All posts tagged: pentax

Fukagawa Hachiman Festival, Tokyo – Part 2

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On Sunday 17th, Fukagawa Hachiman Festival reached its peak. Festivities began with blessings from the Shinto priest outside the shrine. Dozens of mikoshi were carried through the streets, the participants getting soaked by far more bystanders with buckets of water. As with yesterday, it was great to know that the Pentax 645Z and lenses are properly weather sealed. The camera was splashed several times, but there were no issues. However, there were some professional water soakers that I needed to stay clear of. Numerous member of the Tokyo fire departments were there to drench the groups with water. There’s weather sealing, and there’s being hit by a firehose sealing. I wasn’t going to test the latter. My goal therefore was to try and get in close to the groups without getting soaked, or crushed underfoot by a team of mikoshi carriers. And a bit of video

Soma Nomaoi, Shinki-Sodatsusen

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If the kacchu-keiba (horse race) is analogous to the race into battle, then the shinki-sodatsusen is the battle itself. Here the riders test the skill, bravery and luck. The battle is made up of several skirmishes.  Each skirmish begins with a couple of fireworks blasted up into the sky. Each fireworks carry a banner which, after the explosion at altitude, come wafting back to earth. Any samurai who catches a banner, receives fame, glory and probably a few bit of yen. On a technical note these images were shot with the 645Z and the smc FA 645 300mm F4 ED (IF) which is equivalent of a 240mm on a FF35mm camera. I used a monopod to give some extra stability and it gave excellent results. The speed of the autofocus was slow, but it the overall sharpness was great.

Soma Nomaoi – Kacchu-keiba

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Carrying the flags of their houses, the riders race around the circuit. It’s always an interesting challenge trying to convey motion in a still image. I used a slow shutter speed and panned the camera with the subject. Get it right and you should get a blurry background while the subject remains relatively sharp. One rider was a young girl who galloped around the course with the men. I didn’t manage to get her name, but it was an impressive feat of horsemanship, irrespective of age or gender. The winners collected a piece of paper from the trackside umpires and then galloped up a zig-zag path through the crowd to top of the embankment where they collect their prizes.

Pentax 645Z in Action – Karate Masters Portrait Project

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A quick update on how I shoot the Karate Masters Portrait Project. Back in March 2012 we used the following gear: Pentax 645D with 105mm or 150mm lens Tripod Profoto 7a generator with a ProHead Generic silver beauty dish PocketWizard Plus II radio transmitters Light stand 3.6′ x 6.6′ Lastolite Black Velvet backdrop And the new 2014 setup. Pentax 645Z with 90mm macro lens Profoto 7a generator with Prohead Profoto Softlight Reflector White PocketWizard Plus II radio transmitters 6.6′ x 6.6′ Lastolite Black Velvet backdrop Why the changes? 645D to 645Z – More megapixels and greater dynamic range. (However 566 not 712 images on a 64GB card, and my computer runs like molasses.) Tripod to No Tripod – Faster, more flexible. Ambient light is low so it has little effect on image quality. Action stopped by flash not shutter. Generic silver beauty dish to Profoto Spoftlight Reflector in white – Larger light source, white interior means better control of specular highlights, image quality. Light stand to voice activated light stand (James) – Faster, more flexible. Medium to Large …

Pentax 645Z – Just the facts, ma’am

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The Pentax 645Z digital medium format camera will be available for purchase at the end of June 2014. It’s predecessor, the Pentax 645D, went on sale in June 2010  for 848,000 yen. You can pre-order the  645Z at B&H for $8,496.95  or from Amazon Japan for ￥777,110. The 645Z uses a 51.4MP Sony CMOS sensor unlike the 40MP Kodak CCD sensor in the 645D. The sensor remains the same size at 43.8mm x 32.8mm, this means it is a crop 645 sensor. The sensor is the same one used in the 50 megapixel Hasselblad H5D-50C camera ($29,000) and Phase One IQ250 digital back ($37,000). At around $8,500 dollars, the 645Z is a third the price of it’s MF digital competitors. The use of a CMOS sensor allows the 645Z to offer live view, a video mode, and a higher ISO range. The PRIME III image processor is significantly faster than in the 645D. The camera can now shoot at 3 fs rather than 1 fs in the 645D and instant reviews will be quicker. The autofocus system and metering systems have also been improved. The …

Ancient wonders of Koh Ker, Cambodia

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127km NE of Siem Reap, is the group of monuments and ruins called Koh Ker. It’s relative remoteness compared to other temples means that it receives far few visitors, it’s less “renovated” and overall feels more of an archeological site rather than a tourist attraction. Nearing the end of my time in Cambodia, I was now used to my routine of getting up way before dawn. I hired a car and driver from the hotel, left at about 5AM and we were at the Prasat Thom pyramid not long after 7AM. After Prasat Thom I explored the various other ruined monuments in the area. We drove to each one by car, and I explored the ruins on foot. The whole area was heavily mined which means that it would be inadvisable to ditch the guide / driver and wander off looking for more ruins. There are signs at all the ruins I visited stating they have been cleared of mines. After my visit to the landmine museum I was well aware of the possible consequences if you …

A new dawn for Pentaxians

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A few interesting things have been happening recently with regards to me working with the Pentax medium format cameras. I did an interview for online magazine Apogee Photo. Apogee Photo Interview with Travel Photographer Chris Willson I also now have a Pentaxian Professional Profile on the Pentax Forums website: Pentaxian Profile – Chris Willson I feel I was able to step up my game with the use of on location lighting with the arrival of the new Profoto B1. Very pleased with the following shot of a monk smoking a hand rolled cigar at Angkor Thom. And finally the photographic community is abuzz with news of the imminent arrival of the Pentax 645Z the successor to the 645D. I’ll put up a more comprehensive post in the next few days, but it looks like Pentax have once again produced a ground breaking camera at a fraction of the price of its medium format digital competitors.

Pentax K-3 Exhibition

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A couple of my images are on display as part of Pentax’s exhibition of images shot with their new K3 camera. The Ricoh Imaging Square Shinjuku (Previously the Pentax Square or Pentax Forum) is located in the Shinjuku Center Buidling about 5 minutes walk from the west exit of Shinjuku Station. If you’re in Tokyo, please stop by and check the exhibition out. It starts tomorrow March 26th and runs until April 7th. My pics are the shot of of Sarah in the blue dress and the eagle. Above is the map to Pentax square from Shinjuku Station. You can also copy and paste this address into google maps: 東京都新宿区西新宿1-25-1

Pentax K3 with Pentax smc DA* 55mm 1:1.4 SDM

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Last weekend, while teaching my Fundamentals Workshop, I talked about the advantages of a fast prime lens for portraits. I often recommend the f1.8 or f1.4 50mm lenses to Nikon and Canon shooters. Pentax has the 55mm 1.4 which is one of their pro-grade DA* lenses. Fantastic quality, and priced as such at US$799. I used the K3 with the 55mm on the second day of the class as we explored the Yomitan area, and the combination produces a bright clear viewfinder with the ability to get a lovely shallow depth of field and nice bokeh. In many ways the results are similar to my 645D with the 90mm macro lens. Not the same resolution (however 24 MP is more than enough for most applications), but it is from a smaller, lighter, cheaper package. I often hear new photographers chatting about wanting to upgrade to 35mm full frame, with the notion that they can’t produce professional shots (either artistically or commercially) with an APS sensor camera. The reality is that APS sensor cameras can give …