First Attempt At Street Photography With The Pentax K5

[@scrptwic]

Lee Great pictures what a quaint town nothing like that in the slash & burn state in California . If it's 100 years old it's time to tear it down and build new. I use my old Pentax *istDL for street photography as I leave it in my car with a Tamron 28-200mm lens attached and when I have the time I do street photography. Today I took picturs of a July 4 parade and shot 100 pictures

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks! There's loads of really old Villages & Towns around my local area so we are spoiled for that type of stuff in the UK. Sounds like a nice setup for street the *istDL + 28-200, I bet the atmosphere was great yesterday for the 4th of July hopefully you caught some nice moments!

[@xmeda]

When introduced K5 was a beast that outclassed all APS-C and some FF cameras in hi-ISO performance and it was my primary camera till last year when I've added almost unused K3 which became my primary machine since. But that K5 served me daily over 10 years and still works after taking 138 900 photos.. just the low light focusing in weak artificial light is nothing to brag about.

[@LeeIveson]

I can see why its got the great reputation it has, its a joy to shoot with, for only being 16mp the files are really nice. Its funny you say that about the poor focusing performance in artificial light as the first time I used the K5 was for an indoor shoot with a puppy + a few speed lights 😅 I ended up getting some really nice shots, but yes the AF was not ideal!

[@xmeda]

@@LeeIveson Sometimes it works well, sometimes it struggles significantly and it also depends on lenses. With DA18-135WR it is quite good, but with things like FA50/1.4, Sig35/1.4A, FA35/2, FA*24/2 it can be tricky to get photos focused correctly. With such lenses I mostly just use LiveView as it is far more reliable than PDAF. Later they improved AF in low light significantly with K5 mark 2 models. And later K3 mentioned above. Concert in dark cellar lit only with few lightbulbs is suddenly no problem :) And as you mentioned external flashes: K5 in any mode but Manual is problematic to be used with flas. Manual on camera, some EV- and then flas is ok. But on K3 it is perfectly usable even in automodes like TAv or Av and pics are not blown out overexposed like on K5, where camera happily goes to ISO6400 and fires full AF540FGZ blast into it :))) But still.. K5 is powerful tool if user is able to think about/around limitations.

[@GODSPEEDseven]

I've always loved looking at street photo(journalism) photos. Especially the 35mm perspective (real 35mm, like on full frame or 35mm film). But, being somewhat of a shy, reserved person & not the biggest fan of large crowded places. So when I've been downtown and around Old Montreal, I mostly focus on architecture. I'm too shy to walk up to people and photograph them. That's something I need to work on; recently in your Autumn challenge video, i mentioned looking for one of the Limited Primes. I already have the 20-40mm Limited, but it's "big" for street I find. Been kind of debating between the 40mm Limited for being so small, and also the 70mm Limited to get maybe more reach to capture people without feeling like I'm in their faces. I love your style of street, very high contrast. I like dramatic contrast in black & white!

[@LeeIveson]

I'd say I'm an introvert personality wise, but I was really surprised how much I liked shooting the street stuff, I keep meaning to get out to do some more. I get what your saying about the lense size, I'd like to try a few more of the lenses I already own the next time out. That 20-40 seems to get a lot of praise, but I don't need it I must not think about it, I don't need it, dam I'm on eBay 🤣

[@GODSPEEDseven]

@@LeeIveson It's a fantastic street lens! Equivalent 30-60; you've got your "28", your "35" and your "50" in one relatively quick lens, it's DC may not be PLM fast, but it's dead quiet. ...and hum, the build. The build quality just really feels nice. You WANT to use this lens! Go, ebay is mans second best friend! 😁

[@l.nauwelaerts195]

I've been planning to do the same with my K-5 II for some time now. Thanks for the video!

[@LeeIveson]

The K-5 series are for me a proppa photographers camera if that makes sense? If I just want to connect with my photography I'll pick the K-5 up!

[@l.nauwelaerts195]

@@LeeIveson It does indeed feel right from the moment you pick it up. But I could do with a proper, small DA lens for it. I am not much a fan of using FF lenses like the 31mm on APS-C, and for the 18-35mm Sigma I kind of need the battery grip for the whole to be in balance. Do you have any preference for street?

[@LeeIveson]

@@l.nauwelaerts195 I don't really have a preference for street, I really need to shoot it more often to get a better feel of what works well for me. The 18-135 was pretty nice though, wide enough but also with enough reach on the APSC to grab those sniper shots! Although I've not had the chance of using one, the DA20-40mm looks canny, it seems to have a really good rep within the community too!

[@thegoviz]

Once had a weekend in Durham, it's such a nice place so I enjoyed the video and the resulting photos Lee, keep them coming.

[@LeeIveson]

Cheers John. It's a lovely place, right on my doorstep too. Like I said in the video I think I'll have a another camera walk in Durham to see how the light looks later in the day.

[@hannahiveson]

Amazing shots!!

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks Hannah!

[@Climber485]

Excellent start Lee, it is weird that although you are surrounded by people with camera phones snapping photos and selfies all the time, you feel conspicuous with a Camera, well I do anyway 😊. I worry about confruntation, that is why I tend to defaut to finding street art to photograph, I do like the freedom to experiment with shadows and siloettes though, rather than feeling i need to drag the detail out of every shot. Looking forward to seeing any further forays into street and your next genre examination 👍

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks mate! I totally get where your coming from with people in everyday life using camera phone, not a problem, as soon as you have anything that resembles a "real" camera its another story haha. I felt a little uneasy with having the vlogging camera & my K3 out, I'm always aware of my surroundings maybe a little to much that I cant relax a little more, as far as the confrontation part I've seen a few videos of street togs having problems with security or just the general public who don't want to be in the shot, I'll always take a common sense approach to this and just try to read the situation I suppose. I'll defiantly be back out to try some more street that's for sure, I love the shapes that are created by the light hitting buildings casting harsh shadows it makes for great B&W images I think.

[@normanpritchard1377]

I'm down Durham quite a lot but I prefer the darker nights and days when the shadows are longer. I also feel less conspicuous when I use one of my pancake lenses or the 35mm. with the KP.

[@LeeIveson]

I think I'm going to have a look back down but when the sun is lower to help with the shadows & see what shapes are created by them.

[@Richie53rd]

Some great shots there Lee. When you're not used to it, street photography can be a bit daunting. I remember my first experience, I felt really uncomfortable for quite a while but then started to relax and enjoyed looking for interesting subjects. It helps if you go somewhere where people are used to seeing people with cameras. I usually go to somewhere in London, Camden is especially good, so many people taking photos there that nobody is particularly bothered about having their photo taken. I take either a 35mm lens or a 50mm lens, and shoot in Aperture Priority at around f8. Most of the time I take my K3 and usually start shooting around 2pm. I keep meaning to take my KP into London for some evening shots but keep putting it off, but that's another story. Keep at it, it can be fun.

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks! Yeah I think its like that in Durham city to be fair, there's always a lot of international uni students with cameras snapping away, I just felt a little on edge having a vlogging camera & my K3 to shoot with, I'm probably to aware of what's going on around me & need to relax a little more, but I really enjoyed it to be honest more than I thought I would.

[@MichaelRusso]

Love my K5IIs. Still plenty of resolution for shooting wildlife or anything else. I use it and my KP.

[@LeeIveson]

100% the K5 series are still very capable. You have two solid bodies in the K5IIs & KP. How do you find the feel of the KP? Better or worse than your K5IIs?

[@MichaelRusso]

@@LeeIveson Good question on the KP. It is different, better ISO, resolution, flippy screen, better AF, lighter even with a grip, but layout is different not better. You need to get use to it. However, the K5, being older is still competitive, resolution and ISO is fine., AF is good enough.

[@LeeIveson]

@@MichaelRusso I can imagine the KP takes a little getting used to coming from the other Pentax bodies especially the K5 & K3 series. But like you say after a while it will feel fine.

[@dominicwroblewski5832]

The K5 has got to be one of my favorite cameras. I tend to use it more often than my K3. Today, it is an absolute bargain on the used market ($200 to $250) It seems to me, to be one of the most intuitive cameras to use. I found that with older and heavier lenses it seems to need the extra weight of the battery grip to help with balance. Lenses like the F 70-210mm and the FA 100-300mm weigh a ton and the grip for me is a must. Best of luck to you and your K5. I look forward to seeing more videos with it. When you are out shooting landscapes, try the "Reversal Film" custom image setting. As an old time slide shooter, I can say it does give the impression of looking like a cross of Fuji Velvia 50 and Kodachrome 25. I fine tuned my setting to "extra fine" in the sharpness setting as images at the default seemed a little soft (too much like film)

[@LeeIveson]

The K5 is defiantly a pleasure to use, like you say it can be found at really good prices theses days! Thanks for the tip on the custom image setting I'll be sure to try that out! Cheers

[@lighthunterphoto]

K-3II + 40mm F2.8 Limited - my "stealth" street combo. Small silhouette and the camera look like a tourist compact camera. On the other hand It come with a challenge how to frame/compose your shots, but this challenge boost your creativity for shure :)

[@LeeIveson]

Nice setup! That 40 LTD looks like the perfect stealth lens haha its literally flat as a pancake! I like the idea of using a single focal length to make you think about the shot more too.

[@KobieMC]

At first, Street photography is a bit nerve racking but after a while it becomes loads of fun!

[@LeeIveson]

I enjoyed it, but just felt a little on edge shooting video & stills with separate cameras incase someone tried something silly 😆

[@unbroken1010]

Not in the Bronx or lower East side it don't. 😳

[@isotechimages.9130]

Well done some nice shots there.

[@LeeIveson]

Cheers Scott!

[@isotechimages.9130]

@@LeeIveson have tried it myself but just don’t like people in my photos ha.