Sunday was sports day at the school that I work at in Japan and my job was camera man. I decided to challenge myself and bring my Pentax K10D instead of using their point and shoot which would have resulted in simple but successful photos. With the K10D and three lenses, the task was much more difficult than I anticipated but overall, the shots came out pretty well. I did have issues with the K10D and the setup which resulted in some out of focus and overexposed photos. I shot everything in RAW because I wasn't 100% confident in my ability to take perfect exposures as I was under a little pressure as I was the only person of staff to be taking photos of the event. If I screwed up and couldn't deliver, they would have to rely on spectator sideline snaps.

First of all, I had three lenses with me, all AF which were the DA 18-55, FA 28-105 and the FA 70-200. Neither of these lenses are the fastest at the best of times with AF and it's something I didn't actually think about. Initially, I decided to keep back from the action and shoot with the 70-200 but there were so many parents and family members in the way, so I took advantage of my "Camera Man" status and got in the thick of the action.

The problem was that the lenses or the K10D just couldn't handle multiple shots in a short burst and AF was a major issue. In hindsight, I should have shot in AFC (continuous mode) where the camera would then track the moving object, I'm not sure how well it would have worked with my budget lenses but I should have done my homework.

Unfortunately I cannot post any sample photos due the the privacy law.

Here's some random photos of my parents backyard taken with the Takumar 55mm 1.8 and the Pentax DA 18-55 with a macro filter attached.

Pentax DA 18-55 - macro filter

Pentax DA 18-55, f/4.5, ISO - 100, Shutter - 1/190, Focal Length - 40 mm

Pentax DA 18-55, f/4.5, ISO - 100, Shutter - 1/30, Focal Length - 40 mm (cropped)

Pentax DA 18-55, f/4.5, ISO - 400, Shutter - 1/350, Focal Length - 40 mm (cropped)

Pentax DA 18-55, f/4.5, ISO - 100, Shutter - 1/125, Focal Length - 40 mm

Super Takumar 55mm 1.8

"Pipa" - Takumar 55 mm 1.8, ISO - 400, Shutter - 1/60 (bleach bypass)

Takumar 55 mm 1.8, ISO - 100, Shutter - 1/125 (B&W conversion)


Takumar 55 mm 1.8, ISO - 100, Shutter - 1/180 (cropped)


Takumar 55 mm 1.8, ISO - 200, Shutter - 1/250 (cropped)

Camera - Pentax K10D
Lens - Pentax DA 18-55
Focal Length - 40mm
Exposure - 1/45
ISO - 100
Aperture - f/5.6

Camera - Pentax K10D
Lens - Pentax DA 18-55mm
Focal Length - 55mm
ISO - 1/3000
Aperture - f/8

Comments - I don't usually walk around with the kit lens too often but since I bought the Lowepro Slingshot 200 AW I can pack it and use if it needed. With this shot I just happened to look up and see the plane and just took the shot before it dissapeared. Sometimes you just get lucky when you shoot without thinking and some interesting compositions are created. Here we have 4 very different elements (sky, plane, tree and power lines) that fit together in a weird kind of way.

The image was a little dull in colour and I knew with a high contrast black and white conversion the cloud patterns would really show up.

Killing Ground, originally uploaded by figmental1978.

This is my first 'set up' shot I've ever taken as I usually just shoot whatever and it could have been a better photo if I would have thought about it a little more. Here are some things I could / should have done to produce a better photo.

1: Added another element in the photo, maybe a knife in the background.

2: Better lighting, here I used a fading a sunset through the window and an overhead kitchen light, can't get more ghetto than that.

3: Some stabilization (like a tripod - which I don't own) because the photo isn't that sharp as I used f/1.7 to get a faster shutter speed. If I had a tripod I would have set the aperture to approx f/4.

4: I think the shot would be better in landscape like this other photo on my flickr page.

I currently have a few lenses for my Pentax K10D, some are pretty shitty, some O.K and some I really like, but all my lenses are not expensive Limiteds or anything over $250 for that matter, but for me and my level of expertise coupled with a frugal wife, they'll have to do.

What I want to do is spend a day out shooting with a different lens to really see what they're made of and what I can produce with some fairly cheap lenses. My mission here is to understand the lenses I don't use that often before I write them off. The following statements are my experiences with them so far.

Pentax DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6
Good walk around lens but lacking distance, 18mm is a decent wide angle and the 55mm is O.K for portraits, although not the sharpest at either end. In low light, the lens is too slow for for a good exposure and the AF function searches like a carrier Pigeon without a destination. I find that colour and contrast are a little flat but nothing that can't be fixed in post. I have a 2x Tele Converter which I may attach to this lens and use it as a makeshift macro, maybe giving the lens a new life.

Current usage - Rarely
Project - My friend works at a lab which houses many different insects, I'll beg him to let me go and take some macro shots of his creepies.

Pentax FA 70-200mm f4-5.6
Not the wisest purchase I've made but I'm sure it has a purpose in life. From my limited experience with this lens, it seems that it's only going to perform when full lighting is available, anything less and this lens will fail you like the English Cricket team. It has the power zoom function which I hate, it sounds like a pimped car with hydrolics so I tend to disable it, unless I want to impress a girl. The few times I used this lens was in Osaka when I bought it and I realized it was a pretty shit street lens as I had to stand back about 15 meters to get a decent shot of my brother staring at J Girls.

Current usage - Rarely
Project - Sit on my balcony and shoot anything that dares fly past, it will also let me experiment with high shutter speeds, something that I haven't really toyed with yet.

Astron 35-70mm f3.5/4
This was a pass me down along with the 2x tele converter from my old dad, he used to take macro shots of his orchids and from what I remember it did the job. I don't know where he bought this from but it's pretty hard to find info on Astron lenses, all I know that it was made in Japan. It has a nice zoom range, especially for portraits and may do fine as a basic walk around too. I really can't comment too much on it as I've yet to really use it outside. One thing I do remember (and the main reason that I don't use it) is it's AF is really noisy and searches a long time to find a focus point.

Current usage - None
Project - Put it on the damn camera for once and take some pictures!

SMC Takumar 28mm f3.5
I don't really shoot at 28mm that often so when I do, I just use my FA 28-105 3.2/4. For some reason I don't ever feel the need to shoot that wide as I like to get in close and personal. This 28mm has really nice colour and contrast and looks nice when converted to B&W.

Current usage - Sometimes
Project - Hit the streets of Kyoto during the Winter holidays and test it out.

Super Takumar 135 f3.5
I don't tend to shoot my zoom shot as I said before, I like to get in close to my subjects hence the reason I don't use the 135 too often. On the occasion I have used it, I was taking photos of bridges in the distance but unfortunately it was dusk so I wasn't using the lens to it's full potential.

Current Usage - Sometimes
Project - Go to Tomonoura (a small fishing village near Fukuyama) or to Onomichi City and take some photos from the mountains as well as the local flora.

Lensbaby 2.0
This lens is just fun to use and when you feel in a photographic rut, thats why every now and then I use my Lensbaby and force myself to see the world differently. The problem is, I don't take this lens seriously and I should, therefore I swear on baby jesus that I'll use this lens with the respect it deserves.

Current Usage - Occasionally
Project - Portraits baby, portraits. I'm in Kyoto for a few days and the wife is dressing up as a Maiko for a few hours, should hopefully get some nice shots with the Lensbaby.

So, hopefully after the holidays I'll have a few test results, nothing technical, no numbers, just words and photos.