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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
01-04-2015, 07:48 AM
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
01-04-2015, 07:45 AM
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This was my favorite photo taken in the summer of 2014. The colors of the sunset were absolutely incredible!
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Forum: Winners' Showcase
11-13-2014, 08:03 AM
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
10-10-2014, 06:39 AM
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I found it and reset it. I tried several different setting in my camera for shooting indoors and found that TAV gave me the best results. Shooting in AV mode almost always gave me a very high ISO even when it wasn't necessary. I really want to avoid shooting in full manual because I think it could result in me missing some important shots.
---------- Post added 10-10-14 at 08:42 AM ----------
I did do a brief check online at the resort and read that the couple is welcome to bring their own photographer. I am going to email the bride and make sure her planner knows I will be there. Thank you for the advice, I wouldn't have even thought of that. The photographer that is included only takes pictures during the ceremony. Nothing before or after.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
10-06-2014, 04:42 AM
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Wow! Thanks! I about died laughing :lol:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-02-2014, 01:43 PM
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-02-2014, 07:33 AM
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I really appreciate all the help I can get. I still have a lot to learn about processing too. I use lightroom for processing but it seems like whenever I do any additional sharpening I get a ton of noise from it.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-01-2014, 06:15 PM
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The family photo shown was taken at f10
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-01-2014, 02:32 PM
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I just got done watching the series of videos on DOF with different lenses and focus points. You are my new best friend!!! I had no idea what a difference the DOF makes as far as focus on long vs short lenses. I know I have lots to learn, just trying to take one thing at a time if possible. This particular problem has been plaguing me for a while. I think what I learned will also help tremendously if I work with another large group again. If I could give you a smily with a cape I so would, you are my new hero!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-01-2014, 01:03 PM
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These videos are great and I had never thought about doing it that way but it makes sense. I am aware that zooming in more gives you a more shallow DOF as well as bringing your background in closer. What I was referring to was the actual sharpness of the shot, nothing to do with the background. Perhaps that is part of the problem, a full body portrait shows more of the background and therefore your camera is more easily confused on what to focus on, back focusing for example. Both of these pictures were taken with my 55-300, one zoomed in as a head shot and the other as a full body shot, I cropped both at 100%. One is very sharp and the other is very soft.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-01-2014, 07:48 AM
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Thanks! I did do some additional warming for the shots, is there any other way to get a good white balance than using a gray card?
---------- Post added 10-01-14 at 09:55 AM ----------
I hope this doesn't sound stupid but I am confused. If zooming in, wouldn't I have to be more steady than taking a full body shot standing in the same position? I just don't understand why a head shot is sharper than a full body shot. Some people have told me I need to adjust to a smaller f-stop for full body portraits. I have yet to test that theory. Would I be better off standing much further away and taking a full body shot at say 150-200 mm as opposed to say 50mm? Although in most cases there just isn't the space for that.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-30-2014, 12:41 PM
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I used to shoot in Manual with auto ISO until I realized my camera was constantly shooting at high ISO, I know the lighting wasn't that bad, I was outside in the shade in the middle of the day. So now I no longer let my camera choose the ISO, perhaps I was doing something wrong at the time. Time to go and practice practice some more! Thanks everyone for everything!!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-30-2014, 12:33 PM
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We took a few different shots posed in different ways, some shots everyone was bunched closer together. I just used this as an example so everyone could see what I was talking about. I am not as seasoned as a lot of you so I am not sure how to adjust microfocus like you say, I guess I will have to do some reading about that. I have seen others talk about calibrating their lenses, I have no idea how to do that either :(
---------- Post added 09-30-14 at 02:36 PM ----------
Thank you everyone for all of the wonderful advice!! The next lens I upgrade will be my 18-55, I want to buy a k5iis also... Yes it never ends!!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-30-2014, 09:48 AM
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Thanks Norm, that makes me feel a little better. It is just frustrating when you feel like your equipment isn't doing what you want it to. I'd rather make a portrait softer in post then have it come that way out of camera.
I primarily used my 50-200 for portraits and just recently purchased the 55-300 to replace it but experienced the same issue. I would take a full body portrait and it would be soft then standing in the same position without changing any settings, zoom in for a head shot and it would come out crisp and clear. If this is the case would a global AF adjustment potentially fix anything?
I do have the RAW image, I will see if I can make the skin tones better. Thanks!
I abandoned using live view face detection after having so many select focus issues with it but perhaps it may work better in this situation.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-30-2014, 08:52 AM
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I chose the focus point manually but yes I still used autofocus.
I was using a tripod but no timer, I wasn't in the picture. I wasn't aware that shake reduction reduces sharpness.
Doesn't face detection only work when in live view mode?
How would that have happened if I chose the focus point? I have also run into the same issue when shooting with my 50-200 and 55-300 when shooting full body portraits.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-30-2014, 08:33 AM
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This is cropped at 100% in photoshop
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-30-2014, 08:14 AM
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I just did some very basic adjustments in lightroom, shadows, contrast, highlights ex..
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-30-2014, 07:33 AM
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HELP! I just recently took an extended family portrait for my husbands cousin's family. I used my 18-55 because that is the only wide lens I have right now and it was a family of 24. After getting home and looking at the pictures they are all terribly soft. For the first series of shots I used a tripod so I know camera shake wasn't an issue. They were taken at 12:00 noon but I moved everyone out of direct sun into shade. I bumped my aperture up to f10 hoping that would get everyone in focus but it seems like the shot is soft all the way through. Is this just the nature of a cheap lens or am I doing something wrong?
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-30-2014, 06:19 AM
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I found a whole bunch of different ideas online for posing that I'm going to save to my IPad to bring along for reference. I do always shoot in RAW now, I like that I am able to tweak the images the way that I want too, I found that my k50 tends to oversaturate things a bit in jpeg so switching to raw made a huge difference. I will definitely check out Hanson Fong! I have been shooting primarily in AV mode for all of my portraits. Any reason why I should do something different?
---------- Post added 09-30-14 at 08:22 AM ----------
Thanks Drake! I have a feeling I will be getting the k5ii very soon but probably not the best thing to throw in the mix at the moment. The last thing I need is the mess up a shot because I'm not familiar with my gear.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-29-2014, 05:05 PM
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Great tips!!! I am always afraid of using high iso with my k50, I feel like the noise it absolutely unacceptable over 800 but I guess I should get used to it if I need to shoot indoors. Thanks for all of the recommendations to eat, drink ex.. it's amazing how we can overlook those things when we are in the zone.
I really appreciate everyones help on this thread! I will get my extra gear reserved for the big day!
---------- Post added 09-29-14 at 07:05 PM ----------
Thank you for the advice, the wedding is in about 2 weeks so I won't be pulling out now. They are good people and I won't walk away from that day without some great pictures for them. I am a little paranoid about leaving my gear in my hotel room. I guess maybe I should keep it on me at all times or lock it away in the safe.
---------- Post added 09-29-14 at 07:07 PM ----------
I didn't realize that was what the anti-aliasing filter did. I will need to do some more reading about that. Also, its good to hear first hand from you that it is quieter. At my brothers wedding I was just taking pictures for fun and the photographer and her assistant were shooting canon and their gear was so much quieter than mine :(
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-29-2014, 04:00 PM
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Thanks! I think I am going to take Andi's advice from above and rent a sigma 18-35 1.8, I already have a 50mm 1.8. Between the 2 that should help a lot in low light. I have a 55-300 that should get me plenty close and should work just fine outside on the beach.
Yes it is a destination wedding. I think only about 25 people are coming. The couple likes to party and have a good time so I don't think there will be a lot of formal stuff going on. I haven't had any luck finding a k50 to rent but I'm pretty sure a k30 is almost a dead ringer.
I'm not sure what you mean by more patterned fabrics? Like Hawaiian shirts?
---------- Post added 09-29-14 at 06:03 PM ----------
This is another big reason I want a k5, my k50 is so dang noisy!! It is however outside on the beach which will be my saving grace. The k5iis is in my sights for my next body... Maybe my hubby will surprise me with a Christmas/Birthday present... :) not before the wedding tho I'm afraid.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-29-2014, 02:14 PM
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Thank you for all of the info, it is much appreciated! I already started putting a list together and sent it to the Bride but she has a crazy schedule and just doesn't really have the time to look through it all. Still I think the list is a must have to help stay organized and not miss anything! I heard a lot of good things about the Tamron 17-50 although I'm not sure if anyone rents it out. Most of the venue will be outside on the beach but I have a feeling there will be some indoor reception shots where a faster lens would be helpful. I have a single AF360 flash that I have used quite a bit, hopefully it will be powerful enough.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-29-2014, 01:06 PM
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The hotel that they are having their wedding at provides a photographer for the ceremony as part of the "wedding package" but she has heard that the pictures they give you aren't very good. I too would like to purchase the k5iis rather then rent it but my other half isn't crazy about me spending the money on it right now.
Thanks for all the great advice! Our neighbors are good friends of ours, they know the extent of my experience and are paying my way down to the wedding but that is all. I understand how big of a deal it is and realize everything that could go wrong. I have been taking steps to plan ahead, I'm not just going to shoot on a whim. The other reason for me having the extra body along is so that I can do just as you said (have a wide lens on 1 camera and more reach on the other). I will be getting to the location on Thursday and the wedding isn't till Saturday so I will have some time to scope things out and get used to the conditions, lighting ex... I have a 50mm 1.8, 55-300 and 18-55 lens that I will be bringing along. I also DO NOT PLAN on doing weddings in the future, this is strictly for a friend. I have heard how crazy, hectic and stressful shooting weddings can be.
From what you said it sounds like renting a k3 would be a bit of a learning curve. Maybe I would be better off renting a k30 instead?
---------- Post added 09-29-14 at 03:18 PM ----------
I will be leaving for the wedding in a couple of weeks so I need to get this ironed out very soon. I think renting the k30 may be my best bet. I can't agree more about a not wedding photographer shooting a wedding. I think the largest reason they want me to do it is because they know me and are comfortable with me. I also will have my Mom along as back up. I am not relying on her for any pictures but I figured it can't hurt to have her also snapping pictures to cover another angle.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-29-2014, 12:16 PM
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I am flying to Mexico to shoot our neighbors wedding. I have never shot a wedding before but they pretty much begged me to come down and be their photographer. I shoot with a K50 now and would really like to have a back up camera body with me. I am considering renting a k5iis from lensrentals.com and using it as my primary camera for shooting. Is it worth it to rent it? Will I have issues operating it if I am used to my K50? I have heard that it is pretty superior in low light conditions as well. Thoughts??
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
09-13-2014, 11:58 AM
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That is a great shot! Not to shabby for not being a macro, perhaps it will eventually replace my 18-55 kit lens :D
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