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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 05-04-2012, 07:59 PM  
Worth it to upgrade to FA 50mm f1.4?
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 19
Views: 2,556
I'd keep the lens you already have and look for a different focal length for your next lens.
Forum: Lens Clubs 02-11-2012, 08:49 PM  
The DA Limited Club
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 6,009
Views: 1,210,609
I love this lens, and it's only been a month. I was going to get the 21mm next, but I'm falling in love with portraits. I think I'm going to get the 70mm next instead. Click for larger image:

Forum: Pentax News and Rumors 02-11-2012, 08:36 AM  
More photos from CP+
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 174
Views: 31,898
I'm hoping it will compete with the Sigma 24-70 or Tamron 28-75 f2.8s. It would be great if it pushed the extremes of both, as in a 24-75 f2.8. If it is an f/4 or variable aperture I won't buy it. I have been thinking about buying the 16-50 or 50-135 this year, but with this news I'm going to wait and possibly pick up another limited lens.
Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals 01-07-2012, 11:18 PM  
New gear day tomorrow!
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 4
Views: 1,199
I'd buy a Fuji X100 or X10 before I'd get a NEX or a Q. The NEX is a great system but I don't like the size of their lenses and LCD only for framing pics.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-06-2012, 11:11 PM  
K-7 High ISO Success!
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 108
Views: 53,618
Good points, thank you. Also, my brother has been testing these techniques on his K-5 and is seeing excellent results at ISO 16000...
Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 01-01-2012, 10:50 PM  
Favorite camera filters?
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 14
Views: 1,349
The only filter I've used on digital is an IR filter. I have a circular polarizer which I have never used. On a few occasions I've needed a ND filter but I've never purchased any.
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 01-01-2012, 10:48 PM  
Turn off all PP
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 23
Views: 2,741
RAW will be more tedious than in LR, the main difference I found was time spent. It won't hurt to experiment with it though. It was more of a time and ease of use thing than anything else.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 01-01-2012, 10:47 PM  
LBA 2012: What will you be sucked into buying this year?
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 157
Views: 13,006
I'm most interested in the 21mm, 70mm, 43mm limiteds and the 50-135. Only one or two of those are likely to happen this year.
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions 01-01-2012, 09:42 PM  
Hello and Happy New Year!!!
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 1
Views: 579
Welcome to the forums. This is a great community and there are a lot of folks like yourself here (as far as glass goes).
Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio 01-01-2012, 09:40 PM  
When to use the X mode?
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 10
Views: 2,698
It's related to using a flash and the maximum shutter speed that will evenly expose the image when the flash is fired. I have used it a few times before, but I use flash so seldom that someone else can probably give you a better answer.
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 01-01-2012, 09:29 PM  
Turn off all PP
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 23
Views: 2,741
It's definitely worth while. However, working with RAW was an extremely frustrating experience for me with Photoshop and ACR. This was solved with my acquisition of Lightroom and I've only shot JPG once since then. Lightroom is simply an amazing tool for manipulating your camera data in order to make the images you want. JPG is convenient but I find it more difficult to be creative, not to mention the quality differences that become apparent after you have spent time working with RAW.
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 01-01-2012, 07:29 PM  
Turn off all PP
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 23
Views: 2,741
This is an excellent analogy, I think I'm going to steal it for myself...
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 01-01-2012, 01:07 PM  
Turn off all PP
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 23
Views: 2,741
Shooting in RAW has revolutionized the way I make images. Have fun experimenting. Which RAW editor(s) do you have to work with Mark?
Forum: Photographic Technique 01-01-2012, 08:54 AM  
2012 - Photography Goals and Resolutions
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 18
Views: 2,157
After 18 months, I've finally finished reading all of the photography books that I'm going to read for a good long while. So my main photography goals for 2012 are to 1) not read any photo books, 2) become more proficient with the equipment I currently own, 3) photoblog more frequently, and 4) continue streamlining my PP workflow.

Gear: trying to be content with lenses, however, I would like a battery grip because I am shooting a LOT more portraits now.
Subjects: shooting through random weekly themes with my brother.
Techniques: focusing on B&W conversion in LR, with an emphasis on developing an individual style through toning, dodging, and burning, etc.
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 01-01-2012, 08:47 AM  
Turn off all PP
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 23
Views: 2,741
If you are shooting JPEG, you can turn off: highlight, shadow, and distortion correction, lat-chromatic-ab adj, HDR capture, and any digital filters. On your custom image settings, I have found Portrait to be the most neutral of the options. I might be overlooking a few, but those are the main ones I can think of.
Forum: General Talk 12-31-2011, 04:12 PM  
What did you get for Christmas?
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 113
Views: 9,638
I got two camera straps, two reflectors, an Ezybalance, and my first DA limited, the 40mm. Non-photography gifts included Call of Duty Black Ops and three pairs of pants.
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 12-31-2011, 04:04 PM  
Exif
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 18
Views: 2,002
For free, Picasa and GIMP are what I have used and recommend to my students. For photography usage I would recommend Lightroom over Photoshop any day. Photoshop can do some things that LR can't but I can live without those things. I suppose GIMP might do them for free, but I haven't thought to try that until now.
Forum: Photo Critique 12-31-2011, 02:21 PM  
Streets Cropping Advice, Please
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 13
Views: 1,413
Very interesting that the signage was intentional. I suppose it's prominence shows that you were successful. I agree with you that it has been enjoyable to read everyone's takes on this image.
Forum: Photo Critique 12-31-2011, 05:38 AM  
Streets Cropping Advice, Please
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 13
Views: 1,413
I agree with SpecialK completely. Other techniques for focusing on your subject, besides cropping, are to dodge/burn and tone the image. I spent about 10 minutes quickly dodging and burning, and about 1 minute setting highlights to gold and shadows to blue (all in LR). I actually consider this a poor image because of the wording on the truck trailer, however, removing the words in photoshop would help the image but brings up an artistic conundrum for street photography:

Do we convey a dishonest image in order to improve it?


or

Do we convey an honest image that contains distracting elements?


The solution, in my opinion, is to avoid such mistakes when composing/exposing the image, or to simply feature them as the subject(s) of the photo. Enough theory though, here's my take:

Forum: Welcomes and Introductions 12-30-2011, 08:30 PM  
Dan from Wisconsin
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 3
Views: 606
Welcome! As a fellow K-7 owner I can tell you that you made a great choice. This was my first DSLR, and now that I have over a dozen SLRs to choose from it is still my favorite.
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 12-30-2011, 06:42 PM  
What is FF?
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 12
Views: 1,536
front focus. the picture would be out of focus, or the focus would be slightly off if this was happening.

FF can also mean full frame.
BF is back focus.
AF is auto focus.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 12-30-2011, 04:12 PM  
K-7 D-Range Setting
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 6
Views: 1,432
What it does is preserve the highlights at the expense of one stop. So you lose ISO 100 and get minimum 200 ISO with the camera making sure to preserve highlight detail. I used this setting for about 6 months, but found that since I shoot RAW, and can recover the highlights the majority of the time in LR, that I don't really need the setting. There is noise present in dim lighting at both ISO 100 and 200, so now I only turn this setting on when I am worried about the highlights specifically and don't feel I can compensate for them correctly. It's been a few months since I made that decision and I wouldn't recommend leaving it on by default.

[edit]
I suppose if you shoot only in JPEG, and have a tendency to blow the highlights frequently, then you might want to leave it on all of the time.
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions 12-30-2011, 04:09 PM  
Hello from Slovakia!
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 5
Views: 707
Welcome to the forums. Also, your written English is better than that of most of the students that graduate from my school... Finally, yes, practicality is a word. :cool:
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 12-30-2011, 03:50 PM  
Best lens/combo for shooting babies?
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 79
Views: 15,698
Just some quick thoughts. The F 50 and FA 50 do not focus very fast indoors under dim lighting. The 35mm f2.4 focuses extremely fast and is a great indoor length, plus the price can't be beat. I just bought the 40mm and it seems to focus and function almost identically to the 35mm f2.4 The main difference is that the 40mm has quick shift, and I missed it in my 35mm. If you don't need quick shift I would strongly consider the 35mm f2.4 and 43mm ltd. for indoor portraits.

Autofocus speed is not to be over looked though. I missed a LOT of shots this past week for Christmas because my F 50mm couldn't find focus wide open in indoor lighting. The 35mm and 40mm focus much more quickly. Incidentally, I have read a lot of things about the 35mm f2.8 limited taking a long time to autofocus and I would not recommend it to you for children. For face portraits I am planning on buying the 70mm eventually and it has good feedback on autofocus speed. Based on all of this, and your comments about quick shift, I would recommend you buy the 40mm and 70mm limited lenses, which will be under $1000.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 12-30-2011, 03:27 PM  
I can feel the urge...
Posted By HEEGZ
Replies: 72
Views: 5,545
I would focus on be specific with your lens focal length selection for a while ( I spent about a year ). You can wait on a flash for a bit and rely on the on-camera flash for most situations. I would also recommend looking into reflectors as an alternative to flash. They are comparatively cheap, fold up for storage, yet still help adjust the light. However, focusing on your lenses and ISO settings, etc. of your camera will yield better results in the short term, and give you some ideas for future purchases later next year.

For some quick examples, try shooting portraits at 45mm, 55mm, and then 50mm, 70mm, and 135mm. For group shots or scenes, try 21mm, 35mm, and 45mm. You may find that after dozens or hundreds of pictures at these focal lengths (or somewhere in between) that you take a majority of your shots at specific focal lengths. The trick will be deciding on which lengths to cover with your current zooms, and which ones are worth buying a specific prime lens for.

I have found that Pentax has done most of the work for me already, and that their limited lenses conveniently fall into the ranges that I like to use anyways. The fact that they are so tiny and well made is a huge bonus, and I'm just beginning the process of obtaining as many as I can. Good luck!
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