Hin's Photo Corner: May 2009

Pentax K-7 Videos

2009-05-27 Posted by Hin Man

I have gathered few videos related to Pentax K-7 on YouTube. The buzz on Pentax K-7 has been strong since the count down from early May. I am as excited about Pentax K-7 as anyone who have enjoyed Pentax dSLR. I am especially interested in learning more about the AF improvements from the final product available later in July.

Unofficial Promotional Video
from Nick ntt@bk.ru
I wish the offical one is just as exciting

I especially love the mixing of continuous shutter and the audio track in the video. If Pentax or author can refine the transition and font display, Pentax can really use it for the promotion. The video reminds me of my favorite Discovery Channel with Man vs Wild. Perhaps Pentax can take note in the promotion. Bear Grylls with Pentax K-7 will definitely get my vote of approval

PentaxImaging Introduction

Great Pentax K-7 preview
from WhatDigitalCamera.com

Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 On Squirrels

2009-05-26 Posted by Hin Man

The silent AF in the DA* zoom turns out to be important in the last weekend when I get close to the squirrel. I call him a Squirrel with a green tongue in the picture.

Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 On Squirrels Test Shots

I do wish the Pentax DA* 50-135mm a bit longer for reach. It would have been perfect if the focal range are like Pentax DA 50-200mm f/4.0-5.6. I know I am asking too much. If there is a DA* 50-200mm f/2.8, I would be upgrading. Hope the DA* 60-250mm f/4.0 can come down in price similar to the DA* 50-135mm f/2.8.

Out of all the inexpensive alternative choices with AF, I find Pentax DA 50-200mm f/4.0-5.6 to be the closest choice with AF that resemble the DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 and it comes in the lightest package. With 'WR' version in k-7, that would be a closest alternative with weather seal costing a fraction of the DA* zoom.

Impressions & Notes

The quiet AF from SDM helps in shooting animals in close distance
AF with AF.S is snappy but I do have previous problems with AF.C where I might have pressed the shutter too early
In AF.C, I lose the trap focus and I like AF.S for the safety
Bokeh is nice in the blurry green
I need to stop down more to see more depth

Giottos Rocket Blower Large

2009-05-21 Posted by Hin Man

I highly recommend the blower as it solves my dust problem for most cases. Giottos has two sizes and I have both. I have the smaller one in my camera bag and the bigger one at home for the tougher job. The bigger one is stronger. If you watch the Curt Fargo's demonstration of the wet method, he uses the bigger blower and he uses it with a swift motion across the sensor. I prefer to hold the camera facing downward and puff air from below in a swift motion across the sensor. I leave the blower tip at about 1" to 2" clearance from the lens mount. I highly recommend the blower as the 1st method to attempt and use the wet method as the last resolution as risk is involved.

When I bought the Large Giottos blower from micor-tools, Curt wraps it in a strong industrial plastic bag to seal the blower and he recommends a clean storage for the blower for the obvious reason in avoiding dust accumulation in the blower.

There are cases that dust or pollen are sticky on the sensor and repeated trials on using both blowers fail to remove the dust, and I use the wet method as the last resort. For most of my need, the blower works.

Pentax DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 FishEye

2009-05-13 Posted by Hin Man

It has been several months after purchase before I have a chance to try out Pentax DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 Fisheye Lens. My family visited the Chabot Space and Science Museum over the Mother's Day and I have fun shots of my boys with a wide perspective. I have not gotten used to the distortion in the wider side of the focal range. Similar to what other people have mentioned, the 17mm happens to be similar to rectilinear lens that exhibit less the distortion found in fisheye lens.

10 mm

Pentax DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 Fisheye Test shots with pentax k20d

10 mm

15 mm

17 mm

10 mm

11 mm

13 mm

Impressions & Notes

An absolute fun lens to use, especially in outing with kids in museum and events
Awesome views in 15mm to 17mm with mild distortion
Versatile zoom lens with a focal range to cover the wide angle need in events and indoor architecture.
With combination of software post processing, I am expecting more valuable use of this lens.
My kids love their shuttle mission in tight corner with all details captured in a single shot
SMC coating working well with flare control
Purple fringing apparent in test shots
Surprisingly fun and handy lens to use for indoor.
Some dark corners noted around corners in shooting wide angle with the built in flash
AF seems quick and responsive even in indoor dark settings
Another great value lens that Pentax delivers

Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 On Terns

2009-05-11 Posted by Hin Man

My family visited Mountain View Shoreline Park and for the first time, I met this unfamiliar bird that hovers over the air like an helicopter. Others have told me that this bird is related to "Terns" and it may either be Common Terns or other variants in Bay Area as in Forster's Terns. It flies very fast and circle around area above a lake looking for food. Once it hovers a spot, it dive down to the water and quickly come back up and nowhere found in my viewfinder.

My skills, AF.C, auto select AF point, center focus all foul up on me with this bird. There are moments that I seriously worry about the AF motor from the nervously grinding noise from my Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 and Pentax K20 D in obtaining focus. And there are moments after few shots, the AF motor won't AF at all. It goes as if the AF halts after 4 shots are taken. I have been shooting in single drive and it is probably my first time hitting the focus halt problem in daytime shooting. I have to point the lens down to ground and half press to reset things to normal.

There is a lot of "damn it", "good grief", "you silly bird", "bummer" that go with each shutter. The birds ability to fly and hover over water for feeding are very much breath taking. If you live in bay area from California, you have to come to Mountain View Shoreline to look for this bird. I have the most excitement with this bird, I need to re-shoot the series in another time with more study on taking smaller number of shots with better precision. I ended the shootout in shifting to manual focus as the tree and some neighboring background have confused the AF and the less noise from the AF motor keep me calm in picturing the birds

Impressions & Notes

AF.C with auto select AF points work reasonably better than center focal point when the background has no distracting objects as in trees and background mountain.
AF motor tend to grind more in Auto Select focal points. AF actually grind down to a halt in a series of shots, I don't really know what happens. Half-pressing has no movement from AF and I end up pointing my lens to ground floor and half-press to reset focal point.
The noise from the AF motor bother me quite a bit in the shooting
AF has a difficult time to get focus on first shot.
I find manual focus does a quicker job in obtaining the first shot in focus. But when I am shooting, I can't mix the mode together quickly as I have to toggle Auto Focus ring to MF and switch on body from AF to MF. I am in either mode but not mix in between the two.
In MF, I lose the trap focus capability. I only manage to hear the beep for focus confirmation. I mostly hit the shutter after the beep and there is undoubtedly some delay in the reaction to the shot
I turned off SR in all shooting and make sure shutter is close and faster than 1/1000 sec. I shot mostly in f/6.3 to f/9.0 in iso 400 to iso 640.
It is easier to picture the bird in a horizontal flying path. If the bird is approaching me heads on, I have more problems in both AF and MF mode as the bird are moving at a rapid pace. The bird is just way too fast and when the bird is really close, I mostly cut the bird by the wings. I need to practice on the timing.
In MF, I can hardly rely on pre-focus on neighboring objects as the bird move in a large area. The best time to pre-focus is perhaps the time when it hovers over water for few seconds. I should attempt MF for the diving sequence when the tern is going straight down for the feeding.

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 1:1 Macro EX DG On Tree

2009-05-08 Posted by Hin Man

After I sold my Tamron 90mm f/2.8 1:1 non-Di Macro, I am now down to 1 macro lens that does 1:1. The Tamron is just as decent as Sigma but I finally pick the Sigma to stay as I have Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 that is closer in focal range to the Tamron 90mm. Had I not had Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8, I would have picked the Tamron to stay for the dual purpose lens for macro and occasionaly portrait lens.

I compared the two macro lens on both flowers and portraits, both do well in my book neck to neck for performance, value, and ease of use. I prefer both Macro lens over my experience with Lester A Dine 105mm f/2.8 1:1 Dental Macro. The Lester has better color but I find both the Tamron and Sigma serving me better with AF and the addition of focus limiter making the macro lens well rounded lens for both macro shots as well as for portraits, street shooting and candid shots.

I took out my Sigma this morning shooting out on trees with interesting bark and tree sap. The Sigma has beautiful bokeh and color. I find a tendency of underexposure again but it is all good in my book with +0.3 Ev.

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 1:1 Ex DG Macro on Tree

Impressions & Notes

I prefer Sigma and Tamron macro over the old faithful in Lester A Dine 105mm f/2.8 1:1 Dental Macro.
Though the Lester A Dine has better color, I don't favor the lens due to absense of focus limiter and the difficulty to achieve 1:1 with long focus throw. Perhaps, a good macro and lighting set up would have altered my not-so-impressive experience before with Lester A Dine
I picked Sigma over Tamron solely based on my focal range too close to FA 77mm
The Sigma and Tamron will be toss for me, I can take any one and I will be just as happy
Sigma has a tendency of underexposure with Pentax K20D.

Tokina SD 400mm f/5.6 Test Shots

2009-05-06 Posted by Hin Man

Out of my quest to find a Pentax 400mm manual focus lens, I got a used copy of Tokina SD 400mm f/5.6. Thank you so much to the previous owner of this manual focus lens. My recent purchase of Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 causes all the delay in my test on this 400mm prime lens. I have a pretty good shooting with it today for the first time. I have not gotten used to the focusing ring yet. Pictures are found sharp when I stop down to f/7.1 and I shoot mostly in f/8.0, results are quite good for the lens and I don't see CA/PF easily which is a very comforting sign

Tokina SD 400mm f/5.6 test shots with Pentax K20D geese goosling

Tokina SD 400mm f/5.6 test shots with Pentax K20D blue jay

Impressions & Notes

Lens is very much hand-holdable
This lens has internal focusing that does not extend and retract upon focusing
I have not tried Pentax-F 1.7x AFA with the lens, I suspect it will work well together though I think I need extremely good lighting for AF to work
Focusing ring is shorter than I expected, it is between 1/4 to 1/2 turn
Focusing ring is well dampened but I would prefer a longer focus throw for precision
Minimal focusing distance is 4 meters
Filter Size is 72mm
SD glass works better with PF/CA
My copy comes with auto aperture which is great, this make it quicker with one less step for stop-down metering
Test photos quite sharp in f/8.0 and f/7.1
Will test wide open shots, I would imagine a touch soft
I attempted BIF shots with the lens but I am too slow to put the birds in frame
The tripod ring has a separate base, when mounted, it bothers hand-holding.
This is a welcome addition to my tele-lens for birds
This is a value lens to be considered

Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 On Humming Birds

2009-05-05 Posted by Hin Man

1/500 sec, f/6.3, 300mm, iso 500, 0 Ev, SR OFF

1/800 sec, f/6.3, 300mm, iso 500, 0 Ev, SR OFF

1/1000 sec, f/6.3, 300mm, iso 500, 0 Ev, SR ON

1/1000 sec, f/6.3, 300mm, iso 500, 0 Ev, SR OFF

1/1250 sec, f/6.3, 300mm, iso 500, 0 Ev, SR OFF

I bought my most expensive used lens with Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 with the desired intention for the capturing humming birds in a photo. I love shooting humming birds and it demands the best from my concentration, patience, and luck. They are so small and tiny and they disappear in a split of a second in my viewfinder and reappear when I am about to give up.

It is much easier to wait for them in a bird feeder with exact location when they will show up frequently. With flowers, they can dance between spots and it is next to impossible to guess where they are heading. The best moment is catch them when they are about to stay still for a moment in getting their food from the flower. Unlike a humming bird feeder, they seldom stay still with the flowers.

Impressions & Notes

The series of photos with humming bird makes the lens purchase all worthwhile for the money spent.
Color and sharpness is amazing from this old prime of Pentax
I still need to crop the photo a bit to see the bird in detail
Again, I used AF.C with center focus. I have not used auto select focal point due to a few failed attempts before, I am not sure if neighboring branches will be interpreted wrong by the AF system when I pan the little bird on its movement. I should give that a try.
With 1/1000 sec, I turned off SR almost completely and it seems to do well for me
The AF from this lens make the shooting much easier than my previous attempt with Photosniper Tair-3 PhS 300mm f/4.5 (m42) on Humming Birds
The first AF confirmation around the head of the humming bird is critical to the AF.C. In order to freeze the wing movement, shutter need higher and closer to 1/1000 sec.

Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 BIF Practice Shots

2009-05-04 Posted by Hin Man

Though I have problems getting close to the birds, I have been using my Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 for birds in flight shots. If I manage to practice more, the results will be better. These are taken quite far away and cropped down and lighting is too dim around 7:00pm after work, hence the lost of detail. But I have the most fun with the mallard pair as I enjoy seeing them gliding in pair.

1/1250 sec, f/5.6, 300mm, 640 iso, 0 Ev, SR off, AF.C

In high shutter speed, having SR off seems to do okay for me and the AF.C is working quite well for the shots as long as I manage to get AF in the panning the first moment that I see the birds approaching. I would like to get closer to the birds and I think with practice and more trials, I would learn to find a better location and find a better lighting as in blue sky and well lighted scene. More to come from another day with better lighting.

Another set is from a previous day with better lighting. Again in sunset lighting around 7:00pm. I may have the wrong setting as I pushed ISO too high in 1000 and I think I forget to turn SR off

1/4000 sec, f/5.6, 300mm, iso 1000, SR on, AF.C

Impressions & Notes

When shutter speed is over certain shutter value such as 1/1000 of a second, it seems that turning SR off has more benefits than turning SR on. The sudden movement in panning can trigger overcompensation from SR resulting in double edge pattern in the wings.
I love the F* prime for its compact size and weight and it allows me to be mobile and move my position as close to the birds in flight as possible
I need to learn about the mallard's pair gliding pattern, I find it the easiest to shoot them when they are not flopping their wings but gliding along their flight path
The initial AF confirmation is important for AF.C to work.
When I first see the sight of the bird, I tried to aim and half press and pan the bird movement hoping it is in an obvious direction and get 1, 2 or 3 shots out of the panning
I have used exclusively on AF.C with center focus and pan for the movement in a series.

Hin's Photo Corner

Pentax K-7 Videos

Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 On Squirrels

Giottos Rocket Blower Large

Pentax DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 FishEye

Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 On Terns

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 1:1 Macro EX DG On Tree

Tokina SD 400mm f/5.6 Test Shots

Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 On Humming Birds

Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 BIF Practice Shots

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