Thanks JK for the comprehensive review and real-life photo shots. Certainly makes those without a K1 now even more 'gian' for it.
Thanks guys.
Bali Reverie - A Pentax K1 real World review
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Thanks guys.
Here is another pixel shift example.
These are available at full size which can be viewed on my flickr.
With Pixel Shift
Pixel Shift full Sized sample by jenkwang, on Flickr
Full sized image : https://www.flickr.com/photos/29329237@N07/27283116030/sizes/o/
Without Pixel Shift
No Pixel Shift full Sized sample by jenkwang, on Flickr
Full sized image : https://www.flickr.com/photos/29329237@N07/27525820006/sizes/o/
100% crops
With Pixel Shift
IMGP0850-PixS-crop by jenkwang, on Flickr
Without Pixel Shift
IMGP0850-No_PixS-crop by jenkwang, on Flickr
Theres also a difference in the shadows as well with the increased DR using Pixsel Shift.
These are available at full size which can be viewed on my flickr.
With Pixel Shift
Pixel Shift full Sized sample by jenkwang, on Flickr
Full sized image : https://www.flickr.com/photos/29329237@N07/27283116030/sizes/o/
Without Pixel Shift
No Pixel Shift full Sized sample by jenkwang, on Flickr
Full sized image : https://www.flickr.com/photos/29329237@N07/27525820006/sizes/o/
100% crops
With Pixel Shift
IMGP0850-PixS-crop by jenkwang, on Flickr
Without Pixel Shift
IMGP0850-No_PixS-crop by jenkwang, on Flickr
Theres also a difference in the shadows as well with the increased DR using Pixsel Shift.
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Yes, agree that the pixel shift offers a greater level of details, which is really helpful for those in certain industry , such as architecture and landscape photographers. just to name a few.
Your reviews which comes with real world pictures and some technical explanation certainly enhance the profile of the review. Keep up the good work. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
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Thanks.
I do what I can to to talk about the camera in real usage.
Hopefully, I get some more time later on to talk about processing the pixel shift files.
Alright, this is the last part of the review on Pixel Shift, before I move on to other stuff.
I went thru some more of my picts and perhaps found one that can show off the advantage of pixel shift for green foilage (provided the winds don't blow between frames).
IMGP0852 by jenkwang, on Flickr
100% Crops
Sample #1
With Pixel Shift
IMGP0852-PixS-1-crop1 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Without Pixel Shift
IMGP0852-No_PixS-crop1 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Sample #2
With Pixel Shift
IMGP0852-PixS-1-crop2 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Without Pixel Shift
IMGP0852-No_PixS-crop2 by jenkwang, on Flickr
The close proximity of the leaves at a distance often will result in it being interpolated by the Bayer Array as a 'blend' of greens.
But pixel shift can get back than per pixel sharpness and color information to make out each of the leaves.
On Pixel Shift Processing
I try to touch on how I think Pixel Shift processing should be done to get artifact free and good IQ (at time of writing).
Some sites just pass the camera to a user who is not familiar with the Pentax system for a week (or few days) and the result is a user who does not think of how to make the best use of the features/software.
The common mistake of handling the pixel shift files is processing by Lightroom (LR).
I made the same mistake too in the early 2 weeks with the camera.
Lightroom (at time of writing) is not catered to handling the 4 image RAW from Pixel Shift.
Using it will result in movement artifacts and improper usage of the IQ of the RAW.
(Normal non-Pixel Shift RAW from the K1 processes fine on LR; just to be clear )
The K1 comes with Pentax Digital Camera Utility (PDCU) for its raw processing.
This RAW processor is the one to use to make full use of the Pixel Shift files.
It not only allows one to turn on Motion Correction which removes movement artifacts in-between frames,
but also allows one to process the RAW to just use the first frame of the capture.
This is useful if the user still has to remove some leftover movement artifacts that the software can't handle.
To do this (if necessary), simply process the pixel shift file and a non-pixel shift file from the same RAW.
Open both files in Photoshop and layer one over the other.
Just apply a layer mask and mask off the areas with movement artifacts.
Using PCDU, already removes most cases of movement artifacts like flowing water, people, foliage.
But its still good to know that further remedies are available if its not enough.
If this sounds like some work, I try to put it in perspective a bit.
Any detail work (and often landscapes) will require some bit of work.
Be it cloning off dust bunnies, exposure blending, removing people, blending light trails, etc.
Just treat it as part of the same workflow.
I went thru some more of my picts and perhaps found one that can show off the advantage of pixel shift for green foilage (provided the winds don't blow between frames).
IMGP0852 by jenkwang, on Flickr
100% Crops
Sample #1
With Pixel Shift
IMGP0852-PixS-1-crop1 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Without Pixel Shift
IMGP0852-No_PixS-crop1 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Sample #2
With Pixel Shift
IMGP0852-PixS-1-crop2 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Without Pixel Shift
IMGP0852-No_PixS-crop2 by jenkwang, on Flickr
The close proximity of the leaves at a distance often will result in it being interpolated by the Bayer Array as a 'blend' of greens.
But pixel shift can get back than per pixel sharpness and color information to make out each of the leaves.
On Pixel Shift Processing
I try to touch on how I think Pixel Shift processing should be done to get artifact free and good IQ (at time of writing).
Some sites just pass the camera to a user who is not familiar with the Pentax system for a week (or few days) and the result is a user who does not think of how to make the best use of the features/software.
The common mistake of handling the pixel shift files is processing by Lightroom (LR).
I made the same mistake too in the early 2 weeks with the camera.
Lightroom (at time of writing) is not catered to handling the 4 image RAW from Pixel Shift.
Using it will result in movement artifacts and improper usage of the IQ of the RAW.
(Normal non-Pixel Shift RAW from the K1 processes fine on LR; just to be clear )
The K1 comes with Pentax Digital Camera Utility (PDCU) for its raw processing.
This RAW processor is the one to use to make full use of the Pixel Shift files.
It not only allows one to turn on Motion Correction which removes movement artifacts in-between frames,
but also allows one to process the RAW to just use the first frame of the capture.
This is useful if the user still has to remove some leftover movement artifacts that the software can't handle.
To do this (if necessary), simply process the pixel shift file and a non-pixel shift file from the same RAW.
Open both files in Photoshop and layer one over the other.
Just apply a layer mask and mask off the areas with movement artifacts.
Using PCDU, already removes most cases of movement artifacts like flowing water, people, foliage.
But its still good to know that further remedies are available if its not enough.
If this sounds like some work, I try to put it in perspective a bit.
Any detail work (and often landscapes) will require some bit of work.
Be it cloning off dust bunnies, exposure blending, removing people, blending light trails, etc.
Just treat it as part of the same workflow.
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Astro Tracer with the built in GPS and sensor shift
The K1 comes with a built in GPS and together with the sensor shift shake reduction system, Pentax has added plenty of cool tricks to it.
It comes with an Astro tracer feature which allows shooting of celestial bodies for longer periods than what is usually possible and at better settings.
This is up to 5mins, which is typically enough for most uses.
Considering that it does it without adding any large tracking mount like a conventional system, its actually quite a big deal.
Now lets put it in context
Testing out the K1 Astro tracer by jenkwang, on Flickr
(Mars is the red one on the top)
A typical shot like this with the stars in place and not trailing would require settings like ISO3200; 25s; f2.8
The extremes of this is obvious.
A very high ISO.
Short shutter speed limited by the 500/FL rule to prevent trailing of the stars.
Finally, an f-stop that is usually as wide as the wide lens at hand can do (and wide lenses with fast apertures are not cheap, sharpness issues and susceptible to coma for some)
So here's the great part.
With the Astro Tracer, the shot above was done with the following :
ISO400; f5.6 (f4 lens stopped down one); 2mins!
A lowish ISO, f-stop that usually removes a lot of the problems of lenses used wide open (and I used a cheapish f4 lens at f5.6 in this case) and a good long 2mins which is way beyond the 500/FL rule.
Here are the 100% crops between Astro tracer OFF and ON.
Astro Tracer OFF
20160611-IMGP1763-No_Astrotracer by jenkwang, on Flickr
Astro Tracer ON
20160611-IMGP1762-Astrotracer by jenkwang, on Flickr
There is still some coma on the periphery, but imagine that it would have been worse wide open if then lens was not stopped down to f5.6.
Futhermore, I've not done an in camera calibration for the Astro Tracer, which may give a bit better result.
Oh... yeah....
Considering that usually you'd need this :
(from astronomyreviews)
but now we only need :
Pocket Rocket by jenkwang, on Flickr
The K1 comes with a built in GPS and together with the sensor shift shake reduction system, Pentax has added plenty of cool tricks to it.
It comes with an Astro tracer feature which allows shooting of celestial bodies for longer periods than what is usually possible and at better settings.
This is up to 5mins, which is typically enough for most uses.
Considering that it does it without adding any large tracking mount like a conventional system, its actually quite a big deal.
Now lets put it in context
Testing out the K1 Astro tracer by jenkwang, on Flickr
(Mars is the red one on the top)
A typical shot like this with the stars in place and not trailing would require settings like ISO3200; 25s; f2.8
The extremes of this is obvious.
A very high ISO.
Short shutter speed limited by the 500/FL rule to prevent trailing of the stars.
Finally, an f-stop that is usually as wide as the wide lens at hand can do (and wide lenses with fast apertures are not cheap, sharpness issues and susceptible to coma for some)
So here's the great part.
With the Astro Tracer, the shot above was done with the following :
ISO400; f5.6 (f4 lens stopped down one); 2mins!
A lowish ISO, f-stop that usually removes a lot of the problems of lenses used wide open (and I used a cheapish f4 lens at f5.6 in this case) and a good long 2mins which is way beyond the 500/FL rule.
Here are the 100% crops between Astro tracer OFF and ON.
Astro Tracer OFF
20160611-IMGP1763-No_Astrotracer by jenkwang, on Flickr
Astro Tracer ON
20160611-IMGP1762-Astrotracer by jenkwang, on Flickr
There is still some coma on the periphery, but imagine that it would have been worse wide open if then lens was not stopped down to f5.6.
Futhermore, I've not done an in camera calibration for the Astro Tracer, which may give a bit better result.
Oh... yeah....
Considering that usually you'd need this :
(from astronomyreviews)
but now we only need :
Pocket Rocket by jenkwang, on Flickr
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Tiredofallthese
Senior Member
Great shots jk....k1 need to do "positioning" b4 it could start the astro right? Difficulties in doing?
There is a calibration which can be done to get better accuracy.
I'm still figuring out how its done.
But so far, I've tried it w/o doing it, which is just a process of turning on GPS, turning on Astro tracer, and setting to bulb mode.
In this mode, it allows a exposure time up to 5mins, so its very convinient.
Just set the time, release the shutter as usual and it will stop once the set exposure time is up.
Thanks LP
Yes, its one of the good things about Pentax.
They never hold back on what they can put in their cameras.
There's also a niffy shift function using the sensor, which will be touched on in this review later on.
Tiredofallthese
Senior Member
There is a calibration which can be done to get better accuracy.
I'm still figuring out how its done.
But so far, I've tried it w/o doing it, which is just a process of turning on GPS, turning on Astro tracer, and setting to bulb mode.
In this mode, it allows a exposure time up to 5mins, so its very convinient.
Just set the time, release the shutter as usual and it will stop once the set exposure time is up.
Thanks LP
Yes, its one of the good things about Pentax.
They never hold back on what they can put in their cameras.
There's also a niffy shift function using the sensor, which will be touched on in this review later on.
Thx jk...i never thought that step could skip...haha. i tried once to calibrate but failed...ok will try without that...thx
Multi-Exposure
The multi-exposure mode does come in handy.
There are couple of standard ways to use it, like creating car trails in a cityscape or smoothing/adding up water trails.
I had brought with me a few ND filters, but my FA31ltd had a built in hood that would not mount my 67mm filters which I use with step down rings for other filter thread sizes.
So I could not slow down the shutter speed enough to smooth out the crashing waves.
With the multi-exposure mode set to 10 frames, it allowed smoothing out the waters a bit while adding in the waters flowing down the rocks at the same time.
20160528-IMGP1075 by jenkwang, on Flickr
The multi-exposure mode does come in handy.
There are couple of standard ways to use it, like creating car trails in a cityscape or smoothing/adding up water trails.
I had brought with me a few ND filters, but my FA31ltd had a built in hood that would not mount my 67mm filters which I use with step down rings for other filter thread sizes.
So I could not slow down the shutter speed enough to smooth out the crashing waves.
With the multi-exposure mode set to 10 frames, it allowed smoothing out the waters a bit while adding in the waters flowing down the rocks at the same time.
20160528-IMGP1075 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Image Stabilization
The K1 has a 5-axis image stabilization rated to 5 stops by CIPA standard testing.
This is a first for a DSLR (ie. 5 axis stabilization ).
I'd usually discount one or two stops from manufacturer claims since stability also depends on user holding stability and technique.
When it was needed, it can come in handy.
I'd not brought my tripod along, but wanted to smooth out the water flow for the below shot.
So setting to ISO100 and a rather slow 1/4s at f4.5, I braced and the SR worked well to steady the shot.
20160620-IMGP2155 by jenkwang, on Flickr
The K1 has a 5-axis image stabilization rated to 5 stops by CIPA standard testing.
This is a first for a DSLR (ie. 5 axis stabilization ).
I'd usually discount one or two stops from manufacturer claims since stability also depends on user holding stability and technique.
When it was needed, it can come in handy.
I'd not brought my tripod along, but wanted to smooth out the water flow for the below shot.
So setting to ISO100 and a rather slow 1/4s at f4.5, I braced and the SR worked well to steady the shot.
20160620-IMGP2155 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Image quality (normal)
The 36mp sensor on the K1 certainly gives very good output commensurate with cameras of its class.
This does come with the downside of being punishing on poor shooting discipline and I certainly found myself on the receiving end of it if I did not stick to the fundamentals of proper holding and/or not being mindful of the shutter speed being too slow for handholding or subject movement.
Get it right though, and the the IQ is impressive indeed.
Being 36mp at FF, it can easily be cropped down to an equivalent 15mp APSC image size.
Here's an example of the IQ and the ability to crop down.
20160528-IMGP1020 by jenkwang, on Flickr
100% crop
20160528-IMGP1020-100% crop by jenkwang, on Flickr
The 36mp sensor on the K1 certainly gives very good output commensurate with cameras of its class.
This does come with the downside of being punishing on poor shooting discipline and I certainly found myself on the receiving end of it if I did not stick to the fundamentals of proper holding and/or not being mindful of the shutter speed being too slow for handholding or subject movement.
Get it right though, and the the IQ is impressive indeed.
Being 36mp at FF, it can easily be cropped down to an equivalent 15mp APSC image size.
Here's an example of the IQ and the ability to crop down.
20160528-IMGP1020 by jenkwang, on Flickr
100% crop
20160528-IMGP1020-100% crop by jenkwang, on Flickr
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Composition Adjustment
I did not manage to use this feature in Bali, so lets zip back to Singapore to showcase the feature.
By shifting the sensor, the K1 (and in fact Pentax DSLR since K7) is able to give the camera limited shift capability.
That's quite a feature as there is usually no way a shooter can adjust for composition while keeping the camera level in situations where one wants to avoid keystone distortions.
The only other ways would be to do some sort of stitched pano or use a shift lens.
Here's a real world usage of the Composition Adjustment feature of the K1 (and in fact Pentax cameras since K7 at least)
Needing to prevent keystone distortion, the camera has to be kept level and this limits the view and composition of the scene below.
Shot without Composition Adjustment.
IMGP2477_NoCompAdj by jenkwang, on Flickr
Shot with Composition Adjustment.
This acts like a shift lens (by shifting the sensor), allowing more view of the below scene while keeping the camera level and at the same position as the first shot.
IMGP2476-CompAdj-1 by jenkwang, on Flickr
and here is the shot in full.
IMGP2476-CompAdj-1 by jenkwang, on Flickr
I did not manage to use this feature in Bali, so lets zip back to Singapore to showcase the feature.
By shifting the sensor, the K1 (and in fact Pentax DSLR since K7) is able to give the camera limited shift capability.
That's quite a feature as there is usually no way a shooter can adjust for composition while keeping the camera level in situations where one wants to avoid keystone distortions.
The only other ways would be to do some sort of stitched pano or use a shift lens.
Here's a real world usage of the Composition Adjustment feature of the K1 (and in fact Pentax cameras since K7 at least)
Needing to prevent keystone distortion, the camera has to be kept level and this limits the view and composition of the scene below.
Shot without Composition Adjustment.
IMGP2477_NoCompAdj by jenkwang, on Flickr
Shot with Composition Adjustment.
This acts like a shift lens (by shifting the sensor), allowing more view of the below scene while keeping the camera level and at the same position as the first shot.
IMGP2476-CompAdj-1 by jenkwang, on Flickr
and here is the shot in full.
IMGP2476-CompAdj-1 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Here is another sample using the shifting of the sensor to get more of the bottom portion of the scene.
Remember that the lens/camera is level to avoid keystone distortions, so the camera is not angled down to get more of the bottom portion on the picture.
The camera does come with a level indicator as well for the convenience of getting the camera level.
K1+K28/3.5
20160708-IMGP2521 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Full sized pict here :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29329237@N07/28139111646/sizes/o/
Remember that the lens/camera is level to avoid keystone distortions, so the camera is not angled down to get more of the bottom portion on the picture.
The camera does come with a level indicator as well for the convenience of getting the camera level.
K1+K28/3.5
20160708-IMGP2521 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Full sized pict here :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29329237@N07/28139111646/sizes/o/
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Tiredofallthese
Senior Member
Great images and professionally done....thx jk for all effort....my cpu down for weeks....can't do anything....
I got asked this question on FM forums so I think its good info to add to the review.
So question was how much shift (in terms of focal length) does the composition adjustment feature give.
Example, comparing a 24mm and 28mm lens.
Here, comparing the Pentax K24/2.8 and the M28/3.5
Comp Adj sample 24mm no comp adj by jenkwang, on Flickr
Comp Adj sample 28mm no comp adj by jenkwang, on Flickr
Comp Adj sample 28mm comp adj Y-axis by jenkwang, on Flickr
Y-axis shift to the max value
Notice that the blue part of the play mat has become reviewed with this Y-axis shift.
Comp Adj sample 28mm no comp adj Y and X axis by jenkwang, on Flickr
Both X and Y axis shift to the max values
Notice that both the blue playground mat and more of the right of the HDB can now be seen.
I'd think its probably a 3mm focal length capability (which is focal length dependent of course)
So question was how much shift (in terms of focal length) does the composition adjustment feature give.
Example, comparing a 24mm and 28mm lens.
Here, comparing the Pentax K24/2.8 and the M28/3.5
Comp Adj sample 24mm no comp adj by jenkwang, on Flickr
Comp Adj sample 28mm no comp adj by jenkwang, on Flickr
Comp Adj sample 28mm comp adj Y-axis by jenkwang, on Flickr
Y-axis shift to the max value
Notice that the blue part of the play mat has become reviewed with this Y-axis shift.
Comp Adj sample 28mm no comp adj Y and X axis by jenkwang, on Flickr
Both X and Y axis shift to the max values
Notice that both the blue playground mat and more of the right of the HDB can now be seen.
I'd think its probably a 3mm focal length capability (which is focal length dependent of course)
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