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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-31-2018, 05:03 AM
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Through a screen door? So you just focused through it? If so, I'm amazed that these are reasonably sharp. Well done! That must be like a very rudimentary ND filter, i suppose?`:lol:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-29-2018, 12:07 PM
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I don't know how many shots I've ruined shooting against a bright sky like that, so I definitely know the feeling. All in all, I wouldn't be disappointed with the first ones you posted (but then I usually prefer slightly underexposed shots). Also, framing and capturing small birds is never easy, so kudos for doing it so well! :)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-29-2018, 05:40 AM
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Hm. I agree that the insect looks better, but the chaffinch looks a bit washed-out and pale. Does DxO have radial filters or something similar? Personally, I wouldn't lighten the whole bird (at least not by more than a smidgen), but focus on its eyes/head.Then again, lighting like that can be very difficult to deal with.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-27-2018, 03:44 PM
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-27-2018, 02:46 PM
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Thank you! As mentioned above, we had a truly excellent guide. He didn't actually point out specific framings or show example shots (other than when we struggled and asked for feedback), but his cues on positioning and angles were invaluable. Made the second day visiting temples (which I haven't yet posted - stay tuned!) much, much easier. I'd definitely recommend his services to anyone ever wanting to visit Siem Reap/Angkor.
On the other hand, it's almost impossible to go there and not take great pictures. There's just too darn much to photograph. And 1000-year-old temples covered in jungle make for good, patient models.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-27-2018, 11:55 AM
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A few more:
Ta Nei detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Preah Khan by Valantar, on Flickr
Preah Khan detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Preah Khan by Valantar, on Flickr
Preah Khan detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Preah Palilay by Valantar, on Flickr
Preah Palilay detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Bayon detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Bayon detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Bayon detail by Valantar, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-27-2018, 10:31 AM
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Thanks! June/July isn't quite off-season in Angkor/Siem Reap, but definitely not peak season, so even in the worst spots the crowding wasn't too bad. More than this, though, we had a fantastic guide, who knew all the best ways of avoiding the tour groups and all the best photo spots and angles. For the most visited temples, he really saved us (or at least our photos), that's for sure. First time I've booked a photo tour for anything, and it was more than worth the expense.
Thank you! A lot of the credit for the compositions has to go to our guide, as he always knew where to stand to get the best angles, but I'll take the compliment still ;)
It's worth mentioning that these 12 (plus another handful that I'll be posting later) are my top picks from about 225 pictures taken that day - but I've still flagged around 70 as "picks" in Lightroom just from that day. Honestly, I was surprised by how low my discard rate turned out. Shooting mostly in aperture priority and using exposure compensation actively (usually somewhere between -1 and - 3) to expose for the highlights/sky and lifting the shadows in Lightroom really brings out the dynamic range of the K-70's sensor. We were somewhat lucky weather-wise (partially cloudy), and the thick foliage helped filter the sunlight somewhat. I can post some SOOC jpegs for comparison if you want :)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-27-2018, 02:27 AM
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Finally got Flickr working, so here's the first batch of photos from my trip. Have to say, the 18-135 was fantastic on this trip. I left my telephoto behind and never missed it, and only used my wide-angle very sparingly. Out of 1638 total photos and 410 "picks" in Lightroom, 1531 and 377 respectively were from the 18-135. A slightly higher hit ratio for the wide angle, but that's to be expected when it's used that sparingly. All in all, I'm amazed at how well this lens handles.
All photos are retouched in lightroom - some times a must due to challenging lighting conditions forcing me to underexpose to not blow out the sky and so on. Nothing too drastic in most shots, though. Both the K-70 and the lens handled the conditions (both in terms of photos and some pretty challenging weather) beautifully.
Angkor Wat sunrise by Valantar, on Flickr
Angkor Wat detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Angkor Wat detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Angkor Wat detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Ta Prohm by Valantar, on Flickr
Ta Prohm detail by Valantar, on Flickr
---------- Post added 07-27-18 at 02:29 AM ----------
Ta Prohm detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Ta Prohm detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Spider at ta prohm by Valantar, on Flickr
Ta Prohm detail by Valantar, on Flickr
Ta Nei by Valantar, on Flickr
Ta Nei by Valantar, on Flickr
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-26-2018, 01:55 PM
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Anyone else having trouble uploading to Flickr currently? I've been trying to get some of my shots from my recent trip to Cambodia and Vietnam up there (both to show off how great the 18-135 was and to fulfill my quota for the K-1 giveaway :D), but the upload never moves, and eventually times out. Tried from 2 different PCs, so it's not a local issue.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-01-2018, 02:31 AM
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Spent a couple of hours walking around town yesterday, trying out the new kit. Definitely very happy with the reach and versatility of this lens. The out-of-focus areas don't always look that nice (the foreground branch in the 1st starling pic stands out as blotchy and weird-looking to me), and I'm very happy Lightroom is great at removing CA, but all in all, this lens seems to be great as a walk-around, do-(almost-)everything lens. Colors look good, in-focus areas are pin sharp, focusing is fast and accurate enough to catch birds moving rather quickly (I was more of a problem there, for sure!). Definitely happy I went with this rather than the Sigma C 17-70 I was considering, especially now that my tele zoom is being serviced.
Most pics are a bit cropped, tone curve and noise reduction adjusted to taste.
Starling 1 by Valantar, on Flickr
Sparrow 1 by Valantar, on Flickr
Starling 2 by Valantar, on Flickr
Sparrow 2 by Valantar, on Flickr
Starling 3 by Valantar, on Flickr
Starling 4 by Valantar, on Flickr
Also ran into an old man who exclaimed "Oh, you're a Pentax user too!" after asking me what lens I was using. He told me he had just bought a K-1 to use with his 30-ish-year-old high speed primes. We might not be the biggest user base out there, but apparently Pentax people stick around :P
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-15-2018, 08:24 AM
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Got my K-70 + 18-135 kit just last week (my K-x can finally retire!), just in time for the gray-brown, polluted and gravel-covered snow that's been covering everything for the last month to finally give way to something nicer looking.
All in all I'm quite happy with the lens - the range is great, build quality seems good (and I love the ergonomics), it's plenty sharp and quick to focus, but CA is worse than expected. Lightroom can mostly take care of it, but not always - the crop from the magpie in the snow is before removing CA, but afterwards the twigs are more purple than brown/black. Not really visible without zooming, though. CA removal on the duck was more successful, but that doesn't help when I mess up the focus. All in all, this lens is more than good enough for my needs. Will no doubt get a lot of use out of it when I visit Cambodia and Vietnam in a couple of months (yep, saw the photos from Angkor above - I'll probably be posting my own in a while!).
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