[zkarj]

We spent a bit of time in Kuratau this weekend, on the way to, and back from the U2 concert up in Auckland. (Where proper cameras were not allowed)

Beautiful pics Mark. I particularly love that first piwakawaka. It looks like you fix aperture and shutter and let the ISO float? Despite knowing all the concepts and maths, I rarely know what aperture to use in the moment.

[Kiwizinho]

This was a rather hard image to capture as the moths were on a tree near a footbridge that was a bit far away to reach.
This was the first time I was able to take advantage of the K-70's wi-fi capabilities, by attaching it to my tripod, using the tripod a bit like a gigantic selfie-stick with the camera pre-focused in manual focus mode, and then using the wi-fi app on my phone to actually capture the image once it was in focus, as I held the feet of the tripod on the bridge rail, with the camera extended out in front of me with the tripod horizontal, rather than vertical as you'd normally use a tripod.

I had ISO up at 3200 as well, (in TaV mode), and the noise level is acceptable, which I'm not sure would have been the case with the K-50. Image is uncropped.

Using wi-fi does have a noticeable effect on battery life, but this image wouldn't have been possible without it.

[zkarj]

This was a rather hard image to capture as the moths were on a tree near a footbridge that was a bit far away to reach.

Fantastic result, but you're braver than me poking your camera out over the edge like that! I had not thought of using wifi in such a situation but not sure I could bring myself to. The only time I used it other than just to try it out was when taking my own passport photo.

[MarkJerling]

Beautiful pics Mark. I particularly love that first piwakawaka. It looks like you fix aperture and shutter and let the ISO float? Despite knowing all the concepts and maths, I rarely know what aperture to use in the moment.

Thanks. Yes, I do like the TAv setting when going walkabout. Usually, it's either that or M. I must experiment more with narrower apertures and subsequently wider DOF, but it was pretty dark in the bush, so I had to try to get a reasonable shutter speed and not have the ISO float to absurd levels.

[MarkJerling]

This was a rather hard image to capture as the moths were on a tree near a footbridge that was a bit far away to reach.
This was the first time I was able to take advantage of the K-70's wi-fi capabilities, by attaching it to my tripod, using the tripod a bit like a gigantic selfie-stick with the camera pre-focused in manual focus mode, and then using the wi-fi app on my phone to actually capture the image once it was in focus, as I held the feet of the tripod on the bridge rail, with the camera extended out in front of me with the tripod horizontal, rather than vertical as you'd normally use a tripod.

I had ISO up at 3200 as well, (in TaV mode), and the noise level is acceptable, which I'm not sure would have been the case with the K-50. Image is uncropped.

Using wi-fi does have a noticeable effect on battery life, but this image wouldn't have been possible without it.

Good work!

[MarkJerling]

Fantastic result, but you're braver than me poking your camera out over the edge like that! I had not thought of using wifi in such a situation but not sure I could bring myself to. The only time I used it other than just to try it out was when taking my own passport photo.

Braver than me too!

[Arpe]

Speaking of lenses... I have no idea what my train of thought was earlier today but a question arose: are there WR primes? The answer, of course, is yes. I was just looking at the the current lens list and 16 out of 42 are WR or AW models. I wonder how those other brands compare on this front?

The problem is they don't really say! I know the more "pro" Nikon lenses are well sealed but I'm not sure which ones those are, I guess those with more knowledge than me can state which is which, but I wish they would make it more obvious like Pentax does.

[Kiwizinho]

Fantastic result, but you're braver than me poking your camera out over the edge like that! I had not thought of using wifi in such a situation but not sure I could bring myself to. The only time I used it other than just to try it out was when taking my own passport photo.

If I'd dropped the camera, I could still buy two more before I reached the cost of a K-1
Actually I doubt I'd have done any damage if I had dropped it, as the bridge wasn't very high, and there was lots of vegetation around, just the vegetation wasn't substantial enough to support me, and there was actually more risk of me dropping the camera trying to balance myself on a dead tree stump that was rather wobbly, but a bit closer to the action.
I decided I didn't really want to risk a face plant with camera in a creek bed, and at least from the bridge I was stable.

[GUB]

If I'd dropped the camera, I could still buy two more before I reached the cost of a K-1

Not at the cost of Mark's one!

No comment on what it is worth but not seen another in NZ for sale Pentax FA* 85mm f1.4 lens | Trade Me

[NZ_Ross]

No comment on what it is worth but not seen another in NZ for sale Pentax FA* 85mm f1.4 lens | Trade Me

Interesting, Thanks GUB. Haven't been watching TM this week as I am on the road in the NI this week.

[Kiwizinho]

Not at the cost of Mark's one!

No comment on what it is worth but not seen another in NZ for sale Pentax FA* 85mm f1.4 lens | Trade Me

That FA* 85 looks tempting, but for the same reason the seller is disposing of it, I think for the price, there are other lenses that would be more useful for me.

[GUB]

That FA* 85 looks tempting, but for the same reason the seller is disposing of it,

Do you mean you are a prime user? People tend to be one or the other.
I was tempted of course but I have an 85 1.8 takumar ($300) and I would probably turn the AF off on the FA anyway. Cos that is another thing - you are either a MF guy or an AF guy -- two different discliplines.

[microlight]

Or with Quick Shift, you can be both!

[zkarj]

I tried revisiting one of my iconic (to me) photos using DxO PhotoLab 3. Their PRIME noise reduction engine is rather impressive. I know LR hasn't been well regarded in the NR department for a while, but I think this is an interesting comparison nevertheless.

The shot was taken 10 minutes after sunset. I had my 18-135 lens on (unusual for the circumstances), the aperture open to f/4.5, had pushed the K-5's ISO up to 4,000, and still the shutter was marginal at 1/160. In other words, there wasn't a whole lotta light and as I couldn't afford a slow shutter I had to push the other sides of the exposure triangle.

Anyway, here's the result I originally published, which was processed in Lightroom. I remember pushing the noise reduction slider too far and then pulling it back to get this. I told myself the noise in the sky added character.



You can see the full sized (3200px) version on the Flickr page.

Here's what I was able to do (without a lot of effort) in DxO. I reprocessed the photo with no reference to my original effort (until it came to cropping for this comparison). I just went with what felt right this time around, including using DxO's Smart Lighting and PRIME noise reduction. I'm not sure how to (or even if you can) view full sized attached images here, so I have also included a 100% cropped sample area of each side by side (I didn't perfectly match the crop of the full shot).

[Class A]

No comment on what it is worth but not seen another in NZ for sale Pentax FA* 85mm f1.4 lens | Trade Me

Thanks for sharing!

I wonder what the seller is on about regarding AF not being ultimately precise due to the screw drive approach. I have no issues with screw drive AF and am not aware of any systematic problem the seller is alleging to.

Makes me wonder whether something is up with that particular copy.