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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
01-15-2016, 03:29 PM
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Tip 1: If you shoot a landscape with a lake scene or similar and you are not sure if the horizon is straight, an indicator can be a prominent object reflecting on the surface of the water. If the object and its reflection form a parallel line to on the vertical edge of the picture/screen your image is likely to be straight. This of course depends on the shooting angle, so only works if the horizon is in the centre of the frame.
Tip 2: Getting knowledge from online resources is one good way to improve your skills and get ideas. However, another good way is to subscribe to a printed photo magazine or buy an issue from time to time. This helps to acquire knowledge and get away from the screen a bit. It's a more relaxed way of learning techniques and news of the world of photography.
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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
01-14-2016, 08:33 PM
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Have a noisy screw drive autofocus that scares the birds away? If you have a camera with quick shift here's what to do. Get close by focusing with quick shift, then hit the autofocus and nail the shot. This technique really got me the shots instead of the flying away blur.
 Ruby Crowned Kinglet by Tom Ramsey, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
01-14-2016, 07:53 PM
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“If your photos aren’t good enough, then you’re not close enough” – Robert Capa
In birding, if you can't invest the time to get close, do what the birders call "cheating". During the mating season birds will almost always respond to a recording of their calls.
Later in the year many species will still respond to calls. I wouldn't do this for a threatened or endangered species, I wouldn't bait raptors the way most successful owl photographers do. But to get a quick picture of a common warbler, it works better than the pishing I see every birder doing...
 _IMG3286 by Ben McGann, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-24-2016, 09:58 AM
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This.
The equivalence is worth thinking about only in two situations:
1) You are comparing lenses on APS-C from Canon to any other brand (because Canon has a 1.6x CF while everyone else has 1.5x, so this is mostly Canon's fault).
2) You are moving to or from full frame and need to figure out how to reorganize your lineup.
You're doing neither so best to forget this 35mm nonsense.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-24-2016, 10:32 AM
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For APS-C size sensors (all current Pentax dSLRs), conventional wisdom is that 300mm is the shortest reasonable focal length for bird and wildlife photography. For FF size media (35mm film, some dSLRs) 400mm is often considered to be the minimum. For both, the focal length is the number written on the lens.
In regards to crop factor or focal length equivalence, it is something best not thought about for photographers under a certain age. The sole exception would be people who have a previous history with 35mm film photography who have an existing intuitive sense of FOV for a particular focal length on that format and for which a quick calculation is helpful.
Steve
(...wishes the terms "crop factor" and "35mm/FF equivalent" would simply go away...)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-24-2016, 10:37 AM
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-24-2016, 11:46 AM
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Equivalence is important here, and cannot be dismissed.
If the "400mm or larger is often quoted as being necessary"
appears within the context of "full-frame" 35mm photography,
say by respected wildlife photographers working with full frame cameras,
while you are planning to apply that advice to APS-C photography,
you _will_ need to understand "400mm" as a 35mm equivalent,
and then interpret it as an actual focal length of around 250mm
when you go shopping for a suitable lens.
A lot of people wish equivalence would go away,
and it can get confusing at times,
but it's a fact of life whenever the discussion involves different formats.
My 90mm Apo-Lanthar is a long way from 400mm in actual focal length,
but it's my lens of choice (within the Q system) for what little casual wildlife photography I end up doing.
Why? Exactly because it's a "400mm equivalent"!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
01-06-2016, 08:59 AM
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His name is Eric Hendrickson: Home
I'm not sure he does sensor cleaning - his specialty is film camera and lens repair.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
01-05-2016, 05:06 PM
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If there is really no explanation and you see oily bits (which are hard to clean, might require a special solution) then it is somewhat possible that there is a failed mechanical part in the body that sprayed some oil/grease/gunk on the sensor. Or one of your lenses had something on the rear (liquid) that wasn't noticed when it was mounted. (Then I'd expect to gunk on mirror, etc also.) Getting a few dust specks over time is normal even if you are careful. But that level of gunk and to have no idea how it could have happened? That's weird. Got any mischievous children (or adults) around?
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
01-05-2016, 09:12 AM
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As Steve said, it does look like somebody has already had a go at wiping the sensor with something - did you loan the camera out?
That aside - it is what it is. In my opinion, this requires a thorough "three stage" cleaning - one, remove debris and dust on the sensor; two, wet clean to remove the smudges and dried moisture spots (looking at your photo, I think it will need at least a couple of passes of wet cleaning); and three, final dust removal to get rid of any remaining dust that has settled during the cleaning job. In your case I think it is essential you do all three stages - please don't perform a wet clean until you've got rid of the debris first, as you'll risk scratching the sensor.
You can get all of the items to do this yourself for well under the rather steep $150 your local camera shop wants to do the job for you. There are plenty of tutorials on how to tackle the cleaning, and it's actually easier than you might think - it just requires a little care. And when you've done it once, you'll never worry about a dirty sensor again.
If you decide to have a go yourself, I'd be happy to detail the items I use, and walk you through the process.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-12-2016, 10:10 AM
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You Tube
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FUf3-oHX2g8?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-11-2016, 11:49 PM
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The other added-benefit is that the K-50 may potentially suffer from the same aperture mechanism block as the K-30. Sadly, the risk of this eventuality has prevented me from acquiring a K-50 for my son. Just don't need any new potential headaches...
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-11-2016, 08:53 PM
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The K-50 and the K-30 have the same feature set, the same specifications, the same electronic components, and the same control layout. You'd only need to get used to the different appearance.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-11-2016, 09:13 PM
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I have both and use them interchangeably, there's really no difference in operation. I know the K-50 has a couple of additional bells, but I don't remember what they are.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-11-2016, 08:53 PM
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