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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways 12-13-2014, 06:35 PM  
3 Million Post Giveaway: Confirm your entry!
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 2,853
Views: 133,241
Crossing my fingers... :)
Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways 12-09-2014, 06:35 PM  
Win an FA 31mm Ltd: PF 3 million post giveaway!
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 2,237
Views: 143,926
Ooh, I could use one of these!
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 08-06-2013, 11:38 AM  
Aquarium Photo Tips?
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 41
Views: 3,728
I'm no pro or anything, but when I go to the Georgia Aquarium it's pretty dark inside so I use a 50mm f/1.7 manual focus lens. f/1.7 isn't actually necessary, it's just what I have. I often set it on more like f/2.0. No flash, it just creates nasty reflections. Never tried any hood or filters either. So yeah, that 50mm f/2.0 at your local store would probably work fine and these older manual "fast 50's" are often pretty inexpensive.

Here are some sample aquarium pics I took with my manual 50mm to see if you like what that would give you, I tend to like things a bit close up as you'll see. I do have a manual 35mm lens but it's an f/2.8 and I haven't tried it for aquarium duty yet:
GA Aquarium 03/26/2013 - a set on Flickr
GA Aquarium 03/09/2013 - a set on Flickr

Btw, on the frog shots I typically swap to my 18-135mm so I can zoom in more, your Tamron should work fine for this and any other well-illuminated subjects. A little adjustment in whatever software you have can help put the finishing touches on your pics too if they come out a little dark or whatever. This is also good to edit out the occasional reversed "Exit" sign reflection from your pics ;)
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 07-03-2013, 06:38 AM  
Best travel lens?
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 11
Views: 6,280
This is my vote as well. Anytime I only want one lens, this is the one that does it all.
Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras 06-24-2013, 11:23 AM  
Whats the future of film ...rolls?
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 32
Views: 5,508
As long as there is demand, someone will keep making film. I expect it will be around for a while.
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 06-21-2013, 08:45 AM  
Found this(these) gems
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 36
Views: 4,757
You've got some nice stuff there. If you're interested in photography I wouldn't be in too much of a rush to sell them as you might regret it and want some of them back later - not to mention the sentimental value. Instead, learn how to use them and wait until you can make a more informed choice of which lenses you use a lot and which ones maybe you don't need and what you'd like to replace them with.
Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals 06-14-2013, 02:39 PM  
Justin Bieber and entourage sued by photographer
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 35
Views: 3,511
I don't think anyone is claiming that starting bar fights is OK, it's just that if nobody recognizable is involved we don't hear about them.

You can't really voice your disapproval of an event you didn't know happened, now can you?
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 06-14-2013, 01:52 PM  
Buying used online - anyone do it? Do or avoid?
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 17
Views: 2,241
I've bought several lenses from eBay and no problems yet. Mainly I think you just need to do your due diligence reading the description - both what is said and what isn't said. Check the pictures. If there are no pics, skip it. If they don't talk about something, ask them. If they are reluctant, skip it.
Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals 06-14-2013, 11:31 AM  
Kodak to stop making cellulose acetate for film
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 8
Views: 1,346
I guess I just don't know enough about film chemistry, but what does this actually *mean*?

They say they have a huge stockpile, and that they will still make polyester film base. So, can we just use that instead? Is a different development process needed for polyester based film?
Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals 06-11-2013, 11:22 AM  
New "organic sensor" technology
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 9
Views: 1,400
Pretty cool, but it's still a long way from being ready for mass market use. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out though.
Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals 06-10-2013, 01:04 PM  
Justin Bieber and entourage sued by photographer
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 35
Views: 3,511
The law doesn't care who the people were. One guy was taking pictures in a 100% legal manner. Another guy threatened him with a gun and stole his property.

Effectively, one guy robbed another guy at gunpoint. The only other fact that has legal relevance is that he did it on someone else's command. That's pretty much all there is to the story. It doesn't even matter that the guy was taking pictures. He could have just been standing around, from a legal point of view it's irrelevant.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 06-05-2013, 07:56 AM  
My poor conscience.....my lucky LBA
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 65
Views: 6,342
I haven't been lucky enough to be in this situation yet. Normally whenever I see something listed as 1.2 they really mean 1:2.

So here's another question - all of this has been assuming the seller is a private individual. Does it make a difference if the seller is a business? ie - antique shop, flea market, pawn shop, etc...? Does a business have more responsibility to know what their items are worth?
Forum: Monthly Photo Contests 05-31-2013, 06:32 AM  
Blueberries
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 0
Views: 652
Picture for food contest
Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals 05-30-2013, 01:56 PM  
Chicago Sun-Times lays off entire photo staff and is now using more video !
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 33
Views: 3,981
A desperate move from a business that knows it's been circling the bowl for a while now and getting closer and closer to the drain.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 05-22-2013, 07:47 AM  
Helios 44M-7 vs. Helios 44-2?
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 12
Views: 20,735
I wouldn't directly compare either to the SuperTak 1.4, as I see it they're for a different purpose. Each lens has its own characteristics and it's your job to select the right tool for the job.

If I'm taking a portrait and have plenty of time and a cooperative subject then I would likely use my Helios 44-2. If I need a similar focal length but want sharper style pictures, then I'd take out my Pentax-A 50mm 1.7 (don't have a 1.4 unfortunately!)
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 05-22-2013, 07:39 AM  
Asahi Pentax Confusion
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 6
Views: 1,468
Right, generally almost everything is mechanical. There's a good chance that the only thing the battery is even used for is powering the light meter, and you can potentially do without that in a pinch. I recently inherited my father's old Mamiya/Sekor film camera and it's like that. We actually did manage to get the battery working but we had to clean out the battery chamber a bit and scrape off a little corrosion to get it to make good electrical contact. You might try that on yours.

If you can't get the light meter working, you can download a free light meter app for your smartphone and use that. That's what I tend to do on my old twin-lens camera, either that or use my digital camera's light meter - whichever is handy.

You'll want to do some reading to understand the relationship between the amount of light, aperture, shutter speed, and film ISO but there is some leeway.

Aperture is how big a "light hole" there is in your lens to let light shine onto the film. A big hole (say f/4 or lower) lets in more light which can complete a picture faster but things farther away from your subject may be less sharply focused. This isn't a bad thing, it's generally considered sort of an artistic effect where the background is somewhat blurred out to make a "dreamy" sort of picture. A small hole (say f/8 or higher) lets in less light. It takes more time to take the picture but it tends to be sharp across the whole picture. It's a sliding scale, not absolute.

Shutter speed is how long the camera will allow light to fall on the film to make the picture, maybe a 100th of a second or so. Fairly straightforward. Too much time and the picture can be over-exposed. Too little and it can be under-exposed. Some correction for over/under exposure can be made during developing but only so much.

ISO is the film's sensitivity to light. If your film is ISO 100, it's mostly only going to take good pics in pretty good light or will need a tripod in lower light. The less light there is, the longer the camera shutter needs to be open to get a good image, and humans can only hold the camera still for so long (roughly 1/60 second or less). Longer than that and our hands tend to shake a little which makes the picture a little blurry. ISO 400 is more versatile as it is more sensitive and doesn't require as much light - hopefully your film is a higher ISO number.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 05-21-2013, 07:59 PM  
Helios 44M-7 vs. Helios 44-2?
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 12
Views: 20,735
$35 sounds pretty decent to me. I had to pay more for mine but it didn't have any scratches - not that they probably matter much.

Look at it this way... It's a very cheap lens, and if you don't like it you're either not out much or you can re-sell it and get your money back. Not much risk here.
Forum: Sold Items 05-21-2013, 07:44 AM  
For Sale - Sold: Pentax DA* 16-50 2.8 Screwdrive AF
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 3
Views: 1,284
PM sent
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 05-18-2013, 06:09 PM  
Lenses for Bronx Zoo
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 5
Views: 1,291
When we go to the Atlanta zoo I use the DA 55-300mm for most shots but I also carry the 18-135mm WR which covers me in case of rain and gets the close up family pictures along with animals that actually ARE close. This might include the reptile house for instance, petting zoo, flowers, or whatever.

Also, take some hand wipes to clean the glass with, Bob from Aus is right about smudgy glass and if you want a clean shot you need to wipe it off yourself.
Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals 05-17-2013, 08:41 AM  
Secret Telephoto Photography
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 83
Views: 7,134
If you don't close the drapes/blinds then you cannot complain about someone seeing you. No misconduct here that I can see.

On the other hand, I don't see anything so great about his photos either.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 05-17-2013, 08:37 AM  
Why not buy a Fuji x100 or other high quality walk around vs a wide angle for DSLR?
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 11
Views: 2,343
Price and depreciation mainly. You can get a cheaper walkaround camera, but then you feel like you'd get better pictures using your "good" camera (which you're also more accustomed to) and a lens.
Forum: Sold Items 05-17-2013, 06:44 AM  
For Sale - Sold: Dal 55-300
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 6
Views: 1,422
I'm guessing DAL since he says "kit lens".
Forum: Photographic Technique 05-17-2013, 06:32 AM  
Guest Photographers Ruining Professional Wedding Images
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 27
Views: 3,323
Actually, most of them are probably trying to take pictures or videos with the built-in camera of their phone/tablet. I see this all the time when we visit the Georgia Aquarium (another low-light venue). I've got my K-30 out trying to get some good shots of the whale shark swimming by and here come the iPads and cellphones moving in front of you. It's weird. Normally outdoors people around here are very conscientious about not walking in front of someone with a camera up to their eye, but at the aquarium they don't seem to give it a second thought. Perhaps they just don't notice you in the dark?
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 05-16-2013, 07:28 AM  
K30 nitpicks.
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 15
Views: 2,317
For getting the card out, try pressing it down (unlocking it) and then rapidly removing your finger. On my K-30 the card will shoot out of the camera from the force of the spring.
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 05-16-2013, 07:15 AM  
Do I need a 35mm lens????
Posted By dboeren
Replies: 29
Views: 2,916
You've got a 40mm you like. You've got a 21mm you like. 35mm I think is too close to 40mm, so I'd go for the 31mm. Higher quality than the 35mm and it nicely splits the gap you have. Simple reasoning, but there you go :)
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