Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
01-01-2021, 05:48 PM
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I would like to nominate this photo
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
01-01-2021, 05:48 PM
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I would like to nominate this photo
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
01-01-2021, 05:48 PM
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I would like to nominate this photo
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
01-01-2021, 05:47 PM
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I would like to nominate this photo
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
01-01-2021, 05:46 PM
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I would like to nominate this photo
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
05-08-2017, 07:37 AM
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The colour and the light on individual droplets lifts this above the ordinary. Nominate.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
05-08-2017, 07:36 AM
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Great light, great water, great mood. Nominate.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
05-08-2017, 07:35 AM
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Amazing natural light... presumably. Nominate.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
05-08-2017, 07:34 AM
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This really is a photo of flowing water... it looks wet! Nominate.
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
11-09-2016, 09:02 AM
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
11-09-2016, 09:00 AM
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
11-09-2016, 08:59 AM
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
11-09-2016, 08:59 AM
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Forum: Pentax Film SLR Discussion
05-03-2011, 08:19 AM
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Thanks BillM.
Since my original post I've got my last film back from the camera (before I gave it away) and found that the last few frames suffered a wind-on problem - they overlap slightly. I guess either:
- The film had got sticky having been in the camera for some time,
- The camera wind-on had got a bit sticky, which may or may not sort itself out (or need a service) or
- The wind cog had (as sometimes reported) got brittle and failed when I took the camera out of "moth balls"
I will see how my friend got on with a second attempt to load the camera, and maybe recommend a service - which might not be economic on a camera I just gave him (he's on a fairly tight budget).
Thanks
Simon
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Forum: Pentax Film SLR Discussion
04-27-2011, 03:34 AM
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I have just given an old MZ-M to a friend and typically he has immediately got a problem I don't remember seeing before.
Before I gave it to him I just finished up an ancient film in it. I rewound fine. I told him I didn't know the state of the battery, so he has replaced it.
On loading a film (I wasn't there, so I don't know if he did anything wrong) it wound on to "1" then immediately rewound.
Any ideas whether it might be user error (what could it be) or a problem with the camera?
Thanks
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-12-2009, 03:11 AM
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@opiedog - No, the problem didn't start at one year. It has always done it. I just didn't think of it as a major problem. I thought the K-7 SDM support might be a little more advanced than the K10D which was a retrofit. I had a small hope that things might get better but it appears they haven't, so I thought I'd just ask the question to see whether it's a universal design issue or a problem on some examples. I'm still happy to live with it - the lens is otherwise fine. I am not sure it's a mechanical "sticking" problem, I suspect a belief by some part of the system that it's either in focus or unfocusable when it's not.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-11-2009, 09:08 AM
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@opiedog - my 16-50 isn't new (about a year old IIRC), so it's possible that if it is a problem it doesn't exist in new lenses. In any case I'd class it more as a minor annoyance than a serious problem. It only becomes anything like serious if I'm shooting action, which isn't all that frequent. YMMV
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-11-2009, 08:31 AM
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Thanks to all so far. I will certainly have to see whether my new 50-135 is better than the 16-50 in this respect. If it is then I know what to pursue.
@maxwell1295 - until I bought my new body at the weekend, I had only tried the 16-50 on the K10D. Since I traded it in I can't put the lens back on that body. When I first used the K-7 I thought the problem was over for a while, then I found a situation where it happened all again. So, yes, I have tried it on two different bodies with similar results.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-11-2009, 06:07 AM
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I realise auto-focus isn't perfect and in low contrast situations it won't always be able to get a fix. I'm perfectly happy to switch to MF in most situations.
I had a K10D, originally with the kit 18-55 which I later "replaced" with the DA* 16-50. I just replaced the K10D with a K-7 (trading in the K10D and 18-55). I have just received the DA* 50-135 - really just received, so I haven't tried it yet.
The K-7 18-55 combination (i.e. not SDM) hunts when it has difficulty getting focus. Sometimes the hunt won't get a lock, but other times it will. Using the 16-50 (SDM) with either the K10D or the K-7 in single focus mode it sometimes just sits there doing nothing when the shutter is half pressed. When there's no contrast at the focus point I can understand this, and sometimes moving to focus on a hard edge does the trick (and that's fine), but other times it refuses to move, wherever I point it.
I have two workarounds: the first is to use the focusing ring to defocus the lens (e.g. set it to closest focus); the second is to put my hand right in front of the lens and get it to focus on that (it usually works). Then I return to what I was trying to focus on and it usually locks in.
The workarounds aren't perfect and often it would be quicker and easier to focus by hand (except that I would also need to select MF), but that isn't what annoys me. Its mainly the fact that the lens will sit slightly out of focus with the focus light flashing and refusing to move.
Is this normal, am I doing something wrong, or is it my 16-50 (I may exclude that when I try the new 50-135)?
Thanks
Simon
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-05-2007, 02:14 AM
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ISO is a perfectly legitimate dimension to play with. I wonder what benefits can be found with digital.
One photographer I used to know swore by using fast film in hot (sunny) countries. It provided less contrast than slow film and he found it dealt with the dynamic range better.
Of course you might use a fast film (probably b&w) in bright conditions to generate atmosphere from grain "like golf balls".
And using slow film in low light conditions (with a tripod) is something I do quite often to achieve a high quality result.
...but as I said. What benefit is there in playing with ISO in digital? High and low noise (grain) of course; scope for controlling depth of field... but is there any change in contrast, or any other less obvious attributes?
Simon
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
03-29-2007, 03:40 AM
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The article was talking about in-camera sharpening of jpegs. It was targetted mainly at users of P&S cameras, but I was extending it's meaning to the current debate around C/N sharpening and Pentax.
When you apply sharpening (say unsharp mask for the sake of argument) it increases contrast on any "edge" it can find. Without judicious use of "clipping" that can mean that texture is "enhanced" as well as edges, or worse, it may find edges where you don't even want texture. The quick way of getting round this is to increase "clipping" until only the edges are picked up.
A more advanced way is to create a mask layer based on finding edges in the original image (you'll need to increase its contrast of the mask, touch out any "edges" you don't want sharpening, and blur it to produce a more natural effect), then apply sharpening to the masked image and it will only be applied to the edges you want sharpening.
That was a very abbreviated description of the process. I hope it makes sense.
Simon
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-27-2007, 02:46 AM
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...but there is (or at least need be) no evidence in the resulting image to indicate which package you used to arrive at it. It would be very similar to stipulating the use of Microsoft Word to produce a text file (as opposed to a Word format .doc).
If I really needed "Photoshop" in the EXIF (and I can't think why) I could either fake it, or run the image through Elements at the last moment.
I wouldn't want anything to do with an HTML file that had been produced by any Microsoft application (including FrontPage) because they're mess, but providing the result was neat (impossible in Microsoft) I wouldn't know or care where it had come from. It has to be the same with image files.
I know, I am being naive, but equally, to think there is no way you can give the impression of using Photoshop while using a "favourite" package is lacking in thought.
Simon
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
03-19-2007, 05:27 AM
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I thought someone might pick up on that - it's a good one :D
Simon
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
03-18-2007, 04:57 PM
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Here's a short article that might indirectly help us to understand where Pentax is coming from with their K10D sharpening strategy: Quick Tip: Use 'Low Sharpening'
Simon
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-08-2007, 02:05 PM
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Nothing new from me. To summarise...
- Open DNG
- Select "Gray pojnt setting"
- Click on image
- Application crashes with previously reported error.
I downloaded UFRaw which works fine, though I haven't really used it much yet - I was shooting mainly in JPEG until my exposure lock button stopped working, so the K10D is now in for warranty repair.
When I first found the PPL problem I sent a message to Pentax, but haven't received a reply.
Simon
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