Got to shoot with the K1 today...

Sandyramirez wrote:

Why use Samyang lenses? Oh and in live view, yes there is focus peaking

I'm interested in using the 24mm 1.4 is supposed to be an excellent lens, for what ir costs.  I've seen pictures of it and they seem pretty damn sharp.

Is there a less expensive and silent 24mm in AF that you can recommend?  

Sandyramirez wrote:

Got to shoot a wonderful model from Wilhelmina today using the K1 and the new 24-70/2.8. Many thanks to Jim Malcolm of Ricoh Imaging for bringing the K-1 to NYC so I could shoot it. Pics in a bit after I go through it all. Cannot post a full res as the firmware is still not finalized, but I'm sure you folks will like it.

Overall from the two hours I got to spend with it, the K-1 is an incredible camera. It's on par with the top of the line Canons or Nikons. Seriously I now will get myself one, a great companion to my 645Z.

Feel free to ask questions below. Will be happy to talk about camera controls etc

Sounds like you had a good time with the K1. Looks like another good capturing device for professionals looking for alternatives to the ipso facto barometer in our metier the Canon, Nikons and of course the MF "Blads" that less and less shooters are using today.

If you like it go for  it

The Z is my main camera now, and I hardly ever touch my A7R.

Have you been able to use any of your 645 lenses on the K1?  How is the HSS?  Have you used the pixel shift?

Your impression contradicts what DPR found regarding the K-1 AF system. I myself have become interested in the K-1 for many things but claiming its AF is on a par with 1DX sounds extremely dubious.

Sandyramirez wrote:

Got to shoot a wonderful model from Wilhelmina today using the K1 and the new 24-70/2.8. Many thanks to Jim Malcolm of Ricoh Imaging for bringing the K-1 to NYC so I could shoot it. Pics in a bit after I go through it all. Cannot post a full res as the firmware is still not finalized, but I'm sure you folks will like it.

Overall from the two hours I got to spend with it, the K-1 is an incredible camera. It's on par with the top of the line Canons or Nikons. Seriously I now will get myself one, a great companion to my 645Z.

Feel free to ask questions below. Will be happy to talk about camera controls etc

Thank Sandy for hand on experience report. I am waiting the full resolution image taken with K-1.

Keep sharing to this forum.

Sandyramirez wrote:

Well that isn't a lens I would really use. Also the K1 was with me for only two hours. When I get a production unit I'll ask if I can borrow such a lens.

Thank you!

helltormentor wrote:

Your impression contradicts what DPR found regarding the K-1 AF system. I myself have become interested in the K-1 for many things but claiming its AF is on a par with 1DX sounds extremely dubious.

How a user perceives AF is directly linked to how they use it.

Pentax top end cameras since post k7 have had some of the fastest AF available (competitive price points ), fortunately that raw speed has  been linked to increasing more adept fuzzy logic to tame it behavior.

The K5's biggest AF issue is not the camera but the user, Because it af is so fast and has no common sense a fraction slip during a pan will make the camera rack OOF and it stupid algorithms will happily take blurred images

Now if your using these cameras in single point against defined Phase variance they will focus and lock in a fraction of a second easily a perceptually fast as a Canon 1dx.

But if you tracking and erratic subject in indoor lighting with a kit lens the you would soon see what the extra 1000's of $ buys you in a top flight sports tool like the 1dx or D4/5.

Add then decent optics and the gap between midsumer and pro becomes glaring but really Pentax is not aimed at Pro willing to spend £10,000+ on a lens/body combo.

The k3's biggest AF issue is too slow processing without any other gains the 40% faster processor of the K1 should make af-C noticeably quicker and to this lens like the 70-200 and you should see a decent lift in tracking ability . But without any improvement in the users skills/knowledge this may be a mute point for any single consumer.

Thinks like Pan detect do not improve tracking at all but do make the camera auto configure in that aspect for action shooting , Unfortunately there is still 10's of other options that need tailoring for the task at hand (same for Canon and Nikon high end bodies).

That is the downside of a highly configurable tool ..... It can be tailored to deliver very high level performance for any chosen task but conversely it can be miss-configured to behave like a dog.

Sounds positive, but for a new FF camera I'm very surprised that you did not at least test the high ISO out, i think there are a lot of folk wondering what its capable of in relation to the likes of Canon/Nikon FF. Everything sounds good in relation to AF ect.

As I mentioned I had only two hours with it. I did not have the 645 to K adapter, nor was I shooting that day something I would use pixel shift for.

DPR may have tested a unit with earlier firmware. Having used the 1DX extensively in the past from my experience the K-1 seemed as fast for what I use tracking focus for. I think DPR's staff and myself will reserve final judgement once the final production version becomes available in late April.

Hopefully that will be soon. From what I see in the final files developed from DNG the quality looks on par with the side by side I shot with my 645Z using the 75/2.8

As I mentioned earlier I wanted to test it very much like I shoot when doing a magazine editorial. I honestly rarely take a camera above 640 in those situations, preferring to shoot between 100-320. Since I don't shoot at high iso in broad daylight in reality why would I do so when testing in a manner I would actually shoot an assignment?

That said if you look there are several shooters who are also testing the camera that do just that - shoot above 6400. From what I've seen those images look fairly clean

Toccata47 wrote:

Action shots in a working coal mine seem to be the trend in modern photography.

LMFAO!!!!