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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-25-2010, 08:06 AM
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Completely agree with Lowell :-)
Now, some have advised you get a telephoto... I have a DA70 and love it, and sure, you can take great portrait with a 200mm...
But the OP is talking about fashion shots... which means, I suppose, that the goal is to show the clothes...
So I'm guessing that the majority of the shots will include the full body of the model, or at least the upper half of the body.
So amongst the lenses you listed in your first post, i would choose the FA43. Sure you can get great results with a cheaper lens, but if, as you stated, where you live you can get an FA43 for the price of a FA50 I would not hesitate.
Not only I think (and I'm not the only one) that the FA43 is really great, I believe that the focal length can be very versatile in your situation: back up a little and you have your body shot, move closer a bit and you have your head & shoulders shot... try shooting a full length body outdoor with a 100mm lens: you'll be on the other side of the street, with people passing non-stop between you and your subject :-)
As to the DOF thing, the FA43 is at its sharpest at f4, which will give you a nicely blurred background while keeping your subject entirely in focus (if you're not too close). Then if at the end of the session you want to do some portraits with thin DOF, move a bit closer, open up your aperture and enjoy the magic :-)
Now having said that, let me be clear that you can get great results with an old/cheap manual fast fifty (my favorite is S-M-C Takumar 55/1.8 in M42 mount), but since you asked about the FA43...
Good luck with your decision and have fun with your new lens
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Forum: Photo Critique
03-23-2010, 02:05 PM
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Hello,
I think I'd try something like this (hope you don't mind that I played with your photo, I just cropped it quickly, sorry if it's too drastic)
Reasons for my crop choice:
- I like to keep a natural "photo" aspect ratio (2:3)
- getting rid of the background leaves only primary colours, which I kind of like...
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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-19-2010, 09:01 AM
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I don't have any experience with the Tamron but I don't see a f/3.5-6.3 zoom giving you what you're after.
In your place I'd go for a prime lens with a wide max aperture. If you're into portraiture, it doesn't even have to be autofocus. And if money's tight, it doesn't even have to be f1.4 : an old 'cheap' Pentax M 50/1.7 already gives you enough room for a lot of shallow DOF fun.
Some people would prefer having a more comfortable working distance to the subject (ie: not in his/her face...) and so would choose a longer lens (but still prime, still wide max aperture). The options are fewer and more expensive (FA 77 ltd, SMC Takumar 85/1.8 etc...). DA 70 ltd (f2.4) can be considered as well.
I've just checked the specs of the 55-300 on the web and it seems that its minimal focusing distance is indeed a problem in your case.
So try this: use your 18-55 at around 35mm (you should still be able to keep the aperture at F4) and get as close as possible to your subject (fill that frame!..). You will not get the same shot as the one you posted above (and you may not like the perspective), but you'll do better DOF-wise than with the 55-300.
Hope that helps
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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-19-2010, 07:24 AM
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Correct,
But think about the shot that you'll have with your 100mm lens on APS-C.
If you want to reproduce the same shot (same framing) with the same 100mm lens on a larger sensor/film, you'll have to move closer to your subject, hence a shallower DOF
So, if the subject is to fill the same % of the frame, your 100mm lens on a larger sensor/film will give you a shallower DOF than on APS-C
(someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm basing this on my own deductions :p )
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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-19-2010, 07:12 AM
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IF you want the shallowest DOF, get as close as you can to your subject.
If you want even less DOF, then put that lens on a film body and move even closer :-)
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
03-18-2010, 01:05 PM
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Is this Bono in pic 69? :cool:
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-16-2010, 04:36 AM
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On K200D, press the menu button, then third option down. Then middle choice. There you go, you can now choose your focus point with your "arrows" buttons.
If you have set option 12 (custom settings) accordingly, you can even have the focus point go automatically back to center by pressing the OK button.
Hope that helps.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
02-28-2010, 10:55 PM
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Great thread !
Eyes closed...
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
02-28-2010, 08:39 PM
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Hello !
New here, first time I try to post a picture... so please let me know if you can't see it...
Taken earlier this month. Thought it might fit in this tread.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-12-2010, 08:34 AM
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Don't worry, if you're like most of us, you'll end up buying all the things you listed and more... :-)
No one yet has said why you'd need this or that (at least when I started to write this), so I'll try.
As to what to get first, it depends on what kind of photography you're enjoying at the moment:
- If you take lots of pictures outdoor and live in a sunny area, then a polarizing filter may improve your pictures: when used correctly, it will give you beautiful dark-blue skies while keeping whatever is in the foreground properly exposed. Keep in mind that the effect will be maximum when used 90 degrees to the sun, and you'll get almost no effect if the sun is right in your back or in front of you. (a polarizer can also be used to reduce reflections on water or shiny surfaces, and can sometimes increase color saturation)
- If you like taking pictures at night/evenings while walking in your city (you know, when you're forced to use high iso / low shutter speed...) then at one point you'll want a tripod. Using a tripod would permit you to use longer shutter speeds without fear of camera shake. Main benefit: you can now increase your depth of field (close down your aperture, use F8, F11 etc...) now all of a suden YOU can decide the amount of "in focus" you want in your picture. At the same time you also have the choice to reduce your iso setting, which will result in less noise in your photo. Slow shutter speeds will also give you interesting effects like trailing car lights, "ghosts" passersby etc..
I've talked about night shots here, but lots of landscape photographers use tripods all the time in daylight...
- If you take a lot of picture indoors, at parties, family events etc, then an external flash may help: you don't worry about low shutter speed/camera shake anymore, you can balance your subject exposure with the ambiant light, you can create effects etc etc. External flash with tilt/swivel is a must as it allows you to bounce light to walls, ceiling etc, thus giving you a softer, more natural lighting.
Some may argue that you don't need flash if you can use a fast prime (those lenses that open at f1.4 or 1.8). I think it's a question or preference. I use one or the other depending on the circumstances, or the mood I want to convey.
Oh, one more accessory I almost forgot :
- if you don't have an unlimited budget, then a Pentax M42 to K-mount adaptor will be your best friend... it will open to you a whole world of (relatively) cheap but high quality second hand lenses :-) (think Takumar, Carl Zeiss Jena, Vivitar etc..)
Those are the first items that came to mind and I don't want to make this post too long so I'll stop there for now.
Hope it was usefull.
Don't hesitate to ask if I have been unclear on certain points.
Oups, I just re-read your post and saw you've already ordered a tripod... oh well, maybe it will help someone else :)
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Forum: Photographic Technique
02-09-2010, 09:22 AM
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I've been reading this forum for a few months with great pleasure, but I only registered today, so... hello to all of you !
I thought I would revive this interesting thread, as my question is related to editing (I mean the act of identifying the "keepers" in a batch of photos on a particular theme).
I understand the importance of editing, and I found that letting the photos sleep for while before making any decision helps, but here's an example to highlight my problem:
Recently I spent three weekends in a row shooting only "street photography". That resulted in a lot of images... so I decided to select only the 20 "best" ones, which I did. Then I came back at it a few days later and my selection changed... then I started again three days later and came up with yet another selection...
I find editing difficult, because there are so many directions one can choose to follow... depending on my mood of the day, I find myself wondering:
- Should I choose those that have interesting people expressions in them ?
- Should I choose those in which the background best represents the city I live in ?
- Should I choose the ones that have the best lighting ?
- Should I choose those that have unusual framing ?
etc, etc...
Of course I realise that the ultimate goal would be to have all these elements in the same picture... but until I'm there I feel I should still be able to select and keep some of my photos :-) (photography is just a hobby to me by the way, but I tend to take my hobbies seriously)
So how do you react when faced with this type of problem ? Any comment would be appreciated.
Peace,
Marc
PS: English is not my first language, so please be indulgent :-)
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