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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-24-2020, 11:09 AM  
Focus Stacking In Camera Using Intervals?
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 11
Views: 1,982
I found a detailed comparison between Affinity and Photoshop at Affinity Photo vs Photoshop 2020: which should you choose? and based on that I don't think Affinity will give me the simplicity I was wanting. From the website:
------------------------------------------------------------
"You cannot open multiple images as layers in Affinity Photo. If you need to open multiple images as layers you need to do this manually, by opening all of the images and copy the layers each image into a single image with all the layers."
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"Affinity Photo Focus Stacking and Panorama Stitching Could Be Improved
From a macro photographer’s viewpoint, focus stacking could be improved, as it is not quite up to speed. For instance, Affinity Photo doesn’t show the layer masks and which part from each layer was used to create the focus stack, but only outputs the resulting layer. So you cannot easily finish the blend yourself.

The panorama feature suffers from the same failure to show a layer mask of which part of each image layer was used to create the panorama, so you can add finishing touches to the panorama stitching yourself. You have to do this in the stitching process and cannot edit it after you applied the Panorama stitch to a pixel layer.

I must admit though that the initial panorama results that Affinity Photo outputs, is often much better than the results I got from Photoshop."

---------- Post added 08-24-20 at 11:22 AM ----------

So I kept searching and I think I have found the answer. There is a focus stacking software program called Helicon Focus 7 that can focus stack unlimited layers by either of three different methods and even allow touching up or masking areas where there might have been movement of the subject. It also includes the ability to insert a scale which would be helpful to me for my detailed scientific botanical photos. They have a 30 day fully functional free trial after you download, and then you can decide whether to buy a license from one of three different versions, depending on your needs, in either a one-year subscription or lifetime and the price is reasonable.

I downloaded it and tried a few photos that I already had on the computer at multiple focus points, and it seems to work great. I will keep trying it for the thirty days and then decide whether and what version to buy. They even have a fancy extension tube that fits in front of the camera and will automate the focus bracketing if you don't want to have to take different shots at different focus points yourself. Unfortunately they have this for Canon and Nikon - not Pentax.

Helicon Focus - Helicon Soft
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-24-2020, 05:46 AM  
Focus Stacking In Camera Using Intervals?
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 11
Views: 1,982
Okay, I can confirm that my idea did not work :). I was just hoping for something like I had in my old compact Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX10, which worked great for in camera focus stacking. I had forgotten that the wi-fi only works in single frame shooting, and trying to manually refocus during the intervals was impossible without at least a small amount of camera movement, even with a good tripod. Then when the shots finally did stitch together in the camera, there was nothing to remove the out-of-focus regions (of course, how stupid of me). So the results were really weird - like all the edges were blurred and only areas that were in focus in each of the interval shots were in focus in the final merged photo. There might be some situation where that would be desired, but I am sure there are better ways.

As for photo editing software, I will check out Affinity or try doing it in GIMP. There was a good YouTube video on focus stacking in GIMP. I just do not want to pay $10 a month ($120 per year FOREVER) to use Adobe products. Raw Therapee does everything I need for RAW processing and I am getting better and better at it. It includes the K-70 defaults now, including Pixel Shift so I don't think I need Lightroom. I also like the fact that Raw Therapee does not require cataloging. I do my own photo organization and use the free Irfanview for all that.

So thanks for all the advice here. I am learning from you all and from my own experimentation.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-22-2020, 07:14 PM  
Focus Stacking In Camera Using Intervals?
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 11
Views: 1,982
From a prior post on this forum it seems that Pentax does not include in-camera focus stacking. I would have to go to Photo Shop and merge layers at different focus points. I do not have Photo Shop, and GIMP seems to require more editing and masking than I really want to do. I am relying totally on the free stuff using Raw Therapee and GIMP, or trying to learn it, but I had an idea and wanted to ask here if anyone had already tried this and if so if they have any tips.

Here is my idea. Set the camera to do interval shooting and to make an interval composite to get the final stacked image. Give yourself enough time to carefully adjust the focus slightly using manual focus between shots, starting with the closest in focus, then slowly focusing out a bit for maybe 5 or so shots as needed in the macro subject you are shooting. I could test in advance to see just how much change would be needed between shots. Then when the camera merges the separate shots, it should result in focus stacking, right?

I also thought I might be able to use the wireless and change the focus for each shot by using the touch screen on my smart phone, but I am not sure that is possible during interval shooting. If so, that would eliminate bumping the camera during manual refocusing.

Unless I get a total "thumbs down" here, I will give it a try in the next couple of days and report the results.

I am really new at all this but absorbing everything I can and trying to learn. I am using an entry level K-70 and I really love this camera.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 08-13-2020, 08:05 AM  
Viewfinder Auto Focus Problem in K-70
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 4
Views: 1,120
Well now I have tried cleaning it and it is no longer intermittent - it does not work at all. So maybe I have moved the trash to a worse place? Live view still works but the view finder will not focus - just keeps searching.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 08-13-2020, 04:56 AM  
Viewfinder Auto Focus Problem in K-70
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 4
Views: 1,120
My 2 week old K-70 has just started having intermittent auto focus problems using the viewfinder. Liveview works fine - the problem is only through the viewfinder. Conditions are such that it should be having no problems finding focus but it keeps searching back and forth without finding focus. I have it on AF.S and tried 11 point, 5 point and center with the same problem. I have taken about 600 shots without a problem, but it just started yesterday evening. It does this on both lenses I have tried - my older SMC 100 mm 2.8 Macro and my new DA 4.5-6.3 55-300 ED PLM WR RE.

The frustrating part is that it is intermittent. It usually works well when I first turn on the camera and then after a few successful focus attempts it starts searching again. I read a post about a similar problem with a K-70 from about 3 years ago and I tried cleaning the contacts.

Is this a known problem with the K-70? Does it sound like something in the electronics has gone bad or some kind of cleaning problem?
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 08-12-2020, 03:14 AM  
PEF vs. DNG - Is there any loss of data having the camera save in DNG RAW?
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 41
Views: 5,997
I am the beginner who started this thread, so please forgive my lack of understanding of all the details here, and help me with the bottom line. I do use Raw Therapee and I am experimenting with Pentax Pixel Shift in my K-70 to capture fine details and better color rendition in my photos of the rare plants that I study. I chose Raw Therapee specifically because their software can handle Pixel Shift and I do not have any need to pay for software that enables artistic representation of my photos - only scientific reality. If I understand this last post, I can still have the camera produce DNG raw files and Raw Therapee can properly process the Pixel Shift raw files taking full advantage of the multiple exposures even when the format is DNG. Is that correct?
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 08-09-2020, 02:46 AM  
PEF vs. DNG - Is there any loss of data having the camera save in DNG RAW?
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 41
Views: 5,997
Okay, thanks to all for the replies, I think I will stick with DNG unless someone knows of a problem with my model. I am using the K-70. Are there any known issues with Pentax's built-in conversion to DNG in this model? I would rather not be bothered with using the Adobe conversion software.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-09-2020, 12:12 AM  
Lens Fogging Solution
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 4
Views: 1,126
I thought about using a light bulb, but that would also mean finding a small fixture to use. When I found the low wattage heater for $20 I figured it could be useful in winter as a personal heater (down at my feet for example) so I went that route instead. It also has a very quiet little fan to keep the air circulating within the dry box.
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 08-08-2020, 06:35 PM  
PEF vs. DNG - Is there any loss of data having the camera save in DNG RAW?
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 41
Views: 5,997
Another beginner question. I have read the other posts on this, but did not find this question answered. I would prefer to simply have the camera save in DNG instead of PEF because DNG is compatible with so many other programs without having to load a conversion. The only downside I could find on the previous posts was that the files in DNG are a bit larger than PEF.

So my question: Is anything lost at all in the RAW data when you have the camera save the RAW files in DNG instead of the proprietary PEF?
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-08-2020, 02:39 PM  
Lens Fogging Solution
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 4
Views: 1,126
I am new to DSLR and now transitioning from using my Pixel 3 smart phone. I live in hot and humid Tallahassee, Florida where we keep the house comfortably air conditioned, but my collection of rare plants are outside. So I was faced with the problem that every time I wanted to go out and take another series of photos, I had to sit and wait 15 minutes or so for the camera to acclimate outside. I read the old posts here but nothing worked much better than what I was already doing.

So.... I decided to build a dry box for my camera and lenses. I had an empty shelf in the office where I could partition off a 12 inch by 18 inch space. I bought a very low wattage electric heater on Amazon for $20 (low power setting is only 160 watts). Then I hooked it to a thermostat/timer that I already had, but is available on Amazon for $30. I set the temperature to 85° and point the heater to the back of the box. It cycles on for less than a minute and holds for about an hour, but the enclosed shelf area is maintained at 85° for my camera and lenses. I set the timer to start at 6 AM and end in the evening and I always have my camera and lenses properly acclimated to take photos without waiting.

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Thermostat available at Lux WIN100 Automatic Heating & Cooling 5-2 Day Programmable Outlet Thermostat, Compatible with Portable A/C, Fans, and Space Heaters - Programmable Household Thermostats - amazon.com?tag=pentaxforums-20&
Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF 07-24-2020, 05:04 AM  
WiFi connection
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 7
Views: 1,534
Okay, this is getting crazy. Once I got the camera to connect to my Pixel 3 smartphone and to my Galaxy Tab S2 for the first time, I have had no further problems. I did not do anything to change settings on the phone or the Galaxy Tab - no changes to prefer one router over the other or anything else. Once I got it set up the first time by first entering the password in my phone Network setting, and then entering it again in the app., it is no longer a problem. It now connects immediately and dependably as soon as turn on the WiFi in the camera, open the app, and click on the K-70 model in the app. I do not have to enter the password again in either place.

My complaint with the app is only that the instructions do not adequately explain how to make that initial connection. It does not explain that you have to first get the password saved in your phone or tablet's network connection before you open the app and try to connect.

Now that I have it working, I am quite happy with the app. It transfers photos to my phone or tablet as quickly as can be expected for large files transferring by WiFi. The camera controls are really good, not only allowing a shutter release but also permitting remote settings of the camera. It even seemingly provides a touch screen for the focusing point on the phone screen that you do not have in live view on the camera - or at least it seems to change the focus point when you touch the phone screen. I have not fully tested to see if it is really changing the focus point in the camera.
Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF 07-24-2020, 04:43 AM  
UV Protectors?
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 33
Views: 5,028
Thanks ClickClick for that link. Tiffen came out bottom of the list in their testing so I guess I will ditch the Tiffen filters, but buy a higher quality UV filter for my long zoom at least. That is the only lens where "landscape haze" might be a problem for me, and I will just be more careful with the other lenses.
Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF 07-22-2020, 05:14 PM  
WiFi connection
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 7
Views: 1,534
It did the same thing to my Galaxy Tab S2 that was only running Android 7. I had to "forget" my home router WiFi SSID before it would let me connect to the Pentax WiFi. I have previously used a Panasonic camera with WiFi and used their app on my Galaxy Tab and also on my smartphone with no problem like that. What I don't understand about the Pentax app is why the instructions tell you to first open the app and then enter the password in the app instead of simply connecting directly to the camera WiFi SSID from the phone or tablet. That is the way the Panasonic app works. Why should I have to enter the camera's password twice - once in the phone/tablet network connections, then again in the app after selecting the K-70? I am guessing they set it up that way for their camera models that support direct connection by NFC reader/writer where you simply place the phone next to the camera to connect. The K-70 does not have NFC.

Now that I have it connected for the first time, there is no problem at all in connecting again and again without having to change anything on my phone or on my Galaxy Tab. It was only for the first time connecting that I was having a problem.
Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF 07-21-2020, 06:17 PM  
WiFi connection
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 7
Views: 1,534
Eureka! I finally got it, posting here to hopefully help other people. Here is the answer.
1. With my Galaxy Pad, I had to first make it forget my home WiFi password. With the app CLOSED I simply connected to the camera using my normal WiFi connection in the Galaxy Pad. It finally connected and gave me the message that it was connected with no internet. No problem, I wasn't trying to have internet. Then I openned the Ricoh app. and connected there, by AGAIN entering the password. It worked!

2. With my Google Pixel phone, I had to not only make it forget my home WiFi network, but ALSO to disable my wireless data on the phone. Same as the Galaxy Pad, I first turned on WiFi and did a normal connection to the camera. It connected with a message "no internet". Then I openned the Ricoh app and selected the K-70, entered the password again, and tapped connect. It worked!

What a piss-poor job that Ricoh has done with their instructions, not explaining any of this. Only by trial and error I finally got it before I was ready to send the phone back.

Hope this helps someone else who is new like me.
Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF 07-21-2020, 05:47 PM  
WiFi connection
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 7
Views: 1,534
I am almost afraid to ask this here, because of all the bad reviews of the Ricoh Imaging app. I have tried connection to both my Pixel 3 running Android 10 and my Galaxy Tab S2 running Android 7. In both cases, it starts to make the connection, the wireless icon on the camera goes from grey to white for a second or two, then back to grey and eventually times out without establishing the connection. The phone or tablet asks me to check password (which I have done several times by looking on the camera menu). My phone/tablet can see the camera wireless but it cannot connect. I have read the instructions over and over, including on-line with the latest version of the app. Is there some secret to this? Is it possible to use this app? Is there some permission I need to grant on my phone?

Without the app the wireless in the camera is useless, but it was one reason I chose this model for transfer of images directly to my Google Pixel and for remote control of the camera.
Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF 07-21-2020, 01:47 PM  
UV Protectors?
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 33
Views: 5,028
Wow, quick answers and pretty much a consensus here! I am close to sea level and most of my travel photography will be at under 1000 meters to I will only use them if/when I am in a sand storm in the Sahara :). I do understand about using the lens hood to reduce flair, and a little added protection to the end of the lens. Thanks to all!
Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF 07-21-2020, 11:33 AM  
UV Protectors?
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 33
Views: 5,028
Here is my first newby question on this forum. I just bought a K-70, I already had 2 good lenses. I have Tiffen UV protectors for these lenses. My question... Are UV Protectors important? Do they detract at all from image quality (assuming clean and scratch free). ?
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions 07-21-2020, 10:09 AM  
Back to Pentax
Posted By Selvadero
Replies: 6
Views: 640
Hello,
I am certainly an amateur, but getting back into DSLR. I had a K-7 that I bought in 2010 just before the K-5 came out. I am a botanist and use a camera mainly for flower photos while trekking deep in the jungles of Latin America. After two trips carrying the heavy K-7 and lenses I gave up and went to a compact camera. We are now preparing for a major revision to the monograph on the plants I study so I decided I need higher quality photos. I knew about the good weather sealing on Pentax and I already had the good F2.5 100mm macro lens so I decided to come back to Pentax. I have ordered a K-70 which should be delivered later today. I have been reading all about it on this forum, including the excellent review that was prepared here when the model first came out. I probably will have lots of questions to post to you more experienced users once I get going with it.

As soon as I am satisfied with the K-70 I will list my K-7 for sale here, everything complete with box, used less than a year with about 3000 shots total.

Thanks for providing this great forum!
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