[mikesbike]

I agree with Norm, pschlute and others that shooting JPEG + RAW then comparing your results is a good idea. I am also one of those who does very little post processing.

---------- Post added 04-21-19 at 09:19 AM ----------

First, thanks to all who responded to my first few posts, much appreciated/needed advice. Based on said advice I’m first going to learn to use what I have, K70 w/18-135 kit lens. Eventually pick up a used manual focus 50mm, f1.4

Good self-advice. Your comments make me wonder how you have been using what you have so far. What modes have you been using for your shots and what are the results? Have you achieved good exposure under tricky lighting? Have you been learning to control depth of field by selecting your aperture? Have you dealt with selection of shutter speed for action shooting, or to get certain effects? Have you tried shooting in Manual Mode? Posting some of your shots, especially those that have turned out less than satisfactory would allow some evaluation.

Another thing, for your JPEG results, be sure you've set your Custom Image menus to Fine Sharpening. Do not use the green AUTO mode. It does not allow you access to many adjustments or to many controls. If you want fully automatic exposure, use the "P" Program mode. Then access the Custom Image menus via the info button. The "Bright" category is the default for most shooting needs, and will probably be already there for you to adjust. Hit ok to open the section and info again to adjust. The 4 buttons around the ok button will navigate. Tab down to to Sharpening and put an F by the S to implement Fine Sharpening using your thumb dial. Hit ok then turn off the camera to exit the screen.

[TMH]

I agree with Norm, pschlute and others that shooting JPEG + RAW then comparing your results is a good idea. I am also one of those who does very little post processing.

---------- Post added 04-21-19 at 09:19 AM ----------



Good self-advice. Your comments make me wonder how you have been using what you have so far. What modes have you been using for your shots and what are the results? Have you achieved good exposure under tricky lighting? Have you been learning to control depth of field by selecting your aperture? Have you dealt with selection of shutter speed for action shooting, or to get certain effects? Have you tried shooting in Manual Mode? Posting some of your shots, especially those that have turned out less than satisfactory would allow some evaluation.

Another thing, for your JPEG results, be sure you've set your Custom Image menus to Fine Sharpening. Do not use the green AUTO mode. It does not allow you access to many adjustments or to many controls. If you want fully automatic exposure, use the "P" Program mode. Then access the Custom Image menus via the info button. The "Bright" category is the default for most shooting needs, and will probably be already there for you to adjust. Hit ok to open the section and info again to adjust. The 4 buttons around the ok button will navigate. Tab down to to Sharpening and put an F by the S to implement Fine Sharpening using your thumb dial. Hit ok then turn off the camera to exit the screen.

Again, thanks! I’m really liking this forum.

In answer, I right away banned myself from using AUTO.
My initial focus, pun intended, has been depth of field. When not engaged in dof experiments I’ve been working in P mode. My intent is to gain at least an understanding of each mode then move on to the next. Subject to review of course.
I’ve also elected to use Raw+ for the time being.

I like this pic of a ladybug, it’s in focus. No effort at composition, just playing with dof.

[reh321]

In the age of film, I used slides, and my use was to project them. My storage scheme provided the organization I needed - vacations / major trips stored together sorted by trip, nature photos together, etc. Similarly I shoot RAW+, generating a full-size image with minimal compression JPEG of each photo, and use the JPEG if it's what I want. I store JPEGS in folders which provide the needed organization.

[pschlute]

The thing about organising your pictures is that no two people will have exactly the same needs or requirements. Organising yourself in named and dated folders will work well for some and not for others. There is no “correct” method.

But for someone just starting out out in digital photography or taking it to a higher level I would suggest to go to the most future proof level.

By accident I started using Photoshop elements when I started digital photography and immediately started using tags , keywords, and collections. Now , 13 years and many many photo folders later I can instantly display in LR pictures of a specific holiday or trip. More importantly I can instantly display all my photos of my dog Rio or all my photos taken with a specific lens. This flexibility may not be right for all but if it would be useful you need to start as soon as possible

[reh321]

The thing about organising your pictures is that no two people will have exactly the same needs or requirements. Organising yourself in named and dated folders will work well for some and not for others. There is no “correct” method.

But for someone just starting out out in digital photography or taking it to a higher level I would suggest to go to the most future proof level.

But what does "future proof" mean? My system of folders {I use similar systems for spreadsheets and documents} has survived years and several operating systems; personally, I would be leery of anything that depends on a particular vendor - I wouldn't want Adobe to be able to hold everything for ransom, as it were. If I were going to depend on software to do the whole thing, I would use one of the "Open" {and free} systems rather than depend on Adobe.

[johngs]

I'm a long time Lightroom/Photoshop user. Getting tired of the subscription model and have been looking at alternatives.
So far Luminar 3 is my favorite.
Its a one time purchase, not expensive, easy to learn and gets great results. It also does layers, so it can replace some of the things I had to use Photoshop for.

[TMH]

I'm a long time Lightroom/Photoshop user. Getting tired of the subscription model and have been looking at alternatives.
So far Luminar 3 is my favorite.
Its a one time purchase, not expensive, easy to learn and gets great results. It also does layers, so it can replace some of the things I had to use Photoshop for.

Luminar3, nice, another alternative. I’ll check it out

I took a few shots today using SCN mode, landscape. As s baseline to see what the camera thought was best.

[TerryL]

Again, thanks! I’m really liking this forum.

In answer, I right away banned myself from using AUTO.
My initial focus, pun intended, has been depth of field. When not engaged in dof experiments I’ve been working in P mode. My intent is to gain at least an understanding of each mode then move on to the next. Subject to review of course.
I’ve also elected to use Raw+ for the time being.

I like this pic of a ladybug, it’s in focus. No effort at composition, just playing with dof.

Great shot, Griff.
Terry

[mikesbike]

Luminar3, nice, another alternative. I’ll check it out

I took a few shots today using SCN mode, landscape. As s baseline to see what the camera thought was best.

It seems you are following logical plans with which to go forward.

The scene modes can be handy for certain conditions, where you need a quick shot and are not sure how to address the lighting situation, or to see what the camera would do for self-instruction purposes. But they are far from foolproof.

My guess for the landscape mode (I don't use SCENE modes myself, even on the camera bodies I own that have this feature) the camera would most probably set a smaller aperture (larger number) to maximize DOF. Since there is plenty of light in your scene, there would be no trouble achieving a good result in this manner.

OTOH, if you are operating in P mode, and you come across a landscape shot you like, you can engage the exclusive Pentax Hyper Program system to simply select a smaller aperture yourself in a fraction of the time it would take to switch to the landscape SCENE mode. It is so simple to do it is ingenious on the part of Pentax- they've had this design for ages, and no other brand of camera can do this- in P mode you decide you want f/11 instead of the camera's choice of f/5.6 and there's plenty of light for this change so all you do is use your thumb dial and simply select your aperture!! The camera will obey, even though you are in P mode! The first click will freeze the current aperture setting, while any further clicks will change the aperture. What happens is, upon obeying your wish, the camera switches itself to Av operation without your having to first turn your Mode dial to the Av setting, or even touch the Mode dial at all. Then, when you wish to return to full P Program operation, just hit the green button and it is restored. You don't even have to take your eye away from the VF!

The system works the same when you'd rather have a different shutter speed- just select your own choice using the front finger dial, going directly to what you want without having to first change the Mode dial to Tv. The change you've selected will remain as long as lighting permits, until you hit the green button or turn off the camera. If you want to select your aperture or shutter speed but will be turning the camera off and on intermittently, then use the Mode dial on Av or Tv to keep your setting.

[DeKay]

If you are looking for a management app like Lightroom without paying the subscription price you should take a look at digiKam. It free, open source and does much of what Lightroom does.
Worth taking a look at while you are experimenting.

[TMH]

OTOH, if you are operating in P mode, and you come across a landscape shot you like, you can engage the exclusive Pentax Hyper Program system to simply select a smaller aperture yourself in a fraction of the time it would take to switch to the landscape SCENE mode. It is so simple to do it is ingenious on the part of Pentax- they've had this design for ages, and no other brand of camera can do this- in P mode you decide you want f/11 instead of the camera's choice of f/5.6 and there's plenty of light for this change so all you do is use your thumb dial and simply select your aperture!! The camera will obey, even though you are in P mode! The first click will freeze the current aperture setting, while any further clicks will change the aperture. What happens is, upon obeying your wish, the camera switches itself to Av operation without your having to first turn your Mode dial to the Av setting, or even touch the Mode dial at all. Then, when you wish to return to full P Program operation, just hit the green button and it is restored. You don't even have to take your eye away from the VF!

Thanks for this bit. Been reading about P mode, will try some shots today.

---------- Post added 04-24-19 at 11:15 AM ----------

Thanks to all for suggestions re RAW processors, file handling in general.

It became obvious early on that a dedicated drive would be best for my photos. Lots of alternatives out there, decided to go with a 2TB WD Passport. For now, backed up to the Cloud. I’ll eventually pick up a FireWire as a prime drive with the WD as backup.

All the RAW develop/edit options, with the exception of Adobe’s offerings, are pretty new. So, lots of room for growth. I decided on Luminar3 for my desktop. The Mac version appears superior to the Windows version atm, I’ll try both since the license allows as many as 5 installs and my desktop is dual boot Mac/Win. As I mentioned in an earlier post I have Affinity Photo on my iPad Pro. It’s already come in handy when I was away from my desktop.

I also picked up a spare battery and a remote clicker. Just need a tripod.

Infrastructure in place, it’s time to take some pics!

[reh321]

I'm a long time Lightroom/Photoshop user. Getting tired of the subscription model and have been looking at alternatives.
So far Luminar 3 is my favorite.
Its a one time purchase, not expensive, easy to learn and gets great results. It also does layers, so it can replace some of the things I had to use Photoshop for.

Everything you say about Luminar 3 is also true of gimp - except it is less expensive.

[sinzen]

I too have opted for Affinity Photo on my iPad Pro and so far have enjoyed the results I am getting. It’s a simple little workflow and it works. Really impressed with Affinity though. I was a long time Adobe user but got tired of dealing with subscriptions and renewals.

[clackers]

I'm a Lightroom user - I have Photoshop installed but rarely go into it.

Another one to add in to the 'free' ring is PhotoScape X, which has both PC and Mac versions.