Doesn't this look like a "Normal" lens to you? Even a compact one. But it's actually a tele lens, Pentax 70mm 2.4 (105mm equivalent). This is a perfect focal length for many things, not the least of which is portraits (due to the neutral perspective you get, and the added distance to the camera, which feels good for the model).Tradition dictates that "street photography" be done with a 35mm lens, but I think that a short tele like this will pick out subjects and at the same time not seem so offensive as a zoom, which always is large.
Despite being so compact, this lens is a reasonably fast F:2.4, and more importantly, it's wonderfully crisp even at full aperture, and it has beautiful bokeh (the quality of the background blur). See samples at full opening below (straight from the camera except for down-scaling for Blogger). I'm very pleased with it.
By the way, a defining characteristic of this and the other Pentax "Limited" lenses (not in fact a limited edition) is a highly pleasing all-metal construction quality. They are just beautiful objects. I would love if Pentax would make a camera in matching quality, black metal body.
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The picture of the camera is taken in my window sill, and the red thingy is a "Y-strap", which I quite like. It also makes a pretty good wrist strap if you wrap it a couple of times around your wrist. (It's better for that than normal camera straps.)
(NeutralDay reviews the K-x and compares the K-x with Nikon D3000.)
14 comments:
Very nice, Eo. :-)
Eolake, what a beautiful small camera/lens combination. I have been using the Pentax K7 with the limited primes which I have been collecting and am strongly considering the K-x as a second body. Do you know if the K-x has an easily accessible auto exposure bracketing system?
Gary, I did not know, so I looked it up. (I can't find any PDF version of the manual, dammit.)
The K-X does not have a dedicated button for this, nor for drive mode. Both things are accessed via the Up button, labelled with a self-timer symbol (!).
So you have to use a menu to do it. It's reasonably easy, and the camera fires off the three shots damn fast!
Unfortunately the friggin manual does not tell me how to turn off bracketing again!
Not even turning off the camera does it! Friggin hell.
My pal Ray solved the guide issue at least by going to Pentax's Canadian site for the K-x manual: http://thurly.net//c5y
Thanks so much for the Canadian URL Eolake. I just went there and downloaded the camera's manual and AEB is accessed via the four way controller, by way of the drive mode, in a very similar fashion to the K7. Its implementation would seem well designed once the operation was familiar. I am ordering the camera. I, too, like the white body, for reasons I can't yet fully fathom.
Kewl.
If you figure out how to turn off the AEB...
In the PDF manual page 112, you press the 'up' or drive mode button in the 4 way controller to change drive mode. I think you change the drive mode from single shot to the auto-exposure and you can undo the drive mode changes the same way. That is, in capture mode, you press the 'up' or drive mode button to select drive mode. I don't have my camera with me, just reading up the PDF file from previous link
EO "in matching quality, black metal body."
And if it were a red head, you'd be in love.
Sorry, the devil made me do it ;-)
The sad thing is it wouldn't even need to be. :-)
From the glassware image, that combo is getting very near the macro realm. About 105mm effective, if I have it right. Good range for closeups.
Question, when going in close would it be more pleasing to have the whole rim of the front piece in focus? The front portion is nailed and the rear is what I would call semi OOF. This is a concept I struggle with; main subject fully in focus.
Just guessing here, but I would say it was made with the lens wide open. Extremely shallow DOF when you get that close with wide apertures. probably boils down to one's tastes.
OBTW, the WV was "bever", do you get to pick them?
"This is a concept I struggle with; main subject fully in focus."
You're not alone, it's pretty important to Mike Johnston too, for example.
For me doesn't matter much. I pretty much know how most things look without having all of it in focus. For me it's all just pictures.
sweet little lens, and a part of the beauty of the Pentax system (compact, well made lenses, especially primes).
I'm not sure about the white...but hey it's Eolake, so I understand.
Anyway certainly a fun little camera, and I only wish I was able to get some additional lenses to see what it could really do.
Thanks for giving such wonderful informative information.
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