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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-05-2007, 11:17 PM
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I have posted this same complaint an annoying amount of times on this forum. I have the same lens which I specifically bought for indoor "natural" light situations because of its wide aperture. You can hardly buy a faster lens for this camera. The DS auto focus is worthless in indoor low light or even moderate incandescent light situations (with or without the flash). After ten seconds of hunting and strobing the flash it will normally yeild a poorly focused shot. If you must try, firstly, don't let the camera pick the focus spot. The center focus spot seems more accurate than the others. Focus on a distinct edge (e.g. a shirt collar) in your desired focus plane to give it a clue and then recompose. Actually, after some practice, I now use manual focus for indoor shots. Being an "old man" of 47 years my eyes are not so great but I get a better ratio of good shots indoors if I just do it my self. Sad really for an otherwise fine camera.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-05-2007, 10:58 AM
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I find that the sensor has far more capability than most lenses. In otherwords the lens is probably the weak link in you quest to get super clean and sharp shots that look great at full resolution. The other thing is shooting in raw format. The camera's jpg conversion process is not nearly as powerful as Photoshop's. Shoot raw and convert as part of your workflow.
When I first got my istDS I was not happy with the quality of the photos. They were not as sharp and clean as those that came out of my wives 5mp Oly P&S. I noticed the the penatax jpgs file sizes were much smaller than those from the Oly. That was my clue that the in-camera Pentax conversion process was inferior. Shooting raw made a huge diffrence.
Then I got a Pentax fa50mm f1.4. This lens is known for being super sharp at f4 and above. It made another huge diffrence in the quality of the final images.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
09-03-2007, 09:51 PM
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Yes, 8000 horse power. That is the high end. Most are 4000 - 5000 horse power. Here is a link to the specs for the LiquidQuiker boat.
LiquidQuker Specs |
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
09-03-2007, 01:47 PM
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These were taken at the SLDBA Dragboat race in Litchfield IL. last weekend. These boats are doing a straight quarter mile drag. This is a very exciting (and incredibly loud) sport. Top class boats (Top Fuel Hydro) do a quarter mile in under 5 seconds at speeds over 250mph. Though I try, photos can never do it justice. I have posted a few video links as well so that you can get an idea of what a race is like.
In the Top Fuel Hydro class the boats consume 1.5 gallons of nitromethane per second. The engines are up to 8000 horse power and must be rebuilt between each quarter mile run (new pistons, valves, gaskets, etc.) Each run costs the team around $3000!
I have been photographing these events for a few years now and I am starting to get the hang of it. My technique is to use a slow shutter speed (1/250 - 1/350 ) with my 200mm lens. I set my istDS in burst shutter mode and continuous AF. I pick the spot that I want the shots of (no background clutter, etc.). I point my feet to that spot. I then twist my upper body around to point to the boat in the starting line and wait for take off. When the boat takes off I pan along with it in continuous AF until my chest is aligned with my feet. I fire off three or four shots at that point.
I always shoot the boat in the inside lane so that it is never obscured by the rooster tail of the other boat. This also makes a nice background of spray if the outside lane boat is winning.
Several people have told me I should sell my dragbaot photos to magazines and newpapers but I really don't know how to approach doing that. I would appreciate any advice you may have to offer in selling my photos.
A few videos to set the stage (turn up your speakers!):
LiquidQuiker - performance test run - 4.84 seconds - 204mph
LiquidQuker vs. Dragonator - 5.02 seconds - 204mph
These crash videos were not shoot my me. Thought you should see what these brave men face at high speed.
LiquidQuiker - Horrible Crash 1
LiquidQuiker - Horrible Crash 2
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
07-16-2007, 08:01 PM
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I agree with the "out of the box" review. I have a couple of high end Oly P&S cameras that take better jpgs than my DS. However, the DS in raw mode with a good lens (e.g FA 50mm 1.4) blows them away. The sad thing is that it took me almost a year of shooting jpg on my DS before I "discovered" the huge quality difference between raw and jpg with the pentax camera
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Forum: Photographic Technique
06-27-2007, 10:54 PM
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Repeating SloPhoto's query, Why was this thread moved to the "Everything Else" forum? This is a *very* pertinent issue for the "Pentax DSLR Discussion" forum it was originally posted in. Please don't allow it to be buried here. If I (we) didn't already love the Pentax system I wouldn't be on this site to begin with. These issues need to be honestly expressed and dealt with and there is no better way to do that then discussing them openly
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Forum: Photographic Technique
06-27-2007, 12:26 PM
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I have posted here several times about the horrible low light AF performance of my DS. I have never had the patience to wait a whole minute while it hunts but I know that when it's "confused" it's a waste of time because even if it does lock it will lock out of focus. If it doesn't get it right in a few seconds I turn off AF and focus manually. I used the camera at my son's wedding reception a few weeks ago and after a couple of attempts at using AF I gave up and used MF the rest of the night. I missed some really good shots due to my own MF errors but was happy overall with my results. I don't mind so much anymore that the AF is worthless in low light because I've gotten better at doing it manaully. However, I have no shots of me taken with my own camera that night because it's hopeless to try to hand it to someone else who is not an experienced photog and expect them to manually focus.
BUT.... Here is the rub and the thing about it that really ticks me off. There were all kinds of people there using simple, cheap, P&S cameras (including my wife's new OLY FE-230). They had no problem getting focused shots out of those $200 cameras. I have seen their shots so I know it's true. I wish someone could explain to me why my DSLR cannot AF but those P&S cameras can. I'm a software engineer by trade so I'll give my opinion. It a poor AF algorithm in the camera's firmware. Pentax needs to hire a few software engineers away from it's competitors and get the firmware right once and for all.
I love my DS and I won't part with it due to this issue. It just ticks me off when a cheapo P&S can run circles around it.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-16-2007, 07:47 PM
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JahJahwarrior,
They are pans. It's way too fast to pick a spot and wait. The first two were shot at 1/250 and 1/350. The first is near the starting line so the boat is not yet traveling at full speed ( maybe 80mph ). The second is at full speed. Each year I go I use a slower shutter speed in order to get a better pan effect. I don't want to ruin a bunch of shots so I'm afraid to just knock it down to 1/125 with a 200mm lens. I think next year I'll give that a try though.
The pic I sold is below. This is from last year. The boat pilot's wife would come out and pray on the shoreline during each of his races. I found it *very* touching and took some shots of her and her husband during their races. I simply composited a shot of her praying over a shot of him winning last years competition in his boat class. I presented it to them this year as a framed and matted 8x10 and a few wallet sized versions. They were both wonderful friendly people! She said that they have enough pictures of his boat to wallpaper their house but that this one has nice meaning. He is the one that decided to buy it: I think because it included her and showed their mutual passion for racing as a team.
Sorry about the watermarks and small pics. The racing pictures seem to get stolen and reposted unless I muck them up like that.
On a wing and a Prayer
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-16-2007, 05:40 PM
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kskjon, Thanks! Used a Pentax SMC F 80-200. It's not a "great" lens but it does the trick.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-15-2007, 09:01 PM
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I understand. They left me "speechless" too! ;)
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-15-2007, 08:16 PM
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Try here:
Computer Cables: USB Cables, DVI Cables, FIREWIRE Cables, VGA Cables, SVIDEO Cables. Camera Cables
I got a new cable for my istDS for under $10 shipped. They shipped very fast too!. Their simplistic website had me concerned about the seriousness of their business but I had no issues.
I never use a card reader anymore because I have had too many cards (smartmedia type) ruined by windows trying to write something to them while they were active on the machine. On my old Olys that would make the card unusable and unformattable by the camera.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-15-2007, 03:06 PM
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I few shots from this year's SLDBA Drag Boat Classic. Unfortunately no Top Fuel or Top Alcohol classes (QM: 250+mph <5sec ) this year :( but the Pro Mods are still awesome!!!
Also... I sold my first print at this year's race! Paid for both years admissions and bought my family a nice dinner :)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-23-2007, 09:36 PM
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Here is what works best for me for high-speed motorsports where the path of the object is known. I use continuous AF and burst mode shutter. As mentioned, start with your body wound-up and then un-wind as you pan. I don't like the method of pre-focusing on a spot and then firing when the object appears in frame because the shots end up being very static compared to more dynamic panned shots. Besides that you need a faster shutter speed if you don't pan. The dragboats below were traveling 200mph+/- in a straight line in front of me. I used a SMC F 80-200mm lens at 200mm (cheap-o lens). I shot most at 1/500 sec but 1/350 sec seems to be the magic shutter speed for the pans at this speed. I'll be the first to admit (and complain) that Pentax AF is pretty poor but my DS did a great job in the overcast daylight in continuous AF mode. You can practice panning with cars on the road. It's not hard at all really, kind of like shooting skeet.
200mm F11 1/500
200mm f8 1/350 <--- this worked best with panning
200mm f9.5 1/500
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Forum: Photographic Technique
05-02-2007, 10:04 AM
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As Edwood stated, it is disappointing that this issue still exists in the newer models. I have an istDS also and, as I have stated here *many* times, the lowlight autofocus performance is horrendous in terms of speed and accuracy. I understand that AF is a convenience and that ultimately it is up to me to get the shot focused but that is beside the point. This is a matter of poor technology in an area that other manufacturers have achieved excellent results. My wife's Oly P&S (c5050z) uses an infrared assist and it focuses very quickly and accurately in low light conditions. For situations like indoor birthday parties I don't even bother using my istDS anymore because it's so frustrating. Her camera can run circles around it in the ability to get quick, accurate candid shots. I have seen the same high performance AF in my daughter in-law's Canon Rebel. I believe that the Pentax is a far superior camera to those in every other sense but I'm not going to lose dozens of shoots out of loyalty to my Pentax. This is something Pentax can and should address
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-11-2007, 08:03 PM
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Here is an *EASY* one: A version of Pentax Remote Assistant that works with the istDS and K series. There is no way they are engineering the cameras without such software so it should be pertty simple to just release it to the public.
And as Mile High stated above, better low light AF. I can buy a $150 digicam with infared AF assist that leaves my Pentax DSLR in the dust in low light.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-05-2007, 07:47 PM
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Adam,
They are all great shots but I really like the second one. It almost pops off the screen! My guess is the FA 50mm 1.4
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-05-2007, 07:42 PM
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Christian,
I know what you mean about people using HDR in goofy ways. If you want the extreme effects a lot of them create you can simply use the curves adjustment in Photoshop. For landscapes I can usually get by with a single image and using a gradient selection mask w/ levels adjustment in photoshop. This is much like using an ND gradient filter on the lens. I just submitted a couple of pics in the "post your photos" section that I used this technique on. They are of people fishing near a dam at dusk. I used the gradient selection mask to bring the details out in the sky. I then inverted the selection and brought the details out in the land.
I tried to use actual HDR a few weeks ago when we toured the Missouri State Capitol buidling. There were tons of beautiful stained glass windows that I wanted properly exposed as well as properly exposing the building interior in the same shot. I was bracketing the shots but I did not have a tripod to assure that each shot was absolutely identically framed. Unless the HDR application has an alignment facility (like Photomatix) these small variances end up appearing as motion blur in the final image. The other problem I had is that the istDS only goes up to 0.5 ev steps in the bracket. I really needed at least 1.0 ev (or more) to capture the huge exposure range between sunlit windows and the dim shadowy interior.
Hope to get some nice quality HDR sunset shots this summer at my buddy's lake.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-05-2007, 02:59 PM
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-05-2007, 02:35 PM
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I saw *many* fish caught. I just didn't get any quality shots of them. :o
The spoonbill are 3-4ft long and look something like a swordfish. The asian carp look like.... carp and are about 3ft long. The carp are a non-native species and are notorious for freaking out as boats speed by. They jump several feet out of the water and often injure (or kill ) boaters passing by at high speed. I guess a 50lb carp can do a lot of damage to you when it hits you in the head at 40mph!!. The Missouri Convervation department forbids fisherman from releasing the carp back into the water when caught. They ask that the fish be taken home or left on the shore for the birds.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-05-2007, 02:16 PM
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These were taken at the Alton lock and Dam on the Mississippi river. It is "snagging season" through April. The fishermen use surfcasting poles as thick as broomsticks and thrash large weighted treble hooks through the water in order to snag large spoonbill and asian carp that accumulate in large numbers below the dam.
Pentax istDS 18-55 kit lens. ISO800
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-21-2007, 02:15 PM
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I used books, magazines, web articles, and forums to learn the technical aspects of photography (the lingo). I learned composition and technique by taking pictures and seeing how they came out. I used to be very active at photosig.com. This was a fantastic place to submit photos and get very well thought out critiques of your submissions. The other members there would point out even the slightest flaws with any photo that was submitted. This sounds quite defeating but I think it was the number one force that drove me to get better and better. Now I always look at every serious photo I take and ask myself "what is wrong with this and what could I have done to make it better". Photosig is still up and running but it's culture has changed over the years so I don't submit much anymore. It's tough to get more than a couple of critiques now. It's still a *great* place to go to see excellent work being done by other photographers. Sort the photos list by "highest rated first" and you will be truely amazed at what can be done with a camera. But, if you submit there don't even think about submitting a "snapshot" of your family reunion and your kids birthday party. They tear that stuff to pieces.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-19-2007, 03:52 PM
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For my dragboat pictures I use the center focus spot, continuous autofocus and burst shutter mode. I establish initial focus as the boat begins to move from the starting line and then pan along with the subject, keeping it on my center spot as it moves faster and faster across my field of view. The continuous autofocus does a great job this way and rarely losses track. I do end up with a centered subject this way so I have to crop later for a rule of thirds composition. I guess I could use selective auto-focus to manually move the spot so that cropping would be reduced. I'll have to try that to see if outter spots are as accurate and fast as the center.
These are *very* fast moving subjects moving perpendicular to the camera. However, unlike basketball shots, their paths are entirely predictable so I'm sure that makes it easier on me. I still think it would work though. Establish initial focus on your son when he is standing still or moving slowly. Then track him around the court keeping your spot on him (shutter button half depressed)at all times until you are ready to fire. Also make sure that you have the focus spot indicator (red light) turned on so that you know exactly where the spot is. I'm wondering if you have it turned off since you're not sure if you where in auto-selection mode or not. You would have seen the spot moving to different (seeming random) locations on each shot rather than staying in one place for each shot.
Another point that was made earlier is the low indoor light. My istDS has *terrible* autofocus speed and accuracy in low light conditions.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
03-19-2007, 02:59 PM
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Yes she is. They sure grow up fast. She was about a year old in the avatar picture. Now she is six. Here is another from the same day of shooting on the sofa. I call this one:
How to Freak-out your little sister
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
03-17-2007, 11:50 AM
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This is the first one I ever did. I call it "Me being too hard on myself". This kind is *very* simple to do since there are no regions of overlap in the subject. This was simply a matter of making sure that the background of the two images was perfectly aligned and then erasing half of the top layer. Something like this would be a good place to start if you are interested in playing with these kinds of images. (please excuse the poor photography such as blow-outs in the image. Back then I was just getting started with photography)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
03-17-2007, 11:24 AM
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Ivan,
I think your image is absolutely outstanding!!! It is a far more complex composite than anything I have attempted and your result is perfect as far as I can see. Very, very creative work.
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