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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-15-2014, 07:47 AM
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Sorry that I took a while to see the post, I don't log in that often...
I primarily use the 40, I'm used to the field of view, and I can instinctively figure out the distance and coverage. It's used mostly for environmental portraits (and random things as well). This focal length allows a good working distance that normally is available, indoors or outdoors. I don't take much of head shots with it, but I do a lot of half body shots.
The 21, I normally use for group shots. A good 10-15 feet allows coverage for a decent size group. The only sort of limitation here is the aperture, which is a bit too narrow for indoor.
The 70, I used the least. It is sort of reserved for proper portraits and situations when I want the bokeh and subject separation. I love longer focal lengths, short telephoto (35-85mm), but the the 70 requires too much distance to be practical in regular travel situations.
The thing with using primes to get used to the field of view so that you can sort of predict the distances. In case I needed to work quickly (like with a impatient family), I would go just a tad wider that I speculate.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
04-11-2014, 03:15 PM
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Since I shoot quite a bit at events at night, low light AF efficacy is a must, and in this regards, Nikon is the best I've seen. Depending on your application it might matter or not.
In low light AF, it cannot be compared to any mirrorless (I have used a NEX-6 and an E-M5). The K-5 IIs is almost there, still a tiny bit behind the D600 (in regards to low light AF), which is way better than a Canon 70D.
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
03-12-2014, 07:26 AM
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If you know Portuguese, or at least Spanish, it would be very nice...there's not a lot of English speakers (at least in the area I visited). It's always nicer to have someone local that knows some interesting places and to guide you around. It's a beautiful place, but I would not wander around aimlessly by myself.
For street photography, I think that people are very open minded, approachable and typically, they will not get you in trouble. They are very respectful as well (compared with Texas). A few smiles and basic greetings will get you a long way.
As for things to point the camera at, you have urban architecture, colonial architecture, beautiful people, and general street photography.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-11-2014, 07:07 PM
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In the past, I've used the following 3 prime kits:
weddings, engagements, and related stuff
da35 macro
da55
fa*85
for outdoors, it's the 85...the shorter ones are for indoors
leisure shooting, environmental portraits, street, people stuff
da21
da40
da70
80% with the 40, outdoor portraits with the 70...barely used the 21
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-11-2014, 06:47 PM
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The FA43!!!
My favorite was the DA40...then I bought a FA43. Poor DA40 hasn't "seen the light" since that day.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-28-2014, 04:58 PM
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I have both the fa35 and sigma 30, for general purpose, I would choose the fa35.
The sigma 30 is like the fa43, they are great lenses, but they have a mind of their own...in certain specific situations, they make great "pixie dust" images, but as a walkaround lens, they are not impressive.
Perhaps this has to do with the (lack of) corner sharpness or vignette. For a walkaround jack of all trades lens, the DA35 macro is even better if focusing speed is not your priority.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
02-10-2014, 02:47 PM
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OMG Christine, how did you achieve that look of the Stonehenge?
It's very, very cool pic.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-10-2014, 02:40 PM
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Looks sort of expensive for the size (25USD shipped).
Just curious, is this "official" Pentax merchandise?
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Forum: Photographic Technique
02-10-2014, 02:32 PM
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Do you have any general guideline of how much grain to add for a specific size, let's say, the common sizes of 4x6, 8x12, and 16x24?
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
02-05-2014, 03:28 PM
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I guess the real selling point is that now the split can be used with any lens, including adapted...this opens a whole world of possibilities. It would be like a rangefinder, without needing rangefinder coupled lenses.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
02-05-2014, 02:26 PM
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Digital Split Screen!!! plus peaking and magnification.
I think this one is, hands down, the best MF camera around.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
02-04-2014, 09:17 AM
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
01-30-2014, 03:49 PM
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Tuco..I mean, "sort of" natively...like TTL, AF, and aperture control.
Corto, sorry that I didn't read the part about the accessories...now I'm officially impressed with this release!
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
01-30-2014, 02:37 PM
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The only problems I see with this camera, as well as some of the NEX, are: 1) lack of accessories, 2)lack of lenses. With the NEX, at least one can use Minolta flashes and lenses.
Read a rumor somewhere that Sony is adding SR to their future NEX's (or whatever they call their mirrorless cameras).
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
01-23-2014, 03:41 PM
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Hey Christine...those last 4 shots were beautiful!
Are those with the 35 or 55?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-23-2014, 03:30 PM
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I have the DA50-135, but I wouldn't use it in wedding because of the slowness/lag of the SDM. I have carried the Sigma 50-150 with me just in case, but never really needed it because the venue was not that big.
I have never used the Sigma 70-200, but I have owned the Tamron for a while...I would definitely recommend it. It has plenty of sharpness, it does well with flares, and the AF is quick (with PDAF, of course).
In my little experience, the AF noise is not a significant factor when choosing a lens since they are plenty of other sound sources which are way more annoying than the screw drive noise. Also people are so excited about the wedding itself, I don't think anybody notices the screw drive noise (if the photographer is unobtrusive to begin with).
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
01-16-2014, 09:13 PM
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A canon body with a nikon lens...the ultimate sacrilege!
I'm not an expert on this sort of thing, but it looks "as if" it has a fair amount of PP just by looking at the ground.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-16-2014, 09:09 PM
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I would prefer PEF because of the smaller file size.
As of the resulting quality, so far I have not seen discernible difference.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-08-2014, 09:48 AM
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I own both and from my experience, I would use them in different applications.
I find that the bokeh and sharpness of the DA55 is more suited for environmental portraits and overall people photography. The sharpness of both lenses are excellent and at a real sharpness test (measuring resolving power), both of them are neck to neck...but for some reason, at least in my copies, the Sigma seems to have more microcontrast, which gives an impression of being sharper overall than the DA (in the overall picture, not pixel peeping).
At larger apertures, the Sigma is very prone to bokeh fringing and it flares easily...which I think is true of all modern Sigma lenses, at least in K mount. The rendering is colder and less saturated. I don't like the look of it for people (which is most of what I do nowadays), so I end up not using this lens as much as the DA.
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
01-08-2014, 09:29 AM
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I think you're right.
If your flash is metering at F/8, ISO100 at 20ft...as long as you keep the same 20ft approx, you can "walk around flashing" with the camera set to 30s.
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
01-08-2014, 09:25 AM
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I'd agree with geru.
Two AF360's can shoot plenty of power if you're not doing stuff like overpowering the sun.
If you're in a budget, not doing commercial stuff (like for customers), and you can do some DIY'ing, you shouldn't need to buy stands, umbrellas and stuff.
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
01-06-2014, 07:58 AM
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Last night in my insomnia, I was playing around with my AF540 and a Olympus body (since I don't have an Olympus flash) with the A mode. The exposure is very consistent, way more than P-TTL, and it seems to expose "properly"...in other words, it is not fooled by white parts of the scene and it does not try to "make an 18 gray" type of exposure. All the white parts came out white.
Tried the same thing with the K-5 iis, and reached the same conclusion. For some reason, when shooting a scene with lots of whites or blacks, the P-TTL seems to try and make it grey. Using bounce or direct flash yielded the same results.
I think this has to do a lot with how the metering system works. Even when without flash, the K-5 iis seems to underexpose a tad, with the flash is even worse. Also, the A mode is very consistent....giving the same output over and over again, reflective surfaces has no influence on its output.
On the other side, P-TTL is metering on a limited portion of the scene, which is also in focus (some elements, at least)...while the A mode is presumably metering overall ambient light. Seems to make sense that the overall ambient light varies very little, while P-TTL depends on whatever you put in front of the lens (composition), which varies a lot.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-03-2014, 11:43 AM
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The FA35mm f/2 is a good option...used price is reasonable, has aperture ring also.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-27-2013, 02:53 PM
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I also believe that the Pentax "screwdriver" is tad slow. Of course, this is comparing DSLR's of the same year.
I'd be curious to know if the new improved screwdriver of the K-3 is up to canikon levels...and how good is AF locking at low light.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
12-20-2013, 02:41 PM
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The NEX 6 is tad bigger...but I think it's a decent tradeoff for the better grip, EVF, (bounce-able) in camera flash, and a hot shoe.
I have owned a NEX F3, while it was, let' say, 80% smaller, it is also missing functions that are somehow critical for me...specially the hot shoe. The ability to attach a higher power TTL flash and bounce it on a wall or ceiling is pretty much my standard way to take indoor photos.
In the end, I guess it depends in the type of photograph you expect to use the camera for.
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