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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
06-04-2012, 03:50 AM
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Thanks guys for all your suggestions!
Here are some of the photos from the performance!
There was an unexpected challenge of the sunset causing really harsh highlights..
but I did get some good pictures!
Not to turn this into the Photo Critique forum, but anyone has suggestions it'd be much appreciated!! :)
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-27-2012, 08:15 PM
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Wow thanks!
I'll definitely ask about rehearsal!
And the continuous drive is a good idea. I've been trying to limit the number of shots i take in hope of practicing composition, but this is definitely a good case for this.
I'll probably put on DAL 55-300mm for the most part then. About the A50mm (corrected from M50mm), what are people's experience with the catch-in-focus mode?
Has anyone had good success with it?
I have never been able to get it to work?
What do I have to do other than enabling it and pointing?
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-27-2012, 05:20 PM
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Hi guys,
My friends just asked me to take photos at their dance group's spring show!
I dug around and found this post a few weeks ago, but I'm probably not going to buy a k-5 for this, nor do I have a very fast lens.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/185402-dance-recit...lp-please.html
What I do have is a K-x, kit lens, DAL 55-300, and M f/2 50mm.
I also have a flash, but I don't know if I'd be allowed to use it.
There are windows at the venue and it's in the afternoon.
I've attached a few of my shots taken with the kit lens, and a shot by someone else at the show last year.
For my own it was a different show at night, and I had to boost the brightness/fill light in photoshop a lot later.
I'm wondering if anyone has tips on shooting in indoor, fast-moving performances.
I'm not sure if using the 55-300 (which always give me better/sharper images) would work in this case because it has a smaller aperture.
Any suggestion from camera settings to angles, composition, set up, and accessories is appreciated :)
Thanks!!
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
05-17-2012, 04:36 AM
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My first contest entry :)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-26-2012, 02:53 AM
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oh? I have a K-x.
hmm... I might be doing something really wrong then.
How does the EV on the camera work with the EV on the flash?
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-26-2012, 02:24 AM
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Thanks! Hmm.. I guess P-TTL wasn't worth it after all?
So if I'm bouncing off a white wall reasonably close by, I just need to EV+2 on the flash? Or is it EV+2 on the camera?
Could you explain what you mean by speed?
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-25-2012, 08:57 PM
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Hi PF,
I just recently got my first external flash (Metz 50 AF-1)!
Having P-TTL was one of the main reasons why I got this, but for some reason I keep getting the wrong exposure if I try to bounce the flash anywhere (ceiling, bounce card, wall, etc)
I imagine it's because the preflash didn't actually make it through the lens or something?
What's your trick to meter correctly when you're bouncing the flash?
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-14-2012, 01:45 AM
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wow that's beautiful! nice shot!
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-12-2012, 12:00 AM
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yea, that's part of why I went for the ~$200 Metz 50. I don't perceive myself getting any more lighting things any time soon, might as well invest in a reliable one that has good functionality ! =)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-11-2012, 11:15 PM
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Thanks guys!
I saw a post on the PF marketplace selling a Metz 50, so I decided to get that!
I learned a lot here though! I'll keep these in mind when I feel the need to invest in more lighting equipments!
(I'm not sure a quick search for Metz 54 MZ-4 shows some >$400 flashes...?)
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Forum: Photo Critique
04-11-2012, 05:01 AM
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I actually like this shot a lot too! I think the unusual lines almost makes me 'fall into the web,' which is pretty cool for spider webs that's supposed to be a trap.
=)
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Forum: Photo Critique
04-11-2012, 04:58 AM
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Thanks! I did some pretty intense PP... I'm afraid it doesn't look natural anymore, but I guess for the practice, is this better?
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-11-2012, 03:03 AM
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Thanks Anvh!
after doing some research I understand more. So I need P-TTL to get AE with flash, otherwise i'd have try different power settings to get the right exposure. But the firing is still automatic.
Is that right?
I'm mostly going to be using it on-camera and doesn't really need wireless or any of those functionality. But I guess P-TTL is pretty important and so I can only look at flashes on the P-TTL guide.
Someone also brought up the size issue on another thread when I'm looking for an on-camera flash, which I hadn't thought of.
So right now I'm considering the Metz 50, which is largely recommended, and the Sigma EF-610 DG ST, which is cheaper and has most of the functionalities I wanted, but the P-TTL guide's review sounds troubling...
" ...Manual power control is limited to full or ¹⁄₁₆th power, and the zoom can't be controlled manually at all. The zoom reflector pattern is odd — the flash outstrips the competition at wide angle and when zoomed to above 50mm (35mm "full-frame" efl), but not at moderate wide-angles."
Still trying to make a decision and inputs are appreciated!
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Forum: Photo Critique
04-11-2012, 01:14 AM
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First time posting here, please be gentle ;)
I was at the beach over my vacation and took this shot! I like it a lot, but I wonder what I could have done to make it better?
Thanks!
EXIF Info:
F/8
1/500 sec
ISO-200
18mm (27mm equiv.)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-10-2012, 11:31 PM
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Ahh, I have a K-X! Thanks!
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-10-2012, 11:22 PM
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Hi PF,
I'm a beginner and I'm looking into getting a flash!
After reading lots of reviews online and the PF Flash Reviews (in which, sadly, each flash has average of one review only), I am all the more confused..
If anyone could give a little help, it'd be really appreciated.
Background..
I am a casual photographer and mostly shoot from my kit lens and DAL 55-300mm with my K-X
I'm looking for a flash preferably under $150 but, if there's a really compelling reason, I could go for ~$200.
I think the only thing I know is I'd like it to tilt (and maybe swivel) and have a bounce-card thing (the white card you can pull up behind it)[/HR]
What I am not sure about is....
Auto mode: what is this, do I want it? If the flash is manual, does that mean I can't just put it on my hot-shoe and it'll work?
(p-)TTL: through-the-lens metering??
Power adjustment: a lot of flashes have complicated power control, is that important?
Brand: there are a few cheap, non-named-brand flashes (e.g. Yongnuo), that seem tempting. What are people's opinions this?[/HR]
Any help or even recommendations would be appreciated!
Thanks!
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Forum: Photo Critique
09-16-2011, 10:34 AM
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Wow the second shot is amazing! nicely done!
The reflection is intriguing and the focal plane is just right to draw me right to her =)
If you don't mind, would you share your original?
I'm also curious what is pre/post processing!
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Forum: Photo Critique
09-16-2011, 10:08 AM
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Hi RevDoc,
I like this shot~ where is this :)?
I'm new here too (for a few days only) and I'm not quite as good as everyone else here =P
But I'll take a shot at this~
I just played a little bit with it in paint for different compositions.
I tried to crop and center/emphasize the arch
also if I rotate it, it almost looks like a pathway to heaven!
(I wish I could rotate it by arbitrary degrees in paint)
Also I'd probably brighten it a little and turn up the contrast for black and white myself, but I just like doing that in general =)
Anyway, thanks for posting!
Let me know what you think =)
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Forum: Photo Critique
09-16-2011, 09:52 AM
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Is the Online Editor still in operation ?
When I clicked on that link it just redirected me to the PF frontpage.
I'm running Chrome/IE on Windows, if that's a problem.
Thanks!
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-15-2011, 10:03 AM
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nice picture! i like the little bright spot on the right. Almost looks like a fairy dancing on a red twig!
hope this thread turns into people sharing good overcast day photos, I'd really like to see. Hehe.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-13-2011, 09:07 PM
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wow that's interesting. it makes perfect sense too.
Feel like I should've thought of that when I was learning about this...
Thanks for the article!
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-13-2011, 03:54 PM
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oh wow, that's a really good picture!
yea, that's what I was thinking of.
So it sounds like it's mostly post production then?
I'll definitely try that.
It also makes sense to be taking macros with the soft, omni-direction lighting~
Thanks guys!
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-13-2011, 02:36 PM
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Very interesting article! I guess practically, too, in dark situation the hardest part is to be able to expose for that long without camera shake.....
and, for those who are interested, here's the mathematics of Signal to Noise ration from which ETTR is based on.
Noise scales at the square root of the amount of light you get per pixel, so doubling the exposure effectively halved the SNR.
Also why camera manufactures should stop trying to cram more pixels onto the same sensor size :P
Taken from a slide from the photography class I took.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-13-2011, 01:59 PM
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Oh? I was thinking of things like these....
A photo from wikipedia, one of the first results of google 
How do they do those?
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-13-2011, 01:32 PM
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Hi PF,
I was gonna go out and take lots of pictures while I'm still here in Seattle, WA.
But it looks like it's gonna be cloudy all day and overcast.
I've seen lots of pictures online with HDR-looking pictures on these days.
But my attempts usually just look gray and boring.
Does anyone have tips on HDR shots on cloudy days =)??
Thanks!!
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