PhotographyBanzai.com

I had checked the forecast a day or two before and noticed a moderate chance of showers. My decision was to use only the K-5 and DA* 55mm f1.4 lens. We ended up having some light showers once or twice while at the garden, so that decision worked out. I just kept using the camera as normal without any issues while the rain was coming down. The nice thing about meetups like this is that I can just focus on the basics, but I’m also inclined to do a more experimental style of framing my subjects. This leads to images that might receive some critical comments on first view, but when examining them further, they might see the intent involved. For example: Multiple times I noticed scenes where the foreground let in just a bit of something interesting. A visual hint of interest lies in the middle of the frame that you put a little extra time into trying to distinguish. On first glance, it might have an amateurish feel, but I don’t believe that is the case when my true intent realized. As...

Recently I had a question about the Kenko teleconverter about if it functions with SDM lenses and if the teleconverter hurts image quality. I thought this was a good request and warranted an article or two on the blog. If you are not familiar with teleconverters (TC for short), they attach between the camera and lens allowing you more reach, or rather more magnification. Some people feel they are not necessary and hurt image quality, but I personally feel they can be of use and some of the available teleconverters don’t cause large drops in image quality. Here is the Kenko teleconverter sandwiched between a DA* 300mm lens and K10D camera body: The lens, teleconverter, and camera. Pentax does not have any teleconverters available in the USA for sale, but private sellers at places like the pentaxforums.com marketplace have a few options available. The Kenko Pz-AF 1.5x Teleplus SHQ is an older teleconverter that is still available in Japan that is available here through those secondary me...

Today I was at a local camera shop ( Camera Craft ) as my kit is lacking in the telephoto lens department. I’ll be going on a trip soon where I don’t want to bring my DA* 300mm as it is too big. I plan on bringing the DA 14mm f2.8, FA 31mm f1.8, and the lens I just bought today which is the DA 50-200mm f4-5.6 WR. I’ll get to the point of my posting later, but before then I’ll go over why I bought this lens even though I consider myself primarily a prime lens shooter. As with most people, I started out in DSLR photography by buying the camera body and kit lens together. I had the first edition of the DA 18-55mm, which was a pretty lack luster lens overall. From there I moved on to a Tamron 75-300mm, Sigma 28-80mm macro, a Sigma 24-60mm f2.8, and then finally my first prime lens (FA 50mm f1.4). While the FA 50mm f1.4 didn’t change my viewpoint on what tools I prefer, it did start my move to primes as it has nice sharpness, good bokeh, and is convenientl...