[grispie]

Thanks. I see the DA 21mm is f/3.2. I like the pancake type but is there much difference compared to the 18-50 retractable? Which is f/4.0 at 18mm. Or it's the lens itself brighter and better looking? Lenses are definitely a complicated huge world.

i am not so sure iq will increase that much for video with a better lens. The most disturbing thing about the video is the unnatural light coming from the left and the nasty shadow it delivers.
I'd be tempted to put some artificial diffused daylight on one side with a reflector on the other..
my 2 cents

[TaoMaas]

Thanks for posting the video. The device you're reviewing looks really interesting! It looks to me like on the shots at the desk, the camera may have been focused a bit in front of your face because when you hold up the device, it looks sharper than your face. If that's the case, getting a lens with a wider aperture won't help. You'll end up with a trade-off where you have a sharper lens, but less depth of field to work with. So even if you get your face in focus better, chances are that whatever you hold up to talk about won't be in focus. That brings things back to needing more light so you can use smaller apertures. This is secondary, but since you said you like brighter shots, your background may be working against you. Your face is never going to be as bright as the white wall behind you, so you might experiment with using a somewhat darker background to help you stand out more. I'd try tacking up a blanket or something just to see if you like the results or not. Overall, I think your video looks great and I think you're on the right track to making them better.

i am not so sure iq will increase that much for video with a better lens. The most disturbing thing about the video is the unnatural light coming from the left and the nasty shadow it delivers.
I'd be tempted to put some artificial diffused daylight on one side with a reflector on the other..
my 2 cents

I absolutely agree about the light. I had to quickly add that because I had to finish the video but it was already darker so I had to gamble.

That made me think that I could add a softbox on my left and I should add a small light on my right, where I have the window, so to reduce the shadows. The problem is that I don't have space on the right side. Maybe an abat-jour or lampshade on the shelf behind my right shoulder.

Thanks for posting the video. The device you're reviewing looks really interesting! It looks to me like on the shots at the desk, the camera may have been focused a bit in front of your face because when you hold up the device, it looks sharper than your face.

Thanks.

You are absolutely right. It's like that. The focus is slightly in front of me if I hold any device like that. That's why I thought that the focus on face detection should have helped tracking me and not the objects. But it doesn't work well.

I think that in the photo mode there are more AF possibilities than in video mode, or they are easier to understand. I also have AF spot, which is only on the center of the screen, and contrast AF select which I don't understand how to move the spot. :S Otherwise I will go manual.

This is secondary, but since you said you like brighter shots, your background may be working against you. Your face is never going to be as bright as the white wall behind you, so you might experiment with using a somewhat darker background to help you stand out more. I'd try tacking up a blanket or something just to see if you like the results or not. Overall, I think your video looks great and I think you're on the right track to making them better.

Yes, you're right on that, but for now I can't change the background. I'm in the process to change location in the house but it will take me at least a couple of months. The right time to exploit the Pentax capabilities.

Thanks.

[grispie]

That made me think that I could add a softbox on my left and I should add a small light on my right, where I have the window, so to reduce the shadows. The problem is that I don't have space on the right side. Maybe an abat-jour or lampshade on the shelf behind my right shoulder.

If enough light is coming through the window, a strong reflector on your left side could do the trick. Try with a white blanket or a piece of styrofoam for start & see what that does. The ideal is that no one even notices that you're reflecting the light.

If not enough light is entering the window, use a diffused LED on the window side. In any case, you need some LED..

If enough light is coming through the window, a strong reflector on your left side could do the trick. Try with a white blanket or a piece of styrofoam for start & see what that does. The ideal is that no one even notices that you're reflecting the light.

If not enough light is entering the window, use a diffused LED on the window side. In any case, you need some LED..

Thank you. Unfortunately, not enough light is coming through the window because it's an old house with very thick walls. And in summer the sun is above the house. That's why ISO 400, f/4.0, 1/80 is the max I can stretch.

Maybe I can buy a softbox on my left side and a LED on my right, to reduce the shadows on the background. I will start in few days to search for the right tools, thanks.