Welcome from Ballarat, Australia

Nakaleen · 12-06-2008, 04:37 PM

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Just want to say hello and welcome. I just got myself a K200D, my first SLR camera (digital or otherwise).

Still working it out but sadly to say it failed it's first time use. There was a Kendo Tournament on the weekend, but the photos came out as too dark. Maybe I had the settings wrong. I think the hall was too dark for the shutter speed I set the camera (I didn't want any blurred photos)

Oh well. Hopefully next time I will get it right. In the mean time I hopefully would take some nice landscape photos like I did with my old Olympus SP-500UZ.

Here is some photos I did with my old camera (I only had my Pentax K200D for a 2 days so no chance to go out and take some landscape photos yet)

Winston
Lake Wendouree
Town Hall

PS. I wonder if my lens is any good, I spent another $50 (australian) to get my lens instead of a Twin kit, 18-55mm and 70-300mm, also it was $200 more if I just wanted the 18-55mm.

Last edited by Nakaleen; 12-06-2008 at 04:51 PM.

**Kerrowdown** · 12-06-2008, 04:52 PM

Welcome to the forum, Kendo is a difficult sport to photograph successfully, it's fast moving and usually takes place in halls with lowish light levels.

Basically everything that makes life difficult, so don't be put off.

MoiVous · 12-07-2008, 04:10 AM

Hi Nakaleen - and welcome!

Don't be disheartenned with your K200D after only 2 days - SLR photography (film or digital) is not like P&S - you need to learn your cameras functions intimately, then use it like the fine tool that it is.

My suggestion is to play with it as much as possible with a subject you know well (that way you'll see the effect of the changes - in the EXIF data). Try out the different camera modes, fiddle with the AV+/- control etc. Try different lighting conditions as well - thats part of the equation you need to master.

One suggestion I might make is to change your metering to centre weighted average (from the record menu) - this means that whats around the centre of the viewfinder has the most emphasis. If you want to recompose, just hit the AE-L button to lock the exposure, recompose and shoot.

Once you get the hang of it you'll get great images.

And as for Ballarat - great part of Australia. You've got lots of scope for good images there.

Good luck - hope to see some images soon!

Cheers

Nakaleen · 12-08-2008, 12:56 AM

Went for a drive today, and took a few photos (well maybe 100 with bracketing turned on)

I drove to a local wind farm. I liked the photo I took showing both a old and new windmill. Both photos I have shown here are HDR (hopefully not overdone)

Attached Images

dosdan · 12-08-2008, 01:26 AM

Nakaleen, welcome to the forum.

It would be interesting to see how some of your old shots would look re-shot with your new kit.

Do you have a tripod? Try a night-time city shot with the base sensitivity (ISO 100 or ISO 200) and 2sec delay.

Also, if you're an early morning person, some pre-dawn/dawn-over-the-town or over some heritage site shots would be nice.

Show us big-city folks what we're missing out on not living in Ballarat.

When you're ready to get a second lens, may I suggest you consider a 2nd-hand "fast 50" i.e. a 50mm/F1.4-F2 prime (non-zoom) lens. This will give you a boost in sharpness, allow you to experiment with depth-of-focus (DOF) - using a large aperture (low F-number) to blur the background to draw attention to the foreground, and to shot more effectively in low-light situations or indoor without using flash. Old 50/F2 manual focus lenses are relatively cheap and plentiful, so you can learn and experiment without a big financial outlay.

I think my first lens purchase (after the crappy Sigma 10-50/F3.5-5.6 lens that come with my K100D Super) was either a SMC Pentax-M 50/F2 or a Super Takumar 50/F1.4 (M42 screw mount - use an adapter to fit it in the Pentax K-mount). I can't remember which of these two I bought first.

Dan.

Wombat · 12-08-2008, 05:52 AM

G'day, Nakaleen and let me add my welcome. Haven't been to Ballarat for decades. About time I renewed my acquaintance with that fair city.

I really like your shot of the old and new windmills, especially the way you've placed each in its own environmental context, all in the one photo. Nice one. Looking forward to seeing more.

Nakaleen · 12-11-2008, 10:39 AM

[QUOTE=dosdan;412739]When you're ready to get a second lens, may I suggest you consider a 2nd-hand "fast 50" i.e. a 50mm/F1.4-F2 prime (non-zoom) lens. This will give you a boost in sharpness, allow you to experiment with depth-of-focus (DOF) - using a large aperture (low F-number) to blur the background to draw attention to the foreground, and to shot more effectively in low-light situations or indoor without using flash. Old 50/F2 manual focus lenses are relatively cheap and plentiful, so you can learn and experiment without a big financial outlay.
QUOTE]

Read up on it and it soulds just what I need for shooting Kendo (indoors and no flash allowed). Also looking at all the photos here using 50mm f/1.4 it looks great.

I have looked at e-bay and there is only 2 Pentax m 50mm f/1.4 roughly $30 at the moment with 2 days to go for the auction. There is a FA lens for $99 with 4 days to go. Much better then what CameraHouse (where I got my camera) is offering for a new one $369

e-Bay Item 1
e-Bay Item 2

----

p.s. I now remember why I don't use e-Bay, I keep getting out bidded

Last edited by Nakaleen; 12-11-2008 at 06:40 PM.

Nakaleen · 12-12-2008, 04:22 PM

Can't seem to nab a 50mm f1.4 on e-bay, they keep getting sniped, or the bidding goes too high (for a old used lens that is 2nd/3rd or 4th hand)

Looking at everyones sigs shows a lot of people have these 50mm 1.4's.

Is the lens worth it brand new at $360au (Pentax SMC FA 50mm F1.4 K-AF-2 Mount Lens) Which I gather has auto apateure and auto focus, but I would like the option of also controling it manually, as I am relying less and less on auto focus as I shoot more. As it cood takes weeks to try and snipe a old lens off e-bay, where I could get a new one next week.

One last question, is the lens good for indoor sports. Most of the photos I have seen here taken with a 50mm 1.4 are just close up of flowers or portraits. People say it is good for indoors with no flash, which good as flashes are a big no no in kendo. I would like to take shots where I can freeze frame the action as much as I can. Instead of a massive blur where the sword blow should be hehehe

dazman · 12-13-2008, 05:29 AM

Originally posted by Nakaleen

Went for a drive today, and took a few photos (well maybe 100 with bracketing turned on)

I drove to a local wind farm. I liked the photo I took showing both a old and new windmill. Both photos I have shown here are HDR (hopefully not overdone)

Love the photos!
Welcome to the forums. Look forward to seeing more images from you

12-06-2008, 04:37 PM	#1
Nakaleen New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ballarat, Victoria, Australia Posts: 7	Welcome from Ballarat, Australia Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here. Just want to say hello and welcome. I just got myself a K200D, my first SLR camera (digital or otherwise). Still working it out but sadly to say it failed it's first time use. There was a Kendo Tournament on the weekend, but the photos came out as too dark. Maybe I had the settings wrong. I think the hall was too dark for the shutter speed I set the camera (I didn't want any blurred photos) Oh well. Hopefully next time I will get it right. In the mean time I hopefully would take some nice landscape photos like I did with my old Olympus SP-500UZ. Here is some photos I did with my old camera (I only had my Pentax K200D for a 2 days so no chance to go out and take some landscape photos yet) Winston Lake Wendouree Town Hall PS. I wonder if my lens is any good, I spent another $50 (australian) to get my lens instead of a Twin kit, 18-55mm and 70-300mm, also it was $200 more if I just wanted the 18-55mm. Last edited by Nakaleen; 12-06-2008 at 04:51 PM.

12-08-2008, 01:26 AM	#5
dosdan Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Brisbane, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,741	Nakaleen, welcome to the forum. It would be interesting to see how some of your old shots would look re-shot with your new kit. Do you have a tripod? Try a night-time city shot with the base sensitivity (ISO 100 or ISO 200) and 2sec delay. Also, if you're an early morning person, some pre-dawn/dawn-over-the-town or over some heritage site shots would be nice. Show us big-city folks what we're missing out on not living in Ballarat. When you're ready to get a second lens, may I suggest you consider a 2nd-hand "fast 50" i.e. a 50mm/F1.4-F2 prime (non-zoom) lens. This will give you a boost in sharpness, allow you to experiment with depth-of-focus (DOF) - using a large aperture (low F-number) to blur the background to draw attention to the foreground, and to shot more effectively in low-light situations or indoor without using flash. Old 50/F2 manual focus lenses are relatively cheap and plentiful, so you can learn and experiment without a big financial outlay. I think my first lens purchase (after the crappy Sigma 10-50/F3.5-5.6 lens that come with my K100D Super) was either a SMC Pentax-M 50/F2 or a Super Takumar 50/F1.4 (M42 screw mount - use an adapter to fit it in the Pentax K-mount). I can't remember which of these two I bought first. Dan. Last edited by dosdan; 12-08-2008 at 02:04 AM.

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12-06-2008, 04:52 PM	#2
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,819	Welcome to the forum, Kendo is a difficult sport to photograph successfully, it's fast moving and usually takes place in halls with lowish light levels. Basically everything that makes life difficult, so don't be put off.

12-07-2008, 04:10 AM	#3
MoiVous Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 677	Hi Nakaleen - and welcome! Don't be disheartenned with your K200D after only 2 days - SLR photography (film or digital) is not like P&S - you need to learn your cameras functions intimately, then use it like the fine tool that it is. My suggestion is to play with it as much as possible with a subject you know well (that way you'll see the effect of the changes - in the EXIF data). Try out the different camera modes, fiddle with the AV+/- control etc. Try different lighting conditions as well - thats part of the equation you need to master. One suggestion I might make is to change your metering to centre weighted average (from the record menu) - this means that whats around the centre of the viewfinder has the most emphasis. If you want to recompose, just hit the AE-L button to lock the exposure, recompose and shoot. Once you get the hang of it you'll get great images. And as for Ballarat - great part of Australia. You've got lots of scope for good images there. Good luck - hope to see some images soon! Cheers

12-08-2008, 12:56 AM	#4
Nakaleen New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ballarat, Victoria, Australia Posts: 7 Original Poster	Went for a drive today, and took a few photos (well maybe 100 with bracketing turned on) I drove to a local wind farm. I liked the photo I took showing both a old and new windmill. Both photos I have shown here are HDR (hopefully not overdone) Attached Images

12-08-2008, 05:52 AM	#6
Wombat Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 901	G'day, Nakaleen and let me add my welcome. Haven't been to Ballarat for decades. About time I renewed my acquaintance with that fair city. I really like your shot of the old and new windmills, especially the way you've placed each in its own environmental context, all in the one photo. Nice one. Looking forward to seeing more.

12-11-2008, 10:39 AM	#7
Nakaleen New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ballarat, Victoria, Australia Posts: 7 Original Poster	[QUOTE=dosdan;412739]When you're ready to get a second lens, may I suggest you consider a 2nd-hand "fast 50" i.e. a 50mm/F1.4-F2 prime (non-zoom) lens. This will give you a boost in sharpness, allow you to experiment with depth-of-focus (DOF) - using a large aperture (low F-number) to blur the background to draw attention to the foreground, and to shot more effectively in low-light situations or indoor without using flash. Old 50/F2 manual focus lenses are relatively cheap and plentiful, so you can learn and experiment without a big financial outlay. QUOTE] Read up on it and it soulds just what I need for shooting Kendo (indoors and no flash allowed). Also looking at all the photos here using 50mm f/1.4 it looks great. I have looked at e-bay and there is only 2 Pentax m 50mm f/1.4 roughly $30 at the moment with 2 days to go for the auction. There is a FA lens for $99 with 4 days to go. Much better then what CameraHouse (where I got my camera) is offering for a new one $369 e-Bay Item 1 e-Bay Item 2 ---- p.s. I now remember why I don't use e-Bay, I keep getting out bidded Last edited by Nakaleen; 12-11-2008 at 06:40 PM.

12-12-2008, 04:22 PM	#8
Nakaleen New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ballarat, Victoria, Australia Posts: 7 Original Poster	Can't seem to nab a 50mm f1.4 on e-bay, they keep getting sniped, or the bidding goes too high (for a old used lens that is 2nd/3rd or 4th hand) Looking at everyones sigs shows a lot of people have these 50mm 1.4's. Is the lens worth it brand new at $360au (Pentax SMC FA 50mm F1.4 K-AF-2 Mount Lens) Which I gather has auto apateure and auto focus, but I would like the option of also controling it manually, as I am relying less and less on auto focus as I shoot more. As it cood takes weeks to try and snipe a old lens off e-bay, where I could get a new one next week. One last question, is the lens good for indoor sports. Most of the photos I have seen here taken with a 50mm 1.4 are just close up of flowers or portraits. People say it is good for indoors with no flash, which good as flashes are a big no no in kendo. I would like to take shots where I can freeze frame the action as much as I can. Instead of a massive blur where the sword blow should be hehehe

12-13-2008, 05:29 AM	#9
dazman Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,949	Originally posted by Nakaleen Went for a drive today, and took a few photos (well maybe 100 with bracketing turned on) I drove to a local wind farm. I liked the photo I took showing both a old and new windmill. Both photos I have shown here are HDR (hopefully not overdone) Love the photos! Welcome to the forums. Look forward to seeing more images from you