a week with the white brick

The K-01 has received sporadic use as I recover slowly from a virus, and take care of my unwell spouse.  What it has revealed is both amazing and frustrating, and it will teach me what is valuable in my style and what is just old habits.  That's a good thing.

The first obvious item is the view.  I really like viewfinders, love the K-5 real-life view and tolerate the G1's 1st-generation electronic VF.  And now the K-01, which is live view or nothing.  I can manage any of them, though my varifocal reading glasses do make the K-01 positioning quite important.  Virtual views have their place, as they show exposure and white balance that optical finders cannot match.  In any case, while I prefer the K-5 on this I can manage (for a week at least!) with the alternatives.

As to focus, and full-time contrast AF?  Again amazing and frustrating - focus is more leisurely than I like, but it locked precisely on a shot in very low light that I'd avoid with the K-5.  I don't calculate EV numbers but a shot of my bookshelf was 1/13, f/3.2, iso5000.  Motion blur was erased by SR and iso did the rest, and the image looks like all lights were on in the room.  Amazing.  Add to this the focus-peaking ability, which dramatically speeds my manual-focus times - and once again I can only say the K-01 system is not bad, just different. *NOTE* the v1.02 firmware has made a big difference in focus speed and accuracy.  Still different, and now better... but the K-05 has also been updated to v1.14 and presumably its CDAF is faster too.

And the images look just great, maybe a bit punchier at first glance than my K-5.  I've adjusted my custom-image settings on that camera though, so no comparison is fair at this point.  Many have commented that their K-01 images look 'better' than K-5 images, which can be attributed to more precise focusing, a year-newer 16Mpix sensor, the Prime-M support chip, or firmware tweaks to the processing.  Maybe even the low-pass 'AA' filter, which seems to be weak and thereby allow more detail.  In any case jpeg images are definitely not a step down.

OK let's talk about the K-01 ergonomics.  I haven't played enough in a week, and I haven't read much of the manual, so I'm at the grumpy part of the learning curve.  I am used to using ±EV by holding the button and turning the dial, and my hands cannot do this on the K-01 - but then I learned to press ± release and then dial compensation... and that works fine, once again "just different".  My grip is awkward but pretty secure on the body, but a few fingers have not found their happy place yet.  I see that many users shoot with their thumb on the shutter, which I have not tried yet.  I also have not decided which assignments will serve best for the red and green buttons, so as I learn the camera will begin to fit me better.

I really like the white with black knobs, whether 'stormtrooper' or 'panda' nickname is used.. some are even going with 'pandatrooper' FCOL!  It's a cute white brick to me, maybe CWB will serve.  I'd like a snow themed nickname, and thinking snow brought me to the abominable snowman. Given the harsh reviews this camera has received, the abominable Pentax came to me.  Maybe that will stick, maybe not... 'ghost cam' fits just as well, and its talent was invisible to most reviewer/art critics.

And least but not last, video.  I hear it's great, and I expect to make use of it - but I haven't yet, so no comments on SR, jello in motion or other features/failings.  More to come on that.  That fact that the K-01 can do normal video with compression, 50/60 fps for slo-mo and interval-timed movies has my attention, but I have to see it in action to see if it has a place in my way of doing things.

Likes
Changing to 1:1, 16:9 and other ratios is something I often do in playback mode on the K-5, and it's nice to have those settings in advance for framing.  Image quality is great, as noted above, and nearly all the K-5 options are available (at least the ones that I've used on that body).  The K-01 sits closer to me due to lack of a viewfinder cup and the strap-attachment setup; with a small prime it's an easy under-coat camera.  Focus peaking is quite excellent and will be used with AF lenses not just MF, and really it renders AF speed irrelevant in most instances!  I really like the Li-90 battery compatibility!  More likes will come as I try more, e.g. I expect to make good use of the interval-timer movie mode at some point.

Not So Hot
AF speed is still a challenge, and looking at the big screen all the time is not my preferred option.  AF sound seems louder, no surprise with the hollow space in the camera.  As noted above though, peaking lets me focus quickly and get the exact spot I want in focus, so this is more a whine than a real complaint.  I can see how some with less patience would go mad over the rubber-door attachment but it hasn't gotten to me yet.  I do wish the rubber wrap had extended to a spot for my thumb, but it isn't a large annoyance.  Um, really that's it as of now.  More likes and dislikes will come, I'm sure.

simply irresistible / ghosts of the A700

Long ago in my dSLR infancy, I chose Sony over Pentax and picked up an A200.  Within about two months the Great Best-Buy Selloff hit: the chain dumped all their A700 bodies for just over my A200 price!  That was an amazing jump in camera and image quality at an absurd price - but too late for me, right?  Well yes, but I admit I drove to several stores in a last-minute frenzy of remorse.  That hurt - but hey the A200 served me well for a while.

A year or two later, no A700 replacement and no sensible A200 upgrade path.  The A500/550 came along at last, with entirely different ergonomics that didn't really fit me well.  Knowing that I'd need to relearn my shooting routine to move up I went diagonally instead, to Pentax.  Their cameras fit right again, and I found the nearly-ideal camera in the K-5.  I juggled my lens lineup too many times to count (and I kinda tried!) but I didn't feel that any upcoming features would be missed in the near future.  Yes focus peaking looked cool and video features sounded fun - but not enough to cause me concern.

Then the K-01 came out, which addressed a few things but went its own way in others.  No weather seals, no viewfinder, and a curious shape - and the price was pretty high.  No thanks.  The K-30 had more cool features and was closer to the K-5 in many ways, but again my gut had been right: no reason to regret a K-5 here.  I wasn't seeking a full-frame option, yet I saw just how many lenses I owned that would smoothly cross that line.  What relief then, when Pentax announced no 2012 FF option!

Then recently the K-01 came crashing down in price.  $550± for that camera was intriguing, and I could see its values in a new and cheaper light.  That was still too much to pay though, and I managed to look the other way.

Well then it dropped another $200 - and the A700 endgame was playing out again.  Could I look away from a $350 camera body with all those features, an incredible sensor, and with full PK-mount (and K-5 battery) compatibility?  Well yes I could.. for a week or so, when forums announced that batch was gone.  Would more appear?  Probably, and that price might stick around.
But I thought the A700 would do that too - and I was very wrong.


So after another cut of about $20 on a few sites, my willpower failed, and a white K-01 has entered the building.  For days when video is important and weather sealing less so, it will be great fun, a few grams lighter, and catch a few eyes.  Thankfully most of my old gear has sold (and I let the Lumix GF2 / 17mm Olympus micro43 pair go as well), so this was a net zero in the bank accounts while clearing some shelf space!  Now to grow the funds, and my willpower, back to their former levels!

Letting go... ?

As noted in the recent past, it's time to call the buy/sell struggle a draw.  I have several great lenses, and messing further with the lineup will bring change but not improvement.  Several of the second-tier lenses are really cool and fun to use but let's face it: old coatings will not perform like the new stuff and autofocus with quick-shift override beats manual efforts on most of my shots.  The Rikenon 28mm is going nowhere (for now) but several 'old favorites' must become someone else's favorites now.

A fine example is the Rikenon XR 70-150.  I've really liked this lens since I first won the bid, and it has several features I really like such as internal zoom, fixed f/4, 52mm filters and the built-in hood.  Honestly though, the DA55-300 beats it everywhere that matters, with much more range less weight and modern coatings.  While not as compact as the SMC-M 135/3.5 and 200/4, they really are duplicates that I won't use enough to justify their coolness.

Another that I hate to see go is the excellent Sigma 50/2.8 macro.  The 100mm Promaster can do 1:1 with its adapter and for the few times I want more range I can just pack the 55-300 and be done.

We'll see how the deals go down - but it's time to move on!

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

And yet, on the very next day, I ordered an SMC-A 24mm lens. 
This was in the KEH 'ugly' bin so the price was nice, and I've yet to learn of anyone dissatisfied with an UG -grade lens from them.  Since folks (including me!) can send it back and no harm done how can one be unhappy?  If this lens is typical optically I won't worry about Ugly -but the well-liked Rikenon 28 will be at risk and fully-manual shooting will become entirely optional.  But let's wait and see - I remember reading once that "it's time to move on!".  The Sigma 50 has sold already; so it begins.

Update  - I still have the two Rikenons (28 and 70-150) but most other sale items have sold - so the clutter has lessened.  The SMC-A24 is a real gem.  The next post explains why the Lumix GF2 has also sold!

uncle!

OK I've dated myself - even post-dated perhaps? 
"Uncle" was a term that meant "I've had enough, stop now" in bygone days.  Ah well...

Time to pull the plug on lens changes ASAP.  I let the 18-135 go, as the recent hike made it clear that in good weather I'd prefer primes.  I picked up yet another 18-55WR for foul-weather shooting; this not only good enough for me but nicer on the lens fund and much more compatible with my 52mm filter set!

I also bit the bullet and picked up a used DA70 Limited to keep the DA40 company.  So much for that lens fund, and hence the cry of "uncle"!  This pair squeezes out the 50mm Sigma macro and puts the 100mm Promaster in charge of extreme closeups, and light tele duties too for that matter.  Two of Pentax' famous Limited pancake primes, a fully-manual but very talented 28mm and a flyweight 'plastic fantastic' 100mm macro, with a fisheye for just the right moments and two venerable SMC-M small telephotos when the DA55-300 seems inappropriate.  Hmmm, well that could happen I suppose... ?

A few others can go now too, though for the price of postage it might not be worth the effort - but we'll see.  A couple of other 50mm lenses should go besides the macro - though perhaps the 50mm/1.7 'A' or f/2 'M' lens should stick around for times when f/2.8 won't do.  Given the hi-ISO talents of the K-5 though, those times are impressively rare!

So today's roster, sorted by filter size:
49mm* - DA40, SMC-A 50/1.7, DA70, SMC-M 135mm
52mm* - Rikenon 28mm + 70-150, SMC-M 200mm (all fully manual), DA18-55WR
58mm - DA55-300
nosuch - Sigma 15mm fisheye

* I have a 49-52mm step ring so I can pretend these are equivalent.  Somewhere I have a 52-58 step as well, if I really feel like leaving filters at home!

a month's trials and a fine hike

I took a pretty walk early in October, trying out several lenses in turn.  The bag carried the DA18-135 for simplicity, plus a Sigma 15 fisheye, Rikenon 28 and the DA40.  The Sigma 50 stayed in the car, victimized yet again by the DA40.  Sadly the Promaster 100 macro stayed at home; it would have been a fine complement to the other primes.  Also sadly, the 49-52mm step ring did not come, so the DA40 had no polarizer like the 28 and 18-135.  While I'm filled with regrets, the Rikenon 70-150 f/4 really should have been there too!

At first the 18-135 got all the shots and I found it satisfactory - especially since it was my only 'telephoto' option! - but weather conditions were perfect at the time, so its weather sealing was of no value here.  No need for silent focus either, as I was essentially alone and 6500 feet up!  So after taking a shot at  around 40mm I popped on the Limited prime and enjoyed it for a while.  The smaller camera/lens combo was most pleasant!  It alternated with the all-manual Rikenon at times, which with the cPL filter took several powerful images.  I must say that overall I preferred the primes as my way to shoot.  Having fairly large FL gaps is not big to me, and 15-28-40 felt just fine; I would like to add the DA70 some day to fill the space to the 100, but I also have a Rikenon 70-150 zoom that would have served very well - sadly it also stayed home. 

At the turnaround point on my hike I broke out the 15mm fisheye, and it was great fun.  Starpoints made the sun into an artistic light source, and the larch and huckleberry shrubs were great color features.  I'm always impressed that the sun can be in an image yet exposure doesn't overcompensate with a black foreground!  Soon the 15mm went back in the pack, and the DA40 was back on.  The 40 and 28 got plenty of use on the way back.

So what did I learn?  (And will it stick?)
I think the 18-55WR is enough WR range for my purposes, and the $300 saved can go back in the fund for a DA70.  I will need to try that 70-150 f/4 with the other two primes first however - as the Rikenon 28 makes the DA21 less vital to my plans, the 70-150 may restrain my 'need' for the DA70.  I'm still on the fence for a macro, with two fine choices: the Sigma 50/2.8 EX DG has been sidelined by the DA40 and the Promaster 100/3.5 lost its chance to shine this trip.  So a few more tests to winnow the set are needed.

More shots from this trip on Picasa!

dominoes

This is what happens to supposedly-stable lens collections: a period of stability and satisfaction ends with a deal that's just too good to pass up.  Whether or not it really was too good the transaction happens - and one deals with the aftershocks.  If it wasn't all that good after all it moves on; if it's really good though, other lenses are re-evaluated for either quality (not as good?) or focal length (this lens FL of x makes an adjacent-FL lens or two expendable) or some other quality (why do I now own so many macro primes?).

The Sigma 50mm f/2.8 macro seemed my ideal 'last lens' that fit perfectly into the slot between 28 and the 70-150 zoom.  It has AF, it's reasonably fast (both focus and aperture) and 1:1 macro.  But then came the 100mm f/3.5 macro, which is pretty nearly as good at all those things in a longer yet lighter form.  Yes it's just 1:2 without the adapter element, but I seem to be OK with that 90% of the time*.   If it's so good at 100mm I won't carry the 70-150 - but then I have 28 50 and 100 - two of which are macros?  Might as well lighten the load with a manual 50 to go with the all-manual 28!  Yes that makes sense, and here's a 50/1.7 SMC-A for aperture control on the camera, how nice.  A few chats and clicks and it's on its way.

Then shock #2 hits in the form of a bargain used DA40 Limited pancake lens.  One has to see this lens to understand what 'pancake' means in the lens business - and it seems one must try a Limited lens to know what that means!  This will be my first, and seldom does one stop at just one.  The 50/1.7 has not arrived yet but it seems that its place has been stolen away: here is a tiny, sharp and fast-AF gem .. and 'tis said that the DA40 works with film or a future full-frame digital Pentax, so both my 50s are matched even there!

Now far too many dominoes are near to falling - time for 'damage' control, meaning a few choice lenses must go to feed the new beasts.

In any case, the journey continues for "my ideal kit".
I'm fully aware that it's a myth yet I cannot help but seek it...

* hey, that 49mm macro adapter fits on Limited primes!

trying out another macro

Well, here's just one comparison between the 'new' Promaster 100mm f//3.5 and my Sigma 50mm f/2.8.  Both are shot around 1:2 closeup, which is the 100mm native max (but comes with a matched closeup lens for 1:1).  Both look quite nice and sharp here at f/4.5; the Sigma is a touch bluer and lower key but other shots did not show this.  Another shot was more of a bokeh torture test and showed the Sigma looks a bit better in that regard - but at double the focal length so many parameters change!  So often in testing a single shot will show things that will not prove repeatable, so one must learn a little then learn to let go of what one wants to believe is "always true".

This Promaster was surprising, as it looks identical to the somewhat-revered Cosina known as the "plastic fantastic".  That lens has reviews in many places, and once again shows that what is "always true" isn't.  The Cosina feels fragile, sounds like a meat grinder when focusing, and cannot be used in manual focus because of the grip/slip nature of turning the ring by hand.

I will let stand the plastic part, as it does feel like a less-durable plastic than most lenses - but like every screw-drive lens I own the AF is a short buzz and MF has less resistance than I'd like.  I posted at pentaxforums and found another owner with the same result.. so something has changed since those Cosina reviews were released, apparently.  I paid more than the average Cosina price too, but given how it exceeds the reviews I'm OK with that.

In any case, a 205-gram 100mm lens that can do 1:2 closeups with no effort sounds good to me!  It could shake up the kit again around 50mm if this knocks the Sigma off its macro perch.  I expect the Sigma is better overall - but one thing that is "always true" is that no macro lens is a bad lens.  That can't always be true can it? :^)  The Tamron 90 is an excellent lens but at 400+ grams it stayed home too often; at about half the weight for similar results, the Promaster can stick around a while.

OK maybe just one more.

I need to step away from the computer for a while and take some photos.  I just perused the auction site in search of a 100mm± prime lens at a budget price.  That would mean manual focus and exposure, at best an f/4 macro type but not likely.  Hmmm, the notorious 'plastic fantastic' 100mm f/3.5 macro is up for a slight surcharge.  Manufactured by Cosina but sold under many labels, it's known as a cheap-feeling loud-focusing lens that is optically incredible.  Loud focusing but auto not manual - if it's too loud just go into MF mode!  It also has electronic aperture (the 'A' setting in Pentax-speak), an unexpected touch.  So it's on its way, and I really must stop now.

One of many reviews are at the Minolta/dyxum site - and here's one from photozone; scroll right to the bottom and see mechanical / optical / value ratings.  Ugly to look at, a joy to look through.  Enough said!

But hey, didn't I sell off a 90mm Tamron macro a few months ago in favor of the 50mm Sigma? 
While on the surface (and maybe even deeper?) that makes little sense I think it's reasonable; the Tamron was dense and large, and at over 400g was the sort of bulk I often choose to leave behind.  The Cosina (this one's a Promaster actually) may use ugly plastic but at 210g it's absurdly light - so light that I could take the SMC-M 50mm f/2 and this lens for less mass than the Sigma alone.  We'll see in a while if another kit-busting move is in the making; I don't think so just yet, but I seldom see it in advance!