Wednesday Weekly Trip Report - We start tomorrow with New Orleans, Pentax K-3 with the smc PENTAX DA 16-45mm f4.0 ED AL. It's one of my favorite lens although not my newest.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

As many of you probably know, we are traveling in our RV across the U.S. We have been on the road for eight Months already. We stayed in South Texas for the winter, but are now back on the road. We travel with our Ricoh/Pentax photographic equipment and have been capturing amazing images along the way. Our voyage started in the high desert of California. We first drove south with a stay in the San Diego area, after which we headed East along the I-10 corridor.

Starting this week, I am planning to report on our whereabouts every Wednesday. This will include a brief history about the places visited, interesting facts, and images taken with one of our Ricoh/Pentax camera. Each week, a different camera or lens will be used just to make it more interesting. This will force us to meticulously compose our pictures with the camera and lens combination for that week.

I will describe how each image was taken and which camera and lens was used, so that you can produce similar images.

We start tomorrow with New Orleans, Pentax K-3 with the smc PENTAX DA 16-45mm f4.0 ED AL. It's one of my favorite lens although not my newest.

See Ya!
Yvon Bourque

Check our e-books for all Pentax DSLRs by clicking here. 

Ricoh / Pentax Lenses

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

I found this on another blog but can't remember where. I thought it was interesting. I'm not sure if it is an official Ricoh / Pentax image. I would love to have them all.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

Ricoh Imaging introduces five new HD Pentax DA Limited lenses

By PR ADMIN | Published: AUGUST 27, 2013

  
  

New Lenses feature enhanced performance with high-grade HD coating and rounded diaphragms for stunning bokeh effects

DENVER, CO, August 27, 2013 –Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation (Ricoh Imaging) is pleased to announce the introduction of five new HD PENTAX DA Limited lenses. The acclaimed HD PENTAX DA Limited series of prime lenses, specifically designed for the PENTAX  K-mount DSLR cameras includes the HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited, HD PENTAX DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited, HD PENTAX DA 35mm F2.8 Macro Limited, HD PENTAX DA 40mm F2.8 Limited and HD PENTAX DA 70mm F2.4 Limited, elevating optical design and performance.

Touting highly-enhanced optical performance the HD PENTAX DA Limited lenses feature treatments of both SP (Super Protect) coating and the PENTAX-original high-grade multi-layer HD (High Definition) coating, which assures much higher light transmittance than conventional multi-layer coatings delivering sharp, clear images with significantly reduced flare and ghosting, even under demanding, backlit conditions. All five lens models have also been upgraded with completely rounded aperture diaphragms at wide aperture settings for optimal optics performance and gorgeous bokeh effects.

“Ricoh Imaging continues to innovate and improve all aspects of photography,” said Jim Malcolm, Executive Vice President, Ricoh Imaging. “With an industry-leading 24 APS-C optimized lenses our family of K-mount DSLRs and lenses provides consumers with a system that has been fine-tuned and meticulously architected for optimal image output. And, with enhancements like HD coating, we are continuously helping consumers achieve more technically sound images.”

Inheriting the distinctive visual description and premium appearance of the lauded PENTAX Limited Lens series, the refreshed line of HD PENTAX DA Limited lenses features a meticulous finish in every detail, from the outstanding image rendition to the high-quality, hand-machined aluminum body, the refreshed lineup provides the utmost durability and elegant design.

Pricing and Availability

The HD PENTAX DA Limited Lens series will be available for purchase in a choice of black or silver at www.us.ricoh-imaging.com and retail outlets nationwide in September 2013 with the following suggested retail prices:

• HD PENTAX DA 40mm F2.8 Limited- $549.95
  • pre order options: SILVER | BLACK
• HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited- $699.95
  • pre order options: SILVER | BLACK
• HD PENTAX DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited- $699.95
  • pre order options: SILVER | BLACK
• HD PENTAX DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited- $749.95
  • pre order options: SILVER | BLACK
• HD PENTAX DA 70mm F2.4 Limited- $749.95
  • pre order options: SILVER | BLACK

Major Features (common to all five models):

1. High-grade HD coating for exceptional image rendition
HD PENTAX DA Limited lenses are treated with HD coating,* a high-grade multi-layer lens coating that assures higher light transmittance and lower reflectance than conventional multi-layer coatings. As the result, HD PENTAX DA Limited lenses produce sharp, clear images free of flare and ghost images, even under such adverse lighting conditions as backlight.
* HD stands for High Definition, and signifies the lens’s capacity to reproduce images that excel in transparency, definition, resolution and rendition.

2. Round-shaped diaphragm for beautiful out-of-focus rendition
All lenses feature a completely round-shaped diaphragm to optimize the performance of their distinctive optics. This diaphragm produces a natural, beautiful bokeh (out-of-focus) effect, while minimizing the streaking effect of point light sources.

3. Acclaimed Limited Lens-series qualities for distinctive visual description and a premium appearance
While inheriting the design concept of the Limited Lens series, these lenses were designed by combining a series of mechanical and numerical evaluations with human assessment of test-shooting samples to assure supreme image reproduction. Their optical design has been optimized for digital photography to deliver sharp, clear images with outstanding contrast, even at the maximum aperture. In addition, their lens barrel, hood and cap are all made of a high-grade aluminum material, hand-machined for perfect proportions and beautiful texture.

4. Enhanced exterior design signifying HD series
While inheriting traditional design features of DA PENTAX Limited Lenses the new HD PENTAX DA Limited lens series features a red anodized ring on the front of the focus ring to signify the presence of new HD PENTAX lens coating and enhance its exclusive appearance.

5. Other features

• SP (Super Protect) coating (already featured in four other lenses) has been applied to the HD PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited to keep the front surface free of dust and stains.
• All the lenses come in a silver version in addition to the black version.
♦Design and Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Combining my photography blog with my newest passion; RV travelling.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

A few years back, my second favorite hobby was four-wheeling with my Jeep. The Jeep has found a new home a while back and now we are into luxury camping, with a fifth wheel. This will expand my photography immensely. Starting in a few months, we will try to spend weekends in different places within 200 miles from our home in the high desert of California.

 

From here, a weekend of camping can bring us to all Southern California, part of Nevada and Arizona. There are a multitude of nice places to visit with gorgeous opportunities for photography. With our Pentax cameras and lenses, we will travel as often as possible and report on these short trips with stories and plenty of photos. I will try to use different lenses for each trip and show the results here.

 

With this new endeavor, I thought it would be appropriate to also link to other bloggers engaged in RVying and photography as well. You will find these links listed on the right side of this blog.

 

This is what will be pulling our house on wheels.

 

Above is the House / Photo Studio, on wheels.
Below is part of the inside.

 

 

This is going to be a new chapter in our lives and we will share the experiences with you all. It's still going to be a Pentax oriented blog, with a twist. I am in negotiations with Pentax to borrow different lenses for short periods of time and reporting on the results. It should be interesting.

 

Thanks you for reading,

 

Yvon Bourque

"One camera one Lens" It might be more applicable now than ever before..

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

The "One Camera, One Lens" applies for all makes, Pentax, Canon, Nikon, you name it. I own Pentax equipment and therefore I show Pentax equipment on this blog.

Hi Photographer friends,

Have you compared  2012 prices of lenses to just a few years ago? Lenses have become more expensive than ever. I believe that the ratio of camera$ / lens$ prices is out of control.

We used to say that the camera bodies were replaceable every-so-often, but that lenses were an investment for life. I don't think that holds true anymore. The sensors are so advanced now, that they often outresolve the lenses, especially the older lenses. So maybe lenses are not a lifetime investment anymore.

In addition, manufacturers are making us believe that, to be a good photographer, we need an arsenal of lenses that we couldn't possibly bring to all of our photo shoots even if we wanted to. Some preach that prime lenses are the only quality lenses one should use, while other recognize that today's zoom lenses are far better than the old school zooms. The reality is that everybody is right, (regarding primes or zooms)  but we don't all have a bank account that allows us to purchase all we want. Most of us have a bank accounts that allows us to  purchase what we need and maybe a little of what we want.

If you want to become a better photographer, all the lenses in the world won't do you much good if you don't learn how to use them efficiently and wisely. An extreme zoom lens or telephoto will bring a far away object in the viewfinder, but the perspective will be all screwed up. It's the same for a wide angle lens, you may catch the scene almost behind you, but the perspective will also be screwed up.

Try to get acquainted with each of your lens, and practice a lot. In most situations, a normal lens (that is a lens that shows you the scene about the same as what your eyes normally see)  will render the best quality images. For an APS-C DSLR, 28 - 30 mm lens is a normal lens, for what we now call "Full Frame", a 45 - 50 mm is a normal lens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_lens

Film/Sensor format	Image dimensions	Image diagonal	Normal lens focal length
9.5 mm	8 × 11 mm	13.6 mm	15 mm
Half-frame	24 × 18 mm	30 mm	30 mm
APS-C	16.7 × 25.1 mm	30.1 mm	28 mm, 30 mm
135- 35mm (Full Frame)	24 × 36 mm	43.3 mm	45 mm, 50 mm
6 × 4.5 (645)	56 × 42 mm	71.8 mm	75 mm
6 × 6	56 × 56 mm	79.2 mm	80 mm
, 6 × 7	56 × 68 mm	88.1 mm	90 mm
6 × 9	56 × 84 mm	101.0 mm	105 mm
6 × 12	56 × 112 mm	125.0 mm	120 mm
Large Format 4 × 5	93 × 118 mm (image area)	150.2 mm	150 mm
Large 5 × 7	120 × 170 mm (image area)	208.0 mm	210 mm
Large Format 8 × 10	194 × 245 mm (image area)	312.5 mm	300 mm

Only after you master photography with a normal lens, should you venture into the Wide Angle, Telephoto and Zoom lenses. Okay...you don't have to, but it would make you a better photographer in the long run.

Even if you currently have an arsenal of lenses, maybe you should spend some time practicing with a normal lens. It's the old adage "One camera, One lens". Most of today's photographers seem to have forgotten the correct usage of each lens. We see photographers stand at the same position and change the angle of view (zoom lenses).  This changes the coverage area without a corresponding change in perspective. Perspective changes not because of the focal length, but due to the position of the lens in relation to the subject. Changing to a normal lens and changing the position of the camera can drastically change the perspective. The "One camera, One lens" teaches you to use your legs (instead of zooming from one position), and puts you,  the camera and the lens in the most appropriate position to obtain the natural perspective. Once you try and practice this, you will get to know each of your lens intimately and will be a better photographer because of it...and who knows what other photographic opportunities will be discovered by walking closer or farther to your subject.

May the light be working with you :)

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

LENSBABY, fun to use and works just fine with the Pentax DSLRs.

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

Hi Pentaxian friends.

We met with Craig Strong, President and Co-Founder of LENSBABY, during the Sneak Peek on Monday.

We caught up with Craig today and it looks like we will be able to test the LENSBABY series of optics sometime in the near future. I tried the "Composer" today at the show and as you can see below, it didn't take long for Craig to turn his attention to the pretty lady that appeared in my viewfinder!

I do like the effects you get with the LENSBABY optics, and once I receive a test kit, I will post a full review on this site. Craig is the inventor of the LENSBABY series of optics and I congratulated him on such a great idea. For now, you can visit their website.

Come back to this site for the full review.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

How lenses are made...facinating.

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

Hi Pentaxian friends.

I saw this on Image Insider which I subscribe to. Take a look, it's facinating. I never knew there was so much work to put a lens together.

How lenses are made?

Thank you for reading, Check Image Indider here: Image Insider

Yvon Bourque

The best lens for the money, for your Pentax DSLR.

Visitors to this page also liked: See "Recommended Reading" on the right column.
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Hi Pentaxian friends.

This lens will cost you less that $5.00. The results are akin to old cameras, but in color. Have you ever used a medium format plastic Holga camera? The results are somewhat similar. The Holga lens is made of plastic, but our lens has better "see through" quality than the best Carl Zeiss lenses. One disadvantage may be that it comes with one aperture on each lens, and the aperture is very small. In all likelihood, you will have to use a tripod. This is a prime lens, but it can be turned to a telephoto lens easily. It will take so little space in your camera bag, that it will make the Pentax Pancake Limited lenses look enormous. It has a good reputation of being a great lens for street photography and with a little practice, you can turn ordinary street photographs to extraordinary emotion filled images.

Of course, the quality of the images taken will not be as good as what Pentax prime and DA* lenses can produce. However, it's winter and in most parts of the Country it's cold and many of us don't take that many pictures in winter anyway. We all need some projects for winter shooting. So now, we're almost ready to divulge what is that very economical lens that has better "see through" quality that the best Carl Zeiss lenses.

It's a pinhole, home-made lens. With a DSLR, pinhole shooting becomes as modern as can be. The results are as instantaneous as your DRLS can display it on the LCD monitor. It's really easy to make your own, although some fancy assembly can be purchased. What you need is a Pentax camera body cap, and one small piece of aluminum foil or brass shim. Drill a hole measuring about 1/2 inch in diameter in the body cap. Take the smallest needle you can find, and gently pierce a hole in the foil. Note that the smaller the hole, the better the image will be. Cut the foil so that it can easily fit inside the body cap. Tape the foil inside the body cap, making sure the small hole is located in the center. That's it, you have a pinhole lens. A flashgun in ‘full power’ manual mode can be used to illuminate a subject up to about 6”away. Two advantages of flash are; not having to worry about camera shake, and extreme contrast which adds to the apparent sharpness of the image.You want to make it a telephoto lens, simply use extendion tubes. Because the image circle gets larger as the distance between the pinhole and the sensor increases...you get an instant telephoto. The DSLR will have to be used in manual mode for the shutter speed, but the auto-focus is not necessary as the lens renders images equally focused Try it, you will have a blast.

Good references on pinhole.

Northlight Images

Hacking Digital Cameras

National aperture

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

I am parting with some good glass so that I can buy more glass. It's all about LBA.

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

In order to get some of the Pentax DA* lenses that I didn't know I needed, I am going to sell some of my current lenses on EBay. I already looked on EBay for the lowest price they were getting and I am offering them here at the lowest price each were sold on EBay in the last few days. If you are interested, email me brqyvn@aol.com

I will accept PayPal payments only from certified PayPal accounts. In a few days, if they haven't sold here, I will place them on EBay.

This is what I am selling first:

Pentax DA 70mm Limited. $380.00 GONE TO EBAY - CHECK IT OUT.

Pentax DA 16-45mm. $200.00 SOLD

Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4. $150.00 SOLD

Pentax AF-200fg flash. $ 95.00 GONE TO EBAY

All are in excellent "Like new" condition. Shipping is free inthe USA and at cost to other Countries. I would much rather have one of my readers get the lenses than selling them to people I have never made contact with before.

The DA 16-45 does not come with the box, but it has the lens pouch.

The 70mm Limited is like new.

The FA 50mm is like new, only used it a few times.

The AF-200fg flash is new as I purchased one a while back but another one was included in the K-2000 kit.

I have other Pentax FA, A and M lenses as well as other brands that I will also sell.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

If you plan carefully, you too can own some of the best lenses and photographic equipment.

Visitors to this page also liked: See right column.
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Hi Pentaxian friends.

I love to buy new lenses, just like everyone else. If you read this blog, you already know about (LBA) Lens Buying Addiction, and you may already be addicted. It's difficult to break the habit. I have tried to reason this out and prioritize my expenses. After listing where I spent my money, it became easier to rationalize and prioritize my purchases.

Here's my list of expenses, in no particular order. House payment, car payment, gas for car, food, clothing, entertainment, savings, medical, emergencies, lenses and camera equipment. If you look at these expenses one at a time and analyse them, you can come up with a well balanced budget.

House Payment: The way the mortgages have gone up and the house values down, they can come and get the house. A used travel trailer is much cheaper.
Car Payment: The car manufacturers are in such trouble that they can take my current car in trade, sell me a new one for 40% less than a year ago, and with no financing charges. I will get a new car, at half the payments.

Gas for car: Heck, I'm buying an hybrid.

Food: There are no needs to be fancy in these times of economic crisis. Macaroni and cheese and Top Ramen soup are good and nutritious. If you need crackers with that, they're free at McDonald, so is the ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, napkins, and if you're over 55 or look like your over 55, they'll give you free coffee. If you buy one soft drink, the super size one, you can keep going in for refills, at any McDonalds.

Clothing: Who needs more than two pairs of jeans, a few t-shirts, socks and underware? Oh...maybe a pair of shoe. It's too cold you say? Move to California, it's warm all year round and the social benefits are the greatest in the nation. If you're smart about it, you'll get food stamps (which you can sell for 40% less and get the money in your hands instead) you may be eligible for welfare...no, you will be eligible, low cost housing, (You can rent a room or two and the Section-Eight house is free) school money (photography classes at the Junior College), they even give you vouchers for gas.

Entertainment: Just watching CNN is entertainment enough for me. It's all rolled up into one big show; Politic, drama, comedy, reality show and science-fiction.

Savings: I do save an undisclosed amount of my income, so that I can buy new lenses.

Medical: Don't go see a doctor because if you feel good, the doctor will find something wrong with you. What you don't know can't hurt you.

Emergencies: I only save money for planned emergencies. As of now, I have no plans for having any emergency in my life.

Lenses and Camera Equipment: Now is the time to buy, as I understand that prices will go up in April.

As you can see, with proper planning and regular savings, you too can get the lenses you didn't know you needed.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Pentax Lenses preference.

Hi Pentaxian friends,

We all have preferences when it comes to lenses. The type of photography you like pretty much dictates what lens works best for you. For example, landscape usually works best with wide-angle lenses, portrait can have more selective focusing with small to medium telephoto lenses with large aperture, sport photography requires telephoto (or zoom) lenses with large maximum aperture, wildlife works best with extreme telephoto lenses, etc.

Nowadays, zoom lenses are very popular, although a reverse trend to prime lenses seems to exist amongst Pentax shooters. The current zoom lenses are certainly better than the zoom lenses manufactured decades ago, but because they have more moving parts, it makes sense that prime lenses would have an edge in IQ.

There are many choices on the market, from genuine Pentax lenses to brands like Sigma and Tamron. There is also the price factor. I would like to own a Pentax SMC P-FA 600mm F4.0 ED (IF), but there is no way that I could justify that purchase. I probably wouldn’t use it much and owning one of these monsters is more of a statement than a need. "He who has the biggest lens wins!"

Like many of us (Pentaxians), I like the Limited lenses because of their physical sizes and because they are very well built. I’m still looking for the Limited lenses pouch. Used with the new K2000, they make the perfect travel or street shooting outfit. The one pet peeve of mine is that I like all my lenses to have the same filter sizes. That works fine with the Limited lenses as they all have 49mm filter thread and also with the Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4. I currently own the 40mm and the 70mm Limited’s. With time, I will get the rest.

I own some of the prime and zoom lenses, and I want them all to have 77mm filter threads. I currently have the DA 14mm, DA 12-24mm, DA*16-50, DA* 200mm, and the DA* 300mm. They all have the 77mm filter threads in common.

Soon, I will put my non-conforming lenses on EBay, DA 18-55mm, DA 18-55mm II, DA 50-200mm, DA 16-45mm and a bunch of “A” and “M” lenses. I have the DA 10-17mm, but it doesn’t accept filters, so I will keep it.

I use circular polarizer and neutral density filters. That minimises the need for more filters. I have a set of 49mm and a set of 77mm filters. I know I could use step-up rings, but that would just be more items to forget at home.

I recently purchase a “Cokin P” filter system consisting of a CPL, ND2, ND4, ND8, graduated ND and sunset. They work okay, but are still a little too big for the Limited lenses. I will post an article about the “Cokin” system soon. It’s not for everyone.

Let all of us know what your lens’s pet peeves are in the comments. I’m sure we all have some.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque
P.S. I'm trying to make my photographic system all genuine Pentax...another pet peeve. Maybe it's an obsession, I don't know!

APS-C versus Full-Frame. What's the deal?

Are you confused with the conversion factor of 1.4 to 1.6 (and probably other conversion factors I don't know about) applied to most lenses designed for the 35mm format but used on DSLR using an APS-C sized sensor? Well, maybe this will help. Using AutoCAD and PhotoShop, I was able to make the sketches herein.

All lenses designed for the 35mm film format project an image circle on the film plane of roughly 43mm in diameter, regardless of the focal length of the lens. I am showing a 300mm lens in the figures herein, but all lenses designed for the 35mm film format project the same size image circle on the 35mm film plane. A 35mm film frame measures 36mm x 24mm and therefore the image recorded is not round, but measures 36mm x 24mm. The portion of the round image outside the 35mm frame is wasted.

See figure above for an overlay of the image circle, the 36 x 24mm film or full frame , the APS-C sensor and a 4 x 5 inch film sheet. See figure below for the actual 35mm film full frame. It is full frame 35mm film format because it captures the rectangular image of 36 x 24mm within the image circle.

What seems to confuse a lot of people is the perception that a lens designed for a 35mm film format, used on a APS-C sensor, becomes 1.5 times more powerful. I have heard, as example, that a 300mm lens designed for 35mm film format becomes a 450mm on a DSLR with an APS-C sensor (as 300mm x 1.5 = 450mm). That would be magic. A 300mm lens is a 300mm lens is a 300mm lens. Got it? What changes, is that because the APS-C sensor is smaller than the full frame 35mm format, the image is cropped. It appears to be a longer telephoto, but it is not. The angle of view changes, because of the smaller size sensor of 23.5 x 15.7mm. It's no different that cropping an image in PhotoShop. See figure below for the APS-C crop.

Now, if you were to use a lens designed for a 35mm formal and use it on a 4 x 5 inch view camera, the image circle would not be big enough to cover the entire 4 x 5 frame. What you would get is a round image in the middle. See figure below.

Using a wide angle lens would have the same effect. As example, a 20mm lens designed for the 35mm film format would give a angle of view equivalent to a 30mm lens. Again, you are just cropping the image.


Owners of APS-C sized DSLRs claim that they get more telephoto for the money. Similarly, the owners of full frame DSLRs claim that they get more wide angle for the money. Nobody can win at that game, it all depends what you shoot more often. Wildlife and sport photographer will have an edge with longer telephoto, while keeping the same widest aperture, for a lot less money. On the other hand, Landscape and architectural photographers will benefit from the true wide angle of their lenses. If you take all kind of pictures, you decide what's more important to you.


The sensors have evolved a lot in the past ten years or so. Most cameras were using CCD sensors a while back. Now, with technology advances and production costs going down, CMOS sensors are being used more and more. The bigger the sensor, the less noise is introduced and the higher ISO settings can be used. At this time, CMOS full frame sensors seem to be the fashionable sensors because they produce less noise. What about all those lenses I bought for my Pentax K10D? If Pentax joins the current trend and use full frame sensors, all my DA lenses won't work with full frame. The image circle will be too small. I am confident that the evolution of sensors will be such that APS-C sensors will produce less and less noise. I can use my lens designed for the 35mm format on my APS-C sized sensor DSLR, but cannot use the DA lenses on full frame DSLRs. Beside, it costs less to manufacture APS-C lenses and we stand to gain from that.

Just my two cents worth.

Thank you for reading my post. Let me know what you think.

Yvon Bourque