Update: the DA16-45 is quite good also; exposure was a little brighter but the time of day was different.  Sharpness and bokeh are pretty similar on this shot.  And I got a bee-fly in the scene (lower right), that's pretty cool!  

DA40 at f/4 at the top.

testing 1,2,3 zooms to 200mm

I stood on my porch with my K-01 and tested three xx-200mm zooms at 135mm, 200mm and for close focusing.  They each did the job pretty well, which is no surprise nowadays.

I locked aperture and ISO but the left one does not show the 0.7EV exposure boost that I thought they all had - and no stopping the clouds in any case!  Anyway, the 18-200 Sigma looked best for colors, the Promaster 28-200 perhaps a touch sharper, and the DA50-200WR the least color-fringed.  No surprise since it's the zoom with the least range to compensate for, and a later test looked sharper than the first go.  The 28-200 is an older copy of this oft-remade Tamron lens, and color fringing has been its weak point for quite a while in my experience, which goes back to my Alpha days in 2008.  This version has 72mm filter threads and is about 100 grams bulkier than the more recent models.

One thing is clear in close-focus: the longer the zoom's range the closer you can get, but the least like 200mm the scale becomes.  Long-reach zooms must be made this way to do what they do, and it's very clear when popping off the 18-200mm and sticking on the DA 50-200WR; I had to step quite a way further back to reach focus, but the resulting image scale is actually larger!

No major surprises revealed, but good to know.

bad timing

Once the K-01 arrived, I hit the perfect time to send the K-5 away for a maintenance check.  It has the 'dreaded' mirror-flop issue, where a fully charged battery overloads a circuit and causes the shutter to click extra times - it doesn't take extra photos, just sounds like it's doing so.  Apparently a cicrcuit-board swap will take care of it, and other inspections will probably detect anything else that needs knowing.

But now it's summertime, and having a rugged camera is more important!  I can manage fine with the K-01 as long as the weather is stable, though the screen-only preview is harder in bright sunlight - but it's too bad the timing isn't better.  I have the extended K-5 warranty, and perhaps the local Pentax shop can turn it around faster with this summer timing.  Anyway that's the next camera expense to plan for, even if it's just postage to and from the shop.

the Kit - this time I mean it! mean it... mean it... me

OK, a final flurry of shopping and the kit is reshaped.  Here is the core* of my photo gear as of late June.

Mounted on the K-5 is yet another fine copy of the DA16-45.  That lens was one of the big reasons I went back to Pentax as a digital choice after letting Sony go reinvent itself without me.  I have been forced to sell it once, and chose to a couple of other times - this is my fourth copy so this is truly the voice of experience speaking -- and I dearly hope I've learned from it all!  If nothing else my pension checks will dictate that it stay around, I expect...

To cover the midrange I have the DA40 and DA70 Limited duo (hiding in their fine leather pouches).  These are absurdly good lenses and I hope never to part from them, unlike other lenses I have owned.

In the WR and telephoto department I will carry the DA50-200WR.  This lens is plenty good enough and much easier to carry than the well-regarded 55-300mm (another lens I have owned at least three times), and on a wet hike it will be the on-camera option for max moisture resistance.  It has the additional ability to make use of 49mm filters like the Limited primes!

On the occasional day when more reach is needed, the 100-300 Quantaray/Sigma will join me.  Other than being quite slow optically (f/6.7 at 250mm +) it's talented, compact and lightweight, and is faster to focus in good light than the DA55-300.  When lighting and weather are at their best, I can cover quite a bit with 16-45, 40, 70 and 100-300.

* Not appearing above because they won't get much use:

• Sigma 15mm fisheye, good enough to get more use but less vital with 16-45 in the bag
• SMC-A 24mm f/2.8, a nice lens but the 16-45 excels in this zone with greater versatility
• SMC-M 50mm f/2, which cannot compete with the Limited pair & has 'limited' resale value
• Sigma 18-200DC gen-1, a quite decent all-purpose lens that will be on the K-01 often
• Quantaray 28-90mm w/1:2 macro, a great $35 lens that is hardly worth the price to ship! :~)
• Hanimar 400mm f/6.3 preset, for emergency wildlife only!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
early-Aug update: the 28-200 and 18-200 are gone, as is the venerable Vivitar 28-105.  The 15-fish and 28-90 remain available but no takers yet.  The primes will not harm me if they stay, and if I take them to goodwill I fear that I might return home with more! :~)
mid-Aug: the 15mm fisheye is gone, sad to say.

90 v 100 on a few subjects

The Quantaray/Sigma 28-90 arrived today, so I put it to a few tests against my well-liked Promaster 100mm macro.  Both do about 1:2 closeups in native mode; the Promaster includes a 49mm filter-type multiplier to achieve 1:1 but I seldom use it, so 1:2 seems sufficient for me.  The lenses don't compete on speed, since it's 100/3.5 vs 90/5.6, but what the heck we'll put them head to head anyway.

A few quick tests at 1:2 were not definitive so I shot the neighborhood to see the results.  In the climatis-and-mailbox shot the Q-ray image was decidedly better in exposure, avoiding the major blowout of highlights that the Promaster displayed.  Just a single shot but a clear difference.  Looks like a flower horse, but truly it's not!

Later I shot a closeup of our porch post with many things behind; both shots have rather nervous bokeh on display, so again no clear victor.  I shot these through a window, which helps neither lens show off to its best effect.

Let it be noted that the Q-ray focus is slower and feels more precise, and it covers its full range in about 1/4 turn.  The Promaster nearly goes full circle, meaning if it misses you'll be waiting a while for it to get close again.  Enough victories that maybe the 100mm will be sent packing.

In the wide department the same could happen with the Sigma 15mm fisheye.  It takes some excellent and fun images, but the 17-35 Tamron non-fisheye is clearly a winner and both are f/2.8 - still counting votes on the result there.

Kit update - yes, again

Enough tweaks have occurred since the last update a few short months ago - so here we go again!

APS-c and Compact Bodies:

• K-5, still amazing after nearly 1½ years in my bag.  No real complaints, though it will need to go in soon for a solution to the full-battery mirror flop issue.
• K-01 (white), great fun since November.  It's definitely a different way to achieve similar goals, some better and some worse.  I find I can manage a few things I didn't think I'd ever be willing to try, which is seldom a bad thing.  I am sure glad it's here so the K-5 can visit the shop!
• Q: his and hers black ones, with 02 zoom lenses.  Tiny, fun and as good as a 1/2.3" sensor can do.  Nice to have the 'standard' dSLR menu on a compact, that's for sure.  I've still not purchased an adapter  or the PK lenses, but I'm wavering... 

Lenses, in approximate FL order.  
Just for amusement I've added (ff) to those that are full-frame friendly, meaning all but ONE.  Even the Limited primes that I own are deemed FF-tolerant, much to my surprise.  I am not planning to grab a full-frame Pentax dSLR any time soon, but if a windfall were to strike I'm well protected.

• (ff) Sigma 15/2.8 fisheye: yes the DA15 would be smaller, but this has so many good things going for it that I have no complaints.  It's not all that large in any case, and it's faster, focuses closer and works with full-frame (film) cameras. Oh yes, often a bit cheaper too on the used market!  Great fun and very talented, and really not all that fishy for landscapes on an 16×24mm sensor.
• (ff) Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8-4.0: part of what makes this nice is that it doesn't crowd any other lens.  Overlap can be a good thing most of the time, but a Limited lens deserves breathing room.  I owned this in my SonyAlpha days, it was my first really good lens.  If anything it could crowd the fisheye out of the lineup!
• (ff) Quantaray (Sigma) 28-90mm f/3.5-5.6 macro: another SonyAlpha veteran lens that I liked four years ago.  Dirt cheap, feather light but decent imaging and 1:2 macro at 90mm when you want such things.  An excellent one to have on the camera when you have nothing planned or you want something you won't mourn over if damaged.
• (ff±) Pentax DA40/2.8 Limited - yes it's true what others say: absurdly small, absurdly talented and worth owning.  For many it's the first Limited because of its price; I got such a good deal that I cannot repeat it, and it's a real keeper even had I paid $100 more like most other owners.  Sharp in focus and smooth elsewhere, thanks to great optics and nine-blade aperture, and too small to justify leaving behind.
• Pentax DA 50-200 WR: the perennial underdog telephoto lens for Pentaxians, this featherweight and weather-resistant zoom only suffers by comparison to the 55-300 models.  For now I prefer the compactness of this one, and on the K-01 it is a very good copy - now that I know that the K-5 will either need to match or get its first lens ± adjustment.  This is a great zoom for the K-01 as it's small and light - nearly a clone of the macro that's a bit further down the list.
• (ff±) Pentax DA70/2.4 Limited - ditto at least, except that this one was not to be found cheaply.  It's still worth the price.  Something about this feels illegal, to be a bit telephoto yet tiny and fast - and let's not forget the nine aperture blades to make the images really snap.  Live and learn: Limiteds are worth having.
• (fF) Rikenon XR 70-150/4: when I put down my bid at auction I barely knew this lens existed.  It's been with me quite a while, relatively speaking, and other than its old-school lens coating it's a real marvel.  I don't recall seeing many 2-ring internal-zoom lenses in my 1980s film days but clearly a few were out there, and this one is smooth and sharp.  It's a bit dense and at 440 grams it's heavier than all but the 400mm - but fixed f/4 through the range, 52mm filter threads and a built-in shade are nice to have.  Optically it's of prime caliber and can sorta do close focusing in its 'macro' mode.  O What Fun!
• (ff) Promaster 100mm f/3.5 macro (AF): I had tried two other macros, and felt like Goldilocks.  The Tamron 90 was excellent but too bulky, the Sigma 50 excellent but I had to get sooo close for real macro images.  The Promaster only goes 1:2 on its own - but I have the original 'matched' multiplier to achieve 1:1 shots (49mm, so it fits the Limiteds and 50-200), and it's well under half the size and weight (and price!) of the Tamron.  This does very well for my mid-tele and macro work, and is another small wonder.  I've made it pretty clear that I like that in lenses!
• (ff) Hanimar 400/6.3: and then there's this thing.  A preset T-mount lens (with 16 aperture blades!) it's a curiosity that was handed to me by my father-in-law; for the price of a K-mount adapter any 400mm lens is hard to beat.  I need to use it more but it's done quite well on my few test outings.

Compared to earlier times, that's not many lenses - but it's more than I can use at any one event that's certain.  Most events can go with perhaps two primes and a zoom, and seldom would more than four go anywhere with me.  A very compact, thrifty and comfortable kit.  Again.

This set leaves me with some excellent mix-and-match sets:

1. 17-35 + 40 + 70 + 100m for best of the best, with 15f optional
2. 17-35 + 40 + 50-200wr for most compact & fewest changes (probably the backpack kit)
3. 28-90 + 50-200 for when wide angle isn't going to be a big deal
4. 28 + 40 + 70 ultimate compact trio that covers many circumstances

Add the 15mm fisheye to any of these for ultimate width, or make other combos to address specific wishes (macro prime lens for example).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Software:
 I now own Elements 10 and Premiere 10.  Plugins include NeatImage for noise reduction, SmartCurve for lighting adjustments and ReDynamix for redistribution of dynamic lighting with easy controls to temper the  HDR-like effects. I also use Picasa software for the easy changes and quick text additions.  No Lightroom or other powerhouse software will appear until my computer is massively updated, which I don't foresee any time soon.

Everything Changes.

That title about covers it.  Whether it's the ideal set of lenses in your bag, the camera they fit on, or saying farewell to a 33-year career with no real plans in sight, life just keeps moving along, and forcing decisions.

Re: imaging: I seem to be turning a bit of the kit upside down.  The DA18-55 WR has been my foul-weather standby, but I'd really prefer a DA16-45 for hiking, a bit of extra light grasp and wide-angle fun, and generally better image quality.  If that happens though, a different WR lens would be a good idea - and looky here: a grade-9 used DA50-200WR for comfortably below the going rate at B&H. Done! - but what will the 55-300 think?  For that matter, what will the 15 fisheye think of a 16mm zoom?  Good thing lenses don't think out loud... but sometimes owners do!

The DA21 Limited calls my name, but I continue to resist - and the 16-45 can help with that.  For half the price of a DA21/3.2, the DA16-45 is a smidge slower but a lot more versatile, and very very good.  I've owned it before but only with non-WR cameras like the k-100d and k-x... so why not the K-01?  If I don't find a very good deal though, I'm fine with the 18-55 WR.

On the tele side, the K-01 is quite awkward for me with the 55-300, so the 50-200 will be a better fit with that camera - and WR gives it high value on the K-5.  I owned the 50-200WR before too, and I found it acceptably sharp and liked its consistently good bokeh.  And how often do I find 300mm useful really, is it worth having the range if it's seldom used - or worse yet used badly in lesser light, replacing lens sharpness with image shake?  Hmmm...

As to the DA70 and the 100mm macro, they are safely tucked in the bag come what may!  While I know of prettier lens in the 90-105mm macro range, Promaster's results speak for themselves, and they say very good things.

Any kit shifts will need to be balanced with sales, but I'm OK with that; in fact the SMC-A 24 and 50mm lenses will depart soon.  The DA55-300 is an impressive lens, but I can grab another easily - and letting go could allow more chances for the Hanimar 400mm to play.

This realignment would make the kit appear thus:

• zooms: 18-55wr (possibly DA16-45), 50-200wr, manual Rikenon 70-150/4 
• primes: 15/2.8 fisheye, Rikenon 28, DA Limiteds 40 & 70, 100/3.5 macro, 400/6.3
• on the fence: DA 55-300, Vivitar 28-105, SMC-As 24 and 50

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

As to the adventure of retirement - well that's true too, and coming soon.  My pension will be decent but the LBA needs to end!  At some point I will likely add a part-time job but it's not guaranteed to be awaiting me, so it's a leap of faith.  My wife is very happy about this upcoming change, so it's a leap of love too.

lens testing: 50 vs 50 vs 55 vs... never mind

I recently picked up a Rikenon 55mm f/2.2 for a bargain price.  I was allured by its perfect focal-length fit between DAs 40 and 70, and was not deterred by its relatively slow speed of f/2.2.  However this copy came with some fuzz/fungus or something on the lens elements.  Today I uncsrewed it to pieces, cleaned the elements and put it back together.  I put it on my K-01 at f/4, manually peak-focused on the mailboxes across the street and took a shot.

Hmmm not great, I think.

So out came the SMC-M 50mm f/2, and a Rikenon 50/2 XR(s), and oh why not toss in the DA40 and 70, and the DA18-55wr too?  Chimping at each shot I learned tow things:

• I'm no good at manually focusing the 18-55 even at 40mm f/4.5 with peaking, and
• every shot was better than the 55/2.2 gave me.  Oh well.

So the winning lens is... ?

Well, before I even dumped them to my computer for further scrutiny I logged into pentaxforums, and saw an SMC-A 50/1.7 on the market that trumps them all, for a really good price.  Now to fill a box for the thrift-store, or maybe the dumpster, and make room in the bag for what many consider the best of the Pentax 50mm optical formulae whether in M, A or F series.  I had an f/1.7 for a while a year or so back, and I'm sure I sold it for more than I will pay today.  Sometimes the timing is great, most times not; today feels good.

hello goodbye

So here are three cameras with different sensor sizes, and the zoom lens that covers wide to light telephoto work. 

If you like headaches, here goes: each sensor sees its lens as if it were a 35mm film camera with a 28-80mm zoom lens attached.  The Q lens is f/2.8-4.5 while the others are f/3.5-5.6, so it sounds brighter - but wait, formulae available on the web can 'prove' that the equivalence is actually much closer, and it can be clearly demonstrated that ... [enough: where's my ibuprofen bottle?]

Whatever.  Three cameras that can do very good things up to the limits that each sensor imposes, or that physics imposes upon them.  Larger is better for the sensor, smaller is best for most camera users, and the compromises each company makes will bring different opinions into play.  No reason to get a headache, really!

This is a gathering and a farewell party, as the blue Lumix G1 will be going up for sale.  With the Q's arrival it will become our "talented smaller-sensor" camera, and we will become an all-Pentax family.  This was shot with the K-01, so the Pentax Trifecta is in place.  If I become royalty I can afford the 645D and acquire the Royal Flush, but not before.

The micro-4/3 format is quite versatile and has many things going for it.  I won't bash the G1, especially as it was the first of its m4/3 kind and still serves many people very well.  We needed our small cameras to be really really small - so the Q will serve us better.

kidding, right? Right?!?

Somehow, I'm not.  Another camera is on the way.

I recently despaired of getting another camera for my wife, despite my certainty that a yellow K-01 would prove irresistible.  We have similar Lumix G1s so that would be the vehicle that allows us to shoot 'identical' images, so she would learn to see what I see on the same subject.  The G1 is a great camera with some nice features, and it's an ideal learning tool, but my wife's health is such that even micro-43 is pretty bulky for her use.

As Pentax did with the K-01, they now do with the Q - drop the price to a fraction of its original MSRP and watch them vanish.  The K-01 cured me of new cameras... but I failed to account for the cuteness factor as applied to my wife.  She found it absurdly cute and small and felt that the sub-$200 price was worth a dent in our budget.  Saying this actually meant a sub-$400 price as she still wants us to have identical cameras to shorten her learning curve - so here we go, again.  The sale includes the standard zoom lens of about 28-85mm so it is not shown in the image above (that's the prime lens).  Still let's face it, this is a really small camera!

Talented too, by the way.  Its backlit 12Mpx sensor can do quite well to iso1600 or a bit more, and it has raw abilities for personalized processing for sharpness, noise and everything (unlike jpg with its fine but compressed images that don't decompress the same twice).  I really liked the Fuji F550 (until it hit the pavement, hard) for its 1/2" sensor with raw shooting, so part of this will be familiar to me.  Many things, actually - the menu system is almost a mirror copy of the larger Pentaxi in my collection, so my learning curve will likely be quite short!

So the Pentax Trifecta is complete - do not hold your breath for the Grand Slam, as the $10k± 645D will not be in my financial league for the foreseeable future.  Plus it's kinda big.

image from quesabede.com

Oh hey, did I mention the adapter to allow K-mount lenses to work with the Q?  

That DA40 pancake lens just mutated into a 230mm telephoto... so they tell me.

in the San Juan Islands

While I'd like to show you fine details on the gull, I really like the concentric rings created by its bathing - so you get the wide view!

We spent several days of our anniversary in the same place we spent our honeymoon, on Orcas Island in NW Washington.  While most of the time was foggy and rain-free, a few times the sun broke out and gave us some great views.  The K-01 and Limited lenses received most of the use but the Sigma 15mm fisheye and a zoom or two also had some sensor time.  It was a fun trip but it was very cold - no surprise on mid-January trips at 48°N latitude!  Even the wood stove was reluctant to do its thing, but some store-bought kindling brought things around.

This was our first trip with the new car, and it performed admirably.  Lens buying will be restricted while it's being paid off but the warranty and reassurance of a new vehicle are worth it.  I'm still quite comfortable with the camera gear I have right now, so if I take good care of it all this Pentax stuff will easily outlast the car payments!

2013 begins!

And so the new year sweeps in.  Portland had no frost until the 29th, then three straight frosty mornings; winter arrived at last.  I pulled out the Promaster 100mm macro and visited the fungi in the front yard, and got a few keepers.  Some day I will do this with a tripod and 2-second mirror lockup... oh wait this was shot with the K-01, no mirror to lock up!  Funny how old habits and reflexes go, some slide past with no regret while others stay locked into memory and refuse to budge.  Shooting macros handheld is an old habit that I've yet to shake - just often enough, it works well enough.

The K-01 is clearly a different way to work compared to dSLRs, but it's not a bad way.  Many things I felt sure of were not important to getting an image, and some are nearly fun (like time-lapse movies, though that will take more practice).

In any case, 2013 should be a fun year to take pictures!