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Old 21-02-2007, 05:02 PM
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Sgtfretsurfer
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thoughts on pentax for astro pics

its really difficult to find any information on how pentax DSLR's (particularly the k100d) perform for astrophotography compared to canon and nikon, so im just going to ask; has anybody tried using a pentax dlsr and if so how did u find its performance? did u notice any flaws or setback? unusual noise levels at high iso?
thanks
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Old 21-02-2007, 08:04 PM
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h0ughy (David)
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do a search on the pentax *ist DS and you should get a good idea.
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Old 21-02-2007, 08:56 PM
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A friend of mine was considering a Pentax K100d after being recommended it by Gerry Gibbs Camera House. They swore it was the best thing since sliced bread. I think they're getting kickbacks from Pentax all of a sudden because it's a quick flip from their traditional Canon slant.

Anyway, I recommended him against it purely for one reason: Compatibility. Every astronomy program supports Canon DSLR's, few support Pentax. So no matter how good the camera, he was always going to have issues of compatibility.

Seemed like a nice and very capable camera other than that.

I suspect that's why you'd have problems finding info on them with respect to astronomy - simply very little support for them in the astro arena.

My 2c worth.
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Old 22-02-2007, 05:13 AM
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iceman (Mike)
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What houghy is trying to say, is that he owns a Pentax and has used it, but now owns 2 Canon's. I think that says enough

Dennis also uses a Pentax for astrophotography and is very capable with it, however I'm quite sure his results would be even better with a Canon.
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Old 22-02-2007, 07:12 AM
Dennis
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Have a look at this thread for some of my comments on the Pentax *ist DS and 3rd party support.

Cheers

Dennis
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Old 27-02-2007, 08:18 AM
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I had a Pentax *ist DS. I just sold it and moved on to a Canon 400D. Frankly, the Pentax is just too noisy. Plus as others have said, the Canon has a lot more support in the community. You also have a lot more accessories to chosse from with Canon cameras. Haven't heard much about the new K100 though.

Clear skies,
Shane
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Old 09-03-2007, 11:29 AM
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some more news re the pentax - Images plus is now testing for the ARW file output format for the pentax - I will inform you more about that later, suffice to say it looks very very promising

ImagesPlus 3.0 Beta 1A contains:

1) Color conversion for all RGB and CMYG one-shot color cameras.


2) A new Digital Camera Raw Conversion command has been created for Adobe DNG, Kodak, Fuji, Pentax, Olympus, Canon, and Nikon raw DSLR files.

3) Automatic light, flat, bias, and dark processing can be performed using the new raw file formats and color conversion.
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Old 12-03-2007, 06:27 PM
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for better or worse canon is so far ahead in the noise camp it's beyond funny
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Old 12-03-2007, 07:12 PM
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not so sure with the new pentax K10D did a test dark frame at iso 1600 for 187 seconds in the shop this afternoon then zoomed in, nothing, not even a hot pixel, that I might add was with the noise reduction on. I am impressed
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Old 12-03-2007, 07:33 PM
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houghy you'll find the differences are more shown when you include subject detail. Where the canon excels is that amount of noise aside, it keeps a sharp detailed image at 1600 iso - most other brands will remove noise ok but will smear detail.
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Old 12-03-2007, 07:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sejanus View Post
houghy you'll find the differences are more shown when you include subject detail. Where the canon excels is that amount of noise aside, it keeps a sharp detailed image at 1600 iso - most other brands will remove noise ok but will smear detail.
thanks for that, will test for that sometime, but I will say the k10d is lightyears ahead of the *istDS
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Old 03-04-2008, 02:39 PM
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Being a novice to astroimaging, what kind of adapter for my Pentax K10D-slr do I need to adopt it to a 2" star finder?

any all hints & links greatly appreciated from a new member,

Steve
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Old 03-04-2008, 02:59 PM
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Quote:
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...what kind of adapter for my Pentax K10D-slr do I need to adopt it to a 2" star finder?

Steve
Hi and welcome to IIS Steve

With a Pentax K T-ring you could attach the camera directly to the visual back of the SCT.

Doug

ps...my galleries below may give an idea of the differences between Pentax and Canon cameras in the hands of a novice!
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Old 04-04-2008, 03:23 PM
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Cheers Doug, I'll look to grab one from one of the usual suppliers next week. I take it from looking at the T-Rings you just stick that on the front of a 50MM (etc) lens and then hook camera up, right?

Cheers!
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Old 04-04-2008, 04:34 PM
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Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)
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Cheers Doug, I'll look to grab one from one of the usual suppliers next week. I take it from looking at the T-Rings you just stick that on the front of a 50MM (etc) lens and then hook camera up, right?

Cheers!
Hi Steve

You don't actually use a lens. The T-ring attaches to the cameras bayonet mount (as a lens would). The other end of the T-ring attaches to a 2" barrel which then either slides into the focuser of your telescope or connects to a threaded "visual back" directly on the back of the scope. The telescope becomes the lens - which is known as "prime focus" photography.
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Old 04-04-2008, 06:44 PM
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We bought a Pentax ist DL to get us started into astrophotography, but have now recently upgraded to a Canon 40D.

Although very happy with the results we obtained from the Pentax, the Canon 40D is a huge step up and the programs that came with the camera are a joy to use.

There are links to our Pentax images on our webpage - link below
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