PhotographyBanzai.com

I noticed that the Youtube user Jetdaisuke posted a video about buying not one, but two Pentax Q cameras… While he is Japanese, he has English subtitles on most of his newer videos. If the subtitle (CC) button doesn’t show up, go directly to Youtube instead. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQAIQKWsjs Pretty interesting. I never would have imagined seeing someone buy two of them considering their target market. However, I will admit their size is great for the sake of mobility. I’ll also say I thought in the past of attaching a camera to the top of my DSLR for recording video. In his case he is taking time lapse and video.

Now that the Pentax Q has started shipping, there is a lot more information available. I mentioned the Q back in June and I think a lot of what I said is still valid. I’m personally still on the middle road with the Q. I see positive aspects, but at the current price and lacking a few Pentax features (WR for example) it isn’t something I would be willing to spend my limited funds on at the moment. The main appeal to me personally is the possibilities of experimental photography that I’ll get to later in this article. The first week of sales in Japan look pretty strong (first noticed that link on pentaxforums.com and then 1001noisycameras.com). The white version was at #11 and the black at #17). This result proves an idea I had recently… The Q is certainly something unique. From my perspective it seems like an offering that is meant to show people how fun photography can be anywhere and everywhere (well besides rain, no WR sadly). It has a very Japanese flair to it. I really thin...

I’ve never been that motivated to use an external flash when doing the type of photography I usually do. I completely understand the need for additional light in most situations to uniformly expose a scene. I have a Sigma 530 DG Super flash, diffuser, two slave flashes, flash stands, and flash brackets yet I don’t use them that often. My primary reason is to avoid extra bulk and to make my gear feel less… startling… to my subjects. So I started looking for a flash that could provide me the ability to fill the foreground with a decent amount of diffuse light. My other requirement was to be as small as possible. In the same line of something like the Nikon SB-400. Metz has the mecablitz 24 AF-1 which would have been my first choice, but it isn’t sold in the USA. I saw an ebay seller, but they wanted $80 plus a lot in shipping. Too much to spend for an experiment. Promaster sells a similar item, but it is not available for Pentax. I eventually found something with the same ideals. It take...

When thinking of Pentax as a camera company a few things come to mind. Skipping ones not relevant to this article, one of the major defining properties of their gear are special pancake prime lenses that provide a quality camera lens with an especially small size.  Small! These lenses use a lens element formula that tends to provide a relatively uniform amount of image sharpness throughout their aperture range. Pentax is especially known for these designs, and interestingly enough the big two camera manufacturers don’t offer anything equivalent. The DA40mm f2.8 Limited is the epitome of this lens design philosophy. The back of the lens. Pentax HD 40mm f/2.8 Limited Lens: Used on KEH: https://shrsl.com/29899 B&H: https://bhpho.to/2GqytTP Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UnEu8J ebay: https://ebay.us/b33VH3 Adorama:  https://adorama.rfvk.net/zNErar As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!  The DA 40mm f2.8 Limited on a Pentax *ist DS. Technical specifica...