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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-08-2011, 07:25 AM
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Pentax K5 is definitely versatile enough as a camera body. I would only shoot Canon for the faster AF. That's about it. And FF isn't necessary at all. You can use a good noise reduction program, even Lightroom 3 will do just fine for your noise. Even the in camera noise reduction for the K5 will do fine for noise if you shoot JPEG.
Honestly, the issue of noise and noise reduction in photos are really only important to photographers. To everyone else, folks seeing the photos, it doesn't really matter that much, if at all, unless it is excessively grainy. We photogs see noise that ordinary people NEVER see. Image quality is vastly overrated in wedding photography. There are guys still shooting with Nikon D70 cameras, and still getting work. Equipment isn't everything, unless the equipment has a legitimate problem. :cool:
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-20-2011, 07:25 AM
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:)
Everyone out here knows that Englishtown is associated with 2 things: racing and their flea market.
Buying anything from Englishtown means that you are buying from their large outdoor flea market. When I say flea market, I'm talking about selling things out of tents, which are set up on dirt and gravel. Hundreds of tents to buy basically WHATEVER you need.
That being said, I've bought PLENTY of things from there. But never anything photography wise, or very very expensive, or over the internet. There are pretty honest people though. You can always cut deals. Many or the people selling electronics are Chinese or Korean. Imagine it as being... if Ebay had a mall but it was outside. That's pretty much what it is. ;)
If you bought something for instance, a new DSLR and it had some sort of problem, just bring it back and they'll exchange it for you, most likely.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-20-2010, 01:12 PM
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The 12-24 is already expensive as stated, but this 12-35mm is weather resistant. BIG plus! :cool:
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-20-2010, 01:08 PM
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I don't have anything against the guy in the video or his Nikon preference.
After all, he did give Pentax the benefit of the doubt, saying that if you're highly invested in Pentax, go ahead and buy the K5. He personally wouldn't, but he ISN'T telling Pentax users to switch systems because D7000 is so much better.
Level headed, I suppose.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-28-2010, 11:03 AM
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These results are AMAZING! :)
I guess this will be great for night scenes and skylines like the ones you shot. Awesome!
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Forum: Pentax K-r
11-27-2010, 09:11 AM
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Wow, that video is flat out AWESOME. :cool:
On K-x? WOW!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
11-18-2010, 12:11 PM
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I shoot Pentax and Canon.
Biggest difference to me and other shooters who've shot with Canon and another brand, comparitively, is the RED channel. No kidding. ;)
No matter how I adjust settings, tweak color, custom WB, etc, I can never get the reds the way I want. I settle. What does this mean in real life? Dark skinned people... don't look quite like themselves, although the rest of the colors are accurate. Either they have too much RED in their skin, but if you tone it down, everything is washed out a bit. With Pentax, they are considerably closer. :)
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
11-18-2010, 11:32 AM
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High ISO on K7 can be quite surprising. I wish I had photos to show but I don't. :(
K7 shot in RAW at high ISO (3200, 4000, 5000, 6400) can be quite satisfactory, at least for me. How I process RAW in camera:
- I shoot in RAW
- Set exposure compensation to +0.7 or +1
- Set mode to save highlights
- NR Set to Off
- Shoot
- Convert RAW in camera
- Bring exposure back down to normal
- Set Custom Image to Reversal Film (YEAH! :):):))
- Process
- Upload to RAW or noise reduction program
- Reduce Luminance Noise
- Process
- Done!
I don't shoot high ISO often, but K7 does a good job, I definitely think. It's fun. Try it! See if you like it! I do! :cool:
At normal viewing sizes, it's great! Prints well too.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-29-2010, 09:33 AM
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Camera Lens Rentals is definitely the best! I always rent from them first before I commit to buy. ;)
I didn't know about their having the K5. So K5, here I come!
NOTHING but praise for Cameralensrentals.com! I recommend then ALL the way! |
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
10-22-2010, 09:18 AM
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Some really nice shots there!
Better than the official K5 shots, by far. :lol:
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
10-14-2010, 11:13 AM
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Nah, not really. No one will care. I live 10 minutes from the city (NYC). No one notices anything out here. There are enough weirdos running around. That's just part of the scenery. ;)
I figure, if I'm walking around, see a scene that looks interesting, and want to shoot it, I'll just aim and shoot. All in less than 5 seconds and move on. No one would notice.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
10-14-2010, 06:29 AM
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I like it very much! I am impressed with what I see. :)
Though I am surprised it isn't getting good feedback here. The price is nice and it looks like my next buy.
Check out this link for it. It has a ton more photos and a video showing how it really hooks up to your DSLR.
http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/cloak-bag/ |
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-30-2010, 02:47 PM
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How much leeway did you have in the shoot? What were some of your thinking along the way?
Where is the location?
And what's with the fingerless gloves? Interesting look. :cool:
I'd always like to read more commentary. It's always interesting. ;)
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-06-2010, 02:02 PM
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What is the difference between 4 star (****), 3 star (***), 2 star (**), and 1 star (*) JPEGS on the K7?
I can't seem to make it out.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-06-2010, 01:58 PM
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There is really no reason to trash Pentax, pro or not.
Pro cameras from 4-5 years ago, like the Canon 30D, and Nikon D2X were the cutting edge. Today, they are STILL very solid and very capable cameras and shooters still use them quite liberally. But Pentax K7 is ahead of both of them technology wise. YET, you don't see guys shooting Canon 7D or Nikon D3 cameras and telling the guys still shooting 30D and D2X, "You guys are shooting with garbage." No, you don't hear that. ;)
I think Pentax gets flack because it's Pentax. Maybe it's the name, who knows? :cool:
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Forum: Ask B&H Photo!
07-26-2010, 09:33 AM
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Has the Sigma 70-200 HSM II lens been discontinued for Pentax?
I ask because I am looking for a new portrait zoom. My Pentax 50-135 lens is acting strange so it's not going to be in my 5 for much longer. I'm looking also at the Sigma 50-150 HSM lens for Pentax.
How does the Sigma 50-150 compare to the Pentax 50-135 in terms of AF speed and weight?
And how does the new Sigma 70-200 HSM II OS lens compare to the previous Sigma 70-200 in regards to weight? Is it at B&H yet?
Also, do you have quick standing light stands?
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
02-13-2009, 06:11 PM
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You can get a Quantum battery or a Lumedyne cycler, new or used. They can both be used with the 540FGZ with the Quantum CN3 cord. I use the Lumedyne Tinycycler, which is very small, light and compact. Quite awesome. ;)
It will make the hugest impact on recycle times. Even on full power, barely 1 second to recycle. On anything less than full power, recycle times are instant. You can shoot a small burst of about 5 straight shots or even more, but anything much more, like 15 shots in a row with no pause, and you can actually fry your flash. Fortunately, the 540 has a overheating protection feautre, where it shuts down the flash if it gets too hot. Once you use a cycler, your flash photography will never be the same. Very cool. :)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-13-2009, 12:54 PM
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I read in PopPhoto a couple of months back about this photog who actually masks his lens (masking tape, black cardboard or I don't know...) to make his photos into a "square" format. I think it would be cool for Pentax to have an option for the square format, but not a totally square sensor.
I think the next big innovation for cameras will be the live histogram in the viewfinder. I was hoping the K20D would have it and now I'm hoping the next Pentax cam will have it. :)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
02-12-2009, 01:28 PM
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I don't have the 360 but I think it's the same sort of thing.
In Av mode on the 540FGZ, I usually set the EV compensation on my camera to +1.0 and set the flash exposure compensation on my camera to +1.0. And you're good to go.
Auto does the trick sometimes. But P-TTL works just fine. Just make sure that you have enough juice in your flash. I'm not 100% sure but it seems like weak batteries can cause you problems with P-TTL.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-08-2009, 07:05 AM
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It's a good lens. I can't find anything wrong with it. It's sharp enough, colors are more neutral, a little flatter, and it focuses fast. Colorwise, there's not as much pop as the 50-135 but that's not a real comparison anyway. :lol: You may even prefer it. I do sometimes. I'm only comparing it to the 50-135 here because those are the only 2 lenses I use.
Solid buy. ;)
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-08-2009, 06:49 AM
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I think the Photek Softliter would be a good choice.
It's an umbrella "softbox", plus a shoot through umbrella, and it comes with gold and silver inserts. I've never used the gold or silver inserts and actually, I've rarely even used the actual Sofliter as an umbrella softbox besides just playing around with it. The "softbox" diffusion screen can be taken off or on, hence, you can use it either way, as a softbox or as a plain old shoot through/bounce umbrella, since it also comes with a black backing. I've used it as a plain shoot through most of the time. It's versatile and comes in many sizes.
One of the coolest things about the Photek Softliter is that you can unscrew the umbrella shaft (the long stick part of the umbrella) so you can place the Softliter up super close without the shaft poking a person. Neat. :)
I think it was a little expensive though. I have the 35 inch one I think.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-07-2009, 12:19 PM
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Now THAT'S a horror story. :o
I've dealt with a couple of softboxes that were just a bare rod, with no tip on the ends of it. The eBay boxes from Dream2Maker came like this.
BTW, I read that some slang terms for a softbox are a "swimming pool" or a "fish fryer". But never a "bow and arrow." :lol:
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-06-2009, 01:44 PM
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I've never found softboxes hard to put together. Ever. I really don't get the woes that a lot of guys speak of. From Chimera to eBay softboxes, I never have had a softbox assembly horror story. I find it's only difficult to put together a softbox if the rods are too short, which did happen with an eBay box I bought.
I do it in this order:
1. Put all your rods into the slots of the softbox fabric
2. Place speedring hole over tip of "left" rod
3. Flex speedring hole to "right" rod, insert rod
4. Flex speedring hole toward "bottom" rod, insert rod
5. Push entire speedring down and insert last rod, "top" rod
It's easier putting together if you're standing up and it is on a knee level surface.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-06-2009, 08:14 AM
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One of the most useful accessories I carry is the Lally Cap. After seeing the ad in back of PopPhoto for MONTHS and wondering about it, I decided to go ahead and order one. Am I GLAD I did. Works great for white balance.
And the Lumedyne Tinycycler. Can't say enough good things about it.
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