Fun in the Snowstorm

by Miserere


I was very envious of Yvon the other day, driving around the snow taking pictures, so I decided I wouldn't be left behind in the snow picture-taking department. Of course, I was missing a few a things. There are no deserts around Boston, I don't have a fancy red jeep, and my wife just laughed at me when I asked her to come take photos with me in the cold. Oh, and there was no snow. That last one really foiled my plans.

As luck would have it, the same storm that dumped a few inches of snow in the Mojave Desert kept working its way across the United States and eventually made it to Boston last Friday, December 19. It started snowing around 13:00 and by the time I left work to head home a little before 18:00 we had several inches of snow. The worst part was that it was still snowing and the wind was blowing quite fiercely, making me wish I had snow goggles.

I'm not one to turn down a photo opportunity, so I bundled up, put my K10D inside my jacket, and went outside. Taking pictures was tricky because I had to keep snow from blowing onto the front of the lens...and my fingers from freezing. I was using an old manual-focus Kiron 24mm f/2, so focusing was also challenging. Most of the time I just kept the lens at the hyperfocal setting or guessed the focusing distance. Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy using old lenses?

Here are a few photos taken during my trek home. You'll be happy to know that I didn't lose any fingers in the process and the K10D performed admirably. Note the snow flying sideways!

Thanks for reading.

Miserere

Does the Pentax K20D Perform Better with non-DA Lenses?

by Miserere


When the K20D was first announced, a collective groan went up when Pentax unveiled the pixel count of its sensor. 14.6MP sounded like too many to provide low-noise images with a wide dynamic range. Pentax were quick to calm us down by pointing out that the individual pixels in the new CMOS sensor were actually of a similar size to those of the K10D; what they had done was shrink the inter-pixel space where all the circuitry is located so they could now fit more pixels onto the chip without making them significantly smaller.

Smart...

They also improved the micro lenses that sit on top of each pixel. By bringing them closer to the surface of the pixel they improved the light-gathering capacity of each pixel because light reaching the micro lenses from different angles will now be better directed towards the pixels instead of being lost in the spaces between them.


While DA lenses have been designed so the light leaving the lens from the rear-most element is as perpendicular to the sensor plane as possible, older lenses were not designed with this requirement because film is sensitive to light coming in from almost any direction. This is one of the reasons why some older lenses don't perform as well on digital SLRS as they did on film SLRs.


All these improvements should help the K20D provide better IQ with non-DA lenses than previous DSLRs from Pentax. If this is true, it would be a very important reason to upgrade for those of us who own a lot of old lenses.

As you might imagine, I don't have a K20D, so I cannot test this myself. It would be interesting if blog readers owning a K20D and one of the other Pentax DSLRs could perform some experiments to show whether Pentax's claims are true or not. Yvon, I know you have both a K10D and a K20D; this sounds like a nice weekend project for you :-) Of course, you'd post the results here for all to see.

I wouldn't be surprised if this were true, and it's another big plus for the K20D that Pentax isn't advertising emphatically enough.

Run some tests, and post your results in the comments section.


Thanks!

Miserere

Show the Old Glass Some New Love

Show the Old Glass Some New Love
Article by: Miserere

A few months ago I bought my first car at the ripe old age of 33. As a teenager I dreamt of one day owning a Porsche, or a Lamborghini, or why not a Ferrari? Dreaming was free, and it still is! But nowadays I find myself doing a lot less of it. As you grow up you realise that being practical and realistic is necessary if you hope to stay out of debt. In view of this, I left my childhood dreams parked to one side, so to speak, while my wife and I figured out what car to buy. It was her in the end who found what we needed: a '95 German beauty with 200k and a price tag lower than a Nikon D3. Sure, it's an old car, and it's been well used, but much like a classic, well-kept Zeiss lens, it still runs smoothly, is solid, classy, dependable, and a joy to use. I don't need no stinkin' Porsche!

One can approach photography in much the same fashion, settling for classic lenses that, while not offering most of the perks and commodities of their modern counterparts, can rival them in optical quality. At the end of the day, it's the pictures you take that matter, right?

I enjoy reading about all the latest photographic gizmos that are released each season as much as the next photography nerd. I like knowing what cameras the other companies are releasing, hearing all the rumours about future Pentax lenses, and reading the tests and reviews that come out in print and online. However, while I want to know about all the technicalities and innovations, I rarely identify with the products being reviewed because I know I'll never get to use them. I'm a budget shooter, and I know I'm not alone. Not many of us Pentax users can afford to shell out several hundred dollars for a DA* or Limited lens, because many simply cannot shoulder the expense. It is for these people that I write this week’s article.

One of the reasons I was attracted to Pentax was the backwards compatibility that the system offers, which is unrivalled in the mainstream DSLR world. Not only that, but given that the K mount was so popular in the 70s and 80s, there is an abundance of old K mount glass in the used market manufactured by third party brands. Add to this the huge amount of lens models Pentax itself released, and you have the largest assortment of lenses to choose from of any camera company ever. So why not make the most of it? Following are pictures I took with some old lenses that have crossed my path, which to me are like old German cars. They're not expensive, they're not flashy, but they deliver the goods and get the job done. They’re fun to use too! And I’m willing to bet you have never heard of some of them.

Sigma Super-Wide II 24mm f/2.8

Flowers finally start to bloom in the New England Spring.

Toyo Optics 28mm f/2.8

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles makes for some great abstract photography:

Tokina 28-70mm f/2.8-4.3


Menacing clouds herald a spring storm for Boston. This photo is hanging on my wall as an 18x22.5 poster.

Pentax 45-125mm f/4

When a baby Robin decides to sunbathe outside your office window, how can you not take a picture?

Hanimex 200mm f/3.5 (M42 mount)


The innocent joy in a child’s face is best captured unobtrusively from a distance with a long, fast prime.

Sigma CAT 400mm f/5.6

A mummy mocking bird feeds a berry to her chick; another situation when a long, fast prime is imperative.

This is a small sample of lenses compared to what is out there, so next time you come across a lens of dubious heritage in a shop, auction or ad, don't scoff at it. Remember that one day, long ago, that lens was loved and made someone happy with the pictures it took, and now, for the price of a few coffees you can make it yours. Buy it, go out for a test drive, take it around the block a few times, and revel in how smoothly it runs. And what about the photos? Are they any good? I bet they are!

But beware, if you're not careful you might find yourself sitting on the couch on a rainy Sunday morning leafing through the 'classic autos' section of your local newspaper.

Thank you for reading,

Miserere