27 January 2012

Auroras

Another batch of low-light photos from Runde. Last time I had a full moon. This time I had auroras.


Pentax K-5, DA*16-50/2.8
f/4.5, 15s, ISO 6400


Pentax 645D, FA 35/3.5
f/4.5, 60s, ISO 800


Pentax 645D, FA 35/3.5
f/4.5, 30s, ISO 800


Pentax K-5, DA 14/2.8
f/4.0, 30s, ISO 800


Pentax K-5, DA*16-50/2.8
f/5.0, 15s, ISO 800


Pentax K-5, DA 14/2.8
f/5.0, 15s, ISO 800

08 January 2012

Q inspection

I've had a Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime lens on loan for a couple of days, and took it for a walk in my local forest. Below are a bundle of snaps with comments. It's barely enough to get a first impression, so don't read this as any serious test.
On balance, my impression with this camera is only so-so. I appreciate the image quality for what it is; pretty good for a compact with a small sensor. I also appreciate its dynamic range and noise characteristics. For a walkabout camera the size is near perfect too. With the Standard Prime lens it fits nicely in a pocket, or if slung around the neck you hardly notice its weight.
But. There are things I don't appreciate with the Q. As "everyone" says on the web forums, the price tag is too high compared to its performance. I know I would need the zoom lens to go with it, and here in Norway I would have to shell out NOK 8000,- for the package. By today's exchange rates that's €1000,-  £850,- or $1330,- rounded to the nearest 10 in each currency. For clever shoppers seeing that prices are lower in other countries, Norwegian VAT of 25% is added to the total price of purchases from abroad by the customs authorities; transport cost included. Not much to be gained, in other words, and higher risk regarding warranty issues. But I digress.
It seems to me the Q has an issue with battery capacity. On my two-hour trip I made about 50 exposures. I refrained from chimping and used no flash. Yet the battery was down to 1/3 charge when I got back. I suppose reducing the screen brightness could have helped a bit, but in the snowy and sunny environment its default level seemed to be just about right. Between shots I turned the camera off and kept it inside my jacket. Ambient temperature was about -4°C. Maybe this is on par with what you get from any "serious" compact, I don't know. It seems a bit low, and makes the camera less useful, to me.
As a seasoned system camera user I expect a range of focal lengths for the Q, since it is advertised as a system. The current lineup has five lenses, but only two have variable apertures and autofocus. That's too weak, even with one of the fully functional lenses being a decent normal zoom. I'm really sorry I didn't get to test the camera with the zoom. I guess that would add the optical flexibility I would expect from a compact, even if the size of the zoom lens compromise the convenience of the overall Q tinyness.
And a bit of advice to Q owners in warmer countries: -Don't even try to operate this camera with gloves on... :-)

A big thanks to Fovi A/S for lending me the camera. 

Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime (8.5mm),
Camera in P-mode, no flash.
1/60s, f/1.9, ISO 200

Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime (8.5mm),
Camera in P-mode, no flash.

1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 250

Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime (8.5mm),
Camera in P-mode, no flash.
1/400s, f/3.2, ISO 125


Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime (8.5mm),
Camera in P-mode, no flash.
1/60s, f/2.2, ISO 500
The snow in the corners burned out, as expected. Lots of detail in the shadows.

Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime (8.5mm),
Camera in P-mode, no flash.
1/400s, f/2.2, ISO 250


Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime (8.5mm),
Camera in Av-mode, no flash. Auto-bracketing drive mode.
-1/0/+2 EV blended in Photomatix, using Details Enhancer algorithm.
1/250-1/2000s, f/2.2, ISO 250

The camera did not notice it could not complete the -2 EV exposure by only varying the shutter speed. The EXIF data for exposure compensation says -2 EV, despite the shutter speed being only one stop faster than 0 EV.


Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime (8.5mm),
Camera in Av-mode, no flash. Auto-bracketing drive mode.
-1/0/+2 EV blended in Photomatix, using Details Enhancer algorithm.
1/250-1/2000s, f/2.2, ISO 250
Same thing in metadata as above, but motif more forgiving.


Pentax Q with 01 Standard Prime (8.5mm),
Camera in P-mode, no flash.
1/400s, f/6.3, ISO 250
No HDR here. I think the camera does a pretty good job in retaining detail. In full resolution, however, this shot is a bit soft. It looks like diffraction caused by small aperture to me. Strange to think of f/6.3 as an aperture causing diffrection, but f/8 is the minimum f-stop on this camera.