[Wheatfield]

The sweep is plastic, I do have other colors, but I want a white background for my website, and thus am taking the pictures on white. Here is an example of some that I finished, ready to load to the website, when I get that far!! This in another one of my designs.......I am a maker......not a photographer! And I truly don't remember what I used when I took these images.

That's pretty good. If the background is translucent plastic, have you tried sticking a light behind it?

Something like this:

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Last edited by Wheatfield; 04-07-2020 at 11:08 AM.

[MarkJerling]

That's pretty good. If the background is translucent plastic, have you tried sticking a light behind it?

Something like this:

Wow! That pops Bill! Very nice.

[adamaitken2020]

However, I don't believe that the K-5 has the 'focus peaking' feature.

- Craig

No it doesn't unfortunately!

[JennyPat]

That's pretty good. If the background is translucent plastic, have you tried sticking a light behind it?

Ahh that looks great! But unfortunately it's opaque.

Here is the collection I put together tonight, Ready to load to the website. Usually at this time of year I am traveling and selling my work at shows, but they have all been canceled. Which is a sort of blessing, because now I have time to work on the website, which I have been trying to do for a couple years.

Attached Images

         

[adamaitken2020]

HI there, I am new to taking images with DSLR, I know very little about apertures, f-stops etc. And I am extremely frustrated! I am attempting to take clear pictures of earrings I make, The design is only 1/2" square, and they ALL come out blurry!! I have tried various settings, and its very obvious I have no clue what I am doing. Can someone give me some tips?

I am using a Pentax K-5, in a light box, with a tripod, on a white background and using the timer so there is no wobble.

This is the best one I got from yesterday.

Thank you

Hi JennyPat,

Lovely earrings! I have skimmed the posts and read the advice and I am not sure if anyone recommended you use a tripod. That would help to eliminate motion blur even with a slower shutter speed. As other posters have recommended use a fast shutter speed and bright light. A mini table top tripod is a good thing if your camera is a lighter smaller one.

[Wheatfield]

Hi JennyPat,

Lovely earrings! I have skimmed the posts and read the advice and I am not sure if anyone recommended you use a tripod. That would help to eliminate motion blur even with a slower shutter speed. As other posters have recommended use a fast shutter speed and bright light. A mini table top tripod is a good thing if your camera is a lighter smaller one.

She indicated in her OP that she was using a tripod and a K5, later mentioned the set is continuous light. The tabletop tripod is a cool idea though the K5 might be on the heavy side for one..

[aslyfox]

. . . K5 might be on the heavy side for one..

I think she has a full size tripod now

if she is interested in a table top, I wonder if this table top tripod might be of interest?

moman mini tripod

the original reviewer used it with a K 3 II and a HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR

Description:
Folded Length :165mm / 6.5inch
Weight: 261g / 9.2oz

Max Extended Length :110mm / 3.9inch
Max Load (Tripod) :80kg / 176lb

The legs have one locked position, and turning the single wheel lock can fan the legs all the way out for a flat tripod.
The locked position creates a 10" diameter between all the legs
When the legs go completely flat, the diameter between all the legs is 12"
please see this thread:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/22-pentax-camera-field-accessories/36082...ml#post4206692

numerous photos showing multiple positions and lenses can be found there with more details

Read more at: moman mini tripod reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database

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Last edited by aslyfox; 04-03-2020 at 06:50 AM.

[JennyPat]

I think she has a full size tripod now

No, if you read my messages, I am using a small tri-pod that clamps to the edge of a shelf, you can see this in an image I shared of my set up a few messages back. I have no space to use a full size tripod, and a table top one (I own both already) doesn't work for me unless I move everything to the dining room table. The set up I have now, I can leave in place and don't have to put up and take down every time I want to take pictures.
Here is another picture of my set up, with the lights turned off.

[pres589]

I would be very surprised if Live View doesn't work with that lens. Last i knew Live View will function with no lens attached at all. It worked with a lens i own that was not electrically conductive and the camera didn't know a lens was actually there (since fixed that issue).


Do what works for you and if you're happy with what you're getting, don't change a thing, but I still think there would be some value in playing around with Live View. I seem to think some folks have gotten very good results with that M 50 f2 and an extension tube but that's something else to buy if you don't have one already. I would want to have someone that has had first hand experience with that combination speak up first.

[normhead]

I have the 50mm lens plus close up filters for it.

You should be manual focussing in any case, so that's actually a great plan. And your 50 prime should be better than the kit lens.

[JennyPat]

I would be very surprised if Live View doesn't work with that lens. Last i knew Live View will function with no lens attached at all. It worked with a lens i own that was not electrically conductive and the camera didn't know a lens was actually there (since fixed that issue).

Actually I found Live view DOES work with that lens, I don't know what happened the first couple times I tried it. I "think" I had some settings wrong so the screen was black and I thought it wasn't working. I found this out when reviewing the images on the the computer. Lesson learned!

---------- Post added 04-03-20 at 12:35 PM ----------

Hi JennyPat. Cool looking earrings. In addition to some good advice above, I'd like to throw in a couple things that may be useful. I'd suggest reading this article, especially page 5 about aperture/depth-of-field: The Fundamentals of Exposure - Introduction - In-Depth Articles If you are new to DSLRs, getting a handle on the 'exposure triangle' should be a big help.

In case you haven't seen it, the lens you used for the shot above is discussed here: SMC Pentax-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR Reviews - DA Zoom Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database This is where you can see the lens's minimum focus distance specification, and many other characteristics. Reading the user reviews can help with understanding people's opinions of the lens's strengths and weaknesses, always good to know.

I will second the suggestion about using extension tubes for close up photography. Using them decreases the minimum focus distance. They may be the least expensive option depending on what type you get. I bought a cheap (about $30USD) Chinese set since I couldn't afford good ones. Mine don't provide any electronic connections between the camera and lens. I set the camera to Manual mode and focus manually. I also use lenses that have an aperture ring (some lenses don't have one). Here's an example taken with a 50mm lens mounted on a short extension tube. This little caterpillar was about 3/4" long: K10D with M50/f1.7 on short extension tube. This... - Apet-Sure's Album: Nature-K10D - PentaxForums.com.

Extension tubes will decrease the amount of light reaching the camera sensor some, but using a tripod and slower shutter speeds (and the timer) easily compensates for this. They don't put any more glass in the light path, so don't degrade image quality.

You can also get screw-on close-up filters (lenses really) that attach to the front of the lens. The cheap ones probably use inferior glass and/or poor coatings. High-end ones can be quite expensive.


Lastly, you can get a dedicated Macro lens. Many of these have outstanding image quality. I bought a used Pentax-F 100mm f2.8 Macro (SMC Pentax-F 100mm F2.8 Macro Reviews - F Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database) here in the Pentax Forums Marketplace, and have been thrilled with it. For your product shots 100mm might be a little too long, but there's this one SMC Pentax-F 50mm F2.8 Macro Reviews - F Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database and many other newer ones.

Extension tubes will decrease the amount of light reaching the camera sensor some, but using a tripod and slower shutter speeds (and the timer) easily compensates for this. They don't put any more glass in the light path, so don't degrade image quality.

Can you tell me what to look for in a set of extension tubes? I am looking at B&H but also was looking on Ebay. I have a K-5 camera, and know that I would need to use Manual settings. But want to make sure I don't purchase something that won't work.

Thanks

[Apet-Sure]

Some of your latest images look great, and some seem to be running into depth-of-field limitations. For instance, in your Mobius Pendant shot, the green surface with slight imperfections closest to the camera seems sharp, but the surfaces behind it and the chain hardware seem a little out of focus. You mentioned using a +2 diopter close-up filter. The bigger the number, the shallower the DOF will be. Can you get by with a +1? With a +1 you'll have to move the camera a little farther away for the new minimum focus distance. I'll assume you have your K-5 set to take 16MP images. This will give you the most flexibility to close-crop the image. Also, more subject to lens distance gives your greater DOF. Here are a couple screenshots from one of the online DOF calculators with some numbers plugged in to approximate your setup. You can see that moving the camera 4" farther away roughly doubles your DOF. These don't take into account the effect of close-up filters, which make your actual DOF much less.


As for extension tubes, the ones I have are completely 'dumb', just aluminum tubes with K mounts at each end. Then there are some that are semi-automatic like these: PENTAX Auto Extension Tube Set K reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database They couple the aperture stop-down lever but not autofocus capability (not important in your application). There are also some with electrical contacts that couple the autofocus function. I've never used any so can't comment. Anything you find designed for Pentax K-mount should be usable as long as your lenses have an aperture ring.

[Wheatfield]

Actually I found Live view DOES work with that lens, I don't know what happened the first couple times I tried it. I "think" I had some settings wrong so the screen was black and I thought it wasn't working. I found this out when reviewing the images on the the computer. Lesson learned!

---------- Post added 04-03-20 at 12:35 PM ----------




Can you tell me what to look for in a set of extension tubes? I am looking at B&H but also was looking on Ebay. I have a K-5 camera, and know that I would need to use Manual settings. But want to make sure I don't purchase something that won't work.

Thanks

I have a set of genuine Pentax Auto Extension Tubes. They work well.
I found an M50/2 lens laying around, so i slapped it onto the K1 to see how it did.
This is the M50/2 and the #2 & #3 extension tubes.
The working distance on tubes was closer than I like, but was fine to work with anyway.
I cropped the images in post to match the image size of the K5, and then resized for the web.
The first picture was shot with the lens at f/22, to maximize depth of field. You can see how the ring fades out of focus and is not super sharp.
The second one was shot at f/8, which is a good aperture for this lens, but I did a focus stack to ensure focus was secured for the entire ring.
The size difference is from the software making size adjustments as it aligns the images. As I said, I tend to overdo things, this is a 59 image stack. I expect one could get away with far fewer. Photoshop isn't the best stacking software there is, which explains the out of focus fringe around the top of the setting. This wouldn't be visible on a plain background such as what you are using.
This was shot using my bedside table as a shooting bench and a south window supplying the light. Had I taken the time, I would have set up a reflector to even out the light.

[pschlute]

Looking much better already Jenny. You can improve further with a bit of contrast boost/exposure boost and sharpening in software...... The difference is subtle but real.....have a look here :

[35mmfilmfan]

Don't forget, some items advertised as 'Pentax fit' are in fact M42 (screw thread), not Pentax K (bayonet). This is not always made clear in Ebay listings, and you don't want to fiddle around with extra adapters !