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05-22-2022, 07:49 PM - 1 Like   #61
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QuoteOriginally posted by kayasaman Quote
Thanks so much Ian for all the detailed explanations. Right now as you can probably tell, I'm trying to get used to and understand my camera. It just doesn't feel good by any means to have only a few out of 500 shots in focus and looking reasonably sharp.
There could be a problem with your camera or lens, I would look to see if the AF sensor under the mirror is free from lint or dust.

05-22-2022, 08:52 PM - 1 Like   #62
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QuoteOriginally posted by kayasaman Quote
Really as long as it increases the in-focus image count then I will be so happy! That's mainly what I'm looking for, coupled with higher FPS rate and larger frame buffer. I think the D500 is rated at 20s buffer size which should help while waiting for birds in particular.
When you have the ability to rely on the camera to predict fast moving objects there really becomes less of a need for FPS and buffer. Where it can be beneficial is for timed shots and still it is only the first 4-7 frame and you need the FPS,
Take the D800 it only has 4.5 FPS and a buffer of around 20 depending on how the camera is setup, are there times that I needed more than 4.5 FPS sure but many times this can be reduced when setting the camera to focus priority when shooting in AFC
Having a camera that can predict and AF with accuracy I feel can be as important, tracking and following your subject and only pressing the shutter at key times is what I find helps a lot and what I use most of the time.

Here with the d800 I set the camera to focus priority I tracked the swallow and waited till the time I felt the swallow was going to break to the right and only fired off 2 frames




Yes more FPS would have been nice but having reliable tracking can go a long way.

What 4.5FPS looks like

One frame was not used to balance the final image, sure more FPS would have been nice


Here you can see at the very end of the sequence I hit the end of the buffer and the FPS dropped even further but even with the limited 4.5 fps and the limited buffer of the D800 there is a lot of photos that can be captured and when they are all within acceptable Af accuracy it is much more useful and more reliable than just FPS

What I have found with Nikon is if you are tracking you subject and have your AF point over your point of interest and using AFC with focus priority you can just press the shutter button the camera will do a very good job of AFing and nailing the shot.
This is can even be done with 3d tracking, With nikon and in 3d tracking mode you use the whatever you have selected as your AF point place it over what you want the camera to track by 1/2 press of the shutter the camera will then track that object as it moves around the frame of the OVF
05-23-2022, 03:27 AM - 1 Like   #63
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QuoteOriginally posted by kayasaman Quote
That's a really kind response! Thank you

I definitely will post good images once I have them


For now, you're welcome to check out my astro folder:

Astro


Like I mentioned, I primarily bought the K1 for astro, landscape and macro photography. I'll have to dig out my macro stuff and online it somewhere as I have many successful images.


In terms of astro I do plan on going for a GOTO mount at somepoint in the future and a dedicated monochrome CCD camera:

RST-135 - Rainbow Astro

C3 Series CMOS Cameras


That should improve on the 3 hours it has taken me each session to locate the M31 (Andromeda galaxy) and 1400 light polluted shots from my K1.

Actual image is here after reprocessing using the PixInsight trial license:

Astro

---------- Post added 05-22-22 at 11:26 AM ----------

Sure 300mm came out a little short but the focus ended up being much better on this image.EXIF is f/5.6 shutter 1/1000 iso 100 (auto) I also used -2.00EV exposure compensation so that I could control the dynamic range of the sky and not blow it out.

_IMG3652.jpg - Google Drive

Hopefully with better AF and longer reach I will be able to churn out more images like this!

Additionally, it has been tweaked slightly in RawTherapee as an FYI.
BTW, just making sure you noticed in case it matters: The D500 is significantly bulkier than your K1, but it is a bit lighter since it uses more plastic than the Pentax.
05-23-2022, 04:35 AM   #64
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QuoteOriginally posted by gatorguy Quote
BTW, just making sure you noticed in case it matters: The D500 is significantly bulkier than your K1, but it is a bit lighter since it uses more plastic than the Pentax.
I actually like the size of the K1. I feel like I would drop it if it were any thinner or the grip was narrower.

Right now, looking at the mirrorless bodies in comparison, they are all super slim. I guess it's like trying to compare a cell phone from the 90s to the ones available today. Between the Nokia 6150 and the Samsung Galaxy S ultra that I have now, I would prefer the Nokia. The reason being is that it's a dedicated phone. Easy to answer calls and easier to make calls. With new OS driven phones you have to go through so many menus to get to where you want.


Though even though saying this, I will still check out @surfar's advice on the Fuji and Canon to cross-compare with.

---------- Post added 05-23-22 at 04:39 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Ian Stuart Forsyth Quote
There could be a problem with your camera or lens, I would look to see if the AF sensor under the mirror is free from lint or dust.
Hmm... I had a look at this already. Sure I had lots of dust and particles on the imaging sensor previously which I cleaned off but I also blew around the secondary mirror area too.


I read through this post: Dirty autofocus sensor - PentaxForums.com

which lead to me to a schematic of the sensor chamber on the K1: http://mattgrum.com/photo_se/AF-Optics-Cutaway.png


I haven't touched the mirror, but one bit of advice was to lift it and blow into the cavity.

---------- Post added 05-23-22 at 04:47 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Ian Stuart Forsyth Quote
When you have the ability to rely on the camera to predict fast moving objects there really becomes less of a need for FPS and buffer. Where it can be beneficial is for timed shots and still it is only the first 4-7 frame and you need the FPS,
Take the D800 it only has 4.5 FPS and a buffer of around 20 depending on how the camera is setup, are there times that I needed more than 4.5 FPS sure but many times this can be reduced when setting the camera to focus priority when shooting in AFC
Having a camera that can predict and AF with accuracy I feel can be as important, tracking and following your subject and only pressing the shutter at key times is what I find helps a lot and what I use most of the time.

Here with the d800 I set the camera to focus priority I tracked the swallow and waited till the time I felt the swallow was going to break to the right and only fired off 2 frames




Yes more FPS would have been nice but having reliable tracking can go a long way.

What 4.5FPS looks like

One frame was not used to balance the final image, sure more FPS would have been nice


Here you can see at the very end of the sequence I hit the end of the buffer and the FPS dropped even further but even with the limited 4.5 fps and the limited buffer of the D800 there is a lot of photos that can be captured and when they are all within acceptable Af accuracy it is much more useful and more reliable than just FPS

What I have found with Nikon is if you are tracking you subject and have your AF point over your point of interest and using AFC with focus priority you can just press the shutter button the camera will do a very good job of AFing and nailing the shot.
This is can even be done with 3d tracking, With nikon and in 3d tracking mode you use the whatever you have selected as your AF point place it over what you want the camera to track by 1/2 press of the shutter the camera will then track that object as it moves around the frame of the OVF

Probably the reason I'm thinking about faster fps and larger buffer is at present while shooting the small birds in my backyard, I want to get a shot of them hovering or taking off. They move fast and right now the K1 can't keep up.

An example is the other day, I found a parrot perched. I pressed the shutter, after a few frames the parrot launched and took off. When checking what the camera captured, sure the parrot was there perched, the next frame only saw it's tail in flight. The same thing happened with the squirrels the other morning, I wanted to get areal acrobatic shots but things happened so fast that the next frame was when the squirrel had landed.

05-24-2022, 12:36 AM - 1 Like   #65
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QuoteOriginally posted by kayasaman Quote
looking at the mirrorless bodies in comparison
Here's another to look at.

05-24-2022, 05:20 AM - 1 Like   #66
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Tracking looks ok.

05-24-2022, 08:23 AM   #67
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QuoteOriginally posted by surfar Quote
Tracking looks ok.

https://youtu.be/HOvUujBCwAM

This is really interesting!!

The R7 definitely has a beefier body then most mirrorless cameras which are just plain skinny and too thin.

In terms of features that are shown, most of them seem to be related to capturing stills from video. That's the way it looks from the videos posted. Also instead of using the viewfinder, Live View is being used which is great if you have a wide enough lens and enough distance to the subject.

I can only really comment on my own experience from the tests I've made in my backyard. I only get a few seconds on birds, that includes spotting them (without the camera) then getting the camera ready, shooting and that's it they're gone and they may not be back in a good spot for hours or days.
Sure, it's not the ideal location I know!! The smaller birds are simply too fast to shoot. They can zip in and out of my peripheral vision within a second.


Something that you mentioned previously about "newer is better", is not always the case. At least with the D500 it's had many years to mature and become a stable and accurate system.

The R7 isn't out yet and from what I read it will be around June or July as the approximate release date.

Of course, if the firmware is stable and the functions work without bugs then for sure it is definitely an option worth looking at.


At this point the real issue would be about the negative aspects of both systems. If I narrow things down to between the D500 and R7 then what are the drawbacks of each system?

What parts of each package do the manufacturers or media want to play down or exclude completely for giving the system a negative reputation?


"Old Tech" / "Newer Tech" isn't really an argument if both produce the same or similar results.


Sometimes one has to be a little careful about paper specs as high unusable iso for example are just there for marketing purposes.


Yeah, now I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall lol

---------- Post added 05-24-22 at 09:09 AM ----------

More information about the R7:

Canon EOS R7 First Impressions: The Performance King of APS-C | PetaPixel

Looks like it's gona be a test bed of layout and functionality...

The tester also claimed AF was not perfect. Maybe fw updates will help and maybe they won't... many unknowns stll!

05-24-2022, 09:26 AM - 1 Like   #68
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If I was you I would watch a few videos of the R5 and R6 by wildlife shooters on Youtube, the R7 is going to use the same system just with a smaller sensor.

The firmware of the R7 is probably going to be similar to what the R5 1.5.2 is and it is very good. The 1.5 was a train wreck for me so I went back to 1.4 and waited until 1.5.2 was out to upgrade again after seeing nobody had issues. they released 1.5.1 pretty quick after the problems were found but I didn't take a chance on that one.

I don't think you will find a camera with the level of performance in autofocus and FPS as the R7 for so little a price.
05-24-2022, 10:05 AM   #69
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QuoteOriginally posted by KiloHotelphoto Quote
If I was you I would watch a few videos of the R5 and R6 by wildlife shooters on Youtube, the R7 is going to use the same system just with a smaller sensor.

The firmware of the R7 is probably going to be similar to what the R5 1.5.2 is and it is very good. The 1.5 was a train wreck for me so I went back to 1.4 and waited until 1.5.2 was out to upgrade again after seeing nobody had issues. they released 1.5.1 pretty quick after the problems were found but I didn't take a chance on that one.

I don't think you will find a camera with the level of performance in autofocus and FPS as the R7 for so little a price.
Obviously I want to keep my options open and something that was mentioned in the link I posted above was the Canon 90D model.


I just checked specs and prices. The price (new) seems to be quite reasonable.

Or is it better to grab a used high-end model which is why I looked at the Nikon D4s in the first place?


Going with the 90D as an example the "eye detection" only works with Live View. That doesn't seem like I feature I would use in this case.


Sure I know I have a lot to learn and I know there are many ways to acheive the same result but finding something that will work for me is the most important. It really is a tough call....


I'll definitely look at YouTube videos of Pro shooters to see if I can learn something. Maybe my whole approach is wrong and I'm using everyone's advice on technique wrongly? It could be the case....


Just a quick thank you again to everyone for your patience and support. It really is appreciated!
05-24-2022, 10:37 AM - 1 Like   #70
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At some point, you probably need to either stop second-guessing your decisions and go with your gut, or just put off the whole purchasing decision until later in the year. There will always be that new thing that on paper sounds better than the thing you already have. When it's a new camera system the camera body itself is the cheapest component, but it's also the "gotcha" one.
05-24-2022, 10:40 AM - 1 Like   #71
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QuoteOriginally posted by kayasaman Quote
At this point the real issue would be about the negative aspects of both systems. If I narrow things down to between the D500 and R7 then what are the drawbacks of each system?

What parts of each package do the manufacturers or media want to play down or exclude completely for giving the system a negative reputation?

"Old Tech" / "Newer Tech" isn't really an argument if both produce the same or similar results.

Sometimes one has to be a little careful about paper specs as high unusable iso for example are just there for marketing purposes.

Yeah, now I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall lol
At age 74, I have zero interest in changing mounts yet again.
If I were younger, I might have a longer timeline of interest.

If I were willing to switch mounts yet again, I would probably choose an EOS-R mount, because I’m not sure Nikon will develop much more F-mount stuff.
05-24-2022, 10:52 AM   #72
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QuoteOriginally posted by gatorguy Quote
At some point, you probably need to either stop second-guessing your decisions and go with your gut, or just put off the whole purchasing decision until later in the year. There will always be that new thing that on paper sounds better than the thing you already have. When it's a new camera system the camera body itself is the cheapest component, but it's also the "gotcha" one.
QuoteQuote:
At age 74, I have zero interest in changing mounts yet again.
If I were younger, I might have a longer timeline of interest.

If I were willing to switch mounts yet again, I would probably choose an EOS-R mount, because I’m not sure Nikon will develop much more F-mount stuff.
Thank you!

Yeah, my age is still relatively young though not so young anymore


From what I am seeing with Canon is that they are trying to gear towards a younger audience with a lot of basis towards the video side. That's my interpretation anyway... the coined term 'content creation'.

If we pass the marketing stuff and look to the cameras themselves, is there a specific reason why the Canon 90D is waaaaay cheaper the Nikon D500?? It's around 700 Euro's or $'s cheaper.


Not sure what my gut is telling me right now, my head is telling me that I can still use my Nikon FM lens on the D500. I don't know..... arggghhhh haha decisions decisions....
05-24-2022, 12:01 PM - 1 Like   #73
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The 90D does not have a very good autofocus system and I'm pretty sure it has a slow fps also. It was designed and marketed as a general purpose body for people chasing megapixel count. The D500 was made to be a APSC wildlife sport shooter body that has a good autofocus and frame rate.

I wouldn't recommend the 90D, if you are sticking with a DSLR the Nikon D500 is the one you want if you if you are looking at mirrorless right now the R7 at it's price point is hard to beat but unless you pre ordered this morning you will probably have to wait a while to get one.
05-24-2022, 12:05 PM - 1 Like   #74
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QuoteOriginally posted by KiloHotelphoto Quote
The 90D does not have a very good autofocus system and I'm pretty sure it has a slow fps also. It was designed and marketed as a general purpose body for people chasing megapixel count. The D500 was made to be a APSC wildlife sport shooter body that has a good autofocus and frame rate.

I wouldn't recommend the 90D, if you are sticking with a DSLR the Nikon D500 is the one you want if you if you are looking at mirrorless right now the R7 at it's price point is hard to beat but unless you pre ordered this morning you will probably have to wait a while to get one.
I'd be inclined to wait for some user reviews of the R7 (not sponsored ones). Early impressions by PetaPixel and DPR are not glowing.
05-24-2022, 12:06 PM   #75
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QuoteOriginally posted by KiloHotelphoto Quote
The 90D does not have a very good autofocus system and I'm pretty sure it has a slow fps also. It was designed and marketed as a general purpose body for people chasing megapixel count. The D500 was made to be a APSC wildlife sport shooter body that has a good autofocus and frame rate.

I wouldn't recommend the 90D, if you are sticking with a DSLR the Nikon D500 is the one you want if you if you are looking at mirrorless right now the R7 at it's price point is hard to beat but unless you pre ordered this morning you will probably have to wait a while to get one.

Thanks. I guess it's decided then. Nikon D500 it will be


Hopefully I will have some images that I will be happy enough to share with everyone.
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