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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
04-29-2011, 01:29 PM
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I have figured this out too, but here is a different question : Is it better to get ISO 80 or is it better to have expanded range? What do you guys do?
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-17-2019, 02:08 PM
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Some 8 years ago, after being told by one of the important member of a local PPO that upgrading my silly k5 would be the first thing i should do on my road to professional wedding photography, i bought a D800E. Later on, to marry that one decision with another, i also bought a Canon 5K Mark 2. So i've been shooting with those two cameras during my professional outings.
I bought a K1 just for the heck of it, but i didn't really use it much. As with any labour of love turning professional work, i am getting tired of my work. I was not getting better, i was not improving, the 2 systems i carry to my wedding jobs gives me tons of headache in post later. Nikon's images are easily the sharpest, but the raw was lifeless, flat, uninspiring. Canon's images are a bit more reddish, the primes i have for it gives great result....but it looks like every other wedding photographer's work out there.
Then i saw my old work - and realized i was better then. i was better when the photos were labour of love. When the camera was imperfect, but i was pushed to produce...*I* made pictures that was decidedly, mine, and not the camera. I dug out the K1, and now its my main camera in weddings. I wield Canon as my second camera. My assistant uses the Nikon. I don't have great lenses for the K1, but thats okay. I spent the money and got myself some great manual lenses. Yeap, old manual lenses....in a wedding. With their imperfections, glare, colour cast, weird depth of field.
The result speaks for itself.
In every wedding, the Canon gets the most keeper, with images ready to go right after crop. The Nikon comes second with raw images needing teasing so that the colour is more warm, and the highlights and shadows more pronounced. The pentax? With its manual lenses and inability of the old lenses to trigger ttl wirelessly...i get quite a lot less keepers. But each of them I treasure - these are pictures that i feel, has more personality.
Soo...maybe see you later :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
10-02-2018, 07:15 AM
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Very much this comment here.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-24-2018, 08:52 AM
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:lol:
This little hitchhiker jumped right next to me while i was driving. It took all i had to make sure i got home as quickly as possible so I can grab my camera.
My neighbours prob think i am the weirdest dude, pointing cameras 20 cm away from the ground. :D
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Forum: General Photography
08-13-2018, 07:00 AM
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I know what you are saying...though turns out the lens is coming for Pentax.
Also, i do have a Nikon D800, and a Canon 5D Mark 3. Not to brag about my mistakes...if I had to start all over again I may stick with Canon only.
That said, though I understand what you are saying, I disagree. I do want lenses for Pentax. Especially specialty lenses like these. The three cameras have different colour profile, and they all behave differently - and out of all 3, the pentax is the best for me, ergonomically, and the sooc colours and feel.
Also, the most important thing is, the pentax is, to me, a workhorse. All three of these cameras are weather resistant, aluminum body, etc, but thats not all it needs to be a workhorse, to me.
The Pentax, is the lightest, smallest, most affordable one. That means, when I go on a trip, when I have to go down on my knees for macro shots, etc, when I go camping, beach, etc...i grab the Pentax. Trying to handheld a nikon D800 to get a macro shot is the most unpleasant thing to do.
I think its justified for us to want lenses on the cameras we actually want to use.
---------- Post added 08-13-2018 at 10:02 AM ----------
Its equipped with a water proof front barrel that has LED built in right to the tip.
If thats not what you use it for, then I dont know.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
10-09-2016, 11:15 PM
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:)
Dropped by Sony's booth to take a quick shot of this beautiful model.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-09-2016, 10:47 PM
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I actually shoot 3 systems. Pentax K1/K5, Nikon D800E, and Canon 5DMark3. My K1 is currently my main camera.
I have the DA16-50 and 50-135 for Pentax.
70-200 and 24-70 for Nikon
and 35mm and 85mm for Canon.
I am not a hardware expert, so you can take my opinion on these systems to be as accurate as someone who walks around, picks 3 brand, and had to decide which one is better. That is to say, my opinion is extremely accurate :lol:
Autofocus.
Lets get this out of the way : Pentax AF is not as accurate, or as fast as the other two systems. No, I didn't measure it by micro seconds. I measured it by how many times I get extremely frustrated after I get home and look at the images and they are off. In fact, I am now shooting K1 with manual lenses only. Live view with manual lenses and focus peaking results in a lot more keepers.
Ergonomics.
If i have to rate ergonomics, Pentax would be first, canon would be second, nikon would be third. It just works for my hand. And I carry these for a whole wedding, so....12 hours sometimes. I can tell you if i have to shoot fuji or sony for weddings i will probably cry because of the lack of grip.
Button placement.
Pentax would be first, nikon and canon second.
I am not an expert on these machines, as I have pointed out before. I use them to take pictures, so I am not aware of a gazillion things that these things come included with. So how do i rate this? I rate it in the way that I can pick a camera, and figure out how to use it without a manual. immediately. And in this case, pentax comes first. The buttons make sense. I don't know how many times I've had to look up the Nikon manual because i accidentally switched a setting that i did not know existed and it was doing things that i did not want it to do.
Flash system.
Canon first, Nikon, then pentax. I love the ease of use of Canon's system. The menu make sense. I never had to open the manual for it. Nikon is the worst. Even though I love the commander function of nikon, but the flash is unnecessarily complicated. Pentax? Well...the exposure is always off. So i hate pentax's flash system.
Images.
Pentax first, canon then Nikon. I love pentax and canon's images. Straight out of the camera, they look like they have character. The colours just works for me. Pentax is typically more yellow/red, canon more red, and nikon more green. The nikon images are the ones most.....neutral. Boring. When i have a high fashion editorial shoot, i grab the nikon. For everything else, i put the nikon aside.
Also, in regards to dynamic range, I have a lot more confidence in recovering highlights from Canon than from nikon, which I rather recover shadows from. Pentax K1 is an allstar, and I can recover both highlights and shadows, and noise really nicely. I guess its the age of the technology.
Thats basically how i view these systems. Again, i am not an expert...but i think thats why I am accurate :p.
Feel free to view my work to see the images i have taken with these cameras : Bottling and Capturing Images – Just For You! |
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-10-2016, 10:54 AM
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:lol: No, of course not. As I said, I am not a reviewer - I don't get brand new copies of a specific focal range for purposes of review. I am the average photog needing lenses that covers all of my bases for weddings. I don't have a perfect test. Instead, i have a non perfect test over the years of owning these brands.
Digitalis was being sarcastic about my review, but i was being serious. ^_^. I put in more than 3000 frames across the 3 different brands each wedding from the exact same extreme lighting condition and situation, so I get exposed to a lot of non keepers from my cameras. For example, strong sunny highlights on the bride's face and dress, while the groom is in the shadows with his black suit. >_< I can tell which ones always miss focus, or which ones always have the weird colours or which ones struggles in low lighting, or which ones somehow overexposes or underexposes in a variety of circumstances. And I learn to work with them. Grab pentax, switch to manual focus. Grab nikon , ready for accurate but boring looking pictures. Grab Canon, keep switching the damn lenses because I am using primes. :lol:
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
05-19-2016, 06:48 AM
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:)
I brought my K1 and my main camera, the D800E to this shoot. Guess the K1 is now my main
:lol:
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-26-2016, 08:18 AM
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Another one from the set. :)
I have 2 more lenses i am dying to try with this camera, my old russian, and my discontinued voigtlander :p. So excited.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
04-29-2016, 10:06 PM
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:lol:
My K1 chillin' with a 50 1.2 and an anamorphic bell howell / kowa 2x ^_^
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
04-29-2016, 07:48 AM
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My friends.
After K200D and K5...
I have finally discovered focus peaking. ITS SO FREAKIN AWESOME >_<. Whoa. Pairing my M50 1.2 and the K1 , with live view with enlargement + focus peaking - i am INVINCIBLE. *SUPERPOWER*
This manual 50 1.2 on the pentax is running circles around my D800E with my 50mm 1.4G that can barely focus at times.
:D:D:D:D
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
10-24-2013, 07:37 AM
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-04-2016, 07:47 AM
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Move aside, 5D mark 2, nikon D800E. Today i am using my K5. :lol::lol:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-17-2016, 06:54 AM
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So my brother bought me a K200D, out of thin air. I had no clue how to use a camera before and I have no idea why he thought I'd like it.
Being a nerd, I had no photogenic friends - and so I bought a used vivitar 90mm f2.5 macro and spent hours. Hours. HOURS. taking pictures of spiders in front of the apartment.
So I joined pentaxforums, looking for the best macro lens i could find, and was told that a Voigtlander 125mm is the legendary lens I wanted.
So few months passed by where all I have is this LBA for this legendary lens. And then one popped up on craigslist. for $800. :lol::lol::lol:
The seller said i would never find one at this price again. I believed him.
My gf put her foot down and said No. Thats crazy. $800 dollar for a lens. My other friends think i am crazy too. How could an obsolete lens be so expensive? It doesnt make sense. And no, used items don't get more expensive as time passes. So i passed on it.
I regretted it. A few weeks later more voigtlanders popped up on ebay....sometimes for twice the price. :mad:
I sent every one of those ebay link to my gf. :hmm::hmm: And every single time, i nudged her a bit. Remember this lens?
Then she gave up. She admitted she was wrong. I ended up buying one at $1550...
This large chunk of money became my turning point in photography. It could no longer be a hobby, so I had to turn it into something that could at least support itself. So i started becoming a photog for hire :p.
Unfortunately, as I stopped taking pictures of my spider friends, i stopped using the voigtlander as its a prime and the focal length is...not really great for , in studio or in house, or close subjects. So began my 3 year wait for a FF pentax.....
:o
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
07-22-2015, 10:39 AM
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Hey guys,
I beta it once, back then. I love the software for what it is, a budget replacement for Photoshop, and I love it for what it can be, soon in the near future, but at the time when i tested it (a few months back), it was still playing catchup with photoshop functionalities.
To see where i am coming from : I am a pretty heavy photoshop user, you can see what i do with photoshop here : http://500px.com/encapturedperfection
Now if you are not a heavy photoshop user, i can't imagine why you'd want this. I think lightroom is amazing for photographer, and corel's photo pro solution is as cheap and does pretty great job.
Basically, its not for me now. But, that said, if my subscription runs out on photoshop, and i dont want to cough another $1000 next year for it, I may get this. Its the closest thing. Its just not useful to have a duplicated software that is still playing catchup. It would be like, getting a charcoal grill, but you already have one big gas grill outside.
Looking back, here was what i posted on their forums :
- I see that fill layer mask with black was already requested, and will come in the next beta?
- How about using gradient with layer mask? I use this alot. If i am trying to brighten a face for example, but leave the body untouched - i'd usually use curve, then use a layer mask, and use a gradient on the layer mask so that the transition between dark and bright between the lower and upper body is less noticeable.
- Is there a way to do Blend If ?
- The maximum liquify brush tool size seems a little small. Maybe I am using too large a file size, but i couldnt get the whole area i needed to pinch with the brush.
- File sizes are large. I had 12 layers, and it saved natively to roughly 900 MB file. The jpeg was 21MB. I usually have thrice the amount of layers...
Feedback :
PS: The engine seems a little slow ..on NEF file Nikon D800 , on macbook pro.
Develop Persona adjustments seems extreme. A little nudge of shadow or brightness or clarity for example seems to toggle that setting off the charts. Any way to fine tune it a little more?
Now i dont know if any of these have been fixed now, as i can't access the beta anymore, but, i hope that gives an idea.
The size of the layered file kills me.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-28-2014, 10:32 AM
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:) After hours on end doing photoshopping of glamour images i am surprised to say that getting these back from development made me feel so good. There is magic in film photography - i just need to figure out what that is , and move it to digital :p. Jk. Excuse the stretched soft pixels - thats what happens when one scans a 4x6 low res image that these developers gives you. >_<
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Forum: Pentax K-3 Photo Contest
05-23-2014, 10:49 AM
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-13-2013, 05:03 PM
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Hi Yusuf,
Was browsing old threads and found this. Sorry! Didnt see your question before. My PP is a trial and error of adjustment layers in Photoshop, blended with different methods, typically soft light, screen. The off coloured effect would be one of the blending modes combined with yellow and possibly gradients. I do different things every time I work, which is why my pictures seldom look similar.
Cheers :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-05-2013, 09:08 PM
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
11-23-2012, 08:52 AM
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Forum: Photo Critique
02-10-2013, 12:08 PM
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Aha.
And the other girl is possibly the cat or the rabbit? With that story in mind, number 2-4 became immediately stronger - while number 1 becomes weaker - as I dont see Alice breaking the 4th wall by staring at the camera.
However, as an urban fashion picture, number 1 is better.
It really depends on what you were trying to achieve :).
Keep it up - you've got something going on here. Cheers :)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
12-31-2012, 11:57 PM
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Hi Dave,
Ponosby link gave a really good explanation on some of the questions you have here. Take a look.
Also, I will try and answer as well.
First: Lots of hotspots and dark shadows on the subject.
Answer: The first question I have for you is whether the hotspots and dark shadows is necessary for what you envisioned in your picture.
If not, then I would do my best to remove the difference before I take the shot.
How do I do this? I bring one of these : http://www.camerastuff.co.za/shop/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x65...r_5-in-1_3.jpg and an assistant to hold it.
If you intend to create a dramatic picture - with light and dark areas, then the correct way is to meter the ratio of light you want on each areas, make sure that the lights on each areas do not spill to the next area, and use flags. These really are for studio shots, and you will spend some time figuring out your lights before the shoot. Light is additive, and if you dont flag your lights, or use snoots, or barndoors, you wont get the effect you want.
Second :
Will the sun overpower and become the dominant reading over the flash with the light meter? Then the flash will still cover the shadowed area of the face? If not then will the opposite happen where the flash overpowers the sun and become the dominant reading Then the face will evenly be lit regardless of the sun?
Answer: If you are using sekonic light meter, the ratio of ambient and flash power is shown as a percentage on your meter. Here is a picture : http://english.sekonic.co.jp/files/pages/meter_l_358/358_img.gif
Now, let me elaborate a little. If your issue is that part of the face is spotted by shadows - then your solution is to move the subject, rotate the subject elsewhere, or as i said, put a diffuser to remove the shadowed area. Light is additive, so if you flash both highlighted and shadowed area of a face, you will likely overexpose the highlight area.
Third : best metering mode :
Answer: Personally, I always use the mode closest to a flash meter, that is center weighted. That makes sure my subject is lighted properly. I always shoot manual - so, for shots like these 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
1. I point the camera at the faces,
2. and set my shutter speed and aperture such that it looks like I am going to underexpose the center (my subject) slightly.
3. Later, in PP, I increase overall brightness, and taddaaaa,,,I get these backlighted scenes shot.
However, I can easily achieve the same shot with a overall scene metering mode, given the exact same scene of lots of lights coming from the window. How?
1. Point the camera at the faces. It will automatically sense that the overall scene is bright...and automatically underexpose my subjects.
2. Later, in PP, I increase overall brightness, and taddaaaa,,,I get these backlighted scenes shot.
But i need to stress, if the scene is different, the result would be different with overall scene metering mode. If you are not certain how these metering mode works, i suggest to stick with center weight - because it will give you the most predictable result.
About your 540, ...you can make it as easy or as complicated as you want. Here is an easy way to use it :
- Put it on, set it to auto, and fire away. If its too hot, or too dark, then use flash compensation value on the flash. It takes one second to do.
Here is another easy way to use it :
- Set it to manual, set it to 1/1 power. Shoot. if its too bright, set it to 1/2 power. shoot. And continue until you find a good value. In reality - you seldom need a meter. Just tell your clients that you are testing your lights. You can run all the power settings in a few seconds.
A complicated way to use it is obviously to set it off camera, meter everything, and then set the power. I only do this in studio shots when I have nothing to do while waiting for the models to get ready. I seldom bring a flash meter anywhere else.
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Forum: Photo Critique
12-17-2012, 09:59 AM
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Awesome shot.
I love the way you treated this portrait. Its definitely very portrait...not glamour.
I would take care of the colour of the right hand to match skin - so it doesnt look waxy, I would also take care of the deep shadow on the right side of his face (corner of mouth)..its so deep it looks like an actual hole.
Other than that...awesome.
here is another person who would probably agree :
Dan Winters Photography |
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
09-01-2012, 06:45 PM
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