This is an event recap coverage, NOT a sponsored post! No compensation has been provided to share about our experiences at this event, all opinions are 100% my own. Full Disclosure Below:
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| "At this event personal style, fashion and consumer electronics met in a way that has never before been seen", said Jim Malcolm, Executive Vice President, PENTAX RICOH IMAGING. |
I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend! And most importantly spent as much time as possible creating memories. Memories that I'm sure you captured. No doubt, with what was at hand.
75% of the time it's a smart device, a phone, tablet or iPod. And then you upload those precious memories and find out that a picture that looked so great in the thumbnail actually looks blurry because your smart device doesn't have anti-shake technology. And worse still are those times when you find out that almost all the shots are less than usable. Those are moments you can't re-create. Those are moments you cannot re-capture.
I for one have never been that big on one device doing a million things barely well, and trust me, I have the world's heaviest handbag even on days when I 'pare down', I get why multi-functional devices are so popular, but I think a device that is meant for a specific activity will do it a million times better since that is what it's made for!
You know how much I believe that the Universe puts us in the right place at the right time, right?
I got invited to a Special Surprise Launch Event from Pentax, at a time when my favorite digital camera (that I have had for over 12 years now) is no longer being supported and it's battery is no longer being made. Worse still, even Amazon no longer sells my battery (you know that's a bad sign). We were actually asked not to talk about the event right away which is why you didn't see any instagrams or tweets from me as I wanted to respect the wishes of the host! Upon entering the amazing venue we were handed an SD card, and that is what we took home with us, leaving us with the amazing memories we made during the event! I ran into one of my favorite bloggers, Kimmie, @Cocoabebe on twitter, if you are not following her already, you definitely should be. She was my partner in photography and we had a great time working with the models!
It was a super fun and entirely creative event, but a bit bittersweet. It made me come to the painful conclusion that it really is time to let my old camera go! I really don't want to change cameras so it's a painful realization. I know I have to, but this camera is like a dear friend. It was an entry level digital camera at the time, no anti-shake, not much along the way of special features, but it's been with me on every vacation, it's been there for every special occasion. And in my humble opinion that old point and shoot gave me the best pictures! How do you say goodbye?
I got invited to a Special Surprise Launch Event from Pentax, at a time when my favorite digital camera (that I have had for over 12 years now) is no longer being supported and it's battery is no longer being made. Worse still, even Amazon no longer sells my battery (you know that's a bad sign). We were actually asked not to talk about the event right away which is why you didn't see any instagrams or tweets from me as I wanted to respect the wishes of the host! Upon entering the amazing venue we were handed an SD card, and that is what we took home with us, leaving us with the amazing memories we made during the event! I ran into one of my favorite bloggers, Kimmie, @Cocoabebe on twitter, if you are not following her already, you definitely should be. She was my partner in photography and we had a great time working with the models!
It was a super fun and entirely creative event, but a bit bittersweet. It made me come to the painful conclusion that it really is time to let my old camera go! I really don't want to change cameras so it's a painful realization. I know I have to, but this camera is like a dear friend. It was an entry level digital camera at the time, no anti-shake, not much along the way of special features, but it's been with me on every vacation, it's been there for every special occasion. And in my humble opinion that old point and shoot gave me the best pictures! How do you say goodbye?
I got to say goodbye to my old friend by attending a Roaring Twenties party at a landmark New York City Townhouse (Being part of the digital press does have it's privileges!). You know how they say the best way to get over an old boyfriend is with a new one? I guess the same holds true for cameras!
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| "The introduction of these capable and versatile cameras empowers consumers to incorporate their personality and taste into the design of their camera, making the K-50 and Q7 more than just an imaging device. They are a statement of self". ~ Jim Malcolm, Executive Vice President, PENTAX RICOH IMAGING. |
Pentax Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation launched two new interchangeable lens cameras at an event in New York City, where members of the press were invited to take a look back in time to the roaring twenties as models styled as flapper girls and dapper guys were subjects for interactive photo shoots located in various sections of the decorated landmark townhouse 632 on Hudson. Appetizers and specialty cocktails prepared by Chef Jesse Schenker (@JBSchef on twitter) of Recette Restaurant was another highlight of the interactive event where the new K-50 DSLR (available in 120 color combinations) and the K-500 made their debut!
I loved the interactive element of the event most, getting the chance to shoot the models using both cameras and thankfully with some help in setting up/staging the rooms and shots I got the chance to play with both cameras hands on. With my current camera being a point and shoot without interchangeable lenses, the first thing I noticed was that I had to change lenses for certain shots. I am not so used to doing that so it felt a bit awkward to me at first, but I got the hang of it, and love both cameras equally, obvs they are HUGE step up from my current camera, but I will say the pop of color is totally refreshing! My current point and shoot is a silver tone, so I'm not necessarily stuck on getting my new one in black, I love having options! And there are so many great colors to chose from, I've been loving Teal and they even have that color in a metallic, but Red is another favorite color of mine. Red is a power color and it's symbolic of fire, passion and power, I would love to infuse that energy into my photography. Am I pro? No. But I am an enthusiast who because of what I do, require something more sophisticated and advanced than what I have been using so far.
Here are the shots I took with the PENTAX CAMERA (all of mine were taken with the K-500 camera as the K-50's were all in rotation during the time I was shooting) unless indicated, no enhancement was made to any of the shots so I could get a feel for not only the camera but my ability with it.
I had to resist the urge to 'brighten' this one and play with my photo editing filters and software, it's a little dark for me, but you have the double whammy of dark wood behind and below her. And then with other people waiting to take their shots, you have to find the fine balance of learning the camera, improving and capturing your shots and leaving time for others to do the same.
This is my second shot with the K-500, also un-enhanced, what I love is that for this shot, I got in closer and bent down to take the shot and my un-steady hands because I was off balance is NOT reflected in the shot. My current camera unfortunately wouldn't have done nearly as well since my hands were not 'steady'. I resisted the urge to play with the exposure settings again with this one. (You can press each shot to see it in its full size and then hit back space to come back here, or check out our pinterest page as well to see shots that don't make this post for the sake of space.
This time I have the model move to the Chaise Lounge with light coming from the window behind her I got a much better shot, but for final printing again I would have used filters to brighten the exposure a bit. I have to give the models credit, they were amazingly patient, but they also really had fun with it. And considering how repetitive it can be to have tons of photo enthusiasts taking shot after shot, they were very open and easy to work with.
For this shot I physically moved myself and changed my shooting angle and our shoot advisors had me change my lens on the K-500, I did not enhance or alter this shot, I am using it as it was on the SD card with no filters or post editing. This is what I wanted that shot to look like all along, I have two more shots of her on the chaise that I am not going to use here, if you'd like to see those, please check the pinterest board as I will post them there. This is exactly what I was trying to achieve, but I noticed despite the lens change, me changing my shooting angle also made a big difference to the final results, this is the shot I wanted!
The internal room we wanted to go to next was really full so we went upstairs and shot one of the male models on the beautiful rooftop. It's pretty hard to get a bad shot in full daylight, but I did take another because I wanted something closer and wanted to better capture his personality.
I probably would have cropped these a little, but again I didn't want to alter the photos so you could get a good feel for it. I wasn't using a tripod and moved a bit between shots, for this one I ducked down a bit and there is no motion.
Now this shot which was also taken outdoors on the rooftop is using my super old camera that I don't want to let go of, I also did NOT enhance, sharpen or boost this in anyway either. This is a 4 mega pixel camera with no anti-shake or real bells and whistles, no interchangeable lens, just an old point and shoot.
This one was also taken with my old point and shoot, but I did have to enhance this a bit to make me viewable because of the angle it was shot. The venue was an old townhouse with great bones and soul, for those in the know, I got quite a few 'orbs' in my photos! For some reason the ones I capture near me are always in the same spot. (You all know how much I love Buddha Statues and I just had to take this shot with a fun zen pose!)
This was also taken with my point and shoot, but as you can see one of the K-50s are on display in front of the statue! There is similar photo at a different angle that I'm not using here but will be in the Pinterest Board.
Just wanted to give you a full feel of the outdoor rooftop, again this was my point and shoot camera.
Another outdoor shot with my point and shoot!
Back indoors waiting to shoot with the Pentax and nabbed this interiors vignette with my point and shoot! I love Asian Art! Looked like a nice spot to pull up a chair and write!
Back indoors, this was taken with the Pentax K-500, but I did 'boost' it slightly as I found it way too dark for you to even see the details with this one. Oddly the thumbnail did NOT look that dark, but when I saw it on screen it needed some brightness to bring out the detail.
Here it is again with the Pentax K-500 this time UNTOUCHED in any way.
This was also taken with the Pentax K-500 and again is NOT re-touched or post-processed in any way at all. There are a TON of in betweens from the two shots above this and this one, you can also find them on the Pinterest Board. But this final shot made me the happiest, although I personally would add some brightness to it but I tend to like my shots a bit brighter and warmer.
While I was waiting to nab the K-500, I took this shot with my point and shoot, she was looking at the photographer who had the K-500 at that moment but I liked that she wasn't really posing for me and I was able to zoom in and pre-focus with my point and shoot although I was a lot farther back in the room than the shot would initially indicate. This is also NOT touched or edited in any way.
and all the men in the room just rolled their eyes when I shot this moody shot of the model's shoes, but I couldn't help myself!
There are way more photos and when I post them to the Pinterest Board, I will caption which were taken with the Pentax and which weren't so you can see them all in full size and get a full appreciation of each photo in a way that you can't here as they get automatically re-sized to fit my blog's template ratio.
My Take:
I loved the interactivity of this event. But after playing with them for awhile I was super sad that we didn't get to come home with one, especially since I have to let mine go and move on to a new one. This was a super creative idea that even with the furniture and staging wouldn't have worked as well in other venues as it did with 632 on hudson, that townhouse had 'good bones' and just had it's own 'soul', the event came to life there, and the models were an absolute dream to work with. Since I didn't have experience beyond a point and shoot digital, it took me a bit to get a feel for how to work with the camera and the lenses but thankfully that was the point, to learn. And when an event, truly becomes an 'experience', it gives you not only great memories, but you also leave it feeling like you really learned something. They presented a product launch in such a way that I could really 'experience' it and challenge myself in the process. It made photography, and as you can tell from the length of this post, my recap blogging that much more fun!
Then I actually got to see the Pentax team again at the Arcadia Fall 2013 Fashion Preview and drool over the fun colors on the K-50's again! Is the universe telling me something?
Pentax put the fun back into photography for me that day, and the wide range of colors puts that fashion and individuality as well as customization into the technology. Just note the K-500 that I used to take the Pentax shots only comes in black, it's the K-50's that come in the range of colors shown in the photo at the top of the post. Another way the K-500 differs from the K-50 is that the K-500 offers a weather-sealed body, electronic level and included battery. Both of the new cameras also come with lower-cost versions of existing Pentax lenses. Both the F3.5-5.6 18-55mm and the F4.0-F5.6 50-200mm WR lenses fall under Pentax's L line-up. They are lighter than regular DA lenses, and have a plastic mount. (Same Glass and they are just as water-resistant as the DA Models). And both the K-50 and the K-500 offer Eye-Fi Card Control!
The K-50 and the K-500's are photographer friendly digital SLRs at a budget ready price point that truly deliver! Now I want one!
Extra Credit Fun for reading through: Take a look at their website and come back and tell us how you'd customize your K-50, then leave a comment here telling us, we will tag Pentax with your responses (who knows maybe if they see enough Butterfly interest we can work on something fun together for our readers!)
DON'T FORGET TO COME BACK AND COMMENT WITH HOW YOU WOULD CUSTOMIZE YOUR K-50!
Here are the shots I took with the PENTAX CAMERA (all of mine were taken with the K-500 camera as the K-50's were all in rotation during the time I was shooting) unless indicated, no enhancement was made to any of the shots so I could get a feel for not only the camera but my ability with it.
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| Roaring Twenties Pentax event in NYC's landmark 632 on Hudson, taken with the K-500 Camera |
I had to resist the urge to 'brighten' this one and play with my photo editing filters and software, it's a little dark for me, but you have the double whammy of dark wood behind and below her. And then with other people waiting to take their shots, you have to find the fine balance of learning the camera, improving and capturing your shots and leaving time for others to do the same.
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| Roaring Twenties Pentax event in NYC's landmark 632 on Hudson, taken with the K-500 Camera |
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| Different part of the room, the model moved but I stayed in the same spot |
This time I have the model move to the Chaise Lounge with light coming from the window behind her I got a much better shot, but for final printing again I would have used filters to brighten the exposure a bit. I have to give the models credit, they were amazingly patient, but they also really had fun with it. And considering how repetitive it can be to have tons of photo enthusiasts taking shot after shot, they were very open and easy to work with.
For this shot I physically moved myself and changed my shooting angle and our shoot advisors had me change my lens on the K-500, I did not enhance or alter this shot, I am using it as it was on the SD card with no filters or post editing. This is what I wanted that shot to look like all along, I have two more shots of her on the chaise that I am not going to use here, if you'd like to see those, please check the pinterest board as I will post them there. This is exactly what I was trying to achieve, but I noticed despite the lens change, me changing my shooting angle also made a big difference to the final results, this is the shot I wanted!
The internal room we wanted to go to next was really full so we went upstairs and shot one of the male models on the beautiful rooftop. It's pretty hard to get a bad shot in full daylight, but I did take another because I wanted something closer and wanted to better capture his personality.
I probably would have cropped these a little, but again I didn't want to alter the photos so you could get a good feel for it. I wasn't using a tripod and moved a bit between shots, for this one I ducked down a bit and there is no motion.
Now this shot which was also taken outdoors on the rooftop is using my super old camera that I don't want to let go of, I also did NOT enhance, sharpen or boost this in anyway either. This is a 4 mega pixel camera with no anti-shake or real bells and whistles, no interchangeable lens, just an old point and shoot.
This one was also taken with my old point and shoot, but I did have to enhance this a bit to make me viewable because of the angle it was shot. The venue was an old townhouse with great bones and soul, for those in the know, I got quite a few 'orbs' in my photos! For some reason the ones I capture near me are always in the same spot. (You all know how much I love Buddha Statues and I just had to take this shot with a fun zen pose!)
This was also taken with my point and shoot, but as you can see one of the K-50s are on display in front of the statue! There is similar photo at a different angle that I'm not using here but will be in the Pinterest Board.
Just wanted to give you a full feel of the outdoor rooftop, again this was my point and shoot camera.
Another outdoor shot with my point and shoot!
Back indoors waiting to shoot with the Pentax and nabbed this interiors vignette with my point and shoot! I love Asian Art! Looked like a nice spot to pull up a chair and write!
Back indoors, this was taken with the Pentax K-500, but I did 'boost' it slightly as I found it way too dark for you to even see the details with this one. Oddly the thumbnail did NOT look that dark, but when I saw it on screen it needed some brightness to bring out the detail.
Here it is again with the Pentax K-500 this time UNTOUCHED in any way.
This was also taken with the Pentax K-500 and again is NOT re-touched or post-processed in any way at all. There are a TON of in betweens from the two shots above this and this one, you can also find them on the Pinterest Board. But this final shot made me the happiest, although I personally would add some brightness to it but I tend to like my shots a bit brighter and warmer.
While I was waiting to nab the K-500, I took this shot with my point and shoot, she was looking at the photographer who had the K-500 at that moment but I liked that she wasn't really posing for me and I was able to zoom in and pre-focus with my point and shoot although I was a lot farther back in the room than the shot would initially indicate. This is also NOT touched or edited in any way.
and all the men in the room just rolled their eyes when I shot this moody shot of the model's shoes, but I couldn't help myself!
There are way more photos and when I post them to the Pinterest Board, I will caption which were taken with the Pentax and which weren't so you can see them all in full size and get a full appreciation of each photo in a way that you can't here as they get automatically re-sized to fit my blog's template ratio.
My Take:
I loved the interactivity of this event. But after playing with them for awhile I was super sad that we didn't get to come home with one, especially since I have to let mine go and move on to a new one. This was a super creative idea that even with the furniture and staging wouldn't have worked as well in other venues as it did with 632 on hudson, that townhouse had 'good bones' and just had it's own 'soul', the event came to life there, and the models were an absolute dream to work with. Since I didn't have experience beyond a point and shoot digital, it took me a bit to get a feel for how to work with the camera and the lenses but thankfully that was the point, to learn. And when an event, truly becomes an 'experience', it gives you not only great memories, but you also leave it feeling like you really learned something. They presented a product launch in such a way that I could really 'experience' it and challenge myself in the process. It made photography, and as you can tell from the length of this post, my recap blogging that much more fun!
Then I actually got to see the Pentax team again at the Arcadia Fall 2013 Fashion Preview and drool over the fun colors on the K-50's again! Is the universe telling me something?
Pentax put the fun back into photography for me that day, and the wide range of colors puts that fashion and individuality as well as customization into the technology. Just note the K-500 that I used to take the Pentax shots only comes in black, it's the K-50's that come in the range of colors shown in the photo at the top of the post. Another way the K-500 differs from the K-50 is that the K-500 offers a weather-sealed body, electronic level and included battery. Both of the new cameras also come with lower-cost versions of existing Pentax lenses. Both the F3.5-5.6 18-55mm and the F4.0-F5.6 50-200mm WR lenses fall under Pentax's L line-up. They are lighter than regular DA lenses, and have a plastic mount. (Same Glass and they are just as water-resistant as the DA Models). And both the K-50 and the K-500 offer Eye-Fi Card Control!
The K-50 and the K-500's are photographer friendly digital SLRs at a budget ready price point that truly deliver! Now I want one!
Extra Credit Fun for reading through: Take a look at their website and come back and tell us how you'd customize your K-50, then leave a comment here telling us, we will tag Pentax with your responses (who knows maybe if they see enough Butterfly interest we can work on something fun together for our readers!)
DON'T FORGET TO COME BACK AND COMMENT WITH HOW YOU WOULD CUSTOMIZE YOUR K-50!
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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a compensated post. No compensation has been received to share our recap coverage of the product launch Roaring Twenties Event. Gift Bags were received but sadly they did NOT contain cameras! But if they decide to send me one, I'd be their best friend forever! J
