|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-04-2015, 05:09 AM
|
| |
Jesus... you better NOT point that into people's faces! :eek::D
Ok, I found these on eBay (Germany) for ~15 Euros; I tink it's worth giving it a try.
But one must really be carefull when using them.... :cool:
Thanks!
Belushi
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-03-2015, 12:31 PM
|
| |
Ok, I'm curious to see them! :cool:
---------- Post added 03-03-15 at 08:58 PM ----------
Ah, ok - the good old-fashioned way. :cool:
I got the point: In auto-thyristor mode the internal green light would be used which, in my case, works somewhat better than the assist light in the Metz.
Ok - so I have a look for that one!
The green assist in the K-500 is probably the same (or worse) than the one in the K5. So if you think the red one in the AF540 is better than that green one, it definitely has to be much better than the Metz, right? :rolleyes:
Would be great if somebody could confirm that, but Metz flashes don't seem to be very common in the US or Canada.
The AF540 is on ebay for ~230 Euros, so I have to safe some more money. However, with the new FGZ-II around, hopefully some people will swap the "old" flash for the new one and sell their FGZ's! :cool:
Thanks!
Belushi
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-03-2015, 11:38 AM
|
| |
Hi again! :)
No, the common problem for me is "moving targets".
The Metz flash uses some kind of "grid" projected to the surface which basically allows to focus even on a plain surface - the grid pattern itself provides the contrast. Ok, maybe not on black or red areas where the grid would not be visible at all. But in general it's a great idea and should work with almost any scene or surface.
Unfortunately, the pattern is simply way too dark and therefore hard to "see" for the AF. And if the target moves, the AF is not fast enough to capture it - which makes the cam start hunting. :(
I just want to point out that it's not a problem with the scene itself - there is enough contrast in it: If I use the video light in the same situation, there are no problems at all. Except for the annoyance of the "victims". ;)
It's just that the LED that powers the grid projection of the Metz is way to weak. The flash is aged and there were no real high-power LEDs at that time - compared to nowadays. Maybe I should try to replace it ;)
That's why I think about buying me an AF-360, hoping that the assist light does a much better job than the Metz and allows the focus to also catch moving targets, not only stills.
As said... I vote for the return of IR-AF! :D
Thanks anyhow!
Belushi
PS: Did your investigations come up with something? If yes, I'm interested in seeing the results! ;)
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-03-2015, 09:53 AM
|
| |
First - thank you for the quick reply!!
Well, that's basically what I did with the video light, except I did not switch to manual mode before shooting - kids or pets are usually moving and decline to wait for me taking the picture :D
The problem with the video light is that it has a wide light angle and does light up much more of the scene than needed - that's the point people get annoyed.
The good thing about it is that I can put it on a "mounting unit" (my dictionary says "mounting rail" or "mounting bar" - I hope you know what I mean). This keeps my hands free for the camera: A flashlight would need me to hold it somehow between two fingers - or tape it to the flash. :D
That's why I did not give it a serious try it already.
What kind of flashlight did you use?
Wide angle or spot? You know how bright it is?
I have a small Maglite with ~75 Lumen, while the video light has ~ 400. However, the bundled spot of the Maglite seems to be much more blinding than the video light because that one has a diffuser. I think it's not possible to equip the Maglite with something like that...
On the other hand, the wide light angle of the vl may also be the reason why I never noticed the "assistant light" on my pictures. I guess a flashlight like the above would cause visible brighter areas without disabling it before shooting. Did you try that already?
TIA!
Belushi
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-03-2015, 09:11 AM
|
| |
Hi there!
I have a K-500 and a Metz flash 48 AF-1, both with latest firmware updates.
The cam is set to P-mode, flash is set to P-TTL, AF to AF.S (no AF.A), kit lens 18-55. No fancy custom settings on cam or flash, except exposure -0,3 to -0,6 on short ranges < 1.5 meters for the Metz.
One problem is that the K-500 does not want to finaly decide which of the assist lights it's going to use: Sometimes it decides for the green LED in the camera, moreoften it uses the red "grid" projected by the Metz. I was unable to find out a rule to predict when it's going to use what - if I could, I would prefer the green internal LED because it's a bit more reliable and faster when it comes to focusing.
However, most times the cam utilizes the Metz grid projection - and then the real problems start:
The beam is very dull and of very poor contrast which makes the cam start hunting most of the times I use that flash.
I already had situations where I removed the Metz and used the internal flash ONLY to get the green LED which makes things easier somewhat (talking about AF!); but in the end it is impossible to use any of these if you are trying to focus on moving objects (kids, pets, partypeople) in low light situations like a softly lit room.
I own a LED-based video light ("continuous light source", so to say) I sometimes used in situations like these, and the results were ok because the thingie gives enough light for the AF - but has no visible influnece on the final picture (the flash is much brighter anyhow).
Unfortunately, people in the room are often annoyed by the vl (which I can fully understand) - and so it's not a real "solution".
Yes, I know, training manual focusing skills could help :D
Unfortunatly I have to wear glasses that keep me from making full use of the viewfinder :(
It's ok for everyday situations when taking the glasses off, but it's impossible for me to focus manually that way - and LiveView is not a big help in low light situations.
So, I'm somewhat stuck here because I DO have to rely on the AF.
First question after a long story:
Would it help to replace the flash? The new AF-360 FGZ II is way too expensive for me, but there are some older FGZ models around at ebay I could afford. Will it do better than the Metz? Of course, the Metz is brighter (LZ 48 to 36). But this is not my point!
Second question:
Are there any alternatives to the video light that could serve as assist light? I heard people talking about laser pointers and such, or a small LED torchlight that has a very narrow spot (both would not be pointed directly into people's faces, of course).
Anybody tried things like these already??
I know these are just "workarounds", but I really need some help here and hope you have any suggestions for me how to overcome that problem!
I really wish the good, old IR-beam would return as an additional option - the old cams I had did focus perfectly even in total darkness! :D
TIA!
Belushi
PS: Sorry for my "buggy" english, I hope it was not too crappy to understand my lines! :cool:
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
06-25-2014, 08:18 AM
|
| |
Hello Ole,
ok, I understand the first one. My glasses may have doubled that problem due to the bigger eye->viewfinder distance and a bad view angle.
Btw., the K-500 does not have the red indicator LEDs for the AF-Spots; only the K-50 has them. Understanding the importance of these in the meanwhile, I'm sorry not to have bought the K-50 for exactly THAT reason - not because of the weather sealing. Well, if the AF works like it did last weekend, I can live with it ;)
Then: Well... not sure!! As explained, MANY pics have been shot in a hurry!
Imagine: There's the parade. You see something. You jump on the street, trying to find a gap in the crowd - and shoot. All that within seconds and with mostly no second chance.
It is very well possible that the SR had not come to rest in many cases. Still I think that 40-50% garbage is too much - not ALL pics have been made like that, and many of those where I had the time to carefully prepare the shot were messed up, too.
All that went away after disabling the SR!
Fortunately, there's an official Ricoh Service Center here in Berlin, so I think I will go there as soon as possible and explain the problem. Maybe they've an idea or heard of the problem before! ;)
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
06-25-2014, 06:40 AM
|
| |
Hi AldaCZ,
it was bright and sunny at the Carneval, but there was no situation like in your example. Lots of contrast on the people and parade trucks, of course - but the problem also occured between more narrow standing buildings where it was shady. :(
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
06-25-2014, 05:46 AM
|
| |
Hi, Folks! ;)
My K-500 (bought Dec. 2013) has 2 strange issues with the AF-System.
1/3rd of the problem is behind the cam, as usually - but I still wonder, why:
When I try to focus using the viewfinder, it seems that me and the cam have different opinions about what's the spot I'm targeting at (using AF-center-spot metering). This issue is caused by the fact that I'm wearing glasses - and it was never one with my old ist-DL2!
When I drop the glasses, things get much better - but still not perfect.
Can glasses cause some kind of parallax-error inside a pentaprism?!?! Or give me a wrong impression about what's in the center circle of the focusing screen? Some kind of off angle? As said, this was no issue with my ist-DL2!
The other 2/3rd of the problem:
For quite some time I was believing that there are back-/front-focus errors caused by the lenses (the 18-55 kit and a 18-200 Tamron).
However, trying different charts and test-setups at home showed me that everything should be fine.
Unfortunately, in the wild almost 50% of the pics I shot missed the point (while the AF HAD told me "locked on target")!
Now, I'm shooting many pics at festivals or street parades and such, and many shoots have to be done in a hurry. So I have to rely on that beep, esp. when doing a quick shot out of the crowd.
What a luck the K-500 has a shake reduction! :p
Really? :confused:
NO! :eek:
It's exactly the shake-reduction that caused the misfocused pics in these situations!! :mad:
I just switched it off simply to give it a last try before returning the cam to a service station - and no more unsharp pics from that on!!!
I shot around 800 pics 3 weeks ago at the Carneval of Cultures in Berlin, and almost 50% were unusable due to focus issues (SR on).
Last weekend I've been at the Christopher Street Day: 500 pics, 95% perfectly focused (SR off) - and the rare unsharp ones caused by obvious reasons, not by AF errors (fast moving target etc.).
Both shootings were made out of the crowd, so same situation for me as a photographer - many snapshots in a hurry.
A big difference was in the lighting: At the Carneval, we had blue sky and bright sunshine - at the CSD the weather was pretty bad (very cloudy and rainy). In theory, the AF should have performed much better during the Carneval. But compared to the CSD (entirely shot with SR disabled) it was a total mess!
Does anybody have an explanation for this strange behaviour??
I mean - the SR should reduce shaking of the cam, exactly in situations like these above. It should not CAUSE focus issues just because I have to do a quick shot!? Or do I miss something here??
TIA!
Belushi
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-15-2014, 07:44 AM
|
| |
Too true, Parallax. :)
Let's see if somebody else stumbles about that problem and can confirm the above!
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-15-2014, 07:23 AM
|
| |
Hello Parallax,
I DID try a "big" card first which was the 16GB "Extreme" from Sandisc I bought along with the cam, and it did not work either.
The 1GB card came in later. Ok, here's some interesting stuff:
The following has been tried using firmware 1.0:
16 GB formatted on cam: Does NOT work
1GB formatted on cam: Does NOT work
1GB formatted using cardreader (FAT aka FAT16): WORKED!
16GB could obviously not been tested because the cam was already updated to 1.02.
Of course, the same cards where used for the tests.
And now the funny stuff!!!!!!
With firmware 1.02 installed, the update DOES WORK with both cards when they are formatted in the cam!!!!!!
(A small green arrow shows up at the right of "firmware info" page and update screen can be entered.)
To me, that looks like a bug in V1.0????? :eek:
If yes, Pentax aka Ricoh Imaging will have some severe fun with it! :cool:
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
03-15-2014, 03:27 AM
|
| |
As you can read in my post here
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/120-general-technical-troubleshooting/253...not-found.html
it was exactly vice versa for my K-500!
Card used: Older 1GB Transcend
Formatting the SD-card in the cam: Update not recognized (as if not there)
Formatting the SD-card with my cardreader under WinXP ("FAT", no quick-format, volume label "K-500"): Worked like a charm!
Yes, strange, I know. But Ricoh did not reply to my support request and so I just gave it a try.
Maybe there was a firmware bug in V1.0 (K-500) that did not allow updating the firmware?? Don't know.
But NOT formatting the card in the cam was the solution for me!
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-15-2014, 03:02 AM
|
| |
Hi folks!
The Ricoh support did not answer to my request, so I tried again myself to find a solution.
I FOUND IT, and it is blatant stupid: :hmm:
The update was recognized and worked when NOT(!) formatting the the SD-card in the K-500, but using my cardreader and Windows! :eek:
Win XP's "format" window suggested to use "FAT" for the 1GB card (not FAT32 nor exFat), so I just confirmed (no "quick format", of course, and keeping the volume label "K-500") - and it worked like a charm! :lol:
Cam shows V1.02 now and is ready to work. If I find something important to mention about the update, I'll post it. :cool:
Thanks to those who tried to help, and I hope this imformation is of use for others with similar problems!
:p
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-08-2014, 07:03 AM
|
| |
Well, there's no green bar on my screen, just the message "Kamera v1.0" (in german, b/w text). But I don't think that matters - except the green bar indicates that an update has been found on the SC-card.
You are right, now it should be possible to press "right" again to open the update screen.
But nothing happens!
It seems that the cam does not recognize the .bin file!
However, I'm shure I picked the right one and exactly followed the instructions (copy to root of SD-card etc. etc.) And yes, I did unpack the archive first. I even tried both .exe and .zip versions which ended up to be the same .bin, obviousliy.
But nothing...
Yesterday night I dropped a support request at ricoh-imaging; let's see what the tell me. I don't think there will be a reply before monday.
Have a nice weekend!
B.
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-07-2014, 09:42 AM
|
| |
That's a link to ricoh-imaging.co.jp, one of the two sites where I got the file from.
So it is one of the two I already tried. (Btw., I'm pretty sure ricoh-imaging.de redirected me to the .co.jp!)
Thanks anyhow!
---------- Post added 03-07-14 at 05:47 PM ----------
I am new here and therefore not allowed to edit posts:
There is a typo in my first one, saying the download-url was ricoh-imaging.jp.com.
Stupid me, of course it was ricoh-imaging.co.jp!
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-07-2014, 09:33 AM
|
| |
I just found 2 other guys with different cams that seem to have more or less the same problem.
May be it was a "bad patch" day at Ricoh's! :lol:
I will wait a few days and then try it again with a fresh download...
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-07-2014, 09:19 AM
|
| |
Yeah, true for most older models.
But not for the K500, K30 and some others. ;)
Just watch that vid here:
You Tube
|
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GzIBDx9LKPU?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
|
Thanks anyhow!
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-07-2014, 09:05 AM
|
| |
Hi folks!
I just read here that a new firmware for my K-500 is out (which is a great little cam, btw., that blew me away after 8 years of *IST DL2).
I downloaded the update and copied it to a freshly formatted SD-card. But the cam does not recognize it and does not offer the update-option!
The steps I did:
1. Download and unpack the zip.
The unpacked file is named "fwdc223b.bin" and has an exact size of 12.845.056 bytes.
2. Formatted an SD-card using the cam.
3. Copied the file to the card using a card reader. (Root, of course; no sub-dirs there after formatting ;) )
4. Put card in cam and powered on.
Oh yeah, battery is 100% full (using the orignial one delivered with the cam, no alkalines or else).
5. Opened the menu and went to "Firmware Info/Opt."
It shows me that I have 1.0
That was it. Nothing else. No way to go on!
According to the video tutorial as well as the PDF that can be dowloaded with the firmware I have to press the "right" button another time to open the update screen. But that does not happen.
I tried playing around with that, used another SD card and even swapped the battery (using "AA" with the adapter I have) - but nothing helped: The update screen does not come up.
Oh yeah, before I forget - I found 2 copies of the file; one via the german support site and one from ricoh-imaging.jp.com. But they seem to be the same.
What have I missed? Or is there a problem with the update file?
Is it necessary to update to 1.01 first?! (would be stupid) And if yes, where to get THAT?
It's not that I do really need the update, but usually they improve general performance or quality a little bit by tweaking or optimizing some stuff; so even if I don't own any hardware that is introduced here I'd be glad to have it ;)
Thanks for any help in advance!
B.
|
