Maker Pro
Maker Pro

My New Toy :)

davenn

Moderator
Sep 5, 2009
14,254
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
14,254
hey gang

well this has been looming for a while.
I finally got sick of waiting for Pentax to come out with a full frame DSLR camera
I have been a Pentax ( and Pentax equivalent) guy "since Adam was a boy"
But now I have gone over to the dark side ;) and joined the mighty ranks of the Canon owners.
This just about happened a couple of years ago, when I was waiting for some time for the Pentax K5 to be released in Australia. As it was, I had gone from the K10 to the K7 which I was hoping to skip. It was a year after the I got the K7 that the K5 was finally released. Ohhh well :rolleyes:

anyway here's a pic of the new toy.....

attachment.php


A whole new and steep learning curve is now ahead of me and I learn to navigate my way around a totally unfamiliar menu system. But hey never to old to learn something new :)

Dont get me wrong .... the Pentax K5 is a very capable camera and holds its ground very well against its comparable Canon and Nikon competition and I would recommend it to anyone. It will continue to get used for a lot of Lunar and Solar eclipse etc photography making use of the huge telephoto lens I got for it for last novembers' total solar eclipse.

I just really wanted a top quality full frame camera and the extra 8Mpix doesnt hurt either hahaha. Canon has always been my other choice of camera make, I have never considered Nikon ... looks at their reviews etc and just said... naaaaa not for me... LOL.


cheers
Dave
 

Attachments

  • Canon EOS 5D MkIII.jpg
    Canon EOS 5D MkIII.jpg
    25.9 KB · Views: 1,021
Last edited:

Number

Jun 9, 2013
65
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Messages
65
What do you plan on shooting with it? I used to be into Astrophotography, never got serious with it though. I imagine your new toy would take some magnificent photos of the planets & viewable galaxies. The more exposure time they get is really magnified in the photos. Good stuff!
 

davenn

Moderator
Sep 5, 2009
14,254
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
14,254
everything, mate lol

yeah I have been into astrophotography for many many years too. My astro photos started when I was ~ 10 years old with a Kodak Box Brownie camera


D
 

Number

Jun 9, 2013
65
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Messages
65
Oh what objects have you photo'd before? I liked getting shots of the Moon. Because not only is it cool to look at, (can almost find some new detail every time) but since it's brighter I don't have to dedicate as much exposure time. Other than that my scope wasn't suited for anything beyond Jupiter/Saturn. The magnification really distorted the image a bit to much. Basically what that means is I need a bigger scope. :D
 

davenn

Moderator
Sep 5, 2009
14,254
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
14,254
many solar and lunar eclipses, general moon pix, transits of Venus and Mercury, Jupiter, many deep space objects.... comets, galaxies, star clusters, nebulae.
When I lived back in New Zealand, a mate over there and I spent many cold nights at the telescope with camera attached in prime focus mode ( using the scope as a huge telephoto lens). Back in those days it was all film long before digital cameras and towards the end of those years imaging cameras for telescopes were just starting to appear ... SBIG camera ( Santa Barbara Instrument Group) was one of the early leaders.
Many of the pics he and I took were at least 20 minutes exposure and some up to 45 minutes. We used to take turns at the off-axis guide eyepiece

attachment.php


Thats a 20 minute exp. image of Halley's Comet using a 8" Newtonian, f5.6 ( 1986)

cheers
Dave
 

Attachments

  • 1986 Halley's_comet.jpg
    1986 Halley's_comet.jpg
    19.6 KB · Views: 378

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
Moderator
Jan 21, 2010
25,510
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
25,510
Nice camera Dave!

Allow me to recommend the 70-200/2.8: :)
 

davenn

Moderator
Sep 5, 2009
14,254
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
14,254
hey Steve

thanks :)

Yeah, I will get a telephoto for it at some stage, once I recover from this outlay haha

I cant remember if you are a Canon or Nikon user

Have you an actual model # for that 70 - 200 so I could go look at reviews ?

Dave
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
Moderator
Jan 21, 2010
25,510
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
25,510
I'm a Canon man :)

And here's the lens.
 

GreenGiant

Feb 9, 2012
842
Joined
Feb 9, 2012
Messages
842
Ah joining the master photographer race, Canon's are the way to go.

I will admit I have never been able to fool around with a 5D (oh what I would do to get my hands on one of those) I have a rebel XSi and looking at the 60D (best combo picture/video ratings of the Canon lineup in the consumer price range)

I haven't dabbled in long exposure stuff, just a little fooling around at night, to set up a 20 minute exposure did you use an external trigger for the shutter?
The longest exposure I have seen on a camera in the settings was 1 minute or "bulb" (as long as you hold the button)


I hope you enjoy the Mark III, though to be honest based on reviews I have seen the Mark II is still the preferred model.

Do you have any portfolios of your work?
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
Moderator
Jan 21, 2010
25,510
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
25,510
$1650. currently

I think that's the old model (probably the one I have).

I got mine from the US and saved about $1000 off what it would have cost me here. Since then Canon have become (slightly) more reasonable with their Australian pricing.

However the price difference should almost finance a trip to Singapore :D
 

davenn

Moderator
Sep 5, 2009
14,254
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
14,254
gosh, time marches on. Three years later and the Canon collection has grown

the next to arrive was a 700D what I waited 3 months of use just in case anything obvious failed that needed a warranty repair
then I did a filter removal on it to make the camera more friendly for astrophotography

then June 2016, I added a 6D to the family. This is to some extent the little brother of the 5D3. Same sensor those some tests claim that it is a little less noisy.
Much lighter than the 5D3 which helps when I'm doing event photography and I have both cameras in my harness. even then after a day of that the back is starting to feel the strain.
I would have a wide angle on one camera and the 70-200 or 100 - 400 on the other camera

Dave
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ian

unclestan

Aug 16, 2017
9
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
9
I'm thinking of updating my old Canon 60D with Canon EOS 5D Mark III but my budget would go to purchasing a new set of tires for my truck first. Good thing I was able to find a better deal so it wouldn't take much time before I can save up for a new DSLR.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

davenn

Moderator
Sep 5, 2009
14,254
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
14,254
I'm thinking of updating my old Canon 60D with Canon EOS 5D Mark III but my budget would go to purchasing a new set of tires for my truck first. Good thing I was able to find a better deal so it wouldn't take much time before I can save up for a new DSLR.

if you are tight on funds, then you should really be getting the 6D, an awesome alternative to the 5D3
 

FuZZ1L0G1C

Mar 25, 2014
366
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
366
Nice camera Dave.
Also recently upgraded from cellphone imaging to Pentax K2000 DSLR.
No more blurry pics.
Still learning all functions.
Took macro of (old) LM380 audio mini-amp as a test.
IMGP0023.jpg
 

davenn

Moderator
Sep 5, 2009
14,254
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
14,254
Nice camera Dave.
Also recently upgraded from cellphone imaging to Pentax K2000 DSLR.
No more blurry pics.
Still learning all functions.
Took macro of (old) LM380 audio mini-amp as a test.


great stuff, have fun with your new toy .... photography is an awesome hobby, it has so many styles/types


Dave
 
Top