The Making of Quite a Pair, the Best of 2025 winning photo
Best of Pentax Forums Newsletter March 12, 2026
Quite a Pair wins the Best of 2025 contest
Site supporter markduq walks us through the creation of this award-winning photo with his Pentax K-1 Mark II and an HD Pentax-D FA 150 - 450mm F4.5-5.6 lens.
Elsewhere this week, JoelA let’s us know a sandstorm is coming; Loyal Site Supporter Henrico reviews the Sigma EX DG APO 500mm F4.5; and gatorguy shares a cautionary tale of SD cards and camera lockup.
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:
“Sandstorm Coming” - Two Views for Review Please
March 9, 2026 • Photo Critique • 6 replies • 100 views
JoelA said — All, Would appreciate some thoughts on the cropping of these images. The wider view is the full frame. Then another view with a crop applied Once the sandstorm hit full force there wasn’t much to shoot. This was about 3 minutes before it really got soupy (sandy!). Read more »
One of those questions. In more than 10 bit depth ever necessary?
March 9, 2026 • General Photography • 32 replies • 594 views
normhead said — Is more than 10 bit ever necessary. The Concrete Advantages of HEIF The spec sheet comparison between HEIF and JPEG is not close. HEIF wins on almost every technical metric, and it’s worth understanding exactly where and why. Read more »
A cautionary tale of SD cards and camera lockup
March 8, 2026 • Troubleshooting and Beginner Help • 24 replies • 1031 views
gatorguy said — I had the strangest camera issue ever this morning. I was packing up a couple of lenses for my GFX outing today. I checked the battery level and it was about at half, so I put in a fresh one. Checked the SD slots, one was empty so I installed a 64GB UHS-II I had on the side table. Picked it up to double-check everything working and I almost immediately noticed the top display was off which I don't ever recall before. Turned on the camera and nada. Took out the battery and put in another figuring the first was dead. The back display came on and I thought "yup that was it" until noticing there was no viewfinder image. Hitting AF, nothing, and same with the shutter. Not good. Read more »
Pentaxian User Reviews
Pentax Lenses
HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE
Reviewed by New Member Peter58
Review Date: March 10, 2026 Recommended | Price: $300.00 | Rating: 9
Pros: PLM focus, light, inexpensive, zoom range
Cons:need to stop down for sharp images
Sharpness: 7 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 8 Autofocus: 10 Handling: 10 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: KP, K3ii
This is my only PLM lens and most of my other lenses are screw drive. The PLM focus speed is extremely fast and silent. Focus accuracy seems good enough and I have had some success with BIF. To get a shutter speed of 1/500 or faster means a high iso but that is the trade-off for weight, size and price. Stopping down is important to get a sharp image, so the iso goes up again. The dragonfly photo (300mm iso 1000 f8) shows it can be reasonably sharp, which is all you can expect for a big zoom range. It is an excellent walkabout lens, especially for action. Night time shots are possible in B & W or where grainy, atmospheric images are what you want. OK for travel as it is light, compact and not too expensive to risk. Older cameras with a limited iso range will struggle but the KP is fine for my needs.
SMC Pentax-A 24-50mm F4
Reviewed by New Member Ricci
Review Date: March 1, 2026 Recommended | Price: $120.00 | Rating: 9
Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 9 Handling: 9 Value: 10
Do I really need a 24–50mm zoom on a K-1 Mark II? Normally, I am not a zoom fan. I prefer prime lenses for their character and simplicity. But why not give it a try?
I found an offer for USD 120, which felt reasonable. Since it is an A-series lens, the aperture can be controlled directly by the camera. Exposure metering works without constantly pressing the green button — a clear advantage compared to older K or M lenses. And not to forget: the lens is relatively compact, especially considering it covers full-frame. There are some handling challenges, particularly with focusing. However, this is something I experience with most older manual lenses when using them on a digital body. It’s not specific to this lens — more a general characteristic of combining vintage glass with modern sensors.
I used the lens during a Fastnacht parade. For this kind of event, the 24–50mm range is actually very practical. The distance to subjects is usually short, and being able to switch quickly between a moderately wide angle and a normal focal length is extremely useful. Because the lens is compact and not visually intimidating, people react more naturally. That said, you still need to be quick — parade moments don’t wait. The image quality is surprisingly good. Sharpness is more than sufficient, bokeh is pleasant enough, and colors are neutral and well balanced. I am not claiming this is an ultimate or legendary lens. But for documentary-style event photography like Fastnacht, it performed better than expected. I am very aware, that I did not test the lens too much, especially not at 24mm. In short: not a must-have — but definitely a capable and enjoyable lens, especially at this price.
Third-Party Pentax Lenses
Sigma EX DG APO 500mm F4.5
Reviewed by Loyal Site Supporter Henrico
Review Date: March 8, 2026Recommended | Price: $1,000.00 | Rating: 10
Pros:Build quality, Image quality, fast auto focusCons:None, it’s a heavy fast tele lensSharpness: 9 Aberrations: 10 Bokeh: 10 Handling: 8 Value: 10 Camera Used: K3iii and K1ii New Or Used: Used Autofocus: 9
I was lucky a few moths ago this came on my way for € 875 including half a year warranty. It came complete with the original bag, original two filters (UV and polarization) and with the original Sigma 1.4x converter lens. It is in mint condition, hardly used with crystal clear optics.
Auto focus is snappy as well on my K1ii as my K3iii. Hand held shooting is possible at high ISO but some support is recommended. Chromatic aberrations are non-existent and the lens already is sharp wide open, best at F5.6-f8.
I did a comparison with my A400/F5.6, the Sigma however is in another league. Attached some shots from a cell tower in bright sunny conditions on the K3iii. Shake reduction off, live view and magnification and 12 s timer. The crops are resized so you can compare these well. Bird shots taken out of my window this winter on the K1ii, AF-S with spot focus.
The A400 is very portable, the Sigma is 3x that weight. Coming season I will try it out outdoor for nature and wildlife. I am very positive and happy.
Comment of the Week:
Loyal Site Supporter BertieK on Have digicams plateaued? The Best of Pentax Forums March 5 Poll: Well I do like the newest digicam from Ricoh - the GRIV Monochrome - it has a built in red filter so I don't have to worry about losing or dropping it. Of course my old Pentax SMC 16/2.8 Fisheye that I got from gatorguy also has built in filters - very nice with a Monochrome camera.
Are you tired of polls upon polls?
The Best of Pentax Forums March 12 Poll
Are you tired of Pentax polls upon Pentax polls? Are you tired of voting? Of having your opinion checked on every Pentaxian topic? Well, there’s only one thing to do, then:
Let’s have a poll about polls!
More seriously, what would you like to see in these polls? What would make them better? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know your thoughts on what you’d like to see in future polls in the comments!
This poll closes March 18
And here are the results of last week’s poll:
Weekly Photo Challenges
Project 52-14-10: Long Exposure, until 3-15 (Sunday)
Ready to freeze time (or rather, let it flow)?
Use exposure times longer than 1 second.
Quick check for your setup:
Tripod: Almost essential to avoid camera shake.
Self-timer: Use the 2-second timer or a remote shutter release to prevent camera shake when pressing the button.
Low ISO: Set the ISO as low as possible (usually ISO 100) to minimize image noise.
You might also want to use an ND filter (neutral density filter) to achieve longer exposures even during the day.
Go exploring and be surprised by how things look with long exposures.
Whether it's light trails, flowing water, or clouds ...., it's entirely up to you.
Post your best photo, but most importantly: Have fun!
I'm looking forward to seeing many familiar and new participants of Project 52 and am excited to see your timefreezed images.
And here’s the entry from Moderator garywakeling: In my never ending quest to annoy any animal in the wild, I present yet another example of my scariness
Out of here
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Pentaxian Profile: Camus Wyatt
An accomplished young photographer from New Zealand
By PF Staff in Pentaxian Profiles on Jun 15, 2011
The past year has been a big year for me in photography. After picking up a camera three years earlier, I’ve recently had my first solo exhibition, on the back of some of the top youth awards and grants for photographers available down here in little New Zealand.
PentaxForum Front page stories March 5-11:
The Making of “Quite a Pair”
How the winning photo of the “Best of 2025” contest was made
By markduq in Photo Contests on Mar 5, 2026
In August last year, I attended a workshop conducted by Kathleen Reeder: “Hummingbirds in Sedona Workshop". A couple in Oak Creek Canyon have built a sanctuary for hummingbirds on their beautiful property. We were there for the August hummingbird migration. During the migration, there are over 1,000+ hummingbirds on the property daily. I was there two days and I took about 1,500 photos per day. Despite that, I didn’t get an image of a hummingbird flying sideways.