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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-09-2010, 12:14 AM
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Nice to see that my K-5 isn't able to show those artificial anti-aircraft tracer rounds in the sky areas of my images. Seems Lady Luck is in my corner this time .. so far.
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Forum: Sold Items
05-02-2010, 01:23 PM
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Forum: Sold Items
04-24-2010, 11:37 AM
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PentaxForums.com Marketplace Listing
Item for Sale
Pentax K20D body plus extras
Asking Price
CAD$ 700
Item Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Item Description
Selling my MINT CONDITION back-up Pentax K20D body; purchased in October, 2008; less than 1200 shutter actuations; firmware just updated to v1.04. Comes complete with:
D-BG-2 Battery Grip
2- Pentax D-LI50 batteries
LI-80 Matte Focusing Sceen
LL-80 Divided Matte Focusing Screen
AC-Maxx LCD screen protectors (top & back)
All original cables, charger, manuals, software & box
CAD$700 firm plus $45 shipping/insurance.
Are you the original owner of the item being sold?
Yes
Are you selling or trading this item?
Selling
Item Condition (Key)
Used
Mint
Shipping Destinations
North America
Shipping Charge
CAD$45
Shipping Services
CanadaPost Expedited Parcel
Accepted Payment Types
PayPal
Return Policy & Additional Details
Full refund offered if item not as described (buyer responsible for return shipping/insurance).
Please send me a private message if interested in the item!
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Forum: Sold Items
04-24-2010, 09:23 AM
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PentaxForums.com Marketplace Listing
Item for Sale
Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8
Asking Price
SALE PENDING
Item Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Item Description
Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8 with lens hood, front/rear caps and case (no box). Like new condition.
Purchased new in April, 2006 and I've only used it twice.
Asking CAD$425 plus $30 shipping/insurance. PayPal preferred.
Are you the original owner of the item being sold?
Yes
Are you selling or trading this item?
Selling
Item Condition (Key)
Used
Like New
Shipping Destinations
North America
Shipping Charge
CAD$ 30
Shipping Services
Canada Post
Accepted Payment Types
PayPal
Return Policy & Additional Details
Will refund if not as described (return shipping/insurance at buyer's expenses).
Please send me a private message if interested in the item!
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
04-07-2010, 10:14 PM
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Apologies, Robin .. I didn't see your further clarifications to your questions.
I haven't found a way to customize/edit the menus.
Custom keyboard shortcuts can be assigned for frequently used labeling but the 100+ keyboard shortcuts that come with IDimager seem to be non-editable.
Metadata can be copied from one image and pasted into one or many other images by use of the clipboard.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
04-06-2010, 10:36 PM
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I am going to echo the advice from Ben. If your serious about selling prints, you owe it to your customers to offer quality prints with some degree of longevity. For this, archival inks and quality rag-based papers are the way to go. I`m not aware of an all-in-one printer that uses archival inks.
In researching what printer to buy, first pick a paper brand that offers profiles specific to the printer(s) your are considering. Then see if the printer(s) use archival inks. This will likely narrow your choices down to dedicated photo printers from either Canon, Epson or HP.
My personal choice for printers is both an Epson R800 (8.5" x 11" or 8.5" wide roll) and an Epson R2400 (13" x 19" or 13" wide roll), both using K3 archival inks. Both are now discontinued but the current $550 Epson R1900 uses K3 archival inks and is a good value.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
04-06-2010, 10:04 PM
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Robin;
Glad I could help.:D
I've added to your list in RED. I believe IDimager will answer ALL you DAM needs and then some. Why not take the trial version for a test-drive?
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
04-05-2010, 11:20 PM
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Two years ago, when the combined number of images (about 45,000 images) taken by both my girlfriend and I brought PhotoShop Elements' Organizer down to an exercise in patience and anger management, I gave IDimager a try and haven't looked back.
I'm now on version 5 of IDimager (version 5.0.6.5-ProSL) and it has more features than I'll ever use. I find batch rename on import, versioning and tagging quite intuitive and there's now a third-party 222-page workbook in the works for the database-impaired.
IDimager also supports a universal CVKC (Controlled Vocabulary Keyword Catalog) used by many databases which takes much of the drudgery out of trying to figure out meaningful keywords needed for full database searches. I don't know if other DAM software supports a CVKC.
Given IDimager's capabilities, I think that, at $139 (Pro version), it offers good value for money and, more importantly, it'll help clean up a huge cataloguing backlog.
Perhaps my only complaint is that I find a typical import of images from a 4GB media card to be fairly slow. Justifiably, there's lots going on behind the scenes in IDimager when you import images and I have no experience with how fast or slow other DAM software is with image imports.
For me, one impressive "feature" of IDimager is that when I found it wouldn't import the raw files from my then new Leica D-Lux 4, I emailed a request to customer support asking if these raw files would be supported in the near future. I received an immediate email from the developer, Hertwig van Zwietering, requesting sample raw files from my Leica D-Lux 4. Amazingly, the very next update to IDimager supported my Leica D-Lux 4 raw files! Hertwig van Zwietering is a stand-up guy and this is my idea of user support.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-29-2009, 07:05 PM
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Yep .. as basic for B&W digital work as Tri-X and D-76 were for B&W film.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-29-2009, 06:41 PM
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Agreed, Steve. But I'd rather have a less-than-ideal image than none at all. When I know in advance that I'll be forced to shoot at ISO 1600 or 3200, I tend to switch to a total B&W mindset and I find these K-7 high-ISO images processed in Capture One plus Silver Efex Pro and printed to 13x19 on Ilford's Galerie Gold Fibre Silk yields some beautiful results. But, you have to like a bit of "grit" in your images and I acknowledge that this doesn't appeal to everyone.
Different boats, different long splices ..
Cheers,
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-29-2009, 05:26 PM
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What with the endless "noise" about high-ISO noise, I can only conclude that due to my 40 years of shooting film, my personal expectations of a high-ISO digital image are far too low. Call me a doddering old fool but I will gladly take detail plus noise over squeaky clean noiseless smear.
I believe it's camera makers like Canon and Nikon, plus the absurd list of accepted cameras that Getty Images uses to establish a minimum image quality standard that have duped the photographic community into believing that the only good image is a noiseless one.
I've posted these K-7 ISO 3200 images before and I don't consider these to be a last ditch alternative to no image at all:
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
09-01-2009, 09:57 PM
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I have no experience with Moab's Lasal paper but I have used Moab's Entrada and Kokopelli papers quite extensively. Entrada is a good paper but I've since moved on to what I consider a much better fine art paper, namely Ilford's Galerie Gold Fibre Silk. To me, this Ilford paper has the glow, the feel and even the smell of a traditional wet print.
See:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-processing-printing-software-darkroo...jet-paper.html
Which printer are you using?
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Forum: Photographic Technique
08-28-2009, 08:24 PM
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I've shot stage events, concerts and jam sessions indoors and out and the only way to go is to make peace with the available light. Flash will make you grossly unpopular, it will distract the performer(s) and your shots will have harsh shadows where you don't want them.
Most of my shots end up being ISO 400-800, but I'm not afraid to use ISO 1600 and even ISO 3200. In fact, I love the gritty look of ISO 3200 (in B&W) when shooting blues music performers. This is using the K10D, the K20D and now the K-7.
My most used lenses for this type of work are the FA 77/1.8 Limited, DA* 50-135/2.8 and Sigma 100-300/4. My girlfriend is also getting exceptional shots with the venerable *istDS and a manual focus 105mm/2.8 macro lens.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-23-2009, 02:54 PM
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Thanks for all the kind comments. Seems all these Harley owners sink all their disposable cash into their bikes .. kinda like Pentax owners and LBA!:D
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
08-23-2009, 02:40 PM
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I struggled with the same problems .. multiple cameras, various subject matter, colour images, b&w images, etc.. I used PSE's Organizer when my total number of images was under 10,000 but I have since moved on to a dedicated Digital Asset Manager. Now that I have over 45,000 images (I never delete anything), I'm currently using IDimager and, being a true database, I find it suits my needs very well. IDimager also works across a network; important if you use multiple computers and/or a network storage solution.
idimager.com | IDimager - Digital Photo and Image Management
As previously mentioned, filing by subject is inefficient .. that's what categories and/or keywords are for. I batch upload my images (through IDimager) by date taken; a folder is created for each date and the individual filenames are appended with date and camera "codes" while uploading. A typical folder and filenames will look something like this:
Folder: 2009-08-16
Filename: 2009-08-16_K7_IMGP2357.PEF
Filename: 2009-08-16_M8_L1004416.DNG
I then add all relevant categories/ keywords to each image using a Controlled Vocabulary Keyword Catalog (CVKC). The CVKC will help standardize categories/keywords .. this is important for database searches.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-20-2009, 10:37 PM
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All with the K-7 and DA*50-135 ......
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-15-2009, 10:44 AM
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Thank you, Ash. Those "sparkles" are merely a nice by-product of using the FA31 lens at f/16. Glad to hear my PP recipe appeals.:)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-15-2009, 10:41 AM
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I'm not a Harley owner but if keeping chrome clean on a Harley is anything like like it is on a car, it's simply a matter of dry weather and having an Obsessive Complusive Disorder. :)
As for no heat discoloration, that's a mystery. Either this bike is never run very hard or there's something new about chromed exhaust system materials that I'm not aware of ..
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-15-2009, 10:32 AM
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Thanks, Dr. Beast.
My toned B&W colour comes from many many hours of of tweaking settings in Silkypix and Photoshop (using Silver Efex Pro and Virtual Photographer plug-ins) and wasting a lot of inkjet paper. I've now developed a secret ;) post-processing "recipe" that takes avantage of the the warm tonal range offered by my favourite fine art inkjet paper, Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
08-15-2009, 12:08 AM
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Gary;
I'm extremely happy with my Epson R2400 and I'd love to have the R3800 if I regularly printed larger than 13" x 19". I hear some people complain about ink wastage and clogged nozzles with Epsons but I've never experienced this with either my R800 or R2400. Thr R2400 is also very versatile with its' paper handling paths/media thickness capabilities.
I've only used Epson's proprietary K3 Ultrachrome inks and I can easily find them locally at my favourite camera retailer here in Calgary (The Camera Store). I'm a frequent customer there who enjoys a 10% discount on my paper and ink purchases, so I haven't even bothered trying to find cheaper ink online.
Much of my work is B&W or toned images. I was considering setting up the R2400 as a dedicated B&W printer using Piezography neutral inks but with the results I'm now getting using the Ilford Galerie GoldFibre Silk paper and standard Epson inks, I see no need to do so.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
08-14-2009, 10:56 PM
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This is for those of you who do your own inkjet printing.
I have just tried Ilford's Galerie Gold Fibre Silk inkjet paper and I am nothing short of amazed!
ILFORD GALERIE
This fibre-based baryta inkjet paper shows incredible tonality and glow with both B&W and colour images, much better than anything I've used in the past (Moab, Hannemuhle, Epson, Harman). I'm using an Epson R2400 with standard K3 Ultrachrome inks and Ilford's profiles. Breathtaking! I'm going to use this paper exclusively for my gallery portfolios!
This paper is worthy of the term "Galerie".
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-14-2009, 10:26 PM
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Just warming up for a full day of shooting at this year's Canadian National Harley Owners' Group Rally/Show 'n' Shine here in Calgary, Alberta.
These 2 with the *istDS2/FA31
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-06-2009, 07:51 PM
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I know forums are for discussion and offering points of view and personal experience but this thread about a less-than-glorious lens review nicely demonstrates why I'm seldom inclined to participate (I know, I'm contradicting myself with this post).
6 pages of hyperbole (4 of which have nothing to do with the OP), folks getting hot under the collar, insults, pontifiers coming out of the woodwork .. what going on?
People .. it's just a lens, not the cure for cancer!
Want the DA* 55/1.4? Buy it.
Don't want it? Don't buy it.
Gotta go .. I've got 20 images to process and print for a new gallery submission portfolio .. and I didn't use the DA* 55/1.4 for any of them!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-02-2009, 10:23 PM
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Dave;
Every newly released camera body from every manufacturer instigates a whole flurry of negative user experiences on the various photography forums (simply google "Nikon D300 problems" and you'll see what I mean). Cameras now are like Microsoft .. the true beta testing lies in the hands of the everyday end user, long after the product is released. Also recognize that not every camera can satisfy every photographer in every shooting situation.
If unavailability of a spare battery is a deal breaker for you, let me know. I picked up mine last week here in Calgary.
No one here should attempt to win you over on the K-7. Just go with what makes YOU feel comfortable. What's important is that you get a camera (regardless of brand name) and go capture some splendid images.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-02-2009, 06:42 PM
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Whether or not the K-7 is better than the D300 depends on what you consider important in your buying decision.
K-7 is smaller than the D300. Is that better?
K-7 has a more dampened shutter/mirror than the D300. Is that better?
K-7 standard focusing screen is easier to manual focus than D300. Is that better?
K-7 has interchangeable focus screens; the D300 does not. Is that better?
K-7 mounts nearly every Pentax lens produced since 1952 (including the much revered DA Limited primes); the D300 does not. Is that better?
K-7 adds image stabilization to every lens mounted on it; the D300 does not. Is that better?
K-7 with DA* 55/1.4 offer a full weather-resistant shooting rig for a mere USD$ 1950; the D300 does not. Is that better?
K-7 means that you don't give a monkey's toss whether or not other photographers consider you to be anything other than an amateur or hobbyist. ;) Is that better?
If any of the above are important to you, you'll come to terms with both the limitations and advantages of a Pentax K-7 system. Pentax can be said to be an "acquired taste". However, if you place great importance on blazing fast AF performance, full control of Dark Frame Substraction or great flexibility with proprietary flash lighting, then you're destined to become a Nikon man.
And yes, I once used to shoot with a Nikon system, albeit film. I tried to like the D300 when it first came out but that capable, large brick with its' plastic-barreled, extremely short focus-throw DX Nikkor lenses just wasn't for me.
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