Are today's cameras too complicated?
Best of Pentax Forums Newsletter May 7, 2026
Are today’s cameras too complicated?
The Pentax K-3 III Monochrome is an amazing camera. It’s also a complicated machine. I’ve daily driven one since it first came out. But Site Supporter Fenwoodian says in his review of the Pentax K-3 III Monochrome I really wanted to love this camera; but it’s the most complex and complicated camera I’ve ever owned (I currently own over 40 bodies - Fuji, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Oly, Panny). Ultimately, I gave up on my Pentax monochrome cameras and sold them both...
Are modern digicams just too complicated? Or are you a fan of ultimate flexibility? Do you know every menu option by heart? Or do you set it and forget it? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know why you do what you do in the comments!
Elsewhere in this week’s newsletter, Junior Member NerveN3t reviews the SMC Pentax-M 50mm F1.4 and the HD Pentax-FA 43mm Limited F1.9; and Site Supporter amrocha shares photos of kids on the streets during the night festivities of Le Pullicinelle, Marzi, Calabria.
If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, please take a moment to join the almost 1,600 Pentaxians who have subscribed to our free curated compendium of the hundreds of great images and post shared each week in our Pentax community. Please let us know your thoughts here in the comments and on our Pentax Forums, and have a perfect Pentaxian week!
Threads of the Week:
Kids on the streets during the night festivities of Le Pullicinelle, Marzi, Calabria
May 1, 2026 • Contest Voting • 0 replies • 55 views
amrocha said — Taken in the little calabrian village of Marzi, Italy, during the cultural festivities called Le Pulicinelle, in Oct 2019. Marzi, Cosenza, Italia exif: 1/100s f1.9 iso3200 @ 43mm Read more »
SMC Pentax 85mm f/1.8 K series dissassembly
May 6, 2026 • Pentax SLR Lens Discussion • 1 replies • 74 views
Angus_M89 said — Giving back to the community that helps me so much. This thread I used to help figure out the front lens dissassembly. Picked up this K 85mm for $280AUD. As can be seen a very light fungus. Read more »
Wheelchair Guitarist in Mexico
May 2, 2026 • Contest Voting • 0 replies • 109 views
chlady said — Mexican Street musician busking in a wheelchair for tips. Read more »
Pentaxian User Reviews
Pentax Lenses
SMC Pentax-M 50mm F1.4
Reviewed by Junior Member NerveN3t
Review Date: May 6, 2026Recommended | Price: $100.00 | Rating: 8
Pros: Lightweight, small, sharp, bright, all metal construction Cons: Manual focus Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 10 Handling: 8 Value: 8 Camera Used: Pentax K-1 Mark II
Got mine 14 months ago for around $100, in very good used shape. I’m using it with a Pentax K-1 Mark II. Very well build, all metal construction, smooth well damped focusing ring, optically clean.
Wide open it is a nice lens, a bit more contrasty than my copy of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, it provides a smooth bokeh I like for portraits. My Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 Ai-S wide open provides a more softer and dreamier look.
Closed at f/5.6~f/8 it provides sharp images as most 50mm do. Sun stars at f/8~f/11 are ok but I prefer having an odd number of aperture blades like Ai-S Nikkors prime lenses have. For the price I got this lens I’m very happy with the results.
HD Pentax-FA 43mm Limited F1.9
Reviewed by Junior Member NerveN3t
Review Date: May 6, 2026 Recommended | Price: $790.00 | Rating: 9
Pros: Lightweight, small, sharp Cons: A bit expensive
Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 8 Autofocus: 8 Handling: 9 Value: 9 New or Used: New Camera Used: Pentax K-1 mark II
This is my most used lens on the Pentax K-1 Mark II, it is a bit expensive compared to other 40 something lenses I own, like my Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens costed me around $100 new some years ago (I bought then two of them and gave one to my brother as present).
But to be honest, this 43mm has nothing to do with Canon’s EF 40mm pancake. This 43mm is better build, uses better materials, includes a lenshood, which I do not use, using instead the Canon 40mm pancake lenshood with an 49 to 52 step-up adapter ring (that way I can use Canon’s 52mm close-up lenses too when needed).
It lacks a focusing motor but the K-1 Mark II screw focusing system is accurate most of the time and a bit quicker than Canon’s EF 40mm stepping motor.
I’m using it for just 12 months, and I felt in love with this lens. Optically it is good wide open to very good when stopped down to f/5.6~f/8.0. It renders a nice bokeh with good subject separation (or 3D pop if you prefer) but not so nice sun stars when closed at f/8~f/11 (I prefer odd number of non-rounded aperture blades).
For now it is the perfect all-day companion for my K1 mark II.
Pentax Cameras
Pentax K-3 III Monochrome
Reviewed by Site Supporter Fenwoodian
Review Date: May 6, 2026 Not Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 8
Pros: Size, build quality Cons: Overly complex to use
Years Owned: 1 Ergonomics: 10 Build Quality: 10 User Interface: 5 Autofocus: 10 Features: 5 Value: 8 Image Quality: 10 Noise: 10 New or Used: New
I bought two of these Monochrome cameras before they were discontinued.
I’ve previously owned (and loved) the following Pentax bodies: K100D, K200D, K10D, K5IIs, K3, K3ii, Q, Q7, and K1. All of these cameras have similar menus and controls, and it was easy to go from one to the other.
This new Monochrome camera has a completely different menu. Also, as you’d imagine, being a B&W only camera, there are many changes from my old Pentax color cameras.
I really wanted to love this camera; but it’s the most complex and complicated camera I’ve ever owned (I currently own over 40 bodies - Fuji, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Oly, Panny). Ultimately, I gave up on my Pentax monochrome cameras and sold them both...
Comment of the Week:
Loyal Site Supporter CristiC on What’s your fav Pentax Custom Image Mode? The Best of Pentax Forums April 30 Poll: I always shoot RAW but more often keep the smaller size JPG with settings that are set in-camera. Now I have a tweaking homework:
Yesterday I saw the movie “Primavera”, Italian cinema, about Vivaldi. I liked it. It was advertised to me as “full of good portraits”, a joy to the photographer’s eye. My assignment is: re-create a candle-light portrait using the style / LUT from that movie.
Get the JPG as close to that look as possible instead of extended RAW post-processing. My weapon of choice is Fuji, not Pentax, because of their menu choices.
I would go with
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +1
Shadow: +1
Color: +4 <---- high saturation level
Noise Reduction: -4 <--- noise reduction disabed
Sharpness: 0
Clarity: +3
Grain Effect: Weak, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong <--- special Fuji feature to emulate classic film emulsions
WB: Tungsten or preset 3000K <--- to be adjusted in 100K steps +/-, depending on the environment, allow for warmth
White Balance shift:
Daylight, -3 Red & +1 Blue <--- this is the essenceISO: maximum 500, manually set, to get the DR feature working, a Fuji gimmick that applies curves, in-camera
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 <--- that was the original recipe, I will always shoot manual in controlled lighting with flashes
The key light will be a Godox AD200 at camera-left, high, 45 degrees, half CTO gel, grid with 25 degrees for directional light. Rembrandt-short-lighting + a practical, the candle. The fill will be a silver reflector but a secondary Godox TT600 behind a low umbrella will have CTB gel and +green, at low power, for just the shadows. This is muddy lighting for portraits! CTO+other light CTB + green.
The purpose is explained at Strobist: Lighting 103: Greg Heisler on Light and Color and results at Strobist: Lighting 103: Greg’s Assignment: Results
I do have Godox triggers for both Pentax and Fuji. The question is: What settings for JPG could be used in-camera with the Pentax K-1ii for this assignment?
Are cameras too complicated?
The Best of Pentax Forums May 7 Poll
I really wanted to love this camera; but it’s the most complex and complicated camera I’ve ever owned (I currently own over 40 bodies - Fuji, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Oly, Panny). Ultimately, I gave up on my Pentax monochrome cameras and sold them both...Site Supporter Fenwoodian’s review of the Pentax K-3 III Monochrome.
I disagree with Fenwoodian’s conclusion…but I feel his pain. I bought the Pentax K-3 III Monochrome as soon as it was released, and it’s been my daily driver ever since. The images are amazing; it’s the best camera I’ve ever owned. By a lot.
On the other hand, it has more buttons and dials and menus than my LXs, MX, ME Super and 17.
Combined.
But the Monochrome is a dichotomy. It’s complex to set up. But it’s simple to shoot. It’s complex enough to set up that I bought the Pentax Forums K-3 III eBook (Which I HIGHLY recommend) to use as a guide.
But once the Monochrome is set up it’s simple to shoot. The controls fall easily to hand, and are so sure that I almost never feel the need to chimp.
So where do you stand? Are modern digicams just too complicated? Or are you a fan of ultimate flexibility? Do you know every menu option by heart? Or do you set it and forget it? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know why you do what you do in the comments!
This poll closes May 13.
And here are the results of last week’s poll:
Weekly Photo Challenges
Project 52-14-18: Lunch, until 5-10 (Sunday): This week we continue our food challenge. Whether it's in the cafeteria at work, at a food truck on the side of the road, or around the family table on the weekend. The main thing is lunch! Let's get our mouths watering. Take your best shot, but most of all, have fun! I'm looking forward to seeing many old and new participants in Project 52 and to see delicious food from around the world.
And here is the entry from Site Supporter noelcmn: I'm probably going to change this later in the week, but for now- yesterdays lunch- tinned cream style sweetcorn on slightly toasted slices of brown bread, topped with Cheddar Cheese, and grilled in the oven. I make it quite often. Easy meal, tasty too!
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Pentaxian Profile: Chris Willson
Medium format photography with the Pentax 67II and 645D
By PF Staff in Pentaxian Profiles on Apr 13, 2014
I’m a British ex-pat based in Okinawa. I specialize in shooting travel images of Japan for publication in magazines, newspapers and guidebooks.
In 2002, I started using the Pentax 67II. It’s a big, heavy, beast of a camera, but I was hooked by the beautiful transparencies it produced. In Japan, the 67 is nicknamed Gulliver, and for nearly a decade it was my faithful travel companion. After escapades with ninja, yakuza and geisha I named my website TRAVEL67.com.
PentaxForum Front page stories April 30-May 6:
Announcing “Monochrome” - Our May 2026 Photo Contest
Win prizes in our official monthly photo contests
By PF Staff in Photo Contests on May 2, 2026
We’re herewith announcing our monthly photo contest for May. The theme for this month is Monochrome. The theme this month is “Monochrome”. You’re free so select the subject of your image. Your image can either have been shot with a monochrome camera or bw film or have been converted to monochrome in postprocessing or by the camera. Good luck!
First prize is a $50 gift card to B&H Photo, second prize is a one year forum account upgrade, and third prize is a box of photo paper form Red River. The official contest rules are found here. Click here to submit a photo for the contest.