[photolady95]

Yes, and it's shiny

Oh, my! You didn't.....

Since you have two, want to share one? LOL

[Sandy Hancock]

want to share one? LOL

Come to Adelaide and you'll be most welcome

[photolady95]

Come to Adelaide and you'll be most welcome

I dearly wish I could Sandy.

[Rondec]

I was naughty yesterday. Friday's photo will reveal my folly, but my signature already does.

In other news, I sold my FA20 today. Several others to cull in the near future....

I like the new camera, although I have a feeling the pics won't be that much different from the flat black variety..

[Sandy Hancock]

I like the new camera, although I have a feeling the pics won't be that much different from the flat black variety..

Killjoy.

[Sandy Hancock]

OK, my last image for the month is in the can. Time for a summary.

The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art is a no compromise design, which aims for professional level image quality comparable to the best offerings from Nikon and Canon. It delivers in spades.

First, the build is immaculate; nothing rattles, the focus ring is silky smooth, and the detente of the bayonet hood is gratifyingly snug. Yes, it's considerably bigger and heavier than my FA31/1.8 limited, but the 67mm filter diameter is not extreme, and is shared by several of my Pentax lenses. It is a very handsome lens too, if that matters to anyone.

Autofocus is quiet, decisive (if not super fast) and accurate. I have read quite a lot of criticism about the AF performance of modern Sigmas on Pentax bodies, but I experienced nothing of the sort this month. Even with the wafer-thin depth of field wide open, missed focus was invariably due to technical errors on my side of the camera.

And the image quality? Oh. My. God. It is the sharpest lens wide open I have used, by a comfortable margin, and that is right across the frame. This coupled with the very shallow focal plane allows great subject isolation, which creates opportunities for environmental portraits which rival medium format cameras. Resolution is more than good enough for the K-1 sensor. Distortion and chromatic aberrations are extremely well controlled. I would give the FA31 the nod for colour rendition and bokeh, but not by much, and the wider aperture of the Sigma gives more blur at the same minimum focal distance.

To put it simply, I have been blown away with what this lens can do - I just wish my creative output was able to show it off better. My efforts this month have been much more consistent, but artistic inspiration is still dragging its feet a bit. I have greatly enjoyed the input of many others, and thank you for your kind comments.

[iheiramo]

I'm done for the month also. This was my first SIC and I think it was nice experience. Mostly it was fun. A reason to go out walking, cycling or driving around and look for something interesting to shoot. Only in a couple of days the need to go out and shoot caused stress. Thought this was fun, I'm not gonna do this every month, as it takes some time every day. I just cannot shoot and publish. If I'm doing a shot I want to do it properly and also edit it to get the most out of it. If I can't do shots properly I rather not do it at all.

M*300/4 has been my favorite lens this summer. I have most of the primes in M series and this is the star for a reason. It can provide superior quality compared to others in line. It's kind of hard to use thought, so it also demands most of the photographer. Minimum focus distance of 4m is one of the problems. You need a lot of room and especially indoors it's hard to find. Extension tubes help a little and cut down the minimum focus distance to about 2m, but DOF is really narrow then. Other problem is getting enough light. You need to shoot fast to get sharp pictures outside and I have noticed that it's no use going wide open as the lens is too soft at f4 for my taste. On my experience you can get some sharp frames when you take a burst at 1/200 with SR on. Newer body with better high ISO performance would help a lot. Especially in action sports where I would prefer to use f8 and 1/1500-1/2000 exposure. Even with tripod one has to be careful. I have noticed that I need IR remote and 3s delay to get sharp shots.

Artistically I'm pleased with my album. I think I managed to avoid repetition. Used many different techniques and shot quite a lot of different themes. 300mm on a crop body made it a challenge to find a spot for some of them. Shooting a detail with that lens is quite easy, but landscapes and selfie were quite a challenge. In the end it turns out that you can do quite a lot different things with 450mm effective focal length.

See you in October thread

[robgski]

Yes, and it's shiny

Oh my! I have to admit that the K-1 looks good in silver. Once I have the $$$$, I'd consider purchasing the same if it's available.

[dngr]

M 50/1.4

Yep, one of my favourites for a reason, though I sure don't remember it being so very soft at wide open! There was definitely a shot in the last week where I said it was taken at f/1.4 but looking through my other shots it must have been at f/2 or 2.8. Sorry about the lack of comments from my end but it was a challenge just getting a daily out between work and much needed naps

Stats:
3 Explored
1 safety
1 displeased with

Won't be back for next month, but I see there's a new challenge up in the way of Daily In which goes to show how infrequent I frequent the forum

Also this month sparked my GAS and finally pulled the trigger on a Oly XA. Thinking a new digital body might be in the near future, but I'm still undecided between a K3ii or a K1; smaller and cheaper vs larger and more expensive

[Sluggo]

I spent the month with a screwmount lens, which ramped up the challenge somewhat for me. Most of the photos pleased me and I did come away with one explore. A couple of shots made me wonder whether the lens had a centering problem, but now I'm sure there is nothing wrong with it. The clue is a little (maybe 1mm deep) protrusion I didn't notice till earlier this week:



The lens originally came to me with a Fujica AZ-1 body, which supported open-aperture metering. The little tab must be part of that mechanism. Anyway when used with an M42/K adaptor it contacts the camera body before the rest of the lens does; the adaptor then flexes, and the lens is always slightly tilted relative to the sensor. For digital use I think the tab should be filed off, and the iris modified to stay in manual mode. I'm not going to do any of that, and will probably put the lens up for auction instead. While it's got some nice capabilities, M42 is a limitation, and I already have an FA31.

I don't think I'll be in for next month. Although I've liked having the prompt to shoot every day, and the community aspect of seeing what everyone else was doing and how they were living their lives, I have been growing uncomfortable with the atmosphere of objective scrutiny of photos - both mine and everyone else's. I've long thought of photography, and every other artistic endeavor, as simply expression: a way of communicating certain feelings or thoughts to (or, what the hell, firing certain neurons in) the viewer; and I'm afraid I think that telling others how they should have composed or processed differently is usually unhelpful, or worse, indicates that the critic by invoking statements of photographic conformity/correctness reveals they doesn't really understand a photo. When a photographer has a grasp of the rules but violates them, whether consciously or not, that should first be considered communication, part of the work, and not automatically a mistake. I've found myself apologizing for my posts in advance just because of anticipation of others' comments, even when I'm actually happy with the output. That's a poor headspace to do photography in. I have no basis for complaint here, since the challenge rules explicitly say "your personal reactions to photographs are as valid as anyone else’s" and so encourage everyone to fire away. Best I just step away until I can feel differently about the enterprise.

[pepperberry farm]

I don't think I'll be in for next month. Although I've liked having the prompt to shoot every day, and the community aspect of seeing what everyone else was doing and how they were living their lives, I have been growing uncomfortable with the atmosphere of objective scrutiny of photos - both mine and everyone else's. I've long thought of photography, and every other artistic endeavor, as simply expression: a way of communicating certain feelings or thoughts to (or, what the hell, firing certain neurons in) the viewer; and I'm afraid I think that telling others how they should have composed or processed differently is usually unhelpful, or worse, indicates that the critic by invoking statements of photographic conformity/correctness reveals they doesn't really understand a photo. When a photographer has a grasp of the rules but violates them, whether consciously or not, that should first be considered communication, part of the work, and not automatically a mistake. I've found myself apologizing for my posts in advance just because of anticipation of others' comments, even when I'm actually happy with the output. That's a poor headspace to do photography in. I have no basis for complaint here, since the challenge rules explicitly say "your personal reactions to photographs are as valid as anyone else’s" and so encourage everyone to fire away. Best I just step away until I can feel differently about the enterprise.

understood, but let me offer an option, using myself as an example...

people shoot what they want, how they want and that's up to them, not me - so when I see a shot that I like, I'll fave it on flickr or may even offer some compliment... occasionally, I'll suggest a crop or a monochrome conversion, but I rarely actually critique anybody else's shots...

on the other side - I shoot entirely for me; it's a form of therapy for me and I thoroughly enjoy it... shooting for the SIC (and DIC) sometimes moves me off of my ass or out of my funk if for no other reason than for the commitment (I said I was going to shoot all month, so I should stick to that)... when I post my shots, it's a shot that I like, that I find pleasing for whatever reason...

if I get suggestions or critiques on my shots, OK - sometimes I even act on them, but usually I let them wash off of me, because shutter therapy is for me...

I also use the SIC/DIC as a month-long evaluation process for a lens or a workflow that I'm trying out - at the end, I decide if I keep the lens/workflow or not, etc...

additionally - it's also just the Internet, none of it is serious enough to internalize (for me)....

[severalsnakes]

I don't think I'll be in for next month. Although I've liked having the prompt to shoot every day, and the community aspect of seeing what everyone else was doing and how they were living their lives, I have been growing uncomfortable with the atmosphere of objective scrutiny of photos - both mine and everyone else's. I've long thought of photography, and every other artistic endeavor, as simply expression: a way of communicating certain feelings or thoughts to (or, what the hell, firing certain neurons in) the viewer; and I'm afraid I think that telling others how they should have composed or processed differently is usually unhelpful, or worse, indicates that the critic by invoking statements of photographic conformity/correctness reveals they doesn't really understand a photo. When a photographer has a grasp of the rules but violates them, whether consciously or not, that should first be considered communication, part of the work, and not automatically a mistake. I've found myself apologizing for my posts in advance just because of anticipation of others' comments, even when I'm actually happy with the output. That's a poor headspace to do photography in. I have no basis for complaint here, since the challenge rules explicitly say "your personal reactions to photographs are as valid as anyone else’s" and so encourage everyone to fire away. Best I just step away until I can feel differently about the enterprise.

I agree that you should shoot for you. I agree that for most of us playing this game, photography is art and expression. Conversely, all of us here know how to use our gear and (I hope) all of us want to become better photographers, develop a better "eye", become more skilled and hone our craft, so to speak. When we see an image that's good, marking down a "fave" is a concise way to indicate that, but a better way to examine what is really nice about it is to develop a vocabulary, become thoughtful, verbalize and specify what really "works". In doing so, you're bound to come across something that "doesn't work" - that's OK. What is a perfect photo? Have you seen one? Have you taken one? Are they all perfect? (I don't think so.)

Life is about enjoying the experience, so don't voluntarily subject yourself to Single In if it's taking away from the pleasure of photography.

On the other hand, I was tempered in the flames of art school and I've spent a lot of my life talking about the elements of visual art - giving and receiving critiques makes me feel engaged and involved with the development and maturation of my own (and others') creativity. It can be hard not to make it precious, because most of us in this game who shoot every day end up posting more than a few snapshots or pictures of loved ones, personal things, but I think all of us can glance at an image and place it somewhere on the spectrum of "good" and "bad" (or "successful" and "unsuccessful", to use less loaded terms).

ANYWAY. There's certainly not a right or wrong way to go about this and I'm certainly not trying to argue - just being the photographical philosophical devil's advocate. :-)

For September I used a new Rokinon 85/1.4 (as opposed to my previous copy that I ditched 3 years ago because of a sticky aperture).

Whether it's just a better copy, it's better on the K-1, or I've just gotten better with my gear (most likely), using this lens for the month was much more pleasant than my last go-round with it. It's not an enormous lens, but it is heavy and I'm looking forward to not carrying it around in October. :-) At first blush, the focusing ring seems stiff, but when you're trying to slide into that tiny sliver of focus at this lens' wide open aperture, I can see why it's designed in such a way. This lens has an A setting and ring, so I can be used on tubes or with any of the exposure settings on the camera. Very nice.

I didn't put the hood on it once. It did give me some nice haze shooting into the sun, but trying to get a flare out of it was pretty much impossible. Starbursts were nice, although they're not really my thing. CA in high-contrast situations was present, but it was crisp and clear, which made it easy for Lightroom to suck right out with the eyedropper tool. :-)

At f/1.4 it is soft, but not unusable, although focusing was a challenge. I recommend Live View whenever possible.

As I recall from my previous copy, MFD is still "meh" at 1 meter, but I was able to get close enough to pretty much everything I wanted for framing purposes. Additionally, the resolution of the files from the K-1 means cropping is a welcome and excellent solution.

Ultimately, I'm super glad I tried this lens again. Rokinon is a real dream-come-true lens company, in my opinion. The quality for the price is just excellent for folks who don't mind manual focus.

Here's the album: Single in September 2017 | Flickr

[Topsy]

I'm struggling and getting slightly annoyed with the double exposure..

Apparently the K-1 forgets the first frame if you let it turn live-view off due to inactivity? Happened three times now and I'm not particularly happy.. lol

[robgski]

when I see a shot that I like, I'll fave it on flickr or may even offer some compliment... occasionally, I'll suggest a crop or a monochrome conversion, but I rarely actually critique anybody else's shots...

ME too, sometimes it's a drive-by fave, but I appreciate people posting shots, sometimes it makes me shoot and post as well

ANYWAY. There's certainly not a right or wrong way to go about this

Exactly, I appreciate the feedback, even when it's not an accolade. I shoot for fun, but I do want to improve. I don't take critiques personally.

pparently the K-1 forgets the first frame if you let it turn live-view off due to inactivity?

That sounds like a glitch, I've only used the K-1 periodically, but I haven't heard of that problem nor have I experienced it.

Instead of being responsible, I went to a car dealership and museum for a guided tour of cars ranging as far back as the early 1900's to the early 1960's. As all of us in the group had visited before, the owner tailored the tour to an examination of design, as opposed to history or manufacture. the 77mm was a great choice for detail shots.

[Sandy Hancock]

I have been growing uncomfortable with the atmosphere of objective scrutiny of photos - both mine and everyone else's....
....I'm afraid I think that telling others how they should have composed or processed differently is usually unhelpful, or worse, indicates that the critic by invoking statements of photographic conformity/correctness reveals they doesn't really understand a photo....
....Best I just step away until I can feel differently about the enterprise.

I'm sorry you see it that way.
Personally, if that aspect of the challenge is no longer welcome, I'm out.