Inexpensive gear with Pentax

Pentax K100D & DA50-200 on Ultrapod 2

I use all the inexpensive gear that I can get with Pentax. I am on the frugal side who wants to go back to school for learning photography instead of lusting for the expensive DA* or all the primes that I am so inclined to look and NOT dare to see the price tag. Not that I want to discourage others from getting the better gear, I am simply constrained by my limiting budget and I try to enjoy my hobby with the inexpensive gear in the beginning.

The following are various blog posts on all inexpensive but quality gear that I have with Pentax

1. Thoughts on DA 18-55

0.5 sec, f/4.5, 38mm, iso 200, -1/2ev (hand-held)

Reflections with Pentax K100D & DA 18-55

I find the kit's lens is right on the money for my beginning path to dSLR from p&s. It does very well for me in outdoor setting. It is not the sharpest but it does reasonably well for outdoor and its zoom range at wide angle fits me very well for outdoor use. For indoor, I find it slow and needing the help with external flash as the internal flash does more damage to a photo that I would like

2. Thoughts on Pentax DA 50-200

1/60 sec, f/4.0, 58mm, iso 200, +7/10 Ev

DA 50-200 is my favorite as compared to my two lens combo with kit's lens. Its zoom range, lightweight, small size, make it a all time favorite for the amateur in me. I find it odd that I use it even for indoor portraits. It is definitely too slow for indoor use but when coupled with good window lighting, great portraits can be done with this lens.

3. Thoughts on FA 50 f/1.4

1/160 sec, f/2.4, 50mm, iso 200, 0 Ev

Late Espresso

My FA 50 f/1.4 has become my favorite replacing my kit's lens for much better indoor portraits and night scene photography. It is the most difficult lens for me to use among all of my automatic lens but it is also the lens that produces the best color and contrast among my gear. Pictures when done close to right is bright, colorful and it has a creamy look that I don't quite know how to describe.

4. M42 Pentax Adapter

Pentacon 50mm f/1.8 (M42 mount)

I have three M42 lens that are costing me $0 dollar to me as I have forgotten that I have them in my old Praktica camera.

5. Takumar Asahi 28-80 Macro M lens

Picture of Takumar with added lens hood

There is certain remorse in the initial purchase of this lens for cheap from ebay as I learned that super takumar should be the model that I should go after. But not too bad for the money that I spend especially for its macro capability at 80mm. The menu focusing is relatively harder than those in FA 50 f/1.4 or any of my M42 lens as the focusing ring is too short for fine tuning.

6. External flashes with Eyetek Digital DS328AZ

flash-after-pentax-fa-50-f14.html
Portrait Lens, Kit's replacement
Alternative choices:

Sunpak 383
Vivitar 285HV
Digital Concept in eBay with PTTL support
Metz 36
Metz 48
Sigma PTTL alternatives

Update:
My bad, I have ordered an auto flash off from ebay for cheap. This is not something that I recommend my readers to try. I will be guinea pig confirming the fool or the cheap master in me.

Eyetek digital DS328AZ from eBay
Click picture to visit translated Emoblitz DS328AZ description

7. Free Software

And another odd thing about me on the frugal side, I even go the extra mile in not getting any software that incur a fee. I am using Picasa and Paint.net. And I am starting to explore with Gimp, PhotoPlus, faststone, and few others.

Picasa Demos & Tutorials

Picasa Samples

8. Camera Bag (~cost of 2 diapers)

Hin's Camera Bag

Backpack with Diapers & Lunch Box

9. Mini-tripod with Ultrapod 2 from REI

I have managed to get at least a mini-tripod and I chose Ultrapod 2 from REI for $15.00. The tripod is very sturdy and it has a velco strap that looks strong enough to withhold K100D on a fence or tree trunk. On tabletop, it looks great and the money is well spent on the gear.

10. Tripod with DynaTran AT-CF992 from Amvona in Ebay

And I have purchased Dynatran AT CF992 from ebay and it is so awesome to have three level indicators, Carbon Fiber with 4.75lb weight and the maximum support of 8.8 lb. The tripod exceeded my expectation and I would pay for $200+ had it not offered in eBay through the store vendor of Amvona.

Other tripods considered include DynaTran AT 858B on eBay as well as many Manfrotto Bogen tripods.

Diclaimer: these are by no means the best gear and software to work with Pentax but they are my means of getting from p&s to dSLR on a frugal budget. All inexpensive gear would be a waste if I upgrade soon with better gear leading to minimal use of lesser quality gear, a big caveat to think about the consequences in getting inexpensive gear with a short migration path to better ones, it is something that I noted on my thoughts on DA 18-55 and its replacement towards the end.

Related:

Hin's Camera Gear

2 Comments:

At 12:36 PM, Kathleen said...: Hi Hin, I've been checking out your blog for a while now. Since i'm frugal, and I'm in the midst of looking for an external flash for my k20d... i was wondering what your suggestion would be. I also took a look at the cheap ebay flash which you posted on your site. Was it worth it? what would your recommendation be?
At 12:14 PM, Hin Man said...: Hi Kathleen, I won't recommend the Eyetek Digital DS328AZ that I mentioned in the article. Though, it is inexpensive, I have a difficult time in getting a accurate exposure. The flash recharge is extremely fast but for the short time that I played with the flash, I can't get accurate exposure. The strength of the flash is also weak unless I cover the light sensor to have full strength. You are better off to look into other alternatives.