Fun with the Pentax K5

[JMaher]

Carl,

I just looked over your PR gallery. All very nice. They make me want to visit there on vacation some day.

Jim

 

[scho]

Carl,

I just looked over your PR gallery. All very nice. They make me want to visit there on vacation some day.

Jim

Thanks Jim. This was primarily an R&R type vacation for us this time so we didn't explore the island very much. Plenty of sun, good food, and not crowded, except on Sunday which seems to be family beach day for everyone in San Juan.

 

[vincechu]

It's great that this thread's becoming more lively

Great to have you on board the k5 train Ashwin - I've long been a fan of your Leica work here and over at Steve Huff's site. What a killer prime set up you have, enjoy!

Lee - Love the cropped seascape (hope thats a word, if it isn't it is now;-) ) good use of aspect ratios again for the composition.

Carl - I love the pier shot, well done - you always seem to get a great amount of sharpness in your photos, do you use the hyperfocal distance technique?

More essay writing for me, so no photos for a while still :'(

 

[ashwinrao1]

Thanks again to everyone for such a warm reception. I must say that the Pentax K5 has been quite a revelation. To be able to fit an SLR with 3 lenses into one of my tiny Billingham Pola bags is amazing. Build quality is startlingly good. The camera is set up so well, very much so that it's clear that Pentax has advanced photogs like us in mind. But the thing that gets me the most is the dynamic range. IT's better than what I have gotten out of the M9. Each camera has its strengths, but for price-performance ratio, it's hard to go wrong here. I have been quite impressed with both the FA primes and the tiny 40 mm f/2.8 DA pancake, which appears to be a crackin' lens! I am very excited about it, as it is not much bigger then a lens cap.

Once the funds allow, I may try to pick up the 100 DA Macro, so any feedback on that would be great....

A few comments:

1. Carl, great kite surfing shot!!!
2. OlliL: Thank you very much. I'll try to hold up my end of the bargain and post regularly. Between here and the Leica forum, I may be quite busy
3. Tom, thanks for the kind words. I am loving the K-5...it's more impressive, by quite a bit, than my old 1D III and even the 5DII. The only camera, other than the M9, that has given me this much immediate satisfaction was the original 5D. The DR of the camera is its ace of spades!
4. Jono. Thanks for the feedback. Today, the 40 mm DA lens showed me the possibilities of how sharp this diminuitive set up can be.
5. Vince, thanks very much for the kind words. I am going to give these primes a good work out and see what they are made of. I hope to target the 15 prime and 100 Macro once I have had a few months to familiarize myself with my current set up...

 

[ashwinrao1]

And, a few more test shots, this time with the 40 mm f/2.8 DA wide open to about f.5.6, ISO 200-400, in evening lighting....my gosh this is a great lens! Reminds me of the Leica aspherics...hahah....

This is not my usual fare, but I do enjoy finding patterns in the urban chaos. While waiting for friends for dinner at a local eatery here in Ballard (Seattle neighborhood with some amazing fine dining), there are some fun "patterns" to see...

 

[ashwinrao1]

Not the cone's intent, I suppose...one more in color...

 

[Armanius]

Wow! That 100 is ridiculously nice! Great set of photos! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Armanius]

Great photos Carl! I enjoyed them all!

 

[Armanius]

Ok ... I just spent the last 30 minutes looking at all these great photos on this thread (and I'm still on the 3rd page of the thread). My lust for the K5 grows with each second! It's now 4 a.m. in Houston, and I need to go to sleep so that I can go to work tomorrow morning! What have you all done to me?

Hope to contribute to this thread in the near future.

Lusting for the K5 (and some nice lenses),
Armando

 

[Sapphie]

Armanius

But you have Leica and a Pany GH2 ...



Lee

 

[scho]

It's great that this thread's becoming more lively
Carl - I love the pier shot, well done - you always seem to get a great amount of sharpness in your photos, do you use the hyperfocal distance technique?

More essay writing for me, so no photos for a while still :'(

Thanks Vince. No, at least not at a conscious level

Thanks again to everyone for such a warm reception. I must say that the Pentax K5 has been quite a revelation. To be able to fit an SLR with 3 lenses into one of my tiny Billingham Pola bags is amazing. Build quality is startlingly good. The camera is set up so well, very much so that it's clear that Pentax has advanced photogs like us in mind. But the thing that gets me the most is the dynamic range. IT's better than what I have gotten out of the M9. Each camera has its strengths, but for price-performance ratio, it's hard to go wrong here. I have been quite impressed with both the FA primes and the tiny 40 mm f/2.8 DA pancake, which appears to be a crackin' lens! I am very excited about it, as it is not much bigger then a lens cap.

Once the funds allow, I may try to pick up the 100 DA Macro, so any feedback on that would be great....

A few comments:

1. Carl, great kite surfing shot!!!
...

Thanks Ashwin. Glad to see that you are enjoying the K5.

And, a few more test shots, this time with the 40 mm f/2.8 DA wide open to about f.5.6, ISO 200-400, in evening lighting....my gosh this is a great lens! Reminds me of the Leica aspherics...hahah....

This is not my usual fare, but I do enjoy finding patterns in the urban chaos. While waiting for friends for dinner at a local eatery here in Ballard (Seattle neighborhood with some amazing fine dining), there are some fun "patterns" to see...

Ashwin,
Wonderful series of pattern and texture shots with the little 40 limited.

Great photos Carl! I enjoyed them all!

Thanks Armanius and welcome to the forum.

 

[vincechu]

Ashwin, a great set with the 40, i love the colour that you get, very modern and bold - is this out of camera or in PP? Looks like you've triggered my LBA with the 40, I really like its tiny size and the IQ doesnt seem to disappoint ;-) Oh and in regards to the 100macro, Jono has experience with the newest version the weather resistant one, there's some lovely photos on the 1st page from him

Armanius

But you have Leica and a Pany GH2 ...



Lee

Lol, Armanius, if you find your Leica starts gathering dust, I'll be happy to look after it for you

 

[Armanius]

Armanius

But you have Leica and a Pany GH2 ...



Lee

It's the camera buying addiction!!! I have LBA too!

I do love the M9. I love the GH2 too. Both cameras have their limitations though. The M9 has amazing resolution, sharpness, and depth. But at high ISO ... ehh. And sometimes, manual focusing can be a drag. And I do need telephoto from time to time too. I like the GH2 because it's so small, light, has an articulated LCD, awesome EVF (better than any OVF I've ever used), fits my hand quite nicely, nice customizability in spite of the touch screen, and awesome video capabilities (not that I use it). BUT, it is also bad at high ISO.

The K5 seems to me to be the best all around camera. Very good IQ, good AF, in a relatively small weather resistant package.

I'm hoping that the K5 will be my last camera for 2011.

 

[chiquita]

Ohh, lots of lovely photos since I last looked! I decided to order my k5 today and it will be here next week. Shop says new batch with no stains (fingers crossed). Also ordered the DA40 after one heck of a lot of dithering. I decided it would be the best walk around for me, small and useable fov, sensible price etc. while I get used to the k5. I'll decide which other lenses I really need later. Hope the weather stays fine

 

[Armanius]

Ohh, lots of lovely photos since I last looked! I decided to order my k5 today and it will be here next week. Shop says new batch with no stains (fingers crossed). Also ordered the DA40 after one heck of a lot of dithering. I decided it would be the best walk around for me, small and useable fov, sensible price etc. while I get used to the k5. I'll decide which other lenses I really need later. Hope the weather stays fine

Congrats on the K-5!! Another person I can live vicariously through!

 

[Jim Radcliffe]

I received my K5 three days before I left for Mardi Gras and am still learning the camera but so far I am quite pleased. I took over 800 shots at Mardi Gras using the 18-135 only even though I have the 35mm Limited... never put that one on the camera.. the 18-135 allowed more versatility.

And then there were these from the other day at the auto graveyard....

Stilll getting to know the camera but so far I am impressed and happy with what it is delivering.

 

[OlliL]

Nice MG series. Impressive detail in those closeups.

 

[ashwinrao1]

Jim,
Congrats on the K5, and great to hear from you over in this neck of the woods. Wonderful captures, particularly the people ones and the old burnt out car...love your usual magic in post-processing.

I have had the K5 for about a week, as I tired of the bulk and "borning IQ" of the Canon (Sorry, Canon, other than the 50 an 135 L's, I just wasn't feeling it any more)....I hope that you find this to be a positive experience as well. You should throw that prime on there and have some fun. I have so far been quite impressed with the 31 FA and 40 DA primes, which I have used most in the past week....

 

[ashwinrao1]

Ok ... I just spent the last 30 minutes looking at all these great photos on this thread (and I'm still on the 3rd page of the thread). My lust for the K5 grows with each second! It's now 4 a.m. in Houston, and I need to go to sleep so that I can go to work tomorrow morning! What have you all done to me?

Hope to contribute to this thread in the near future.

Lusting for the K5 (and some nice lenses),
Armando

Armando, I'd love to see what you can do with the K5. Feed that gear lust, baby!!!

I personally have been stripping down my kit. Sold of the X1, so now it's the M9, Dlux 5, and K5 as my kit....

The X100 was on my list, but it may be a while before it becomes available.

Best,
Ashwin

 

[Jim Radcliffe]

Jim,
Congrats on the K5, and great to hear from you over in this neck of the woods. Wonderful captures, particularly the people ones and the old burnt out car...love your usual magic in post-processing.....

Ashwin, I've been a member here for some time.. I just do not post that much here. I am getting ready to sell all of my Canon gear.. it will probably be listed in the for sale section over the weekend. 5D MKII and L glass is going.

The K5 is a fun and well thought out camera. I must say that the 18-135 suffers from some pretty bad CA at times and with a UV filter on it there is very bad vignetting at 135mm. The 35mm/macro is a little jewel but in New Orleans it did not fit for what I needed to do.

If you wish to see tons of photos from Mardi Gras visit my Mardi Gras Photo Book website. Over 800 photos await you there, 99% taken with the K5.. the other 1% come from the GF1.

As you look at those photos keep in mind that most of them were quick grab shots and not what I consider my best work but they were shots taken so that people could download a photo of themselves at Mardi Gras. I was handing out cards with the web address so they could go home and download whatever they wished.

By the way, my GH2 finally shipped and will arrive next Tuesday. Thought they would never ship it. I ordered it in December.