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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
05-04-2018, 11:11 AM
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During some years I have made use of RAW pictures from my Pentax digital cameras instead of JPGs. Until now I have always chosen DNG as my ordinary in-camera-format, and this has worked all right without any flaws whatsoever. Lately, with my new K-1 II in action, I have started to test the PEF format in order to see what "goodies" the improved pixel shift function actually offers me in some cases.
Initially I decided to open my PEFs in DCU and immediately save them as TIFs before taking them into LR 6 for my final editing and export as JPGs. However, TIFs get so very big on disk. I then decided to instead save my PEFs as DNGs by making use of DCU in order to ensure that the PS properties are handled and really transferred into the DNG format and do not get lost. Thus I lately imported such "DCU-DNGs" into LR 6 instead of TIFs to see if there was any short-coming that I had not foreseen.
The "DCU-DNGs" look very good and I cannot see that their quality is different from the "DCU-TIFs" when I compare the same pixel-shifted pictures saved in both formats to investigate this aspect. My problem is that in LR 6 I cannot read the PEFs from my K-1 II and will never do since there will be no more updated camera adaptions after LR 6.14 (I do not want to subscribe to LR Classic CC or LR CC). However, I hope that at least Adobe DNG converter will go on getting updated. Then I will be able to compare "PEF-to-DCU-DNGs" with "PEF-to-Adobe-DNGs" emanating also from my K-1 II to see the difference. Earlier small and simple tests with PEFs from my older Pentax houses indicate that the quality improvement with PS on is clearly visible and a positive gain worth some added effort but also that pictures taken with PS on get degenerated quality saved as in-camera-DNGs compared to what DNGs normally result in. Conclusion so far: only PEF-through-DCU processing takes care of the positive potential of more nice-looking pictures with PS. There are no direct alternatives so to speak!
As regards the lost upper 1/3 of the pictures, I did not see that phenomenum in the few PS pictures I tested so far. It seems that computers and computer programs AND camera brands and camera models are somewhat like different "personalities" which, not always foreseeable, end up in different outcomes so to speak! It is not always easy to be a photographer. Still, I find that the digital era does not only increase my technical problems but also my productivity and creativity in many ways.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
01-23-2017, 10:58 AM
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What I absolutely like with the Pentax 1.4 TC is that the picture quality remains almost the same. Here I attach a photo taken with the 60-250mm lens (being a very good lens as it is) and the converter working together at maximal focal length. The picture shows the two close-by high level attractions of the amusement park Groena Lund, crowded with people enjoying themselves as high up as 100 meters from the ground. They are seen almost 800 meters away from the viewpoint Fjaellgatan at Soedermalm where I stood at that moment. Just some more zooming in, and the people could have been recognised. Yes of course, I had to use a tripod to succeed so well!
A nice lens combination, really! And the way it should be with a TC...
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
03-01-2012, 01:36 PM
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Just buy a new K5. It is very worthwhile now because of much lower price and decreased risk to get bad copies from the factory. And with a new one you have the whole guarantee period left. I would not hesitate a second! A fantastic camera really...
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-16-2012, 11:49 PM
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It is not placebo! At least not in my case. Testing the same objects with 45 and 90 degrees flash tilting and two different K-5 bodies, with 1.12 the histograms have moved to the left and lost their peak to the very right. With no tilting the pictures remain correctly exposed as before. Very obvious, indeed! I do not understand why some do not experience this improvement. It is really really odd. Can anyone find an explanation?
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-12-2012, 11:07 PM
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Testing straight flash, 45 degrees tilted flash and 90 degrees tilted flash, with ISO as high as 640, and then seeing histograms not shifting too much to the right as earlier is evidence enough. At least for me. Such a result had been impossible before the 1.12 firmware. And I have two K-5 bodies which have been corrected in this way.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-12-2012, 10:59 PM
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Hello, I am also happy now! I do not understand how the effect of new firmware may differ like it does, comparing the various reports by other K-5 owners. It is very odd, indeed. Personally I have two K-5 bodies, and both have lost their bad flash behaviour with overexposure when bouncing the flash (tilting it). The wireless issue has never been observed by me so I do not know if something has happened in that respect as well. Anyway, for me this 1.12 firmware is a large "hurray"!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-30-2011, 12:51 PM
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Hello Paladin85020,
What I see on your picture looks as some ordinary dirt to me - it is not the string of pearls typical of stains. Sooner or later you get it even if you are careful. If they are not centered, I would not care if I were you. Moreover, only one or two stains is (are) seldom difficult to get rid of during post-processing. Otherwise you have to clean the sensor with some method of several available, or to let some camera repair shop fix it for you. Some dust spots are very difficult to get rid of. It all depends on what kind of dirt that caused them.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-18-2011, 11:55 AM
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fbacim, what i see on the picture is not sensor stains, it is some dirt/dust of the "traditional" kind.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-14-2011, 02:38 PM
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I recently googled to survey the best post processing programs, in order to be more up-to-date. For the moment being, I use a combination of Lightroom 3 for the RAW format and Ulead PhotoImpact 12 for the JPEG ditto. But since XP will not last for ever, I have to replace the Uleads program since it is not adapted to later Windows versions. What comes closest is the very new Corel PaintShop Pro X4, which I already have tested and found very good, indeed! All my important Adobe PS plug-ins work there, and it is still rather similar to Ulead (which was bought by Corel in 2008) but with a number of valuable added tools. The price is very much lower than Adobe PS CS5!
Free and well-reputed alternatives are the GIMP and the Paint.net. First I got impressed by the description of Photo Pos Pro, but then I read that many got into trouble with malware and bad functioning computers after installation of Photo Pos Pro, so I personally would not risk testing that program.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-19-2011, 11:52 AM
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Hello, I recently bought a K-5 produced in the later part of February with an S/N beginning with 4. The first thing I did was to charge the battery and then take a picture of a blue skye using aperture 22 and larger. I have never seen such a perfect picture: not a single stain or dust anywhere!
Reading this thread makes me realise that I will have to check this issue later again after having done some filming and taken some live view pictures. Maybe some stains may develop?
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-05-2011, 02:47 PM
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Sorry but I disagree! The Sigma 18-50mm test reports are convincing, and even more the lens I bought. IQ is very good already at f/2.8 and even better in that respect than my Pentax DA* 16-50, which otherwise is superb. But as some people say, both Sigma and Tamron lenses show some obvious quality variation, so the best thing to do is to test single lenses in the shop before buying them.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
04-03-2011, 02:01 PM
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I upgraded the firmware of my Metz 58 AF-1 with the rather recent file from them. But I still have the overexposure-when-bouncing problem, by now so recognised among many K-5 owners. It is also there with my Pentax flash. But my overexposure seems regular, not intermittent in any way. Taking photos with ISO 5000 would require me to set a compensation of more than EV-2 or an aperture as small as f16 or something!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
04-03-2011, 01:28 AM
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Now you are unfair to this Sigma lens. My Sigma 17-50mm/2.8 is the one before today´s version with HSM and it gives me very good IQ, already with the widest aperture (as confirmed by the test in Photozone). I would not have bought it if the reviews had told me that Tamron was clearly better. Tamron certainly has its flaws and, according to some reviewers, absolutely more flaws than the Sigma.
Please, try to be more objective, or the readers of this forum will not miss your comments if you go somewhere else!
By the way, you can read what Armanius reports just before me here on page 4 of this thread. Then you will understand my strong objection against the biased standpoint that you pronounce!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
02-23-2011, 11:44 PM
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We have camera testers but where is the testing of the camera testers? It seems that PopUp should rename itself PopDown. It is worthless when they cannot do their job accurately. People not used to this kind of figures even cannot protect themselves from the disinformation because they do not realise that the figures are wrong in any way. To the wastepaper basket with PopDown's review. Get back with a corrected one instead, or disappear from the reviewing business, please!
:mad:
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-11-2011, 11:58 AM
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I almost use nothing else than TAv since I got the K20D and on. It is like having a manual camera but with all the modern electronic tools to make it as easy as possible but also to add a number of special features. And it is the best way to optimally control f, t and ISO at the same time. Then, with all the new five User modes, the K-5 is a marvellous camera, I must say! I have one user mode where there is no noise reduction in the camera and ISO is limited (!) to 6400. Next user mode is with max. ISO 640 for flash photos. Two others have ISO 12800 and highest possible ISO with increasing internal noise reduction, respectively. The fifth one is as the first but without the shadow reduction. The RAW/Fx is for multiexposure situations. This setup meets my needs perfectly.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-27-2010, 11:18 PM
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I have the K-5 and a Tamron 90mm macro as well. No problems with the AF like them that AprilFool reports. I have calibrated the lens and with the K20D I got -1, with the K-7 +9 and with the K-5 +7. No special hunting otherwise than normal, considering the kind of object focused in every case.
Thus, to me it seems that loveisageless has found the clue: send your lens to repair! I really agree that the Tamron is a great lens, very sharp and nice indeed, so I really hope that you can get it working for you, AprilFool!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-18-2010, 04:28 PM
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Thanx for your suggestion! Just did not think of relating that setting to the problem (or the solution), but when you mention it, it really seems logical and thus so evident! I tested to activate the highlight blow-out protection, and suddenly the external flash worked also for me in bounced positions. Wow, how things can be simple sometimes!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-29-2010, 02:39 PM
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Gimbal, first you seem to have a K-5 giving you a lot of PF pictures, but then you write that you were all set to get it?
Generally speaking, where is all the PF proof to be seen in real picture samples, where it is possible to establish the decisive conditions that were prevailing?
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-27-2010, 02:51 PM
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The thing is that in TAv, while you control shutter and aperture you also control the ISO level in a handsome way, being able to balance all these three settings simultaneously against each other. Then you are as close to manual control as you can be, but in a more convenient way. I love TAv!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-19-2010, 04:15 PM
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I also have the P-TTL error for external flashes. Both the Pentax AF-540 FGZ and the Metz 58 AF-1 suffer from this malfunction, according to my experience. It seems to affect mainly tilted flashes. But I assume there will come a firmware fix. Reports here (Nain Kahn and others) tell that Pentax is well aware of the problem by now. At ISO 250, the overexposure can be temporarily handled by adjusting Ev to -1 or -2, or using f9 or smaller apertures. Higher ISO creates need of more Ev or f value compensation.
Oh, I almost forgot to confirm that the late 1.01 firmware upgrade did not fix my flash issue either!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-19-2010, 03:47 PM
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I have the P-TTL error for external flashes. But I assume there will come a firmware fix. Reports tell that Pentax is well aware of the problem by now. It can be temporarily handled by adjusting Ev to -1 or -2, or using f10 or smaller apertures. And it seems to mainly affect the flash when tilted. Both the Pentax AF-540 FGZ and the Metz 58 AF-1 suffer from this failure.
As regards the comments on glass, I agree. The ordinary kit glass is not the best for K-5, and IQ compromising superzooms from Tamron, Sigma and Pentax are likely not the best either. Maybe with the exception of the new 18-135mm, which hopefully is better adapted to a 16 MP camera like K-5.
By the way, the higher ISO quality gives me two extra stops, in some advantageous light situations even three more than with the K-7. I really like it. This means that the flash will be less needed.
The new five user settings are extremely useful. Now I can change between the most important parameters very quickly. I mostly shoot JPEG. Then it fits me well to restrict ISO to 250 when using flash, to shut down DOI in certain situations, to use low internal NR with ISO topped at 6400, to use more internal ISO with ISO topped at 10000, and to use much internal NR with ISO topped at 51200. NR is increased stepwise with ISO in all these cases. What a flexibility! I have to add that I almost always use TAv, because that is the easiest way to work almost manual within a program. Very convenient!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-13-2010, 03:25 PM
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I just have to agree with "65535", and "wll" as well! Earlier this week I bought a K-5 and find that I have got a fantastic camera. It is levels above K-7 which was a disappointment (but still not bad, I want to stress). AF is fast, the ISO behaviour is marvelleous, the five user modes with the switchable Raw/Fx button makes the K-5 very user friendly (which is where already K-7 improved things to begin with). This is the developed old good Pentax technology back on track again I am happy to say, no, to shout!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-13-2010, 12:51 AM
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To a large extent I agree with JP. And you can apply the Nik Software Viveza plug-in for PS and other photo editors, which really has changed photography for me. With that plug-in you can easily (avoiding a lot of layer work in PS) keep the better lower part of the first picture but change the sky of that picture to be more similar to the one of the second photo. This is an alternative about halfway between the two pictures and would be the ideal thing as I see it.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-11-2010, 08:36 AM
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Talking about shadows, I have to tell about the Nik Software Viveza plug-in for PS and other picture editing programs! It is a phantastic tool for making dark or dim areas brighter and clearer, respectively. It works with JPEG and I have used it much. So instead of worrying about the large contrasts in a scene, I just avoid overexposing the bright parts too much and then rely on the plug-in. That is freedom in picture production! Secondly we have the special function for highlights and shadows in both the K-7 and K-5, and thirdly HDR (also in the camera) so there are many possibilities nowadays.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
11-06-2010, 07:01 AM
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-NO, Dont need FF And Loves the K5 for $1599
Absolutely. That is how I look upon the issue!
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