[BigMackCam]

I didn't make the voting cut either. There were a few likes on my post, so several people got a tip that helped them with their photography. That's the whole point of this forum, and this contest merely emphasized it. I would have liked to replace my DA 55-300 with the WR version, and I might do so yet out of my toy budget, but I voted for one of the selected entries with joy at the number of helpful posts in the thread. I have received so much help from the members on this forum that I can actually use a digital SLR much better than without the help. And I pass on any tips to anyone who asks for them.

I have no intention of quibbling with the choices of the many, many members of this fine forum. The contest was to find a member with a helpful post and award the member whose post was the most helpful in the view of those who read them. The final cut was a selection of excellent posts. I will be interested to see who wins and wish them joy in the use of their new Pentax lens. I know I enjoy my non-WR version.

Well said, Albert - I couldn't agree more.

[Spodeworld]

Do you shoot this in raw or jpg?

While this technique can be achieved in post production with numerous shots, you can save time doing it in-camera while you are on location.

What you need:
1) Pentax Camera that supports Average Composite of Multiple Exposures (K3)
2) Tripod
3) Remote Shutter Release (not absolutely needed)

Technique:
1) Frame you scene on your tripod.
2) Place your camera in "Interval Composite" mode
3) Set Composite Mode to "Average",
- Uncheck "Save Process" if you do not want every photo in the interval
- Chose an interval between each photo (I recommend making the interval longer then the exposure length. So an exposure or 3 seconds at say f22 would prompt me to use an interval of 4 or 5)
- Chose number of shots (Choppy water or a crowded areas will require more shots to smooth water or ghost people)
- Chose the time to start the interval (Either select to start when you press the shutter button/remote or set a specific time if you don't have a remote and don't want to shake the tripod)
4) If you are photographing a scene with something like foliage that you want sharp, simply change your exposure mode and take a single frame that freezes that portion of the screen and composite your interval photo with it in post.

Do not get me wrong, this technique will work, but but this is a very bad advice from an ethical point of view.

During the breeding season, birds have other stuff to do than to search for an imaginary opponent, feed their young for example. Many species will revisit the place several times even after you've gone. Even before breeding, the presence of competition can actually affect the territory and nest site selection. Additionally, this practice is illegal for protected species in majority of countries.

That being said, in scientific studies, call replay until the first response is widely used as a technique when searching for breeding territories, but this usually does not get the birds agitated enough for them to stay for a photo shoot.

If you like taking pictures of birds, do it in a responsible way. Please get to know them better and learn to hide well, do not abuse their territoriality, they are only defending the future of their offspring.

Best regards,

Marko

Spot on!

[unixrevolution]

Do you shoot this in raw or jpg?

Here's a free tip: Always shoot in both. RAW images are the best for editing, and JPGs take up so little extra room, you might as well save a JPG while you're at it.

I do that, so that I have a quick-and-dirty JPG to upload to the interweb without worrying about converting it, and I also have the RAW file to edit if I didn't get it right in camera.

[Canada_Rockies]

Here's a free tip: Always shoot in both. RAW images are the best for editing, and JPGs take up so little extra room, you might as well save a JPG while you're at it.

I do that, so that I have a quick-and-dirty JPG to upload to the interweb without worrying about converting it, and I also have the RAW file to edit if I didn't get it right in camera.

Same here.

[Kevin Burns]

RAW is simply the sensor recording what it sees, over riding the settings that either the camera and or user set up. Settings like white balance, brightness, sharpness etc. etc. and tags these settings alongside the RAW (that is really a basically a negative "what the sensor sees"). probably don't even know what JPG stands for. Joint Photographers Group files start out as a RAW file and the camera processes the file to the settings that the are built into the cameras software (Green Mode) or user set. If you know how to set your camera settings, your JPG files wont be quick and dirty. Learn how to use the camera. Attached a handheld iso1600 image of a video camera and also a crop of the camera. Shot in JPG unedited straight from the camera.

[Tandrew]

Hi Kevin, just so I know we are not comparing apples to oranges can you be a tad bit more detailed about your experience. as in picture above what other settings did you use in addition to iso 1600...'learn how to use your camera' is something I do every day and have been for the last 10 years and I know there are plenty of nooks and crannies yet to be explored. maybe a brief run down on what you think are the most important camera software settings one should be aware of that makes it more likely to shoot jpeg's at a better quality (manual setting). I have to admit that I shoot RAW because I never really made the jpg quality I wanted (and currently I have plenty of time to sit at the computer and process my work and enjoy what RAW gives me to work with)..of course why be a bad photographer? reading your's and others' posts about this means I have to pick up my camera, arm it with my most knowledgeable JPG settings and click away..good news is it's Saturday, a perfect day for expanding.

[unixrevolution]

RAW is simply the sensor recording what it sees, over riding the settings that either the camera and or user set up. Settings like white balance, brightness, sharpness etc. etc. and tags these settings alongside the RAW (that is really a basically a negative "what the sensor sees"). probably don't even know what JPG stands for. Joint Photographers Group files start out as a RAW file and the camera processes the file to the settings that the are built into the cameras software (Green Mode) or user set. If you know how to set your camera settings, your JPG files wont be quick and dirty. Learn how to use the camera. Attached a handheld iso1600 image of a video camera and also a crop of the camera. Shot in JPG unedited straight from the camera.

That's a very nice shot, and I've had some really good JPGs come out of my camera too. In fact, I'd say most of the time I don't feel like messing with it. But for those occasions where I really want to edit something, having the RAW is very helpful. I simply say "Quick and dirty" not to refer to image quality, but to refer to convenience.

Please explain exactly *what* I need to learn about using my camera. And while you're at it, tell me how knowing what JPG stands for helps my photographs to look better, please?

[builttospill]

Shooting JPGs or RAW really is a personally preference. I shoot JPG only. My customers don't care (or know) if I shot their image in RAW or JPG, but the end result is always the same: They get a JPG file. For me it's a huge time-saver to just shoot JPGs so that's what I do.

Camera settings, on the other hand, make a pretty big difference. I change my colors to Vivid, instead of normal, and set everything else to zero; my lenses do the rest. No added sharpness or saturation, etc.

[Canada_Rockies]

Shooting JPGs or RAW really is a personally preference. I shoot JPG only. My customers don't care (or know) if I shot their image in RAW or JPG, but the end result is always the same: They get a JPG file.

That's true as far as it goes. You may change your mind when that once in a lifetime shot is not a good JPG.

I agree that the out of camera JPG engine (particularly on my new K-3) usually puts out a more than adequate JPG image. However, being a 1940 model with more than my share of OMG IT DIDN'T WORK!!! moments, I shoot RAW+.

The K-3 allows me to put JPG on one card and RAW on the other, so that's what I do. I rarely have to use the RAW image to rescue something that went wrong, but there is always that time when I would not have had a usable image without the RAW file to run through LR 6 or DxO 10 or my newest toy, Franz Sharpen Pro.

That new toy, took garbage cell phone images taken at dusk with a cell phone of a bunch of birds at a dead animal 10 meters off the highway by one of the local Policemen I work with. It got it to the point that I was able to identify the birds as Turkey Vultures. In the phone image, they were just blurs. They were still horrible blurs after Franz's best efforts, but I was able to detect that the white and red on one end were the bill and the head.

[Oakland Rob]

I shoot RAW only, and one of the reasons is that it easier for me to apply settings like WB, etc in software on my computer than it is to remember to change settings on the camera. I've gone from inside with flash to outside, forgetting to change, and ruined bunches of JPEGs. RAW doesn't have that problem (although there are still plenty of other things for me to screw up). And it's super easy to create JPEGs from those RAWs in bulk later.

[unixrevolution]

That's true as far as it goes. You may change your mind when that once in a lifetime shot is not a good JPG.

I agree that the out of camera JPG engine (particularly on my new K-3) usually puts out a more than adequate JPG image. However, being a 1940 model with more than my share of OMG IT DIDN'T WORK!!! moments, I shoot RAW+.

The K-3 allows me to put JPG on one card and RAW on the other, so that's what I do. I rarely have to use the RAW image to rescue something that went wrong, but there is always that time when I would not have had a usable image without the RAW file to run through LR 6 or DxO 10 or my newest toy, Franz Sharpen Pro.

That new toy, took garbage cell phone images taken at dusk with a cell phone of a bunch of birds at a dead animal 10 meters off the highway by one of the local Policemen I work with. It got it to the point that I was able to identify the birds as Turkey Vultures. In the phone image, they were just blurs. They were still horrible blurs after Franz's best efforts, but I was able to detect that the white and red on one end were the bill and the head.

This is pretty much why I suggest shooting RAW+. Because the JPGs come out fine 99% of the time, but for that one shot where you need to be able to change it, the RAW is there.

[jlgingrich]

We had just entered Yosemite National Park and there were cars lining the road and spectators at the edge of a field. We noticed they were looking at bears on the other side of the meadow. I parked a fair distance from there, grabbed my camera and 400mm lens, and my wife and I headed for the field. Once there I needed a tripod, and it was too far to go back and get mine, so I used my wife asan impromptu tripod. I rested the lens on her head and took about a dozen photos before she said her head hurt.

When in a pinch, use whatever is at hand - in this case a familiar and willing woman!

[elad]

Post a tip, you may get it for free
just kidding...

My tip for us in budget - always look for a second hand lens before you buy a new one.
I was surprised to find a good variety of lens in second hand websites and camera shops.
Actually every time I visit a camera shop I ask for second hand lenses, I once I got a lens for tenth of its price!!

There is also a market for old manual lenses.
I found that having a manual lens puts more interest and challenge to my shooting experience, afterwards changing back to automatic lens kinda made it less special

BTW before you buy of course make sure the lens is in good condition!

Enjoy

[nanhi]

I have an older version of this lens but well used - approximately 28% of the time due to the short + extended range possible with this magnificent lens.

This is the "poor mans / student" 300mm lens. Here are my tips from experience:-
a) the lens extends hell of a lot. And with the hood attached a tripod is a MUST at 300mm, not unless you are a superman and can hold it steady. Use the 2 or 3 second delay.

b) It can hunt quite a bit at 300mm, and the long throw does not help as the lens zips by a couple or fraction of millimeters. The surprising tip: try leaving the lens at infinity focus, so
that a long throw is avoided.

c) This lens has the Manual Focusing Clutch (I believe the plastic mount "L" version does not) and the focusing ring rotates. So please don't touch it - even by mistake - while it is auto focusing to prevent damage to the Clutch Mechanism.

Other wise the best consumer zoom on the market. Enjoy