Official Mike's Stupendous Pentax K-1 and K-3 III thread

Speed has never been a requirement for me, I prefer slow [emoji38]

Can't wait to see some images on here taken with it. I've been looking at Flickr and like what I see.
 
Never had an issue with the D750 just got bored of it


I think you'd get bored of the Pentax too, unless you have a soft spot for old legacy lenses ... which you do not ... Looks a nice camera, but I'd choose a D800 over it any day.
 
Speed has never been a requirement for me, I prefer slow [emoji38]

Can't wait to see some images on here taken with it. I've been looking at Flickr and like what I see.

Yeah same here, I don't shoot anything that requires much speed!

Not finding lenses to be an issue either, 24-70 is fine and there are plenty older lenses which stand up to the 36mp (the FA lenses are great.
Rumored that there will be new modern Pentax primes early next year.
 
The only thing that puts me off is, the understanding that AF point selection has to be done in the menus rather than via a dial or joystick like on the Canon 7D2 .. i make a lot of use in AF selection. thinking it will erk me no end.
 
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How do the SMC manual focus lenses stand up to the modern digital K1?


Anyone tried them?

Personally, no but there seems to be plenty others using older manual focus glass and seeming very happy with the results.

The only thing that puts me off is, the understanding that AF point selection has to be done in the menus rather than via a dial or joystick like on the Canon 7D2 .. i make a lot of use in AF selection. thinking it will erk me no end.

Yeah that can be a little annoying, however you can set it just to use the directional controls to move the point like on a Nikon.
 
Well a month on and I can honestly say I'm hooked on the Pentax! Its a belter of a camera and I can't really think of anything that lets it down.
I picked up quite a few bits of glass over Christmas as they were on sale including a 15-30, 31mm, 43mm and 100mm.. so I'm fairly well kitted out now!!
 
How do the SMC manual focus lenses stand up to the modern digital K1?


Anyone tried them?

I have been using several old Pentax lenses on the A7rii, A7s, and previously on a K5. The two smc-A lenses I have, the 50mm f1.4 and 35mm f2.8, are both excellent. I can't see me ever replacing them with anything more modern. Going older, I also have a 200m f3.5 Takumar preset lens that holds it own at 42mp (plus, with 18 aperture blades, it has awesome bokeh).
 
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For anyone buying a K1 there is a great lens database http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/

Reviews in my experience are generally pretty accurate. There's a huge amount of old lenses available, especially if you are happy with manual focus.


Apart from the two I mentioned (just corrected a typo in my previous post on the 50mm btw) I really love the Helios 44-2 (I believe other versions of this lens, ie the 44M, are not quite as good). I picked this lens up for 5 quid attached to a working camera.

Most of my photography is now done with old Pentax and Minolta lenses. I often use them with tubes in preference to my FE 90mm f2.8 macro, as I prefer the look of them.

Old preset lenses like the Helios and old Takumars are also great for video as you can use them as clickless lenses.
 
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Right I have done it. Got a Pentax K-1 + HD Pentax-D FA 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
Lots of little niggles when compared to my Canon 7d2 but I can work around those i think, the outstanding image quality helps smooth some frustrations. Just need some decent weather now to really go out and test it out.
The only thing I need to decide on is the following....

Do i break the bank and purchase the 15-30mm UWA which has the frustration of not taking 100mm filters but has AF and weather sealing or do I look at Samyang 24mm F1.4 or the Samyang 20mm F1.8 and loose AF and weather sealing, and take a chance with QC, in return for the option of filters and very good light gathering.

I mainly sunrise / sunset landscapes and some Astro landscapes so thinking the Samyang might be perfect. Does anyone have any experience with the two Samyangs above for low light / daylight landscapes? I'm more interested in the 20mm as that's closer to my original setup of the Tokina 11-20mm UWA.

Thanks
Geoff
 
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Thanks Mike. I suppose its the familiarity with the Canon UI and interface that I like so much, and the whole considered. I know its a minor point, but even the difference in the battery charger and charge status erks me on the Pentax when compared to Canon.
Thankfully the image quality seems leaps and bounds in Pentax's favour, which I suppose ultimately, ill get used to the UI and functionality and benefit from the higher resolution files for the printing I wish to do.
 
Welcome to the club Geoff, its sadly a small one on here!
That 28-105 is a great lens, I picked one up rather than taking my 24-70 on holiday a few weekends ago and I can't say I notice any real difference, however I did miss the f2.8 and 24mm end a little! My shoulder thanked me for it though!

I was investigating wide options and bought a 20mm FA (from Mike actually), and while it was a great wee lens it just wasn't wide enough so I took advantage of ssome of the offers at SRS over Christmas and picked up the 15-30.
Its huge but I have to say IQ wise its spectacular, I don't believe I've ever had such good UWA on any system and while I probably don't use it enough to fully justify the cost it makes up for it when I do use it!

Filter are a pain, I sold off my 100mm kit and invested in the Lee SW150ii holder and a few "key" filters (at a ridiculous cost!), but it fits the 15-30 and probably works better on the 24-70 (82mm thread) than the other ones did too.

I've not used the Samyang on the K1 but I did use one on a D800 and IQ aside it was excellent, I've seen it used by many people for Astrophotography and actually now you've reminded me it exists I might have a look for one myself!
 
Hey Chris.
I have just re-read my post, dam it sounds so negative, it really wasn't meant to readt that way, I have just been taken out of my comfort zone and need to adapt. Regarding the UWA, I had a look at the focal lengths of the images I have taken over 2016 and they are squarely at 11mm and 20mm with little in between, so that puts me in the camp of 17mm and 32mm FF again this lends more value to the 15-30 ... secretly I want 15-30mm and for 90% of what I do I think it would match and exceed my Tokina F2.8 on my Canon. its just the cost and the loss of the 100mm filters I have invested in, (I'm wanting to do more seascapes so having a filtering options is a must) is painful - I see from the Pentax road map there is plans for an UWA / WA lenses, but whether or not they will be at 2.8 or better and or weather sealed and or exhibiting low coma is unknown at this moment, in fact there is little sign of them being released yet.

From your experience of the 15-30 have you done much astro work? (this isnt a primary use for me but something i want to explore) does it exhibit much Coma at the edges?
I'm also a little worried about the Quality control on the Samyangs, returning items over and over again to get a good copy is something I really do not want to entertain.

I have looked at the SW150 and the equivalent systems from other manufactures, excluding the price the additional limiting factor is also no CPL, it would appear to be square type only, hence the interest in the 77mm Samyangs, which I have all the filter parts and CPL i need.

Regards
Geoff
 
Hey Chris.
I have just re-read my post, dam it sounds so negative, it really wasn't meant to readt that way, I have just been taken out of my comfort zone and need to adapt. Regarding the UWA, I had a look at the focal lengths of the images I have taken over 2016 and they are squarely at 11mm and 20mm with little in between, so that puts me in the camp of 17mm and 32mm FF again this lends more value to the 15-30 ... secretly I want 15-30mm and for 90% of what I do I think it would match and exceed my Tokina F2.8 on my Canon. its just the cost and the loss of the 100mm filters I have invested in, (I'm wanting to do more seascapes so having a filtering options is a must) is painful - I see from the Pentax road map there is plans for an UWA / WA lenses, but whether or not they will be at 2.8 or better and or weather sealed and or exhibiting low coma is unknown at this moment, in fact there is little sign of them being released yet.

From your experience of the 15-30 have you done much astro work? (this isnt a primary use for me but something i want to explore) does it exhibit much Coma at the edges?
I'm also a little worried about the Quality control on the Samyangs, returning items over and over again to get a good copy is something I really do not want to entertain.

I have looked at the SW150 and the equivalent systems from other manufactures, excluding the price the additional limiting factor is also no CPL, it would appear to be square type only, hence the interest in the 77mm Samyangs, which I have all the filter parts and CPL i need.

Regards
Geoff

Not negative at all, your right it takes time to get used to something new and while the interface seems fairly similar to my previous Nikon's its night and day compared to the Fuji's I was using last year. I miss the AF "joystick" for moving AF points although finally seem to have got to grips with the controls, the extra dial for changing some of the most common settings is very handy.

I half expect the Pentax Wide option on the roadmap to be a 20 or 24mm but as you say no sign of it yet, just the new 50 and 85 revealed last week so far.

I haven't tried any Astro yet although I'm keen to give the built in Astrotracer function a go!
 
Well after the new 6DII being a non starter for me I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a lightly used K-1. My K-3II had to go as part payment and my K-5IIs will probably be on it's way soon as well due to the sensor on the K-1 more or less outputting to the same sort of resolution in crop mode. Sigma kindly fitted K-1 compatible mounts to my 24-70mm 2.8, 70-200mm 2.8 and 85mm 1.4 (there and back in 3 days ... great service) and now have my K-1 as the previous owner mounted a unmodified Sigma lens which caused a couple of marks on the body which they offered to repair FOC.

Anyway I have decided that Pentax get very little love on this forum (which tbh I understand due to them being such a small player in the market ... how times have changed) so I am going to try and remember to update this thread with photos as much as possible.

So quick test shot with the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 DG OS HSM wide open on it's return and before the camera went to Sigma.

img
 
As a Pentax fanboy from way back (first Spottie in 1971) it's a shame to see such little love for Pentax here. I still use Pentaxes, but of the film variety (two MXs and a sadly now damaged LX), and don't own a DSLR. By all accounts the Pentaxes are very capable cameras at a great price; I know for sure they have some excellent lenses. Good luck with yours. Great shot, by the way!
 
It can't be Pentax's turn again already can it Chris? ;)

Anyway, I was going to ask you to change the title .... Mike's K-1 thread has a good ring to it don't you think? :)

Haha, how's that?


Haha I'm not serious, but for the money its a seriously good bit of kit.
 
Twist is right there, the A7riii is on the list.... playing with a mates Leica M240 that he's looking to sell this weekend though.....

Na, it's not your style, you'll buy the latest, give it less than 14 days and return/sell/replace. M240 meh, Q at least.
 
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