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Forum: Site Suggestions and Help
09-01-2011, 04:42 PM
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Your at work to work, not surf the net. :p
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
07-06-2011, 04:09 PM
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Capture One Express 6, a RAW processor/image manager from Phase One, is available for free at the moment. Normally it is Euro 99.
"The raw converter for ultimate image quality. Capture One Express 6 has all the essential, easy-to-use tools in one powerful package. Import, organize, edit and print images in a fast, flexible and intuitive way to enhance and streamline your digital workflow. Create a slideshow in seconds or produce a professional looking web gallery. Capture One Express 6 can also help you output images with its new elegant print layouts."
How to get it:
(1) Visit here and fill out your email:
Capture One Promotion | Digital Photographer
(2) You will then get a license key emailed to you, and a download link to:
Phase One camera system - Raw conversion software - Photo management
(3) Once you are on the Phase One site you will need to register for a free Phase One customer account in order to complete the download. Register using the same email address you used in (1). Once you have registered with Phase One, you can then download Windows (64bit or 32bit) or Mac versions of Capture One. The Windows versions are about 125MB. (Capture One, Capture One Express are all in the one package).
(4) Install the version you downloaded onto your computer, and then activate it using the license code sent to you in step (2) and the account details you used in step (3).
Then you have a fully licensed version of Capture One Express.
It seems to do much of what the full pro version of Capture One does, without support for some high-end features like direct tethering.
It seems to work OK - all functions (eg noise reduction, sharpening, colour balance) are enabled and it opens Pentax DNG's fine.
One issue I have atm though is that while it opens and renders all my K200D DNG's perfectly, all my K-x DNG's are rendered with a vivid purple cast in all the shadows, and all my skies are purple too. [eeek!] JPGs render OK though.
I think I need to read the manual now.
FYI.
EDIT: I just noticed that while Capture One Express has full support for the RAW output of lots of current Pentax bodies, only native PEF RAW files get the benefit of their special Pentax-specific image tuning and optimisations when they are opened. Pentax DNG RAWs are openable and can be worked on, but Capture One only opens and renders DNG's initially a kind of generic, non-camera specific way.
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Forum: Pentax K-r
01-02-2011, 10:06 PM
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Hello, everyone. I've been lurking for a few weeks. I finally have something that will (hopefully) be useful to others.
The short version: manually setting white balance to Tungsten instead of Auto goes a long way towards improving my KR's autofocus accuracy.
The long version: Some of my pictures were fuzzy. I wasn't sure if it was my technique or a camera problem. I searched, found these forums, and did a lot of reading. Then I ran some tests and confirmed that my AF was not good under incandescent/tungsten lights. It was much sharper with fluorescent bulbs and outdoors. Setting AF Fine Adjustment to the -10 limit only made a small improvement.
Something I read suggested manually setting white balance to Tungsten. I thought WB was a postprocess applied when the camera saves JPGs, and therefore shouldn't have any effect on RAW files or their focus, but it was worth a test. (Unfortunately, I can't find that original message now, so I can't give proper credit to whoever suggested the white balance solution.)
All attached images are crops taken from the 18-55 kit lens at its widest zoom. I used the center point for AF. The focus chart comes from Yvon Bourque at pentaxdslrs.blogspot.com. The 3 spice jars are arranged with the left jar in front, right jar in back, focus aimed at middle jar.
These photo pairs are arranged with the Auto WB first, followed by Tungsten WB.
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