Re: PESO 2018 - 038 - GDG

[James King]

Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote on Thu, 31 May 2018 06:26:41 -0700

> I'm pretty impressed by just how good the camera in the iPhone 8 Plus is …
> Here's a quick, hand-held pano snap as I crossed the Mary Avenue pedestrian 
> bridge in Cupertino on my bicycle yesterday:
> 
>  https://flic.kr/p/27CNqjU 
> 
> And that's at 1/4 scale of the original … the detail in the original is 
> incredible! 

The detail in your crop is great too - I knew the iPhone could take fine 
pictures in good light, but this panorama is amazingly good. I’d enjoy seeing 
the original.

Regards, Jim

*
"As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and 
more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the 
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White 
House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron."

-- H.L. Mencken
The Baltimore Evening Sun
(July 26, 1920)

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Re: PESO - Cactus Glow

[James King]

Marnie (aka Doe) wrote on Tue, 09 Jan 2018 13:12:59 -0800

> I returned with a friend to Ruth Bancroft Garden, cacti and succulents, Dec. 
> 2017. Last time we had been was in 2012. First time is was mid-day, this time 
> it was late afternoon. Which turned out to beneficial.
> I never feel I take as good shots when I am with someone. In addition to the 
> distraction, there is a feeling of being pressed for time. But, on the other 
> hand, with someone I go places I don't normally go.
> Probably show a few more then do a GESO.
> 
> 
> http://mapphotography.org/PAWS/pages/cactusglow.htm
> 
> 
> Comments welcome.
> 
> Marnie aka Doe :-)

Really love this image, Marnie.  Well seen and well captured.  Do you have any 
more images to share from this excursion?

Regards, Jim


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Re: Single Malt Scotch. Photography. There's a good combination!

[James King]

> Paul Stenquist wrote on Sun, 16 Apr 2017 19:41:01 -0700:
> 
> I frequently drink scotch when I take photos. It's an obvious pairing. :-)


Maybe, but I’d rather drink it sitting down.  That way I can drink more of it 
without falling over…

Regards, Jim

*
"As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and 
more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the 
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White 
House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron."

-- H.L. Mencken
The Baltimore Evening Sun
(July 26, 1920)


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Re: K-1 Autofocus

[James King]

jtainter wrote on Sun, 08 Jan 2017 17:22:24 -0800

 "Question: How is the K-1 autofocus, as compared to say, a K-5?"

 Thanks to Hoya, the K-5 had quite poor autofocus, especially in low light. 
On 
 the other hand, the K-5II and IIs (I have both) have excellent AF.

 I have used my K-1 only a little so far, but my impression is that it 
hunts 
 more than my K-5II and IIs cameras, and has more trouble finding focus in 
low 
 light. That is not to say that the K-1 AF is bad, just that it seems a 
step 
 backward from the excellent AF of the K-5II series cameras. I never used a 
K-3.

 If you are using a K-5, you will be pleased with the K-1 AF.
 
 On all my cameras, I use only central point autofocus.

Joe, my brief experience (2 weeks) with the K-1 and DFA 28-105 suggests that 
its autofocus is better than my previous bodies, but I use the nine point AF 
array.  Have you tried it?

Regards, Jim
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Re: OT: update to macOS Sierra

[James King]

Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote onTue, 25 Oct 2016 07:04:38 -0700:

> macOS Sierra 10.12.1 was released yesterday. 
> 
> Based on the release notes, it seems to have some work in it to address Adobe 
> printing issues and Microsoft Office problems, amongst other things. Folks on 
> another forum reported happiness after installing it. I don't have time to do 
> print testing until the weekend, but all in all it seems to be running nicely 
> on my systems. (I don't run Office so can't comment on that.)


I just updated my MacBook Pro to Sierra and found that I needed to 
download/install the latest Canon print drivers and Gutenprint 5.2.11 to get my 
Canon MG3200 wireless printer to function.

Regards, Jim
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Re: K-3 II shooting video: No Card In the Camera (Wanna bet?)

[James King]

Steve Cottrell wrote on  Fri, 15 Apr 2016 11:15:38 -0700:

 On 15/4/16, Bob W-PDML, discombobulated, unleashed:

 >Shallow depth of field in movies looks gimmicky to me, like excessive
 >use of slow motion. It feels as if the director is beating me over the
 >head by forcing me to look at what s/he wants, rather than making good
 >use of 'mise en scène' so the audience can see and think for themselves.

 AGREE.

 Shallow DoF is very overrated at the moment. It can be used, with care,
 to great effect.

 But not every fucking shot.

What he said.  

I used to spend  lot of time in the Leica User Forum and almost everyone seemed 
toi be in love with one of the various flavors of the Noctliux 50mm  (f1.1 to 
0.9).  Lots of boring photos…

Regards, Jim


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Re: Changes (aging) new beginnings

[James King]

Mark Stringer wrote on Mon, 28 Mar 2016 05:20:33 -0700

> (snip)
> 
> You know I think I paid about what a K-1 costs for my *istD. I still have it.

I was just thinking the same thing.  Accounting for inflation, the *ist-D was 
actually a good bit more expensive! 

And I, too, still have my *ist-D.  I still use it to “wake up” my old SDM 
lenses when they don’t want to AF after sitting on the shelf.

Regards, Jim
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Re: Couldn't wait to get my new Pentax full-frame

[James King]

Mark Roberts wrote on Sun, 20 Mar 2016 11:32:46 -0700

> Oh, by the way: It doesn't actually work. The shutter sticks, although it 
> seems to be in very nice condition other than that. Anyone know 
> where I might get it repaired? (If I can afford it)*

Mark, I’m pretty sure that Eric Hendrickson could fix it - he has repaired many 
old Pentax cameras for me, and at reasonable prices too. Email him at 
 with a description of the problem and he will give you an 
estimate of the cost to fix it.

Regards, Jim

*
"The optimist says this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears 
he is right.”
- J. Robert Oppenheimer




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Re: PESO 2016 - Vasquez & Leotta - GDG

[James King]

Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote on Sat, 12 Mar 2016 06:28:27 -0800

> I've printed this before, but my online display version was pretty small. I 
> made a new 11x14 print and thought it time to post a larger, nicer rendering; 
> the original post was too small to be satisfying. 
> 
>   http://flic.kr/p/FcjtkT
> 
> Made with the first FourThirds camera, the Olympus E-1 + ZD 11-22/2.8-3.5 
> lens. 
> Camera still going strong after 13 years... 
> 
> enjoy!

This is one of my favorites, Godfrey.  I really must order a print of it from 
you some day…

Regards, Jim


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Re: My K-7 is dying

[James King]

Doug Brewer wrote on Wed, 27 Jan 2016 06:33:23 -0800:

> Okay, now I see what you guys are saying about the K5ii. It doesn't seem to 
> be much more expensive than the original K5, depending on where you look.
> Thanks for all the advice. I may just go for the K5ii.

Doug, for what t’s worth I’d like to add my voice to the chorus championing the 
K-5II.  It’s a much better camera than the K-7 or the K-5 (I have both) and in 
some respects a better-rounded camera than the current K-3.  If you can find 
one at the right price in decent condition I’d say go for it - you won’t be 
disappointed.

Regards, Jim
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Re: tamron 28-75, foggy on the inside

[James King]

Larry Colen wrote on Sat, 23 Jan 2016 01:27:07 -0800:

> This afternoon I wanted to take some pictures of the river in my backyard. It 
> was raining, but not super hard, so rather than changing lenses, I just used 
> the 28-75 on the K-3.
> This evening I was photographing belt tests at the dojo, and it was getting 
> tough to see through the camera. I had condensation on one of the elements on 
> the inside of the lens. I could put the lens in front of my heater, but I'm 
> worried about it getting too hot and causing damage.
> Does anyone have any constructive solutions for solving this problem?
> 
> I took some photos of the lens tonight:
> 
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157663676462012

Larry, if you don’t have silica gel readily available, you might try using rice 
or popcorn as a moisture absorber.

Regards, Jim


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Re: tamron 28-75, foggy on the inside

[James King]

Larry Colen wrote on Sat, 23 Jan 2016 01:27:07 -0800:

> This afternoon I wanted to take some pictures of the river in my backyard. It 
> was raining, but not super hard, so rather than changing lenses, I just used 
> the 28-75 on the K-3.
> This evening I was photographing belt tests at the dojo, and it was getting 
> tough to see through the camera. I had condensation on one of the elements on 
> the inside of the lens. I could put the lens in front of my heater, but I'm 
> worried about it getting too hot and causing damage.
> Does anyone have any constructive solutions for solving this problem?
> 
> I took some photos of the lens tonight:
> 
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/ellarsee/sets/72157663676462012

Larry, if you don’t have silica gel readily available, you might try using rice 
or popcorn as a moisture absorber.

Regards, Jim


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Re: My Wife, Marlene

[James King]

Paul, I’m so sorry to read that Marlene has finally passed. Please accept my 
sympathy for you and your family during this difficult time.

At least she departed in the way she wanted, with her family and in the embrace 
of hospice care.

Regards, 
Jim King

*
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse 
and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this 
man's lawful prey." 
- John Ruskin (1819-1900)




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Re: PESO: What Color is This.

[James King]

Ann Sanfedele wrote on Sun, 26 Apr 2015 07:32:40:

> Salmon I think is best. but "coral" might work as well
> because even though coral need not be salmon colored it often is.

I think that “coral” would be the more appropriate name, at least in the US, 
and assuming my monitor calibration is on target.  Salmon is a slightly 
yellower hue, IMO. But as you note, coral can cover a range of hues.

As a color designer/paint formulator at DuPont for 30 years, one of my favorite 
tasks was naming the annual palette of colors we offered to the automotive 
companies. We tried to keep away from names which were too fanciful, seeking 
instead names which would evoke the color in the mind of someone reading it in 
a brochure. Not always easy…

Regards, Jim

*
A fanatic is one who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his original aim
- George Santayana






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Re: K-3 owners... you might want to hold off on 1.20 firmware

[James King]

Rob Studdert wrote on Thu, 23 Apr 2015 17:57:05 -0700:

  Paul, a half press of the shutter tuns on the rear screen back-lighting
  even when the screen is set to off, it's a real distraction for me
  shooting events plus I'm sure it would impact on battery life, they
  need to remedy it.

*
I did the update, and as I was troubled by this behavior, I found after a 
little fiddling around found that I can shut off the rear screen by toggling 
the preview lever for a moment.  Not perfect, and I’ll be glad if they issue a 
fix, but it suffices for now.

Alternatively, you can reinstall v1.1 over v1.20. I wasn’t aware of this 
possibility until I saw a post in the DPR Pentax Forum about it. Evidently 
Pentax recently enabled this possibility on their newer models.

Regards, Jim


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Warning about LR6.0

[James King]

Stanley Halpin wrote on Thu, 23 Apr 2015 09:08:15 -0700:

  Apparently by upgrading to LR6.0 I was automagically joining the Creative 
Cloud.
  I downloaded LR6.0 to my computer. NOT the Cloud version. I do not now nor 
have 
  I ever had a Cloud account. I don't want a Cloud account, I don't use 
  Photoshop. I might want to explore Mobile if I had the time and if it had 
  different features and if it allowed me to use something other than Adobe as 
my 
  cloud storage site. But for now, I don’t want it and have not asked for it.

  But when I open LR6.0, it tries to synch my 150k photos to my Cloud account 
and 
  displays a little note that I have 29 days left in my free Mobile trial. When 
I 
  log into my Adobe account, my only option with respect to my magical 30-day 
  free trial to Mobile is to purchase it. I just want it to GO AWAY! Adobe Help 
  Chat and Forums are basically dead due to the volume of people probably with 
  problems like mine. You may want to wait a few months before going to 6.0, 
give 
  them a chance to add a STOP button that lets you off the Cloud.

*
I read in one of the news announcements that Adobe will soon release the 
standalone version, so a little patience is in order.  I, for one, plan to wait…

Regards, Jim 


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RE: New Zoom Lenses

[James King]

Malcolm Smith wrote on Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:36:50 -0800

> (snip)
> 
> The real problem with selling an FF camera when the competition has had them
> on the camera store shelves for years, is who are they going to sell it to
> in a large enough quantity to justify the expense? Everyone who really
> needed an FF camera has already bought one.

Yes, but many who *want* one rather than *need* one are still out there. IMO 
most FF enthusiasts are in this category, myself included.

Regards, Jim



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Re: Surgery Outcome

[James King]

Keep your chin up, Paul, and know that all of us PDMLers are pulling for 
Marlene, you,  and your family during this difficult time.

Regards, Jim

> -Original Message- 
> From: Paul Stenquist
> Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2014 11:42 PM
> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
> Subject: Re: Surgery Outcome
> 
> 
> The surgery took five hours, longer than expected. The doc found a number of 
> affected lymph nodes, including one close to the aorta, so a lot of precise 
> work was required. He also found a second tumor in the small intestine. The 
> primary tumor in the colon was very large. When I spoke to hem after the 
> surgery he wasn?t optimistic but didn?t say it was hopeless. I asked if 
> there was a chance for full recovery and he said there?s always a chance. 
> Not exactly encouraging but enough to give me hope. Worse than I expected 
> but not as bad as it might have been if there was liver involvement.
> 
> I will remain optimistic, although I?m not as hopeful as I was yesterday 
> morning. Will get more information and a more clear prognosis as the medics 
> complete the pathology of the tissue that was removed. In any case, chemo 
> will start as soon as Marlene has her strength back. The doc said radiation 
> therapy is a possibility as well.

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My Wife, Marlene

[James King]

Paul Stenquist wrote on Thu, 11 Sep 2014 20:18:06 -0700:

> Marlene is having surgery at 10 am tomorrow for colorectal cancer. No other 
> organs involved but quite a few lymph nodes must be removed, including one 
> next 
> to the aorta. Been sorting this out since she was diagnosed last month. Not 
> easy, but It’s the hand we were dealt. Prayers and positive thoughts 
> appreciated.

My thoughts will be with you and your family during this difficult time. I join 
the others in this thread in hoping for a positive outcome and a speedy 
recovery for Marlene.

Regards, Jim
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Re: Need help choosing a photo from 4

[James King]

J.C. O’Connell wrote on Thu, 29 May 2014 14:03:18 -0700:

> how about this crop based on #1 :
> 
> 
> http://www.jchriso.com/temp/flower052914.jpg

I like this crop - it eliminates some of the background clutter and what 
remains helps the balance of the composition.  Good eye!

Regards, Jim


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Re: Want

[James King]

Paul Stenquist wrote on Sun, 09 Mar 2014 13:59:21 -0700

> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/898839-REG/Sigma_340109_35mm_f_1_4_DG_HSM.html

I was considering this lens for a while but decided to stick with my FA 31 LTD 
after comparing reviews of the Sigma with reviews of the FA 31 LTD.  I’d be 
interested in hearing comments from anyone who has shot both of them, though.

Regards, Jim



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Re: A Camera for Jim King

[James King]

Miserere wrote on Thu, 23 Jan 2014 16:02:43 -0800:

> I have a camera for Jim King. Behold the King Jim camera!:
> 
> http://akihabaranews.com/2014/01/15/article-en/king-jim-camera-equipped-mouse-1534514126
> It even comes with an accessory mouse, ahem.
> 
> :-)
> 
> Cheers,
>—M.

I wonder what King Jim means in Cantonese?  Probably “Foolish photo gear 
collector”...

Regards, Jim

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OT - Saw an Olympus OM-D in the Wild Today

[James King]

Steve Cottrell posted on Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:02:18 -0800:

(snip)

> There's a retro Fuji offering released in 5 days.

> 

> My attention has been had.

I’m really eager to see what Fuji brings - I’m loving my X-E2 but am interested 
in a MILC with a larger EVF.  Wonder what other features Fuji will deliver?

Regards, Jim



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Re: Help request, who knows a lens repair service that will even look at older third party lenses?

[James King]

P.J. Alling wrote on Sun, 14 Jul 2013 08:19:58 -0700:

> My Vivitar S1 70-210mm f2.8~4.0, the third version with the A contacts took a 
> fall of about 2 1/2 feet to a concrete floor. Everything seems to be all 
> right except the aperture lever is binding just ever so much   much as I felt 
> comfortable doing, while still thinking I'd get it back together, and was 
> unable to discover where the lever is binding, though it's just enough to 
> keep it from moving freely through part of it's travel. Even at that I 
> managed to lose one small screw.
> Any new Pentax equipment I'd send to C.R.I.S. Older stuff I'd send to 
> Pentaxs.com, but I've never damaged an older non Pentax lens I thought was 
> worth having repaired, so I'm at a loss.
> Any suggestions would be welcome, preferably within the continental U.S., but 
> Canada probably isn't out of the question. Though I'm not sure what kind of 
> hoops I'll have to jump through to get a used lens for repair through customs.

If KEH can't help, you might consider trying Paul Ebel:

Paul Ebel Lens Services
420 21st Street North, Suite #2
PO Box 141
Menomonie, WI 54751

Paul has repaired old lenses and cameras for me in the past.

Regards, Jim


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Re: GESO - Bessaflex

[James King]

Derby Chang wrote on Sun, 30 Jun 2013 04:56:21 -0700:

> A few weeks ago, I acquired a nice example of the rare-ish Voigtlander 
> Bessaflex in black. What a pretty camera. Takes the same Voigtlander grip and 
> trigger winder as their R rangefinders, and the feel of the body is pretty 
> similar too. In other words, nice and solid.
> http://members.iinet.net.au/~derbyc/13/06/bessaflex/index.html

Several years ago I bought a silver Bessaflex from Stephen Gandy - one of the 
last he had in stock at Cameraquest, I believe.  I agree that it's a nice 
camera, sturdy although not quite as nicely finished as a Pentax.  I used mine 
with the C-V Ultron 40mm f2 lens, as I could not find the C-V 58mm f1.4 Nokton 
I wanted in M42 mount, an extremely rare lens.   It was a nice combination.

Regards, Jim

Also upgraded to LR5 this month. Spotting film scans is now half-way enjoyable.
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Re: Finally after 6 years...

[James King]

Mark Roberts wrote on Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:34:43 -0800:

> It looks like Focus Magic is *finally* getting around to releasing a
> 64-bit version of their Photoshop plug-in. (I bought the 32-bit
> version in 2007.) The beta is out now and seems to work very well in
> my limited testing so far. Far better than the lame Topax InFocus I've
> been using for the past couple of years.

Thanks for the heads-up, Mark.  Like you, I much preferred Focus Magic over 
other deconvolution programs and I've missed it since moving to OS X 7 and 8.  
I signed up to try the Mac beta at their website.

Regards, Jim

*
“The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other 
nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” 
- Alexis de Tocqueville


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Re: PESO: Film Day

[James King]

Paul Stenquist wrote on Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:56:54 -0800:

> A couple of weeks back I shot a roll of Portra 400 in my Leica iiif RD plus 
> Summicron 2.0 Collapsible. My Epson 500 arrived today, so Iscanned a couple 
> of 
> frames. The building to the rear was designed by Eliel Saarinen. I don't know 
> who created the sculpture in the foreground. 
> 
> http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=16959204&size=lg

I believe that this sculpture is called "For Mother Teresa" and the sculptor is 
Mark di Suvero.  It's one of many wonderful things to see on the grounds of the 
Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Regards, Jim

*
Jim King
jamesk8...@mac.com





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Re: OT - Digital Rev Makes Amends for Supplying 'Used' Camera

[James King]

Steve Cottrell wrote on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:14:09 -0800:

> 
> An interesting read!

Interesting indeed, Cotty.  Would that all camera dealers (including some well 
known ones in New York) would treat their customers as well when they make a 
mistake.

Regards, Jim
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Re: Butchered ebay listing, wrong on many counts

[James King]

Stan Halpin wrote on Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:08:58 -0800:

> Seems like a decent price considering its rarity! And those Tak autofocus 
> zoom 
> 50/1.4 lenses were said to be quite good . . .

And quite rare, too…

Regards, Jim
*
Jim King
jamesk8...@mac.com





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Re: PESO: What a K-5 can do

[James King]

Ralf R. Radermacher wrote on Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:17:34 -0800:

> The only way to get this shot was through the iron bars of a gate, hence
> no possibility to use a tripod. 
> 
> K-5, SMC-A 2.8 24 mm, f4, ISO 800, 3 freehand exposures 1/8 to 1/60 s
> Enfuse plugin for Lightroom:
> 
> 
> http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/770012/display/29854910
>  
> 
> As always your comments...
> 
> All the best from Dunkirk,
> Ralf

Another spectacular image, Ralf.  For you it may be commonplace, but for the 
rest of us…

Regards, Jim
*
Friendship is the ultimate intimacy.  It is the ability to speak honestly 
without fear of your words being used against you, to be oneself without fear 
of judgement for our mistakes or our life choices. 
- David L. Tutor





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RE: K-mount 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.2

[James King]

Krisjanis Linkevics Tue, 04 Dec 2012 06:20:18 -0800:

> Let me rehash my point. The 50 f/1.2 is nice. Very nice. But they are only 
> manual focus and you wouldn't be able to casually focus it at f/1.2 in low 
> light anyway. Unless your eyesight, hand-eye coordination and viewfinder 
> precision are well above average and/or you use static targets. And if 
> sharp-ish eyes and blurry nose/ears is your thing or you are not going to use 
> it at f/1.2 at tight portrait distances.

Granted. The 50/1.2 is not an easy lens to master - but there are images where 
the narrow DOF and creamy OOF areas are desirable and worth the effort IMO.
However, the low-light advantage is very slim and not of much value given the
excellent high-ISO performance of today's DSLRs 

> The going rate for the FA50 is less than half of the various 50/1.2. You get 
> a 
> little more real "extra light" over the f/1.7 and autofocus for that. I would 
> get the FA50/1.4 right away if my f/1.7 wasn't autofocus or if I had a buyer 
> for it.

If it is an "either/or" choice I would agree. But some of us are fortunate 
enough to 
be able to afford both; granted, the OP is probably not be in that position.

> I never made any comments about 50/1.2 being inferior to other 50s at f/4 or 
> anything to that effect. I said it was nice, what more do you want? :)
> It is, however, a "specialty" lens with an appropriate price tag.

I felt that you were damning the 50/1.2 with faint praise and wanted to make it 
plain 
that this lens has its own special virtues (at least in my eyes). If this was 
not your 
intent, I'm sorry I jumped to that conclusion. Yes, it's a specialty lens and 
some 
(perhaps most) will not be attracted to what it has to offer. However, I find 
it that it 
has its charms.

As I concluded in my earlier reply, YMMV...

> The reaction from the non-photographer members of my family when showing them 
> kids pictures made at f/1.2 has always been "This is nice and all, but if 
> only 
> you had used a real lens, we would have decent pictures now". Yes, apparently 
> I 
> aim to start a holy f/1.2 war here.

No "war," just a difference in opinion based on a different scale of values. ;<)

Regards, Jim


"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities 
are wrong." 

-  Voltaire


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RE: K-mount 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.2

[James King]

Here's an example of the very shallow DOF obtainable with the Pentax 50mm f1.2. 
 Check out the pattern in the fabric of the chair arm: 
http://www.pbase.com/jamesk8752/image/54737744  Handheld, 1/45 sec @ f1.2, ISO 
1600, tungsten illumination, Pentax *ist-D.

I like the OOF rendering as well.

(Unfortunately our dear Tasha is no longer with us…)

Regards, Jim


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RE: K-mount 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.2

[James King]

Krisjanis Linkevics wrote on Mon, 03 Dec 2012 05:18:44 -0800:

> Don't bother with the f/1.2. It is nice and all but price/performance is 
> totally unacceptable.

Kris, I have to disagree with you on this, at least in regards to IQ.  I have 3 
copies of the Pentax 50/1.2 lenses and while they are a bit dreamy wide open, 
when stopped down a bit they are very good - as good as or better than my 
Pentax 50/1.4 lenses, especially when considering rendering.  As to cost, no 
argument there - they are very pricey today.

They are beautifully made examples of the lensmakers' art from the era before 
"plastic fantastic" became the order of the day, and as a collector I'm glad to 
have them. Of course YMMV…

Regards, Jim




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Re: B&H - no respect for Pentax

[James King]

Perhaps you didn't search the B&H site.  They have several Pentax bodies priced 
significantly lower than last week right now.  For example, the K-5 IIs is 
$1049, a $250 discount from list.  Other deals are available as well.

I placed my order over the weekend.

Regards, Jim


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RE: One of the advantages of optical viewfinders

[James King]

Bob W wrote on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:45:50 -0700:

> I've got one of those on my trousers.

What?  You mean you have one one that divides into three pieces and extends 
less than one inch???  You probably shouldn't make a public announcement...

Regards, Jim



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Re: PESO - A view to Lofoten

[James King]

AlunFoto - Jostein Øksne wrote on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:31:41 -0700

> Apologies for posting a bloglink only, but I haven't figured out how to 
> extract 
> a direct image link from my cellphone browser yet. 
> 
> http://alunfoto.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-view-to-lofoten.html

"Darkly beautiful" is an apt description of this image.  Thanks for sharing.

Regards, Jim
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Why kids get into photography? (nsfw)

[James King]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l21O77WcZE&sns=em

Regards, Jim


Sent from my iPad

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Re: Pentax Q Price Cut

[James King]

Steven Desjardins wrote on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 19:36:56 -0700

> One more point.  The $200 price tag on the 8.5 mm viewfinder is now
> completely ludicrous.  It would make the Q a much better shooting
> experience for $100 (or less).  ;-)

I agree - how Pentax expects to get $200+ for this finder is beyond me. Anyway, 
I figure that my CV 50m bright line finder will serve just fine. No finder is 
accurate at all subject distances anyway.

Regards, Jim


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Pentax Q Price Cut

[James King]

For those of you who felt that the Q was way overpriced at introduction 
(including me), Amazon is currently offering the kit with black body and 01 
standard lens for $380. Might just take a flyer on it at this price…

Regards, Jim
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Re: PESO #27 - Green, Red, Yellow

[James King]

Boris Liberman wrote on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 10:59:55 -0700

> Hi!
> 
> http://pentax-ways.blogspot.co.il/2012/06/peso-2012-27-green-red-yellow.html
> 
> My new toy - Samsung Galaxy S II is not half bad as a little snapper that is 
> always with me. I am starting to think that the likes of Sony NEX with couple 
> of adapters (K-mount and Leica M-mount) can be my next enablement. It is 
> unfortunate that Ricoh does not upgrade their GXR system modules (50 mm macro 
> and Leica M-mount) with 16 MP sensor from Sony, or I would have bought these 
> probably on the spot…

Boris, don't diss the Ricoh Mount A12 - it does a better job than one might 
expect for a 12 MP sensor because of the lack of an AA filter and the offset 
microlenses. :<)  I have one and I'm not sure that more pixels are needed to 
get IQ close to the M9.  It's better than the 16 mP A5n as it is…

Regards, Jim
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Re: New DA50/1.8 Plastic Mount

[James King]

P. J. Alling wrote on Wed, 23 May 2012 09:20:38 -0700

> Lenses are a long term investment, at least they used to be, plastic on a 
> bearing surface implies the opposite. No matter what plasticizers are lost 
> over time and the material becomes brittle and subject to cracking. 
> Eventually something important will break. Heat will exacerbate this process. 
> If the lens was cheap enough to be disposablethat would be fine but it's not 
> really.

It ain't neccesarily so!  I'm confident that the Pentax plastic lens mount is 
made of a modern engineering plastic; these are heat-resistant, often 
self-lubricating, and do not contain volatile/migratory plasticizers.  Unless 
subjected to severe mechanical stress it's likely that they will outlive the 
user…

Regards, Jim
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Re: K-5 and *new* lens purchase

[James King]

Hi Darren.

Congrats on your new K-5 and Sigma lens.  As the buyer in your "unexpected lens 
sale" I'm glad to have contributed in my small way to your purchase of this 
outstanding camera.  I hope ( and fully expect) that you'll be delighted with 
it, and I look forward to receiving that SMC Tak 45-125 zoom for my collection 
in the near future!

Regards, Jim

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Re: Mr. Bunnell on lens pricing...

[James King]

Christine Nielsen wrote on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:40:14 -0700

> http://nedbunnell.posterous.com/lens-prices-and-our-channel-strategy-in-the-u

Seems like Pentax is not alone in doing this.  Nikon has already made a similar 
move: 
http://nikonrumors.com/2011/10/14/the-new-nikon-us-pricing-policy-explained.aspx/

Regards, Jim



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Re: Considering how much Leicas cost...

[James King]

Steven Desjardins wrote on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:26:32 -0700

> It would go so well with my white loafers . . .

Just think…  A white Leica, white shoes, and loud sports coat - a full 
Cleveland!

Regards, Jim



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Re: Poll: The Quietest Mechanical 35mm SLR

[James King]

Frank Theriault wrote on Tue, 02 Aug 2005 18:16:33 -0700:


Well Cotty ridiculed me when I opined that the MX is the quietest
mechanical 35mm SLR that I've heard.

Admittedly, my experience is limited.

So, now I'm curious.  In your opinion and experience, what's the
quietest 35mm SLR?

This could be fun.

Or not...  

cheers,
frank


I have 24 film bodies dating from 1964 to 2004, and the quietest of 
them is the MZ-S.


Regards, Jim

OT Not a bad deal I guess

[James King]

Not bad at all; I paid $500 for mine new last year.  Some guys have all 
the luck!

Re: Premium prices for used Pentax glass continues!

[James King]

A K30 f2.8 is listed at KEH at the bargain price of $349, so $250 for 
Dojarek's lens on eBay  doesn't look like such a bad deal...


Regards, Jim

WTB: A28 f2 lens

[James King]

I've been trying to find one of these for sale for several months now 
with no success - they seem to be as rare as hens teeth!.  Any of you 
have one you're willing to part with?  If so, please email me.  Thanks!


Regards, Jim

Mirror lenses & DS

[James King]

Collin, here is a test shot I made with a Tamron SP 500mm mirror lens 
on my D.  The sign is about 100 yards away.  Note the peculiar bokeh.


http://www.pbase.com/jamesk8752/image/42249768.jpg

Here is a crop of the center of the image.  Sharpness is not too bad, 
but contrast is low.


http://www.pbase.com/jamesk8752/image/42249808

Have fun at the game!

Zoom for ist-D and RTF

[James King]

Your best bet is probably the DA 18-55, as it is really inexpensive and 
gives a 35mm equivalent FL of 27mm.


I have used the inexpensive Sigma 24-70 f3.5-5.6 HF zoom (ca. $130) for 
this situation and it works just fine.  Its quality is a lot higher 
than the price would lead you to expect, its light, and it doesn't 
vignette the onboard flash.  The only drawback is that it only delivers 
a 35mm FL equivalent of 36mm.


Another possibility is the Pentax FA 20-35mm F3.5-4.5 zoom, but it 
costs a lot more.  No vignetting, and it delivers a 30mm equivalent FL.


Regards, Jim

Re: LX Screens in an MX

[James King]

Just wondering how difficult it is to replace the focusing screen in
an MX. Is it as easy as changing screens in the LX.
Yes, just be carefull of the foam when using supplied tweezers.
And about the
metering when that's done, will the MX meter read over or under
"normal?"  What about with the newer, brighter LX screens?
LX screens in the MX will cause a 1/3 EV underexposure. Newer screens 
are
slightly brighter but rare.

John
I've been looking for the brighter LX screen Sc-69 to use in my LX but 
have not come across one.  Any ideas where to find this rare item?

Regards, Jim

Re: CCD cleaning

[James King]

On Wed, 9 Mar 2005 15:14:32 EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
wrote:

Obviously a small (higher) f stop shows up fine detail that might get 
blurred
with a shallower depth of field.

This is precisely what is not obvious to me. If the dust is on the
front element of the lens yes, it will be more visible at smaller
apertures. But we are talking about sensor dust, which is right on the
sensor, without a lens to "focus" it.
j
Well, I'm not a physicist but it seems to me that at small aperatures a 
very small cone of light is reaching the sensor, while at large 
aperatures the cone of light is very broad.  The narrow cone is more 
collimated (like a condenser enlarging lens) and images the dust 
particles better than the broad cone of light (like a cold light source 
enlarging lens).

Maybe it's more complicated than this, but this explanation seems to 
make sense and accords well with practical experience with enlargers as 
well.  I stand ready to be corrected by the graybeard mavens here.  ;<)

Regards, Jim

Re: Shift lens

[James King]

On 8 Mar 2005 at 21:29, Mishka wrote:
somehow, many PC'ed shots look very unnatural to me.
to me this is an effect that's applicable to very special situations
(basically, when you are shooting flat-looking objects). any
3d-ness ruins it.
seems even more special-purpose then fisheye...
I've determined distortion correction factors to be used in PTLens for 
all my
WA glass and now when I look at any uncorrected wide images they look 
quite
unnatural as most exhibit subtle barrel distortion.

Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998
Rob-
Any chance you could share your PTLens correction factors with the rest 
of us?  It might save me a lot of work!  ;<)

Regards, Jim

Re: How good or bad?

[James King]

Quoting Margus Männik <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
Hi,
lurkin' around in komkon.org pages I found SMC F 35-70 /4-5.6 lens
tested... However, I don't see such a lens in Bojdar Dimitrov pages. 
Is
this lens something very uncommon or just an error?
http://plg.komkon.org/f35-70_4-56/f35-70_4-56.html
Perhaps a misprint for SMC F 35-80 /4-5.6
ERNR
More likely a misprint for 35-70mm f4.  Looking at the content, which 
is only photos showing flare tests, it seems likely that this is the 
second page of photos made using the f4 zoom.  The first page, properly 
captioned, shows sharpness tests.

Regards, Jim

Re: SMCP-FA versus Takumar-F? Surprise!

[James King]

On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 11:03:50 +, John Whittingham 
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The 28-** lenses seem to have gradually declined in quality since the 
28-105
FA power zoom and it shows in MTF scores, build quality and other 
areas.

The old power zoom had good contrast and sharpnes, reasonable build 
quality,
rapid and precise AF, very little flare, no zoom creep, good close 
focus 1:3
it even retracts to it's minimum length when powered off :)

They're still listed new in the UK at around £300!
What would you recommend from the current catalog for a "normal" zoom?
 Of course, the 28-70/2.8 looks nice, but my wallet says otherwise.
Any thoughts on the 28-105/4-5.6 IF or the 24-90/3.5-4.5 AL?
--
Scott Loveless
Born free.  Taxed to death.
Scott-
I have the original FA 28-105 (w/power zoom) and it is a well-made, 
sharp lens although a bit heavy.  I used this a lot when I was shooting 
slides on my PZ-1 (now gone).  The later 28-105 versions are said not 
to be as sharp, although the current f 3.2-4.5 version has its 
partisans.

As most of my shooting these days is with the *ist-D I am now using the 
FA 24-90.  It's rather sloppily constructed with LOTS of play in the 
lens barrel when zoomed out, but it seem to take sharp images.  It's a 
lot lighter as well.  The glories of plastic...

If you want/need F2.8 you might consider the Tamron SP 28-75.  It's 
heavier than the FA 24-90 but is very good for a non-Pentax lens, 
almost as sharp as primes.

As always, YMMV and others here may opine differently.
Regards, Jim

Re: How good or bad?

[James King]

I'll second that, Fred.  I bought the Pentax-A 35-70 f4 for use on my 
LX, and it is a really nice piece of workmanship, although a bit heavy 
(balances fine though).  Takes sharp photos and the macro is pretty 
good too - I think it goes down almost to 2:1.

Regards, Jim (Newbie here; been lurking for a while, though.)
On Mar 7, 2005, at 2:59 PM, Fred wrote:
it's quite compact / light and SMC Pentax lens after all, not some 
Sigma
or Tokina, right?
I'm not familiar with that particular Pentax zoom, Margus, but your 
"not
some Sigma or Tokina" comment got my attention - there ~are~ some good
Tokina zooms, you know -  - (in the "normal range" zoom, the ATX 
35-70/2.8
comes to mind, for example).

If the A 35-80/4-5.6 doesn't work out for you, you might keep your eyes
open for an A 35-70/4, which is also a neat (and compact) "normal 
range"
zoom, too, with a very good macro function.

Fred