New Firmwares for K-5II/s, K-30, K-01, K-5 and K-r

The new firmware is available for download in the following page:-

http://www.pentax.jp/english/support/download_digital.html

And the changes for the new firmware are as follows:-

• Optimized contrast AF when using [HD PENTAX-DA 560mmF5.6ED AW]　lens.
• Improved stability for general performance. 

Update (2-1) : I have roughly tested the LV AF of my K-5 after updated to the latest firmware and it seems that the AF is faster now and the way the camera is searching for focus is different, i.e., the algorithms have been revised. This is especially obvious for telephoto lenses, for what I have verified with my Pentax 300mm AF prime.

New Product Photos of the AF360FGZII Flash and the Q Body Cap Pinhole Lens

Via: http://www.pentax.jp/japan/news/announce/20130130.html
(in Japanese)

Note that the body cap pinhole lens is NOT a REAL Pinhole lens as there is glass/optics inside the hole! It is because owing to the really small-sized sensor of the Q, it is not possible to make a small enough hole to produce a sharp enough image but at the same time to observe the diffraction limit before everything is yet blurred much again! :-o

Last time I tried, I made a pinhole K-mount body cap lens myself, see the photos below:-









And it works, which will give you toy like images that a classical pinhole (film) camera could give! Life is easier with DSLR, though, as I did always set to ISO 1600 or above when used with my pinhole lens, on my K-x! >:-(

WG-10, WG-III / GPS are Coming

See what Photo Rumors reports:-

http://photorumors.com/2013/01/28/full-list-of-new-cameralenses-to-be-announced-at-the-cp-show-this-week/



Update (1-31): The new WG-IIIs and WG-10 have been officially announced:-

http://www.pentax.jp/japan/news/2013/20130130_1.html

http://www.pentax.jp/japan/news/2013/20130130_2.html
(Both in Japanese)

There are four colours in total for the WG-IIIs, two for the WG-III and two for the WG-III GPS:-



As for the WG-10, there are also two other different colours:-

6D Vs 5D3 ISO Test, 100 to 12800, Outdoor Scene

(Modelling photos taken with my Pentax Q.)

So, measurbation party again! Click on the following album and measurbate endlessly picture by picture, one by one by your oneself! ;-D


http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v313/RiceHigh/5Ds/6D_Vs_5D3_ISO/

Test Conditions:-

1. Camera mounted on a sturdy tripod (a giant Gitzo) and shutter was triggered via the original Canon remote cable switch;

2. Picture Style was reset to Standard, with all parameters all left at factory defaults. Other image settings such as Auto Light Optimizer and High ISO NR etc. were reset to their factory default values. Large Fine JPEGs were produced directly out of both cameras;

3. One-shot AF with 50/1.2L with Central AF point selected;

4. For ISO 100 to ISO 1600, the lens aperture was set at f/8, whilst from ISO 3200 to 12800, the lens was set to f/16 - This was particularly required with the 6D for its low maximum shutter speed of only 1/4000s;

5. Click to enlarge to images which are resized to about 4,000 pixels in width by the Photobucket server;

6. Full-sized original images are available to download per their respective picture page, nevertheless.

So, it's your take now! I won't give any observation of mine this time and will let you decide!~


Last Test:- 

Luxury 50mm Lens Fight: EF 50/1.2L Vs CZ 50/1.4ZE on 5D3

D5200 Took the Crown of the Benchmark King from the K-5s

See the news: http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Nikon-D5200-New-sensor-and-new-leader

Now, the D5200 is the new King of APS-C in the DxO BenchMark ranking!

And the comparison of the D5200 against the K-5IIs:-

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/%28appareil1%29/850|0/%28brand%29/Nikon/%28appareil2%29/830|0/%28brand2%29/Pentax

So, the K-5 is beaten and it surely loses in the resolution too, which is yet not tested as part of the DxOMark tests.

More Recent Pentax Samples (K-5IIs, K-5II and MX-1)

All via the 1001 Noisy Cameras:-

K-5IIs full samples here and DA18-270 samples here, by the ePhotozine.

K-5IIs Vs K-5II image comparisons of the same scenes, by WDC of UK.

Pentax MX-1 first samples (RAW) at Quesabesde with quick hands-on.

First "Ricoh MX-1" Hands-on Report and Samples

By fengwei/frank (who is a die-hard Chinese Pentaxian located at Singapore):-

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/pentax-ricoh/1209242-pentax-mx-1-handson-review.html

Quick samples and with particular crops are posted in thread via consecutive posts here and here. Do note that it is stated that the camera is a pre-production unit as provided, though.

Similar to the K-01 and the Pentax Q, I can see the tendency of magenta cast in quite some of the samples. As for the pictures, they are sharp enough as all of the previous posted samples by Frank no matter what Pentax camera models he was testing.

And, if you look into the EXIF, this camera is now called the "Ricoh MX-1" where in the "Make" field of the camera, it is just entered "Ricoh" but not "Pentax"!? :-o So, that's why and what I have entered into the title of my this Blog post and it is indeed NOT a typo! >:-(

K-5 SR Super Demo (YouTube Video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XiPmR5SFQI

OMG! :-o

Speaking of the K-5 family, here is also a latest ISO test for the K-5IIs against the Fuji XE-1:-

http://www.neocamera.com/camera/fuji/xe1/samples/indoor

It seems the results of the IIs is good enough and it wins hands down the Fuji.


View Also:-

K-5 Mirror "Jumpy" Videos Galaxy

Evangelion (EVA) Q10 Versions

Via: http://www.yaotomi.co.jp/blog/used/2013/01/pentax-q10-1.html
(in Japanese)

N.B. EVA stands for Neon Genesis EVAngelion, a Japanese popular science fiction cartoon series back to 1995.

Update (1-31): More official information about these special versions of the Q10 can be found at the Japanese EVA online store link below:-

http://www.evastore.jp/pc/index.php?toid=PC_ARTICLE&fromid=PC_ARTICLE&article_id=11500&category_id=top&toid=PC_ARTICLE&fromid=PC_ARTICLE#item

Luxury 50mm Lens Fight: EF 50/1.2L Vs CZ 50/1.4ZE on 5D3

(Modelling photos taken with my Pentax Q. Who said that such a tiny sensor doesn't give a "shallow" DoF? ;-p But it may still be not enough after all~)

Well, there is not much new Pentax gear that interested me for the time being and I have "nothing better to do" with my current Pentax gear. So, I decided to continue my measurbation dream to the Canonland. So, I did the following and here we go! ;-D


http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v313/RiceHigh/5Ds/50L_Vs_Zeiss/

Test Conditions:-

1. Camera mounted on a sturdy tripod (a Gitzo model) and shutter was triggered via the original Canon remote cable switch;

2. Picture style was reset to Standard, with all parameters all left at factory defaults. Other image settings such as Auto Light Optimizer and High ISO NR etc. were set at their factory defaults. Btw, all test shots were made at ISO 100 anyway;

3. One-shot AF with 50/1.2L with Central AF point;

4. Manual focusing with Zeiss 50/1.4ZE with Central AF point according to the focus indication provided by the camera.

5. Click to enlarge to images which are resized to about 4,000 pixels in width by the Photobucket server;

6. Full-sized original images are available to download per their respective picture page, nevertheless.

Some Observations:-

1. At large apertures below f/2.8, the IQ of the 50L is better. Blur and ghost are yet obvious for both, although the 50L yet seems to have better control;

2. From f/2.8 and onwards, it seems that the Zeiss pictures are sharper and with a bit more details;

3. The colour renditions of the two lenses are somehow different. The Zeiss produces an unique taste of its own;

4. The images of Zeiss are more pop and more three dimensional, general speaking;

5. As for the bokeh, each to their own, I would say;

6. Surprisingly, the exposure is more consistent and accurate with the Zeiss than the original branded 50L when the lens is being stopped down from wide. Oh, really? :-o

After all, both lenses are really good enough. Of course the 50L is more expensive than the Zeiss 50 (it nearly double the price!) and that with the Zeiss 50 any Canon user loses the AF (of course). But the good thing is that the MF feel of the Zeiss is really nice - the focus throw is long enough and it is well damped and operation is super smooth.