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Forum: Photographic Technique
06-30-2013, 11:17 AM
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dane.dawg: I love the second one, the bird almost looks thoughtful, and the blurred tail is a nice touch. Agreed though, a bit of colour in the background would be nice.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
06-13-2013, 05:09 PM
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This has been a most interesting thread. I snagged another one today, I'm pretty happy with it, going to see if I can catch that red cardinal next.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
06-07-2013, 11:31 AM
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After replacing a defective remote I made a bunch more attempts. What do you think of this one for sharpness? It's probably the sharpest I have from the dozens I took.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
05-28-2013, 08:28 AM
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Wow, thanks everyone for your help! It has given me more things to try. This is a great place to learn! Wonderful pictures everyone!
Ken, is your exif data available? I would be interested to know the sutter speed/fstop/iso. I'm stunned that you can freeze the wings and still get such a deep depth of field!
Kozlok, Right now my camera is securly mounted on a ladder until my tripod arrives from my real home (living here temporarily). I eventually went with TAv exposures as I was progressing through the day, it's the first time I've used it and find it a great way to control exposure for things like this (I don't think my old *ist had that, else I just never used it). I just didn't want to push the iso too far, but will try that next.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
05-27-2013, 03:57 PM
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Gorgeous Ken, thanks! Are these birds small like mine? Mine's more of a bug than a bird. Did you use a solar-flare flash? Not sure how you froze the wing in mid flight and have such a deep depth of field at the same time...
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Forum: Photographic Technique
05-27-2013, 03:04 PM
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Thanks aoeu, I should have added I am taking these during the day under a shaded tree, and was hoping to avoid a flash if possible as I only have the built in flash right now. But if that's the concensus perhaps I should spring for an external if I want to keep pursuing this.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
05-27-2013, 02:04 PM
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I've been what I would call an "advanced tourist" type photographer for most of my life, although I've always loved photography. Recently I needed a creative outlet so I took a course to heighten my knowlege and got a k-30 and a 70-200 tamron.
I've spent the day today very happily figuring out how to apply what I've been learning on the course, trying for a close up of a hummingbird. The bird is about the size of my two thumbs held together, so this is pushing the macro abilities of the lens. Alas, I can't seem to get a sharp shot. I was hoping that someone could suggest which direction to go to improve things.
This is the first time I've done this in the forums, hope this is all OK. I created an album of some samples: mvsjes2's Album: Learning sequence - PentaxForums.com but I can't seem to control the sequence of shots on the album. The captions are numbered from 01 - 07 so you can see what I was trying in that sequence.
I'm not sure if the lack of sharpness is:
a) my focus is off.
b) insufficient depth of field.
c) too slow a shutter speed.
d) pushing the lens beyond what it was practically designed for.
e) That I'm really more suited for bowling instead.
For a, I used live view and zoomed in to the tip of the bird feeder and very carefully manually focused on that. I didn't move the camera to 'recompose', just used the zoom feature to zero in on the bird feeder while leaving the camera in place. With the zoom and manual focus, it seems quite accurate to focus on a specific part of the picture.
For b, I was trying f2.8 for a long while, then stopped down to 4 and 4.5, which improved things, but still no joy. I figure if I have to go beyond that to get a sharp shot then there's something else wrong.
For c, I ranged from 1/125 - 1/640.
For d, Would I be better off with that Pentax 100mm macro I've always wanted?
For e, I'm lousy at sports, so I would really like to figure this out.
I am seriously interested in a real macro like the Pentax 100mm, so if that's what would help I'm all for it. But I don't want to blame the equipment if it's really just my technique.
Any help or advice greatly appreciated.
(I was going to post this in the critique section but that seemed more for when you have figured out a particular picture and wanted other's opinions, whereas this is more my technique is off and need help with that.)
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-17-2013, 06:29 PM
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Yeah, checked all that, fridge is that fake leatherette, walls are stucco, ceilings have large beams with ornate wood in between. It's an interesting challenge around here...
Attached is the pic that made me notice.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-17-2013, 05:42 PM
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Well, I think Adam wins the prize. I still don't have my new lens, so I decided to try the blower route. I don't see any evidence of the blob now. Lowell, I realize a cloudy sky isn't the best test subject, but I just moved in to a new house and couldn't find anything uniform, the sky was the easiest thing I could find in short order.
Thanks everyone for their advice!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-13-2013, 05:25 PM
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I should also add that my lens looks spotless as far as I can tell, and I've done the dust removal option on the sensor. I haven't yet tried blowing air on the sensor as I don't want to risk introducing *more* dust unnecessarily.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-13-2013, 05:21 PM
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I have a fairly new K-30 with a relatively old 18-55 kit lens I got with a *ist-dl a while ago. I don't have any other lenses to test with at the moment, waiting for delivery of another. I have a funny round blur about 1/4 of the way down from the top and just left of center. It looks like something out of focus, but I think if it were on the lens it would just affect the IQ not actually show up. But if it's out of focus, it can't be the sensor... Hmmm.
Would someone give their opinion on the aberration visible on the attached images of a grey sky? If you flip through them you can see it more easily.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-10-2013, 12:32 PM
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Thanks for the math, that's a great post!
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Forum: Sold Items
05-10-2013, 12:22 PM
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-05-2013, 08:02 AM
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Thanks, that's making more sense. So my 200mm won't cut it then.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-05-2013, 07:53 AM
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Well, I've had these for about 15 years now and it's hard to find any official specs.
I got those numbers from Canon 15x45 IS Binocular
Perhaps they are missing a decimal point, 6.7 degrees? This one says 6.5: Canon 15x45 IS.
I looked at the canon site and can't find the specs there. I have found links to manuals that 404 when I click on them.
Here is another one that says 67 degrees: LISTSERV 15.5 - ATM-OBSERVERS-L Archives
Let's say 6.5 - 6.7 degrees if that's more reasonable. As I said, I don't know optics all that well so when I see odd numbers they don't stick out to me.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-05-2013, 07:00 AM
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I have Canon 15x45 image stabalized binoculars that are supposed to offer 15x magnification and a 67 degree FOV, according to the specs I can dig up on the web. I am always impressed with what I can see through these, it opens up a whole new world when you put them up to your eyes. The optics are amazing. I can pick out the individual hairs on a bee at 30 feet.
Is there some way I can calculate what dslr lens would somewhat reproduce this kind of view? I don't understand optics that well so I'm not sure what all the variables you have to take into account to figure this out. I'm looking at buying a Tamron 70-200mm anyway, would this do it for me?
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-04-2013, 07:14 PM
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Thanks for the info. I will keep an eye on it and see if it makes sense now.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-03-2013, 07:41 PM
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Wow, this looks really cool. I'm a geek so will love this. Going to order one! Thanks a bunch!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-03-2013, 07:28 PM
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I'm pretty sure I understand this but I want to be sure. I am just getting used to my k-30 and I notice the exposure values often all flash at me while I'm setting up a picture. I looked and looked in the manual and can't see where this is precisely explained. From trial and error it seems to be when there is low light and it's warning me to use a flash, or when the exposure is outside the range that it can set, i.e. max f is 4.0 for the lens, you are in TV mode, and the shutter speed you selected requires f2.8. Vice versa for AV mode. Are these the only conditions?
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-03-2013, 05:07 PM
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Hi fellers,
Two questions:
1: I just bought an O-RC1 remote for my K-30. I put the camera in remote mode (confirmed by red light flashing on the front of the camera body), and I push the red button on the remote while pointing at the front of the camera, and nothing happens, no matter what I do. Autofocus doesn't work either. I point the remote to my phone camera to see if it can 'see' the IR blast and get nothing either. I assume this is a dud, but in case I'm being brain dead, is there something I may have overlooked?
2: I realized during this experiment that there is no back IR sensor on the K-30, which means I have to be line-of-site. My plan is to put up a bird feeder, set the camera up on a tripod outside, and (where I work all day from home), keep an eye out for opportunities and snap away from inside the house. Obviously this remote is useless for this application. I would need the ability to wake up the camera when I'm ready to fire too. Is there another option that does all this wirelessly, or is a long cable my only other choice (if that even is an option)?
Thanks!
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
04-16-2013, 07:13 PM
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"THIS WAS A DEMO MODEL IN A STORE AND HAS BEEN HANDLED AND OUT OF THE BOX. IT COMES WITH A FULL WARRANTY."
For what it's worth, this is supposed to be an actual camera store under a different name, and has a good reputation. It would be a different environment when demo'ing gear than a Costco or Walmart - more supervision. But you have a good point.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-16-2013, 11:04 AM
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Haha, ya, I already bought a K-30 to replace it, not interested in repairing it, just if it's worth something to someone for parts.
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