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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-13-2017, 11:44 AM
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Proud grandfather presenting his third grandchild.:)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-12-2017, 11:49 AM
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When you have a national culture in which accepting responsibility for failure has historically required you to disembowel yourself, you tend to pay attention to the little details.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
05-09-2017, 06:34 AM
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The Tom's Hardware forums are a great resource for builders and buyers. They'll have threads for PC builds, gaming/editing/theater etc.
I went a little different a few years ago, with a lower-power build using on-chip graphics which has proven very good. I figured I could add a discrete card if required, but in no way has the graphics been a problem. It takes a little while to import a bunch of RAW files from the K3 catalogs, but nothing inordinate. The SSD is certainly a must these days, and again Tom's has a lot of evaluations to consider. The SSD costs are a bit high now, but for this work you don't need the most expensive options - they're just not worth the cost. An M2 drive would be something to consider, though.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/all.html?refine=build-your-own&refine=photo+video |
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-04-2017, 05:14 PM
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With the Nikon D70 I usually do not achieve acceptable results up close with Matrix and CWA metering systems. I decided that after a lot of trial and error, the Spot Metering was more suited for close-up and even some Macro shots. With this subject, I used Spot Metering, got in as close as I could, got the Stamen in my cross hairs, waited for the red lighted areas in the system to tell me when it was properly focused and metered and then went for it. I was a little disappointed with the hot spot caused by the flash and apparently neglected to go in and correct it in PPE. Also, I have to keep in mind that this was a hand held shot and I am impressed with the sharpness of this Nikon AFZoom Nikkor 35~80mm D Lens.
Thanks for your comment.
Tony
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-04-2017, 12:33 PM
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I have been on a bit of a Bug binge lately, here are a few of them,
K3ii + siggy 105mm f2.8 + 52mm ext tubes +ringflash and my homemade diffuser
1
 IMGP2507ed2sm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
2
 IMGP2534ed2sm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
3
 IMGP2552ed2sm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
4
 IMGP2562ed2sm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
5
 IMGP2566ed2sm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
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 IMGP2572ed2sm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
7
 IMGP2392ed2sm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
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 IMGP2440ed2sm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
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 IMGP2468ed2sm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
 IMGP2075edcrpsm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
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 IMGP2083edcrpsm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
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 IMGP2103edcrpsm by dr.shutter, on Flickr
11
 IMGP1778ed2esmmod4crop by dr.shutter, on Flickr
12
 IMGP1649edcrpsm2 by dr.shutter, on Flickr
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Forum: General Talk
05-01-2017, 04:56 AM
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I'm getting texts from Austpost telling me a package I ordered from Amazon will be delivered today then another saying they won't be able to deliver as promised. Not bad as it was delivered Thursday last week, go figure.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
04-30-2017, 05:38 AM
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Hello. If you shoot jpeg there are no profiles available. They are just for RAW
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Forum: General Photography
04-30-2017, 10:00 AM
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What it means is that the ability to detect an out-of-focus condition is the same at f/5.6 as at f/2.8, f/2, or other faster apertures with the K-50. This is typical for consumer-level bodies across brands. Models such as the K-3/K-3II and K-1 have a center column of AF points that can discriminate at f/2.8, but are limited to f/5.6 for the other points.
For most shooting, this is not a huge limitation, but may be a problem when fine focus is desired* and/or when using wider apertures.
Steve
* Even shooting stopped down, there is only one true point of focus. Pixel peeping demonstrates that nicely.
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Forum: General Photography
04-30-2017, 05:07 AM
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I don't think I would be soo dramatic as to say focus with lenses faster than f5.6 is a gamble. But DSLRs are not optimized for superfast lenses. And the AF points are big, so the focus might lock correctly - but not on the part that you wanted. With shallow DoF, this can become an issue really fast. For example, AF locks onto eyebrow instead of eye. With f8, that photo would still be fine due to DoF. At f1.4, eyebrows and eye pupil can already be too far for DoF.
So if you are using superfast lenses and need critical focus, most people here just use Manual focus and buy a focusing screen (optimized for fast lenses, maybe even with split prism, rather than the stock viewfinder which expects mostly lenses slower than f2.8. Note that a FS for fast lenses might not work great with slow lenses, might darken the viewfinder), viewfinder loupe. Or they use Live view with Focus peaking (optional, but pretty good with fast lenses) and Digital magnification (this is important, because it opens the lens aperture fully)
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
04-29-2017, 06:15 AM
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Thank you for suggestion but I think that for now I will let this be. It is against my principles. An error somewhere caused grey clouds to appear in "sunlit" magenta colors.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-29-2017, 09:56 AM
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David, kyricom--Thanks! Maisie is definitely a handful--a "rainy day Airedale" is a combination of a reciprocating saw and ditch-witch--but she's a welcome addition to the family.
Lightbox--Thanks for the kind words...I'm lucky enough to live a short walk from a couple of "urban wildernesses" so I have the luxury of waiting for good light. Mid-morning or late afternoon after a shower seems to work well for a lot of shots on my K5, though I'm thinking that film might need a bit more candlepower keep the shadows from blocking up.
:)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-28-2017, 07:12 AM
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Please note though I haven't had a lot of time to post process but PLEASE make any suggestions there. I have a new computer and I am trying to figure out how my display is. Also for some reason when the images are down sized or whatever they don't look as clear but I will deal with that later.
Anyway I am in a very rural area in Southwest China. It's near the Vietnam/Laos border. At our hotel I went and asked at the front desk about the guys around here with the water buffalo because I figured it would make for a good picture. Low and behold I made the strangest concierge request ever. I asked for a water buffalo and I got a water buffalo. :lol:
It was actually the guy from next door who wasn't even a hotel employee that took me over. He was actually a school teacher and was impressed with my Chinese and my curiosity. He and I rode bicycles over and I waded out in knee deep mud in a rice field and got some shots. It wasn't planned at all. This is a very rural area so he just took me over at the spur of the moment and I got a chance to do my thing. This was definitely not some 'set up' kind of thing. 110% the real deal. As usual, zero plans.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-27-2017, 02:34 PM
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This was supposed to be 10minute long exposure simulation using in-camera multiexposure averaging (600 exposures). Instead, I got some funky magenta cast :]
Well, why not twist the end result a bit more...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-25-2017, 10:27 PM
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You speak as if it was a mistake!
I'll not sell my Limiteds, nor waste money buying upgraded versions.
My screwdrive lenses are fast to focus (such as the Tamron 70-200 and FA*300), just noisy.
Tamron and Sigma both chose to make screwdrive lenses for K-mount, not just Ricoh.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-25-2017, 08:30 PM
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to get the Pollen.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-24-2017, 09:43 PM
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Be smart about your system setup, re-think the way you operate.
I would never run a computer with only one disk. This simply means your system files and your data files are all on one disk. Mixed up. Even if you part off your one disk with another partition and use this one to store data only, you still have everything on the one disk. This could spell trouble.
If, as you say, you are ready to buy another SSD you might as well keep your current disk to only run your system, buy another SSD (the biggest you can afford, they are not too expensive now) and install this which then would most likely be Disk D:\
Now you can offload all your non-system files on to D:\, and as a side benefit it makes it easier to back-up all your data much more cleanly. It also enables you to swap in and out other data disks as needed. See the link below. You can have a whole library of small disks (and they don't have to be SSDs although small SSDs are so cheap now and non SSDs are cheaper still) Your separate system disk C:\ will also allow you to change Systems (in future) if it is ever needed or desired without compromising any data. If you invest in a Disk cloning program (Acronis) and another small SSD you could clone your system disk for save keeping. I for example always clone at least one new copy of the system disk every other week and when I try new software (like a free evaluation) I do a clone before installing it. If I don't like it I just clone back the original. Quicker and safer than uninstalling which always leaves stuff behind. Cloning a small system SSD takes only minutes.
This is what I use:
Removable Rack Tray for 2 Bays 2.5in Hot Swap SATA Hard Disk Mobile Rack | eBay
Hope I make sense, and good luck.
Cheers
P.S.
With this Disk Rack you can quickly remove the data disk (with all your pictures) when you go on a holiday and hide it for safe keeping.
If some low life knocks off your computer he or she will only have a computer with a system disk.
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Forum: General Photography
04-24-2017, 02:55 AM
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And if you are thinking about hotdogs and buns, a waist is a terrible thing to mind!
Hope the recovery goes well.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
04-23-2017, 06:17 PM
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Good point about beer #3. Solution: skip #3 and go straight for #4, 5, & 6!
P.S. Are beer goggles available in a 49 mm filter size?
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-23-2017, 07:35 PM
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There are times when Pentax AF.c set up for tracking will work. There are times when it doesn't. It slows your frame rate down to unbearably slow. But for kids using AF.s centre point and turning on "focus priority" is probably your best solution. Unless your kids are bungy jumping, they probably aren't moving all that fast. I have lots of dogs running in fields chasing balls, both AF.c tracking and AF.s, I find often I get better results with AF.s and shutter priority. I'm not sure about Canon but in most Nikon AF hold and tracking don't slow down the frame rate, a great thing if you need it.
My dog coming back with my ball with her ball 7 frames in focus, the last one when she was really close not in focus. 8 frame duration about 2 seconds.
Tripper, running my way
All I know is they both work sometimes, they both can drive you crazy sometimes. Sometimes manual focus is all that works.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-23-2017, 09:40 AM
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The main thrust here is to ask an answer the question, "For birds and wildlife can a K-3 or K-1 shooting AF.s out-perform the best out there shooting shooting AF.c and tracking?"
My answer would be definitely.
From this morning's shoot 2017-04-23 10:23am - 10.53 Am. so a half hour in the blind.
Setting used AF.s, Hold AF off, first frame focus, burst mode
228 images taken in 30 minutes. 8 will be on my hard drive for future reference and use.
I always shoot at the lowest ISO possible for the highest level of detail, today that was 200 ISO. With my shutter speed falling way to slow at 1/125s to freeze these birds I'm depending on volume of image in burst to give me what i want.
The basic procedure. Find a subject in a suitable location, lock focus, wait for the subject to move into a suitable pose. When that happens fire a burst. The reaction time of the K-3 or K-1 (and probably the K-P) are so quick that if the first frame is the one you want. any other camera set in tracking mode will not get it's first shot off before you are on your second. You end up with a burst like this.....
Remember, I am shooting for best possible IQ so cranking the ISO up and freezing every frame is not an option, although in this case using the K-3, it's always a decision. If light is poor I may choose to use the K-1 instead, because of it's better high ISO performance, but if I can shoot the K-3 at 400 ISO or under, that would be my choice because of the higher frame rate.
Among those images above, in many the bird is looking away from the camera, but having a high burst rate means I can select based on pose, today for my keeper I chose this one
I could have chosen this one, there were many more like it, or one with the bird facing the camera, there were many with his back to me.
The facts, he's hopping around so quickly all I can do is keep him in the frame. Even on top of the stump in this frame the bird is moving constantly. Shooting this way tracking is completely irrelevant. I'm not taking the bird, I'm shooting him on a stump that has limited his movement possibilities and keeping him within my Depth of Field. The only thing that matters is how quickly the lens acquires focus, and Pentax is very fast at acquiring AF.s focus with a fast lens.
The point here being 8 FPS gives you more selection than you are likely to need. I had at least 40 images of this bird on this stump I could only show 24 in the above image. I tend to shoot 4-15 shot bursts, then refocus, wait for a different post, then another burst.
This isn't a side by side comparison. It's done simply to demonstrate that by making use of Pentax quick AF.s you can have better results than a Canon or Nikon camera shooting AF.c If the Canon and Nikon are shooting AF.s the advantage will be less or equal, but Pentax will still have a clear advantage with anything but a 1dx (or the new Sony A-9) , where the difference will be small enough you probably won't notice it one way or the other.
The rest of the days images
I have heard so often how I'm working at a disadvantage using Pentax gear, I just don't get it. For the way I shoot, I have faster initial focus acquire, 8 FPS burst and the same sensor and and Iso characteristics.
I have difficulty understanding how even the forum reviews continue to claim Pentax has slower AF. You'd think they'd be there first to point out that by taking advantage of the strengths of the camera, it can actually have faster AF. There are also circumstances for AF.c shooters where the AF is slower. But faster in some areas slower in others, should never lead to a blanket statement about one's AF being inferior to the others. Just get out there and shoot, learn to use your camera. You'll have advantages for some types of shooting and disadvantages for others. For the way I shoot, the whole Canon and Nikon have better AF is nonsense, inaccurate, and everyone repeating it needs to actually examine the facts. I've found it to be true in the field and Imaging resource has found it to be true in the lab that I have advantages over Canon and Nikon shooters that affect what images we get. I'm not sure how long it will be before its seen to be true on the forum. Given the forum chant, "Canon and Nikon are better at AF", I'm guessing this will remain knowledge for those of us who go out and shoot everyday beside shooters of all different kinds with all different gear. There are certainly circumstances where Canon and Nikon excel. There are circumstances where Pentax excels. But there's a cacophony of folks chanting 'Canon and Nikon are better at AF' like monks in a monastery even in the forum camera descriptions drowning those of us who form our opinions in the field.
The simple fact is, depending on how you shoot, Pentax can be better, and because it's faster AF.s focus acquisition can get you images you might miss with a Canon or Nikon set to AF.c
From her walk this morning a couple of AF.s images taken by Tess of a turkey vulture in flight with her K-5. Slow AF, slow lens DA*200 2.8 (slow focussing SDM lens) yet some great images. IMHO the need for great AF.c is vastly over-rated.
One morning's shooting and not once did either of us end up saying "These shots would have been better taken with a 1Dx or a D4." Tess won't even upgrade to the 8 FPS and 24 MP of a K-3. She does fine with what she has.
My advice to all the ones who want to compare Canikon to Pentax, learn to shoot with what you have. You'll learn to shoot as good as anyone else, regardless of what they shoot. What's important at the end of the day is image quality, and Pentax (or any other camera system) used to it's advantage will give you that. You don't get more advantages with another system, you get different advantages.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-21-2017, 04:48 PM
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Hey! A fellow Burns Bogger! Yes stopped down is where you'll best get a starburst. But even composing the shot so the sun peeks out from some trees, you can get a starburst at f5.6 or f4.
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Forum: General Talk
04-17-2017, 08:36 AM
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Irreverent Truisms of an old shooter's other life.
1. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.
13. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this – ever.
15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? **** it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
17. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
20. I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
21. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.
22. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
25. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?
26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?
29. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.
31. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet my *** everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!
* Title Edited for clarity
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Forum: General Talk
04-15-2017, 07:06 PM
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Many thanks! Good to know that I may not have to go to GMail and try to bring all my contacts up to speed.
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Forum: General Talk
04-15-2017, 04:41 PM
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I use Private Internet Access. Works fine and cheap with the yearly subscription.
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