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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 09-14-2013, 06:00 AM  
motorbike bag
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 13
Views: 4,993
Hi!

The setup I ended up with worked pretty well. My K10 died just before the big trip, so I ended up taking my brand new (at the time) K7.
I did 3000km and took 1200 odd pictures with no problems. Over 2yrs later and the k7 is still going strong.

I haven't ridden a V-strom, but the parallel twin I had at the time wasn't the smoothest at highway speeds either.
My $0.02 is that as long as there is some padding between tank and camera, you should be fine.

Gook luck with the trip.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-22-2010, 03:55 AM  
is my K10 dead?
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 14
Views: 2,748
Hi all!

i got it back today. unrepaired. :(

it has absolutely no sign of being opened, so i can't help wondering if the tech was extra careful or just didn't bother.

i've just tried taking a heap of photos with the remote assistant program (as it doesn't use, or even need a SD card)
same issue. about 10% of photos are pink, or have lines.
until i can afford a new body i'll have to make sure i take a few extra shots of everything just in case .

so i guess i now HAVE to afford a K7.
no, i'm not sad about having a K7, its just the timing sucks.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-15-2010, 03:29 AM  
is my K10 dead?
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 14
Views: 2,748
well, the answer seems to be 'Yes'
(to the original 'is it dead? question)

fixable, yes. economic? seems not really.
got a quote, just over the price of a K-x new.
needless to say, i'm not too happy about that.
Does anyone have experiences with the price of repairs? aparently the sensor has failed.

so, assuming they are NOT ripping me off (and i'm not yet convinced) i'm at the point of shopping for a new body. :mad:
the K10 lasted only 9700 shots and less than 3yrs despite me being really careful with it. :mad::mad:

anyone know if there is anywhere in Australia other than CR Kennedy that can fix out-of-warranty pentax?

if not, sending it overseas to be told (probably) the same thing seems over kill.

anyone have any suggestions on what next?

to complicate things, i'm going on holidays in about 4 weeks. i need to decide if to try and afford a new K7 etc by then or try to find an ist or K100 etc to get me through and save up for the new one later.

sigh!
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-01-2010, 09:24 PM  
is my K10 dead?
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 14
Views: 2,748
well, i just got it out again, and same problem from the first shot. intermittant pink photos.
so as a troubleshooting excercise i removed the grip, changed batteries, cleaned lens contacts and took a series with several lens'. didn't really expect this to do much, but its worth checking.
i'm fairly convinced its in the body itself. i've just pulled the batt out and am going to leave it out for a bit. anyone know if there is any kind of reset i can do?

damn shame really. i like my K10 and its not that old (9000 shots or so)
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-01-2010, 08:50 PM  
is my K10 dead?
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 14
Views: 2,748
Hi!

yes, i've swapped cards. however the fault has proved intermittant so i haven't been able to prove if the card swap has fixed anything. i'll take a heap more pics today and report back with any more info.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 01-01-2010, 04:17 PM  
is my K10 dead?
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 14
Views: 2,748
Hi!

i've just developed a problem with my K10 and i'm looking for suggestions.

i pulled it out the other day and all the pictures were bright pink.
i checked a few things, and found it is actually recording a pink photo onto the card.
it stopped doing it for a day or 2, but i went out last night and some of them were pink again.

last night i took about 100 photos and got maybe 8 pink ones. Initially the pink was consistant over the whole frame, last night i got a few with pink bands across the frame.

Has anyone seen this before? is there anything i can try? or is it a matter of sending in for repairs?
i'm in Australia, so is that CR Kennedy?

The other thing that concerns me is that i have a trip in Feb which i really need the camera for. does anyone know the service turnaround time in Australia?
if its not back by mid Feb i might have to buy a second body :(

Thanks
Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 11-05-2009, 06:11 AM  
motorbike bag
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 13
Views: 4,993
well, here is what i ended up with.
i'll try remember to post a photo once its all on the bike and setup ready to ride.

basically, my camera backpack is one of these;
Lowepro - Micro Trekker 200

and the tank bag i got was this;
Tank bags

i just went into a local bike shop and went through all the catalogues checking dimensions. Its a little tight, but when i remove some junk (and one lens i don't think i'll take) it will be fine.
Now i can open the tank bag and have easy access to the camera and its bag. carrying off the bike won't be a problem as i can take just the lowepro, or the whole thing as the new bag also has backpack type carrying straps.

I guess this doesn't exclude the DIY option. if its too much trouble to get the bag in and out, i can still make up a foam insert for the tank bag

initially i wondered if the magnets could affect the camera, but after having a look i'm not too worried. the magnets are several inches away from the camera and while strong on one side, the back of them won't even hold a paper clip.
On the down side, the straps that are a backup for the magnets seem like an afterthought.

looking forward to the weekend when i can go for a ride and take some photos.
Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 10-24-2009, 04:46 AM  
motorbike bag
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 13
Views: 4,993
Hi!
i've been spending some time online and went for a lap of some bike shops this morning. i've found some possibilities, but still have a few decisions to make re. the DIY option.

i can use the camera with the helmet on, just.. Obviously pretty clumsy and i never plan to use it like that, but the ready access MIGHT be useful. who knows. Also, if the camera is on the tank its not taking up space on the rack (where it usually sits)
my camera is currently in a small Lowepro backpack. i was hoping i could find a tank bag that will allow me to slip the lowepro inside the tank bag. this gives me padding, waterproofing and i can just remove the camera bag to take with me for security.
The fallback from this idea is to get a decent looking bag and make my own padding/spacers

The trip are just a few guys going for a ride. the sooner one is around NSW central tablelands (exact route undecided as yet) and the second is to Phillip Island next year.
Currently i have a Suzuki GS500F, but hope to have traded up by the end of the year, so a bag thats not bike specific would be an advantage.

Also, another thing. a lot of these bags have magnetic bases to help keep the bag on. one website even warned me not to put credit cards etc in the bag or they might get wiped.
Do you think this would have any affect on the camera?

Thanks for the help.
Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 10-23-2009, 12:51 AM  
motorbike bag
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 13
Views: 4,993
Hi all!

I'm going away on a motorbike trip in a couple of months and i'm trying to figure out how to store my camera on the bike.

Its been suggested i should try get it setup as a tank bag so i can access it easily (without having to get off) but i can't find any commercially available bags to fit.

I have a K10 with grip and am hoping to take 2 lenses + flash (mainly i want my new DA*50-135), so its hardly 'compact'

any motorbike riding pentaxians out there tried something like this?

any links or suggestions appreciated (or if you've done it yourself, a photo?)

Thanks a lot.
Forum: Photographic Technique 05-29-2009, 06:43 PM  
What's your backup strategy?
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 133
Views: 23,920
My $0.02:
Copy, don't move. if you move windows can copy things incorrectly, then delete the original, leaving you with corrupted files. uncommon, perhaps, but worth the trouble to not format the card till you have looked through/processed your pics.

my backup routine is:

1) i copy all pics onto my main pc
2) i have a script that copys them regulary to another internal HDD (does not delete missing files, so if i screw up and delete something i can just copy back)
3) i have a freenas box elsewhere in the house that uses rsync to automatically copy any changes in the directory from step 1)
4) periodic copy to an external usb hdd that i've made a well padded hard case for. (this always gets taken with me if i go away)
5) burn selected files (good ones and ones with sentimental value) to dvd. this is usually .jpg only due to the size of the directories. these disks get taken to work.

while storms are not that common here, i've got ups's on all pc's

the main flaw in all this that i see is off-site backups. i do burn dvd's to take to work, but its not a full backup.

i would really like to set up another freenas box at work to have a full copy of everything, but at the moment i don't have a pc spare.

Actually, now that i write this procedure down, it sounds kind of paranoid.
so i guess that means i need another copy :)
Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing 12-16-2008, 06:37 AM  
software advice needed
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 0
Views: 2,212
Hi!

i am about to embark on a largish project and i'm after everyone's thoughts on some software to help me out.

My father (and other members of the extended family) have fairly large collections of slides stored away. we have decided to finally try and digitally archive them. We are going to buy our own slide scanner (cheaper than getting them done professionally, we checked)
i'll probably be doing most of the scanning and archiving, being the most computer literate.

What i'm after is some software to somehow 'tag' the photos with basic info such as approx date taken, who's in it, where it was taken etc.

i need software that will either batch add, and edit exif data, or perhaps create a database file to store the information.

it really needs to be an open format, or at least have free readers, as if i want to hand out copies of the archive disks to family members, i don't want to have to install software on everyone's pc. i guess this argument makes an exif editor sound good as it can be opened by almost anything.
I don't really care if i have to buy a program to set it all up, i just want the result to be free to view.

Thanks
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-28-2008, 01:31 AM  
fast prime help
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 20
Views: 4,058
well, i made a decision.
after much internal debate and reading online, i decided on the Sigma 28mm f1.8
i probably would have stuck to pentax, but a combination of focal length, aperture size and price led me here.

anyway, it arrived this afternoon, so here are my 1st impressions.
(i'm waiting till the sun sets a little to take it out for a run so no pics yet)
people said it was large, and wow! its not quite as long as my 16-45, but its wider and heavier. Build quality seems good. i've never really liked the finish on the sigmas. its always looked tacky imho. But this is a very minor concern and it obviously didn't stop me from ordering one :)

My main 'concern' at this point is a fairly noticable barrel distortion. i saw it the moment i put it on the camera. i took a couple of quick shots to compare the 16-45 @28mm and my impression was confirmed. the pentax is really good @ 28mm. the sigma is about the same as an old MF vivitar 28mm i have.
Anyone out there with one of these Sigma's, seen the same thing? is this normal? I would have thought a prime would have been able to compensate for this a lot easier than a zoom.

i'll repost after i've had a chance to take some 'real' photos.
in the meantime, any suggestions as to how to 'put it through its paces' or thoughts on the barrel distortions, are most welcome.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-18-2008, 04:05 AM  
fast prime help
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 20
Views: 4,058
Hi!

Thanks for the responses.
the FA35 f2 sounds nice, but i can't find it for sale new. is it discontinued?
there is a DA35mm f2.8 limited, but its kind of dear and as was asked earlier, is f2.8 enough?
i noticed Sigma has a 28mm f1.8 and a 30mm f1.4 both are a little wider, a little faster and a little cheaper than the DA35. anyone know if they are any good?

i just got back from a walk (just on dusk) trying to reevaluate f2.8 and a couple of FL's
since my goal is no flash and to keep the iso down as far is possible, i don't think f2.8 will be enough. at f2.8 the shutter speeds i was getting, i was barely able to aviod blur from camera shake. add some people and i think i'd lose most of the shots (like i am now)
So this leaves me with higher iso's or larger apertures right? or both.

I realise a fast prime may not achieve all i'm hoping, but it will definately be better than my current f4 and it will not be a waste having one in my bag

just got to decide which one :)
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 10-17-2008, 01:08 AM  
fast prime help
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 20
Views: 4,058
Hi all!

i'm looking at getting a fast prime for those occasions where my main lens won't cut it. (its a DA16-45 f4 btw)

i am regrettably in an area where there isn't a camera shop that stocks pentax within about 400KM, so any purchase would be over the internet. buying a lens sight unseen makes me nervous. even if the supplier is 100% reliable, am i ordering the right one?
That is where the online community will hopefully come to my rescue :)
I'm after suggestions, comments, experiences on the following;

prime, between, say 20mm and 50mm.
aperture f2.8 or wider
definately AF (i have an old MF one, and MF at f2.8 in low light i find tricky at best. i will completely understand if the camera also has a hard time, but i'd like to have the option)
budget? well not too extravagant. if its going to be too expensive, i might give up on the idea and save up for the DA*50-135 i ALSO want :)
(sigh! there goes the LBA again)

from my reading, the FA31mm f1.8 would be perfect (if it was about half the price)
the FA50mm f1.4 is a real possibility at the the price. only drawback is 50mm is a little too long for what i'd like.

Thanks for any help
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 07-12-2008, 10:38 PM  
Pentax k10d in space
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 170
Views: 131,254
Nice photos. looks like you had some fun

one question, however



How the hell did you get it to come down near you? of did you just follow the gps signal and drive?

This takes the 'find a different perspective' advice to an extreme :)

Well done
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 05-03-2008, 07:47 PM  
Folder organization/archiving
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 47
Views: 8,963
Hi!

i find i rely mostly on a folder structure. I don't like the idea of relying on some database or catalogue program to keep track of the photos. I work with computers and i've found on many occasions with customers computers that either the program or windows itself screws up and the organisation is lost.

My system (and yes, even i can see the limitations) is
\where\when\event
and then other sub-folders to split up sub sections of the event or trip.

eg \Canberra\Easter2008\friends wedding\
with in this are folders such as 'formal photos', 'reception' and 'keepers'

This system doesn't allow me to group by 'flowers' or kids' etc. I do however, like to be able to look through the photos by time or event, such as my holiday oct 2007. Also, this means that any photo has a dir structure that describes where and when it was taken as well as the event / group of people.

I also have a dir for those select few photos that i think turned out really well. these however are all duplicates of photos out of the main file structure.

This probably sounds more complicated than it really is :(

Retrieval is aided by Irfanview. It has this nice feature (which isn't on in a default install IIRC) that allows a 'right-click' option 'browse with irfanview'. This gives you a quick thumbnail view that lets me quickly browse the folders looking for the one i'm after.

As far as backup, i regularly clone my photo directory onto an external usb hdd which gets stored away from the computer in case of theft. I also am about to buy another so i can leave it at work.

The next problem i have is the size of the directory. I've been shooting in RAW+ and even after deleting ones that are obviously bad, or just messing around, the size of the directories is climbing rapidly. DVD's aren't very practical when you have to split up your collection on to 10 or more dvd's. I guess this is only going to get worse.

Looking after a large collection is a lot of work, but worth it in the long run i think. Its also a matter of what works for you.

Mark
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 04-14-2008, 06:24 AM  
K10D on a telescope
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 16
Views: 8,849
oh, also..

i forgot to ask before. the long exposures i took came up really reddish.

it was only noticable beyond 2 or 2 1/2 minutes. By the 10 minute mark it was quite bright
the reddish was worse near the horizon. There was no visible light from houses etc and the nearest town in the direction of the shots was at least 50km.

Interestingly, the guy said his Canon showed a greenish colour. is this just from the different sensors?

it was pretty easy to knock the red down in photoshop, which made the shots look much better.
has anyone else noticed this? is it typical of the K10D? or specific to my location?

Thanks
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 04-13-2008, 06:50 AM  
K10D on a telescope
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 16
Views: 8,849
Hi!

I went into my local camera store and found a T mount adaptor for AU$22 and the guy said i could bring it back if it didn't fit.

It fits my camera fine, but i think i'll have to post it to the guy and ask him to try it on his scope.

As far as the telescope side, he has used other cameras (he has a specalised one as well as a Canon 300D) so we should be able to figure the focus side out.

I've read that results are better (less noisy) if you keep the iso low and lengthen the exposure time.

As far as the camera settings, should i just set it to manual and treat it like an older lens? or is there an easier way?

Thanks

Mark
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 04-11-2008, 09:48 PM  
K10D on a telescope
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 16
Views: 8,849
Hi All!

Recently another thread here got me a little enthused about having a go at shooting the moon and stars, so for the recent pentax day i went to a surrounding town that has several observatories. There was no moon that night, but i got a few star shots with some success. The guy offered to let me put my K10D on one of his telescopes, but he didn't have a Pentax K mount adaptor. Pity, but if i can get the correct adaptor i can go back easily enough.

I'm under the impression the telescope needs a 'T-mount' adaptor. looking at one it looks remarkabily similar to a M42 one, but i don't have any screw mount lenses to try it. anyone know what the difference is?

I'm, after some information so i can make the most of the return trip.

The telecsope is, AFAIK, essentially a big prime lens. variable focus, but fixed zoom.
What about aperture? this would also be fixed wouldn't it?
Any suggestions on how to set up my K10D to work in this setup would be appreciated.

(sorry, i don't know what telescope it was. a 14inch something or other )

Thanks

Mark
Forum: Site Suggestions and Help 04-01-2008, 06:45 AM  
News Announcing Pentaxium: April 5th, 2008
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 64
Views: 15,487
Pentax day sounds like fun.

my biggest problem is what to shoot. I live in western NSW (Australia). we have been in drought for... er, hard to remember. at least 6years now. the landscape is flat, dry and green is limited mainly to some golf courses and things that have been painted that colour.

I'm still trying to decide what to do for the 5th. I will fing something to shoot i'm sure, but i'm trying to find something more interesting (to me at least) than 'drought stricken outback'.

I have to admit to being a little envious of people living in some of the places i see in the gallery and competition photos .

can't wait to see everyone's entries.
:)
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 03-25-2008, 05:58 AM  
Any Other Recovering Fujiholics Out There?
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 44
Views: 5,270
my first digital camera was a fuji s5500. was not too bad for the money (quite a bit less than my current flash). Very quickly however, i found a whole list of things that i didn't like. max of 400iso, and horrible noise. slow to turn on, slow focus and slow shutter response. etc, etc.

then one day i dropped in to a local camera shop and there happened to be a pentax rep. i had a quick play with one of his dslr's, and while i couldn't afford one on the spot, i decided that "sometime soon i will get a good camera'. i loved the viewfinder, the manual zoom and the solid feel.

anyway, sometime not as soon as i would like, i went shopping and ended up with my current K10D.
i hear people complain about the K10D's high iso performance, focussing etc, but for me i'm not so far removed from my old camera that i've forgotten the HUGE jump in performance and quality of images.

i'm new enough at this that i believe a vast majority of the photos that don't turn out are due to my inexperience, not the K10D's limitations.

my 'fujiholicism' was brief, but i feel beter now :)

Mark
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 02-29-2008, 06:51 PM  
wedding tips
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 16
Views: 6,788
Hi all,

I'm nearly finished this whole thing. i'm about to start putting them in a folder. I've come across some things that were making things harder unnecessarily.

PS, for some reason was automatically applying some adjustments when converting from raw to .jpg and the results were ALL bad. i went back and reconverted using the free version of irfanview, and it made a big difference.

I guess i'll have to look back at why PS did this and how to stop it.

also, i took several samples on a disk to a couple of different photo places around town and found that at the palce i was getting them printed, they were noticably darker than the others. My suggestion from this test is, the final printout can vary widely between places. take some samples and find the one you like. I had to reprint quite a few.

All in all, this has been an interesting experience, but i'll be glad to get the final photos to the couple. This PP takes ages. :( I like to think however, the better i get with the camera the less time i'll have to spend in front of the pc. (or is this wishful thinking?)

Thanks all

Mark
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 02-20-2008, 02:23 AM  
wedding tips
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 16
Views: 6,788
Thanks a lot. You managed better results than i expected.
the posted original was from the camera's .jpg. i was shooting in 'raw+jpg' so i'll go back to the raw's and have a play with your suggestions from there.



As you suggested, i started on multi point metering but saw the results and switched to spot after only a shot or two. i tried to meter on the darker patches but it still was not right. i fiddled with the AE-L but its a feature i haven't got around to playing with yet and mid-ceremony is not the best place to try learn a new feature :( Will definately aquaint myself with this for future reference.

I also have paint .net installed and i have access to photoshop cs2 if needed. I also may give the mock HDR idea a go. i've been wanting to try that, but been too busy recently.

Thanks for your time

Mark
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 02-19-2008, 04:39 AM  
wedding tips
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 16
Views: 6,788
Thanks for the offer, Peter. i haven't had a chance to absorb the best ways of posting larger photos, so here is a slightly srunk one. I don't mean to make it too hard for you, but the attached is one of the worse ones. I figure pp that helps this one will do at least as well on the others.

i've included it straight out of the camera without any cropping etc, other than uping the compression a little to make it easier to post.

IIRC the flash was on the camera, but didn't fire for some reason.

Even if you think its a lost cause, i'd appreciate any suggestions from anyone as to avioding this effect in the future.

Thanks

Mark
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 02-16-2008, 05:10 PM  
wedding tips
Posted By Bob83
Replies: 16
Views: 6,788
Hi all.

Thanks for the advice.
The wedding was yesterday, so i'm just now starting to properly evaluate the results.

I ended up introducing myself to the pro photographer, and being very careful not to get in her way. She was good about it tho, after she had got a group pose and taken her shot she would step back for a moment to allow others to have a go.

the ceremony was on the edge of a lake, so the people were in shade, but the lake provided a bright background. This caused me some problems, as the camera seemed to expose for the lake and leave the people very dark. I'm just hoping the professional (and her Nikon D200) had better results. i tried to fill with the flash, but was let down by my lack of understanding of the new flash and the #%$@ing thing wouldn't go off! I got it going, but missed some good opportunities. Any suggestions on how th PP shots that have a bright background and underexposed subjects would be appreciated.

After the ceremony and some official shots, the pro left, which gave me free regin at the reception. I spent most of it using TAv mode and bouncing the flash off the ceiling. Got some pretty reasonable results.

The actual wedding went well and i enjoyed it. except at the beginning of the reception where a waiter stumbled and tipped a glass of beer over my head. :( Missed my camera tho, so no harm done.

Thanks all

Mark
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