Pentax Pentax image thread

K-5 & Super Takumar m42 50mm f4 Macro - definitely feels sharper than the K-7. Seems fiddlier getting the m42/k adapter on this than the K-7 - I actually did the lens-drop dance when the lens plopped out of the camera - luckily it only fell 30-40cm onto wood.

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IMGP7370 by Walter Kernow, on Flickr

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IMGP7369 by Walter Kernow, on Flickr
 
K-5 & Super Takumar m42 50mm f4 Macro - definitely feels sharper than the K-7. Seems fiddlier getting the m42/k adapter on this than the K-7 - I actually did the lens-drop dance when the lens plopped out of the camera - luckily it only fell 30-40cm onto wood.

View attachment 219759IMGP7370 by Walter Kernow, on Flickr

View attachment 219760IMGP7369 by Walter Kernow, on Flickr

The 50mm macro really renders beautifully. I've been looking at this entire series you have taken with it - and have come to the inescapable conclusion: it's a great lens :)

Nice pictures, too.
 
@phigmov How do you find manual focusing with the OVF on your K5? I'm liking a lot that camera and samples I'm seeing from it, including yours, and it became really affordable, Most of my images are manually focused, Minolta and M42 glass, but on mirrorless - I fear that without magnification in the EVF my hit rate would drop severely.
 
@phigmov How do you find manual focusing with the OVF on your K5? I'm liking a lot that camera and samples I'm seeing from it, including yours, and it became really affordable, Most of my images are manually focused, Minolta and M42 glass, but on mirrorless - I fear that without magnification in the EVF my hit rate would drop severely.

I've had the slightly older and cheaper K-7 for a few years so have become very used to the controls & viewfinder with m42 adapted and K-mount manual focus lenses. The K-5 has the same feel but a little bit more refined in almost every way - particularly the sensor (the K-7 really didn't seem to like some adapted Pentax K's - the images seemed to lack bite/contrast, the older M42's seemed to fare much better which is wierd). I definitely rely on the focus confirm-beep which works for MF lenses more than the view-finder - as there is no split-prism in modern DSLR (I believe you can get after-market screens) it can be tricky without other focus aides like the beep. The view-finder also feels a little cramped compared to my D700 but that might just be my deteriorating eye-sight.

TL;DR - the manual focus beep is pretty great on the Pentax DSLR - it can be finicky when you stop down and there isn't a lot of light (f11+) but you can always open the aperture, get the beep, then close it up again. The beep is almost continuous with a half-press - you can rock your body backwards & forwards or adjust lens focus and it will keep beeping when you're in the right spot (eg you don't need to keep half-pressing yourself, just keep it down once until you take the shot). Works great for macro.

Also - the Pentax m42 lenses are beautiful - jet black, machined metal & glass - absolutely superb feel. Literally - they just don't make them like they used to. And so cheap now too.
Usual disclaimer about most legacy manual-focus zooms being completely terrible - the primes are generally pretty great though.
 
I wasn't aware Kingfishers would go after small rodents. Nice catch.

Lot of neighbourhood cats so the mouse could have been playing dead or scavenged although I did see the bird shake it around a fair bit. Kingfishers seem to be reasonably fearsome. I once came home from work, found one in the house staring outside through a window while the cat snoozed in a corner - I suspect the cat caught it, bought it in alive and then didn't appreciate the bird could hold its own in a fight and left it alone. Luckily I was able to wrap it in a towel and release it outside without too much fuss.
 
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Lot of neighbourhood cats so the mouse could have been playing dead or scavenged although I did see the bird shake it around a fair bit. Kingfishers seem to be reasonably fearsome. I once came home from work, found one in the house staring outside a window while the cat snoozed in a corner - I suspect the cat caught it, bought it in alive and then didn't appreciate the bird could hold its own in a fight and left it alone. Luckily I was able to wrap it in a towel and release it outside without too much fuss.

That could have been a bit messy. Glad it turned out well.
 
White-winged dove checking out an existing nest in the tree just off the apartment balcony. In 2018 it was used by White-winged doves, 2019 saw a pair of Mourning doves. Still waiting to see if a pair moves in this year.

Pentax K-1 + DA*300, cropped and resized for web.
original.jpg
 
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