Benjamin Kanarek "I will no longer be using the Pentax system..."

_quicksilver_ · 07-30-2013, 03:37 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by Class A

How professional is it to come into a shoot with a DA* 16-50/2.8 -- which is known for its shaky SDM -- with no backup lens, be forced to focus manually, and then publicly complain about the lack of Pentax pro support?

How professional is it not being able to calibrate your gear under the conditions you are going to use it?

How professional is it to waste the model's and the team's time because you have to take extra shots to make sure that you get any sharp ones?

How professional is it to not notice the (alleged) inadequacy of your gear yourself, but have your retoucher notice issues and your producer tell you that you need to change your gear?

How professional is it to try and setup one's own Wikipedia page? Remember when he asked for help regarding his Wikipedia page? Wikipedia does not support vanity pages so there had to be interest from people other than him. There was a "fan" who was making a lot of effort to demonstrate the relevance Benjamin Kanarek's photography had in the industry when suddenly some of the Wikipedia contributers noticed that Ben and said "fan" were making contributions from the same account. Ben explained that he and the "fan" are not the same person and that he just had borrowed the fan's account. Yeah, right.

Anyone is free to believe that Ben put up with terrible AF for years because he "stayed with them [Pentax] through thick and thin" -- exactly why would he sacrifice anything for them? -- and that we are hearing the full story now. Everyone is also free to believe that his Wikipedia "fan" was real and his Wikipedia debacle wasn't an example of sockpuppetry with an unwanted hiccup.
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I don't care what gear Ben uses.

Well, it doesn´t look that way if you have to go after him on two different forums.

I wish Ben Good luck with his new gear!

Nesster · 07-30-2013, 03:40 AM

Dovile Virsilaite Haute Couture Infinite Creation Harpers BAZAAR Benjamin Kanarek | Benjamin Kanarek Blog

I'm thinking this may have been the straw that broke the Kanarek's Pentax

-- note the full length photos shot at a low-ish angle...

bossa · 07-30-2013, 04:07 AM

I suppose a Nikon D600 would add something although I have no idea what that might be.. (please note that I have a K-5, K-01 and two D800E's and hold no allegiances)

benjikan · 07-30-2013, 04:57 AM

Originally posted by Nesster

Dovile Virsilaite Haute Couture Infinite Creation Harpers BAZAAR Benjamin Kanarek | Benjamin Kanarek Blog

I'm thinking this may have been the straw that broke the Kanarek's Pentax

-- note the full length photos shot at a low-ish angle...

Actually, it was my most recent Haute Couture shoot for ELLE Magazine that comes out in September that broke the proverbial camel's back. My following ELLE shoot was done with the Nikon D600.

Nesster · 07-30-2013, 05:30 AM

Originally posted by benjikan

Actually, it was my most recent Haute Couture shoot for ELLE Magazine that comes out in September that broke the proverbial camel's back. My following ELLE shoot was done with the Nikon D600.

I'm looking forward to those.

---

The thing about auto focus, as quickly becomes appparent if one googles a bit, is that it is the precision of the entire system that determines overall accuracy. You may be able to put a sensor exactly where you want to focus, but if the lens motor/servo mechanism has too much slop, you may end up with focus variations each time you focus. Canon of course with their philosophy aren't reticient about this - they just as soon change mounts as tell you their latest lenses have the least slop, to get you to buy....This sort of focus variation mainly comes into play where such accuracy is important; in most photography it simply isn't.

bossa · 07-30-2013, 05:51 AM

And the softer the lens is wide-open the harder it is and the more random is the AF.

Rupert · 07-30-2013, 05:53 AM

Originally posted by Parallax

What I'm, having trouble with is not claims of "40% missed focus", but with the idea that he would put up with it for 5 (that I know of) years. Maybe it was 40%, maybe it was 4 percent; doesn't matter. I think there's another component to this.

I'd like to see an answer to this question??? I'm certainly no pro, not an artist by any means (excepting those excellent drawings), but do know as a retired plumber that I would never, and have never, continued with equipment that failed me 40% of the time. Your gear is your income and your reputation depends on the efficiency of that gear....If it is failing you, you do not wait five years to remedy the problem........unless you are that Boss Man that fired his secretary after all those years, claiming only an idiot would hire anyone as dumb as her.

Regards!........we can go on and on about how "mean" we are here to Ben, but how about just answering the question Parallax posed???
If you agree that you miss focus on 40% of your shots, have been doing it for years, and have been satisfied with the situation enough to continue on......let us know why???

bossa · 07-30-2013, 06:09 AM

Originally posted by Rupert

I'd like to see an answer to this question??? I'm certainly no pro, not an artist by any means (excepting those excellent drawings), but do know as a retired plumber that I would never, and have never, continued with equipment that failed me 40% of the time. Your gear is your income and your reputation depends on the efficiency of that gear....If it is failing you, you do not wait five years to remedy the problem........unless you are that Boss Man that fired his secretary after all those years, claiming only an idiot would hire anyone as dumb as her.

Regards!........we can go on and on about how "mean" we are here to Ben, but how about just answering the question Parallax posed???
If you agree that you miss focus on 40% of your shots, have been doing it for years, and have been satisfied with the situation enough to continue on......let us know why???

I can't see an art director accepting anything that's OOF at all and thus any compromises would be rejected outright in a very hard-nosed manner. But I do suppose that the more shots you take the more chance there is of something being on the money although from the excellent work shown in Ben's blog I am forced to wonder how the rhythm and timing of the shots shown could have succeeded against a 40% failure of focus rate. Timing can never succeed against 40% failure rate.. this coming from a musician.

areidjr · 07-30-2013, 06:19 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Rupert

I'm not sure any of this makes sense to me? He wants a free camera...doesn't get it and is moving on.....but on the way out is saying that Pentax cameras have failed him.....after years of use?
I like his work....most of it....he seems to be a likeable enough guy....but it sort of reminds me of a boss I knew once that fired his secretary, and commented that only an idiot would hire someone as dumb as her. She had been his secretary for almost 15 years........and yes, he was an idiot.

Regards!

As one who uses a Pentax K5 in the studio, I can confirm that after exchanging the camera twice and installing all FW updates, the camera still has a tendency to miss focus under tungsten modeling lights. So, you calibrate all of your best lenses one evening ony to find in the morning, just before a shoot, that the calibration has shifter because you now have a mix of tungsten and natural light.

So I switched all of my modeling lights to CFLs and had to give up on tracking the flash output. That helped to stabilize the focus problem quite a bit, but I still have occasions where I think I got the perfect shot and go to do a little retouching and find that, although I focused on the eyes, they are not in focus.

Now, why have I put up with the bad AF performance for so long? Good question. I never had these problems prior to the K5 and kept believing that there would be a FW fix that would make the AF as reliable as my old K100DS was. Sure it was slow, but it rarely missed focus if it locked. So I have a nice collection of quality glass and a camera body that doesn't focus reliably or at least as reliably as my several generations back K100DS.

So the quandary becomes do I stay with Pentax and try a K5II and hope things get better? I'm one that has also been holding my breath waiting for a FF camera from Pentax. Nothing after all of these years and nothing to tell me I should continue to be patient and wait. So I've also been looking at the D600 to use in the studio.

I can fully understand Ben's situation and the choice he made. I may be making the same decision soon.

benjikan · 07-30-2013, 06:30 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by bossa

I can't see an art director accepting anything that's OOF at all and thus any compromises would be rejected outright in a very hard-nosed manner. But I do suppose that the more shots you take the more chance there is of something being on the money although from the excellent work shown in Ben's blog I am forced to wonder how the rhythm and timing of the shots shown could have succeeded against a 40% failure of focus rate. Timing can never succeed against 40% failure rate.. this coming from a musician.

This is NOT an inquisition. I know how to use a camera and most certainly do not have to explain myself to you.

I taught photography as a guest professor at the Sorbonne School in Orleans, France. Was the Canon Photographer of the Year in France. Was sponsored by Canon, Bronica, Agfa and Pentax and have won multiple awards in photography including the Marie Claire Gold Medal for best advertising campaign for LUX soap. Have had exhibitions at the Arles Festival and the International Festival of Fashion Photography every year in Cannes since 2007 as well as permanent expositions at LUMAS Galleries World Wide http://fr.lumas.com/artist/benjamin_kanarek/ and finally, had my images exposed at the Pentax Stand in Paris.

I have worked for magazines the likes of:

Cosmopolitan (France and Italy)

Dépêche Mode

ELLE (Spain, Mexico, Vietnam, Portugal and Greece)

Fashion District News

Fashion Magazine

Flare

Glamour (France)

Harper’s BAZAAR (China, en Español & Latin America, Hong Kong, Italy)

Jardin des Modes

Jill

L’Officiel Paris

Madame Figaro

New York Daily News

New York Times Magazine

Oyster

Tank

VOGUE (China, Portugal, Brasil, Italia, Paris and South America & Mexico), RG VOGUE Brasil

Votre Beauté

W

WestEast

WWD

Yo Dona

I stayed with Pentax because like many, I was hoping for a fix and when my camera was supposedly fixed by Pentax, it would act up very quickly afterwards. The results were inconsistent, thus my hesitancy, which was also based on my loyalty to the brand the people using the system and the people at Pentax.

Thus what YOU think is meaningless. My reasons are my reasons and nobody else's. So "me thinks" it best to give it a rest!

jsherman999 · 07-30-2013, 06:56 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by areidjr

As one who uses a Pentax K5 in the studio, I can confirm that after exchanging the camera twice and installing all FW updates, the camera still has a tendency to miss focus under tungsten modeling lights. So, you calibrate all of your best lenses one evening ony to find in the morning, just before a shoot, that the calibration has shifter because you now have a mix of tungsten and natural light.

So I switched all of my modeling lights to CFLs and had to give up on tracking the flash output. That helped to stabilize the focus problem quite a bit, but I still have occasions where I think I got the perfect shot and go to do a little retouching and find that, although I focused on the eyes, they are not in focus.

Obviously, you are outright lying.

Otherwise, why would you have put up with the bad AF performance for so long?
.

Quote:

Now, why have I put up with the bad AF performance for so long? Good question. I never had these problems prior to the K5 and kept believing that there would be a FW fix that would make the AF as reliable as my old K100DS was. Sure it was slow, but it rarely missed focus if it locked. So I have a nice collection of quality glass and a camera body that doesn't focus reliably or at least as reliably as my several generations back K100DS.

Oh.

Quote:

So the quandary becomes do I stay with Pentax and try a K5II and hope things get better? I'm one that has also been holding my breath waiting for a FF camera from Pentax. Nothing after all of these years and nothing to tell me I should continue to be patient and wait. So I've also been looking at the D600 to use in the studio.

I can fully understand Ben's situation and the choice he made. I may be making the same decision soon.

I'm looking for signs of un-reason in your post, and can't find any. I'll continue to look harder.

.

jsherman999 · 07-30-2013, 06:59 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by bossa

I can't see an art director accepting anything that's OOF at all and thus any compromises would be rejected outright in a very hard-nosed manner. But I do suppose that the more shots you take the more chance there is of something being on the money although from the excellent work shown in Ben's blog I am forced to wonder how the rhythm and timing of the shots shown could have succeeded against a 40% failure of focus rate. Timing can never succeed against 40% failure rate.. this coming from a musician.

I can, especially when there's a deadline and the shots meet the criteria for an 8x10 with some PP, especially if everything else about the shot is arresting and perfect.

(Thought you were done with this thread couple pages ago Steve?

)

jsherman999 · 07-30-2013, 07:10 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Class A

...
How professional is it to try and setup one's own Wikipedia page?

Apparently, very professional, as many low to mid-level public figures do it themselves - albeit usually using a publicist, or friends IP address.

Quote:

What I do care about if someone is trying to dish up a story that does not add up and expects me and others to buy it.

I buy it, at least the majority of it, because it mirrors what I've been seeing in camera forums since 2007, when I began to pay attention - a cathartic even breaks the camel's back, causing one to take inventory and come to some sometimes hard conclusions about one's equipment choices. It's a pattern that plays itself out again and again - to say that it can't apply to a 'pro' doesn't ring true, especially when you have pros describing situations like that that cause them to switch systems all the time. Everyone's threshold for pain is different.

.

mrNewt · 07-30-2013, 07:11 AM

... where is this thread going?

I still think that the whole situation is fishy a little but who cares in the end?

Ben... whatever your actual reason was it don't matter what you choose... enjoy your new toys and keep doing your good work.
I'm sure you will still be an inspiration to a lot of people.

/thread

Class A · 07-30-2013, 07:11 AM

Originally posted by areidjr

So the quandary becomes do I stay with Pentax and try a K5II and hope things get better?

No need to hope.

I can promise you that the K-5 II is different. I'm sure it will fully convince you.

I hope you'll find an easy way to convince yourself.

P.S.: I was already wondering about this when Ben mentioned the same approach, i.e., calibrate the camera one day and then use it the next day in different lighting conditions. If there is a known problem, why not calibrate it then and there with the actual lighting conditions? It doesn't take long, does it?

07-30-2013, 06:09 AM	#83
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Originally posted by Rupert I'd like to see an answer to this question??? I'm certainly no pro, not an artist by any means (excepting those excellent drawings), but do know as a retired plumber that I would never, and have never, continued with equipment that failed me 40% of the time. Your gear is your income and your reputation depends on the efficiency of that gear....If it is failing you, you do not wait five years to remedy the problem........unless you are that Boss Man that fired his secretary after all those years, claiming only an idiot would hire anyone as dumb as her. Regards!........we can go on and on about how "mean" we are here to Ben, but how about just answering the question Parallax posed??? If you agree that you miss focus on 40% of your shots, have been doing it for years, and have been satisfied with the situation enough to continue on......let us know why??? I can't see an art director accepting anything that's OOF at all and thus any compromises would be rejected outright in a very hard-nosed manner. But I do suppose that the more shots you take the more chance there is of something being on the money although from the excellent work shown in Ben's blog I am forced to wonder how the rhythm and timing of the shots shown could have succeeded against a 40% failure of focus rate. Timing can never succeed against 40% failure rate.. this coming from a musician. Last edited by bossa; 07-30-2013 at 06:17 AM.

07-30-2013, 06:30 AM - 2 Likes	#85
benjikan Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Paris, France Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,308	Originally posted by bossa I can't see an art director accepting anything that's OOF at all and thus any compromises would be rejected outright in a very hard-nosed manner. But I do suppose that the more shots you take the more chance there is of something being on the money although from the excellent work shown in Ben's blog I am forced to wonder how the rhythm and timing of the shots shown could have succeeded against a 40% failure of focus rate. Timing can never succeed against 40% failure rate.. this coming from a musician. This is NOT an inquisition. I know how to use a camera and most certainly do not have to explain myself to you. I taught photography as a guest professor at the Sorbonne School in Orleans, France. Was the Canon Photographer of the Year in France. Was sponsored by Canon, Bronica, Agfa and Pentax and have won multiple awards in photography including the Marie Claire Gold Medal for best advertising campaign for LUX soap. Have had exhibitions at the Arles Festival and the International Festival of Fashion Photography every year in Cannes since 2007 as well as permanent expositions at LUMAS Galleries World Wide http://fr.lumas.com/artist/benjamin_kanarek/ and finally, had my images exposed at the Pentax Stand in Paris. I have worked for magazines the likes of: Cosmopolitan (France and Italy) Dépêche Mode ELLE (Spain, Mexico, Vietnam, Portugal and Greece) Fashion District News Fashion Magazine Flare Glamour (France) Harper’s BAZAAR (China, en Español & Latin America, Hong Kong, Italy) Jardin des Modes Jill L’Officiel Paris Madame Figaro New York Daily News New York Times Magazine Oyster Tank VOGUE (China, Portugal, Brasil, Italia, Paris and South America & Mexico), RG VOGUE Brasil Votre Beauté W WestEast WWD Yo Dona I stayed with Pentax because like many, I was hoping for a fix and when my camera was supposedly fixed by Pentax, it would act up very quickly afterwards. The results were inconsistent, thus my hesitancy, which was also based on my loyalty to the brand the people using the system and the people at Pentax. Thus what YOU think is meaningless. My reasons are my reasons and nobody else's. So "me thinks" it best to give it a rest! Last edited by benjikan; 07-30-2013 at 06:38 AM.

07-30-2013, 06:56 AM - 1 Like	#86
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	Your experience maps Ben's... so you must be lying. Originally posted by areidjr As one who uses a Pentax K5 in the studio, I can confirm that after exchanging the camera twice and installing all FW updates, the camera still has a tendency to miss focus under tungsten modeling lights. So, you calibrate all of your best lenses one evening ony to find in the morning, just before a shoot, that the calibration has shifter because you now have a mix of tungsten and natural light. So I switched all of my modeling lights to CFLs and had to give up on tracking the flash output. That helped to stabilize the focus problem quite a bit, but I still have occasions where I think I got the perfect shot and go to do a little retouching and find that, although I focused on the eyes, they are not in focus. Obviously, you are outright lying. Otherwise, why would you have put up with the bad AF performance for so long? . Quote: Now, why have I put up with the bad AF performance for so long? Good question. I never had these problems prior to the K5 and kept believing that there would be a FW fix that would make the AF as reliable as my old K100DS was. Sure it was slow, but it rarely missed focus if it locked. So I have a nice collection of quality glass and a camera body that doesn't focus reliably or at least as reliably as my several generations back K100DS. Oh. Quote: So the quandary becomes do I stay with Pentax and try a K5II and hope things get better? I'm one that has also been holding my breath waiting for a FF camera from Pentax. Nothing after all of these years and nothing to tell me I should continue to be patient and wait. So I've also been looking at the D600 to use in the studio. I can fully understand Ben's situation and the choice he made. I may be making the same decision soon. I'm looking for signs of un-reason in your post, and can't find any. I'll continue to look harder. .

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07-30-2013, 03:37 AM - 2 Likes	#76
_quicksilver_ Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 207	Originally posted by Class A How professional is it to come into a shoot with a DA* 16-50/2.8 -- which is known for its shaky SDM -- with no backup lens, be forced to focus manually, and then publicly complain about the lack of Pentax pro support? How professional is it not being able to calibrate your gear under the conditions you are going to use it? How professional is it to waste the model's and the team's time because you have to take extra shots to make sure that you get any sharp ones? How professional is it to not notice the (alleged) inadequacy of your gear yourself, but have your retoucher notice issues and your producer tell you that you need to change your gear? How professional is it to try and setup one's own Wikipedia page? Remember when he asked for help regarding his Wikipedia page? Wikipedia does not support vanity pages so there had to be interest from people other than him. There was a "fan" who was making a lot of effort to demonstrate the relevance Benjamin Kanarek's photography had in the industry when suddenly some of the Wikipedia contributers noticed that Ben and said "fan" were making contributions from the same account. Ben explained that he and the "fan" are not the same person and that he just had borrowed the fan's account. Yeah, right. Anyone is free to believe that Ben put up with terrible AF for years because he "stayed with them [Pentax] through thick and thin" -- exactly why would he sacrifice anything for them? -- and that we are hearing the full story now. Everyone is also free to believe that his Wikipedia "fan" was real and his Wikipedia debacle wasn't an example of sockpuppetry with an unwanted hiccup. . . . . I don't care what gear Ben uses. Well, it doesn´t look that way if you have to go after him on two different forums. I wish Ben Good luck with his new gear!

07-30-2013, 03:40 AM	#77
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072	Dovile Virsilaite Haute Couture Infinite Creation Harpers BAZAAR Benjamin Kanarek \| Benjamin Kanarek Blog I'm thinking this may have been the straw that broke the Kanarek's Pentax -- note the full length photos shot at a low-ish angle...

07-30-2013, 04:07 AM	#78
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	I suppose a Nikon D600 would add something although I have no idea what that might be.. (please note that I have a K-5, K-01 and two D800E's and hold no allegiances)

07-30-2013, 04:57 AM	#79
benjikan Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Paris, France Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,308	Originally posted by Nesster Dovile Virsilaite Haute Couture Infinite Creation Harpers BAZAAR Benjamin Kanarek \| Benjamin Kanarek Blog I'm thinking this may have been the straw that broke the Kanarek's Pentax -- note the full length photos shot at a low-ish angle... Actually, it was my most recent Haute Couture shoot for ELLE Magazine that comes out in September that broke the proverbial camel's back. My following ELLE shoot was done with the Nikon D600.

07-30-2013, 05:30 AM	#80
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072	Originally posted by benjikan Actually, it was my most recent Haute Couture shoot for ELLE Magazine that comes out in September that broke the proverbial camel's back. My following ELLE shoot was done with the Nikon D600. I'm looking forward to those. --- The thing about auto focus, as quickly becomes appparent if one googles a bit, is that it is the precision of the entire system that determines overall accuracy. You may be able to put a sensor exactly where you want to focus, but if the lens motor/servo mechanism has too much slop, you may end up with focus variations each time you focus. Canon of course with their philosophy aren't reticient about this - they just as soon change mounts as tell you their latest lenses have the least slop, to get you to buy....This sort of focus variation mainly comes into play where such accuracy is important; in most photography it simply isn't.

07-30-2013, 05:51 AM	#81
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	And the softer the lens is wide-open the harder it is and the more random is the AF.

07-30-2013, 05:53 AM	#82
Rupert Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 25,123	Originally posted by Parallax What I'm, having trouble with is not claims of "40% missed focus", but with the idea that he would put up with it for 5 (that I know of) years. Maybe it was 40%, maybe it was 4 percent; doesn't matter. I think there's another component to this. I'd like to see an answer to this question??? I'm certainly no pro, not an artist by any means (excepting those excellent drawings), but do know as a retired plumber that I would never, and have never, continued with equipment that failed me 40% of the time. Your gear is your income and your reputation depends on the efficiency of that gear....If it is failing you, you do not wait five years to remedy the problem........unless you are that Boss Man that fired his secretary after all those years, claiming only an idiot would hire anyone as dumb as her. Regards!........we can go on and on about how "mean" we are here to Ben, but how about just answering the question Parallax posed??? If you agree that you miss focus on 40% of your shots, have been doing it for years, and have been satisfied with the situation enough to continue on......let us know why???

07-30-2013, 06:19 AM - 1 Like	#84
areidjr Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 529	Originally posted by Rupert I'm not sure any of this makes sense to me? He wants a free camera...doesn't get it and is moving on.....but on the way out is saying that Pentax cameras have failed him.....after years of use? I like his work....most of it....he seems to be a likeable enough guy....but it sort of reminds me of a boss I knew once that fired his secretary, and commented that only an idiot would hire someone as dumb as her. She had been his secretary for almost 15 years........and yes, he was an idiot. Regards! As one who uses a Pentax K5 in the studio, I can confirm that after exchanging the camera twice and installing all FW updates, the camera still has a tendency to miss focus under tungsten modeling lights. So, you calibrate all of your best lenses one evening ony to find in the morning, just before a shoot, that the calibration has shifter because you now have a mix of tungsten and natural light. So I switched all of my modeling lights to CFLs and had to give up on tracking the flash output. That helped to stabilize the focus problem quite a bit, but I still have occasions where I think I got the perfect shot and go to do a little retouching and find that, although I focused on the eyes, they are not in focus. Now, why have I put up with the bad AF performance for so long? Good question. I never had these problems prior to the K5 and kept believing that there would be a FW fix that would make the AF as reliable as my old K100DS was. Sure it was slow, but it rarely missed focus if it locked. So I have a nice collection of quality glass and a camera body that doesn't focus reliably or at least as reliably as my several generations back K100DS. So the quandary becomes do I stay with Pentax and try a K5II and hope things get better? I'm one that has also been holding my breath waiting for a FF camera from Pentax. Nothing after all of these years and nothing to tell me I should continue to be patient and wait. So I've also been looking at the D600 to use in the studio. I can fully understand Ben's situation and the choice he made. I may be making the same decision soon.

07-30-2013, 06:59 AM - 1 Like	#87
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	Originally posted by bossa I can't see an art director accepting anything that's OOF at all and thus any compromises would be rejected outright in a very hard-nosed manner. But I do suppose that the more shots you take the more chance there is of something being on the money although from the excellent work shown in Ben's blog I am forced to wonder how the rhythm and timing of the shots shown could have succeeded against a 40% failure of focus rate. Timing can never succeed against 40% failure rate.. this coming from a musician. I can, especially when there's a deadline and the shots meet the criteria for an 8x10 with some PP, especially if everything else about the shot is arresting and perfect. (Thought you were done with this thread couple pages ago Steve? )

07-30-2013, 07:10 AM - 1 Like	#88
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	Originally posted by Class A ... How professional is it to try and setup one's own Wikipedia page? Apparently, very professional, as many low to mid-level public figures do it themselves - albeit usually using a publicist, or friends IP address. Quote: What I do care about if someone is trying to dish up a story that does not add up and expects me and others to buy it. I buy it, at least the majority of it, because it mirrors what I've been seeing in camera forums since 2007, when I began to pay attention - a cathartic even breaks the camel's back, causing one to take inventory and come to some sometimes hard conclusions about one's equipment choices. It's a pattern that plays itself out again and again - to say that it can't apply to a 'pro' doesn't ring true, especially when you have pros describing situations like that that cause them to switch systems all the time. Everyone's threshold for pain is different. .

07-30-2013, 07:11 AM	#89
mrNewt Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ON, RH Posts: 2,181	... where is this thread going? I still think that the whole situation is fishy a little but who cares in the end? Ben... whatever your actual reason was it don't matter what you choose... enjoy your new toys and keep doing your good work. I'm sure you will still be an inspiration to a lot of people. /thread

07-30-2013, 07:11 AM	#90
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	Originally posted by areidjr So the quandary becomes do I stay with Pentax and try a K5II and hope things get better? No need to hope. I can promise you that the K-5 II is different. I'm sure it will fully convince you. I hope you'll find an easy way to convince yourself. P.S.: I was already wondering about this when Ben mentioned the same approach, i.e., calibrate the camera one day and then use it the next day in different lighting conditions. If there is a known problem, why not calibrate it then and there with the actual lighting conditions? It doesn't take long, does it?