DSLR – Pentax Body

Pentax has been a leader in the photographic field for many years. Many Pentax innovations have become standards in the industry. Pentax’s enthusiasm and devotion towards the development of high-quality products have thrived over the years and continues to be stronger than ever.

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Protect the important inside parts of your camera, like the mirror and meter sensor, from dirt & dust when there is no lens on. An average camera body cap costs under $10.00. An average repair to a mirror or sensor? Which one most fits your budget

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Technorati Tags: Adorama, Body, Cameras, Mount, Pentax

No description for this product could be found, but have a look over at Amazon for reviews and other information.

Technorati Tags: Body, Full, invisibleSHIELD, Optio, Pentax

From Library Journal

Since its debut, McBroom’s has become the bible of the used camera industry, and there’s nary a dealer who doesn’t own one. The book also found a following among camera buffs but was of little interest to the general public and therefore a marginal purchase for most libraries. The advent of online auction services like eBay, however, has completely changed that. If you’re looking to sell grandpa’s old Graflex or your dad’s dusty Nikon, McBroom will tell you what to expect for it. This latest incarnation has been revised to update prices and now includes the latest tech developments, such as APS and digital cameras. This edition retains the standard format of an introduction to each camera brand, detailing the models and the years they were built followed by charts listing each body and lens and their estimated value based on physical condition. There is also information on accessories such as flashes and light meters. The book is capped off with a r (more…)

Technorati Tags: Bluebook, Camera, Edition, McBroom's, Sixth

The Pentax PF-80ED-A 70950 is the first spotting scope introduced by Pentax with an angled eyepiece (Pentax 80mm PF-80ED Straight Spotting Scopes are also available). The Pentax PF-80ED-A Spotting Scope features a 45 degree angled eyepiece for comfortabl

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Technorati Tags: 70950, Angled, Body, Glass, KU70115, Models, Pentax, PF80EDA, Scopes, Spotting

Manufacturer Description

Improving on the technology of the award winning K10D, the flagship Pentax K20D is the highest-resolution camera in the advanced photo enthusiast category and allows more experienced photographers, who demand complete control, to fully customize the camera. The most significant features in the K20D include: A newly-developed CMOS image sensor to bring out the optimum performance of Pentax interchangeable lenses. Featuring 14.6 effective megapixels and the latest noise-reduction technology, the sensor assures superb image quality. Custom Image functions that allow users to select between six preset options and further adjust image processing, including saturation, hue, contrast and sharpness. The K20D also offers an Expanded Dynamic Range function that allows users to gain more contrast and detail in bright settings. A Live View that allows users to see the full image area to confirm composition, focus status and lighting on the large, 2.7-i (more…)

Technorati Tags: 14.6MP, Body, Camera, digital, K20D, Only, Pentax, Reduction, Shake, with

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PentaxForums have organized another World Pentax Day for Saturday Oct. 10th. If you have a Pentax camera, get out there and take some pictures to share. Then within the next 2 weeks, submit your photos to the special online gallery at PentaxForums.com (with everyone else’s photos taken on that same day) and bask in the communal glory (or your monitor’s glow). Easy as pie!

What is the World SyncSnap? The World SyncSnap is a chance for Pentax users around the world to snap their shutters in unison, capturing our images all at the same time. Think of it as the Pentaxium’s little brother. Where the Pentaxium lasts one entire day, the SyncSnap begins and ends within the blink of an eye…or, more appropriately, the opening and closing of a shutter.

How does it work? You’re given the date and time of the SyncSnap for the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time zone. All you need to do is adjust the date and time for your time zone, grab your Pentax camera, and snap your shutter at exactly the right moment, along with the rest of us.

GMT is not adjusted for daylight savings. Use this site to figure out what time it will be in your area with respect to GMT: GMT: Greenwich Mean Time – World Time / Time in every Time Zone

Where do I post my photograph? There is a dedicated event category in our gallery at this URL: User Photo Gallery – Pentax World SyncSnap. When uploading your photo, title it with the following information:

Event number, your username, and the location where the image was captured.

Example, If you captured the image in Philadelphia, PA, USA:

SyncSnap1, DanLoc78, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Make sure you also specify what lens and camera was used in the fields provided. The camera must be a Pentax!

*Try your best to capture your photo at the exact time specified. A few seconds off here or there doesn’t really matter.

SyncSnap Time Key, adjusted for DST in the US:

London, 12:00am, Saturday 17th, Oct.
Central Europe, 1.:00am, Saturday 17th, Oct.
Sydney, 11:00am, Saturday 17th, Oct.
Brisbane, 10:00am, Saturday 17th, Oct.
New York, 8.00pm, Friday 16th, Oct.
LA,5.00pm, Friday 16th, Oct.

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For the past two and a half year, I have funded my blogsite by writing books about the great Pentax DSLR cameras. I now publish the books as downloadable e-books (PDF files). You can print the books on your own printers or just read the e-books on your computer screens. This has allowed a cheaper price and immediate delivery after the PayPal payments. Pentax current available cameras are the K-7 and the K-x. The K-7 e-book has been available for a while right on this blog, toward the top right corner of the main page. The K-x will be available in the next few days. We also have e-books for the K20D, K10D and the K100D ,if Santa gives you a slightly used DSLR.

***If you email me at brqyvn@aol.com with “Pentax K-x book” as subject, I will email you the minute the book becomes available.***

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

This has been a good year for Pentax and they got to be one of Santa’s preferred supplier with the K-x. The K-7 is also on the Christmas list of many people, but that’s only for the people that have been extra good all year.

The K-x, with its excellent 12MP CMOS sensor, great Image Quality and a price at around $600.00 is the best deal for the people wanting to upgrade from Point & Shoot cameras. It can still be an Auto-everything camera like a Point & Shoot, but the IQ is so much better and the Video capability of the K-x makes it an even better deal. It’s a DSLR that is so helpful for entry-level photographer, as you can gradually learn how to control the camera settings and eventually use it to its full potential by adjusting the controls (Aperture, Shutter speed and ISO) yourself.

Don’t believe in Santa? Well, believe in your spouse and let them read this blog.

There are still some good gadgets that can be very helpful for your photographic endeavors. There’s still time to purchase them and have them shipped overnight. Here’s a list of my preferred gadgets.

* Delkin Fat Gecko Camera mount

http://www.delkin.com/products/accessories/fat-gecko.html

* Litepanels MicroPro

A handy accessory that I’ve found more and more uses for lately, especially when it comes to shooting video with a DSLR, are the Litepanels lighting fixtures. Using a grid-like pattern of soft LED (light emitting diode) lights, Litepanels attach to the top of your camera via a cold shoe mount and are powered by either regular AA or Lithium Ion AA cells. There are two versions, the smaller Litepanels Micro which uses five batteries, or the larger MicroPro that takes six batteries.

http://www.pdngearguide.com/gearguide/content_display/reviews/e3i5bc95dcbd33158676ecff35655305071

* New Portrait Professional 9

This software package will make your portraits shots editing so much easier. I purchase this software and my close-up portraits of people can be turned into glamorous shots in minutes.
http://www.portraitprofessional.com/

There are so many more interesting gadgets, but listed above are the gadgets I purchased for myself and like.

Best Regards and Merry Christmas.

Yvon Bourque

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

PENTAX ADDS 100mm F2.8 WR MACRO TO WEATHER-RESISTANT LENS LINE-UP

GOLDEN, COLORADO (December 9, 2009)…PENTAX Imaging Company has announced the smc PENTAX D FA MACRO 100mm F2.8 WR lens designed for use with PENTAX digital SLR cameras. Combining a high-quality exterior finish with PENTAX-original weather-resistant construction, this new macro lens is especially useful for the demands of outdoor photography.

This PENTAX macro lens features a high-grade, aluminum barrel with the high-quality, exclusive exterior design and finish unique to the PENTAX D FA series lenses. Further, the entire mechanism of the focus ring has been reviewed and upgraded to assure flawless manual-focus operation. For improved performance, the PENTAX D FA MACRO 100mm F2.8 WR is the first PENTAX interchangeable macro lens featuring a completely rounded diaphragm blade to create a natural, beautiful bokeh at wide apertures, while minimizing the streaking effect of point light sources.

PENTAX WR lenses feature simplified weather-resistant construction to repel water and moisture. Combined with a PENTAX weather-resistant K-7, K20D, K200D or K10D digital SLR camera body, the lens performs well in damp, inclement outdoor conditions including rain, mist, water spray and splashes.

The lens also features the PENTAX-original SP (Super Protect) surface coating to repel dust, water and grease and to minimize fingerprints.

Other significant features of this latest WR lens include:

* Mounted on a PENTAX digital SLR camera body, this lens offers a focal length equivalent to 153mm in the 35mm format for high-quality, true-to-life images, while minimizing flare and ghost images. The maximum life-size magnification allows photographers to capture dramatic close-up images with great ease.

* A working distance of just over five inches (13 cm) facilitates close-up photography of subjects including flora, insects, and wildlife.

* The PENTAX-developed Quick-Shift Focus System for instant switching to manual-focus operation after the subject is captured in focus by the camera’s AF system.

* An image circle to accommodate 35mm film-format camera image size.

* Compatibility with the macro adapter included in the PENTAX AF160FC dedicated Auto Macro Ring Flash.

SPECIFICATIONS
smc PENTAX-D FA MACRO 100mm F2.8 WR

Focal Length: 100mm (Equivalent to 153mm in 35mm format)

Aperture: F2.8

Minimum Aperture: F32

Lens Construction: 9 elements in 8 groups

Angle of View: 16° (wiith PENTAX Digital SLR body)
24.5° (with 35mm Film SLR body)

Minimum Focusing Distance: 0.303m (0.99 ft.)

Maximum Magnification: 1.00x

Filter Diameter: 49mm

Diaphragm Control: Fully Automatic

Number of Diaphragm Blades: 8

Lens Aperture Ring: None

Tripod Adapter: None

Lens Hood: PH-RBE49

Lens Case: S80-120

Front Cap: O-LC49

Maximum Diameter & Minimum Length: 65mm x 80.5mm (2.6 inch x 3.2 inch)

Weight: 340g (12 oz.)

Furnished accessory: Hood, Case, and Lens Cap

REMARKS
Simplified Weather-Resistant

Rounded Diaphragm Blade

Quick-Shift Focus System

SP (Super Protect) Coating

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

Technology is great but is it necessarily a good thing?

During the past two to three years, I have acquired quite a collection of new Pentax lenses. From the DA 10-17mm to the DA* 300mm and almost every lenses in between. I also started collecting the Limited lenses. I have enough lenses for just about all possible situations . Yet, I found that my photography enthusiasm has fallen several notches. Could it be because I have too many choices? Honestly…I believe so.

Every time I go on a shooting trek, I take all the lenses I can humanly carry and still complain to myself about which lenses I should have brought instead. I believe that having so many lenses and choices does not help my photography…instead it complicates it.

So, for a while anyway, I decided to put all of my zoom and telephoto lenses away. I will limit myself to carry a maximum of three lenses with me. I will carry a wide angle, a normal lens and a small telephoto. Instead of taking a powerful telephoto for photographing distant subjects, I will walk or drive closer. Who knows what I might see while physically getting closer. I know, you can’t do that for sport photography without being trampled by players, but I personally don’t do sport photography.

Will I use Pentax best DA* prime lenses or the Pentax DA limiteds? Not necessarily. I own dozens of older Pentax “A” manual focus lenses that are still superb in quality. Since I’m sort of going back to the basics, I won’t be using the autofocus. The “A” lenses are manual focus, but the K-7 and other Pentax DSLRs will acknowledge when AF is achieved with a beep and the green hexagon illuminated in the viewfinder. A small red square will also briefly appear to show where the AF point is located, on most Pentax DSLRs. My eyes also play an important role. What I see is what I want to get. Using AF is sometime misleading the DSLR into focusing on another spot in your scene. Manually focusing gives you a better chance to focus exactly on the desired part of the scene. I like to use the focus point in the center, and recompose if necessary. It’s going to be a slower operation, but maybe that’s what we all need to do…slow down and compose. Will IQ suffer? I don’t think so.

Pro lenses do last longer, can take more of a beating and usually are f/2.8 and faster. However, low cost or older lenses take good pictures as well. They may not endure the handling demanded by Professional Photographers, but they render great images quality as well. The usable ISO of today’s DSLRs is so much better than what was available with film cameras. The fast lenses are not as crucial as they were once.

All Pentax DSLRs use APS-C sized sensors. When Full Frame lenses are used, the image circle is much bigger than what’s needed for the smaller APS-C sensor. Since glass effectiveness or accuracy tends to be less on the outer edges of any given lens, only the middle portion of Full Frame lenses hits the sensor, making every shots within the sweet spot of the lens used. Therefore, better IQ is achieved when using a Full Frame format lens on an APS-C sensor, although it is cropped. Who cares about the cropping, what you see in the viewfinder is what you get afterall. When post processed with Photoshop, 90% of image quality can be fixed, if needed. This is today’s “darkroom” and I see nothing wrong in fixing image quality with Photoshop or other software.

Today’s DSLRs are great technical achievements, but too much automation can hinder one’s creativity. I you use a fully “Auto-Everything ” DSLR, where does the hobby and craft of photography goes? What happens to the careful analysis of a scene and the meticulous composition?

I think this approach will get me back to the groove and my pictures will improve. It’s easy to take the path of least resistance, but the outcome is usually proportional.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

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The ikan V-5600, 5.6″ LCD monitor makes recording videos a pleasure.

Although the K-7 has a 3″ LCD monitor, it cannot be compared to a 5.6″ monitor. Recording a video is not like shooting pictures. The bigger the screen, the better you will compose your scene. The video on the bigger monitor allows a clearer view and the rendition is very bright. The aspect ratio is adjustable to the format you are filming. It also has a jack for earphones so that you can isolate yourself from the surroundings and concentrate on your video.

The Ikan monitor is light enough to mount on the camera flash bracket or an off camera flash bracket. I mounted my microphone on the camera and the Ikan monitor on an off camera flash bracket. If you are serious about recording videos, you will mount the complete outfit on a tripod, shoot many scenes and stitch them together at home or studio, with a good software application.

I like the ikan V5600 and recommend it to anyone who wants to venture in serious video recording. B&H Photo has the V5600 in stock. If you really want to immerse yourself in videography, visit this site, Zacuto. They have many accessories for the hybrid DSLR/Video cameras. Here ’s an overview of the ikan V5600:

Ikan introduces the brand-new V5600, 5.6 inch, LCD monitor featuring a panel resolution of 1024 x 600, switchable aspect ratios (16:9 or 4:3) and multiple inputs, including YUV, AV and HDMI. With a robust image that weighs less than a pound (450 gram), the V5600 is the perfect solution for those looking for a small LCD monitor for field use on either full-size HD video cameras or the new HD-capable DSLR cameras such as the Pentax K-7.

KEY FEATURES:

HDMI, Component, & Composite Inputs

Color System NTSC

Supports 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i

Safe area guides for 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios

General Specifications:

Diagonal: 5.6″ TFT LCD screen

Resolution: 1024 x 600

LCD Brightness: 165cd/m2

Contrast Ratio: 200:1

Viewing angles: 80/80(R/L), 55/55(U/L)

Operating Volts: DC 12-24V

Dimension: 5.75″ x 4.625″ x 0.82″

Weight: 0.7 lb

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I approach each new camera with a degree of skepticism. Unlike many out there, I’m not as easily swayed by all the media hype and promotional gobbledygook. I’m from Brooklyn and we need to see that something actually works. So when the Pentax K-x arrived, I looked at it, pleased that they sent me the “white” version, only because it reminded me of the Imperial Storm Troopers from Star Wars (would have been a great fit). I unpacked everything, mated the lens to the K-x body, installed the lithium batteries that came in the box, then added my own SDHC card—none included (also takes standard SD—but why hamper the machine out of the gate!). And I started to play with it.

Hmm, not bad, I thought. But let’s see how it performs in the real world. So, intrepid explorer that I am, I ventured outside. It may not be a tropical rain forest, but it is an urban jungle out there rife with photographic opportunities. I was ready for bear (good luck finding one of those in Brooklyn, but you get my drift) and I headed straight for my favorite city park.

Continued…Pentax K-x Digital SLR Review: Field Test Report

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The day started good.

Zipping along…

One pause to air-down the tires.

On the trail we go.

My wife had to come get us with the good old Chevy.

Still camped out for the weekend.

Some guys were climbing the big boulders.

Joshua tree is peaceful this time of year.

This is some kind of Indian burial place from the early 1900’s and my wife and step-son peeping through

Another angle of the Indian burial.

Who is going to get food from inside the pumpkin?

I will fight you for it.

Okay, you win…I’ll come back later as I know you can’t eat it all.

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

Last weekend, we decided to go camping in Joshua Tree national Park, and go four-wheeling on the nearby trails. I brought my K-7 along with us, hoping to get good pictures of Joshua Tree and of the Jeep performing. It was incredibly dusty and the K-7 really took a beating. At times, the camera looked more like is was brown on account of all the dust on it. I had to clean it with a wet rag several times. I dropped it once on the Jeep’s floor when we drove over a boulder. Not once did I need to clean the sensor. Not one piece of dust got it the camera and the camera is still working perfectly. That’s pretty impressive. I did take some great shots in Joshua Tree and of the Jeep, as posted above.

The sad part, is that the K-7 outlasted the Jeep

We broke the rear differential in trying to crawl over a big rock, obviously too big for the Jeep. I had to tow the Jeep behind my Chevy Silverado all weekend… in shame. I didn’t want to ruin an otherwise good weekend of camping so we stayed at the campground anyway.

So as it is right now, it’s 1 to 0 for the K-7. The good news is that the K-7 is one tough camera. The bad news is that my Jeep is broken and it will cost about the same price as a K-7 with a good lens to fix the Jeep. Goodbye LBA for a while.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

1. Lately, I saw many posts about Hoya wanting to associate with another world-class company that could manufacture sensors for them. This could make Pentax viable outside the Hoya’s mission of medical instruments and the like. Hoya apparently purchased Pentax mostly for their medical instruments. It seems that Samsung eventually want to manufacture their own cameras with their own sensors…as I was told, at the last PMA, by a Samsung representative. What do you think?

2. The K-x is now available almost everywhere. It is equipped, as you know, with a Sony 12MP CMOS sensor. The low light/high ISO image quality is supposedly on the leading edge of all the current DSLRs. What would you think of a Pentax K-7x with the 12MP sensor instead of the Samsung 14MP? If the IQ were that much better, I would go for it. After all, Nikon seems to manufacture many models around the 12MP range and they are doing okay. In the past, I produce great enlargements of 11” x 14” and even 18” x 24” with the old Pentax 6MP DSLRs. If the IQ is better, 12MP is plenty and I believe it is the sweet spot for APS-C sensors. What do you think?

3. I own several Pentax lenses, some are “A” lenses, some are FA lenses, some DA Pancake prime lenses and some DA* zoom lenses, telephotos and primes. I am not a pixel peeper and frankly, I don’t see enough difference in image quality between any of my lenses to prefer one over another. For me, it boils down to what I am shooting on a particular day or what I can easily carry. I do use Photoshop to correct colors, Chromatic aberration and so on, but never to change the content of an image. It’s the darkroom of this era, why not use it to its full potential. If your picture is well composed, I don’t think that the viewers would see any difference between the IQ of one lens over another. What do you think?

4. I envision that Pentax will indeed introduce the 645D next year. They will jump from the APS-C sensor to one bigger than the Canon or Nikon FF sensors. Pentax made it clear before that they would never manufacture a FF DSLR. Would you get a 645D should the price be comparable to Nikon’s D3/D3X/D3S or Canon’s EOS 1Ds Mk III? There are thousands or millions of 645 used lenses on the market already and Pentax could introduce new 645 AF lenses modeled after the Film 645 medium format cameras. I would buy one. What do you think?

So there you have it, some random thought about Pentax’s future. I’m a die-hard fan of Pentax cameras and know that they will always emerge with something unexpected, innovative and great.

Thanks for reading, and what do you think?

Yvon Bourque

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

Before the advent of digital SLRs, along with Pentax and Nikon 35 mm format cameras, I used to shoot with medium format cameras as well. I owned a Pentax 645, and several Mamiyas and one Hasselblad. These cameras had different ways to focus on your subjects other than the eye-level viewfinder. They had a waist level finder (not the Pentax 645). Even my Pentax LX (http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/) and my Nikon F5 had an optional waist level finder.

If you shot “street photography”, you never had to bring the camera to your eye-level and could shoot with the camera hanging down your neck, at…well…your waist level. It was so much less intrusive and your street subjects never knew you were taking their pictures. That is paramount, in my opinion, to get the best results as your subjects are completely unaware and thus…very natural in their actions.

It was ideal to take portrait photos as you could just look up at your subject, entertain a conversation with them, and adjust the camera focus, aperture and speed at the same time. Once your camera was set, you could just look at your subject and fire the shutter without them even realize you were taking the picture. The results were more natural looking images.

It was very good for landscape photography as there is something to say about composing an image through a viewfinder or a waist level finder. The waist level finder allows you to look at the scene just as if you were looking at a picture. It is easier to notice anomalies or distracting objects within the scene you are about to capture. I understand that most current DSLRs have live view, but on a bright day, you can hardly see the scene. The waist level finders had an unfolding hood that protected bright sun rays to enter and reduced reflection tremendously. Also, by looking at the scene from above, your head also protected the reflection we have trying to shoot with live view.

If you were shooting an event with a crowd in front of you, you simply raised the camera above the crowd, up-side-down and compose the picture through the WL finder.

The only problem I had with waist level viewfinder was that the image projected was turned 180 degree. So you had to rotate the camera to the left when you actually wanted to capture something to the right and vice versa. That problem could easily be solved by using electronic LCD screens. That way the image could be just like that of an eye-level finder. Think of it as an EWLF instead of an EVF.

What do you think?

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

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So I’ve been searching for reviews of this lens for a while now and they’ve been few and far between. The best one I’ve found was on Pentaxforums.com/lensreviews and they gave it an 8.67/10. Anyway, I f…
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I’ve got a couple of M lenses, along with DA lenses etc….I’d like to get a film body to go with them as a sort of backup for my DSLR…
What’s the top non-af K mount Pentax?.
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