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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
09-24-2018, 10:56 AM
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I too have a few rolls of BW400CN sitting in the fridge (2010-2014 EXP), I've been sitting on them like golden eggs and only bring out a roll of special occasions. the latest special occasions were to break in my new MZ-S when I got the film back from the lab (3 rolls of BW400 and 1 roll of Portra800) I was shocked to see how grainy the BW400 looked. arguably I should have pushed it but I wanted to see what shooting it at the box speed looked like. I'm not sure how the lab developed it but the next rolls I'm thinking of doing the developing myself or finding a lab that's able to do a stand development for an old film with a +1 stop push. hopefully, this will keep the grain size down. the Portra800, came out perfectly, so I think the chems weren't too bad and maybe the results are just from the old BW400
the scans they provided were unusable. incredibly grainy (looks more like sharpening artefacts) and density was off. after scanning it myself they have come up better but not great.
this all being said it's still a magical film that holds a special place in my heart.
the photo was from a roll of BW400CN that had developed a few weeks ago that also went through a few airport x-ray machines
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-17-2014, 08:51 PM
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Carrrlangas, you're absolutely right, if you want a flawless profile. you'll need to do a setup for every scene / lighting senario you shoot. for critical shoots it's worthwhile creating a profile for that scene. I wanted to make a profile that was more universal. This is more of an LUT than a accurate temperature colour profile. it's the result of a few exposures at different colour temp (same light source, just threw a CTO on it) aggregated the difference, kept the Linear curve and based the profile on that. If you guys would like, I'm more than happy to create a series of profiles for the major colour temps. I find that the colour profile above brings the photos into a jpg-esque look which is all i need and i can take the photo's treatment from there. Since i'm treating a raw file, color temp isn't a issue for me as i can change the DNG's temp to look as i see fit, instead of using 65k and 28k colour profiles.
That being said i'm still think there's still a bit more that needs to be done, Reds are not exactly 100% yet, I'll get a few prints made and compare them before i go any further.
I don't have a K5II or K5IIs but if anyone in Sydney is willing to take a few photos, I could easily whip up a profile for em.
Cheers,
Ben.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
06-17-2014, 07:09 AM
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Evening all!
So after Pulling my hair out in frustration over the fact that Adobe wont support Pentax DNG raw files properly and making half arsed tone curves, i've finally gotten off my arse and made a Pentax K-5 DNG camera profile. this will see your RAW DNG files displayed faithfully to what you would expect your JPG's to turn out as.
You'll notice that when you import a raw file into Lightroom, while your computer is de-bayering the raw file it will display the embedded .jpg. when you shoot something in raw and you review it on the back of the camera LCD you think that exactly how i intended the photo to look and thats what Lightroom will show you while it's still displaying the embedded jpg that was generated from your camera. After LR de-bayers to file i it will appear different to what you intended / previously displayed. This is because LR uses Adobe Standard as it's Colour curve/ profile for our camera's. Pentax Photo browser can read and display the RAW files properly because they can read and used the properly camera profile. Adobe software seems to have an issue.
I've created a .dcp Camera Profile and uploaded the .dcp file to my copybox https://copy.com/JGK08YeAfVUWiwRp, let me know how it goes for you and iff you experience any issue. I'll get onto making a K20, K200 profile later if anyone is interested in it.
Hope you guys find this useful.
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Forum: Visitors' Center
01-24-2013, 12:15 AM
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I'm a Pro and i still use a K200D (albet a pain the the arse) in some cases, but the K5 is a fantastic camera and it gives a lot of other crop cameras a run for there money. Alot of other pro'togs say that Pentax are not a real camera because there all crop sensor. Most of the time it's out of ignorance, after I explain that it's a weather-sealed, mag aloy body (all all that other good stuff the K5 has under the bonet) they tend to shut up....furthermore, If anyone who say's caikon are better because the have full frame, just simply say "well we've got medium format" :)
Happy Shooting
Ben.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
01-23-2013, 11:33 PM
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Just a "my two cents" insert here.. I still think my K10D exposes better and produces more vivid colours of the sky than any other of my DSLR's, K5 and K20 included. Don't sell your GX-10, be stubborn and keep fighting, it's a great camera and i love the sound and feel of it. Some good lenses and a flash will see improvements in indoors photos and freezing action but the best thing you can do to improve your photos is to keep shooting and keep shooting and keep shooting, soon you'll see how setting interact with your photos and soon after that you'll be able to know what the set the camera to, where's the best light etc.
Happy Shooting!
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
01-23-2013, 02:48 AM
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Hey Guys, Just a quick one about a shoot from last year, plus a few photos
Ingredients Used:
K5
Tamron SP 90mm F2.8 Macro
Tamron SP 70-200 F2.8
Pentax-M 50mm F1.4
Metz 58 AF2
Metz 48 AF1
a few Gels and filters
Whilst I still had a bit of daylight left I quickly wacked on my Tamron 90mm Macro and 70-200mm f2.8. I Placed the 48 AF1 on a stand at talent eye-height, off to camera right about 6 feet away and shooting through a 3x3 Softbox. The 58 AF1 was a bit closer in (5 foot) but about 2 feet over talent eye-level thrown to camera left shooting through a 120cm shoot through reflector placed in the middle of flash and talent.
Sometimes when trying to get critical focus on a M or A lens, I like to get a focus chart or a siemens star and get someone to hold that up to where the focus point is and focus it in manually. It makes a world of difference
This was the jewellery portion of the photo shoot, so the focus an emphasis was on the necklace not the face, which in hindsight is a shame as it would of been a stunning photo if focused on the eyes.
After another Wardrobe change, I was losing light fast, instead of running around like a headless chook, cranking all the lights to 11 and giving Sabrina the model a suntan. I though I might try and incorporate the vivid colours of the sunset and of the new dress.
I Underexposed the background by a stop to get the colour without washing and blowing it out. by now the sun was under the horizon and I place the model directly in between the sun's location ( or at least where it was) and the camera. Metz 48, on a stand and shooting without a diffuser to capture more sheen and sparkle of the dress and to give Sabrina a more athletic look with sharper shadows on the face was placed off to camera left providing most of the light and the 58 kicking in some diffused light through a 60cm shoot through on the other side of the face. Shooting with the 50mm @ f3.2
After this we lost the sunlight, and went for the final wardrobe change. As a side note, Fashion photography is 20% planning, 10% shooting and 70% waiting, A lot of time is spent on waiting around, waiting for a wardrobe change, makeup, waiting for the light, waiting for locations to clear. but this time is much welcome, as it gives you a chance to think about how and what to shoot, and for the next session I was thinking of doing something with the old "hollywood glow" look that use to be used around the 1940's as it suited the dresses and fur coat. Once again I wackked on the 50mm f1.4 for full body shots and the 90mm for close ups. on both the lens I had a Hoya 1A warming filter, just to bring out a bit more of a glow with the skin. I kept the camera's white balance set to 7200K to keep the flash light fairly neutral and to make every other light nice and warm. with the Metz 58 camera right, nice and high up, about 10ft on a stand. On the flash I had a 1/4 straw CTO gel and it was shooting through a 3x3 softbox aimed towards Sabrina's face. Metz 48 off to camera left running 2/3 of a stop darker than the main flash (Metz 58), no gel and shooting through a 120cm shoot-through. Using a 60cm silver reflector placed directly in front of Sabrina and on the ground, I bounced the light from the Metz 58 back up to soften up the shadows on the face. I always find it easier to work with the knows first, dial in and expose for the lights that you can't control and from there on you can start to play around with your controllable lights like flashes and reflectors. in this case, I exposed for the background lights and then tinkered around with my flashes.
Happy Shooting!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
03-19-2011, 06:44 PM
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Just did a test on my K5 (firmware 1.03)
with the following settings
AV,F1.7 (wide open), AUTO ISO (80-6400),Highight of,Shaddow off, CP off etc, AF-S, JPG 3star 16mp,SR ON. SD card removed to eliminate card writing issue
AT High ISO the frame rate will go down in dim lit areas, but if pointed to a light source FPS goes up. something simmilar happens to my K20. (perhaps it's a pentax thing)
I turned NR and Slow shutter NR off but FPS is still low....the only fix around i know of is AE-L with AF locked (Custom 5) set to ON it seems to remedy the issue.
so from what i can conclude...
NR being on or off will do nothing with increase or decrease on FPS
Slow shutter NR set to on or off will not do anything either.
SR on or aff has no affect
AF set to S,C or MF also has no affect.
Auto ISO Paramaters set to SLOW,AUTO or FAST seems not to increase or decrease framerate.
so it seems as long as AE-L is on frame rate stays near the 7fps mark.
I think if the camera is using AUTO ISO and there is low contrast in the frame the FPS seems to slow down. When there is significant contrast, ie.pointed to a lightsource etc FPS is fine. Perhaps there is some setting that i over looked or missed.
If you need AE-L off then a workaround i have found is if you press the AE-lock button on the K5 body before you press the shutter you will be able to sustain 7FPS regardless of AUTO ISO and AE-L with AF Locked(C5) settings
i hope this helps...
cheers!
Ben
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
09-23-2010, 06:36 PM
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Just RSPV'ing:
I'll be there as well
Cheers!
Ben
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-23-2010, 05:09 PM
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Well, Considering that i cound not find a location that either stocked or had a decent price for some flash head, i ended up renting a few SB900's and a few stands and softboxes to match.
SB900 sidenote:Nice Flash, Huge, but hella powerfull.
I rented the softbox and flashes from a place here in sydney,
RentaCam:
RENTaCAM - Canon, Nikon, Sigma camera and lens, DSLR video equipment and studio gear rental hire in Sydney
15 Birmingham st
Sydney NSW 2015, Australia
(02) 9669 4393 (02) 9669 4393
Mirro is the name of the guy who runs the joint, incredibly friendly and great range of gear. If you ever hire off him tell him to start stocking Pentax gear....if enopugh of us ask, he will :P
If you are looking for more beefier lighting, I would recomend SunStudios
Sun Studios Sydney
42 Maddox Street
Alexandria
NSW 2017
P: +61 2 9641 5555 +61 2 9641 5555
F: +61 2 9641 5500
They also have a location down in Melb. so that's handy if you live in Melbourne or shooting there.
I would also recomend L&P
Photography Equipment Rental for the Professional Photographer - L & P Digital Photographic
SHOWROOM ADDRESS
L&P Digital Photographic
96 Reserve Road, Artarmon NSW (approx 15 minutes from Sydney CBD & 10 minute walk to train)
Phone: 02 9906 2733 02 9906 2733 Fax: 02 9906 1102
My experience with the last two is based on the conversation i have had with the company over the phone, quite friendly and very helpfull.
Hope this helps
Cheers!!
Ben
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-23-2010, 04:54 PM
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Kind of on topic, Just got of the phone with CR Kennedy (Australian Distro's of Pentax, Metz and Sigma) and they have told me that (at least here in Australia) there is an embargo on the K-5 in reguads to price and some minor specs until Noverber, just before it's released.....
Find that kind of strange considering that i could get info on the 645 and it's price at the begining of the year.....What's up pentax?
Cheers !
Ben
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-22-2010, 07:37 PM
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Perhaps i think i may need to eat some humble pie.......
[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=94kUYwCij_A&feature=related[/YT]
now i know numbers aren't everything but that frame rate is amazing. If the price goes down a bit, i do think maybe i may upgrade one of my bodies...
is it just me or did the camera reach it's buffer limit?
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-22-2010, 05:21 PM
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although kind of mentioned before and also not being a k-x your best bet would be to get your hands on a K10 or K20d and use Pentax remote assistant. then have what ever program you prefer to auto look into the folder where PRA3 is dumping the taken photos, then either you can alter, watermarked and printed or if you automate it with a script or find some plugin.
but in short, looks like a K10D or K20 is your best bet, if not have a look at the Wifi SD cards
Cheers
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-22-2010, 05:17 PM
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Oh should also mention tethered shooting....Why the K-7 and possibly the k-5 do not support tethered shooting is beyond me....
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-22-2010, 05:07 PM
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I brought that example up because of a time i remember in this winter past, were (for us it was cold) an i was in the mountains doing some early more shoots, i think the temp was about ~ -2 to 2 celcius not exactly cold but cold for us, furthermore i'm a bit weak when it comes to the cold. Much more of a summer kinda person. :p
Cheers
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-22-2010, 04:58 PM
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True, i also know quite a few that prefer the K-7. I'm not trying to say anything bad about it's size, just it's not for me. I guess my concern is that there is a k-7 and a K-5 (2 generations) and a K10D and a K20D (also 2 generations)... What's going to happen next? will we see a sucessor to the K-5 or will that too also be phased out and replaced completley, furthermore, is the K*0D range dead and if not when,if ever will there be a K30D?
Agree with what you have said about the k30D, all i would like to see in that body too would be better ISO management, Faster FPS and perhaps a Sensor upgrade.
thanks for the reply.
Ben
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-22-2010, 04:35 PM
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I know this has been said already by some but yet no thread has been made (that i know of).
The K-5 sounds much like a upgraded k-7 but one of my main concerns with the K-7 and now with the K-5 is it's form factor. I love my K20D and chose it over a 7 because of it's form and size. Am i the only black sheep out there that wishes for a K30D? A nice upgrade to the K*0D body range?
In winter i can easily operate my K20D with gloves on but trying the same functions on the k-7 becomes a real chalenge (AF selector switch for example.)
Ben
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-20-2010, 08:26 PM
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I'm with you on that one! Or at least 16 mp, high iso and frame rate..... all into the nice K20D body with a 3inch screen :P
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-20-2010, 06:58 PM
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hahaha, and i'll place a K-R sticker on my K200D :P
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-20-2010, 06:51 PM
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Just saying....
Bigest problem with the k-5 is... it's not a K30D..
One of the main reasons why i got a K20D over a K7 was because of size and ergonomics.....Make me a K30D and i'll upgrade.....
am i the only one who would like a K30D?
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Forum: Photographic Technique
09-10-2010, 07:55 AM
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Hey guys, I kinda stuck and would love it if you guys could help me out a bit
A client has asked me to do essentially Production line photography.
So the setup is it's going to be that I would be event photography, I would be taking photos of the band and crowds then after the band has finished their set, the audience would line up and have their photos taken with the band.
The client has said that the last photographers seemed overwhelmed and frazzled when it came to 'Production line photography' (as I like to call it) As they ( and I) would need to collect the names of those who are going to be photographed, along with there contact email and phone number and signature. I need to collect all that info for the Release forms for the client and also for knowing who's who in the photograph.
Speed is critical for this portion of the shoot.
Currently the idea is that I would have my K20D on a tripod with it tethered to laptop running RCA3 dumping into Light room. While I would have an clipboard with the forms on it, having my assistant getting that filled out and giving a unique number to each person (ie. the first person would be # 1 the second # 2 etc) . Then as they arrive ready to have their photo taken, I would have something like a small whiteboard that I would write there number on, take one photo with that in fame, remove it, take the actual shot, and then they would leave. rinse and repeat..
the problem is that Lightroom takes about 20 or so seconds from capture to viewing, they say I can expect at least 100 or so....Not factoring in any delays that would mean it would take half an hour!
Does anyone have any ideas on how I can slipstream the whole process? Biggest issue is maintaining accurate data with speed.
Thanks guys!
Ben
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
09-07-2010, 07:55 PM
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Count me in...I'll be there
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-07-2010, 07:29 PM
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Anyone know of any place in Sydney that hire on the cheap? Need 2 heads (300w/s+) for a shoot this weekend.
thanks guys
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Forum: Site Suggestions and Help
08-18-2010, 08:59 PM
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Thanks Adam for all the midnight oil burnin' work to get everything back to 100%........
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-18-2010, 03:15 AM
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The Misses and her K100Ds
Her Mum and her K200D
Her Sister and her K-7 and W90
A Random person in a camera store and there Km
And myself? Co'mon all this LBA has to count for something....right :P
now, i heard something about a 645D.........
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-18-2010, 02:46 AM
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I know ay? Kind of scary to see so much play in the blades and seeing the mirror bounce nearly halfway back up the shutterbox.....but still i would not have it any other way, I love the sound of the K100D's, K10D's, K20D's, K200D's ect shutters. there so much more reassuring than the sounds of say the 7D
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