|
Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
07-12-2011, 07:02 AM
|
| |
Last time I did disney. i had my k10 with a blackrapid strap and my lowepro 200....brought with me, but didn't always carry around the parks, my 10-20, 10-17, 50-135 and 16-45 lenses. i probably had the 40 limited in there too...
wife just told me today that she doesn't want to see the 200 on my in the park when we go in August....says its too large, and I guess on me it looks like i have a humpback. I can't totally disagree with not wearing it, in the heat it does make me sweat, so that's not a bad thing to leave it off....she also griped about the blackrapid because it left the camera at a level where my nephew hit himself in the head when he was walking too close. but i am not giving up that strap, its just too functional.
so, here's what I want to do.....
take lots of shots, likely mostly with the kids and characters, but i know i want to try and get fireworks shots from our hotel roof too. nothing too demanding, not an african safari.
here's what i was thinking of doing (i'd like to spend very little, but some allow for some spending)
1-buy a lowepro or caselogic type camera holster, big enough for the k-7, attached lens and little else. i think this is a must-do, if i leave the 200 behind, i want to have some bag protection for the camera in the parks, for the times when i do put it down.
2-buy/rent either the 17-70 or 18-135 and take that lens in place of the 16-45. now, i don't dislike the 16-45 lens...it's been on my cameras for the majority of the pictures i've taken. however, there are times--and i expect there will be those times in disney too--where i will wish for a little more reach, and shuffling my feet enough will not be easily done, if at all feasible. i have rarely had an issue where the lens was not wide enough....from what i have read, both alternatives seem to be about the same as the 16-45, just with more reach. but are either really worth the $300 plus, over what i have?
3-Buy the case above, but add in a lens bag, and bring along the 50-135 as well. figuring that for the few seconds of lens switching time, it's a worthy trade-off....since i don't even know how frequently i'd end up changing lenses.
or...i could just skip it all, and bring our sony and olympus point and shoots...certainly small enough.... (some sarcasm there....)
any thoughts are welcomed.....
|
|
Forum: Photographic Technique
08-03-2010, 08:07 PM
|
| |
recently wrapped up a family vacation, had some thoughts i wanted to put to the forum for feedback...
1-was plagued by the annoyance of taking the camera from cold to hot (was in A/C during the day, and out to the beaches of hilton head at night for family photos). silly me, i left my silica gel @ home, so i had no drying agent. i hoped the few minute walk to the beach would be long enough, but it wasn't quite. finally did clear up, but what further flustered me was even after i was getting a clear lens/pictures were clear, i'd get some which were totally fuzzy, even though they looked in focus. guessing this was residual from the temperature change? this was with the k-7 and 16-45
2-what further annoyed me was my PITA mother in law had her olympus point and shoot and is boasting she took the best pictures--because its all p&s and auto, and she didn't get hit with the same condensation issues. of course, because "it didn't happen to her, i must be making stuff up"...honestly her words....
tho, i did take some minor happiness in the fact that, with minor auto adjustments in iphoto, the k-7 images were better than those snapped by the other point and shoot in use (my wife's cousin's canon powershot).
the 3rd issue i had was, i packed the kit up, hauled it down and barely used it....partly because i was running around chasing the kids, partly because every other camera my wife or i have is a waterproof point and shoot far safer around kids and the beach. but i am now wondering...might it be worth it to substitute or augment my kit with a more travel friendly PEN (ok, partly i am dying to justify one)...or better yet, see if the rumors of a Pentax EVIL camera are true, and if so if they might be rugged like the majority of their other cameras....
as for the image quality...anyone in NY who can recommend classes, or clubs, or feeling like doing some after-work tutoring? i hate dealing with the mother in law lol
|
|
Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
05-16-2010, 08:07 PM
|
| |
Yup. Pretty much the same. Except for me no drop. Worst that woild have happened was it bumping against me but nothing was so severe I'd fear damage like that. All of a sudden something is falling from my camera...I thought it was the camera itself or the lens....so I guess in that respect I made out
|
|
Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
05-16-2010, 06:51 PM
|
| |
ill have to look up the warranty length. if its only a year, then nope, its out of warrany
thx
|
|
Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
05-16-2010, 06:37 PM
|
| |
never ever expected to see that...but my 360 flash broke today. while in the hot shoe, it basically cracked, pulled the wires off the base etc. no idea what would cause it, i was not banging it or hitting it in a way that would lead me to know why it broke...
basically my question now is, am i totally screwed and buying a new flash? or is this something i might be able to ship off to pentax and fix? seems it would just need wires resoldered and a new housing, which should be cheaper than a new flash....
|
|
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-12-2010, 05:56 AM
|
| |
at least part of the reason for the changing of the bodies is the better ISO and low light performance.
The other added bonus is that i don't need to have both my Flip and the camera at the ready...would have them all in one package, so there's something about having the convenience.
|
|
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-11-2010, 06:46 PM
|
| |
Time is of the essence...don't ask me why but the sudden idea to possibly upgrade my k10d to the k-7 has come up....and i am brainstorming.
First and foremost, i have a K10D. i am used to it, I like it, it has been my one and only dSLR. I do try and be creative, but much of what I do with it are the family shots-my kids at school events and parties primarily.
so here is my situation. 2 really.
I have 2 flash options-the pentax 360 and i believe the other is a sunpak. i had a school fashion show about a month ago which made me come to realize one issue (though this experience will be, i suspect, rare), in that the flash doesn't recycle quickly enough, which also impacts the focus. In a case like this, would I be better served by one of those LED light panel type flashes i've seen?
The second is that their birthday party is this sunday (heres the time-is-of-the-essence part). We had the party last year at the same place-carousel for all children on staten island. Lighting is pretty much blah-its outdoors, old carousel. you don't get a lot of usable light. last year i am pretty sure i forgot my flash. this year i won't (pop up flash just couldnt do much).
But then i got to looking at some pictures--the graininess of some of my darker pictures due to the ISO is noticable, and of course because of the low light, the image also tends to be not as sharp. which led me to think...
should i be looking at a K-X, or a K-7. Not sure that I can really go without the top LCD among other things, but I've heard that the k-X has better low light performance.
i am ok dropping that much on a camera...i'd rather not invest much more in lighting simply because 80 percent of what I've done or would do, is fine with the flashes i have or won't require a flash at all.
sorry if its a little all over....just trying to figure out which move to make....
|
|
Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
03-04-2010, 11:58 AM
|
| |
thanks for the responses
ive never used the drobo, but as an IT geek I can tell you what i don't like about it (could be a minor thing) but i am not a fan of the proprietary RAID that it uses. I'd sooner use a standard RAID config, even if it means I need to spend a bit more on the drives because it isnt compressing as much data like the DROBO is. then again, my intention is to end up with a live drive and 2 exact mirrors of it, with one drive local and the 2nd mirror off site, making notes to update the mirrors as needed.
thanks a bunch
|
|
Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
03-03-2010, 10:17 AM
|
| |
I am finally deciding to do something wiser about my photo storage/management.
right now, i have a ton of copies of images spread over a collection of 5 or more hard drives. nothing wrong with redundant drives, but.....
In terms of software, I have Lightroom 2, iPhoto and Picasa 3 on a Mac. I have not done too much in recent months, between work and a lack of a ton of photos--most end up in iPhoto tho.
What I want to do:
1-Purchase a new, clean drive, likely a 1TB or 2TB drive, solely for the main photo drive.
2-connect that and then individually connect my other drives, scan them for photos and import them to the new drive.
At the end, I want to have a main drive with all my photos on it, and then format one of my existing drives and use that as a redundant backup. I am hoping there is a software out there, or that I already have, that can drive-by-drive, detect the photos (not just the thumbnails) and import them, and is smart enough to detect that a file is a duplicate and not bring it over. I probably have 3+TB in drives tied up with images, and in terms of unique images I am willing to bet the amount is closer to 500gb and thats probably still high.
looking for hints and tips
thanks
|
|
Forum: Post Your Photos!
11-12-2009, 09:59 PM
|
| |
MobileMe Gallery
Mostly, i just havent had a chance to break out the tripod in an area conducive to long exposure trials. my wife and i went on a cruise to bermuda during the past week and spent a night docked in bermuda. so there's probably a bit of motion, but my favorite is #7070. had i had a laptop with me, i would have tried again after 7071, because despite the clouds, that one looks to have the early makings of faint star trails, which i think coupled with the clocktower building, would have looked awesome....but for reasons i can't recall, i stopped after a few more not-so-good attempts.
anywho, i was particularly happy with 7070, so much so that im now using it for my desktop wallpaper for a change.
just felt like sharing
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-26-2009, 07:14 PM
|
| |
ive tinkered with it a bit with mixed results, so i figured i'd finally just ask and see what guidance you folks can provide....
typically i avoid flash (not counting the blah built in unit, which i will use in a pinch). i have 2 flash options, the 360 from pentax (preferred, i'd guess) and a lower end but pretty nice vivitar.
in this instance, i have a particular use-case. nothing super-serious, but figured i'd ping the board to see if my results can be improved...
tomorrow is firefighter's day at my kids school. since daddy is still waiting for the job search to bear fruit, i get to go and snap some pictures. i think some will be inside, im sure there will be some outside with the truck. i plan on bringing the 360 and using it...have not decided if i will be busting out the 16-45, 50-135 or the 40....odds are the 16-45 or 50-135 tho. ill have to decide once i get there and see how close i can get.
i just tend to screw up because i get my shooting settings mixed up, both on the k10 and the flash. so, whats the best way to set things up? i know one thing that frustrated me was that the 360, once i seemed to set it up where i wanted...once it's off, i gotta re-figure things out.
any and all pointers would be greatly appreciated!
|
|
Forum: General Talk
10-26-2009, 06:54 PM
|
| |
be fair. mitch williams was not the reason we lost in 93 (he was over-used and shouldnt have been in during some spots) yea, he threw the pitch....but...anywho...
phillies in 6 sounds good. definetly splitting in NY, thinking we grab game one (lee has been awesome, and the phillies are not scared by CC..we owned him last post-season with a lineup just as potent as he has in NY).
And one of these days, A-Roid will remember he's playing in October and shrivel up, as per usual.
|
|
Forum: General Talk
10-03-2009, 07:46 AM
|
| |
you can transfer to kindle via whispersync, usb and SD cards. no worries there
i have tried my iPhone kindle App, it's not horribly bad, but when I do read, I tend to read a lot at a time---something the iPhone isn't ideal for--its too small to be comfortable in the hands as a substitute to a book or e-reader for too long. Plus the screen size isn't ideal for things. It's better than nothing, but it hasn't driven me to buy nothing but e-books (i've bought 2 for my iphone kindle, read one all the way through)
i think if travel picks up i may grab the smaller kindle and write it off as a business tool due to the manuals i can load on there....the one plus is, if i hate it, amazon has a fabulous return policy. just wish there was a way to handle one other than buying one..
|
|
Forum: General Talk
10-02-2009, 10:05 PM
|
| |
i am constantly debating this......when work is good, i travel a lot...which leads me to read a bit....and part of my latest annoyance with reading is the books are taking up space.
plus, manuals i use on customer sites could be made into kindle format. likewise my technical books (oreilly, etc). so it would save me lugging those around.....
the other big consumable is magazines, and the ones i usually go for arent on kindle (not many are....)...i tend to hang on to most magazines for one reason or another, until i forget why i decided to keep it. not great because they too pile up quickly.
so just curious if anyone has a kindle (or i guess even the sony ebook offering). the rumors of a possible apple device next year in part targeting kindle users makes me debate waiting till then because it would probably be a killer device...but the price could also be a lot more than a kindle....and no assurances they'd persuade my preferred magazines to go digital (outdoor photographer, shutterbug, travel magazines mostly. occassionally a mac magazine or some business magazine).
debating. it may be easier to convince myself to do this if i do get hired next week for what should be about 50% travel.....
|
|
Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
10-02-2009, 09:59 PM
|
| |
maybe its photoshop...which if it is and you know of a tutorial...please share:)
basically, i have ideas for my house/landscaping and i would love to take existing pictures and sketch the ideas on to the pictures---retaining walls, decorative stuff, etc, but i dont know wht would be best for this function....
free or cheap preferred, unless CS3 or LR can do it....
thanks
|
|
Forum: General Talk
10-02-2009, 08:33 PM
|
| |
sadly, not everyone does....most people i ran across (many who i expected to know better) assumed i could get by with spanish (which i dont know anyways).
|
|
Forum: General Talk
10-02-2009, 08:26 PM
|
| |
agreed. i think it obviously has the appealing, eye-popping scenery which will make for excellent "filler" pieces always covered in the olympics. the fact that brazil is quietly one very big player in the world economy, this can be a huge boost for them.
i sadly did not get to see rio, just sao paulo, but yes, this will certainly help them/drive infrastructure work. if rio is half as in need as sao paulo was, then this will be a huge gain for brazilans.
im just waiting for people to say that the native language is spanish.....
|
|
Forum: General Talk
10-02-2009, 08:08 PM
|
| |
rio and chicago were one-two based on strength of proposal heading in, but i had a hunch rio was going to grab it.....hoped they would, too.
FYI, anyone saying about all the world leaders now showing up...this was the FIRST time EVER a US President got involved in a pitch process. Bet it might be the last for a while too.
One comment I'd read/heard a few times was that while initially people thought obama's presence was impressive, IOC voters were ticked that he was in and out for a four hour quickie. Notice that the pitch is really a several-days long meeting, building up to the final presentation. I believe most other major heads of state were there for longer than 4 hours.
Chicago, despite having what appeared to be a solid bid (top 2 on paper) lost for a number of reasons. South America never hosting before didn't hurt. Salt Lake in 02 and Vancouver in 10 hurt Chicago, IMHO. that and how poorly the SLC and Atlanta events were percieved (planning issues, corruption etc). doesnt matter how big or how small the public sees those issues as being...rumblings had the IOC still with a bad taste in their mouths over those, and thats all it takes sometimes.
But rather than make any excuses, I was rooting for Rio, and Madrid would have been nice too. Even Tokyo, tho even the locals there weren't overly excited about the prospect (lowest of all cities the IOC polled, in terms of public desire to host the games). I think Rio will make an excellent host city and a very nice setting for the olympics.
|
|
Forum: General Talk
10-01-2009, 11:02 AM
|
| |
i think if blair did not get into london's efforts, obama might not get into this round. i think moves like blair's have changed the bidding landscape.
i expect leaders, heads of state etc to be present at any olympics--its a big deal. not knocking bush for being in china, clinton opened the atlanta games, not sure what involvement was for the POTUS in SLC. but no doubt there was some.
i don't believe reagan got involved in the pitch for atlanta, and i think SLC would have been won under either bush 1's term, or clinton's first. not sure either of them got involved, and honestly, they should not. the decision should not require a presidential presence--endorsement sure, presence no. it's not a matter of anything critical to what happens in America (and yes, if this was a republican president, or if ever i'd heard of bush or any predecessors doing it, i'd be less than thrilled).
not that obama would admit to it but i really believe if this was any of the other cities who'd pushed for 2016 (ny, philly, san fran and i think dallas or san antonio come to mind)....i'd bet he wouldn't be as concerned or interested, if at all. its his ties to chicago that are having him do this. maybe my opinion, but it isnt flawed logic to arrive at that point...
i doubt the decision has been made, since the votes haven't been cast (and to keep things in perspective, london barely made it through early rounds of voting, which is why it surprised a lot of people when they got the 2012 games). so you never know till the voting is done....
re: economic impact, i've heard some great things and not so great things. i think it was for albertville or lillehammer as an example, but i know some of these places pour tons of money in and might get a quick hit but beyond that, they end up with these buildings that sit hardly used. i think those examples may actually prove a different point tho---those 2 cities mentioned weren't exactly booming prior to the olympics, so its going to be harder to capitalize long-term. you look at other recent hosts-atlanta, salt lake city, sydney, beijing, vancouver etc, all are already major cities, so hosting the games is going to spur infrastructure growth/improvements/enhancements. the one challenge would be to make some venues more multi-use friendly, as certain olympic sports do not have massive followings compared to others.
i have a feeling it will be Rio getting the nod. i think that would be a pretty nice area to showcase for 2016 (i only got to visit sao paulo, but everyone i know who's been to rio raves about it).
|
|
Forum: General Talk
09-30-2009, 09:13 PM
|
| |
i may be inspired to research this later, but honestly i dont remember the sitting POTUS working the IOC for Atlanta's shot at things when they landed the 96 games, and I don't know if the POTUS got involved for the LA bid either. Or Salt Lake City, either.
I honestly believe he's more involved in the bid because its chicago. i know he discussed it before the november elections, so he was a fan of/in the loop by that time. If it were a different US city, like san fran or ny (previous candidates), i'd say there was no better than a 50/50 shot that anyone high up would have gone. its only a hunch....
with all the issues he's had lately, he probably welcomes the distraction tho it easily opens him up to new criticism. personally, i dont think a US city possibly hosting the Olympics is so important any POTUS needs to be involved. but i do understand the landscape is more and more political than it was even 10-15 years ago.
|
|
Forum: General Talk
09-30-2009, 05:22 PM
|
| |
i think i actually saw someone from the IOC say that obama there or not wouldn't much matter.
rio would be a nice location.
|
|
Forum: General Talk
09-26-2009, 06:45 PM
|
| |
Just a few points for me here....someone several pages back mentioned PA as a strict gun-law state...unless something changed in the past few years, that could not be further from the truth. PA is very much a right to carry state, licenses take time but not too much and very little effort. Trip to the court house, a couple photos, the proper paperwork and done. NY is not actually too difficult either, depending on where in the state you live. If you refer to the 5 boroughs, it is still feasible, tho expensive and time-consuming. Upsate it is far easier. Paperwork, fees, background check and a class.
I had a CCW in Pennsylvania, because I could and also in part because I was working several off-hours jobs that put me in odd areas at odd hours by myself. Part was because as I was going through FBI application processing, I wanted to spend more time training with the tools I may need to use, just because I could.
Now, I split time between the 5 Boroughs of NYC (no weapons here) and Columbia County NY. At my proper home 30 minutes south of Albany, I have my compound bow (purchased for hunting) which currently is my only true weapon there (i don't count the machete I use for brush trimming, since I know I wouldn't get to it if I needed to as fast as I'd need to). Once I move there full-time, there will be a gun safe, and there will be hand guns and long guns in there. In part for hunting, but also home/family protection. See, where I live there is zero local PD. We are covered by the NYS police, and the two closest barracks are approximately 15 minutes away, and given the roads in our area, gunning it won't get you there much faster and safely.
So, if its a gun and safety, or depending on police who could be at least 15 minutes away.....I take option A, because I can.
As others have said tho, I advocate the mandatory training and even going so far as having proficiency testing before granting licenses. Make people re-test every couple years. I believe some highly-coveted big-game hunting states (i think alaska for one) requires certain testing before giving tags out, to make sure the hunters are actually capable of handling the arms required to ethically take the game in question.
The point I'd say there is make sure that if you are going to have the weapon, you know how to use it. And if you are going to license someone to allow them to carry and in theory use it, lets make sure they know how to do so.
|
|
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-04-2009, 10:19 PM
|
| |
that was my 3rd pentaxian too, i think. saw one in NYC when I was going home one night, saw one on our Caribean cruise a couple years back-both times didn't have a chance to say anything.
this one, i think was an Asian tourist. i mean, definetly asian, coulda been a tourist lol.
now, if my short term contract goes perm, i can get a k7 to compare and take out on my own...
|
|
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-03-2009, 05:45 PM
|
| |
totally random, but i was pretty stoked...stopped at mcdonalds in DC (13th and NY, if you happened to be the guy...)k7 with a sigma lens attached, i had to restrain myself from reaching out to try it out lol
was a nice end to a bad day of work....made me want to come back to the hotel and order one for myself!
|
|
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-25-2009, 11:18 PM
|
| |
Sorry if this is the wrong place for this, it seemed like it would be OK...
wanted to get some feedback from the group..
heres a story, which leads into my question. I am in DC on business. I was last here last summer, and on that trip my k10d died, requiring a warranty repair. So no pictures. I was excited to come back with a working k10d. then the wife asked for the dslr to take portraits of the kids...so i gave in, and with me on this trip is my dinky olympus point and shoot. just like that, i lost my camera and a little of the fire to shoot after work.
it got me thinking a few things
1-perhaps its time to grab the wife a dSLR...she has another oly point and shoot, and her old canon s5 bridge camera is pretty much retired. she recognizes the quality of the k10 (she calls it my "good" camera).
2-or, maybe i need to get me the k20 or even k7 (if and when work picks up) and give her the k10, without battery grip and perhaps with a nice 18-200 type all in one lens. small, better than what she was using..
Other options were a nikon d60--her friend has one, my wife handled it and really liked it (i kinda did too), tho it loses points by way of requiring new lenses...i also like the olympus dSLR options, for their sheer size...tiny things....would love the samsung equivalent, but i believe it won't be using k mount lenses natively, so thats sort of disappointing. And then, i actually saw an Olympus PEN yesterday, in a CVS here in DC around the neck of a tourist. nice looking camera, I have to say. something like that would be very nice for her, or even for me as a backup....tiny, and i do generally like the olympus picture quality
so what would you recommend? right now, there's not urgency (or finances) to make a move...sort of getting ideas in my head...
|
