Well, I have neglected this blog a little and that is OK. I hope to spend more time here for the near future as a way to stay off of doomscrolling social media and as a needed mental distraction. I have taken a large volume of photos in the last year and plan to post and discuss them here, so buckle up.

Background: I have lost both my parents in the last few years, changed jobs and survived working as a PT in the medical ICU of a university affiliated teaching hospital through COVID. Sold a house, moved in with my Mom (Before she passed) for 6 months, with my wife and three kids. Bought a house, a new car and importantly for this blog, yes I bought some photography equipment. All still Pentax.

I used my Pentax K5 from 2012 through 2023, and used it well, haven't checked the shutter count, but it was a lot. Over my shoulder hiking in the Deserts of southern Utah, on a tripod at night taking star trails, and goofing around in downtown Salt Lake City, UT where I am based. It is a 16 MP APS-c or "Crop Sensor" camera but using the same mount and lenses as Pentax Film Cameras and able to use any K-Mount lens and M42 screwmount lens I care to play with. However, with the sensor being smaller than the size of 35mm film frame. (For a better discussion of this than I can write look here: https://www.theschoolofphotography.com/tutorials/full-frame-vs-aps-c

I love my K5, but the controls were getting a little worn and the shutter was occasionally firing extra times, it was older tech and I was looking for improved image quality for landscapes and I really like a good wide angle lens and the lens choices were not to my liking in IQ and I was really needing to upgrade my glass. Don't get me wrong about the K5 it is no slouch and I LOVE the 16-85 lens, which I kept along with my Rokinon 8mm f3.5 and a newish Sigma 50-150 f2.8 as back-up and for a lighter kit. I am also very used to how my legacy manual focus lenses render and the focal lengths appear on a crop sensor which I didn't want to lose. 

BUT... it was time to upgrade and I had choices to make!

So, what did I do to slake my Gear Acquisition Syndrome and prepare for my upcoming travels? (More on that later) I chose a Full Frame camera, but still with Pentax in the form of the Pentax K1 Mark ii 36MP DSLR. Now in the defense of my choice and to explain my thought process:

a) I am already in the Ecosystem of Pentax, I have a fair number of older manual focus lenses that are easily used on this camera with good results. In certain situations the meditative awareness of the process is enhanced by slowing down, using a prime (non zooming) lens that is manual focus and controlling all the variables of the exposure rather than having the camera do it for me.

b) I am a loyalist to brand, due to enjoying familiarity with the camera interface and not liking wholesale change. I'm looking at Canon here with stink eye, I started out with a Canon AE-1 Program when I was 14 and used it until 2008, but was really quite miffed that they came out with a brand new mount (EF) when they moved from their manual focus mount (FD). OK... irate really, swore at that point that when I upgraded to an autofocus camera that I would find the most likely candidate to never make their mount obsolete. Which ended up being Pentax

c) I like the tactile nature of cameras, the ritual of loading film, smelling it, touching the winder etc... scratches a deep seated itch for me. The ergonomics and feel of the Pentax DSLR's has always felt... right to me, so I have stuck with them. The mirrorless cameras feel toylike and with higher performance large aperture lenses attached, don't provide the ergonomics I wanted. Plus the K1 has the COOLEST LCD panel on the planet!

d) I don't need the lens ecosystem (numberwise) that other brands provide, nor could I really afford them after my initial outlay for the set up. I also already had several lenses that cover the FF image circle that were excellent for what I wanted them for. Being the: DA*55mm f1.4 WR (listed as a APS-c lens but covering the full frame image adequately. The DFA 100mm f2.8 WR (DFA designating a digital optimized Full Frame lens) and the DA 150-450 Telephoto Zoom.

Enough justification then to go where my heart desired and get the camera I had long coveted. I added 3 autofocus Pentax brand lenses to what I already had (DA 15-30 f2.8 wide angle zoom, DA 28-105 or Kit Lens and the DA 70-210 f4 choosing smaller size and lesser weight than the F2.8 24-70 and 70-200 zooms and giving up little if any IQ) and adding the Rokinon 12mm f2.8 Fisheye Lens as there was not a similar Pentax offering and having had a good experience with the APS-c version in 8mm. This type of lens gives a 180 degree field of view from corner to corner, and less distortion than other types of fisheye's from other manufacturers according to reviewers.

I was now ready to learn my new camera and prepare myself for what was coming, a trip of a lifetime to England and Scotland with my lovely bride. I had studied there before we got married but she had not had the opportunity to travel over and see the area after I proposed and before we got married and moved on with life. Which I still regret a little, yes we had a wedding to plan etc... but it would have been so sweet to have her share in that while I was in the throes of my last spring break before graduation and shortly thereafter having to pretend I was an adult.

 Now equipped with a camera that gave me no excuses beyond my own lack of talent I had to get ready to make the best photos I could to remember this trip.

Starting the learning curve was steep. But first shots were encouraging, wide angle lenses being a favorite of mine the 15-30 went on first.

Gadzooks I liked the combination right then, but was glad I had gotten the vertical grip as the lens is... un-small and balanced better with the extra real estate to hold onto. I was in love and ready to continue my photographic journey with my new tools.

I next threw on the "Kit" lens the DA 28-105 which is a very standard range, one I am familiar with from my Canon AE-1. This lens is just the right size and except for  having an f2.8 aperture that I really don't knee for landscape work was all I could possibly ask for. Early shot here, showcasing the sensor that provides a RAW file that can be tweaked to achieve what I wanted much more easily than what I had with my K5.

Next Post further learning and exploring the world of Full Frame.