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

Vacation in Florida during the K-7 launch.

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

Hi Pentaxian friends.

Although I posted the launch of the K-7 on Wednesday morning, I was actually in Florida spending some quality time with my granddaughter. I had the script written in advance but I was still disappointed when leaks came from all over on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, I will post my impressions of the K-7 and talk about all the wonderful features it brings to the Pentax DSLR series.

For now, although I'm so happy to be with my granddaughter, it has been raining non-stop since I arrived and it will continue through the weekend. We were supposed to go to DisneyWorld, but no such luck this year with all that rain.

I know everybody wants to talk about the K-7, but I took a break from it and shot some pictures with my "still very good" K20D. Here they are:

It's been that way all week.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

More good news from my friend "Michelle Martin" at Pentax Imaging USA.

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

Hi Pentaxian friends.

PENTAX LOWERS PRICE ON FEATURE-RICH, 14.6 MEGAPIXEL K20D
GOLDEN, CO. (February 23, 2009

PENTAX Imaging Company has announced a reduction in the minimum advertised price (MAP) of the award winning PENTAX K20 digital SLR. Effective immediately, the MAP price of the PENTAX K20D body and two K20D lens kit configurations have been reduced by $200.00 USD. The new MAP pricing is as follows:

PENTAX K20D body only: $799.95

PENTAX K20D with DA 18-55mm II lens kit: $879.95

PENTAX K20D with DA 16-45mm lens kit: $1199.95

“With this price reduction, PENTAX now offers consumers the highest resolution on one of the most fully-featured DSLRs priced under 800 dollars,” said Bill Zani, vice president sales and marketing, PENTAX Imaging Company.

Along with the price reductions, PENTAX is extending the K20D FREE Three Year Warranty (one year standard, two years extended) on all K20Ds purchased by March 31, 2009.

Highly rated by several consumer magazines, the PENTAX K20D digital SLR camera with 14.6 megapixels is equipped with advanced features including a dust-proof, weather-resistant body, PRIME image processor that allows full image customization, and PENTAX developed Shake Reduction that works with any of the 25 million PENTAX lenses ever manufactured. The PENTAX K20D is the most affordable high resolution DSLR camera in the advanced photo enthusiast category and allows more experienced photographers, who demand complete control, to fully customize the camera.

Visit http://www.pentaximaging.com/ to learn more and to locate a dealer.

PENTAX Imaging Company is an innovative leader in the production of digital SLR and compact cameras, lenses, flash units, binoculars, scopes, and eyepieces. For 90 years, PENTAX technology has developed durable, reliable products that meet the needs of consumers and businesses. With headquarters in Golden, Colorado, PENTAX Imaging Company is a division of PENTAX of America, Inc.
# # #
Media contact:
Michelle Martin
303.728.0224
Michelle.martin@pentax.com

Consumers:
1-800-877-0155
pentaxinfo@pentax.com

Focusing Speed: K200D vs K20D

by Miserere


Ever wondered which camera focused faster? Josh Emmons did. But instead of pondering the deep philosophical implications that different autofocus speeds would have on the evolution of one's inner self, he simply took his K200D and K20D and did some testing. Props to Josh! He even tested whether battery charge affects AF speed on the K20D. Want to know the results? Then check out Josh's blog.

You might be thinking that Josh is just a couch photographer who has nothing better to do than measure AF speeds, but he has been known to go out and take some pictures from time to time.

©2008 Josh Emmons

©2008 Josh Emmons

Thank you to Josh for taking the time to carry out these tests. And thank you for reading.

Miserere

My Pentax 35mm SLR and my Fender "Strat" guitar teaches me to be a better DSLR photographer.

Hi Pentaxian friends,

This Month has brought many new great DSLRs to the market. I would have liked to see a new Full Frame Pentax DSLR, with video capability, faster FPS, true live view, etc. Would I be a better photographer if Pentax had introduced such DSLR? I don't think so.

If I could buy a camera that took perfect pictures, with perfect composition, with perfect High Dynamic Range, in a nutshell, THE PERFECT CAMERA, I wouldn't be able to use it, as I'm an imperfect photographer. What would be the point of photography? Yet, everybody is wishing for better and better DSLR cameras. Photography, in my book anyway, is about adventure, discovery, feelings, fantasy, art, and so on.

It's similar to a guitarist playing a blues song by reading from a songbook, note for note, perfectly in sync with the annotations in the songbook. It's good, it takes a lot of discipline, but it doesn't have any feel to it. Now imagine another guitarist playing the same blues song, not by the book, but from his artistic instinct. He bends the strings, slides his fingers smoothly along the fret board, and adds a few notes here and there. It's like a whole different song. You could sit there and listen for hours. By the way, as Miserere reminded me in the comments below, give them both a new guitar, and I bet their their playing will not improve. If you want the perfect guitar music, buy a CD. It's not the guitar, it's the guitarist!

Well, I think that being a photographer is very similar. It's not the camera, It's the photographer! I know, I know, you heard that a million times, but it's still true. I too, tend to rely on the gadgetry side of my DSLR from time to time. This is when I go back to my 35mm camera and go shoot a roll of Kodak Gold 100. You see, I know that when I shoot film, it’s going to be more costly per print and I cannot waste frames. That slows me down and makes me really think about my composition, my settings, my lens choice, etc. I also still like the process of putting the film inside the camera, the winding to the first frame; I think there is even a certain smell to film. I get calmer and really search for the right moment. The ratio of keepers/duds when I shoot film is much better than when I shoot digital. I love digital and I wouldn’t go back to film, but once in a while, film cameras reminds me that I should rely on my artistic side more often and rely on gadgets and technology a little less. No matter how we look at it, photography is still about light, aperture, and lenses made of real glass.


Get your film camera and go shoot a roll of Kodak Gold 24 or 36. Take your time and re-learn how to compose. I Got to go now; I'm glad I have an imperfect Pentax K20D and I'm going to pick my Fender "Strat" and play some blues, with feelings.

Thank you for reading,

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

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

3 years extended warranty on Pentax K20D? Is this real? Yes it is indeed.

Hi fellow pentaxian and friends,

I receive this email just before calling it a night. What's more, the price keeps going down.

Yvon Bourque

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Yvon,

I am not too sure you and other Pentaxians are aware that Pentax USA is offering a 3-year extended warranty with the purchase of K20Ds from Oct 12 through Dec 31 2008 from US dealers. below is a copy of their response to my Query about my new K20D.

Dear Mr. Rapp,

Thank you for contacting Pentax. Any K20D purchased between October 12, 2008 and December 31, 2008 from an authorized Pentax dealer in the US qualifies for a free upgrade to the 3 yr. Pentax Extended Warranty. If you did not receive your warranty card from the dealer you can obtain one from Pentax by emailing (pentaxinfo@pentax.com) or faxing (919-501-7575) a copy of your dated proof of purchase (sales receipt, credit card statement, orderconfirmation, packing slip, etc.) along with your name and address to Pentax, Attn.: K20D Ext. Warranty. Upon receipt of your warranty card you will need to register your warranty control number with your name, address and camera's serial number by going to this website:

http://pc-wweb.pentax.com/scripts/wsisa.dll/WService=wsbroker1/extopFs.htm OR by calling the technical support center at the number below….If you are in need of further assistance, please respond to this email or call our technical support center at 800-877-0155.

I also purchased a 21 Limited, 35mm f2 FA, 50mm f2.8 macro and a 70mm limited. I will keep my K10D and the 16-45 f4 zoom.

I am a prime guy and have used the SMC-K 28mm f3.5 and 55mm f1.8 with excellent results. The new lenses extend my range as my principal form of photography has been landscapes.

Thanks for reading,

Cheers,

Bob Rapp

Currently, the perfect Pentax DSLR would be the K20D mechanism fitted in the K200D body.

Hi Pentaxian friends,

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE...OUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT!
My name is Yvon Bourque and I approved this message! :)

I love my K20D. It's by far the best camera I have ever owned. There is a lot of talk on forums across the world about full frame and medium format DSLRs these days. Everyone has a wish list for what they want or "must have" on the next generation of DSLRs. The next generation time keeps getting shorter and shorter.

What would be the fun in having every imaginable gadgets on a DSLR? Where would be the art form and what would be the pleasure of meticulously composing a shot? If a DSLR does all the work for you, don't buy a DSLR, buy a print instead. All that "give me more" will have to stop someday, I hope. Photography is a hobby, an art form, a living for some of us, and the MOST POPULAR HOBBY in the world.

I have been in photography all my life and never had a camera as good as the K20D. Of course, there are some more expensive DSLRs on the market and I agree that Professional Photographers doing sport, or reporting, need the best that is available. Their mission is to get that moment in time, and report that to the public. It's rarely about the IQ, it's mostly about the moment frozen in time for them.

Everyone else, should be just fine with the technology already existing today. With the K20D, you can take beautiful pictures and enlarge them enough for display in any art gallery. It's wonderful to live in this era.

However, If I could be granted a wish at this time, I would wish that the K20D mechanism could be fitted inside of a K200D body. At one time or another, I've owned each model of DSLR that Pentax produced. I did like the *istD for it's compactness, but it was just a little too small for my hands, and not technologically adequate to replace film cameras. The K20D is a great looking camera and very comfortable to handle. I use the battery grip and it feels solid. Of course, the K10D is the same body, but the sensor is obviously not as powerful. The K200D is, in my opinion, the best designed DSLR in the Pentax line. If fact, I was at Costco and Circuit City today, and held every Nikon, Canon, Sony and Olympus they had. (Why don't they have Pentax?) Anyway, I think that all other makers' DSLRs feel too much like plastic and are cheaply built. When used with the battery grip, the K200D is easy to hold, is comfortable and not too heavy. I can haul the K200D all day long.

So there you go...I'm happy as I can be with the K20D and the 14.6 MP CMOS sensor, and if I could increase my exhilaration, I'd love to have it in a K200D body.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Look here...K20D and K200 available at Costco.

Hi Pentaxian friends,

Look at what I found here. It was posted on Photo-net by Zafar Kazmi. Good find Zafar. They also have the K200D. Go to the site and write a review, as suggested by Zafar. The more good reviews, the more people will buy. The more people buy, the better it is for all uf us. We all want Pentax to be there for ever.

I think you can only buy the Pentax DSLR kits from their online store, but hopefully, we will see the Pentax boxes stacked beside the Canon and Nikon offers at Costco "The brick and mortar stores". That would be so nice. And if they could manage to have the new K-2000 kit in all the Costco stores across the US and Canada for the Holiday season, Pentax could suddenly be a rising star (*) and finally the general public would get to see what good deal Pentax DSLRs are.

K20D and K200D available at Costco


It gets better by the day. See the current prices at Amazon.com






Thank you for visiting our blogsite,

Yvon Bourque

Sometimes more is less and sometimes less is more.

Hi Pentaxian friends,

I haven't posted much lately about cars. At one time, I was posting a weekly article about automobiles. I received a few reminders lately and decided that tonight was the night. The problem is that I haven't taken any automobile photos lately.

I looked in my Pentax K20D/Automobile archive in Lightroom, trying to decide what images to use and what to write. As I was looking at the photos, I adjusted the vibrance, of one of the photo, almost all the way to the left (-79) and I was surprised at the results. The vibrance reduction took away most of the colors. By taking the colors almost out, the images started to look like vintage photographs, except better. Essentially, it produced vintage photos with modern clarity or maybe just cool photos!

So I opted to post the above photos. They should speak for themselves. Then again, this is just my opinion or taste. Let us all know what you think.

Thank you for reading.

Yvon Bourque

One K20D for every man, woman and child on the planet!

You would have to live in a cave not to know about the bailout of the financial institutions proposed by the government of the United States of America.

The proposed sum is seven hundred billion dollars. That's 700 followed by nine zeros ($700,000,000,000). If you look at the national debt of the USA, it ranges between seven to nine trillions dollars, depending on where you get the information. One trillion is 1 followed by twelve zeros (1,000,000,000,000)

I was trying to come up with a tangible example to show what one trillion dollars represents. Well, if you were born at the same time as Jesus Christ, and still living today, you would have had to save roughly $1,365,000 (that is 1.365 million dollars) every day to have one trillion dollars today, give or take a few thousands. (That is not counting any accrued interest)

Another way to look at this is that seven hundred billions dollars could purchase a K20D ($1,200) for roughly 583 million people. That is enough to purchase a K20D for every man, woman and child in America, plus a great Pentax DA* lens to go with it.

Now, assuming that the national debt is at nine trillion dollars, that would be enough to purchase 7.5 billion K20Ds, which would equate to one K20D for about every man, woman and child on planet earth. However, they would have to skip the DA* lens.

That would surely put Pentax on the map!

How did we ever get to this position?

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I am not advocating any political preference herein, just stating facts. You either cry, laugh or joke about it. I'm doing all three!

Yvon Bourque

The K20D goes to Yosemite...still one of the most beautiful place on the planet.

I spent about 10 days in Yosemite and Tuolumme meadows. We drove there on July 3rd and rented a cabin in Lee Vining, just West of Yosemite National Park. I had my K20D with me and an assortment of lenses. Although I brought the DA* 200mm and the DA* 300mm with me for testing them, I found that my DA 16-45mm was the most practical lens within the Park. I actually wish I would have had the newer DA* 16-50mm SDM f/2.8 lens, but it's a little too much money for me at this time. Someday, I'll get one. (By the way, if you do have a DA* 16-50 and had the DA 16-45 prior to that, I would love to hear your impression the the 16-50mm.)

We travelled along highway 395 and drove by Mono Lake. There was some interesting photographic opportunities there too. I have posted some of my pictures herein.

I still think that Yosemite and the surrounding areas are some of the most beautiful places in America. I tried to photograph the park the way I saw it, rather than copying Ansel Adams. Some of the icons like Half Dome and El Capitan are shouting "Ansel Adams" and everyone must have seen these pictures a thousand times. I hope you enjoy the pictures. (Do let me know what you think. The best way to get better is always by getting opinions from other photographers.)

Thank you for reading. I always appreciate your visits,

Yvon Bourque

I still will publish a photographer's review of the DA* 200mm and the DA* 300mm in the coming days or weeks.