Free sample of the Pentax K-3 e-book and Free Focus Check Charts.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

I received many emails telling me that the free Pentax K-3 sample e-book and the Free Auto-focus charts will not download from the e-commerce store. It appears that Paypal is blocking any free transactions although I posted them at $0.00.

I understand your frustration and I will upload the free stuff on a different server.First, I need to open another account with a provider. In the meantime, just email me at brqyvn@gmail.com and I will manually send you the file(s) you request (Samples or AF charts). I am not sitting at my computer all day, but do check periodically.  I do receive emails on my iPhone, but I can't transfer the files from my iPhone as it would take too much memory to install the files there to begin with.

The bottom line, if you haven't been able to download the free e-book samples or AF charts, email me. I will fix it.

Best Regards,

Yvon Bourque

The e-books for the Pentax K10D, K100D, K20D, K-7, K-x, K-r, K-5, K-5II, K-5II e, K-30,  K-50, K-500  and the K-3 are available here: http://www.ebooks4cameras.com

What's going on in the Pentax Digital Camera world?

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

The entire Digital Camera world seems to be quiet at the present time.

• Not surprisingly, RiceHigh's blog keeps making a fool of himself by yet publishing another rumor about a Pentax Full Frame by next Halloween. Whether or not this actually materialize, it is about the tenth time he makes predictions about what Pentax will do next. Eventually, he'll have it right just by persistence alone. He will then claim that he is the only one that knew what Pentax was up to. Google his site and you will see what kind of egotistic person he is. He is "special" ! 

• Pentax Forums has a write-up about Pentax lens prices going up again.  

Are Pentax lens prices going up again?

• PENTAX FULL-FRAME DSLR MYSTERY DEEPENS Pentax Ricoh Imaging will neither confirm nor deny that is working on a full-frame DSLR, following remarks reportedly made by a top official in China.

  Read more 
  
  
  
  
• Adobe Photoshop is discontinuing the release of future revisions of its software package. They have decided to sell subscriptions instead. That means working in the clouds, and sometimes that is not possible. You may be in the field where no internet connections are available or where it's very expensive. How are you going to work on your images then? TOP has a complete article about. Must read.

• The latest new Pentax DSLR is the K-30 which was released at the end of  the third quarter of 2012.   The upgraded K-5 (K-5 II / K-5 IIs) were released a little later the same Month. There is no doubt that the K-5 series of DSLRs has been the most successful DSLRs they have produced yet. If you have a K-30 or any of the K-5 series, look at our e-books covering these cameras and many more. 

Click on the e-books below to download a partial sample of the K-5 or K-30 e-books.

See all our e-books for Pentax Cameras.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

New iBook coming soon for the Pentax K-01

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

Apple came up with a new App recently called iBooks Author. It brings e-book writing to a new level. It only works on iPad but allows multi-touch books. You can incorporate videos, animation, photo galleries, interactive diagrams, 3D objects and more.

Pentax just announced the new Pentax K-01, with availability in March. I am going to publish another e-book "Everything you need to know...and then some" for the Pentax K-01. It will be available in PDF format, like my preceeding e-books, but it will also be available for iPad  owners in this new iBooks Author format. Take a look at Apple's  https://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/

Click above to see how Apple iBooks Author works. See the video within Apple's page. You will need to have Apple Quick time player to see this video.

Click above for a short introduction to my upcoming iBook on how to use the new Pentax K-01. This will bring you to the You Tube site.

Click on the above to see the video on this page.

Until march, you can purchase the Pentax K-5 at a reduced price. If you need a little help, you can get my e-book for the K-5, as well as other Pentax fine cameras, such as the K-7, K-x, K-r, K20D, K10D and the K100D. Check it out here

.

As always, thank you for visiting,

Yvon Bourque

The instruction manual that should have come with the Pentax K-5. Maybe this is it.

 Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

It's a universally known fact that EOM Manuals (Pentax, Nikon, Canon and others) are complex and ambiguous. They are translated in multiple languages and the original, being in Japanese, often becomes vague in another language. The e-book presented here was written specifically for the Pentax K-5. It contains 300 pages of information pertaining to the K-5 as well as photographic “How-to”, color photographs as examples of what it being taught, lots of theory and hands-on explanation, all written in a not-so-technical way that everyone can get something out of this e-book. This is the most complete e-book in our series of e-book published for the Pentax line of DSLRs.  In addition of the demo pages below, a free and more complete sample download of the e-book is available here. You can also purchase the e-book here for the price of a few Starbucks coffees.

I am an Indie publisher, basically meaning that I am a self-publishing author, not part of the Amazon or big publishing companies. Unless you sell millions of books, there are absolutely no monetary benefits in belonging to a global publishing company. I don't ask for donations to write and maintain this blogsite nor do I post Google ads. There are no negative reasons in asking for donations or posting Google ads or being sponsored by the big camera stores like B&H or Adorama, etc. It's just not my cup-of-tea. My blogsite will never grow to the enormous sizes of some of the other sites, because I'm almost strictly Pentax.  Pentax accounts for about 5% of global camera equipment sales.  I'm okay with that. I'm a diehard Pentax user and will stay that way.

I received many positive comments about my e-books, and that makes me feel good, and justifies the long hours it took to write my e-books. I appreciate my blog readers and e-books buyers. I hope to be able to continue this endeavor for a long time.

Thank you for reading my blog and thank you for your encouragement.

Yvon Bourque

By the way, if you have suggestion about what you would like to read on this blogsite, let me know.





Pentax K-x e-book is in progress. Should have it completed within the next four weeks.

Visitors to this page also liked: See "Recommended Reading" on the right column.We honor reciprocal links. Email: brqyvn@aol.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

I finally received enough information from Pentax to write an e-book about the newest Pentax DSLR, the K-x. There are a lot of functions similar to the K-7 and some of the K-7 e-book can be recycled. I have a very good feeling about this new K-x, because it uses a Sony 12.4 megapixel CMOS sensor. The image quality will likely be very good at high ISO. I believe that it will surpass the K20D and K-7 at high ISO.

I haven't had a chance to shoot with the camera much, but as I write the e-book, I will also be testing the K-x. I will report my findings.

In the meantime, you can get e-books for the K10D, K100D, K20D and the K-7 on this blogsite. You can print the e-books on your own computer/printer for your own use, however, a "copyright" watermark will appear on each page. My prices are ridiculously low, but that makes copying my books for resale non-profitable.

Thank you for visiting,

Yvon Bourque

"Pentax Photography" Blog, administered by my good cyber friend Bruce Robbins, is going to Nikon D700.

Hi Pentaxian friends,

Yesterday, I logged on my cyber friend, Bruce Robbins' blog site, as I do every day. His blog is one that inspired me into starting my blog. Bruce started his blog as a Pentax K10D blog, then it mutated to Pentax Photography blog, and now, well...It will hopefully be Photography with a Pentax K10D and a Nikon D700 and other miscellaneous cameras blog.

Will his views and articles about photography in general change? I don't think so or at least I hope not. Here's a quote from Bruce's blog site: "And with a bit of luck and some sound financial planning (whatever that means) the purchase of the D700 shouldn't mean that I'll have to abandon Pentax entirely. I'm hoping to hang onto the K10D and the three DA Limited lenses I have. For portability, that outfit has the Nikon soundly beaten".

Bruce is upgrading to the Nikon D700 because of many reasons mentioned on his blogsite, but mainly because it is a full frame camera. It's a much more expensive ptoposition than the K10D or the K20D for that matter. Nikon got many people upset a few days ago by introducing the new D3X @ 24+MP at an astounding $8,000.00 price tag. Nikon fans have been asking for that for a while, and yet, as soon as it was announced, they all became angry at Nikon and complains came from all over the world. Just check a Nikon forum. Be careful for what you're asking for! Sony already introduced their 24+MP camera a little while back, and the CMOS used in the D3X is apparently the same Sony CMOS sensor.

As for me, I cannot imagine having a camera with a better value for my hard earned money than the Pentax K20D. It don't need to shoot like a machine gun, so the high count of frames/second is not that important to me. I'd rather shoot less photos of the same subject but think about my composition carefully. You know, there was excellent photography before the digital cameras. No matter what, you were limited to 36 consecutive shots with a 35mm film canister.

The K20D already has more pixels than what I will ever need, the image quality surpasses any of the 35mm SLR cameras I previously owned, and the ISO equivalent is higher than it was ever possible with film cameras. It may not be the cameras that need improvements as much as the users. Obviously, that's not the case with Bruce as he is an accomplished photographer. It may be the case for thousands of photographers, entry-level to some Professionals included. Hone your skills before you want to upgrade. Do you know your current camera capabilities fully? The new Nikon D700 or all the new costly DSLRs introduced lately will not make you a better photographer, it will just make you a photographer with the most expensive gadgets or it will make your badly composed pictures better exposed. Twenty-four Mega Pixels RAW files will kill your computer.

That also reminds me that we all have been wishing for Pentax to go full frame or to go ahead with the Medium Format Digital camera. Would we be ready for it? Would we be ready to pay thousands more for more pixels and a slight improvement of the image quality? Would our current computer equipment be able to handle it? We better watch what we are asking for. Are we ready for it?

As for Bruce's blog, I hope Bruce will continue writing about his Pentax DSLR and lenses from time to time.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

My own personal reasons why I purchased the Pentax K10D

Dear Pentaxians,

There were many Digital SLR choices out there, many with great features, some priced right, some too expensive for me, other with new cutting edge technology, and so on. I am not a professional photographer, given that I do not make a living from my photography. I have been an avid photographer since the age of twelve. I had some of my photographs published, I sold my photos at art fair, I pursued wedding and children photography for a while, and recently, wrote books on the Pentax K10D and K100D. So I do bring some revenues in from photography but I still have a day job and consider myself an amateur photographer. However, technically speaking, I don’t think that the Pros are necessarily better photographers. Actually, I sometimes feel a little sorry for them as they must keep up with technology and always have the latest equipment at hand. It would be awful for a Professional Photographer to do a wedding where “uncle Bob” had better “Pro” equipment than the official photographer. This entire introduction is to say that the camera reviews done by Professionals has not swayed my opinion one bit.

Marketing, ranks amongst the DSLR makers, magazines reviews (which have to say something nice about every DSLR makers if they are to get their business) and finally other photographers' opinions, have not influenced my decision. I made the decision of buying the K10D all by myself.

I started my photography with Pentax and I have to admit that I always had a sweet spot for Pentax. That said, I probably owned a camera at one time or another, from most manufacturers. I used 35mm, medium format, and large format cameras and now of course, Digital SLR. Photography is relatively a simple concept. It’s all about lighting. You have a media (film or sensor) encased in a box, and a glass lens (nor necessarily, as a pin hole will project light as well) which projects the light on the media. Although over simplified, to get the right amount of light on the media, the tools are the aperture, the shutter speed and the media sensitivity. Everything else is luxury. We are all so very lucky to live in an era of such technological advancement and yet, we often fail to realize it.

Back to the K10D…I realized early that digital was going to leave film media in the dust, I started searching. I purchased several point-and-shoot cameras to begin with, in the 1 to 2 megapixels range. Then I graduated to higher Megapixels, around the 5 Megapixels, but none were good enough to replace my Nikon F5 (Yes, my last 35mm camera was a Nikon F5.) Nikon had by then started the DSLR revolution with the Nikon D1. It was impressive, but at $5,000 for 2 Megapixels, I couldn’t afford it, remember, I am not a Professional Photographer and I do not have to impress anyone. It seems that for a while, newer and better cameras were introduced to the market every month. My best pictures were still produced with 35mm transparencies, scanned to digital.

Some years passed and Pentax introduced their first DSLR, the Pentax *ist D. I joined the DSLR bandwagon with the Pentax *ist DS. I still have it. It was okay but it didn’t make a great impression, other than being the smallest DSLR on the market at the time. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. I wanted Pentax to be amongst the leaders once again. They always had a reputation of being innovators. In 1954, they introduced the first instant return mirror system. In 1957 they introduced a prism for the single lens reflex. In 1964, they introduced the Spotmatic featuring the first TTL metering. Other innovations followed; the multi coating of lenses, the first TTL auto focus camera, the first multi-mode medium format camera, the Pentax 645. Who hasn’t heard of the Pentax K1000? It was the ultimate SLR when comparing simplicity and price.

That is the prime reason I always liked Pentax…Simplicity and affordability.

Finally, in 2006, with the introduction of the K10D, I believe Pentax started heading in the right direction once more with simplicity and affordability. What other cameras in this price range have a dedicated button for RAW? A dedicated button for exposure bracketing? An in-camera Shake Reduction system? A dust reduction system for the sensor? A moisture and dust resistant body? A choice of RAW format between PEF and DNG (Adobe attempt for a universal RAW format)? As you know, this is just scratching the surface. The K10D is chucked full with innovations accessible in a simple way.

The K10D is so well design that I rarely have to surf through pages of menus to change functions. So, the bottom line, the reason I chose the K10D is Simplicity of use and Affordability. Entry-level photographers can grow into this system. I believe that this is just the new beginning. Watch for the upcoming K20D and the K200D. They will eclipse the competition for simplicity of use and price. You just wait and see.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Why purchasing a Pentax K10D makes sense.

Why purchasing a Pentax K10D makes sense.

The major players in the Digital SLR camera world are, as you likely know, Nikon and Canon which are alternatively in the lead position. Then, there is or there will be Sony who is rapidly catching up and will undoubtedly become the third most popular DSLR. Pentax and Olympus are the next in line followed by Fuji and Sigma. I must say that they all produce great cameras. I know you’ve heard that a thousand times, but “It’s not the camera…it’s the photographer”. Also, the bigger your budget is the more publicity you can afford, and the more sales you make. It’s a vicious circle as more people hear from your product; more people associate your brand as being the best. Sometimes, the underdog has to work harder and produce better and more affordable products. More on this later.

Let’s be real here, great photographs are produced every day by photographers using any one of the above cameras. Sure, a camera with a very fast sequential shooting will be more apt to fulfill a sport photographer’s needs. Cameras with seals to protect against dust and humidity will probably be an important factor for professional field photographers. Lenses and accessories availability is a great reason for choosing one make over another. Let’s not forget price or value for your hard earned money (in my case anyway). If money is no object, buy the newest DSLR with the most gadgets, and trade it in anytime something newer and better comes out.

My decision to purchase Pentax is a blend of different reasons. I started in photography, many moons ago, with the Pentax Spotmatic. I purchased an array of lenses and optional gear and kept updating my equipment through the late 1980’s. I then switched to Nikon, because I was influenced by many of the professional photographers using Nikon cameras. I sold all of my Pentax gear and got Nikon equipment. Eventually, I owned a Nikon F5 and a Nikon F100 as spare, with about 15 lenses. It was an excellent camera, and in my opinion, one of the best 35mm ever made.

But then came the digital world. I first purchased a Nikon Coolpix 950, then the 990, and then additional lenses and attachments. (By the way, the Coolpix cameras cost me more than my current K10D and lenses.) Nikon announced their first DSLR and I thought it was too expensive ($5,000.00). They followed with new models about every nine months or so, making the previous model worth just a fraction of the purchased price of a few months earlier. Canon did the same. To top it all off, Nikon as well as Canon started selling their cameras through electronic stores such as Best Buy, Circuit City, and through discount stores such as Wall Mart, Sam’s Club, and Costco. To me, they have succumbed to the temptation of mass selling, profits and greed, over quality and service. Most sales persons at these electronic stores and discount stores barely know the difference between an IPOD and a DSLR. In the process, many Camera Stores had to shut their doors because they weren’t able to compete with big corporations. They are gone and so is the personal service and expertise of their staff.

So back to the reason I went back to Pentax……Affordability, features, RAW images, Shake Reduction, Backward lens compatibility, and more, much more.

To be continued tomorrow with the details..

Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow and see if you agree with me.

Yvon Bourque

K10D and K100D downloadable e-books.

If you own a K10D or K100D, we have a Book dedicated to each camera. We have added the e-book for each camera that can be purchased for only $15.00 and can be downloadable immediately after payment. It doesn't get much faster that that.

You can buy the printed books here: http://www.pentaxdslrs.com/

You can buy the e-books here: http://www.k10dbook.com/Purchase%20PDF.htm

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

You can email me if you don't like to leave comments yvon@k10dbook.com

How the West was once.

Pioneertown in California is another great place for photographers. The following description was imported from many sites describing Pioneertown. I was there with my faithfull Pentax K10D and took those unique pictures.

Though Pioneertown was built as a real town in 1946, it was also built as a movie set by a group of investors who envisioned an 1870’s frontier town that functioned as a living movie set. Western stars including Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gail Davis (Annie Oakley), Duncan Renaldo (The Cisco Kid), Leo Carrillo (Pancho), Gene Autry, The Sons of the Pioneers (for whom the town was named), Jock Mahoney (The Range Rider), and Russell Hayden, (Hopalong Cassidy movie series) all walked these streets packin’ six guns.

Other movie greats including Barbara Stanwyck, Jackie Coogan, Dick Jones, Edgar Buchanan, Tom Skerritt and Barry Sullivan all made movies here from 1948 to 1998. The atmosphere of the ‘old west’ lives on in the town that has kept most of the original buildings and has its own Pioneertown Posse. It is a treat, for young and old alike, to roam the streets; take photos; visit the Post Office Museum; bowl in the bowling alley where the first strike was bowled by Roy Rogers; ride the Rattlesnake Gulch Railroad Line, a one of a kind miniature steam engine replica that takes passengers around the bowling alley and shooting gallery, and relive an exciting part of Hollywood and Western Film history.

The Pipes Canyon Preserve is a fantastic place for hikers, and horseback riders. It is a 20,000 acre natural wildlife corridor that connects the Joshua Tree National Park with the San Bernardino National Forest. The Preserve’s Canyons offer superb wildlife and natural habitat viewing.

Pioneertown is located five minutes northwest of Yucca Valley on Pioneertown Road and is at an altitude of 4,000 feet in a high desert basin of Joshua Trees. It is, on average, 20 degrees cooler than Palm Springs and makes for a fascinating desert destination.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Pentax K10D best accessory yet.

Well today, I got my best Pentax K10D accessory yet. I bought a Jeep Wrangler already rigged for heavy-duty trips. My step-son, Donovan, will be walking the entire Pacific Crest Trail next April (that's about 2,600 miles). He sold me his Jeep to get the top-notch gear and accessories for this adventurous and challenging trip. That's his dream and he will finally realize it. You can see his blog here. PCT Dream it, See it, Do it.

At least, the Jeep will stay in the family. As for me, this is also a dream fulfilled, as I will be able to go just about anywhere with my Pentax gear. There are so many places I want to go to but can never get there with my car. Wildlife photography, here I come.

I just wanted to share this good day I had with the world and all my photog friends.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

New York, New York

New York is the symbol of American freedom (and world freedom for that matter) throughout the world. It is probably why terrorists chose to attack New York in 2001, (911) as we will always remember it. It may have been one of the worst tragedies in the United States history, but New York remains the most vibrant city in the USA. We were in New York a while back. Of course I had my camera gears and the first free moment we had, I dragged my spouse to B&H Photo which is undoubtedly the biggest camera & equipment store in the world. I remember the sales person asking me, after I had bought a CPL filter, “Did you find everything you need?” and my answer was “Yes I did, do you know where I could find the money I need for it all?” There is at least one of everything photographic in that store.
Most city people head out to the country side, on weekends, to take pictures. Other than Central Park, New York does not offer much greenery, wild animals, pristine lakes and mountains. It also just happened to be raining most of the time we were there. If you combine the weather elements, the traffic, the concrete buildings, the noise, one would think that there isn’t anything worth taking picture of in the Big Apple. On-the-contrary my friends, I was amazed at the excitement and vibrant mood of the Big Apple. There is always something going on, night and day. There are millions of lights and probably as many taxies. Street performers are everywhere. Food vendors are at each street corner, and their chow fills the area with wonderful smell of roasted peanuts, hotdogs, and cooking onions, all strong enough aromas to mask the exhaust fumes and to make you hungry.

I went crazy shooting everything in sight. Of course, I can’t present all of them here, and indeed, I am not displaying my very best shots. My point is to show how easy it is to make wonderful photographs in New York City. I particularly liked shooting at night with all the city lights and bustling crowd in Time Square. I suppose it is similar in the world’s biggest cities, but I was never able to afford such a trip.

Atop the Empire State building, we saw two birds (ravens or crows, I suppose) standing on the guardrail as if they were the guardians of the city.

There was a fire in an office building while we were there. The fireman looked exhausted. He wasn't too happy that I was taking his picture. None-the-less, after 911, they became heros, and who doesn't like to take pictures of heros? One shot is all I took.

_______________________________________

A simple photograph of taxis, while I was in a taxi myself, can render some pretty amazing shots. Of course, that’s just my opinion, but taking that one mundane picture and working with PhotoShop Elements, interesting results can be achieved. Like it or not, while in New York, I couldn’t stop thinking that this is probably what the future reserves for us. Eventually, the population growth will be such that we will all live in populated areas like New York. The ethnic mixture is everywhere, and that is certainly a good thing.

Thank you for reading my blog,

Yvon Bourque

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