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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
01-09-2013, 10:50 AM
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He was just listing in random order. As you have noted, you would need:
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1. Developer (you indicated you already have this)
2. Stop bath (dilution of vinegar and water works just fine)
3. Fixer (you have that on order)
As he also noted, however, you really would benefit from following up with a wetting agent (such as Kodak Photo Flo) so that you don't get water stains on your negatives.
Developing black and white negatives is very easy and rewarding. Have fun with it! :)
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-08-2013, 08:44 PM
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I am not an engineer but I will defer to any expert opinion on this subject.
That said, I've had one of the cheap grips for almost 2 years and have never used my K5 without it attached. I shoot lots of seascapes and high fog/moist areas and my camera very often gets wet, quite wet.
Occasionally after a drenching, I will detach the grip to check for damage and I never find much more than a little wetness just inside but never near the contacts. The assembly screws have gotten rusty where exposed to seawater, but I don't get too worried about that. Honestly, I still can't believe I got this grip for $45 bucks or whatever it was. It has been worth it!
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
01-07-2013, 01:45 AM
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Thanks..It's nice to know that we haven't managed to spoil the areas scenery too much then over the years...hope it stays that that too
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
01-06-2013, 02:53 PM
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If all you are doing is taking snapshots for upload to the internet jpeg is fine, even better perhaps as there is less work. If you are (or ever will in the future) going to edit or process those images then you need to shoot in RAW.
- You can recover 1 stop or even more of shadow or highlight detail
- You can go back and re-process at a later time when your skills or the software may have improved
- You can shoot HDR much easier
- You can make as many versions of the image as you want without ever touching the original
- Editing RAW files is non-destructive unlike jpeg where every edit and save degrades the image even more
- jpegs are actually RAW files but processed by the camera into jpeg, you do have some control over that but you only get one shot
Neither is right or wrong, just use what suits you best. There is a lot more work in shooting RAW than jpeg. My wife shoots all jpeg because she wants the results NOW for upload to her blog or Facebook or whatever. I only shoot RAW because I want the ability to edit the image to suit me. It also forces me to take the time to title, caption and keyword every shot, something I doubt I would do if I was shooting jpegs. That may not seem like an issue now, but 20 years from now will anyone have any idea who or what is in that picture unless it is properly annotated?
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-04-2013, 04:29 PM
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I'll go P-TTL and "A" for bounce.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-12-2012, 11:49 AM
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Hi Noam,
Excuse me for probably just being dense, but what practical application is there for a shallow flash head angle? I'm no flash wonk, but neither am I a rank beginner. I own quite a few guns, and use them as needed -- and am one of those that have had few problems with P-TTL over the years. I own and use an AF 360 FGZ, an AF 540 FGZ, and a newly acquired Metz 24 AF1 in P-TTL, and either shoot them with direct flash or bounced straight up, with or without a multitude of modifiers. I haven't found much use for any of the intermediate angles, and I don't use Omnibounce type diffusers as I find there are much more effective ways to soften the light (one of the few common applications where an intermediate angle is recommended).
The only relevance that I can see your tests having for me is that I now know to check to see if the head has been inadvertently tilted a touch if I start getting anomalous overexposures in the field. This is good to know, and I thank you for this, but IMO, you're spending a lot of time and effort to point out a fault in the P-TTL flash protocols that Pentax will probably have little or no motivation to correct.
It's pretty commonly accepted that Pentax should dramatically revamp their flash system to at least be competitive with the big two in versatility and ease of use. With backward compatibility in mind (hopefully), they should retain compatibility with current P-TTL flashes when developing the new system, but I would think that their priorities would be to put the work into developing a new system, not to patch up the one that would be replaced.
I'm not trying to discourage you. I encourage experimentation because that's how we learn new tricks to get better images from our gear, and any discoveries that might get me better results are appreciated. With P-TTL flash, I know that I've got a pretty wide range of exposure latitude with both Ev comp and Flash comp to work with. I can work around just about any metering problems within the system that exists as long as the work-around is consistently effective.
Scott
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-04-2013, 03:33 PM
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I'm not so sure it is the same thing but I did have a similar problem with my K-r, that is inconsistent focusing even when set on a tripod in good lighting. It seems it was dirt on the focus sensors. One thing I had noticed (before fixing the problem) was that most of the focus points worked ok, only the centre one and one of the corner ones being inconsistent. I eventually sorted it out with compressed air, lots of it, perhaps even too much but it did fix the problem and it works just fine to this day.
Have you tried any of the other focus points - that might reveal whether the problem is in the sensor or not. If any of the other focus points works reliably then you can be sure that the problem is in the sensor and most likely just due to dirt.
I wouldn't recommend blasting compressed air randomly as I did but maybe a more gentle form of cleaning might solve your problem.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-30-2012, 10:17 AM
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You left another important parameter from your objectives, final resolution of the panorama. Do you plan to view the result on a screen or print it really big (e.g. 10 feet or more)?
The two main reasons one makes stitched panoramas is to increase the wide coverage of a lens (if an ultra wide lens is not available or practical) or to increase the pixel count of the resulting image so it can be printed big.
If the intent is to view the image on a display or print it small (less than 3 feet wide) then an ultra wide (or fisheye) lens can do the job just fine. Simply crop the excess sky and foreground to get a pleasing cinema-scope-like crop. If an ultra wide lens is not available, then a wide angle one will do the job with the fewer possible frames to minimize the stitching effort. Just use the one with the best overall image quality across the frame and the least distortions.
If the intent is to print big, then you have to do some reverse math to determine how big (in pixels and dpi) the final image should be. Assuming a 30% overall then you can figure out how many frames you need and if it can be done in one row (preferably in portrait orientation to maximize vertical pixel counts) or in multiple rows. Given the area you want to cover in degrees, the number of frames will tell you what focal length to use to get the proper coverage. Again, choose the lest with the best IQ across the frame for the selected focal length.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
11-13-2012, 04:05 PM
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This thread is getting beyond my ability to respond using an iPhone app.
I understand color temp, off-cam flash, etc. P-TTL has major flaws in the K5. Those who feel otherwise have not used it in a variety of lighting conditions.
I have no idea why the K5 exposes so wildly in incandescent ambient lighting. It doesn't affect the Metz in auto mode.... Or wireless P-TTL.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
11-13-2012, 08:12 AM
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"DOF is worthless!" is a definitive statement, not at all vague. It is a provocative title, but not in a good way, i.e. more like a troll job. I would point out that your title is provocative mostly because it is wrong. DOF is clearly not worthless. Whether the photographer selects to use deep or shallow, DOF is a hugely important facet of photography. There are many ways you could have phrased the title and provoked a discussion on DOF without the trollish title.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
11-08-2012, 01:02 AM
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It's not useless info, it's trivia :D Got to keep your trivia bank fully charged. You do know the derivation of "trivia", I hope. Yet more trivia to add to the trivia bank.
Richard.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-09-2012, 12:18 PM
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Thanks for the info :) Those look great. I downloaded the trial version so we'll see what I come up with.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
11-08-2012, 01:58 AM
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Went to Denmark with my family this summer on vacation. Spent a whole day in Legoland, and saw only Canons and Nikons, not even Sonys og Olympuses (Olympi?). Had a few other trips to a funfair and on the beach, but no Pentaxes to see.Not before we got back home to Bergen and went to the Aquarium there, I saw one bearded fellow with a K-5 or K-7. I'm not the type that approaches strangers, so I never got to talk to him, but like MSM states above, endangered species should perhaps not be disturbed. :)
I believe I can tell the exact spot were I saw him, though, so if someone ever makes a documentary about Pentax owners, I can imagine Sir Richard Attenborough standing in front of the camera saying: "And it was here, on this exact spot, that Asbjørn saw a man sporting what looked like a Pentax K-7 or a K-5!"
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
11-07-2012, 01:02 PM
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I spy a child who face needs a little attention.
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Forum: General Talk
11-07-2012, 10:45 AM
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wrong.. you vote for the crook that has the least interest in robbing you of something you want.
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Forum: General Talk
11-04-2012, 02:13 PM
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God... here we go again...
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
11-03-2012, 02:41 PM
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Well you certainly took everything I said the wrong way. You're right, we may not be alive in two hours, time to go out and do everything I ever wanted to do in life.
Everything I've read about the camera's new AF system seems to indicate that it's only better in low-light. Everything else makes it sound like it's slightly better (but barely even noticeable) in normal shooting conditions.
Do myself a favor and quit reading these threads? Good advice from the guy with almost 4 times as many posts as I have.
Who said I don't want to pay for better? You sure like to make a lot of assumptions, that, or you have a serious problem with reading comprehension. I never said anything about not wanting to spend money. I actually stated that I'd like to know what Pentax's plans are before making a purchase (and before you make another incorrect assumption, I know they probably won't be talking). I'd have no problems buying the K-5II if it was a worthy upgrade. My hesitation comes from the reviews that I've been reading about it so far. From everything I've read, it's not a worthy upgrade. Once I'm sure that it is or isn't, that's when I'm buying my camera. It might be a K-5II, it might be a K-5.
You're right, the original K-5 was a great camera... two years ago. Is it still good? Yes. Will it be able to keep up with what other companies are/will be offering soon? A lot of people (also on this forum) seem to think no. Why do people seem to think that it's a ridiculous notion to criticize Pentax for releasing the K-5II as their flagship? Are they even calling it that? Even Adam seems to be greatly disappointed by the K-5II. I've read recommendations that he's made to several people about saving their money and spending their money on something other than the K-5II. A lot of people have been making this recommendation. You should probably go around telling them to go to another brand too.
Geez... Thank you gatekeeper of the Pentax world. I will show myself out the door thanks to your masterful use of emoticons.
Once again, I never said I wanted to leave Pentax. Everything I have said has been a criticism of Pentax. As a consumer, I have every right to do this. Any consumer that feels that he, or any other consumer, does not have the right to criticize a company is an idiot. Now, since we've established that you might have some problems with understanding the words I write, I'm not calling you an idiot. I have to admit, I think I've read some other stuff you've written on these forums and you usually come off as a nice person. Not sure what is going on here.
Again, who said I was complaining about them releasing lenses? Are you just trolling me? Or do you really have a problem understanding what you read? I'm mentioning they only announced lenses the during the last CP+. Some other forum members have stated the possibility of another body being announced during the next CP+. I'm trying to get people's opinions as to what the possibilities of that are.
Now, in regards to my lens selection, I actually haven't updated that list since the first month I got my camera. I've actually upgraded my lens collection quite a bit since then. Thanks to some LBA during the last year, I've actually accumulated about 10-15 m42, M, & A prime lenses along with a Tamron 28-75 & a Tamron 70-200. Can I get even better lenses? Of course, will I? Not at this time. Seriously, you need to stop making assumptions.
I love this forum because so many of the people on here are such genuinely nice people. You probably are as well, but wow did you come off like a jerk. I at no point made any of the insinuations you accused me of. You may want to be a little more careful with your reading.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
10-31-2012, 03:59 PM
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i spy back lit bird feathers... I call this one "waiting for the music to start" :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
10-29-2012, 07:07 AM
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Yep, another Halloween Stunt. :)
It was only laquer thinners. :)
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
10-27-2012, 09:45 AM
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I hope you are able to test the AF in some difficult (different colors) lighting conditions. Find a local Jazz or Blues club (they usually have really crappy light) with a good band and some cold beer and shoot a few test shots..... After 6 or 7 beers you can also compare how well the SR works. All in the name of science.
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