agentlossing
Well-known
Exposure raised in LR6 and tone enhancer applied in On1 Effects - I don't use the latter program much anymore, but they do have good contrast enhancing filters.
Freakscene
Obscure member
Frank Hurley, Pentax KiMono, HD 35mm Macro.
Selfie by Hurley with crew on board RRS Discovery at the start of the British Australian (and) New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) in 1929. South Australian Museum. The image of Douglas Mawson from this photo was used on the 1984-1996 Australian $100 banknote.
The print is about 75x100 cm / 30x40 inches. In his notes, Hurley regrets both the lack of edge sharpness of the lens he used and that he placed Williams, Kennedy and Griggs too close to the edge of the frame, out of the ‘sweet spot’ sharp centre of the frame. It is quite funny, sort of like an internet post but in journal form in formal nineteen twenties English. The print is gorgeous.
A good test of macro lenses is to copy parts of the photo. The Pentax HD 35mm Macro on the KiMono passes.
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Freakscene
Obscure member
Wall and sky. KiMono, HD 35mm Macro.
Freakscene
Obscure member
Thylacine, SA Museum. KiMono, HD 35mm Macro.
Freakscene
Obscure member
The door of my old office.
Freakscene
Obscure member
I’ve enjoyed having a proper macro again. I’ll get the HD 100mm some time, but the HD 35mm is very nice when working distance doesn’t matter too much.Archiver
Veteran
@Freakscene I didn't know you owned one of those monochrome Pentax babies. What are your findings so far?
Zuiko-logist
Well-known
Wow
Freakscene
Obscure member
How could I help myself? 🤪
I’m still getting used to it despite having bought it in May 2023. In short, and as always these are ‘for me’, and with a general view to comparison with the Leica Monochroms. Also note that I use my gear very hard and tend to be critical. So, given those things, preliminarily:
Pros
- camera and its internals, particularly the processor, are really properly integrated with the sensor - no weird artefacts, super clean files
- lag time, once focused or if manually focused, is very fast (faster than the Leica M11)
- insane ISO response (200,000+ works just fine) with very manageable noise that looks like grain
- excellent vibration reduction (definitely 5+ stops)
- great metering with good options and sensible algorithms
- very open tonal interpretation of shadows in RAW files to go with very malleable artefact free files
- predictable response to filtration
- lots of nice lenses (crazy lots when you can go back through all K mount lenses to early M42 lenses with an adapter)
- the 20-40 zoom (it’s a normal normal zoom, in a category of its own)
- excellent viewfinder (better than most full-frame dSLRs in my view)
- fantastic grip and in-hand feel/ergonomics
- nice big battery
- battery is good for a lot of shots per charge
- cheap (in comparison) camera, lenses (incredibly cheap for what you get) and battery (and it is in enough cameras that Pentax are unlikely to discontinue it anytime soon)
- weather sealing is tremendous
Cons
- it’s an SLR with everything that goes with that
- over-featured with complicated interface (put the manual on your phone!)
- vibration reduction can unexpectedly reduce sharpness (Pentax warns you, and it figures given how it works, but I can’t figure out yet why it does or does not happen) (turn it off and crank the ISO!)
- Pentax tried to make it look ‘stealth’ or ‘cool’ but just made the controls hard/impossible to see in the dark (take a torch)
- not altogether well thought out as a B&W/‘Monochrome’ camera (live view focus peaking flashes white and you can’t change the colour, in monochrome, I mean . . . !?)
- limited native lenses and…
- only fast autofocus normal is the Sigma Art 35/1.4 and it is the size of a grapefruit (exaggeration, but…) (and to me f1.8 like the Pentax 31/1.8 is not ‘fast’)
- grip and hand feel is offset by physical depth of the camera that makes it harder to hold and deploy in extended use than a shallower camera, good lenses tend to make it over front-heavy
- in-camera charging as standard, need to buy external battery charger as an accessory (but the charger uses a USB-C socket, which is a plus)
- only soft silicone underwater ‘housings’
Things I’m still thinking about:
- decent autofocus but nowhere near as accurate, fast or precise as something like a Sony A1 (this might be an ‘it just is’ rather than a pro/con)
- APS-C sensor (I don’t mind except that it makes the native lens lineup interesting at best, although even in full frame lenses Pentax doesn’t have a complete contemporary line up) although a full frame viewfinder using the same technical approach to the viewfinder would be STELLAR
- it looks either pretty cool or quite awkward (does that matter?)
- a lot of plastic (in general I actually think this is a positive - definitely the most dimensionally stable material, at least until I find out what it takes to make it break)
- I have not needed any device support and have no idea what it would be like if I do need it
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Freakscene
Obscure member
Freakscene
Obscure member
Yokosuka Mike
Abstract Clarity
Marty, I would "like" this post 10 times if the forum software would let me. Best camera review I have ever read on RFF.
All the
best,
Mike
Freakscene
Obscure member
Thanks Mike, hopefully more to come!
Archiver
Veteran
@Freakscene Every now and again, I get the idea of going all in and building a small kit around a system like Pentax or Nikon. Maybe a couple of bodies like a K1 and a K3 III, some limited primes, and a couple of zooms. Your posts aren't helping.
Yokosuka Mike
Abstract Clarity
What is a true artist? A person who goes all in on one form/style of art? Becomes a “Master” of a singular art form? Or, is a true artist one who flows like water? Twists and turns, never fenced in, a free spirit bound by nothing more than the will to try new things?
I identify with the former and wish to be like the latter.
Idle chatter
Mike
I identify with the former and wish to be like the latter.
Idle chatter
Mike
Freakscene
Obscure member
At some point I am not sure I can easily define, I just stopped worrying, got a camera and went and took photos.
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Freakscene
Obscure member
agentlossing
Well-known
Agree with almost all of this, especially your pros list. Everyone is different, but my only points of semi-disagreement would be:
- It already looks "stealth/cool" with the dark gray lettering
- In-camera charging seems faster than with the wall charger that came with my K-1 II, so I have no complaints about that
- APS-C lens lineup is actually better than the FF lineup in my opinion, at least in terms of modern lenses that aren't old optical designs
- I don't think the body has much plastic... unless you're talking about the buttons and dials, which are plastic. Almost all of the body is metal (better than the K-1, which has a plastic viewfinder hump due to the GPS being unable to transmit through metal).
Freakscene
Obscure member
For clarification:
That’s what I meant. Pentax tried to make it look ‘stealth’ by making the lettering matte dark grey on black but it makes the controls extremely hard to see in the dark.
I timed in-camera charging as slower than the D-BC177. Either way you can only charge one battery at a time.
Agree. But both lineups are really anaemic.
Everything you grab is plastic. When stripped down there is more structural plastic than you’d expect too. The entire experience is different to holding, say, a Leica Monochrom.
Agree, to the point where I might get a K-3 iii for colour.
That’s what I meant. Pentax tried to make it look ‘stealth’ by making the lettering matte dark grey on black but it makes the controls extremely hard to see in the dark.
I timed in-camera charging as slower than the D-BC177. Either way you can only charge one battery at a time.
Agree. But both lineups are really anaemic.
Everything you grab is plastic. When stripped down there is more structural plastic than you’d expect too. The entire experience is different to holding, say, a Leica Monochrom.
Agree, to the point where I might get a K-3 iii for colour.
Archiver
Veteran
@Freakscene Bobby Tonelli on YouTube reviewed the colour K3 III, and the colours from that camera are quite something. I like that it produces DNG files that can be read by my antiquated version of Lightroom.