Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
You know the highest point in Belgium is 694 meters or 2277 feet if I'm not mistaken. Netherlands is even worse: 322.5 meters :) 2005/5/25, Graywolf [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Haven't read that cute article, but have been in Kansas. Looks flat, but that is illusion. Get out of your car and walk about some. Quit a bit of up and down there. Also the western end is a bit higher than the eastern end, only about 3000 feet however (750/3750). I believe the hightest point in Kansas is about 4000 ASL, so you should have no problem with that microdrive. grin graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- P. J. Alling wrote: Better than Kansas which is flatter than a pancake... http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume9/v9i3/kansas.html Thibouille wrote: Well, actually not. Belgium is as flat as 40mm pancake :) -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ... 2005/5/24, Shel Belinkoff [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Which was exactly the point of the post. Some people don't know about the limitations of the drives, and many people who live at lower elevations take trips and vacations into the mountains. In many parts of the world that means elevations above 9000 feet. Just driving around the western part of the US puts you at higher elevations frequently. I believe Thibouille lives in or near a mountainous area and the post was a heads-up if he does and is considering using a microdrive. You seem to have a problem with my posting the information. Shel [Original Message] From: Tom C [EMAIL PROTECTED] So don't use it in those applications... that specification does not equate with 'don't work well'. For you who lives essentially at sea level, it wouldn't be a problem. Luminous Landscape has an article regarding microdrive usage. http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/4gb-hitachi.shtml Tom C. From: Shel Belinkoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: RE: CF card: normal or Microdrive? Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 08:47:13 -0700 Microdrives don't work well, and may even fail to work, at high altitudes, above 9,000 feet. From IBM: The Microdrive does need AIR to float the heads and typically above 10,000 ft the mass of the air is too low and the drive requires a pressurized environment similar to an aircraft or spacecraft. At high altitude the air bearings begin to loose support from the air molecules needed to provide the air bearing for the Negative Air Bearing Surface (NABS) design of the head. If this air bearing is removed or lowered (as is the case with low density air at high altitudes) the head damages the media and you could have loss of data. The drive is vented to maintain equal pressure inside and outside to provide the air and to maintain the same pressure. This eliminates the need for sealed and rigid covers that can tolerate pressure differences. The OEM Functional specification defines the warranty range for operating altitude as 3,000 M or 9,000 ft (3ft/M) Shel From: Thibouille I guess normal is: * faster ? * less power consumption while Microdrive is: * cheaper :D While I'm at it, does High Speed card really matter in a D/Ds? Or is it only useful when reading back in a card reader on the Computer? -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005 -- -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ...
Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ...
SV: 13 Days with Pentax
This lock-up was happening to my ist-D as well. Around the tenth time it locked-up for good and I had to send it in for repairs. It was the motherboard that flaked out on me and it cost me something like $300. Paul Eriksson -Ursprungligt meddelande- Från: Cesar [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Skickat: den 25 maj 2005 05:13 Till: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Ämne: Re: 13 Days with Pentax Kevin, I will be interested what they tell you about the faulty camera. My original *ist D has done this on two occasions. It has worked well since the last time. The last removal of the battery that worked was for more than a day. César Panama City, Florida Kevin Waterson wrote: Just re-subscribed after a 13 Day photo shoot of Dance. The Dance was an Eisteddfod of dance with a mix of Ballet, tap, jazz, cultural, contemporary and others. My job was to capture each act digitally for sale during the Eisteddfod. Equipment 2 x *istD 1 x 70-200mm 2.8 Tamaron AF 1 x 50mm 1.4 Pentax AF Store full of rechargable batteries 6 x 512 CF Cards 1 X iBook 1 x Server with 250 gig external drive 2 x terminals for public veiwing. On setting up our computer network we discovered the wireless connection would not work in the theatre, so we had to get some cat5 cable and run this from the laptop to the server, about 80 meters. The set up was that I would take the photo's in the theatre and download the CF cards down to the server in the foyer. This worked well. This was the day before the Day 1. Day 1. We were not given any time to test the lighting and so the first photo was yellow as the auto WB could not cope with the tungsten lights. A quick switch to tungsten manually fixed this and the photos looked good. At 2.8 I was able to shoot at 1/350 but after a word with the lighting techs we were able to shoot 1600 ISO, 2.8, 1/750. This was great and we were off and running. Day 2. CF card crashed but we were able to regain all the data exept 4 files that were corrupt. Later, it happened again and I formatted all the cards and made sure fully charged batteries were used for each session, 3 per day, and that the CF cards were formatted for each session. There were no more CF card problems after this. Day 3. The *istD locked up. I turned it on, off, shook it, yelled at it but no response. I removed the batteries and put them back in and away it went again with no problem until about an hour later when it happened again. Same remedy to fix it. This was not good, so I switched to the back-up body and it lasted well for the rest of the days till the end. The network worked like a charm and the customers could order thier prints after viewing them on the terminals in foyer. The *istD that failed is now in the hands of C.R.Kennedy for repair. The other body is still functioning normally. In all over 45,000 photos during the 13 days. The days were 12-15 hours long and it is good to be back home with the family. I am sorry I cannot provide samples as it is part of the contract not to put any of the images on the net, some of the childrens sessions are very young and in very small costumes. In all, a successful and profitable trip. Does this make the *istD a 'Pro' level camera? Kind regards Kevin
Re: Another GFM photo
On 24/5/05, frank theriault, discombobulated, unleashed: My portfolio is quite small right now, the best part of it is currently hanging on a wall at a cafe in Kingston: http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3393035size=lg I'll bring it, but I may not even show it to anyone, it'll be so embarrassing... Wouldn't it be easier to ship the GFMers to the cafe? ;-) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
Hi! Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. Thibouille, there a special green button *on top* of D that you have to press in order to close the aperture and perform metering... The integrated flash seems to be proper TTL flash, yes... HTH. -- Boris
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
On 24/5/05, John Francis, discombobulated, unleashed: I'm considering buying a 2GB CF card now that prices have dropped. BH offer me: Sandisk $146.95 Sandisk Ultra II (60x)$179.95 Sandisk Extreme $199.95 Sandisk Extreme III $219.95 Adorama also have: Delkin Pro$199.95 Lexar (80x WA)$209.95 Does anyone have any recommendations (for or against?) Will the Ultra II be faster than the basic Sandisk? I have a 2 gig Lexar 80x and no problems to report at all. Worked flawlessly despite: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0505/05052001canonlexaralert.asp I would buy again. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Who started the enablement here anyway?
On 24/5/05, Mark Roberts, discombobulated, unleashed: Seriously, I doubt that I'm responsible for more than 75% of the trouble on this list. 80% tops. What about Cotty? He's a good 20%, anyway... He's good for much more than that. I think between the two of you, you and Cotty are responsible for 150% of the trouble on the list... Are you suggesting that knarf or Cotty are responsible? Doh! slaps head What *was* I thinking! Can't be me - my father always told me I was totally irresponsible. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
cheap? M 85mm f2 at www.kamera-express.nl
Hi all, at www.kamera-express.nl they have an M 85mm f2 for 175 euro. I'm not sure if thats cheap, but maybe someone is looking for one. They ship abroad. They're reliable, I buy most of my stuff at this shop. I think Jostein bought an A* 200mm f4 macro there. I'm not interested, because I have the K 85m f1.8 and A* 85mm f1.4 :-)) Frank
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
Maybe, maybe not... http://www.mindspring.com/~webster26/cfcardassnack.html But did it still work? http://www.sandisk.com/pressrelease/20040823.htm This one did: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4293123.stm Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
Boris Liberman wrote: Hi! Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. Thibouille, there a special green button *on top* of D that you have to press in order to close the aperture and perform metering... And for the DS, it's the AE-L button. Easy as. The integrated flash seems to be proper TTL flash, yes... HTH. -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.iinet.net.au/~derbyc
Re: Who started the enablement here anyway?
On 24/5/05, frank theriault, discombobulated, unleashed: Seriously, I doubt that I'm responsible for more than 75% of the trouble on this list. 80% tops. What about Cotty? He's a good 20%, anyway... Yeah but no but yeah but no but yeah but what happened was right like Shel posted this picture right and I was like oh my god yeah right and then Frank said you must be joking right and I said well I'm not having that right and then before you know it William's at it again right and oh my god it was like unbelievable and anyway he doesn't know nothing right and anyway everyone knows it's all Robb Studdert's fault right...shut up! Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
On 24/5/05, William Robb, discombobulated, unleashed: I am sort of wondering what to bring. I am flying from Regina to (I think) Minneapolis, and then from there to Charlotte on June 2nd, renting a vehicle and driving to GFM. I prefer to not check luggage, though I suspect I will have to check a suitcase. Any comments will be read, probably not responded to. Thanks Well, I flew in last year and then took a road trip with 4 others (including a carsick Australian muppet). I was pretty happy with what I brought - here's some tips: Make sure you bring a macro lens - there's lots of flaura and fauna. If you intend to do the competition, bring a film camera *and a loupe* !!! Bring a flash - after a few drinks, the beer demands some photographic larking about. If camping, and follically-challenged on top of the head, bring a woolly hat for sleeping in. Facilities are basic in the extreme for campers. There is a small toilet block, but some bottled water could be useful. Buy some beer and snacks - you'll be popular. If Bill Owens offers you some cherry ale, accept it - but be warned, he will be lurking and readily approaches with a refill ;-) Access from the camping area to the auditorium / restaurant / animal habitats area is by car. They discourage walking on the access road to keep pedestrians and vehicles apart. There is a trail up there, but you'll drive or catch a ride with someone. It takes less than 2 minutes to drive but it's a steep walk and who wants to arrive sweaty and wheezing. In the auditorium, sit near a door - it can get warm in there. In the restaurant, hope you like 'grits' ! If you're into hiking out, get Mark Roberts to take you on an exciting excursion high up onto the mountain. I regret not doing this, but the social aspect of just hanging out with the gang was too much of a draw. In the end I just wandered about the animal habitats, which is okay, and much fun with a long lens, but if i can make it next year, I will beg Mark for a tour. Apparently not for those with a fear of steep drops. You'll have a ball and it will all be over far too soon. Trouble is, next year you'll be in my situation - reading about folks now prepping to go along and the draw to go along is very very strong. Enjoy! Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: PESO: Revisiting the Bird
Thanks Tom. It seems unanimous. I'm glad I asked rather than replacing the original. However, I'll probably delete both after a few days. I was in love with the wing motion, and I like the composition. But in truth, the bad exposure dooms the shot. This is an example where shooting RAW didn't save me. Shadow detail can't always be salvaged from an underexposed shot. Paul On May 24, 2005, at 10:48 PM, Tom C wrote: Hi Paul... I prefer the 1st version... I think the eye, the visible specular highlight in it, makes it more appealing. My $.02. We've got Orange Grosbeaks right now and Evening Grosbeaks in the autumn and winter. Tom C. From: Paul Stenquist [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: PESO: Revisiting the Bird Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 21:20:16 -0400 I haven't been able to process my photo of that Point Pelee Red Breasted Grosbeak in a way that pleases me completely. The original was underexposed by about a stop because I had thought I was going to be shooting him against leaves rather than open sky. (I should have locked in a manual exposure.) Anyway, i've had a tough time pulling detail out of the black feathers without causing a lot of noise and general ugliness. I went back for a second and third attempt. I think the new one is a bit of an improvement even though there is less detail. Am I right? Here's the original, which I posted a couple of days ago: http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3387050size=lg Here's the new version: http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3393350size=lg Should I delete the old version, the new version or both? Paul
Re: PESO: From my trip to Honduras.
That's fun. I like it. Paul On May 24, 2005, at 10:57 PM, Cesar wrote: A former lurker on this list stopped by the other day. She wants me to shoot her wedding. She is intimately aware of my 'style' and likes it, and is willing to wait until I am available to plan the wedding - humbling indeed. She looked at my digital shots from my three-week trip to Honduras with my father. The shot below she really liked and said I should post it so the list could see it: http://www.fotocommunity.com/pc/pc/cat/144/display/3195869 There is another shot she liked better and I hope to get it up shortly. Since I rarely post, I hope you don't mind a few quick image postings... :-) Maybe I can post a digital image while I am in south florida this weekend, César Panama City, Florida
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
Thibouille, Not the DOF button, which is the same collar around the release button that you turn off the camera with. Same design as the MZ-S, btw. Metering with pre-A lenses happens when using the Green button. It's located on top of the camera. With A and later lenses, the same button is used in Hyper Program mode to return to the camera-selected combination of aperture and shutter speed. The integrated flash is TTL, yes. It gives TTL also with pre-A lenses, I think. Jostein Quoting Thibouille [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ... This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
Re: 13 Days with Pentax
I had this happen, but I traced it to a battery problem. The set in the battery pack was still good, but the batteries in the camera were on their last legs. Since then I make sure all my batteries are equally discharged, and I remove them at the first sign of quirky behavior or after 2000 shots with lithiums or 900 with nimh. I haven't had any problems since. On May 24, 2005, at 11:13 PM, Cesar wrote: Kevin, I will be interested what they tell you about the faulty camera. My original *ist D has done this on two occasions. It has worked well since the last time. The last removal of the battery that worked was for more than a day. César Panama City, Florida Kevin Waterson wrote: Just re-subscribed after a 13 Day photo shoot of Dance. The Dance was an Eisteddfod of dance with a mix of Ballet, tap, jazz, cultural, contemporary and others. My job was to capture each act digitally for sale during the Eisteddfod. Equipment 2 x *istD 1 x 70-200mm 2.8 Tamaron AF 1 x 50mm 1.4 Pentax AF Store full of rechargable batteries 6 x 512 CF Cards 1 X iBook 1 x Server with 250 gig external drive 2 x terminals for public veiwing. On setting up our computer network we discovered the wireless connection would not work in the theatre, so we had to get some cat5 cable and run this from the laptop to the server, about 80 meters. The set up was that I would take the photo's in the theatre and download the CF cards down to the server in the foyer. This worked well. This was the day before the Day 1. Day 1. We were not given any time to test the lighting and so the first photo was yellow as the auto WB could not cope with the tungsten lights. A quick switch to tungsten manually fixed this and the photos looked good. At 2.8 I was able to shoot at 1/350 but after a word with the lighting techs we were able to shoot 1600 ISO, 2.8, 1/750. This was great and we were off and running. Day 2. CF card crashed but we were able to regain all the data exept 4 files that were corrupt. Later, it happened again and I formatted all the cards and made sure fully charged batteries were used for each session, 3 per day, and that the CF cards were formatted for each session. There were no more CF card problems after this. Day 3. The *istD locked up. I turned it on, off, shook it, yelled at it but no response. I removed the batteries and put them back in and away it went again with no problem until about an hour later when it happened again. Same remedy to fix it. This was not good, so I switched to the back-up body and it lasted well for the rest of the days till the end. The network worked like a charm and the customers could order thier prints after viewing them on the terminals in foyer. The *istD that failed is now in the hands of C.R.Kennedy for repair. The other body is still functioning normally. In all over 45,000 photos during the 13 days. The days were 12-15 hours long and it is good to be back home with the family. I am sorry I cannot provide samples as it is part of the contract not to put any of the images on the net, some of the childrens sessions are very young and in very small costumes. In all, a successful and profitable trip. Does this make the *istD a 'Pro' level camera? Kind regards Kevin
Re: PESO(s) -- The Great Poppy Hunt - Part 1
In a message dated 5/24/2005 10:18:37 PM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Oddly enough, I just loaded this one at 01:17 a.m. EDT ... so they're not totally gone ... TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ Well, I put them back. Sometimes life is elusive as a field of poppies. Or maybe I should say the Internet. Marnie aka Doe ;-)
Re: PESO -- Untitled VI
I like it. Of course I always like shots of pretty girls. But the eye movement makes this one special. Paul On May 24, 2005, at 11:27 PM, P. J. Alling wrote: I took this the local coffee shop. My friend Canon girl is training a new employee. This shot has nothing to do with training. http://www.mindspring.com/~webster26/PESO_--_untitledV.html Pentax *ist-D iso-1600 1/45sec. smc Pentax FA 28-200 f3.8~5.6 @ 50mm f4.5 Some noise reduction applied and sharpening. Yes the focus is a bit off it was a grab, lasted just a fraction of a second. -- A man's only as old as the woman he feels. --Groucho Marx
Re: PAW PESO - Portrait of a Woman in White (REDUX)
Better, but more due to the blurring of the background than the conversion, methinks. Some of the highlights appear to be a bit over the top. Paul On May 25, 2005, at 1:28 AM, Shel Belinkoff wrote: http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/wiwgr.html Frank and a couple of others wanted to see a somewhat different version of this pic, and since i was in a mood to fool around in PS, here's a BW version with, perhaps, a less distracting background. A split channel technique was used for the conversion. That's where a color image is split into its three component channels, which are then stacked one upon the other as layers in a certain order, depending on which channel looks best and the closest to the intended final image on top. Then each channel is adjusted for tonality and light, and blended for opacity, before being flattened into a single layer. You can even discard a channel/layer, as in this case where the blue channel was discarded, leaving the image to be made up of the red and green channels only. The technique offers a lot of control, but is time consuming, and the effort may not be worth the work for some images. Still, it's a nice technique to know. Shel [Original Message] From: frank theriault I find the background rather distracting, especially that bottle of water near her shoulder, and the bright table-top. I think it might have worked if the dof were a bit narrower, to isolate her a bit more from the background. I also find the colours distracting - here's one screaming for bw, IMHO.
Re: PESO: Cat on a Boat on a Trailer
On May 24, 2005, at 10:35 PM, keithw wrote: MY thought was, whose opinion IS that? Do others think that, or do YOU? :-) Just me... I tend to remain pretty quiet when I'm in a bad mood. It helps to keep me out of trouble :) Cheers, - Dave http://www.digistar.com/~dmann/
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
The integrated flash does not do regular TTL with old lenses. It gives you full power, but that's not very hard to gauge if you have to use it. Full power is pretty minimal. I rarely use the on camera flash other than on a whim or in emergencies. But I've found it's pretty simple to estimate a full power exposure with old lenses. I firmly believe that on-camera flashes are by nature useless. Paul On May 25, 2005, at 2:51 AM, Thibouille wrote: Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ...
Re: Who started the enablement here anyway?
Cotty wrote: On 24/5/05, frank theriault, discombobulated, unleashed: Seriously, I doubt that I'm responsible for more than 75% of the trouble on this list. 80% tops. What about Cotty? He's a good 20%, anyway... Yeah but no but yeah but no but yeah but what happened was right like Shel posted this picture right and I was like oh my god yeah right and then Frank said you must be joking right and I said well I'm not having that right and then before you know it William's at it again right and oh my god it was like unbelievable and anyway he doesn't know nothing right and anyway everyone knows it's all Robb Studdert's fault right...shut up! You spent too much time in the San Fernando Valley when you lived here, Cotty! That's ValleyGirlSpeak! :-) keith whaley SoCal Cheers, Cotty
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
I could be wrong about the integrated flash providing full power with old lenses. Someone who has time should check the manual. (I have to go to work.) I know I've used it successfully (more or less) with old lenses, but I thought I was gauging exposure. Of course if it is TTL, I would be gauging exposure correctly every time :-). Paul On May 25, 2005, at 6:23 AM, Paul Stenquist wrote: The integrated flash does not do regular TTL with old lenses. It gives you full power, but that's not very hard to gauge if you have to use it. Full power is pretty minimal. I rarely use the on camera flash other than on a whim or in emergencies. But I've found it's pretty simple to estimate a full power exposure with old lenses. I firmly believe that on-camera flashes are by nature useless. Paul On May 25, 2005, at 2:51 AM, Thibouille wrote: Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ...
RE: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
I've heard the DS doesn't do TTL flash with non-A lenses but my D certainly does. I just tried it again with an old Promaster (non-A) lens. Proper exposure and obvious flash output difference at 2.8, 5.6 and 11. Don -Original Message- From: Paul Stenquist [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 5:24 AM To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure The integrated flash does not do regular TTL with old lenses. It gives you full power, but that's not very hard to gauge if you have to use it. Full power is pretty minimal. I rarely use the on camera flash other than on a whim or in emergencies. But I've found it's pretty simple to estimate a full power exposure with old lenses. I firmly believe that on-camera flashes are by nature useless. Paul On May 25, 2005, at 2:51 AM, Thibouille wrote: Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ...
Re: PESO -- Untitled VI
P. J. Alling wrote: I took this the local coffee shop. My friend Canon girl is training a new employee. This shot has nothing to do with training. http://www.mindspring.com/~webster26/PESO_--_untitledV.html One thing I've noticed... great looking young ladies are getting younger and younger! Some universal truth there, somewhere... BTW, nice shot indeed... keith Pentax *ist-D iso-1600 1/45sec. smc Pentax FA 28-200 f3.8~5.6 @ 50mm f4.5 Some noise reduction applied and sharpening. Yes the focus is a bit off it was a grab, lasted just a fraction of a second.
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
John Francis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm considering buying a 2GB CF card now that prices have dropped. Here's the last one I bought: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=82239 -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
PESO(s) - The Great Poppy Hunt - Part II
These three photos are better than the last three. (I am pretty sure). ...so, frustrated at all the weeds mixed in with the poppies that I shot before, I kept driving around looking for good poppy clumps. Then, while I was in the town of Clayton, scooping out the restored old buildings (some really neat, it's an old town), BINGO, I saw a lovely profusion of poppies... ...in someone's front yard. Naturally I was suspicious that they might have scattered poppy seeds. Gathered them from one year to scatter the next year (I have since found out that one can now buy California poppy seeds). OTOH, there were so many weeds in their yard, it was quite possible that the poppies bloomed there one year, and they decided NOT to weed wack and let them reseed each following year. I couldn't decide. All I could decide was that their neighbors probably hate them because of their weedy yard. OTOH, they luxuriate in a profusion of poppies... I shot a lot of these. I think I picked out the best three. I couldn't decide what was the best of those three. I also couldn't decide if the fence, which I think does add interest, wasn't in a way also subtracting. Subtracting from the poppies by making them look cultivated, like ordinary planted flowers, instead of wildflowers. http://members.aol.com/eactivist/POPPIES/pages/poppyfence1.htm click on the next button for all three or go here for the poppy gallery index page http://members.aol.com/eactivist/POPPIES/ Thoughts and comments welcome. Marnie aka Doe Story/photos to be continued... (Never fear, I am getting caught up with my photo backlogs, and will be out of PESOs soon.)
Re: Who started the enablement here anyway?
That is an excellent show. I highly recommended it. Vicky always gets me laughing. But the adventures of Lou and Andy have me in hysterics. Dave On 5/25/05, Cotty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 25/5/05, keithw, discombobulated, unleashed: You spent too much time in the San Fernando Valley when you lived here, Cotty! That's ValleyGirlSpeak! :-) Keith, I wish you could see Vicky Pollard from 'Little Britain'. If it ever makes PBS, *watch it* http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/littlebritain/characters.shtml Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
A tripod is a must but what kind will depend on whether you're shooting with a 600mm f/4 on a Pentax 67 or a 20mm on an MX. Is there much/any opportunity @ GFM for a 600 on a 35mm body? I've been under the impression that there wasn't. Since the 600 by itself weighs almost as much as all my other equipment, I wasn't planning on bringing it. Kenneth Waller -Original Message- From: Mark Roberts [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am sort of wondering what to bring. I am flying from Regina to (I think) Minneapolis, and then from there to Charlotte on June 2nd, renting a vehicle and driving to GFM. I prefer to not check luggage, though I suspect I will have to check a suitcase. I recommend that you check a suitcase and carry a big load of camera gear :) Cotty's recommendation of a macro lens is a good one. There's huge potential for great macro shots (and if the weather is poor, macro is great to fall back on). Other than that it depends on what you want to shoot, both in terms of subject matter and cameras/lenses. A tripod is a must but what kind will depend on whether you're shooting with a 600mm f/4 on a Pentax 67 or a 20mm on an MX. Subject matter: Wildlife (bring hiking boots and big glass) Animals in captivity (80-200 zoom) Landscapes (15mm up to 300mm) I'd generally stick to primes and go for quality over quantity. Tip: The populated side of Grandfather Mountain is the west and the mountain itself blocks a lot of dawn light until the sun is significantly risen, so sunset usually provides better shooting than sunrise. I hope to counter this by hiking out along the upper trail and camping out at a good east side location on one night to counter this effect. I've done it the past two years and been rained out both times so far... -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com PeoplePC Online A better way to Internet http://www.peoplepc.com
Did I not ask for this?
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0505/05052401thin_lens.asp :0 Sincerely, Collin Sent via the WebMail system at mail.safe-t.net
Re: PAW: Etude in Soft
On 5/25/05, Boris Liberman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I thought you were the anti-focus league leader, Frank :)... Kidding, sorry... Well, I wouldn't say I'm the leader, but focus isn't as important to me as it seems to be for others. To put it another way, a strong enough image that missed focus will often work for me, where others might find it intolerable (I'm talking about images generally, not just my own). Excellent. I am kinda glad that for once my photo did not work for you... It had to happen some time. vbg I suppose quite many soft focus images are controversial, which is a good thing, don't you agree? I don't know that controversy for its own sake is a good or bad thing. I've liked several of the other soft photos that you've shown. One that stands out is a restaurant shot (I think), of an empty chair and table by a window. I recall the very strong geometries, especially of the rectangular window frames. Thanks for your comment. No problem. g cheers, frank -- Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
On 5/25/05, Kenneth Waller [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Is there much/any opportunity @ GFM for a 600 on a 35mm body? I've been under the impression that there wasn't. Since the 600 by itself weighs almost as much as all my other equipment, I wasn't planning on bringing it. The animals in captivity won't require anything that big, but you never know if you'll see some deer, or some little birdy in a tree that might require such a beast. I vote you bring it, just 'cause I want to see it, and it probably looks way cool, and the Nikon and Canon users always have big ostentatious-looking glass, so there should be some Big Pentax Glass there too. cheers, frank -- Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
On 25/5/05, Kenneth Waller, discombobulated, unleashed: Is there much/any opportunity @ GFM for a 600 on a 35mm body? I've been under the impression that there wasn't. Since the 600 by itself weighs almost as much as all my other equipment, I wasn't planning on bringing it. You could get some lovely pics of some of the animals in the habitats. The eagles, otters, bears to name but a few. It's a lot to carry, and you'll be the centre of attention amongst all the Nikon and Canon shooters ;-) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
You'll need some warm clothing, at 5000' msl it can get cool at night. If you have room, bring some rain gear, it seems to rain at least one day every year. Bill - Original Message - From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Pentax Discuss pentax-discuss@pdml.net Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 11:47 PM Subject: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions I am sort of wondering what to bring. I am flying from Regina to (I think) Minneapolis, and then from there to Charlotte on June 2nd, renting a vehicle and driving to GFM. I prefer to not check luggage, though I suspect I will have to check a suitcase. Any comments will be read, probably not responded to. Thanks William Robb
Re: PAW PESO - Portrait of a Woman in White (REDUX)
On 5/25/05, Shel Belinkoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/wiwgr.html Frank and a couple of others wanted to see a somewhat different version of this pic, and since i was in a mood to fool around in PS, here's a BW version with, perhaps, a less distracting background. A split channel technique was used for the conversion. That's where a color image is split into its three component channels, which are then stacked one upon the other as layers in a certain order, depending on which channel looks best and the closest to the intended final image on top. Then each channel is adjusted for tonality and light, and blended for opacity, before being flattened into a single layer. You can even discard a channel/layer, as in this case where the blue channel was discarded, leaving the image to be made up of the red and green channels only. The technique offers a lot of control, but is time consuming, and the effort may not be worth the work for some images. Still, it's a nice technique to know. That works a lot better for me, Shel. Unlike Paul, I think the bw does make a great part of the difference. Part of the distraction of the first one for me was not just the busy background and the bright table top, but the colours. Even with the background blurred as it is now, I think that colours would distract me somewhat (but maybe that's just me). As it is now, I'm spending a lot more time looking at the lady in her situation, which I find very compelling. cheers, frank -- Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Re: PAW: Etude in Soft
Shel Belinkoff wrote: A scosh is a term that means just a little, but by no definite amount. How does it relate to a smidgen? More, less or about the same? ERNR genuinely interested
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
Kenneth Waller asked: Is there much/any opportunity @ GFM for a 600 on a 35mm body? It depends on what you want to shoot. The 600mm would be useful for the bears, eagles and cougar(s?). I've been under the impression that there wasn't. The wildlife habitats are pretty big and the animals don't always cooperate by coming up close. I would bring the lens if you're driving. If you're flying then I understand your reluctance. That's a tough decision to make. Since the 600 by itself weighs almost as much as all my other equipment, I wasn't planning on bringing it. You obviously need much more stuff. Your other equipment to big lens ratio should be at least 4:1 in weight and 3:1 in $$$ spent. Tom Reese
Re: PESO(s) - The Great Poppy Hunt - Part II
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://members.aol.com/eactivist/POPPIES/ Thoughts and comments welcome. I really like these. More detailed response included in private email. ERNR
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
Hello, I think MDs can be pretty tough - friend has the first 1GB version from IBM, purchased when it came out, and it still works after two DSLRs in PJ environment. I think most HDDs have heads that automatically park in emergency position when there is power interruption, and once that happened to him. Thanks to this list we got a quick help, and the drive is still working flawlessly. With todays' DSLRs, 4GB-6GB cards are minimum for RAW files from e.g. D2X or 1DSII, and the Pentax's upcoming 645D as well. Last time I checked, the price difference in these sizes was more like 300$ MD compared to 600-900$ for the CF. And the drives are evolving similarly fast as solid stage. So in my opinion, they are a valid option. Good light! fra
Re: cheap? M 85mm f2 at www.kamera-express.nl
I think that price is about about average for a used lens if it's not particularly beat up. Frank Wajer wrote: Hi all, at www.kamera-express.nl they have an M 85mm f2 for 175 euro. I'm not sure if thats cheap, but maybe someone is looking for one. They ship abroad. They're reliable, I buy most of my stuff at this shop. I think Jostein bought an A* 200mm f4 macro there. I'm not interested, because I have the K 85m f1.8 and A* 85mm f1.4 :-)) Frank -- A man's only as old as the woman he feels. --Groucho Marx
PDML Mini-FAQ
http://www.graywolfphoto.com/pentax/pdml-faq.html Link posted weekly (if I remember). -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005
Re: Re: PAW: Etude in Soft
From: E.R.N. Reed [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 2005/05/25 Wed PM 12:31:44 GMT To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: PAW: Etude in Soft Shel Belinkoff wrote: A scosh is a term that means just a little, but by no definite amount. How does it relate to a smidgen? More, less or about the same? It's a lot more than a smidgen, which in turn is a lot more than a gnat's whisker. ERNR genuinely interested - Email sent from www.ntlworld.com virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
Actually pressing the green button sets the correct shutter speed, basically stop down hyper manual, using the DOF on the *ist-D gives continuous stop down metering as long as the DOF is on in manual mode. It also switches shutter speed to the rear wheel, (thought the front wheel shutter control is still active). Jostein wrote: Thibouille, Not the DOF button, which is the same collar around the release button that you turn off the camera with. Same design as the MZ-S, btw. Metering with pre-A lenses happens when using the Green button. It's located on top of the camera. With A and later lenses, the same button is used in Hyper Program mode to return to the camera-selected combination of aperture and shutter speed. The integrated flash is TTL, yes. It gives TTL also with pre-A lenses, I think. Jostein Quoting Thibouille [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ... This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. -- A man's only as old as the woman he feels. --Groucho Marx
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
If you want to fill the frame at the zoo, or try for wildlife photos, a 600 is not overkill at all. A 400 is only fair. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Kenneth Waller wrote: A tripod is a must but what kind will depend on whether you're shooting with a 600mm f/4 on a Pentax 67 or a 20mm on an MX. Is there much/any opportunity @ GFM for a 600 on a 35mm body? I've been under the impression that there wasn't. Since the 600 by itself weighs almost as much as all my other equipment, I wasn't planning on bringing it. Kenneth Waller -Original Message- From: Mark Roberts [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am sort of wondering what to bring. I am flying from Regina to (I think) Minneapolis, and then from there to Charlotte on June 2nd, renting a vehicle and driving to GFM. I prefer to not check luggage, though I suspect I will have to check a suitcase. I recommend that you check a suitcase and carry a big load of camera gear :) Cotty's recommendation of a macro lens is a good one. There's huge potential for great macro shots (and if the weather is poor, macro is great to fall back on). Other than that it depends on what you want to shoot, both in terms of subject matter and cameras/lenses. A tripod is a must but what kind will depend on whether you're shooting with a 600mm f/4 on a Pentax 67 or a 20mm on an MX. Subject matter: Wildlife (bring hiking boots and big glass) Animals in captivity (80-200 zoom) Landscapes (15mm up to 300mm) I'd generally stick to primes and go for quality over quantity. Tip: The populated side of Grandfather Mountain is the west and the mountain itself blocks a lot of dawn light until the sun is significantly risen, so sunset usually provides better shooting than sunrise. I hope to counter this by hiking out along the upper trail and camping out at a good east side location on one night to counter this effect. I've done it the past two years and been rained out both times so far... -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005
Re: Did I not ask for this?
sooo A 1600-8000 mm zoom, the size of a shrunken DA-40mm, with closest focal point 60 cm? Damn, I will need to invent a new macro tripod...:-) Jostein Quoting Collin Brendemuehl [EMAIL PROTECTED]: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0505/05052401thin_lens.asp :0 Sincerely, Collin Sent via the WebMail system at mail.safe-t.net This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
Well, I can say from experience that experience and knowledge are worth at least as much as a winch to a 4x4'er. Where a tyro will get stuck with all that exotic traction control stuff an expert can often simply drive through in a stock flat-fender jeep. Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Once again skill is worth twice as much as all the expensive toys. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Doug Franklin wrote: On Tue, 24 May 2005 21:21:58 -0600, William Robb wrote: I have a hunch that the people who learn by the old guard 4WD method don't get stuck or rolled as often as those that take off in something like my Titan 4x4 with no 4WD experience. 4WD just means you get stuck farther off the road and have to pay more to get towed out. :-) Kinda like more horsepower just means you hit the wall harder. ;- TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
Since you used Jeep as an example, I must add that an expert in the newest Jeeps with intelligent 4WD can go places an expert in an older Jeep could never go. I've seen it done. The combination of a system that distributes power to the wheels with the most traction, longer suspension travel, and improved suspension geometry has made the Wrangler Rubicon far more capable than any other Jeep ever built. Paul Well, I can say from experience that experience and knowledge are worth at least as much as a winch to a 4x4'er. Where a tyro will get stuck with all that exotic traction control stuff an expert can often simply drive through in a stock flat-fender jeep. Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Once again skill is worth twice as much as all the expensive toys. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Doug Franklin wrote: On Tue, 24 May 2005 21:21:58 -0600, William Robb wrote: I have a hunch that the people who learn by the old guard 4WD method don't get stuck or rolled as often as those that take off in something like my Titan 4x4 with no 4WD experience. 4WD just means you get stuck farther off the road and have to pay more to get towed out. :-) Kinda like more horsepower just means you hit the wall harder. ;- TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
I'm not arguing that if price were no consideration and that if CF and microdrives were equal or close in price, I'd buy CF. It's the fact that their is currently a large disparity in the higher capacity cards/drives that makes microdrives attractive. Tom C. From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive? Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 20:58:06 -0600 - Original Message - From: Tom C Subject: Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive? I'm not buying the wine as an investment though... I'm buying it as an ingestment... You'd still be better off with a CF card instead. William Robb
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
Alright, so I'll go for the D then. 100 euros more than the DS but having a couple older lenses the D is better suited IMO. Will keep you informed when I'll have it :p 2005/5/25, Don Sanderson [EMAIL PROTECTED]: I've heard the DS doesn't do TTL flash with non-A lenses but my D certainly does. I just tried it again with an old Promaster (non-A) lens. Proper exposure and obvious flash output difference at 2.8, 5.6 and 11. Don -Original Message- From: Paul Stenquist [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 5:24 AM To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure The integrated flash does not do regular TTL with old lenses. It gives you full power, but that's not very hard to gauge if you have to use it. Full power is pretty minimal. I rarely use the on camera flash other than on a whim or in emergencies. But I've found it's pretty simple to estimate a full power exposure with old lenses. I firmly believe that on-camera flashes are by nature useless. Paul On May 25, 2005, at 2:51 AM, Thibouille wrote: Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ... -- -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ...
Re: Did I not ask for this?
It's not SMC though... that would probably double the reported thickness of the lens. :) Tom C. From: Jostein [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Did I not ask for this? Date: Wed, 25 May 2005 15:37:45 +0200 sooo A 1600-8000 mm zoom, the size of a shrunken DA-40mm, with closest focal point 60 cm? Damn, I will need to invent a new macro tripod...:-) Jostein Quoting Collin Brendemuehl [EMAIL PROTECTED]: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0505/05052401thin_lens.asp :0 Sincerely, Collin Sent via the WebMail system at mail.safe-t.net This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
While only anecdotal, My 3 year old 1GB microdrive has not been babied for the most part. It was in a PDA in my laptop bag. Car trunk was near packed with the computer bag on top. Slammed trunk shut. Retrieved PDA later. LCD was cracked and it was inoperable. Microdrive still functions flawlessly and was used to restore new PDA of same model . Tom C. From: Frantisek [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net To: Tom C pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive? Date: Wed, 25 May 2005 14:55:30 +0200 Hello, I think MDs can be pretty tough - friend has the first 1GB version from IBM, purchased when it came out, and it still works after two DSLRs in PJ environment. I think most HDDs have heads that automatically park in emergency position when there is power interruption, and once that happened to him. Thanks to this list we got a quick help, and the drive is still working flawlessly. With todays' DSLRs, 4GB-6GB cards are minimum for RAW files from e.g. D2X or 1DSII, and the Pentax's upcoming 645D as well. Last time I checked, the price difference in these sizes was more like 300$ MD compared to 600-900$ for the CF. And the drives are evolving similarly fast as solid stage. So in my opinion, they are a valid option. Good light! fra
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Same holds true with a 4X2 (you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x2 can actually handle) Years ago, my job required me to get certified on a Big Three off road course in a 4X2 pickup truck. Other than a few things I wouldn't try even in a 4X4, the 4X2 acquitted itself with ease. In 1994, I participated in the Baja 1000 and rode in a pre-runner (a well prepped vehicle that could have run the event) as a chase vehicle for most of the event (helping John Swift # 600 Explorer). It was driven by a driver who had finished the Baja several times. Now this was an experience! You could not believe the speed (over 100mph at times) with which negotiated such bad trails. The wheel travel was humongus and it just floated over what would have been obstacles for lesser vehicles. Kenneth Waller -Original Message- From: Graywolf [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations? Well, I can say from experience that experience and knowledge are worth at least as much as a winch to a 4x4'er. Where a tyro will get stuck with all that exotic traction control stuff an expert can often simply drive through in a stock flat-fender jeep. Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Once again skill is worth twice as much as all the expensive toys. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Doug Franklin wrote: On Tue, 24 May 2005 21:21:58 -0600, William Robb wrote: I have a hunch that the people who learn by the old guard 4WD method don't get stuck or rolled as often as those that take off in something like my Titan 4x4 with no 4WD experience. 4WD just means you get stuck farther off the road and have to pay more to get towed out. :-) Kinda like more horsepower just means you hit the wall harder. ;- TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005 PeoplePC Online A better way to Internet http://www.peoplepc.com
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
I forgot to mention that the pre-runner was a 4X2 pickup. Kenneth Waller -Original Message- From: Kenneth Waller [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations? Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Same holds true with a 4X2 (you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x2 can actually handle) Years ago, my job required me to get certified on a Big Three off road course in a 4X2 pickup truck. Other than a few things I wouldn't try even in a 4X4, the 4X2 acquitted itself with ease. In 1994, I participated in the Baja 1000 and rode in a pre-runner (a well prepped vehicle that could have run the event) as a chase vehicle for most of the event (helping John Swift # 600 Explorer). It was driven by a driver who had finished the Baja several times. Now this was an experience! You could not believe the speed (over 100mph at times) with which negotiated such bad trails. The wheel travel was humongus and it just floated over what would have been obstacles for lesser vehicles. Kenneth Waller -Original Message- From: Graywolf [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations? Well, I can say from experience that experience and knowledge are worth at least as much as a winch to a 4x4'er. Where a tyro will get stuck with all that exotic traction control stuff an expert can often simply drive through in a stock flat-fender jeep. Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Once again skill is worth twice as much as all the expensive toys. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Doug Franklin wrote: On Tue, 24 May 2005 21:21:58 -0600, William Robb wrote: I have a hunch that the people who learn by the old guard 4WD method don't get stuck or rolled as often as those that take off in something like my Titan 4x4 with no 4WD experience. 4WD just means you get stuck farther off the road and have to pay more to get towed out. :-) Kinda like more horsepower just means you hit the wall harder. ;- TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005 PeoplePC Online A better way to Internet http://www.peoplepc.com PeoplePC Online A better way to Internet http://www.peoplepc.com
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
Paul are you sure it gives only full power with old lenses, I know the Ds is documented to only give full power but it seems that the D is TTL with old K mount lenses. I don't think I've gotten a bad flash exposure with the internal flash with K mount lenses yet. (I'll have to check). Paul Stenquist wrote: The integrated flash does not do regular TTL with old lenses. It gives you full power, but that's not very hard to gauge if you have to use it. Full power is pretty minimal. I rarely use the on camera flash other than on a whim or in emergencies. But I've found it's pretty simple to estimate a full power exposure with old lenses. I firmly believe that on-camera flashes are by nature useless. Paul On May 25, 2005, at 2:51 AM, Thibouille wrote: Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ... -- A man's only as old as the woman he feels. --Groucho Marx
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
- Original Message - From: Tom C Subject: Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive? I'm not arguing that if price were no consideration and that if CF and microdrives were equal or close in price, I'd buy CF. It's the fact that their is currently a large disparity in the higher capacity cards/drives that makes microdrives attractive. I'm not arguing price consideration at all. If you were saying French or California or Oregon wine, I'd be with you all the way. William Robb
Re: Re: Did I not ask for this?
From: Jostein [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 2005/05/25 Wed PM 01:37:45 GMT To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Did I not ask for this? sooo A 1600-8000 mm zoom, the size of a shrunken DA-40mm, with closest focal point 60 cm? Damn, I will need to invent a new macro tripod...:-) Jostein I get the impression that is digital. Wonder what the pixel count is? Quoting Collin Brendemuehl [EMAIL PROTECTED]: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0505/05052401thin_lens.asp :0 Sincerely, Collin Sent via the WebMail system at mail.safe-t.net This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. - Email sent from www.ntlworld.com virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information
Re: Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 2005/05/25 Wed PM 01:52:43 GMT To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations? Since you used Jeep as an example, I must add that an expert in the newest Jeeps with intelligent 4WD can go places an expert in an older Jeep could never go. I've seen it done. The combination of a system that distributes power to the wheels with the most traction, longer suspension travel, and improved suspension geometry has made the Wrangler Rubicon far more capable than any other Jeep ever built. Paul You say that as if it is a good thing. Oh, 8-) Well, I can say from experience that experience and knowledge are worth at least as much as a winch to a 4x4'er. Where a tyro will get stuck with all that exotic traction control stuff an expert can often simply drive through in a stock flat-fender jeep. Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Once again skill is worth twice as much as all the expensive toys. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Doug Franklin wrote: On Tue, 24 May 2005 21:21:58 -0600, William Robb wrote: I have a hunch that the people who learn by the old guard 4WD method don't get stuck or rolled as often as those that take off in something like my Titan 4x4 with no 4WD experience. 4WD just means you get stuck farther off the road and have to pay more to get towed out. :-) Kinda like more horsepower just means you hit the wall harder. ;- TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005 - Email sent from www.ntlworld.com virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information
Possible Image Tank Solution
This may become my image tank solution for trips this summer. http://www.averatec.com/notebooks/1000series.htm It's a notebook computer. 10.6 screen, 80GB hard drive, CD burner, 3.3 lbs (before AC adapter). While not something I'd take out on a hike, having it available to download images, burn backup CD's, and view images might be handy. I have a 250GB USB drive I could take with it as a third archiving option. I hope it's available witha DVD burner sometime soon as I'd prefer to burn DVD's over CDs's. I hope to have enough CF/microdrive capacity to shoot all day then download/backup at night. I envision possibly 4 - 8GB a day for 10 days running, plus my wife's and son's Optios. Expensive for an image tank, but maybe the best solution for a long trip so far. Tom C.
Re: semi OT - mystery polarizer - and wants
Kenneth Waller wrote: Ann, if your Cokin A polarizer is not scratched, I'll trade you for a used off- brand (its a spare cause I popped for the pentax SMC) 58mm polarizer. Say yea and I'll bting it to GFM. Kenneth Waller DEAL! It isn't scratched - I'll try to keep it that way til I get to GFM :) ann - Original Message - From: Henri Toivonen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: semi OT - mystery polarizer - and wants Ann Sanfedele wrote: anyone know what this guy fits on??? http://users.rcn.com/annsan/mysterypolarizer.jpg it has no threads - just the outside gear notches that you see here. diameter is roughly 2 1/8 and say doesn't anyone have second hand 58mm pol for me? ann Cokin A Have one of those. /Henri
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
Hah! :) I've taken a liking to several Italian Pinot Grigios. On a hot summer evening, very well chilled, with some fresh blueberries and some Blueberry Stilton cheese... friends from Canada that never come to visit, I have rarely enjoyed anything more. Tom C. From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive? Date: Wed, 25 May 2005 08:23:04 -0600 - Original Message - From: Tom C Subject: Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive? I'm not arguing that if price were no consideration and that if CF and microdrives were equal or close in price, I'd buy CF. It's the fact that their is currently a large disparity in the higher capacity cards/drives that makes microdrives attractive. I'm not arguing price consideration at all. If you were saying French or California or Oregon wine, I'd be with you all the way. William Robb
Monopod height increase
Very slack at work so far today and the weather is nice so I've been out on the patio with the gear. I took a few shots of birds with the monopod but I was getting increasingly tired of stooping to look through the viewfinder. So, in time-honoured tradition, I modified it. The monopod, not the stoop. It's a Manfrotto 681B and I stood it on some plantpots (very British :-) to see how much more height I really needed. Actually 5 inches plus! Into the garage to rifle through the piles of detritus. Readers may be reminded of the time I went in there with an old coffee table and came out an hour later with a lengthened custom grip for my LX/motordrive/ni- cad combo. So I find a bag of metal tube sections, originally intended to support a fabric back garden gazebo. Said gazebo fabric is currently in use on its predecessor's tubing, so it looked like this was a good candidate. I found a decent diameter piece, quickly baptised it, and rummaged for the hacksaw. The lower leg of the Manfrotto is simple tubular steel, open-ended, with a rubber foot at the bottom. Luck would have it that the piece of gazebo tubing I had was the same diameter, but crucially with a narrow constriction on one end, ready for insertion into an identical piece, ostensibly to keep that shade-producing gazebo nice and high off the ground. I removed the rubber foot from the Manfrotto and tried the constriction in the end - sure it was going to fit, but a bit on the tight side. Hacksaw at the ready, I shortened the tubing to the right length, and the cut 2 vertical slots into the narrow part, for the entire length of the constriction. This would ensure a clean slide into the monopod lower leg, but not necessarily keep it there. I had plenty of tubing pieces, but only one monopod - had to get it right but couldn't practice. One shot only... If brains were dynamite, I wouldn't have enough to blow my ears off, but even I figured out how to lock the tubing in place. Broom handle. A short section cut to length and taper slightly so that it was just a tad larger in diameter than the narrow tubing section. All parts ready to go and at T-minus ten my cats came to watch as obviously this was going to be entertaining. The tubing was positioned and slid an inch into the monopod leg but would go no further without help. Enter our special guest star, the Occasional Heavy Duty Kinetic Persuasion Tool - lump hammer to you and me. A few taps on the tubing and yes it was making progress into the leg. In fact, all the way to the hilt with a satisfying and solid feel. If I smoked, it would be at this point I would light up. I almost decided against the wooden drift to secure the two pieces together, but in the interests of overkill, I pushed on. The peg was placed inside the tubing until making contact with the inside of the constriction at the meeting place between monopod leg and tube extension. A few taps with the hammer onto a socket extension resting on the wood inside the tube and it seated fully home with a good interference fit (great engineering terms, these). That mother is rock solid now. Rubber foot slid on the end and off we went for a test. Boy this is much better - I can have it right up to my eye without bending at all. I sometimes use a hard rubber 2 inch flexible extension which I find useful on long lenses - it allows minute adjustment on the go without fiddling with a ball-head. With that on, I simply reduce the height by a couple of inches and presto. In all, I've added just over 5 inches in height and I'll see how it goes. Might lose an inch again but that's a simple task. The monopod is black and the extension is battleship grey. I was going to paint it but it somehow looks quite good the way it is. Reminds me of something you find poking out of the nose-cone of a military aircraft. Of course, I could have posted a couple of pics and saved all this explanation but it's a nice day and I can't stop the old fingers from hitting that keyboard :-) Time for a cup of tea. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
On 25/5/05, Tom C, discombobulated, unleashed: I've taken a liking to several Italian Pinot Grigios. On a hot summer evening, very well chilled, with some fresh blueberries and some Blueberry Stilton cheese... friends from Canada that never come to visit, I have rarely enjoyed anything more. Snap. Very well chilled ;-) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
On 25/5/05, frank theriault, discombobulated, unleashed: The animals in captivity won't require anything that big, but you never know if you'll see some deer, or some little birdy in a tree that might require such a beast. I dunno Frank - 600mm will get you a cracking head shot of an eagle Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
On 25/5/05, Tom Reese, discombobulated, unleashed: Your other equipment to big lens ratio should be at least 4:1 in weight and 3:1 in $$$ spent. Mark! Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
On 25/5/05, Graywolf, discombobulated, unleashed: Well, I can say from experience that experience and knowledge are worth at least as much as a winch to a 4x4'er. Where a tyro will get stuck with all that exotic traction control stuff an expert can often simply drive through in a stock flat-fender jeep. Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. You leaf-springers don't know what axle articulation is ;-) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
On 25/5/05, Kenneth Waller, discombobulated, unleashed: In 1994, I participated in the Baja 1000 and rode in a pre-runner Dude! bows Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
Here's a little off-road lesson learned the hard way: Engage the transfer case BEFORE you need it. :) Should solve quite a few 4WD difficulties. On 5/25/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Since you used Jeep as an example, I must add that an expert in the newest Jeeps with intelligent 4WD can go places an expert in an older Jeep could never go. I've seen it done. The combination of a system that distributes power to the wheels with the most traction, longer suspension travel, and improved suspension geometry has made the Wrangler Rubicon far more capable than any other Jeep ever built. Paul Well, I can say from experience that experience and knowledge are worth at least as much as a winch to a 4x4'er. Where a tyro will get stuck with all that exotic traction control stuff an expert can often simply drive through in a stock flat-fender jeep. Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Once again skill is worth twice as much as all the expensive toys. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Doug Franklin wrote: On Tue, 24 May 2005 21:21:58 -0600, William Robb wrote: I have a hunch that the people who learn by the old guard 4WD method don't get stuck or rolled as often as those that take off in something like my Titan 4x4 with no 4WD experience. 4WD just means you get stuck farther off the road and have to pay more to get towed out. :-) Kinda like more horsepower just means you hit the wall harder. ;- TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005 -- Scott Loveless http://www.twosixteen.com -- You have to hold the button down -Arnold Newman
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
From: Cotty [EMAIL PROTECTED] You leaf-springers don't know what axle articulation is ;-) Um... Let me guess. It's the sound articulated along the optical axle of a springing leaf-shutter. :-) Jostein
Re: PAW: Etude in Soft
Scosh (or skosh) was picked up by American servicemen around the time of the Korean War. It's derived from the Japanese word sukoshi. The first recorded use of the word was in 1951. It remained a chiefly military term through the 1950s and '60s, and spread into more mainstream usage in the '60s and '70s. I first heard it used in the spring of 1968 by a fellow I met with whom I was working on a photography and printing project. Shel [Original Message] From: Bob Sullivan Hah! It was a term made popular in advertising for blue jeans as the baby boom generation began to get older. The jeans moved away from the lean cowboy cut to a 'scosh more room' in the waist, hips, and thighs...a fuller cut in the fabric. Regards, Bob S. On 5/24/05, Shel Belinkoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: A scosh is a term that means just a little, but by no definite amount. Shel [Original Message] From: Boris Liberman Shel, what is it scosh less???
Re: PAW: Etude in Soft
Both terms mean about the same, although smidgeon (sometimes spelled smidgen) means a tiny, almost undetectable amount, is usually a scosh. Shel [Original Message] From: E.R.N. Reed A scosh is a term that means just a little, but by no definite amount. How does it relate to a smidgen? More, less or about the same? ERNR genuinely interested
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
Ordered :D 2005/5/25, Thibouille [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Alright, so I'll go for the D then. 100 euros more than the DS but having a couple older lenses the D is better suited IMO. Will keep you informed when I'll have it :p 2005/5/25, Don Sanderson [EMAIL PROTECTED]: I've heard the DS doesn't do TTL flash with non-A lenses but my D certainly does. I just tried it again with an old Promaster (non-A) lens. Proper exposure and obvious flash output difference at 2.8, 5.6 and 11. Don -Original Message- From: Paul Stenquist [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 5:24 AM To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure The integrated flash does not do regular TTL with old lenses. It gives you full power, but that's not very hard to gauge if you have to use it. Full power is pretty minimal. I rarely use the on camera flash other than on a whim or in emergencies. But I've found it's pretty simple to estimate a full power exposure with old lenses. I firmly believe that on-camera flashes are by nature useless. Paul On May 25, 2005, at 2:51 AM, Thibouille wrote: Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ... -- -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ... -- -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ...
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
Other than that it depends on what you want to shoot, both in terms of subject matter and cameras/lenses. A tripod is a must but what kind will depend on whether you're shooting with a 600mm f/4 on a Pentax 67 or a 20mm on an MX. Bill, i am going to throw a tripod and a monopd in the truck. Its there to borrow if you don't want to lug one around the airport. Dave Subject matter: Wildlife (bring hiking boots and big glass) Animals in captivity (80-200 zoom) Landscapes (15mm up to 300mm) I'd generally stick to primes and go for quality over quantity. Tip: The populated side of Grandfather Mountain is the west and the mountain itself blocks a lot of dawn light until the sun is significantly risen, so sunset usually provides better shooting than sunrise. I hope to counter this by hiking out along the upper trail and camping out at a good east side location on one night to counter this effect. I've done it the past two years and been rained out both times so far... -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
Re: Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
On 25 May 2005 at 14:39, mike wilson wrote: Since you used Jeep as an example, I must add that an expert in the newest Jeeps with intelligent 4WD can go places an expert in an older Jeep could never go. I've seen it done. The combination of a system that distributes power to the wheels with the most traction, longer suspension travel, and improved suspension geometry has made the Wrangler Rubicon far more capable than any other Jeep ever built. Paul You say that as if it is a good thing. Oh, 8-) You'd like the Jeep Hurricane then, it's a go anywhere vehicle powered by two V8 5.7L engines :-) http://www.jeep.com/autoshow/news/hurricane.html Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/ Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998
Re: PAW: Etude in Soft
.. is usually considered to be a scosh smaller than a scosh. Shel [Original Message] From: Shel Belinkoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Date: 5/25/2005 8:47:16 AM Subject: Re: PAW: Etude in Soft Both terms mean about the same, although smidgeon (sometimes spelled smidgen) means a tiny, almost undetectable amount, is usually a scosh. Shel [Original Message] From: E.R.N. Reed A scosh is a term that means just a little, but by no definite amount. How does it relate to a smidgen? More, less or about the same? ERNR genuinely interested
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
On 25/5/05, Kenneth Waller, discombobulated, unleashed: Is there much/any opportunity @ GFM for a 600 on a 35mm body? I've been under the impression that there wasn't. Since the 600 by itself weighs almost as much as all my other equipment, I wasn't planning on bringing it. You could get some lovely pics of some of the animals in the habitats. The eagles, otters, bears to name but a few. It's a lot to carry, and you'll be the centre of attention amongst all the Nikon and Canon shooters ;-) Cheers, Cotty Great, now i gotta find room for the D1 and the 170-500.vbg My long piece of Pentax glass is the Sigma 300. It will have to do as i have yet to buy the tele. Dave ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: PESO(s) - The Great Poppy Hunt - Part II (New)
In a message dated 5/25/2005 4:57:36 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The asymetry of the second shot make it the best to me. Regards, Bob S. == Thanks, Bob. I like that one too. On 5/25/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: These three photos are better than the last three. (I am pretty sure). ...so, frustrated at all the weeds mixed in with the poppies that I shot before, I kept driving around looking for good poppy clumps. Then, while I was in the town of Clayton, scooping out the restored old buildings (some really neat, it's an old town), BINGO, I saw a lovely profusion of poppies... ...in someone's front yard. Naturally I was suspicious that they might have scattered poppy seeds. Gathered them from one year to scatter the next year (I have since found out that one can now buy California poppy seeds). OTOH, there were so many weeds in their yard, it was quite possible that the poppies bloomed there one year, and they decided NOT to weed wack and let them reseed each following year. I couldn't decide. All I could decide was that their neighbors probably hate them because of their weedy yard. OTOH, they luxuriate in a profusion of poppies... I shot a lot of these. I think I picked out the best three. I couldn't decide what was the best of those three. I also couldn't decide if the fence, which I think does add interest, wasn't in a way also subtracting. Subtracting from the poppies by making them look cultivated, like ordinary planted flowers, instead of wildflowers. http://members.aol.com/eactivist/POPPIES/pages/poppyfence1.htm click on the next button for all three or go here for the poppy gallery index page http://members.aol.com/eactivist/POPPIES/ Thoughts and comments welcome. Marnie aka Doe Story/photos to be continued... (Never fear, I am getting caught up with my photo backlogs, and will be out of PESOs soon.)
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
Engage the transfer case BEFORE you need it. Ditto the manual hubs. Kenneth Waller -Original Message- From: Scott Loveless [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: May 25, 2005 11:21 AM To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations? Here's a little off-road lesson learned the hard way: Engage the transfer case BEFORE you need it. :) Should solve quite a few 4WD difficulties. On 5/25/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Since you used Jeep as an example, I must add that an expert in the newest Jeeps with intelligent 4WD can go places an expert in an older Jeep could never go. I've seen it done. The combination of a system that distributes power to the wheels with the most traction, longer suspension travel, and improved suspension geometry has made the Wrangler Rubicon far more capable than any other Jeep ever built. Paul Well, I can say from experience that experience and knowledge are worth at least as much as a winch to a 4x4'er. Where a tyro will get stuck with all that exotic traction control stuff an expert can often simply drive through in a stock flat-fender jeep. Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Once again skill is worth twice as much as all the expensive toys. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Doug Franklin wrote: On Tue, 24 May 2005 21:21:58 -0600, William Robb wrote: I have a hunch that the people who learn by the old guard 4WD method don't get stuck or rolled as often as those that take off in something like my Titan 4x4 with no 4WD experience. 4WD just means you get stuck farther off the road and have to pay more to get towed out. :-) Kinda like more horsepower just means you hit the wall harder. ;- TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.16 - Release Date: 5/24/2005 -- Scott Loveless http://www.twosixteen.com -- You have to hold the button down -Arnold Newman PeoplePC Online A better way to Internet http://www.peoplepc.com
Re: Monopod height increase
LOL. Awesome. It sounds like you're ready to start producing and selling these custom extensions for tall men. Did the cats like the show? rg Cotty wrote: Very slack at work so far today and the weather is nice so I've been out on the patio with the gear. I took a few shots of birds with the monopod but I was getting increasingly tired of stooping to look through the viewfinder. So, in time-honoured tradition, I modified it. The monopod, not the stoop. It's a Manfrotto 681B and I stood it on some plantpots (very British :-) to see how much more height I really needed. Actually 5 inches plus! Into the garage to rifle through the piles of detritus. Readers may be reminded of the time I went in there with an old coffee table and came out an hour later with a lengthened custom grip for my LX/motordrive/ni- cad combo. So I find a bag of metal tube sections, originally intended to support a fabric back garden gazebo. Said gazebo fabric is currently in use on its predecessor's tubing, so it looked like this was a good candidate. I found a decent diameter piece, quickly baptised it, and rummaged for the hacksaw. The lower leg of the Manfrotto is simple tubular steel, open-ended, with a rubber foot at the bottom. Luck would have it that the piece of gazebo tubing I had was the same diameter, but crucially with a narrow constriction on one end, ready for insertion into an identical piece, ostensibly to keep that shade-producing gazebo nice and high off the ground. I removed the rubber foot from the Manfrotto and tried the constriction in the end - sure it was going to fit, but a bit on the tight side. Hacksaw at the ready, I shortened the tubing to the right length, and the cut 2 vertical slots into the narrow part, for the entire length of the constriction. This would ensure a clean slide into the monopod lower leg, but not necessarily keep it there. I had plenty of tubing pieces, but only one monopod - had to get it right but couldn't practice. One shot only... If brains were dynamite, I wouldn't have enough to blow my ears off, but even I figured out how to lock the tubing in place. Broom handle. A short section cut to length and taper slightly so that it was just a tad larger in diameter than the narrow tubing section. All parts ready to go and at T-minus ten my cats came to watch as obviously this was going to be entertaining. The tubing was positioned and slid an inch into the monopod leg but would go no further without help. Enter our special guest star, the Occasional Heavy Duty Kinetic Persuasion Tool - lump hammer to you and me. A few taps on the tubing and yes it was making progress into the leg. In fact, all the way to the hilt with a satisfying and solid feel. If I smoked, it would be at this point I would light up. I almost decided against the wooden drift to secure the two pieces together, but in the interests of overkill, I pushed on. The peg was placed inside the tubing until making contact with the inside of the constriction at the meeting place between monopod leg and tube extension. A few taps with the hammer onto a socket extension resting on the wood inside the tube and it seated fully home with a good interference fit (great engineering terms, these). That mother is rock solid now. Rubber foot slid on the end and off we went for a test. Boy this is much better - I can have it right up to my eye without bending at all. I sometimes use a hard rubber 2 inch flexible extension which I find useful on long lenses - it allows minute adjustment on the go without fiddling with a ball-head. With that on, I simply reduce the height by a couple of inches and presto. In all, I've added just over 5 inches in height and I'll see how it goes. Might lose an inch again but that's a simple task. The monopod is black and the extension is battleship grey. I was going to paint it but it somehow looks quite good the way it is. Reminds me of something you find poking out of the nose-cone of a military aircraft. Of course, I could have posted a couple of pics and saved all this explanation but it's a nice day and I can't stop the old fingers from hitting that keyboard :-) Time for a cup of tea. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=|http://www.cottysnaps.com _
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
Should I apply black tape over the name? Grin Kenneth Waller -Original Message- From: frank theriault [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions On 5/25/05, Kenneth Waller [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Is there much/any opportunity @ GFM for a 600 on a 35mm body? I've been under the impression that there wasn't. Since the 600 by itself weighs almost as much as all my other equipment, I wasn't planning on bringing it. The animals in captivity won't require anything that big, but you never know if you'll see some deer, or some little birdy in a tree that might require such a beast. I vote you bring it, just 'cause I want to see it, and it probably looks way cool, and the Nikon and Canon users always have big ostentatious-looking glass, so there should be some Big Pentax Glass there too. cheers, frank -- Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson PeoplePC Online A better way to Internet http://www.peoplepc.com
Re: Who started the enablement here anyway?
On Wed, May 25, 2005 at 12:49:25PM +0100, Cotty wrote: On 25/5/05, keithw, discombobulated, unleashed: You spent too much time in the San Fernando Valley when you lived here, Cotty! That's ValleyGirlSpeak! :-) Keith, I wish you could see Vicky Pollard from 'Little Britain'. If it ever makes PBS, *watch it* http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/littlebritain/characters.shtml BBC America is your friend: http://bbcamerica.com/genre/comedy_games/little_britain/little_britain.jsp
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
Only if it's a white lens. Kenneth Waller wrote: Should I apply black tape over the name? Grin Kenneth Waller -Original Message- From: frank theriault [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions On 5/25/05, Kenneth Waller [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Is there much/any opportunity @ GFM for a 600 on a 35mm body? I've been under the impression that there wasn't. Since the 600 by itself weighs almost as much as all my other equipment, I wasn't planning on bringing it. The animals in captivity won't require anything that big, but you never know if you'll see some deer, or some little birdy in a tree that might require such a beast. I vote you bring it, just 'cause I want to see it, and it probably looks way cool, and the Nikon and Canon users always have big ostentatious-looking glass, so there should be some Big Pentax Glass there too. cheers, frank -- A man's only as old as the woman he feels. --Groucho Marx
Re: PAW: Etude in Soft
I have this hunch that the word came about during WWII - the Japanese word sukoshi (pronounced just about like scosh), means little or small amount - my thinking is that the GI's picked it up from there and it wormed it's way into American english. -- Best regards, Bruce Wednesday, May 25, 2005, 5:31:44 AM, you wrote: ERNR Shel Belinkoff wrote: A scosh is a term that means just a little, but by no definite amount. ERNR How does it relate to a smidgen? More, less or about the same? ERNR ERNR ERNR genuinely interested
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
I took a 300mm last year and felt it was a bit short. -- Best regards, Bruce Wednesday, May 25, 2005, 6:26:29 AM, you wrote: G If you want to fill the frame at the zoo, or try for wildlife G photos, a 600 is not overkill at all. A 400 is only fair. G graywolf G http://www.graywolfphoto.com G Idiot Proof == Expert Proof G --- G Kenneth Waller wrote: A tripod is a must but what kind will depend on whether you're shooting with a 600mm f/4 on a Pentax 67 or a 20mm on an MX. Is there much/any opportunity @ GFM for a 600 on a 35mm body? I've been under the impression that there wasn't. Since the 600 by itself weighs almost as much as all my other equipment, I wasn't planning on bringing it. Kenneth Waller -Original Message- From: Mark Roberts [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am sort of wondering what to bring. I am flying from Regina to (I think) Minneapolis, and then from there to Charlotte on June 2nd, renting a vehicle and driving to GFM. I prefer to not check luggage, though I suspect I will have to check a suitcase. I recommend that you check a suitcase and carry a big load of camera gear :) Cotty's recommendation of a macro lens is a good one. There's huge potential for great macro shots (and if the weather is poor, macro is great to fall back on). Other than that it depends on what you want to shoot, both in terms of subject matter and cameras/lenses. A tripod is a must but what kind will depend on whether you're shooting with a 600mm f/4 on a Pentax 67 or a 20mm on an MX. Subject matter: Wildlife (bring hiking boots and big glass) Animals in captivity (80-200 zoom) Landscapes (15mm up to 300mm) I'd generally stick to primes and go for quality over quantity. Tip: The populated side of Grandfather Mountain is the west and the mountain itself blocks a lot of dawn light until the sun is significantly risen, so sunset usually provides better shooting than sunrise. I hope to counter this by hiking out along the upper trail and camping out at a good east side location on one night to counter this effect. I've done it the past two years and been rained out both times so far...
Re: Who started the enablement here anyway?
On Wed, May 25, 2005 at 12:49:25PM +0100, Cotty wrote: On 25/5/05, keithw, discombobulated, unleashed: You spent too much time in the San Fernando Valley when you lived here, Cotty! That's ValleyGirlSpeak! :-) I live in The Valley currently. Valley Girl Speak nowadays is Hola! Que passa chica? ...not that there's anything wrong with that. ;)
Re: Did I not ask for this?
Sounds like a microscope's lens, but the focusing distance would be a lot closer, and of course the maximum f-stop would be something like f/64. Jostein wrote: sooo A 1600-8000 mm zoom, the size of a shrunken DA-40mm, with closest focal point 60 cm? Damn, I will need to invent a new macro tripod...:-) Jostein Quoting Collin Brendemuehl [EMAIL PROTECTED]: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0505/05052401thin_lens.asp :0 Sincerely, Collin Sent via the WebMail system at mail.safe-t.net This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
Re: Rumors About Pentax's Future
Responding late to a 4 day old post... Even though a rumor, I can see the writing on the wall for Pentax... I suspect the last 35mm K-mount lens I bought will be the last K-mount lens I purchase... Tom C. From: Graywolf [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Rumors About Pentax's Future Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 17:44:53 -0400 I can tell folks one thing, if Sony acquires Pentax, Pentax is dead. Sony absorbs other companies, the do not maintain them. You would be able to by a Sony/Pentax until the old stock is gone and that would be it. graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com Idiot Proof == Expert Proof --- Alin Flaider wrote: Okay, so I like this place (BH that is), people over there are very knowledgeable in most every respect except for... Pentax. And just to add my share to the speculation, camera makers of 2008 will be making their own sensors too. Look up Canon for SLR and Sanyo for ps, Nikon aims to make its own sensors too. Despite the technology being down to earth, Pentax doesn't seem to get this capability in the near future. Add the Sony's recently announced interest in the DSLR arena and there's no wonder the above rumor. Servus, Alin Joseph wrote: JT http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036message=13579639 JT True? Who knows? But definitely worth reading. The rumors JT (re: the partner) have been consistent for several weeks. JT Joe
Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
In article [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Boris Liberman) wrote: Thibouille, there a special green button *on top* of D that you have to press in order to close the aperture and perform metering... This is with updated firmware (standard in new bodies) isn't it? I'm still on the 1.0 firmware with an early *istD body, and wondering about updating. -- PDML means I get more e-mail than spam!
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
- Original Message - From: Cotty [EMAIL PROTECTED] This one did: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4293123.stm Wow... and I thought having one of my CF cards go through the washing machine and still working was impressive Christian
Re: PESO: Revisiting the Bird
Hang onto the first one, delete the second. Way too much CA along the branch in the second one. Rick --- Paul Stenquist [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I haven't been able to process my photo of that Point Pelee Red Breasted Grosbeak in a way that pleases me completely. The original was underexposed by about a stop because I had thought I was going to be shooting him against leaves rather than open sky. (I should have locked in a manual exposure.) Anyway, i've had a tough time pulling detail out of the black feathers without causing a lot of noise and general ugliness. I went back for a second and third attempt. I think the new one is a bit of an improvement even though there is less detail. Am I right? Here's the original, which I posted a couple of days ago: http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3387050size=lg Here's the new version: http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3393350size=lg Should I delete the old version, the new version or both? Paul __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
RE: PESO: Pix at the Goat
Hi Frank the frames look too small for your pictures but I remember that you explained you did it the cheap way :-) Did you also sell or just show your photos? greetings Markus other smaller walls. Some of you may even recognize a few of these vbg: http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3393035size=lg cheers, frank
Re: Rumors About Pentax's Future
Tom C wrote: Responding late to a 4 day old post... Even though a rumor, I can see the writing on the wall for Pentax... I suspect the last 35mm K-mount lens I bought will be the last K-mount lens I purchase... Tom C. Why? If one has camera bodies that will mount K lenses, and considering the fact that there are so MANY fine, used K-mount lenses around, why stop now? If Pentax disappeared from the face of the earth overnight, there would be zero impact on the bodies and lenses you now have, and assuming you keep them because you LIKE them, where's the concern? If you're concerned about film being available, that's one thing, but not really pertinent. In MY most humble opinion, it's far from dead. If you have one of Pentax' DLSRs, that at present take or otherwise accommodate K-mount lenses... it seems digital bodies are not a problem. At least for now, until the bodies all go bad and Pentax will no longer repair them. Frankly, I don't see a source for alarm, except perhaps for professional users, som of whom go thru cameras and equipment like I change socks...so it's said. Why the concern? keith whaley
Re: Who started the enablement here anyway?
- Original Message - From: David Oswald Subject: Re: Who started the enablement here anyway? I live in The Valley currently. This explains much from a previous thread. William Robb
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
- Original Message - From: Graywolf Subject: Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations? Well, I can say from experience that experience and knowledge are worth at least as much as a winch to a 4x4'er. Where a tyro will get stuck with all that exotic traction control stuff an expert can often simply drive through in a stock flat-fender jeep. Until you have ridden with an expert you have no idea what difficult terrain a 4x4 can actually handle. Once again skill is worth twice as much as all the expensive toys. I am still chuckling about how this thread has morphed from someone trying to learn the nuts and bolts of exposure more or less being told, by some experienced photographers who know this stuff well enough that they have forgotten how well they know it, that it doesn't matter, into a thread about 4x4 vehicles where more or less the same mindset is at play. I suppose it's the teacher in me that finds it rather sad. William Robb
Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations?
- Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Understanding exposure? Recommendations? Since you used Jeep as an example, I must add that an expert in the newest Jeeps with intelligent 4WD can go places an expert in an older Jeep could never go. I've seen it done. The combination of a system that distributes power to the wheels with the most traction, longer suspension travel, and improved suspension geometry has made the Wrangler Rubicon far more capable than any other Jeep ever built. Bully for the expert, Paul. What about the person learning how deep to go before turning around? Just trying to bring things back to something like reality. William Robb
Re: PESO(s) -- The Great Poppy Hunt - Part 1
In a message dated 5/25/2005 10:14:47 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: It comes up for me now. I like the third one quite a lot. It conveys a sense of wildflowers growing randomly, yet it's not so wide as to miss the beautiful detail of the flowers. I also like the first very tight shot. Beautiful color and nicely composed. The second one doesn't do much for me. It's too wide to show detail, and the barren spot isn't very attractive. Good work. === Thanks, Paul. I happen to like the third one a lot too. Looks almost like a stained glass window to me. In fact, I am thinking of, when my Wacom tablet arrives in about a week, of artifying it a bit to make it look even more like a stained glass window. Thanks, very glad to know someone else liked it too -- for the same reasons I did. ;-) Nature tends to be somewhat messy -- it can't always be neat and trimmed. IMHO, that is part of its charm. Marnie aka Doe
Re: Rumors About Pentax's Future
- Original Message - From: keithw Subject: Re: Rumors About Pentax's Future Why the concern? Tom is very concerned about being able to upgrade his camera bodies. William Robb
Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive?
- Original Message - From: Tom C Subject: Re: CF card: normal or Microdrive? Hah! :) I've taken a liking to several Italian Pinot Grigios. On a hot summer evening, very well chilled, with some fresh blueberries and some Blueberry Stilton cheese... friends from Canada that never come to visit, I have rarely enjoyed anything more. Give me a break, Man who doesn't wave when passing his friends at the Nakusp Esso parking lot. William Robb
Re: Rumors About Pentax's Future
I think the possibility of a Sony takeover makes an upgrade more likely rather than less likely. If Sony wants the Pentax name, they probably want it for a prosumer line. They'll continue to use their own name on PS. If they don't want the Pentax name, they won't buy the company. Changing the mount would be foolish. You're starting from scratch if you do that. In any case, I'm quite sure there will be a Pentax upgrade, merger or no. Even if the camera division fails to make money, it's a necessary adjunct to other Pentax business. Paul - Original Message - From: keithw Subject: Re: Rumors About Pentax's Future Why the concern? Tom is very concerned about being able to upgrade his camera bodies. William Robb
RE: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure
You'll love it, I do. I have very few complaints considering the price point. And I complain about EVERYTHING! ;-) Congrats Don -Original Message- From: Thibouille [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 10:54 AM To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure Ordered :D 2005/5/25, Thibouille [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Alright, so I'll go for the D then. 100 euros more than the DS but having a couple older lenses the D is better suited IMO. Will keep you informed when I'll have it :p 2005/5/25, Don Sanderson [EMAIL PROTECTED]: I've heard the DS doesn't do TTL flash with non-A lenses but my D certainly does. I just tried it again with an old Promaster (non-A) lens. Proper exposure and obvious flash output difference at 2.8, 5.6 and 11. Don -Original Message- From: Paul Stenquist [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 5:24 AM To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: Ready to order an Ist-D but a quick question to be sure The integrated flash does not do regular TTL with old lenses. It gives you full power, but that's not very hard to gauge if you have to use it. Full power is pretty minimal. I rarely use the on camera flash other than on a whim or in emergencies. But I've found it's pretty simple to estimate a full power exposure with old lenses. I firmly believe that on-camera flashes are by nature useless. Paul On May 25, 2005, at 2:51 AM, Thibouille wrote: Using old lenses on the D requires the DOF button and so on but the integrated flash does regular TTL, right? If so, that's the best reason for me to buy the D rather than the DS. -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ... -- -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ... -- -- Thibouille -- Z1,SuperA,KX,MX,P30t and KR-10x ...
Re: Some Grandfather Mountain Questions
Cotty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 25/5/05, frank theriault, discombobulated, unleashed: The animals in captivity won't require anything that big, but you never know if you'll see some deer, or some little birdy in a tree that might require such a beast. I dunno Frank - 600mm will get you a cracking head shot of an eagle And you often *need* a 600 to get a good shot of the cougars - they're often shy and rarely come close to the viewing area. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
