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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-02-2023, 03:08 PM
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This is a 'Ricoh Auto Half E' I recently found at a local dealer.
These little half-frame camera's are surprisingly dense, completely from metal, size WxHxD = 90x70x40mm, weight 330 gr. Most fun is that it has a spring-motor for automatic film transport.
It still needs some cleaning, replacing the seals in the back, and it looks the lens is a bit foggy. Then running a roll through it to see if the light meter is OK.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
02-01-2023, 07:59 AM
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The warm shade of the brickwork is complemented with window frames and doors in the same color.
Nikon 1 V2, 1 Nikkor 10mm f/2.8.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
01-28-2023, 01:52 PM
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Well, that's easy. Go to the Nikon USA web site [1], select menu Cameras | Mirrorless and on the page that opens are all the mirrorless Z camera's: FX for full frame and DX for APSC, including the price. The OP can see for himself which camera's suits his budget.
[1] Nikon | Shop & Explore Cameras, Lenses, and Accessories |
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
01-28-2023, 01:20 PM
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I recently did an inventory of the Nikon Z-series for a mirrorless camera, and I am very impressed with the Nikon ecosystem as a whole: the hardware, the software, user manuals, accessibility of the web sites, the web shops.
The logic and ease of use of the camera user interfaces, including the menus, is unprecedented and consistent among all their models, even going back to my Nikon 1 V2 and the film cameras F5 and F6 I have.
Nikon has two types of user manuals, the 'User's Manual' which is a relatively compact quick start, and a 'Reference Manual' which is a complete and detailed description of all the features. These manuals are an excellent introduction to the camera when you want to check for skeletons in the cupboard. The manuals are regularly updated with supplements or replaced by a new version depending on the camera and lens firmware updates.
Nikon has also an extensive range of high quality software, free downloadable from their web site without any hassle: NX Studio (comparable to Pentax DCU), Nikon Picture Control for editing and organizing Custom Controls, Nikon Transfer for transfer pictures to your computer, Nikon Wireless Transmitter Utility for transferring photos via WiFi, and a bunch of apps for your phone (Android, iPhone). All the software is top quality and regularly updated.
A subtle but striking habit of Nikon is to avoid feature creep on their camera's [1]. Only the features who are useful and necessary are present, but not more. They avoid an impenetrable forest of functions that makes so many camera's unpleasant to use (Pentax K3-III, Olympus EM1X). So this is a professional habit and a sign of a well organized development department that is able look beyond the details. What also helps is the well organized and straightforward menu structure in the camera's to find your way without the necessity to use all kinds of buttons with double functions.
All the Nikon web sites worldwide have a simple structure where you can go straight to the info you search, with each camera or lens having their own page with a general part and with technical specifications. This looks simple to implement, but is is amazing how some other brands produce a convoluted mess. This shows Nikon is a downright professional brand which is able to organize their stuff in a consistent and logical way among everything they do, no matter if it is a camera, the software or a web site.
These are a number of aspects that arise when you get acquainted with Nikon as a new customer, and I experienced it as a relief, being accustomed to Pentax.
If you want more info I can recommend the excellent web site from Thom Hogan, with reviews of all the Nikon Z camera's and lenses (and more), with also comparisons of features between the models, which makes it easier to choose. [2]. Another good source with more informal info is the 'Nikon Cafe' forum [3].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_creep
[2] Thom Hogan | Z-System user
https://www.zsystemuser.com/
[3] Nikon Cafe |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-26-2023, 08:04 AM
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Hint to Pentax: This is an expensive way to change the color of our camera. What we really need is electronic ink for the paint like on the BMW iX Flow, so that we can select our own color in a menu.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
01-24-2023, 04:26 AM
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I fully agree, but obviously it is always possible to find differences, depending how critical you are. Imagine for example the Pentax team is using a different language for the firmware than the Silkypix team that produces the code for DCU. Then it is very difficult to exactly reproduce the results from the camera in DCU. But for everyday use, and with the limitations the JPEG already has, I think they did a good job.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
01-24-2023, 04:17 AM
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The difference between 'Save As' and 'Save As with image processing' is that the function of the latter is to convert the RAW to JPEG (or TIFF) including changes you have made on the Laboratory tab. But when no changes are made I assumed it was identical to 'Save As'.
I did a little test myself with a PEF from my K3-III to get to the bottom of it and indeed I also see a slight difference in brightness and other differences in texture when pixel peeping at 150%. However, if you take a look at the histograms, the shapes are identical except that the processed one has slightly lower values (in my case a mean value 139 instead of 140). On the other hand, the file saved with 'Save as' has no visible differences compared to a JPEG saved in-camera with RAW+, at 150%. So, after this I can imagine you say they are not exactly the same. Just pick your option.
Notice that in both cases the default compression factor is always one star (*), which you can change, and there is a discrepancy when the camera has a 3-star range (*ist DS2) instead of the 4-star range in DCU. A test I did some time ago revealed that if the ranges are different you can never get back the original compression (check the file sizes).
In practice though, in most cases you might have shot a batch of RAW files you want to convert to JPEG. So, after opening the directory with the RAW's you select more of them for conversion (with the Shift or Ctrl key), but then the only menu item which is available is 'File | Process multiple files'. The 'Save As' and 'Save As with image processing' menu items are dimmed. From the 'process' word you can derive that changes on the Laboratory tab are also saved. So, theoretically in that case your quest to save to a really identical JPEG is thrown out of the window. However, as stated above, one can assume when you have made no changes on the Laboratory tab the JPEG's are very close except for the compression factor, and they are definitively representative for the selected Custom Image style.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
01-23-2023, 04:53 PM
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There are scenario's when you are only interested in JPEG and still save as RAW only. For example if you want to have both a color photo and a monochrome photo without wanting to convert the color photo into monochrome in post (for example by de-saturation). This is obviously not an option the camera allows. So the strategy is to save only RAW, open it in DCU, and generate a 'Flat' and a 'Monochrome' Custom JPEG image from it. This guarantees the same quality as if the JPEG's were saved in-camera.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
01-23-2023, 03:55 PM
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So how can you talk about the embedded image all the time. When you open a RAW in DCU the photo you see is NOT the embedded JPEG. It is the Custom Image reproduced with the Parameters list from the RAW. If you directly save this photo with 'File | Save As with Image processing' you get exactly the same image as if it was saved from the camera with RAW+.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
01-23-2023, 10:55 AM
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I might be misinterpreting your answer, and I'm not informed about the details of this process, but it is plausible (and a matter of good programming) that the algorithms (the classes in the camera firmware and in DCU) which are generating the JPEG's are always the same. I suppose what differs is the preprocessing in each camera, but the output is always the same standardized format which can be fed to the various classes for the Custom Images.
I would be a heck of a job if Pentax needs to change all the Custom Image classes each time they bring out a new camera, not to mention the problems you get with adapting DCU. So surely this process is split into a preprocessing part, which is built into the camera, and a standardized set of classes for generating a JPEG output. These classes are used in all cameras alike and also in DCU.
Of course there are a lot of parameters that differ between camera's and lenses but I suppose this is also a standardized set which is stored additionally in the RAW to make the format portable, and adjustable in DCU via sliders and checkboxes.
The objective is that the various Custom Images all have the same look, no matter from which camera they come. The different characteristics between the Custom Images are sometimes already very subtle, so I think for the average user any variations there might be between cameras is only a negligible fraction of it.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
01-23-2023, 07:01 AM
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Many camera's have a quality range of 1..3 stars (among them K3-III), while DCU has a range of 1..4 stars when the JPEG is exported. This could mean two things: DCU produces higher quality JPEG's, or the maximum quality (minimum compression) is the same but the total range is subdivided differently.
So I think, to avoid uncertainties, the best test is to compare the embedded JPEG's with the JPEG's saved in-camera with RAW+, for all the possible qualities.
Doing this in a quick test shows that the file size of the embedded JPEG is virtually equal to the one-star (*) JPEG saved in-camera (K3-III).
Besides file size (compression) there might be other settings in the embedded JPEG that are changed, which can also be checked in DCU, and there may be differences between PEF and DNG.
In my test the RAW's were saved as PEF and the JPEG's as Custom image 'Flat'. The embedded JPEG's were saved from DCU by selecting the Browser tab, selecting the RAW, and use menu 'Extract JPEG' with the right mouse button.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
01-16-2023, 06:14 AM
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I'm with @ramseybuckeye (post #2) and only save my photos as RAW. Then there is no need to sift through files in two different formats RAW and JPEG for the keepers.
Instead of using one of the many 3-rd party RAW processors I use Pentax DCU which guarantees exact JPEG copies as if they were shot in-camera.
This is my process.
1 - The RAW's are opened in Pentax DCU to decide which files are kept, and the rest is deleted.
2 - After that, the Laboratory tab is selected for developing the RAW's into JPEG's in a desired Custom Image style. If you select a Custom Image beforehand in the camera (but setting RAW and not RAW+) the Laboratory view directly opens with that specific Custom Image including all the slider positions and lens corrections.
3 - The JPEG(s) are saved with File | Export to a selected destination, file name, and quality. Optionally all RAW's can be converted at once in a batch process by selecting all the files first (Shift key).
The JPEG's saved with DCU from the RAW are the same as if RAW+ was selected in the camera, but now you only develop them for the keepers.
Saving only RAW in camera is a neat process and it is flexible because DCU has all sorts of the extra features (more types of Custom Images can be saved from one RAW, custom parameter files can be kept for reproducibility, etc). A useful side-effect is also that you can store more of them on a card, and of course the photos are stored faster.
This is a universal workflow which can be adopted for other brands as well; for example with Nikon NX Studio (NEF/RAW) or Olympus OM Workspace (ORF/RAW).
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
01-14-2023, 12:56 PM
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On the Tetenal website - Technical information and downloads [1] - I see a reference to 'new' C41 tabs, with a user guide as PDF. Notice these are not the well known Parvofin and Superfix tabs for B&W. Curiously the C-41 tabs are absent in their own shop, and I can't find them anywhere else.
[1] https://tetenal.com/en/technical-information-downloads/ |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-29-2022, 03:57 PM
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Ricoh though has made plenty of half-frame camera's.
See Ricoh's archive:
???????????? / ??????? / ?? | RICOH IMAGING
Select period 1961 .. 1980, and search for camera names starting with "AH" (Auto half) in the URL when pointing to the links.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-28-2022, 12:36 PM
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So unfortunately you missed the new camera's from Nikon:
Ricoh GR III Street Edition
E 1099,-
Nikon Z 30 body + Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm F/3.5-6.3 VR
E 899,-
Nikon Z 50 body + Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm F/3.5-6.3 VR
E 999,-
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-28-2022, 12:27 PM
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I'm not a specialist knowing about all the details, but what I see as an outsider is that it still has no viewfinder. And with the same cheap looking front of the lens with the plastic bit with a square hole in it.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-28-2022, 10:18 AM
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How pathetic these GR iterations. Ricoh is still milking out this concept for more than 10 years already without any further development. And they should stop asking an exorbitant price for it.
In 2013 I got the Nikon 1 V2 instead of GR after looking into a small pocketable camera. Ten years ago this little Nikon was already 10 times as advanced for the same price. Now Nikon is churning out the Z-series but Ricoh is still selling exactly the same camera. Shame on them!
BCN Ranking recently published an overview of compact digital cameras sales and guess what,
Ricoh has the most expensive compact cameras with the lowest market share - Pentax & Ricoh Rumors |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-27-2022, 02:25 PM
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What I see on forums, there are lot of people asking how they can *increase* grain. Well, shoot half-frame! Actually when you want the opposite the solution is to shoot medium or large format. This is the only serious method to choose how much grain you want; not the film type, not the developer and not your developing method.
That said, nowadays you have plenty of software to reduce noise, which also works on grain. So you can 'upgrade' a standard 24x36 or 18x24 frame from film in your editor after scanning, for having the looks of digital. You can, however, set the amount of reduction, so if you still want to see some grain you can set a parameter to your taste.
p.s. This is Kodak T-MAX 100 from an Olympus Pen EE half frame camera. After scanning and cropping the grain in the image is first reduced with Neat Image Pro (which also needs an extra sharpening step), and then edited as normal.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-27-2022, 01:21 PM
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I'm not too exited about the idea to make compacts first, we have seen enough of them. However, what Pentax could do is to make a half-frame camera (18x24). That would be very special. You can make it incredibly small, and it sprouts out 72 frames from a standard 35mm roll, which would effectively halve the price of the film. A further improvement could be to make it all metal, not only to make it attractive, but it would allow them to increase the price and earn a larger margin.
Ricoh has made loads of half-frame camera's in the past. They can delve into their own archives and reverse-engineer a few for the technical details. So, instead of a compulsory compact I think a half-frame would be a fun project for the film-guys at Pentax, and a nice little gadget for the rest of us.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-27-2022, 11:42 AM
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
12-22-2022, 08:05 AM
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The firmware updates are cumulative, which means the last update also contains all the other updates from the previous versions. So you can update with the last version, which is V 1.31.
You can download it here:
Software Downloads : Support & Service | RICOH IMAGING
p.s. Ricoh doesn't make older versions available, so if you want to install an older one you can only obtain it from other users who backed it up.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
12-21-2022, 03:36 PM
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The problem with many of Pentax's film camera's is that one of the design goals was to make them as small as possible, which gives all sorts of reliability problems, like the ME series. But also the LX feels a bit cramped and fiddly compared to the Nikon FM2/FM3A for example. In practice bigger camera's have better ergonomics and the weight stabilizes the camera, increasing sharpness. Besides having a whole bunch of Pentax's I also own a Nikon F5 and F6, these two camera's are the last from the film era and there are few others who handle so naturally.
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