Joining the Q-Club II

earthbound_ca · Mar 15, 2016

Hi All. What a funny feeling to be joining such a quiet forum. Not only that but my first SLR was a K1000 and the last Pentax I shot was a 6x7! I'm looking forward to having a Pentax again.

Anyway, with "Joining the Q-Club" hovering on page one, I thought I'd chime in and perhaps add some humour. I am awaiting the arrival of a Q-S1, hoping it will fill a gap in my bag. Small sensor, high pixel density, adaptable to my existing range of optics: I plan to use the camera for untethered planetary/ lunar photography, distant landscape and still-life/macro.

I've enjoyed lurking in the forum and will enjoy participating from time-to-time. While I am reading the manual, don't be too harsh with any newbie-esque questions I may have! LOL

Smaug01 · Mar 15, 2016

...that a thread of mine has inspired a sequel. :-D

Welcome to the friendly Q-Club!

When I was in the research and deciding phase of my Q purchase, I kept trying to justify it with some rational means:

What does it do that my current cameras won't do? Not much, really.

Did I "need" it? Not really.

...but I'll be damned if I could talk myself out of it!

My first SLR was also a Pentax K1000. It was a later model, with the chrome-painted plastic cover, rather than having a full metal exterior. I felt so inspired by that camera! I went onto other cameras that were technically better, but never forgot or disrespected the spartan K1000. OM1n, OM4, FM, FM2n, etc.

My first dSLR was also a Pentax, a K100D.

My favorite fixed lens compact is also a Pentax, an MX-1.

Now this? Why do I love it so? I think because it has some of the virtues of the MX-1 that I like so well, but adds a bit of spice with interchangeable lenses. Great optics, great execution, great build quality, great menu system, (esp. when you realize the control knob scrolls through the sub-menus quickly, so you don't need to use the directional pad for everything)

Here, finally, is a funny little camera for which I can finally justify the purchase of a fish-eye lens and a super-telephoto. It's ironic, because one of the very things that makes this possible is also one of its key weaknesses as a "serious" camera: small sensor. Small sensor = smaller and less expensive optics. The fisheye lens cost under $100. Optically, it is fair to good. But who cares, it's a fisheye; not for serious work anyhow! I just bought probably a 60 year old C-mount manual focus telephoto for it for the princely sum of $160. (Swiss-made, with a leather case and everything!)

You should have seen the laughs I got last night when I showed up to take my son's Boy Scout troop photo with the Q7 and a tripod. No one quite trusted it/me. About 10 of the parents also took an "insurance shot" with their cell phones, and one other scoutmaster snapped one with his Nikon D3000 in dummy mode. (pop-up flash: boo! hisss!)

I went home, edited it properly and published the photo.

One other surprise virtue of this camera? The camera itself makes people smile! The trick is to make a big show of being a "serious photographer". Have a proper camera bag. Keep a straight face, then pull out the Q. Take those first pictures quickly, while the smiles are so easy and natural!

To put it short (too late) I guess what I like most about this camera is that it just seems to make everything fun. I can't remember having this much fun with a camera since my first camera in the early 80s. (an automatic 110)

Even if you find it is not ideal for astrophotography, try to take it out and use it for fun stuff.

manual_focus · Mar 15, 2016

Smaug01 said:
...that a thread of mine has inspired a sequel. :-D

Welcome to the friendly Q-Club!

One other surprise virtue of this camera? The camera itself makes people smile! The trick is to make a big show of being a "serious photographer". Have a proper camera bag. Keep a straight face, then pull out the Q. Take those first pictures quickly, while the smiles are so easy and natural!

To put it short (too late) I guess what I like most about this camera is that it just seems to make everything fun. I can't remember having this much fun with a camera since my first camera in the early 80s. (an automatic 110)

Even if you find it is not ideal for astrophotography, try to take it out and use it for fun stuff.

earthbound_ca · Mar 15, 2016

... don't encourage me too much to buy glass now, will you? Yes, I have already perused the offerings in the Q mount. I dabbled with the Nikon J5 and found, for automated use, native glass was way better than adapted glass, even with Nikon's FT-1 adapter.

Anyway, your comments reveal what will probably be an unintended consequence of the purchase and that's fine with me: simple fun for me and others. I'll have to add that to the list when my wife notices a Pentax in my hands! LOL

Thanks, manual_focus and Smaug01, for the ideas. I'm glad, Smaug01, you were pleased to have been inspirational with your previous thread! LOL Let the good times roll!

NoRules · Mar 16, 2016

earthbound_ca said:
Small sensor, high pixel density, adaptable to my existing range of optics: I plan to use the camera for untethered planetary/ lunar photography, distant landscape and still-life/macro.

I also initially bought the Q for high pixel density for astro photography, or more correctly; the Sun. Since then I have discovered that the Q is so much more. It's the perfect concert camera (you hardly know it's there and nobody takes you serious), it's perfect for planets and microscopy, and lately I discovered I could make money with it by doing real estate photos with it. But solar system astro photography is where it really shines! I have several DSLRs, including the Canon 60Da (astronomy version), but in our solar system the Q is the King!

Happy hunting!

View image on Twitter

--
Free your mind, and your camera will follow...

earthbound_ca · Mar 16, 2016

NoRules said:

Nice capture. What optic and filtration did you use?

And, yes, you, too: talking about how great the system is yadda yadda yadda! Shall I just hand you guys my credit card and let you buy for me what you think I'll need/ want/ enjoy/......... !!! LOL You're not really helping me! ;-)

NoRules · Mar 16, 2016

earthbound_ca said:
NoRules said:

Click to expand...

Nice capture. What optic and filtration did you use?

And, yes, you, too: talking about how great the system is yadda yadda yadda! Shall I just hand you guys my credit card and let you buy for me what you think I'll need/ want/ enjoy/......... !!! LOL You're not really helping me! ;-)

Sorry

I see the image caption was lost ... Optics was a telescope, the Coronado Solar max 60, a rather expensive piece of equipment ... Sorry again, he-he

I tried every SLR I had on the telescope, but did not get the image I wanted. Only the Q7 worked as I had hoped. (I did not want to shell out for a dedicated astro CCD camera).

--
Free your mind, and your camera will follow...

Wallace Ross · Mar 16, 2016

Wow what sort if optics did you use? Lens and filters?

earthbound_ca · Mar 16, 2016

NoRules said:
earthbound_ca said:

You're not really helping me! ;-)

Click to expand...

Sorry

I see the image caption was lost ... Optics was a telescope, the Coronado Solar max 60, a rather expensive piece of equipment ... Sorry again, he-he

I tried every SLR I had on the telescope, but did not get the image I wanted. Only the Q7 worked as I had hoped. (I did not want to shell out for a dedicated astro CCD camera).

It's okay. I'm not surprised. I was an early Coronado PST adopter. I have long since parted with it but, as you have experienced with your set-ups -- and what I'm looking forward to -- is the Q's adaptability for such purposes.

Thanks for sharing. I'll get some native glass before I purchase a Coronado Solar Max or something along those lines.

Oh my. What have I gotten myself into??? :-O LOL

NoRules · Mar 16, 2016

Wallace Ross said:
Wow what sort if optics did you use? Lens and filters?

NoRules · Mar 16, 2016

earthbound_ca said:
NoRules said:

earthbound_ca said:

You're not really helping me! ;-)

Click to expand...

Sorry

I see the image caption was lost ... Optics was a telescope, the Coronado Solar max 60, a rather expensive piece of equipment ... Sorry again, he-he

I tried every SLR I had on the telescope, but did not get the image I wanted. Only the Q7 worked as I had hoped. (I did not want to shell out for a dedicated astro CCD camera).

Click to expand...

It's okay. I'm not surprised. I was an early Coronado PST adopter. I have long since parted with it but, as you have experienced with your set-ups -- and what I'm looking forward to -- is the Q's adaptability for such purposes.

Thanks for sharing. I'll get some native glass before I purchase a Coronado Solar Max or something along those lines.

Oh my. What have I gotten myself into??? :-O LOL

Not to add to your burden, but the 08 Wide Angle Zoom for the Q is absolutely fantastic. The best lens in the system. And the most expensive, of course. Welcome to Q-Land

LightBug · Mar 16, 2016

I wouldn't have thought of the Q as an astro camera, thanks NoRules for showing us what's possible with the Q!

Joey

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Joining the Q-Club II

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