A K-30 Died Within Seconds Upon a Small Water Splash! :-o

See this post and story: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3292877

I really feel for that K-30 user, how reliable his WR camera is! :-o

Btw, it seems that the sealing of the rear LCD is weak and the QC of that part is not really that good, see the previous similar problem reports below:-

Dust Accumulates Inside the LCD of K-5 Silver

K10D Dust Proof?

Well, I now know why Pentax has created the new  "air-gapless" design of the LCD, as it seems that they get rid of the outer window of it so that no more water and dust are trapped inside so as to avoid the problem! ;->

A PF Comparison Quick Review: 650D/T4i Vs D5100 Vs K-30

I don't think this review is detailed enough, nor it it is professionally compiled with a higher standard that most readers nowadays would expect.There is yet no sample picture of any for any of these cameras under review. So, it is not much better than a casual textural review on those public review online sites after all. But as there are not much Pentax reviews out these days, I think I would still report and point to it:-

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-k-30-vs-canon-t4i-vs-nikon-d5100/introduction.html

In particular, there are a few comparison crops in the IQ section of the review, just have a look on these by clicking the larger images if you still want to.

Also, I think now the PF just wants to include referral product links of the other brands like C and N to their sponsors (e.g., B&H) in their website as far as possible since it seems that they could not earn enough money just solely rely on those Pentax gear these days. Well, it is obvious that what they have been doing, for quite some time now.

In fact, more than two years ago, an online marketing rep of B&H contacted me before for suggesting "co-operation" between they and I, i.e., to include product links of theirs in return of something for me. I declined their suggestion and offer as I believe that my website should be purely non-commercial, no matter how.

Besides, at the first glance of the above modelling photo of the PF, it looks quite familiar somehow. Oh, that's actually my usual style of shooting those different camera bodies side by side at my Blog, e.g.:-



Via: Finally, I am Done! :-D

Well, I guess Adam and his guys must also often visit my Blog so that I have brain-washed them somehow!~ Nope? ;-D


Read Also:-

Latest Family Photo of My Pentax Gear! ;-D

Latest K-30 and K-5II/s Reviews

Full K-30 review at the DPR:-

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentax-k-30/

Rough K-5II and IIs review at the PF:-

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-k-5-ii-iis/introduction.html

Now the "stop gap" models suddenly has become "new flagships"! That's really funny! :-D

100 Colours Q10 - Real Dummy Units!

Photos at "Pentax Briefing Paper" (Japanese).

Wow! I really want to buy one this time and couldn't help myself, regardless of the super small sensor of this TOY! :-D


Previous Stories:-

100 Colours of Q10 are Available for Ordering Now

100 Colours of the Q10

Another K-5 Vs K-5IIs Sample Comparison (w/ FA*28-70)

Same site, same author, who has done many shootout tests between the two cameras recently and shared his results:-

http://pentax.briefing-paper.com/2027
(in Japanese)

The lens was put at f/5.6 at 50mm which could one of the possible sharpest settings of the lens.

This time, IMHO, the difference between the K-5 and K-5IIs is almost non-existent. In fact, with the extra-sharpness setting +1, the K-5 sample and crop seems to be a bit sharper, even! See this:-


(Above: Left K-5, Right K-5IIs, Extra-sharpness at +1; Credit: Pentax Briefing Paper.)

Pentax Forums K-5 Vs K-5IIs Sample Shots and Comparisons (Two Pics)

http://www.pentaxforums.com/news/pentax-k-5-iis-vs-k-5-sample-photos.html

Btw, do you see and like the moires? :-o

SLRGear (IR) DA18-135 Full Test

See: http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1384/cat/46

The measurbation results seem to be in line with what PhotoZone found long time ago. I now understand why Pentax Germany replied Klaus that the lens under test was "within factory specs"! :-o

If we compare further of the above against those of the original Canon EF-S 18-135 IS, the new Canon 18-135 IS STM and the Nikon 18-135 DX by the SLRGear, the Pentax results are really pathetic.

Still, I like my DA18-135, maybe the lens IQ, especially the image corners, are not good at close distance, where a test chart is usually placed.


Related:-

Updated: Some Recent Random Snapshots of Mine

My Practical Review on the DA18-135

Latest Pentax Reviews: DA18-135 and K-5 Vs 7D

EOS M First Hands-on Impressions

First played with a M with the 18-55 STM kit zoom for about 15 minutes and here are what I found:-

- The body is really nicely built and it feels very solid in hands. Unlike all other mirrorless bodies, the M is actually made in Japan.

- The body is thicker than the NEX but is obviously thinner than the K-01. It feels a bit heavier than my NEX-3, which is yet the lightest and most compact APS-C mirrorless body ever.

- The M does not have a built-in flash nor supports an EVF neither, which is even worse than the K-01 which has a built-in flash!

- The LCD monitor display quality is good, the touch screen is fairly (but not very) responsive.

- The AF is rather sluggish, though. The environment I tested it is fairly bright. It sometimes missed the focus when the DoF is large, say, at close distances. To focus on far object, the AF time was shorter.

- When using the AF with touch focusing, the camera seems to focus slightly faster. But I just wonder why, or my feeling was wrong. Under this mode, the camera will shoot immediately after the focus is achieved, which may not be good for this design if you want some control for when to take the picture but I understand that this is intended for the novice.

- Also, turning off the touch focus function the camera seems to focus slightly faster, too.

- The mechanical shutter action is smooth, light and quiet, better than all NEX here (I just used a NEX-7 of my friend the week before). Unlike the NEX and the K-01, I can't really hear the double shutter actuations of the M. Indeed, a light touch is important as it would cause less camera vibration caused by the first shutter actuation.

- The shutter lag of the M is long but I think it is comparable to the NEX and is a bit faster than the K-01.

- As for the operation, I haven't yet adapted to its menu system and operation interface as there are very few direct buttons and no mode dial at all. On the other hand, there is a record button at the right thumb position at the camera rear which is very handy to use (same as the NEX' design).

- I haven't tried the video function yet, maybe I shall try later.

- Still, I think the NEX-6 maybe a better package and offer all in all for that very close price range, of which the ILDC related technologies should be more mature.


Last Related:-

Two Really Good Things of the K-01!

News: E-PL5 Has No AA FIlter! (And Amazon Top Sales Charts Pentax Update)

See what 43 Rumors report:-

http://www.43rumors.com/surprise-the-olympus-e-pl5-has-no-low-pass-filter-no-aa-filter/

So, this is a camera with a 16MP Sony sensor without an AA filter in front of the sensor, resulting in a "higher image quality" as people say.

This must be the cheapest AA-filterless body in the market then. Similar to the K-5IIs, it is in 16MP and uses a Sony sensor.

Speaking of the Amazon sales charts that 43 Rumors have pointed us to, we can see that in the ILDC chart, the best Pentax result is at #40 for the Black Q dual lenses kit. The other Pentax offers that stay in the chart are #71 for the Yellow K-01 with the DA40XS and then the Black K-01 with the DA40XS at #100, as being the last one that stays in the chart, just! :-o

As for the DSLR chart, the best Pentax result is K-5 body-only offer at #41, followed by the K-30 with DAL18-55 (non-WR) kit at #43, and then at #61 for the K-30 with DA18-135 WR kit. The more surprising thing is we can see the K1000 Pentax film body with the 50mm F2 lens is on the chart at #62 (and jump the boat?)! It seems that a lot of the old Pentax users are selling their old Pentax classic gear like this! >:-( Btw, the last Pentax thing that we can see in the chart is the White K-30 with DAL18-55 kit at #86.

Disassemble (and Repair) the FA 80-320 Zoom Lens

Thanks to Blog reader MattMatic for his alert, here is the series of lens disassembling photos of his:-

http://www.photon.me.uk/pu/pentax_fa80_320/index.html

Full shared story here: http://www.pentaxuser.co.uk/forum/topic/fa80-320-37602

Btw, the MIJ label reminds me of those high quality days of those Pentax products, even a consumer zoom like this was made in Japan, where and when the QC is far better! And, the lenses are much cleaner inside out of the factory, too!


Related:-

Blog Search on "Disassemble" 

Dirty Pentax Lens Factory, Dirty Glass! :-(

Made ("Assembled") In Vietnam

Where are the Pentax DSLRs and Lenses Made?