Forum: Pentax Medium Format
01-27-2014, 12:25 PM
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Superb dynamic range... very impressive.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
11-30-2013, 10:10 AM
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Probably is used for parallel operations involving processing images. It's hard to say exactly what it's used for, since FPGAs can be configured to do nearly anything. Could this be reprogrammed to do something else? Sure. Wouldn't try it though.
For historical perspective, consider what Canon was using back in the day -- ASICs. An FPGA coupled with some ARM cores could easily handle all the things that the old ASICs could do, but all on one die, from one company.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-08-2013, 07:59 PM
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Forum: Photo Critique
07-23-2013, 04:24 PM
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I'd say it's underexposed by about a half stop (such is life in Pentax land). You could bring the whole image up till the brightest parts of the clouds just start clipping. Then, up the contrast on the bottom half of the image. That should help with the lack of detail in the bottom third of the image.
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Forum: Photo Critique
07-12-2013, 07:16 PM
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I think that this would be good if you did a grad filter from the top of the mountain reflection to the bottom of the image, darkening it.
I was initially thinking to crop out the cloud reflection in the water as well, but it seems somewhat balanced as-is. Worth trying though. I would still put the grad filter on it though.
Also, you can also try and darken the reflection a bit. It competes for my attention just a bit too much.
I'm okay with the contrast, but such things are screen dependent as well.
You might also consider darkening the sky and the clouds behind the mountain, if you want the mountain to stand out more.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
07-07-2013, 08:41 AM
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Forum: Photo Critique
06-08-2013, 10:06 AM
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Hey there; didn't mean to ignore your feedback; just busy.
Cropped the teardrop shape out; if I had really wanted to I probably could have blurred to make the reflection less busy, but the crop helped focus more of the attention on the front "propeller".
I also increase the brightness of the lower portion of the image; somewhat on the fence about that. If I print it (if I could print it) it would likely be beneficial.
Added a slight yellow tint; my monitor isn't very good, so I'll leave it that to consensus.
As always, feedback is welcome.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
05-24-2013, 07:27 PM
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Hope I'm not too late....
In addition to what's above, I will have to say that the gear you'll be bringing should be just fine. The fish-eye will be very nice. You can also go to Koke'e at night (be careful going up and down at night; it's a twisty road during the day and even moreso at night).
Any beaches away from lights will be fantastic as well. I've done some night photography on the east side of the island, used the 18-55 kit lens with good results.
Here's a good article on Luminous Landscapes: Landscape Astrophotography
Thanks to that article I managed to dial in a "good guess" exposure and got what's below:
Samsung 18-55mm @ 18mm f3.5, ISO 1600, 30 sec exposure
Your K5 should be great whether it's star trails or capturing the stars as you see them!
Hope you have fun!
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Forum: Photo Critique
05-24-2013, 03:35 PM
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Here's a copy with black and white treatment as per RussV suggestion:
Thoughts? |
Forum: Photo Critique
05-23-2013, 10:37 AM
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I feel that the train and the kayakers compete for my attention.
The image isn't sharp like how I would expect it either; did you miss focus?
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Forum: Photographic Technique
05-23-2013, 09:27 AM
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Perhaps "no weight" is too harsh. I think so long as someone can come up with a convincing reason as to how their photo could be improved, then it is a valid critique. Now, does it carry the same weight as someone who is a professional in his or her field? No. But why would you turn down any critique so long as it is reasonable and constructive?
On a different note, I feel as if that I can't leave any critique on images in the critique forum recently as it seems to range between snapshots and pretty flowers. Not all, but certainly more than usual.
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Forum: Photo Critique
05-23-2013, 08:47 AM
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Thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated.
If you do decide to get a polarizer, get a circular polarizer. I'm only using a linear polarizer because I got it from an old kit of gear for free. If you do get a linear polarizer, the exposure is generally inaccurate when not at full or minimum polarization.
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Forum: Photo Critique
05-22-2013, 07:46 PM
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Used a linear polarizer here to reduce some paint reflections.
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Forum: Photo Critique
03-09-2013, 04:09 PM
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The edited photo looks good, however there are a few things to correct:
The snow blowing at the top of the mountain looks as if it is clipped to white. This removes some of the detail that is there in the original. It's hard to say whether or not that is the case in the raw file but it's something to consider when saving to JPEG next time.
The composition feels unbalanced to me; there's more weight on the left than the right. I don't know what you could do about that.
Either way, it's a dramatic image. I think it's good, but not great.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-06-2013, 06:56 PM
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A question:
What focus mode are you using for the panning shots, AF-S or C(ontinuous)? It should reacquire focus during a burst, but it may not be fast enough or accurate enough, so it just misses. Continuous should in theory predict where the car is going and appropriately adjust focus.
If you want to test if the autofocus is missing or miscalibrated, try focusing on a stationary object using AF-S. If you have good eyesight, you may be able to see if the object is out of focus in the viewfinder. If you can't see if it is in focus or not, put the camera in live view and check focus using the screen. The best time to try something like this is when the light is good so the details can be seen more easily. If you still can't see any difference, take a couple of test shots and check them on your computer.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-02-2013, 08:49 PM
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Hey there, I've done a few autocrosses. Hopefully my advice will help you next time you do an autocross:
For your panning shots, you're using probably leaving shake reduction on, right? I've done some low shutter speed panning (think 1/90 to 1/180) and I've found that I get more keepers if I turn shake reduction off. It may not be your technique, rather it might be the camera attempting to compensate for a desired movement. I've used a 200mm f4 for events I've attended and have not had trouble with distance, though this will vary with each event.
Here's one of the images that I've taken:
Super Takumar 200mm f4 @ f8, 1/180 shutter speed
This car was approximately 150 ft away from my position.
Hope this helps!
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Forum: Photo Critique
02-08-2013, 05:15 PM
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Well, as others have said, using f8 gives you more DoF. Hopefully this can help you (mentally!) focus on the compositional elements, instead of rendering them nearly indistinguishable. So, as a street shot it isn't good at all. It doesn't work as a portrait either because it feels disconnected.
But I think I see what you're trying to do... You Tube |
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DUL6MBVKVLI?controls=1" allowfullscreen> |
Frankly, I'm convinced it's all about the light; for a good portrait anyway.
And a reasonable amount of DoF when going for a street shot with meaning.
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Forum: Photo Critique
02-07-2013, 08:17 PM
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Pretty boring actually... it's a good technical shot (sharpness, contrast control, etc. etc.) but that's 25% of the battle. The other 75% is having something to say, the so called "pictures are worth a thousand words."
Here's a challenge -- stick your camera in manual mode, use your 43 or your 31mm. Set your camera to f8 and adjust everything else around it (ISO and shutter speed). Don't try to blur all the things away; shooting at f8 should help you understand that.
Step back, ask yourself -- Why? What compels me?
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Forum: Photo Critique
02-07-2013, 08:01 PM
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Totally disagree. Keep the blue; with the orange light from the building this is a case study in the use of complementary colors.
I would up the orange saturation, just a bit. There's a bit of purple, and I'd bring that out just a touch more--though I would be happy to print this and hang it as-is. Make it big.
I would try darkening the cliff rocks just a bit... try and balance it against the "bright" of the falls.
I would also consider cropping the top off as well. Maybe try a 6x7 ratio.
I'm looking forward to your edits, if you decide to post them.
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Forum: Photo Critique
01-19-2013, 03:31 PM
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Good image in concept! I like the fog.
Here are some suggestions which you can try and see if there is some benefit.
I think there is a bit of a tilt and perspective distortion. Tilt in the clockwise, and distortion from pointing the lens upwards. If you correct those both, it might help the image. Also, it may be good to correct the lens distortion, if you haven't already.
I would use curves and give a broader shoulder to the highlights part of the graph. Not so much that it looks blown, but enough so that the highlights appear to go to white less dramatically.
If possible, recover as much as possible from the highlights. If no highlights are blown, then you can get some good "film like" dynamic range.
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Forum: Photo Critique
10-17-2012, 11:26 AM
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The second photo is the most interesting one.
Nothing needs to be definite for it to be a "good" image.
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Forum: Photo Critique
10-07-2012, 11:58 AM
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The second photo you posted here is great!
I don't like the first much because it really doesn't seem to suit the subject. That and that fantastic looking resonator guitar isn't as distinctly visible.
Not that it should be the primary focus, but if someone chooses to use that guitar, then it should be somewhat apparent.
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Forum: Photo Critique
10-02-2012, 06:32 AM
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I feel that the biggest problem is that the boy isn't terribly interesting, nor does he seem contemplative enough to be considering the ghostly image crossing in front of him.
In short, it's almost like two different images: one of the boy by himself and one of the barely recognizable figure in the foreground.
There isn't really enough to strongly tie them together.
Others will "get" it and say it's enough, but from there on it's really personal preference.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-04-2012, 07:42 PM
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While I guess this is great sarcasm, this doesn't sound like the time for sarcasm. Certainly not of the FF variety. Or maybe I'm just sick of seeing "FF! FF!" everywhere.
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As for your question, it really depends on the time. I'm guessing these sparklers are of the firework variety?
If so, then the next question is what time is this occurring? If it's during the evening, then try a fast lens and capture the sparks as blurred points of light, with the couple in sharp focus.
You may need to add additional light via a flash.
I've never taken pictures of any kind of sparking device in anything but dusk or night, so these tips will not likely help in the event that it takes place while the event is lit by daylight.
In the event of daylight, i guess the best thing you could hope for is that the sparks stand out from the crowd or background.
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