The Fotoboat Pentax Files

First Movie

2011-03-21T12:59:00.001-07:00

The weather at Wimbleball SC on Sunday was fantastic, apart from the lack of breeze, that is. But it was a good opportunity to try out the video rig, while shooting stills with my Canon kit at the same time. Some observations:

Shooting video is not the same as shooting stills!
Trying to do both at the same time was a nightmare
Just with the LCD viewfinder (and no shoulder mount) the camera can be held quite steadily in the normal SLR shooting position, ie held up against the face with right hand on the grip and left hand under the lens. It's not a particularly heavy camera, so I may find the shoulder mount isn't really needed.

Post-processing was interesting. I got the stills out of the way first using my normal workflow (based on Camerabits Photo Mechanic). Then I looked through the video clips (all 66 of them) individually to see which ones to use.

I started doing the edit using Adobe Premiere Elements (PRE) and after about half an hour was still having problems deciding which settings to use! I took the easy way out and edited the whole thing in Windows Live Movie Maker (WLMM) in about an hour, including sourcing and adding a cheesy music soundtrack. There's no doubt I will have to take time out to master PRE (roughly speaking, if PRE is a DSLR then WLMM is the camera on your mobile phone - it seems to be excellent for quick-and-dirty video editing but lacks PRE's bells-and-whistles.)

I need to add some info to the video when the results come out, then I will post it to YouTube

Video Time!

2011-03-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

Having tried the K-7 a few times in video mode, holding it at arm's length and squinting at the rear LCD screen, I have decided that it's time to get serious about video, which means buying some proper kit.

After a lot of research I have come up with the following video outfit:

Opteka shoulder mount
Seagull LCD Viewfinder
Adobe Premiere Elements 9

I went for the Seagull LCD viewfinder rather than the LCDVF product, because the Seagull has a dioptre adjustment for spectacle wearers.

OK - the kit has now arrived. The shoulder mount seems very well made - nicely machined and anodised alloy parts, and it screwed together very easily. Once slight snag - the tripod screw which secures the camera to the mouth reaches the end of its travel before the camera is tight on the mount. A couple of layers of gaffer tape on the mount sorted that out, and also introduced an element of padding for the camera to bed onto.

The mounting frame for the Seagull LCD VF is now on the camera, weighed down by a couple of books, and I will now wait for "hours" as advised by the leaflet before attempting to clip the viewfinder to it.

I will install Premiere while I am waiting...

Starcross Steamer (Again)

2011-03-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

The annual Starcross Steamer pursuit race was the first major gig I did with the K-7. last year. I went to this year's edition last weekend, and once again we were blessed with breeze and sunshine. I used the K-7 with the 50-200 alongside my Canon 40D, with 400 prime and 70-200 f4 & 1.4tc. Quite pleased with the results, but a Northerly breeze always makes it difficult to get shots with the sailors properly illuminated.

This may be the last entry in the blog before I re-focus it on video work. The plan is to use the K-7 as the heart of an HD video rig. I have ordered all the bits and will report as I go along about how it's all coming together.

18-55 Lens First Outing

2011-03-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

I took the K-7 and 18-55 lens to Sidmouth this afternoon and took a few tourist shots. Overall, quite impressed. Sharpness is acceptable across the frame, but there is a bit of colour fringing at the edges as can be seen on the extreme crop, of the post in the top right hand side of the frame.

Extended Trial!

2011-03-09T03:15:00.000-08:00

Pentax UK have very kindly allowed me to extend the trial indefinitely, so the blog will live on. I have recently purchased the other kit lens for the K-7 (18-55 f3.5/5.6 DA AL WR, so I can now cover the whole range from 18 to 200. I'll be trying out the new lens in the next couple of days and will post a quick report. I now have 50mm covered by 4 lenses so a little comparison will be fun. The lenses are: the 18-55 just bought, the original 50-200 DA WR that came with the camera, a 50mm SMC Pentax-A f1.7 and the old Sigma 35-135 f3.5/4.5.

I intend to use the K-7 as the basis of a DSLR video rig, so more on that later.

The Last Gig?

2011-01-13T08:36:00.001-08:00

Last year I was hoping the first Fotoboat outing for the Pentax would be the Bloody Mary, at Queen Mary Sailing Club, but I was prevented from getting there from Devon by the snowy weather. This year there was no such problem. The temperature was almost into double figures, there was a good breeze and the rain held off. At the end of the event we even had some low winter sunshine.

You can see a summary of my experience with the Pentax in the post before this one. I think it's now time to find the box and get in touch with Pentax.

The Bottom Line

2010-12-11T09:15:00.001-08:00

I've had the camera for about a year now, so it's a good time for a summing-up:

The figures:

Events attended: 20+
Frames shot: 5-6,000
Published images: (local and yachting press): 31
Total images sold (retail and editorial): 75

The good points:

Rugged, weather-sealed construction and compact size.
Adequate image quality under most conditions.
Acceptable burst speed and AF performance.
Very flexible to set-up and customise via menus.
Good use of legacy lenses eg 50mm f1.7.

Not so good points:

Noisy images at ISO 400 and above.
Some controls can be fiddly to use and too easy to operate accidentally.
Video is very hard to use for a spectacle wearer; cannot focus on the subject and the viewfinder (rear LCD screen) at the same time although that will be the same for all DSLRs, not just the K-7.

My main regret is that I haven’t had the chance to use the K-7 with some good Pentax glass, like the 300mm F4, which is also weather sealed. The sharpest lens I have used on the K-7 has to be the SMC 50mm f1.7 which came with my old K-1000 about 30 years ago!

And the bottom line –

If I was starting from scratch in this field of work, without the current investment in Canon equipment (especially lenses) would I consider the K-7? Certainly, although by now I would be more likely to be looking at a K-5.

An Indoor Job

2010-12-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I was asked by a friend who plays in a local jazz quartet (Take 4 - http://www.take4jazz.com/Take_4/Welcome.html) if I would take a few shots of a gig in a local put, for use on a new CD sleeve. The lighting was pretty grim and it was a very cluttered environment, so I concentrated on close-ups, using the K-7 on ISO 1600 with the old 50mm f1.7 lens. This is the shot they used on the CD cover.

On the Kayak Again - and a Pavlova

2010-10-18T02:27:00.000-07:00

The weather on Sunday was perfect for another outing on the Kayak, on the Exe estuary. We were also on neap tides so not too much current to worry about. Plus, Exe Sailing Club had a Sunday afternoon race so there was plenty of subject matter. You can see some of the results on the club website at http://www.exe-sailing-club.org/.

But the picture of the day was taken after racing. Club member Tony Brewster had pledged during a Help for Heroes fundraising evening back in March to have a pavlova made for post-racing tea. Yesterday the plan finally came together and the pavlova, made by Sandra Sydenham, was fantastic! I just managed to get a shot of it before the hordes scoffed the lot. It was in the unlit kitchen, shot at 1/8 sec so I guess the anti-shake was working!

The on/off switch is now so stiff I prefer to keep the camera switched on all the time just in case it seizes up completely.

A Pentax-only Mission

2010-09-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

Last week from Thursday to Sunday, Exe Sailing Club (my club) hosted the national championships for the RS500 and 800 classes. On the first three days I shot with the usual combination of Canon and Pentax and you can see the results on the Fotoboat website. On the last day, I was rostered for duty as safety boat crew, so I only took the Pentax, so as to be best prepared to do rescuing if needed. It was a blustery day with quite big waves, but very little sunlight. Most of the time the camera was on ISO 400.

There were plenty of opportunities for photos as boats came past us going upwind, but looking at the PC screen that evening I was disappointed by the number of dud shots. I don't know if it's the speed of the AF, or the lack of contrast making life difficult for the AF, but many of the shots were a good deal less sharp than I know the camera is capable of producing. The images here show one which I accepted for the website and one I rejected. I think you will be able to tell which is which.

Perfect Conditions

2010-09-11T12:36:00.001-07:00

When the conditions are right, there are few better sailing venues than Lyme Regis. Last week the 505 class held their national championships there, blessed by four days of great breezes, building waves and not a little sunshine. I was there on the Friday and enjoyed one of the best day's shooting this year. I was using the usual setup - Canon 40D with 70-200 f4L plus 1.4x extender and 400 f5.6L, and the Pentax K-7 with 50-200 DA WR.

The best shots of the day were undoubtedly taken with the Canon, particularly the ones shot with the 400mm lens, but some respectable results from the Pentax. I would love to have the opportunity to use this camera with some better quality glass!

The on-off switch has now become very stiff through salt water ingress. I expect (hope?) the seals are keeping it out of the camera's vitals, but in places where it gets trapped it must be doing some harm.

At the Olympic Venue

2010-08-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

I had a day at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta yesterday. This was not a great day to be there, with low cloud, mist, rain and high winds. High winds is OK but the rest we can do without. I was out on a press boat shooting with the usual combination of Pentax K-7 and Canons. The Pentax got very wet indeed. At one point I changed the ISO up to 800 (yes, it was that dark!) and button remained stuck down, so that all rear wheel adjustments changed the ISO instead of the aperture. I think dried salt water must have made the button a bit sticky. It's now been rinsed in fresh water and seems to be OK. The picture shows Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes, who represented GB at the 2008 Olympics.

First Problem

2010-07-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

I was out today at Teignmouth, shooting the last day of the Lark national championships. Not a spectacular day - rather cloudy and a light and very shifty wind. I was using the usual combination of K-7/50-200 and Canon 40D with a variety of lenses: 400 f5.6L, 70-200 f4L with 1.4 extender and Sigma 10-20.

Towards the end of the afternoon I noticed in the K-7 viewfinder "F - - -" which seemed to indicate an indeterminate aperture setting. I guessed the problem was the connection between camera body and lens. After detaching the lens and wiping the contacts on both camera body and lens, the problem was solved.

Too Wet?

2010-07-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

I spent nearly 7 hours on the water yesterday in Lyme Bay, in a small, very wet RIB in quite large waves and 15-20 knots winds. The occasion was the 2010 Albacore National championships. I used 3 cameras: the K-7/50-200 which I kept inside my jacket when not in use, and two Canons: the 40D, with 70-200 f4L/1.4 extender and my old D60 with the 400 F5.6L. These cameras stayed inside the waterproof bag when not in use.

I got some nice shots from the K-7, but the sheer amount of solid water coming over the boat and spray in the air got the better of me in the end. All my available lens wipes were just sodden and keeping the lens clear of water droplets became increasingly difficult. A whole series of shots at the finish of the last race were ruined through water on the lens.

Pleased to say though that all three cameras survived the ordeal and out of the 1000 frames shot in total, I got some reasonable shots.

I also had a go at shooting some video of the leader rounding the wing mark, but the up and down motion of the boat made it a very unpleasant watch!

Showing it Off

2010-06-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

I was at Netley Sailing Club, on Southampton Water, yesterday for the RS Tera National Championships. It was the hottest day of the year so far (pushing 30 degrees) and it took the sea breeze a while to get going. I took the opportunity to wander around snapping the surroundings and chatting to people.

Giles Barclay, another Canon user, was interested to see I was using the K-7. He had a go with it and was impressed by its compact size. The picture on this post was taken by Giles.

Once we got afloat it was quite a fun event - you can see the pics on the Fotoboat website. I used the K-7/50-200 alongside the 40D with a range of lenses: Canon EF 400 f5.6L, Sigma 10-20 and Canon EF 70-200 f4L with 1.4 extender. I found the Pentax viewfinder noticeably brighter than the Canon's, something I haven't commented on before.

Beer at the Weekend

2010-06-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

I went to Beer Sailing Club last weekend for the RS700/800 open. Another lovely day with a building sea breeze - enough for some close racing but not enough for really exciting photos.

I used the K-7 with 50-200 in conjunction with the Canon 40D/400 f5.6L. In a small RIB (4m) with fairly choppy seas the smaller, lighter Pentax was much easier to handle than the Canon. But I wouldn't sacrifice the 400's image quality and reach just for ease of handling!

Nearly Very Wet

2010-06-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

I paddled out to the Exe safe water mark to photograph Exe SC's bank holiday race yesterday. Quite a long way, into the wind and I was glad to tie up to the committee RIB and climb aboard for a breather. Took my shots, and set out back, now with both wind and tide behind me. For a bit of sport I decided to go over the Pole Sand, through the breaking water. Great fun until I was swung broadside by the fierce current then rolled by a wave! Luckily the water was only a foot or so deep but the kayak was completely inverted and the camera bag submerged. But the bag (Watershed Ocoee) was securely tied to the boat and stayed totally waterproof. The paddle was also tied on, so no dramas there.

Wet at Last!

2010-05-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to a cold, grey, wet and windy Chew Valley Lake to cover the latest round of the RS200 South West Ugly tour. This was a great opportunity to put the K-7's weather proofing to the test. I was on a small RIB, and the combination of spray and rain provided enough "weather" for the 77 seals to resist. At least the spray was fresh (Bristol Water's finest drinking water) and not salt water. I kept my hand over the end of the lens hood when not shooting, and the deep hood proved useful for keeping off all but direct rain when shooting straight into the wind.

Going back into the clubhouse at lunchtime provided another test - with a sudden rise in temperature and 100% humidity everything steamed up instantly. Once I had towelled down all the kit, everything was still working fine - as expected.

Two snags are worth reporting. Firstly, when using the camera with gloves on it was all too easy for my right thumb to hit the Live View button, which lost me a few shots. Second, I lost more shots than usual through poor focus. This appears to be because I had the AF switched to 'S' (single shot), where 'C' (continuous - equivalent to Servo mode on Canon) would have been more appropriate. Read the **** manual!

The Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace

2010-04-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

The show took place over the weekend 6/7 March but as I was shooting for Dinghy Sailing mag I didn't post anything until the mag had come out. It's the May issue, now out, the one with the Scorpion on the front cover (one I took at Looe in 2005).

I used two cameras for the show shoot. The Canon 40D with the Sigma 10-20 lens and Speedlight 550 EX flash, and the Pentax K-7 with the 50/1.7 for available light shots. One of these made the contents page of the May issue - those huge stained glass roundel windows at Alexandra Palace are a camera magnet!

I went up to the organ loft to get a general view of the show, which needed the 10-20 lens so used the Canon for that. The aim was to get a shot with blurry moving people which I partly succeeded in doing (1 sec at f/32 was the slowest I could get).

RS Event at Chew Valley Lake

2010-03-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend (13 March) I went to the RS 6,7 and 800 Winter Championships and Musto Skiff open at Chew Valley Lake SC. Great weather - sunny, not too cold and a bit of breeze. I was shooting with two bodies - the Pentax K-7/50-200 combination and the Canon 40D. I used a variety of lenses on the Canon: 400 f5.6L, 70-200 F4L with 1.4x extender and Sigma 10-20.

The results can be seen on the Fotoboat website. They are a reasonable representation of the event but nothing really exciting as the breeze didn't get much over 9 knots.

I tried a bit of video and have posted a clip below. As a spectacle wearer I find using the back screen as a viewfinder quite difficult, as I don't have the necessary depth of focus in my eyes to see the subject directly and the screen at the same time. A monopod might be useful to prevent too much up and down movement. As with anything, it will take some getting used to but I think mixing stills and video work is going to be difficult.

Another Kayak Outing

2010-02-21T06:42:00.000-08:00

After weeks without being on the water it was good to get out on the Exe Estuary today on the kayak. I took the K-7 with me, with its 50-200 DA WR lens, and was rewarded by the sight of three RS Vision dinghies, sailed by students on an Exe Sailing Club instructors course, accompanied by the club safety RIB.

I have reverted to the out-of-the-box settings for the control wheels, and had no problems. A selection from the shoot can be seen here.

The Shower Test

2010-02-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

I have just come across this - and wonder if I have got the bottle to try it for myself (with salt water, of course...)

Another Piece of Legacy Equipment

2010-02-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

I have found the lens I used to use most of the time with my K-1000. It's a Sigma 35-135 f3.5/4.5 I bought in the early 80s, so it's nearly 30 years old. It's an 'A' lens, so it works on the K-7 in manual focus mode. Zoom/focus is by the same "one touch" ring; push-pull zoom and twist focus. This has a very smooth, well-damped action. At 135mm it has a macro mode, too. Many holiday snaps have been taken with this lens over the years, and as they were seldom blown up beyond 6x4 I never really saw what the lens was capable of.

The answer is - it's rather soft and images definitely lack contrast. A lens hood (I have mislaid that) might help a bit with the contrast. Overall verdict: still a useful, versatile lens but image quality not up to what I now find acceptable. I am still amazed that such an old lens can be attached to a modern camera body and be fully functional. Try doing that with a 30 year old item of computer equipment! It says a lot for Pentax's original design for the K-mount.

Starcross Steamer 24 Jan 10

2010-01-25T04:44:00.000-08:00

The Starcross Steamer is an annual pursuit race held on the River Exe, organised by Starcross YC. I was shooting from a RIB with 2 cameras - the Pentax K-7/50-200 DA f4-5.6 and a Canon 40D/400mm f5.6L. Most shots were of approaching boats - hit them with the Canon/400mm first then with the Pentax as they get closer and sweep past. So lots of swapping cameras. It was very cold so I was wearing sailing gloves - thin neoprene with rubberised grip.

The biggest problem with the Pentax was constant, inadvertent operation of the rear dial, putting the EV compensation all over the place. Sometimes it was from the camera brushing my clothing, more often from the end of my gloved thumb. A batch of shots where EV was +2 stops was totally lost, some were not quite so extreme and retrievable (with some loss of quality). I am going to look at the manual again and see if there's a custom setting which isn't so vulnerable to mis-setting.

Not all bad news, though. I got some respectable shots with the Pentax - they can be seen on the Fotoboat website. Look for the 'C' or 'P' in the filename to tell which camera was used.

Where the Pentax scored physically over the Canon combination was its much lighter weight, though not really a fair comparison against a camera with a 400mm lens! My jury is still out over the effectiveness of the in-camera image stabilisation. I reckon if I can get acceptable shots hand-holding the Canon/400 combination in a moving boat, then using the much lighter (and shorter f/l) Pentax under the same lighting conditions isn't exactly going to test the Pentax's IS. I will have to work out a more objective test and report back.

A gig at last!

2010-01-23T02:26:00.000-08:00

It's been unusually quiet so far this winter on the Fotoboating front. I didn't get my usual trip to Queen Mary SC as (a) the weather threatened to make the trip from Devon somewhat difficult and (b) David Gates lives much nearer! David took some great pics which can be seen on the Fotoboat site.

Tomorrow I am going to the Starcross Steamer pursuit race at Starcross YC on the Exe. I will be using the K-7 alongside my Canon gear, so look out for some results and comment soon.

A Niggle

2009-12-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

I used the Pentax a lot over the Christmas period, indoors and out. Outdoors it was round my neck, dangling against a thick coat when not in use. I found it is very easy when the camera is carried in this way for the rear thumbwheel to brush against one's clothing and alter settings, in my case exposure compensation. The wheel appears to be "live" all the time and not just activated via the shutter button, as on the Canon. Lesson: always check the setting in the viewfinder when taking a shot - but it's too easy to forget!

First Publication

2009-12-26T00:55:00.000-08:00

One of the shots taken from the kayak, of the Exe SC winter series final race, was published by the Exmouth Journal on Christmas Eve.

First Fotoboat Mission - Pictures

2009-12-14T01:51:00.000-08:00

I have put a selection of pictures from yesterday's Fotoboat kayak mission here.

First Fotoboat Mission

2009-12-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

I took some photos of the Exe SC winter series racing this afternoon, from my Kayak, so it was a double first. I have done wildlife shoots from the kayak, but not yet dinghy racing. Weather was sunny but cold, with about 12 knots of breeze from the North over an incoming tide, kicking up quite a chop. The only option for photography was to spot a convenient mooring, paddle over to it and clip on. The advantage is the nice low viewpoint, about as close to the water as you can get without swimming. A disadvantage is the relatively narrow angle of view - I daren't swing round too far too quickly, for fear of ending up in the water. Getting the camera in and out of the bag (Watershed Ocoee) isn't too bad. I keep a small towel in the front pocket of my buoyancy aid to dry the hands before grabbing the camera and drying off any splashes.

And the results - not too bad. The lighting was tricky at times; very low sun, and wind opposite sun so in all the upwind shots the sailors are in shadow. I eventually positioned myself on a buoy they were passing close downwind and got some better lit shots. The autofocus seemed to have problems at times with moving boats but this did not result in too many out-of-focus shots. General sharpness and image quality is adequate but essentially limited by the quality of the lens. No problem at all with the camera controls, even with (wet) gloves on.

Will post a link to the rest of the shots soon.

More Practice

2009-12-07T09:26:00.001-08:00

I took the camera, with 50-200, for a walk yesterday. It had been raining heavily but it held off while I was out, so haven't got it wet yet. The light was fading fast so it was an opportunity to see how the shake reduction helped with hand-held shots at slowish shutter speeds. The view over the Otter estuary was shot at 1/30 f10 ISO 200, 50mm so not a very hard test, but a pass nonetheless.

The close-up of a cow's eye is a 100% crop and shows the lens can perform pretty well when stopped down a bit (1/50 f9 ISO 200, 80mm). The weather forecast is looking a bit more promising for the end of this week so I might get out on the water...

Using Legacy Lenses

2009-12-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

I have found that the camera works perfectly with the 50mm f1.7 lens from my K1000. Because it's an 'A' lens (=Auto), you just have to set the aperture ring to 'A' and the camera can control the aperture in the normal way. No AF, of course, but that's no great hardship. I have taken a few shots with this lens and have been mightily impressed with its quality. It is way sharper than the 50 - 200 DA WR, but that should not be surprising as (a) it's a prime (b) it's an f1.7 lens and (c) dare I say it, build quality was higher in those days.

The apple is a 100% crop - sorry, no pun intended. We actually had a lot more apples than this one, which I left for the birds.

First Impressions - In Use

2009-12-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

The first pressure on the shutter button is incredibly light – almost a touch, with no sensation of movement at all. Shutter actuation makes a strange, squidgy sound. Is that the in-camera anti-shake operating? Very different from the Canon’s crisp “flap”, but very quiet.

AF seems reasonably fast, but noisy. Viewfinder field of view is good, but not as bright as I was expecting.

Out-of-the box, the rear control wheel sets aperture in Av or speed in Tv, but it's easy to change it to what I am used to, ie using the front wheel for the main settings and the rear one for EV compensation. But the front wheel is the other side of the shutter release!

The mode dial – main setting dial top left of camera – has to be released by pressing the central button, before making adjustments. This is worthwhile; as I have found to my cost with the Canons, the mode dial can be nudged accidentally when moving the camera in and out of the bag.

Some pictures coming soon.

Unexpected Features

2009-12-03T06:06:00.000-08:00

A few things I have encountered which were surprising - one way or the other:

Adjust AF – you can adjust the AF forwards or backwards and have the settings linked to a designated lens, if required.

RAW button – press this to switch to RAW + jpeg recording for just one shot or until the button is pressed again.

You can put copyright etc details into the metadata in the camera via a menu option. - but it doesn't seem to correspond to IPTC fields, so not much use.

The zoom ring twists in the opposite way to my Canons!

There is a "spirit level" feature which can be turned on via the menu. It shows in the viewfinder if the camera is level. Great idea, you may think, for getting the horizon straight shooting from a rocking boat, but not really: (a) You don't have time for that sort of refinement, (b) wonky horizons are a doddle to fix post-shoot and (c) the spirit level replaces the exposure compensation indicator in the viewfinder and I know which I would rather see!

I will add others as they crop up...

First (physical) Impressions

2009-12-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

It’s very compact, much smaller than my Canon 40D. It feels good to handle, though, just like my old K1000. Actually, it is about the same height and width as the K1000, though a lot deeper to accommodate all the electronics and the battery. A similarity I wasn’t expecting is the filter size of the 50-200 lens: at 49mm it’s the same as the 50mm f1.7 standard lens on the K1000. More about the use of that lens later...

You can read a good, in-depth review here http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Pentaxk7 so I won’t spell everything out – just comment on features that stand out as I start to use the camera.

It's arrived

2009-12-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

The K-7 has arrived, complete with the DA 50-200mm f4-5.6 ED WR lens. The battery is now charging and I am hunting for an SD card (all my other cameras use CFs). Will post first impressions soon.

Why Pentax?

2009-11-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

After two previous careers doing other things (and being a keen amateur photographer since the age of 8) two things made it possible for me to set up Fotoboat in 2003: the introduction of "proper" digital cameras (ie DSLRs) and the Internet. I had a Pentax K1000 at the time and if I could just have converted it to digital, I'd have been delighted! But the only serious contenders at the time were Canon and Nikon, and I set out down the Canon route with an EOS 10D, followed shortly by a second hand D60 as a back-up, and a range of zoom lenses, including a 35-350 f3.5/5.6L. This wasn't the sharpest lens around, but boy what a versatile piece of kit! Stuck on a small boat in a howling gale with lens changing not a sensible option, this mega-zoom lens did great service.

The 10D became a paperweight after coming into violent contact with the side of a boat and was replaced with a 40D. When the mega-zoom also expired, this time through internal corrosion caused by saltwater spray, I started looking for something with better weather sealing. It's available on the top end Canon products, but at a price. At about this time Pentax brought out the K20, and then the K7, offering weather sealing at a more affordable price. Worth a try, I thought, and it would be nice to hold a Pentax again... Pentax UK have given me that opportunity, so thanks to them, and looking forward to getting to grips with it. The kit is expected to arrive next week.