New Camera

[IGO]

ALL my pictures are taken on the fly while hiking. I've drooled over this pro-sumer camera for months but its huge and heavy and quit often I don't have time for infinite settings. I bought the incarnation of my trusted Pentax dSLR.
Pround new owner of a Pentax K100D Super dSLR and a walk-about zoom, the Pentax DA 18-250.
I still have all my great old prime lenses for Pentax for when I'm on tr-pod or road side shooting but I need a rugged marching camera and this is it.
Improvements over the old camera are a choice between natural and bright settings for auto shoot. That was the biggest thing 'cause I always had to de-tune pictures from the old camera. Other greats are shake reduction in camera. Super fast drive. dng RAW images.
It will do for a workin' man.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[Hikngrl]

OK, I read this and ran straight to the gallery thinking surely he put up some pictures so we can see what his new camera can do but no.....
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~~~Diane~~~

I want to shine!

[IGO]

Well, well well ah well....
actually, I got the lens home. The camera is on the way.
Took a picture of a car hood tho! Wanna see it?
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[wanderingsoul]

Does it have something interesting painted on it ???
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Wanderingsoul (Michelle)

Positive Thinking Is the Spark that Makes Dreams Happen~~~Unknown

[IGO]

No. Needs a bath and probably some air in a tire. Random hood.
Could be an art peice for somebody I suppose.
_________________
"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[Daryl]

18-250 is quite a range. I'm very interested to hear your toughts on the lens after using it a little.
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[Al_HikesAZ]

I've had this lens a couple of months now and I'm very happy with it as my hiking lens. I get some vignetting at the low end, most of which can be cleaned up in Photoshop. The Pentax K series crops at about 1.5 so this works out to a 35mm equivalent of 27-375mm which handles most everything.

In addition, I have an 18-55, a 50-200 and a 70-300. I used to hike with the 18-55 and carry the 70-300. This meant some lost wildlife shots due to not changing lenses fast enough. This also meant some possible dust exposure during a change, but I was always conscientious with lens changes to minimize dusting. (and the extra weight of the second lens).

The Pentax crop means that the 18mm is actually a 35mm equivalent to 27mm - not a great wide-angle landscape lens. I plan on picking up a 10--24 to handle this. The 10-24 might be a lens that I would carry if I can learn to compose with it.

Here are some of my photos - but these are shot with a multitude of cameras so you'll have to look at the exif info to see which ones are with the Pentax. Most of my recent photos are with the Pentax.
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/dna.php?username=Al_HikesAZ
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Anyone can make a hike harder. The skill comes in making it easier. Dosatéhigo nasádo

[IGO]

So far I'm not overly thrilled but I haven't shot anything other than the landscaping at my job with 40mph winds tossing the landscaping about.
My thoughts for buying THIS particular dSLR and THIS particular lens for HIKING are these:
My old dSLR is toast. It's toast because in quick 18-55 to 75-300 lens changes on the trail in the desert the interior of my camera is contaminated with dust beyond repair. I also was normally unable to get a steady enough hand on a 300mm lens as I always shoot on the fly; camera in a breast holster and tele-zoom in a water bottle pocket on my hip. For changing lenses while backpacking and hiking, it doesn’t get any faster than that.
I can't carry a tri-pod backpacking and I can't carry prime lenses backpacking. Now it is obvious I can't change lenses while backpacking either. What does a 35mm maniac do? Buys a lens that will mimic nearly all prime rangers and buy a camera with shake reduction.
If I'm shooting from close the road side I'll bring a tri-pod and prime lenses and use my good camera but backpacking and hiking I've just got to use something significantly more versatile than a point and shoot. Hiking/base level dSLR and a solo lense. That's as much compromise as I can go.
PROBLEM: This lens is heavy which makes the front of the camera dive when I carry it around my neck on a strap. When it dives, the lens fully extends which makes it impossible to use as a walk-about lens which is the biggest reason I paid $500 for a lens.
Still, while having to transport it in the breast holster for backpacking, I'm hoping and praying that it is a strong wilderness stand alone shooter.
Daryl, watch for a report after I've taken it out in the desert. I'll probably take it on my Utah gig memorial weekend. I'll post and report back then. I'm pretty sure image quality will be comparable with anything that would dare attempt this focal range. I'll post a fair assessment.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[Al_HikesAZ]

[IGO]

Hmmm. I posted here this morning. Don't know what happened to the post.
Anyway.....doh factor. I guess I should read the manual hah?
I'm very glad it still gets to be my walk-about lens. As I said, I'll report after a good shoot outdoors. I hope the camera will be in Friday.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[Daryl]

I've been eying up the Tamron 18-250
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/477059-REG/Tamron_AF018C700_AF_18_250mm_f_3_5_6_3_Di_II.html

which gets pretty good reviews.

I'm still leary though, that much zoom range... Quality has to suffer. Today I normally bring a 17-40 and a 70-300 and change. I'm so happy with my 17-40 that it would be hard to go to something else.
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[IGO]

I'm told the Pentax is a Tamrom colaberation and basically the same lens. You are right, 18-250 is asking a lot. I just hope I can shoot this weekend. I ate something bad last night and nothing is staying down yet at 1PM I think I'm stablizing. Hope the new camera gets here today.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[IGO]

Finally the camera came in. 3 days of riding motorcycles through the Utah Color Country will be the first test. All I'm taking with me is new gear. We will see.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[RedRoxx44]

While playing with my friend's new Fujifilm I got the bug and obtained a Canon Dig Rebel XSi. Sitting in a drawer with the 10-22 Ef lens on it. Did I take it to Utah---noooo too pretty and I was afraid of dropping it in water. So I haven't done anything with it. I hate when something is new and costly and you're almost afraid to use it.
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You can rest when you're dead

[Davis2001R6]