[Jimbo]

Well first thread. I purchased a K10D, with a 18-250 Tamron len, a couple of weeks ago. [also brought the extra battery crib] Before going out I spend a fair amount of time reading about how to take pictures [which help only a little] and I also went to a number of forums covering Pentax products. [that's how I found this one] I have taken around 400 pictures, mainly playing around with the different settings with the same shot, along with trying a couple of photo software demos. Still haven't made my mind up on which one to go with. [Elements 6 or a Corel product] Any suggestions on a good one to start with? I am new to SLR's coming from a P&S but very eager to learn. I spend a hour or so reading through other threads on this forum and have picked up a lot of hints. Thanks! Coming off on line gaming as a 7 years hobby I am used to asking questions to learn. From what I have read so far, it could take years to learn and I could go broke buying lens!! Anyway, wanted to introduce myself and looking forward to picking your brains. JIMBO

Home: Vancouver BC Canada
52 years old
salesman for a Chemical company
did some photography 30 years ago using a 35MM Miranda, which I still have
other hobby gardening and my two kids.

[stewart_photo]

(snip) Still haven't made my mind up on which one to go with. [Elements 6 or a Corel product] Any suggestions on a good one to start with? (snip)

Welcome to the forum and Pentax photography, Jimbo. In my opinion, the most significant advantage of the Adobe products (PS, PS Elements, etc) over the competition is the vast amount of information from the much larger base of users on the internet and elsewhere. This means it's often quite easy, usually just a quick search, to find step-by-step instructions and/or tips to accomplish almost anything with these products. Beyond that, assuming the choices provide what you want, it's perhaps just a matter of your own preference.

stewart

[bymy141]

Well first thread. I purchased a K10D, with a 18-250 Tamron len, a couple of weeks ago. [also brought the extra battery crib] Before going out I spend a fair amount of time reading about how to take pictures [which help only a little] and I also went to a number of forums covering Pentax products. [that's how I found this one] I have taken around 400 pictures, mainly playing around with the different settings with the same shot, along with trying a couple of photo software demos. Still haven't made my mind up on which one to go with. [Elements 6 or a Corel product] Any suggestions on a good one to start with? I am new to SLR's coming from a P&S but very eager to learn. I spend a hour or so reading through other threads on this forum and have picked up a lot of hints. Thanks! Coming off on line gaming as a 7 years hobby I am used to asking questions to learn. From what I have read so far, it could take years to learn and I could go broke buying lens!! Anyway, wanted to introduce myself and looking forward to picking your brains. JIMBO

Home: Vancouver BC Canada
52 years old
salesman for a Chemical company
did some photography 30 years ago using a 35MM Miranda, which I still have
other hobby gardening and my two kids.

JIMBO,

Great choice, I also started this year with the K10D + Tamron 18-250 combination.
No regrets.

Since you've already made 400 pictures in a couple of weeks, you can imagine that you will make a couple of thousand pictures in a year or so.
This means that you probably not only want to edit / improve the pictures, but you also need to organize them right from the beginning.

If you're main objective is to edit lighting, color, red eye removal, take crops, and that sort of work, Adobe's Lightroom is a very nice and powerfull package. Also Google's Picasa does a pretty good job considering that it is free.

I've not used Corel, but experimented with a lot of other software packages before making this choice.
There is also Photoshop CS3 on my computer, but after the Lightroom 1.3 install, it almost never gets started anymore.

- Bert

[matix]

Hi Jimbo, welcome to the world of Pentax and this forum. You will enjoy the camera and the support on this forum, a great bunch of people in my opinion.

As to the best editing program, most cost money and they all have their particular advantages and disadvantages. You can download trial versions of all of the commercial ones, Corel Paint Shop Pro X2, ACDSee Pro 2 and Adobe Elements and of course Google's Picassa which is free.

My personal choice for day to day post processing is ACDSee Pro 2, it has great cataloging funtions, and a very strong editing feature set, but I fall back to PSP X2 when I need some really heavy fixes.

A good one to try as you get totally involved with this great technogy, I just discovered it lately and find it very easy to use is FastStone.

This is also Freeware for home use, and is the absolute best viewer for PEF, DNG, and JPG's I have ever used, and all info is available as are all controls just by moving the mouse to the Left, Right, Top or Bottom. Try it from FastStone Image Viewer, Screen Capture, Photo Resizer .../

Good Luck... and have fun.

Phil

[Jimbo]

Thanks guys. All great ideas. Very active forum which is great. I am trying a couple of demo's now. [Elements and Coral Pro XL.] Bert, I will give Lightroom a try too. Thanks for the advice. I will let you know what I ended up choosing and why soon. Cheers. JIMBO

[Tom M]

Howdy Jim..

What type of online gaming did you do? I was all about UT for years.. Was in a very well known clan and ran multiple servers across the country, TS and all that jazz.. I'm still a member, just not active any longer. It's nice to get out from behind the monitor - to go out and shoot so I can get behind the monitor again

[Jimbo]

Tom, I played Quake Arena for five years and was active up to last year. Not many servers around any more. Was in a few clans with the last being Clan W2K [Wired to Kill] We use to play 20 hours a week. Decided to try another hobby that got me outside. Went through four computers upgrading almost twice a year. I am sure the same will hold true with my new hobby. [K10D looking for more lens already!] Looking forward to being part of what looks to be a great forum. Cheers JIMBO

[JCSullivan]

Welcome to the forum Jimbo.

I would suggest not to go out and spend too much on lenses to start with. Get used to what you have and how to use them.

Click, click and click.
Use your imagination
Let the juices flow

[Jimbo]

I would suggest not to go out and spend too much on lenses to start with. Get used to what you have and how to use them.

JC

I agree but I do want a macro in the next few months. Thanks for the welcome. Already got a few great ideas from the good folks on this forum. The 18-260 Tamron lens is serving me well for now and have been happy with the pictures. Cheers. JIMBO