Wallace Koopmans Artlog

Some images from the ever versatile Pentax 24EW shot in Niagara Falls Canada.  More on it can be seen here The Ewwwww  and here E X T R A   W I D E  and here  Snow Pictures Pentax 24EW and even here Wide Angle Point and Shoot

and searching for 24EW here on my blog gives even more results so that is pretty much why I’m not writing too much about this camera in this post.

Some key features of the Pentax 24 EW that set it apart from the rest of the cameras in the recycle bin.

Lens:  24-105mm F4.9-12.5  (7 elements in 5 groups)

Macro: 0.3m at 24mm,  0.5m  at 105mm

Shutter: 1/400 to 2 sec auto exposure

Exposure compensation: +- 3EV in 1/2 steps

Bulb Timer:  1 sec, 5, 10, 15, 30, 1 min, 2, 3, 4, 5

Pentax has included the ability to do multiple exposures with their DSLR’s and some other digital cameras all the way back to 2003’s *ist D.  In fact my Z1p film camera from 1994 allows up to 9 multiple exposures but it really takes the Q to make it this much fun.  The Pentax Q multiple exposure mode takes 4 button clicks to access through the menu but once you are there it brings you back to the same spot after you have made one so its easy to keep experimenting.  With these images I’ve chosen to only do two exposures but up to 9 are possible.  After you take the first image that picture remains on-screen while you take the next allowing you to see how they may come together and to make exposure adjustments.

The fun aspect with the Q seems to come from the fact that you use the rear LCD to compose images anyway and that it is so small you can just point it around like it’s part of your arm.  Another thing may be that the entire raison d’être of the Q is to have fun and it allows you to let go of the serious side.  It provides a similar aesthetic to the subgenre of film photography that uses plastic cameras and odd films.  I’m sure that there are smart phone apps that function similarly but I find that phone cameras still leave a lot to be desired when it comes to making quick adjustments.   As a final note the Pentax K-3 DSLR takes multiple exposure to an entirely new level: with up to 2000 exposures, interval timing, delayed start and 3 different modes of compositing. Pentax K-3 Multi Exposure

Duncan Turner of DLT photographic had the brilliant idea to repurpose his child bicycle trailer into a camera gear trailer (No actual conversion is required).  The only downside is the looks people give, some people clearly want to get a peak at what must be a cute baby and still others look on disapprovingly as you carelessly subject your little one to dangerous maneuvers.  All the while though the cameras are snug as little bugs shielded from the rain and mud.   While the bulk of my gear was being towed about I had my Pentax K-3 slung over my shoulder with the HD PENTAX-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR mounted on it.

There was a lot of rain that didn’t let up very much, which dampened my photographic spirits, but had no effect on the camera or lens.  Here is a sampling from that gear combination.  It’s not the fastest lens nor does it have the least distortion but it does give me some focal length reach which I appreciate.

The name ‘Efina T’ sort of sounds like infinity, an oxymoron because this camera uses APS film which rhymes with almost nothing which is also about how available it is.   My biggest lament amout the loss of APS film is losing the 16×9 aspect ratio which I like.  I’ve said it before about this camera and I will say it agian at a time when almost every other camera like this was made of plastic the Efina T was like a solid chunk of steel.

Previous post about this camera ‘Rhymes with Density’

In the image above the lenses on the right side are all homebrew lenses I made for the Pentax Q.  I purchased three Q mount to C mount adapters, took them apart and used only the part that mounts to the camera.  The lenses themselves are a 12mm pancake distortion creator a 35mm f2.8 and the newest one a 40mm f1.9 from a Canon AF35ML which is currently set to a fixed focus point and aperture and works like a macro lens.  They are of course manual focus and with the conversion factor the 40mm has a field of view similar to a 220mm lens on a ‘full frame’ sensor or 35mm film.  Each one of these lenses has limitations in the quality of the image they produce but are a fun way of experimenting.

This post serves a dual purpose: one as an ode to spring 2014 and the other as a test of the Pentax M Macro 1:4 100mm lens on my Pentax K-01.  I am happy with the performance of this lens even when used at its widest aperture.  It only remains to be tested with 35mm film but I suspect it will do just as well with the added benefit of allowing me to share the lens between film and digital.  It’s slightly more compact than the DFA 100 Macro  WR and is manual focus but it actually seems better suited to the K-01 and the way that this mirrorless camera is used.  In fact with its focus peeking the K-01 is an ideal manual focus camera.

I did a test of the Interval Movie mode of the Pentax K-3.  This is where you set the camera to record for a set period of time taking pictures at intervals you also set and then it automatically builds them into a movie file.  In this case I set it to record in full HD, even though 4K is an option but I don’t actually have anything to view a 4K file on and I’m not sure if my current software can handle them.  It was an interesting test and I learned a few things I will share.

Narcissus Timelapse from Wallace Ross on Vimeo.

Things I learned:

1.  One image every 30 seconds is unnecessarily often for flowers.  (the video is sped up) maybe 1 every 2 minutes would have worked here even 1 every 5min for a longer period.

2. Even though most of the light was from the fluorescent lights in the room there was a lot of variation from the light coming from a small window.

3. A fully charged battery with the 3 second review set can run the set up for about 5 hours.  (Next time I will turn the rear display completely off)

4. If you don’t want the flowers to open up before you even begin don’t bring them into a warm house.

5. While the top LCD provides some basic shooting parameters and battery level a count down timer or frame counter would be a great addition if possible.

I look forward to trying this again its a very different process than taking a single still image but it is made very easy by the Pentax K-3.  And if you’re wondering I put the music together using Sony Acid Express.

I like to take advantage of opportunities to photograph when presented with them.  I had reason to be in North Vancouver recently and having wanted to get some pictures of the bulk and coal terminal there I packed appropriately  (I brought a tripod and my Pentax K-3).  I also took pictures here with some Cinestill film but I haven’t finished the roll yet so there may be so overlap in pictures when that is developed.   I like the complexity of industrial scenes and the fact that they are nocturnal makes it all the more interesting as if things are lit not for the benefit of those there but to add drama and simplify the scene.  My original idea was to bring back some imagery as source material for painting but at this point I just like these as photographs.

Some ideas are better in theory than in practice. For instance despite the seeming awesomeness of mounting a lens and shutter on a camera that already has a shutter it proved to be less awesome than anticipated. The problem is if I use the camera’s shutter then I have to set the other shutter to bulb and keep it open and if I want to use the lenses shutter then I need to put the camera on bulb and trip the shutter on the lens. It’s all too much trouble and the fact that to get the focus right I would need to do some fine tuning of the lens to sensor distance I’ve decided to quit while I’m only slightly behind.

Images taken with the Pentax K-3 in challenging light, higher ISO settings and all hand-held. The point being that I would not have been able to capture these images in this way previous to having this camera. It simply is better than anything I’ve ever had before both in image quality and general camera performance.  In this situation in the low light of this antique store it’s the ability of the sensor to capture fine details without digital noise interfering that impressed me.  That coupled with the shake reduction system that seems improved but is difficult to quantify allowed me to just walk around taking pictures without need of the tripod I had brought.

Even Ricoh have a hard time saying how well the shake reduction works as it depends so much on the method of testing. From their own website they suggust Type: Sensor-Shift Shake Reduction with rotational compensation (3.5EV TBD)  so 3.5 stops is the difference between shooting something at ISO 280 vs 3200 that is no small deal and is true for any lens you mount on the K-3.