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04-09-2013, 02:28 PM   #1
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Random thoughts about the square format.

Having a taste for the square format I discovered these groups on Flickr:

500x500 Group
Flickr: 500x500

Square&Black&White Group
Flickr: Square&Black&White

These photos are amazing!
I don't know what it is, but square photo's always seem to have something extra.

There are several other groups for square photo's. Go to Flickr: Groups and search 'square'.

A camera with a square sensor would be great, and efficient from an optical point of view, but it's probably not commercially attractive because it's easy to crop a 'standard' image into a square format.

An option could be to modify a focusing screen (replacable on K5, others?), by blackening out left and right side, to help composing the image. Has anyone done this?

Edit April 10, 2013.
-----------------------
Thanks to johnmflores pointing out that the K-01 natively supports square formats I also did a short inventory for the other Pentax and Ricoh camaras.

JPEG square formats, recorded pixels:

645D | Not
K5 IIs | Not
K5 II | Not
K5 | Not
K30 | Not
Kr | Not
Kx | Not
K7 | Not
X-5 | 12M (3456x3456)
X-70 | 9M (2992x2992)
X-90 | 9M (2992x2992)
K-01 | 10M (3264x3264), 8M (2880x2880), 5M (2304x2304), 3M (1728x1728)
Q-1 | 9M (2992x2992), 6M (2592x2592), 4M (2016x2016), 2M (1440x1440)
Q-10 | 9M (2992x2992), 6M (2592x2592), 4M (2016x2016), 2M (1440x1440)
MX-1 | 9M (2992x2992), 5M (2304x2304), 3M (1936x1936)
Ricoh GR (model 2013) | 3264×3264(L), 2608×2608(M), 1936×1936(S), 864×864(XS)
Ricoh GXR + S10 | 2736×2736, 2448×2448
Ricoh GXR + P10 | 2736x2736, 2448x2448
Ricoh GXR + A16 | 3264x6264, 2304×2304
Ricoh GXR + A12 | 2848x2848, 2304x2304

With reservations.


Last edited by Kobayashi.K; 04-17-2013 at 09:05 AM.
04-09-2013, 02:37 PM   #2
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You could also go for a box / vertical lines to give the framing of square format to help in framing. Same idea as a rule of thirds screen for example
04-09-2013, 02:41 PM   #3
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I know the Katz Eye focus screens offer a square line as an option. That would be something if you really like it and it's a non-permanent modification.

There are a few square CCD astrophotography cameras in production so the hardware is available. These are based on the Kodak KAI 04022 chip at 2048 pixels. The resolution is a little lower than modern DSLR users would expect.
04-09-2013, 02:43 PM   #4
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Or buy the now-very-cheap K-01. Shooting square is fun with that camera.

04-09-2013, 02:57 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by johnmflores Quote
Or buy the now-very-cheap K-01. Shooting square is fun with that camera.
The K-01 has a 23,7 mm x 15,7 mm sensor, 4928 x 3264 pixels (16M) isn't it?
04-09-2013, 03:20 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Kobayashi.K Quote
The K-01 has a 23,7 mm x 15,7 mm sensor, 4928 x 3264 pixels (16M) isn't it?
Yes, but you can choose to only use the square center portion of it, 10MP. The rear LCD shows only the 1:1 square so that you can compose accordingly.






Last edited by johnmflores; 04-09-2013 at 03:24 PM. Reason: add photos
04-09-2013, 03:33 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by johnmflores Quote
Yes, but you can choose to only use the square center portion of it, 10MP. The rear LCD shows only the 1:1 square so that you can compose accordingly.





Thanks johnmflores. That's an interesting feature. I didn't know that and with the K-mount and reduced price I'll look at that.

Edit:
I have found that the Ricoh GXR also supports square formats directly.
For example with the 50mm F2.5: 2848x2848 and 2304x2304 px.


Last edited by Kobayashi.K; 04-09-2013 at 05:14 PM.
04-09-2013, 04:19 PM   #8
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I like the square format a lot. It reminds me of a 6x6 MF camera that I use to have. I was listening to an interview by Brook Jensen, editor of Lenswork. He commented that once he taped the viewfinder to be able to visualize a square image.
04-09-2013, 04:44 PM - 1 Like   #9
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Shoot with the Brenizer Technique and crop?


9 frames with 50/1.4 at f1.8 or f2

But perhaps 2-3 frames will do and be easier to pull off fast.
04-09-2013, 05:27 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by pinholecam Quote
Shoot with the Brenizer Technique and crop?


9 frames with 50/1.4 at f1.8 or f2

But perhaps 2-3 frames will do and be easier to pull off fast.
Thanks pinholecam. I'll look at that too.
Wikipedia has also a page about that (The Brenizer Method - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
It's completely new to me (I only started recently with digital photography) and I'm learning at an amazing speed with the help of you all.
04-09-2013, 08:13 PM   #11
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Have access to a Sony RX100 and have been really enjoying using the square format - but have found the habit of turning the camera to portrait mode a custom that is hard to break. (doh)

When used for landscapes and street shots the square format has lots more sky or foreground in them when getting the subject framed horizontallly which I like. This camera has an in camera high contrast black and white filter which adds t the older style feel to the images or at least using a red or yellow filter on film.

I have put a few recent images in this thread at post number #198: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/non-pentax-cameras-canon-nikon-etc/195102...s-here-14.html
04-14-2013, 11:27 AM   #12
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My Samsung WB150F point and shoot supports squares. I'd usually use it with an in camera vintage filter of some sort.

What I like about the square is it throws the Rule of Thirds partly out the window - you only need to worry about one of the dimensions being on a third, and center the subject of interest.

I'd love to see a firmware update that allows the use of them with the K-30, I'd probably abuse the hell out of it.
04-14-2013, 12:33 PM   #13
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Figure I'd share. None of these are Pentax, they're from the point and shoot, but it gives an idea of whats possible.














04-14-2013, 12:59 PM   #14
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Well this makes me want a k-01 a little more...
04-14-2013, 04:02 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by matoqui Quote
...Brook Jensen commented that once he taped the viewfinder to be able to visualize a square image.
I'm chuckling. Many folks with 6X6 cameras often added tick marks to their viewfinders - many correlated to 5X7 and 8X10 formats, but a lot of folks used tick marks for the 4X6 format ... which of course mimics the same ratio used by 35mm cameras. Certainly I have such marks in the waist level finder on my TLR. I had my own B&W darkroom, it was more cost effective to stock the common sizes of photo paper, and you avoided grain by minimizing cropping.
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