Pentax Monochrome

Freakscene said:
I have a Pentax Monochrome and the Leica Monochrom. I’ve used their colour equivalents. The texture and three dimensionality of the B&W versions is mostly in the processing; @vitaly66 is clearly very good at it.
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I reckon quite a few of us here would love to hear about your experience with these two cameras, I get that they're quite different to use but I would be fascinated by your feedback.
Thanks, Mark
 
trix4ever said:
I reckon quite a few of us here would love to hear about your experience with these two cameras, I get that they're quite different to use but I would be fascinated by your feedback.
Thanks, Mark
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I’m working on a series of long posts reviewing all the Leica Monochroms and one the Pentax, then a comparison. But time is short, so I am not sure when I’ll be done. I am also unsure where they will appear, but I’ll let you know.

Marty
 
vitaly66 said:
survivors...

Pentax K-3iii Monochrome, K50mm/1.4

(I got those boots in 1979 ;>)
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I am enjoying your images @vitaly66.

I used to have a pair of Herman Survivor boots. I believe the company is now defunct and the name was sold to Walmart (2001?). The quality is not the same as in the past.

Herman Survivor Reviews - Trailspace

Based on airborne military experience with jump boots, bought Hermans in 2006; have logged about 25 miles on 'em on concrete floors and occasionally in the woods.
www.trailspace.com www.trailspace.com
outdoorshelp.com

Who Makes Survivor Boots? (The History Of Survivor Boots And What To Consider Before Buying Them) -

Survivor boots were made by a company known as Herman until the company became extinct. The current Herman boots are replica shoes now owned and manufactured
outdoorshelp.com outdoorshelp.com
 
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vitaly66 said:
Great set of images, Robert -- the one titled "Light Snow" is terrific!

How are you making/getting prints?
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Thank you, vitaly66!

My post processing has been with Light Room and Photoshop. I used .PEF at first before trying the .DNG. I can't tell any difference between the file types. I print, so far, on A3 premium luster because that's the first box I grabbed out of my stack of papers with a Canon Pro-10 series at 300 dpi. Prints of images made at 25,600 ISO look very clean and sharp with great contrast. The tonal range in the prints reminds of those from wet darkroom days when I underexposed beneath the enlarger and overdeveloped in the tray.
 
raydm6 said:
I am enjoying your images @vitaly66.

I used to have a pair of Herman Survivor boots. I believe the company is now defunct and the name was sold to Walmart (2001?). The quality is not the same as in the past.
...
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Yes, these are the original by-god-american-made Herman Survivors. They are insulated -- and damm heavy! -- so I rarely have any call to wear them anymore. Dug them out of the closet for the ice storm and 15F temps that blew through here last week. Great boots -- glad to have them for the occasion!
 
gzisis69 said:
I am starting to like the pentax b&w a lot. What are the 28mm equivalent lenses for it ?
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Pentax Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

Pentax lens review database with reviews of Pentax lenses including K-mount, M42 screwmount, 645, 6x7, and DA digital lenses. Exhaustive Pentax lens listings with reviews and technical specifications of Pentax lenses.
www.pentaxforums.com

Pentax is idiosyncratic: if you want a modern lens designed for digital, there is no Pentax made 28mm-e. If you are happy with older manual focus lenses there are about twenty. There are also several third party lenses.

I use the Pentax HD 21mm, which on an APS-C camera is not 28mm-e at all. Shrug. That’s the best thing about the Pentax: I got the 15, 21, 35 and 70mm HD Limiteds in near perfect condition for less than the cost of a beat up Summicron.

Marty
 
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gzisis69 said:
I am starting to like the pentax b&w a lot. What are the 28mm equivalent lenses for it ?
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The "crop factor" for the APS-C sensor in the Monochrome is (roughly) 1.5x.

A 28mm equivalent on this camera would mean a standard focal length of about 18mm.

In terms of currently available primes, Pentax has offerings that straddle 18mm -- such as the DA15mm (23mm equivalent) and a couple 21mm (33mm equivalent) lenses like Marty points out -- though none right on 18mm.

In the zoom category, Pentax has a compact DA20-40mm "limited" lens that is well-regarded as a "stack o' primes". At the wide end, 20mm will give an equivalent of 30mm. (I don't own this lens.)

Pentax has some other zooms that do span 28mm equivalent, including a 16-50mm that by all accounts (and photo samples) is very high performing. These other wide/normal zooms are far less compact than the other lenses mentioned above, however.

I have the DA15mm and DA21mm compact "limited" lenses in the older SMC green ring versions. They are pretty wonderful and fun -- a good way to get started with near-28mm equivalent lenses on the Pentax.
 
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gzisis69 said:
I am starting to like the pentax b&w a lot. What are the 28mm equivalent lenses for it ?
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Others have noted the "close" options. The go-to small, quality lens in that range would be the DA 21mm f3.2 Limited at equivalent ~31.5mm.

The Pentax Limited lens series are all idiosyncratic. There is a 31mm FA Limited lens for full frame which almost exactly matches the equivalent focal length of the DA (or rather, the DA was made to more or less match the FA, which came first).
 
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