A month with the Pentax Q10. The smallest interchangeable lens camera ever made.

Now I'm a self confessed camera geek!

I see a camera and I think "I want that!"

And more often not it's not even a good camera, I've got good cameras I don't need anymore (as of yet), so it usually ends up being some quirky thing that just looks like fun.

I'd seen the Pentax Q range before and thought it looked cool.

Early March, I was watching a Youtube video and see a Pentax Q on the shelf and that was it, the eBay search begun.

These cameras and lenses are not cheap!

Yeah they're not extortionate but after all they are over 10 years old and they're not great either.

So let's just say they hold their money well.

I didn't know what to expect when mine arrived in the post.

This little bad boy is tiny! I haven't got massive hands at all but the camera and  lens fits easily in the palm of my hand.

So what can you expect from such a small camera?

Autofocus; Yeah it's got autofocus but it's not going to set any records. In fact make sure you've got plenty of time.

Battery; the battery is tiny so therefore the battery life is awful!

Image quality; nothing special. I think I'm right in saying that a modern mobile like an iPhone has a similar sized or  even a larger sensor. So you could be better off just getting your phone out to take a photo.

The rear screen; oh god it's bad, good luck with seeing anything in the daylight. I did try turning the brightness up which did work a bit but that drains the battery even quicker.

But!

Did I mention that this camera is cool already?

It's a challenge. 

It's tiny!

With the Pentax Q10 body I purchased 2 lenses; SMC Pentax-Q 02 Standard Zoom 5-15mm F2.8-4.5 & Pentax Q 15-45mm f/2.8 06 Telephoto Zoom.

The 02 standard lens combined with the small sensor; image quality is terrible, I've only used it twice starting with a photo walk in the park.

Shooting the flowers; pointing the camera towards the sun with a crap autofocus and a rubbish rear screen was a little trial & error. And because these were some of the 1st photos taken with the camera I didn't know how the images were going to stand up with regards to highlight and shadow detail. So I erred on the side of caution and went for a darker look.

The next time I used the 02 standard lens was during some street photography in Wisbech.

I used to shoot a lot of street photography in Wisbech and it was great to be back again documenting local life; the good, the bad & the ugly.

It was like a trail of bread leading me to a photo opportunity.

I love a bit of lens flare and the 02 standard lens flares like mad.

As always it was a difficulty composing using the rear screen and getting the focus right.

The next challenge; the Pentax Q10 is no athlete. When you press the shutter button there's a delay whilst it thinks about it. So I admit that shooting people I'm using the continues shooting mode hoping that one of the images will capture the people before they disappear.

And usually I've pre focused because I haven't got time to wait for the camera to try and do that again!

All of the below images are taken with the 06 telephoto zoom.

The image quality is better than the 02 but don't go zooming in and pixel peeping because it's not that great.

Being more than a little rusty at street photography, I'm not so confident at getting up in peoples faces anymore. So using a zoom lens has been a nice easy way of getting back into it. 

Plus I'm usually pushing Florence in a stroller so I can stand a little further back with her and stay as inconspicuous as possible.

Street photography in Spalding; playing with light and documenting details.

So let's see where my journey with the Pentax Q10 leads.

Until next time.

Thanks for reading and keep shooting.

Tweet Share

Freelensing Nude With Laura

It's my 29th birthday so ive got a day off from work, that in itself is worth a yay........YAY!

Last Friday night I fancied a bit of photography and was wanting to try out Freelensing. Freelensing in simple terms is taking your lens off your camera and holding it a small distance away from the camera/lens mount and taking a photo. The reason to do this is the crazy focus plane you can achieve.

The problem with the method though is exposing your camera's sensor to the elements and the dust that's floating about everywhere. There was no way I was exposing my 5D for extended lengths of time but luckily I have a 'few' cameras laying around these days so the trusty old 450D had its moment in the spotlight.

Talking of spotlights I have recently picked up a small continuous light with barn doors from a colleague at work who had loads of camera accessories in a car boot sale box. Its an old piece of kit that gets really hot after being on for even only a few minutes however it gives out real strong source of light that is modifiable using the barn doors.

Back to Freelensing.

The gap between the camera and lens needs to remain very small however the beauty of the method is that the lens can be tilted in whatever direction you want. Depending on the direction of tilt is what is in focus in the picture. This method can also allow you to gain focus on two separate areas of the photo.

This is my first go at trying this out and let me tell you now, its not easy; the slightest millimetre change of the lens/camera gap will totally change what is in focus, this takes some getting used too.

Luckily I persuaded Laura that she didn't need any clothes on for this shoot.......WAIT....before we go any further its not one of "those" types of shoot.

I got Laura to lay on the bed and set up the light source on my tripod to my left at a right angle. The light was set up just above bed height and the doors closed slightly to concentrate the light on to Laura's face.

I really like these images and its definitely something im going to try again.

Let the fun begin.

The Abbey B&B, Stowbridge, Norfolk

Sunday 2nd February I went over to Stowbridge and took some photo's of The Abbey Bed and Breakfast.

The grounds were once the site of Crabhouse Priory and the original buildings were mostly demolished during the reign of Henry VIII.

The weather was nice and clear with not a drop of rain in site, albeit it was a tad chilly outside.

I enjoyed taking photos outside as the gardens were vast and there were some great trees and foliage to use in the shots. The owners had made every effort to dress the areas for the day and make it look homely and welcoming, very well prepared and some of the these set ups are my favourite shots.

 

So I started by shooting out side because the weather was so bright and I didn't want to get caught out by the rain which never came despite different weather reports for the day. Because its new and because its such a cool lens the fish eye got a lot of use.

Because of the south facing garden and the bright low sun shadows were a bit of a problem.  I wanted to look back at the house but I couldn't get my shadow out of the shot, until I made use of this tree's shadow.

The moment I saw these leaves in the garden I knew I had to use them in the foreground.

I just had to accentuate the way this tree was leaning over.

 

Damn I do love that lens. I love how much can be crammed into a frame.

 

Anyone fancy a picnic?

 

At the edge of the grounds is the river Great Ouse, I climbed up the bank and took this shot.

 

Great texture in this 'magical' doorway. Does it lead to a secret garden?

 

The house has loads of quality paintings hanging on the wall and antique furniture in every room.

 

 

My favourite shots of the day were taken in the dining room. The light shining in through a large window was very overpowering but once I found a way to utilise the light ive took some shots that I really like.

 

I may have too shoot some more flowers considering how much I like these.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Rubbish shots from a rubbish camera

Despite the increased use of my digital SLR's I have still been using film cameras when time allowed.

I picked up a 'toy' camera from a charity shop at the start of last summer just because it looked cool, I paid £1 for it and to be honest I think I paid £1 too much. In reality its a cheap plastic bag of crap that looks slightly like a SLR camera but to anyone that knows what they're looking at they will know that its just a hopeless piece of plastic that might just take photos if you cross your fingers.

The camera is called a 'Barclay Card Visa Camera' its from the 80's at a time that companies offered these 'professional' cameras instead of offering a free pen. If anyones interested follow this link to see pictures and info about the camera http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Barclaycard_Visa_Camera. Ive read on the net that mail order companies also used to offer such cameras at extortionate prices advertising that people would be able to make professional photos with these professional cameras. Just image everyone's disappointment.

It gives a choice of 4 apertures f/6, f/8, f/11, f/16 and that is as professional as it gets, there's no focusing, there's no choosing a shutter speed you just hope and dream that when you press the shutter button it works.

I hoped and dreamed but obviously not enough. Out of a 24 exposure film I got 8 or 9 photos and some of those were terrible.

 

I don't even remember taking these shots but there was a nice surprise.

 

Finally I managed to get the camera to work for a few shots in a row on the way to work.
Ive stitched these together using a programme I won in a competition called Serif Photoplus X6.

Pretty cool!

 

 

Youll be pleased to know that the camera broke when I removed the film.



(Sunny) Sutton Bridge at Night

Its been a couple of weeks since my last post and since then i've got  new lens; a Fish Eye.

I've wanted a fish eye for years but, like a lot of things in life, have never treated myself.

Now i've got a new camera I need to get some new glass. The fish eye was an impulse buy that i've finally made and so far it's as cool as I thought it would be.

I had used one before on my old 450D and was amazed at how close to things I had to get to things in order to get things distorted in the stereotypical fish eye way. Now i've had one for a week im now used to getting close.

My fisheye; a Zenitar 16mm, is an old school Russian lens made originally for 35mm film cameras, now im shooting with a full frame camera I can make use of the old beaut. Its a manual aperture, manual focus lens,  for optimum quality I shoot at f/8 and focusing isn't highly critical with such a massive depth of field due to the ultra wide focal length of 16mm.

On to the photos on this post.

I was biking home from work yesterday, Thursday 30/01/14 and passing under the Cross Keys bridge at Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire I thought it would be a good idea to come back later and make use of the fish eye while the tide was high, not as high as my previous post though http://benchapmanphotos.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/the-night-river-nene-almost-flooded-in.html.

I had my tea, grabbed my coat, camera, tripod and headphones and took a walk to the bridge.

All shots were taken at ISO 100 and F/8.

I love a good starburst on lights. Star bursts can be achieved by using small apertures.

20 Seconds

 

 I don't know what it is but I find myself photographing benches quite often.

War memorial in the background.

 20 Seconds

 

I've been told that there's a ghost haunting the bridge.

20 Seconds

 

The lights under the bridge are really bright, I had to capture the balance of light and darkness.

3.2 Seconds

 

It's been a long time since i've used a phone box.

 13 Seconds

 

I haven't played with light like this since I first got a camera a good 5 years ago. I've been thinking about standing in this spot for a few years now and i've finally done it....yay!

 

Im going to go back for another go at this.

8 Seconds

 

Thanks for looking.

Tune in again.

Ben