Re: GESO: Airshow

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

Hi Frank.

We're also quite accustomed to seeing these Canadair bombers down here
flying around Marseille. They have quite a few of them based at the
Marseille Provence Airport, and they operate in all southern France
and neighbor countries during the hot months of summer. I've seen them
working on forest fires several times (including twice scaringly close
to my house), and I must say these guys have guts. The rest of the
year, we still can see them occasionally while training. From my
office at La Ciotat, I have a panoramic view over the bay, where they
often come scooping.

Some great photo shooting opportunities, too, although I always feel
ill at ease shooting while people are seeing their home burning.

By the way, I've written down the plane and team names in my gallery...

Regards

Patrice

2008/5/20 frank theriault <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 12:02 PM, Patrice LACOUTURE
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> Hello.
>>
>> It's been a while since I posted anything...
>>
>> I've been to an Airshow yesterday in Orange, Provence, France... It
>> was my first attempt shooting in such an event ever...
>>
>> Took my K10D with my old 80-320 handheld, and burned a few rolls of
>> 2GB SD cards.
>>
>> A not-so-tight-selection is visible there:
>>
>> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2008-05-18-Airshow-Orange/
>>
>> For those on a tight schedule, beware: 65 photos in the gallery. It's
>> quite out of the box and I did not take much time to edit it more
>> severely.
>>
>> As usual, comments and suggestions are welcome.
>>
>
> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2008-05-18-Airshow-Orange/2008-05-18+Meeting+A__rien+d_Orange+078.jpg.html
>
> Hey, it's a Canadair CL44 waterbomber!  I'd recognize it anywhere
> (even France).
>
> They made those less than a kilometre from where I lived as a kid.
> Canadair ended up being taken over by Bombardier and now that factory
> is an empty field.  I used to see those waterbombers flying over my
> house all the time.
>
> Anyway, those are all great photos!  My only desire would be
> identification of the airplanes.
>
> That's the only nitpick I have for a great gallery.
>
> cheers,
> frank
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
>
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Re: GESO: Airshow

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for viewing and for your comments.

2008/5/19 Bob Sullivan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> Patrice,
> That is an excellent look at an airshow.
> You did very well for a first time shooting such a thing.
> I particularly liked the formations with smoke trails.

I do concur that these trails give the visual clues of the movement,
which is totally lost otherwise. In particular, the high-speed
"face-to-face" crossings, while very spectacular when seen live, are
not only very difficult to photograph, but also often yield very
disappointing results.

> You do some different maneuvers than I have seen before.

I can't take the credit for this! The demonstrations were really
inventive and surprising. I found the smaller and more agile planes
more interesting than the big engines (Mirage 2000 and such) , that
were really impressive with speed and noise and ascent rate and so on,
but aestetically less pleasing. With the notable exception of this
Dutch F-16 that did a very fast-paced show with a great music. The guy
in the seat is also a DJ during his week-ends, unfortunately this does
not show in my GESO ;-)

> The blue jets with the yellow markings are great.

This is the Breitling team. The only private squadron worldwide to own
jet planes. They featured a great 2-stage show, first a very smooth
and beautiful one, then very fast-paced, high-speed, full of swift and
impressive moves. Very hard to follow with the 320.

Anyone interested in such sport should definitely not miss a show by
the Breitling team if they happen to demonstrate nearby.

> I especially like the way the yellow crosses show from the bottom.
> They are more spectacular than our Navy's all dark blue - Blue Angels.

I never had the chance to see the Blue Angels live. By the way, both
liveries are quite similar, but Breitlig's yellow cross is more
marked. The angels' FA-18 Hornets make much more noise, but the
Breitlings Albatros give better photos :-)

> Regards,  Bob S.

Best regards. I can't wait till the next show...

>
> On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 1:06 PM, P. J. Alling <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> Nicely done.  Some of those are simply spectacular.
>>
>> Patrice LACOUTURE wrote:
>>> Hello.
>>>
>>> It's been a while since I posted anything...
>>>
>>> I've been to an Airshow yesterday in Orange, Provence, France... It
>>> was my first attempt shooting in such an event ever...
>>>
>>> Took my K10D with my old 80-320 handheld, and burned a few rolls of
>>> 2GB SD cards.
>>>
>>> A not-so-tight-selection is visible there:
>>>
>>> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2008-05-18-Airshow-Orange/
>>>
>>> For those on a tight schedule, beware: 65 photos in the gallery. It's
>>> quite out of the box and I did not take much time to edit it more
>>> severely.
>>>
>>> As usual, comments and suggestions are welcome.
>>>
>>> Regards.
>>>
>>> Patrice
>>>
>>> PS: for pixel-slicers:
>>>
>>> Most shots done in MF/manual exposure, @ f/16 or f/8, ISO 400.
>>> MF because at infinity it's safer than AF
>>> f/8 and f/16 to avoid using this lens wide open
>>> ISO 400 to rely on fast shutter rather than stabilizer to get sharp
>>> results handheld (no tripod, no monopod, no nothing: used my own
>>> biological ball head instead) On second thought I should have opted
>>> for 200.
>>> Post processing = AC correction on a few shots, sometimes a bit of
>>> saturation adjust, otherwise levels/contrast, cropping, and dust
>>> removal.

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GESO: Airshow

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

Hello.

It's been a while since I posted anything...

I've been to an Airshow yesterday in Orange, Provence, France... It
was my first attempt shooting in such an event ever...

Took my K10D with my old 80-320 handheld, and burned a few rolls of
2GB SD cards.

A not-so-tight-selection is visible there:

http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2008-05-18-Airshow-Orange/

For those on a tight schedule, beware: 65 photos in the gallery. It's
quite out of the box and I did not take much time to edit it more
severely.

As usual, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Regards.

Patrice

PS: for pixel-slicers:

Most shots done in MF/manual exposure, @ f/16 or f/8, ISO 400.
MF because at infinity it's safer than AF
f/8 and f/16 to avoid using this lens wide open
ISO 400 to rely on fast shutter rather than stabilizer to get sharp
results handheld (no tripod, no monopod, no nothing: used my own
biological ball head instead) On second thought I should have opted
for 200.
Post processing = AC correction on a few shots, sometimes a bit of
saturation adjust, otherwise levels/contrast, cropping, and dust
removal.

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Re: Great compilation of PESOs/GESOs/PAWs

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

I just gave a look, and couldn't see any specific setting in my google
account that might be related to this feature. I've always taken this
for granted and as far as I can remember, I never changed anything for
it.

What might have an impact to it:
   - I have POP and IMAP activated.
   - I have a Thunderbird client that regularly gets new mail (via
IMAP if I remember well) and stores them into the mailbox file.
   - This mailbox file was used to generate the PESO list (If I
fetched the tens of thousands of posts online, Google would kick me
away for a few days. Ask how I know.)
   - Most of my posts are sent from Thunderbird.
   - However, I can see posts both from the web-based client and from
Thunderbird.
   - I guess it is just because these are posts to the PDML, therefore
I actually RECEIVE them each time I post them.
   - I'm not sure if I could see my posts when posting to other
addresses. This account is almost 100% dedicated to PDML.

Hope this helps.

Patrice

2008/4/30 Manuel Magalhães <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> Patrice,
>
>  As far as I can tell you are able to see your own posts. How do you have
>  your gmail settings? Perhaps you can help me doing the same.
>
>  Thanks,
>  Manuel
>
>  -Mensagem original-
>  De: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Em nome de Patrice
>  LACOUTURE (GMail)
>  Enviada: terça-feira, 29 de Abril de 2008 23:30
>  Para: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
>  Assunto: Great compilation of PESOs/GESOs/PAWs
>
>
>
>  Hello,
>
>  While I haven't posted much for months, I've sat silently and read the
>  PDML once in a while... I've always been quite impressed by the average
>  quality of PUG, but also PESOs, GESOSs, and PAWs...
>
>  Since almost 2 years, I haven't discarded any PDML e-mail, and it
>  occurred to me that I could compile all those PESOs into a nice database
>  with links to the actual images...
>
>  A few lines of code and here it is (at least, a preliminary version of it):
>
>  http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/pdmlpesos/
>
>  There is a list of the latest 3663 PESOs, PAWs and GESOs, with the
>  original PDML message, including links to the actual images (as they
>  were in the messages).
>
>  Of course, many of these links are now broken, and my parsing engine may
>  have done outright errors (typically in interpreting the message titles
>  to determine PESOs/PAWs/GESOs).
>
>  For now it's a bit crude.  However, if there's sufficient interest in
>  this work, I might give it some extra effort for nicer look and
>  features, such as grouping/searching by author, type (PESOs vs GESOs),
>  keywords, displaying PDML member comments threads, or whatever we could
>  imagine...
>
>  Enjoy, and as usual, feedback is welcome.
>
>  Patrice
>
>  PS: Of course, "Great" in the subject refers to these images for
>  quality, and to the compilation itself for quantity :-)
>
>  --
>
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>  http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
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>  follow the directions.
>
>  No virus found in this incoming message.
>  Checked by AVG.
>  Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1403 - Release Date: 29-04-2008
>  7:26
>
>
>  No virus found in this outgoing message.
>  Checked by AVG.
>  Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1404 - Release Date: 29-04-2008
>  18:27
>
>
>
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Re: Great compilation of PESOs/GESOs/PAWs

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

Thanks. So far the efforts have been quite limited indeed.

Just thinking about what a more complete web site on this concept
might be, it appears that the broken link issue might be just solved
by the search/filter feature. I would propose some sort of query form
that allows to search/filter by the following criteria:

   - type: PESO/GESO/PAW
   - Author
   - keywords in Title and/or Description (i.e. the original author's
mail) and/or comments (the whole thread that followed)
   - date range
   - domain (where the photos are stored)
   - link status: All links OK/some links broken/all links broken (at
the time of scan)

Of course, posts with all links broken would not be selected by
default. IMO, checking these links only once (at time of scan) is a
non-issue, as a link broken at a given time will probably never fix
later. This would save a lot of bandwidth compared to a check during
each access. Anyway, links should be re-checked every now and again,
to mark dead ones. Re-scanning already dead links is just a matter of
eating more bandwidth, and may be done less frequently.

The great plus would be thumbnails, but this would bring a whole lot
of technical and non-technical issues (copyright? Is this any
different from Google images? I know I'm not Google yet ;-) ).

After all, I might do this web site just for the fun.

Patrice

2008/4/30 Brian Walters <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> Hi Patrice
>
>  Broken links or not, this is fantastic.  Thanks for your efforts.
>
>  I ran Zenu Link checker through the file and, indeed, there are many
>  broken links but lots more that aren't.
>
>
>
>
>  Cheers
>
>  Brian
>
>  ++
>  Brian Walters
>  Western Sydney Australia
>  http://members.westnet.com.au/brianwal/SL/
>
>
>
>
>  On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:29:55 +0200, "Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)"
>  <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said:
>  > Hello,
>  >
>  > While I haven't posted much for months, I've sat silently and read the
>  > PDML once in a while... I've always been quite impressed by the average
>  > quality of PUG, but also PESOs, GESOSs, and PAWs...
>  >
>  > Since almost 2 years, I haven't discarded any PDML e-mail, and it
>  > occurred to me that I could compile all those PESOs into a nice database
>  > with links to the actual images...
>  >
>  > A few lines of code and here it is (at least, a preliminary version of
>  > it):
>  >
>  > http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/pdmlpesos/
>  >
>  > There is a list of the latest 3663 PESOs, PAWs and GESOs, with the
>  > original PDML message, including links to the actual images (as they
>  > were in the messages).
>  >
>  > Of course, many of these links are now broken, and my parsing engine may
>  > have done outright errors (typically in interpreting the message titles
>  > to determine PESOs/PAWs/GESOs).
>  >
>  > For now it's a bit crude.  However, if there's sufficient interest in
>  > this work, I might give it some extra effort for nicer look and
>  > features, such as grouping/searching by author, type (PESOs vs GESOs),
>  > keywords, displaying PDML member comments threads, or whatever we could
>  > imagine...
>  >
>  > Enjoy, and as usual, feedback is welcome.
>  >
>  > Patrice
>  >
>  > PS: Of course, "Great" in the subject refers to these images for
>  > quality, and to the compilation itself for quantity :-)
>  >
>  > --
>  --
>
>
>  --
>  http://www.fastmail.fm - And now for something completely different…
>
>
>  --
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Re: Flash for K10D

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi,

It might be a no-no for your needs, but it may be worth looking at Metz 
offering, specially for those who have a limited budget:

I've a couple Metz flashguns second hand, and I'm very happy about them. 
Both are SCA3000 "universal" units with Pentax adapters, with 
twist/swivel capability, secondary lamp to assist when bouncing, and a 
very nice looking, powerful light. Both used to work great with MZ/ZX 
series and the *ist DS in TTL mode, but do not support PTTL. As everyone 
knows, Pentax does not support TTL anymore since the *ist DS, so we're 
stuck with A and M modes.

However, these units feature the unique "Smart Auto" mode that even 
Pentax flashguns lack: in A mode (and M also, BTW), all parameters 
(ISO/focal distance for zooming/aperture) are transmitted automagically 
to the flash, and there is no additional setting to do on the flash itself.

So, these units can be used in A mode as easily as in TTL/PTTL mode. The 
internal sensor is very accurate, and it's really a pleasure to use.

- the 40 MZ3 is a bit older, and with the K10D it exposes strangely 
when bouncing... For whatever reason, set it on Program 4 and it's 
fixed. You can get it for very few bucks.

- the 54 MZ3 is more recent, and works just fine in A mode...

As I don't use HSS and Wireless, and I don't shoot photos where (P)TTL 
vs. A makes a difference, it was the best value I could find for the price.

By the way, when I know I need to do fill flash and I want to keep wide 
open, I just compensate the lack of HSS by using a ND8 filter. Yes, I 
lose a few stops, but so does HSS.

Just my 2 cents.

Patrice


Amirkambiz Hamedanizadeh a écrit :
> Hi,
> I used to have the Pentax AF-360FGZ, which is broken and they ask for lots of 
> money to repair it ( Norway, sweet Norway☹). So I decide to buy one more 
> flash and I dedicated around 250 US$ for a flash, I wonder which flash do you 
> recommend. I do not think any time I need wireless feature. 
>
> 1. Pentax AF-360FGZ
> 2. Pentax AF-540FGZ
> 3. Sigma EF-530 DG ST 
> 4. Sigma EF-530 DG Super
>
>
> I appreciate your recommendation.
>
>
> Cheers,
> Amirkambiz 
>
>
>
>   


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Great compilation of PESOs/GESOs/PAWs

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hello,

While I haven't posted much for months, I've sat silently and read the
PDML once in a while... I've always been quite impressed by the average
quality of PUG, but also PESOs, GESOSs, and PAWs...

Since almost 2 years, I haven't discarded any PDML e-mail, and it
occurred to me that I could compile all those PESOs into a nice database
with links to the actual images...

A few lines of code and here it is (at least, a preliminary version of it):

http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/pdmlpesos/

There is a list of the latest 3663 PESOs, PAWs and GESOs, with the
original PDML message, including links to the actual images (as they
were in the messages).

Of course, many of these links are now broken, and my parsing engine may
have done outright errors (typically in interpreting the message titles
to determine PESOs/PAWs/GESOs).

For now it's a bit crude.  However, if there's sufficient interest in
this work, I might give it some extra effort for nicer look and
features, such as grouping/searching by author, type (PESOs vs GESOs),
keywords, displaying PDML member comments threads, or whatever we could
imagine...

Enjoy, and as usual, feedback is welcome.

Patrice

PS: Of course, "Great" in the subject refers to these images for
quality, and to the compilation itself for quantity :-)


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Great compilation of PESOs/GESOs/PAWs

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hello,

While I haven't posted much for months, I've sat silently and read the 
PDML once in a while... I've always been quite impressed by the average 
quality of PUG, but also PESOs, GESOSs, and PAWs...

Since almost 2 years, I haven't discarded any PDML e-mail, and it 
occurred to me that I could compile all those PESOs into a nice database 
with links to the actual images...

A few lines of code and here it is (at least, a preliminary version of it):

http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/pdmlpesos/

There is a list of the latest 3663 PESOs, PAWs and GESOs, with the 
original PDML message, including links to the actual images (as they 
were in the messages).

Of course, many of these links are now broken, and my parsing engine may 
have done outright errors (typically in interpreting the message titles 
to determine PESOs/PAWs/GESOs).

For now it's a bit crude.  However, if there's sufficient interest in 
this work, I might give it some extra effort for nicer look and 
features, such as grouping/searching by author, type (PESOs vs GESOs), 
keywords, displaying PDML member comments threads, or whatever we could 
imagine...

Enjoy, and as usual, feedback is welcome.

Patrice

PS: Of course, "Great" in the subject refers to these images for 
quality, and to the compilation itself for quantity :-)

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Re: Semi-OT: Pentax shopping near Austin, TX?

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

Many thanks for your help.

Sorry, for my previous message that slipped away from my hands.

Patrice

2007/9/3, Gonz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> Precision camera on Lamar and 35th st.  They carry the K10D (or used to).
>
>
>
> On 9/3/07, Patrice LACOUTURE <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Dear all,
> >
> > First of all, I'd like to greet all the list, while I've been busy and
> > could neither read not write for quite a while.
> >
> > I'm leaving tomorrow for a business trip to Austin, Texas. If I'm
> > allowed a little spare time, I'd like to shop for some Pentax gear
> > (maybe a K10D friend for my lonely DS?).
> >
> > Do any of you have any suggestions for Pentax shopping in the area?
> >
> > Best regards
> >
> > Patrice
> >
> > --
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> > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
> >
>
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Re: Semi-OT: Pentax shopping near Austin, TX?

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

2007/9/3, Gonz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> Precision camera on Lamar and 35th st.  They carry the K10D (or used to).
>
>
>
> On 9/3/07, Patrice LACOUTURE <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Dear all,
> >
> > First of all, I'd like to greet all the list, while I've been busy and
> > could neither read not write for quite a while.
> >
> > I'm leaving tomorrow for a business trip to Austin, Texas. If I'm
> > allowed a little spare time, I'd like to shop for some Pentax gear
> > (maybe a K10D friend for my lonely DS?).
> >
> > Do any of you have any suggestions for Pentax shopping in the area?
> >
> > Best regards
> >
> > Patrice
> >
> > --
> > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
> > PDML@pdml.net
> > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
> >
>
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Semi-OT: Pentax shopping near Austin, TX?

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

Dear all,

First of all, I'd like to greet all the list, while I've been busy and
could neither read not write for quite a while.

I'm leaving tomorrow for a business trip to Austin, Texas. If I'm
allowed a little spare time, I'd like to shop for some Pentax gear
(maybe a K10D friend for my lonely DS?).

Do any of you have any suggestions for Pentax shopping in the area?

Best regards

Patrice

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Re: *ist DS AF speed

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

> I think you'll find that if you continue to use your MZ-5 with NiMH 
> batteries, the AF motor will self destruct pretty quickly. It wasn't 
> designed to use batteries with that much current.
> I bet it runs really fast, but not for long.
>
> William Robb 
>   
Hi William,

What to you mean with, "with that much current"? The rated voltage for 
NiMH batteries is 1.2V each, instead of 1.5V, and unless their internal 
resistance is way lower than that of alkaline cells, they should provide 
less current. My experience with various equipment tends to second that. 
Or am I all wrong somewhere?

I've been using my MZ5n flawlessly with NiMH for a few years now, maybe 
I'm just lucky. The AF in my previous MZ5 fried after a few years of 
moderate use, but I didn't use NiMH back then.

Thanks and best regards

Patrice



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*ist DS AF speed

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi dear PDMLers,

My apologies in advance if this topic has been discussed at length 
already, however I couldn't find it in my PDML archives.

Like many people around, I've always found that the *ist DS focuses 
quite slowly in poor lighting conditions.

But last week-end, I took my MZ-5n out of its disgrace, and put on my 
F-50 f/1.7. I didn't have this lens yet when I bought the *ist DS, and 
had never used it before with the MZ. I must say I was immediately 
impressed by the AF speed!

In both low light and normal light conditions, the MZ focuses way faster 
than the *ist. It's not just noticeable, it's like twice as fast!!! I 
wish I had such raw speed on my *ist!

I used NiMH AA cells on both the MZ and the *ist DS. I assumed maybe the 
*ist DS draws more power for electronics, so I tried lithium batteries: 
it's a bit faster, but still not on par with the MZ still equipped with 
its NiMH cells.

Is the *ist DS supposed to be so slow, or is my unit somehow bogus and 
I've failed to notice so far? Do any of you have an experience to share 
in this regard?

My unit is still under guarantee for a few months, so I'd rather have it 
fixed now if it's abnormal...

Best regards

Patrice





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Re: PESO: Something different

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Great abstract!

Reminds me of Escher drawings, where one doesn't now where is the shape, 
and where is the background.

Patrice

William Robb a écrit :
> Not my usual stuff.
>
> http://users.accesscomm.ca/wrobb/pictures/peso/before_coffee.html
>
> Enjoy
>
> William Robb
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Prairie Pano

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Nice picture, works for me.

The lightly bent horizon disturbs me. I initially thought it was how the 
scene really is, before I realized that all vertial lines are also 
slightly bent to the right. Maybe fixing this would improve the picture.

Patrice


William Robb a écrit :
> This is 2 shots using the A400/5.6 married together.
> The seam is kinda visible, I need to work on this technique some more.
>
> http://users.accesscomm.ca/wrobb/pictures/peso/400pano.html
>
> Enjoy
>
> William Robb
>
>   


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Re: Question about aperture in A, F, FA, DA, etc. lenses

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi Bob,

As I understood it (but I may be wrong):

* With A-lenses and A-bodies in A-mode, the body only pushes the lens 
lever the right amount to reach the right aperture, and that's why the 
lever's operation must be linear.

* With pre-A bodies and/or pre-A lenses, the body actuator always pushes 
the lens lever all the way through, which results in the lens closing to 
the aperture preset on the ring. So it doesn't make any difference 
whether the lever effect is linear or not, in this case.

This might explain why you could never see any difference.

Regards

Patrice

Bob Sullivan a écrit :
> [...]
>
> In practice, I've wondered about it, but never been able to notice any
> difference in the slides my cameras produced with "A" vs K or M
> lenses.  I always attributed any differenced to the light transmission
> qualities of the lens itself.
>
> Regards,  Bob S.
>
> On 3/26/07, Igor Roshchin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> Hello!
>>
>> Sorry for bringing up this question that may be known to most
>> of the people here. I just realized that I don't know it, and couldn't
>> find the information on the KMP site or elsewhere on the web.
>>
>> This question is about aperture control design.
>> For the A and later lenses that have "A" setting on the aperture ring, -
>> what is the step of the actual aperture setting in this mode?
>> If it doesn't coinside with F-stops or 1/2-F-stops, then is it
>> body-dependent (i.e. is one body more capable to utilize
>> sub-1/2-f-stops then another) or is it standardized?
>>
>> I realize that the motion of the diaphragm actuator in the lens is
>> stepless, so it is up to the body to choose the steps, if any
>> (is it determined by the DAC bitness?)
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Igor
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
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>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
>>
>> 
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Eclipse

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

My mistake.

I misread the visibility map: it will be well visible from the whole 
France, too.

Let's set our clock now, and hope for a nice weather!

Patrice

Henk Terhell a écrit :
> Patrice, next total moon eclipse for me in the Benelux is 21 february
> 2008 at about 4 AM. So you may be able to see some of it in the south of
> France if you don't forget to set your alarm clock. 
>
> Henk
>
>   
>> -Original Message-
>> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On 
>> Behalf Of Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)
>> Sent: 05 March, 2007 11:47 PM
>> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
>> Subject: Re: PESO: Eclipse
>>
>>
>> I hope you have the opportunity to see something great next year from 
>> where you are. It won't be visible from here, so my time was 
>> two days ago!
>>
>> Next total moon eclipse for me is in 2010.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Patrice
>>
>> Henk Terhell a écrit :
>> 
>>> Patrice, nice picture. I tried but failed to get something 
>>>   
>> useful. But 
>> 
>>> next year there is another opportunity.
>>>
>>> Henk
>>>
>>>   
>>>   
>>>> -Original Message-
>>>> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
>>>> Behalf Of Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)
>>>> Sent: 04 March, 2007 11:15 PM
>>>> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
>>>> Subject: PESO: Eclipse
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Dear list readers,
>>>>
>>>> Here's my latest PESO.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-03-03-Eclipse/
>>>> 2007-03-03+Eclipse+de+Lune_0029_web.jpg.html
>>>> http://tinyurl.com/2q2uwc
>>>>
>>>> Taken last night during the total lunar eclipse visible here
>>>> in europe.
>>>>
>>>> Just trying anything more original than a plain centered
>>>> moon, as usual. 
>>>> The challenge was that the moon was very high above the 
>>>> horizon, and I 
>>>> had a hard time getting anything else in the frame, while 
>>>> still getting 
>>>> a recognizeable moon. The local power plant did the job.
>>>>
>>>> *ist DS + SMCP-FA 80-320 4.5-5.6 @approx 180mm, f/5.6, 2s, ISO 200.
>>>>
>>>> Comments always welcome.
>>>>
>>>> Patrice
>>>> 
>
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Eclipse

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

John Sessoms a écrit :
>> From:
>> "Patrice LACOUTURE 
>> Dear list readers,
>>
>> Here's my latest PESO.
>>
>> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-03-03-Eclipse/2007-03-03+Eclipse+de+Lune_0029_web.jpg.html
>>  
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/2q2uwc
>>
>> Taken last night during the total lunar eclipse visible here in europe.
>> 
> I like the photos.
>
> But I've been wondering about the "total lunar eclipse visible here in 
> europe." I saw some other postings about it indicating it would only be 
> visible from Europe, but I could see it quite well from here in NC (USA).
>   
The totality could only be seen from the US eastern 1/3rd, and during a 
shorter time. Partiality could be seen from all the US (except Alaska).

Link here:

http://www.imcce.fr/fr/ephemerides/phenomenes/eclipses/lune/mars2007_1.php#img


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Re: PESO: the last of its kind

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Great, as usual, Ralf. Great composition.

Someday I promise I'll stop writing praise about every single industrial 
picture you post, but for know I just love them.

Patrice

Ralf R. Radermacher a écrit :
> The last working blast furnace in the Liège industrial basin will
> disappear in two years. 
>
> http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/770012/display/8150301
>
> Your comments and sguuestions, as always... :-)
>
> Ralf
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Eclipse

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Here is also a direct link to the larger version:

http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/d/3213-2/2007-03-03+Eclipse+de+Lune_0029_web.jpg
and
http://tinyurl.com/26bdgo

Regards

Patrice

[EMAIL PROTECTED] a écrit :
> In a message dated 3/4/2007 2:14:05 P.M. Pacific  Standard Time, 
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Dear list  readers,
>
> Here's my latest  PESO.
>
> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-03-03-E
> clipse/2007-03-03+Eclipse+de+Lune_0029_web.jpg.html
> http://tinyurl.com/2q2uwc
>
> Taken  last night during the total lunar eclipse visible here in europe.
>
> Just  trying anything more original than a plain centered moon, as usual. 
> The  challenge was that the moon was very high above the horizon, and I 
> had a  hard time getting anything else in the frame, while still getting 
> a  recognizeable moon. The local power plant did the job.
>
> *ist DS + SMCP-FA  80-320 4.5-5.6 @approx 180mm, f/5.6, 2s, ISO 200.
>
> Comments always  welcome.
>
> Patrice
>
> 
> Cool shot. Like it a lot. Just  wish I could see it a tad bigger. Maybe 
> something on the page makes it bigger,  but can't spot a button for that.
>
> Marnie aka Doe :-)  
>
> ** AOL now offers free 
> email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at 
> http://www.aol.com.
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Eclipse

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

I'm still here :-)

(at the same time on the list, and in front of my computer, somewhere in 
southern France :-)

Paul Stenquist a écrit :
> Outstanding. Very good work. Where is Patrice? Wasn't he posting here?
> Paul
> On Mar 4, 2007, at 6:30 PM, mike wilson wrote:
>
>   
>> Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail) wrote:
>>
>> 
>>> Dear list readers,
>>>
>>> Here's my latest PESO.
>>>
>>> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-03-03-Eclipse/2007 
>>> -03-03+Eclipse+de+Lune_0029_web.jpg.html
>>> http://tinyurl.com/2q2uwc
>>>
>>> Taken last night during the total lunar eclipse visible here in  
>>> europe.
>>>
>>> Just trying anything more original than a plain centered moon, as  
>>> usual.
>>> The challenge was that the moon was very high above the horizon, and I
>>> had a hard time getting anything else in the frame, while still  
>>> getting
>>> a recognizeable moon. The local power plant did the job.
>>>
>>> *ist DS + SMCP-FA 80-320 4.5-5.6 @approx 180mm, f/5.6, 2s, ISO 200.
>>>
>>> Comments always welcome.
>>>
>>> Patrice
>>>
>>>   
>> One of the better moon pictures I've seen.
>>
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>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
>>
>> 
>
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Eclipse

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi Marnie,

The rightmost of the three buttons in the center right above the image 
enlarges it slightly.

I'll repost a larger version in a few minutes just for you :-)

Regards,

Patrice

[EMAIL PROTECTED] a écrit :
> In a message dated 3/4/2007 2:14:05 P.M. Pacific  Standard Time, 
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Dear list  readers,
>
> Here's my latest  PESO.
>
> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-03-03-E
> clipse/2007-03-03+Eclipse+de+Lune_0029_web.jpg.html
> http://tinyurl.com/2q2uwc
>
> Taken  last night during the total lunar eclipse visible here in europe.
>
> Just  trying anything more original than a plain centered moon, as usual. 
> The  challenge was that the moon was very high above the horizon, and I 
> had a  hard time getting anything else in the frame, while still getting 
> a  recognizeable moon. The local power plant did the job.
>
> *ist DS + SMCP-FA  80-320 4.5-5.6 @approx 180mm, f/5.6, 2s, ISO 200.
>
> Comments always  welcome.
>
> Patrice
>
> 
> Cool shot. Like it a lot. Just  wish I could see it a tad bigger. Maybe 
> something on the page makes it bigger,  but can't spot a button for that.
>
> Marnie aka Doe :-)  
>
> ** AOL now offers free 
> email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at 
> http://www.aol.com.
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Eclipse

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

I hope you have the opportunity to see something great next year from 
where you are. It won't be visible from here, so my time was two days ago!

Next total moon eclipse for me is in 2010.

Regards

Patrice

Henk Terhell a écrit :
> Patrice, nice picture. I tried but failed to get something useful. But
> next year there is another opportunity.
>
> Henk
>
>   
>> -Original Message-
>> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On 
>> Behalf Of Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)
>> Sent: 04 March, 2007 11:15 PM
>> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
>> Subject: PESO: Eclipse
>>
>>
>> Dear list readers,
>>
>> Here's my latest PESO.
>>
>> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-03-03-Eclipse/
>> 2007-03-03+Eclipse+de+Lune_0029_web.jpg.html
>> http://tinyurl.com/2q2uwc
>>
>> Taken last night during the total lunar eclipse visible here 
>> in europe.
>>
>> Just trying anything more original than a plain centered 
>> moon, as usual. 
>> The challenge was that the moon was very high above the 
>> horizon, and I 
>> had a hard time getting anything else in the frame, while 
>> still getting 
>> a recognizeable moon. The local power plant did the job.
>>
>> *ist DS + SMCP-FA 80-320 4.5-5.6 @approx 180mm, f/5.6, 2s, ISO 200.
>>
>> Comments always welcome.
>>
>> Patrice
>>
>>
>> 
>
>
>   


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PESO: Eclipse

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Dear list readers,

Here's my latest PESO.

http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-03-03-Eclipse/2007-03-03+Eclipse+de+Lune_0029_web.jpg.html
http://tinyurl.com/2q2uwc

Taken last night during the total lunar eclipse visible here in europe.

Just trying anything more original than a plain centered moon, as usual. 
The challenge was that the moon was very high above the horizon, and I 
had a hard time getting anything else in the frame, while still getting 
a recognizeable moon. The local power plant did the job.

*ist DS + SMCP-FA 80-320 4.5-5.6 @approx 180mm, f/5.6, 2s, ISO 200.

Comments always welcome.

Patrice

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Re: Feb 12th Astro Challenge

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

John Celio a écrit :
>> Well, I was going to set my alarm and head up to an east facing lookout 
>> not far from here - but, it started raining on Saturday and hasn't stopped 
>> since (not that I'm complaining, mind you)
>>
>> 
>
> Yeah, it's cloudy here too, though no rain today.
>
> *sigh*  Maybe next time.  Anyone have any good night sky images in mind for 
> the near future?
>
> John
>   
It was also cloudy this morning, but It's clear now (although the moon 
is not as close to Jupiter and Antares anymore) and I think I'll try it 
tomorrow morning (bad idea since tomorrow I'll fly for a business trip).

Next similar event is Feb-19 at sunset: the moon will be *VERY* close to 
Venus right after sunset. Probably more spectacular than my previous 
GESO: Venus will be only 1 moon diameter from the moon.

Patrice

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Re: PESO - Snow Moonset

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Tom C a écrit :
> Last nights full moon is commonly called the Snow Moon.  This was from this 
> morning as it set in the northwest.
>
> http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5540370
>
> Tom C.
>   
Great shot...

I *must* steal one of those 500mm.

Patrice

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Re: IE7 and photo uploading

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Digital Image Studio a écrit :
> On 28/01/07, Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> 
>>
>> This behaviour is a microsoft feature to force you and your web provider
>> to upgrade the server software to be compatible with IE7, and in the
>> process become incompatible with IE 6, then force more people to upgrade
>> to IE7, then to Vista, then buy a new PC because Vista is Too Slow,
>> which is mandatorily bundled with a new copy of Vista again, then
>> migrate to the new Office version because they like the new Vista eye
>> candy so much that they also want the new Office eye candy, then force
>> everyone to migrate to the new Office to be able to read each other's
>> new Office documents... you get the point.
>>
>> I chose to stick with good old Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice for
>> now, keep my old PC etc... and still have friends.
>> 
>> 
>
> LOL, I'm a Firefox convert for all the reasons you state. But what
> really gets up my nose is that Adobe is jumping on the bandwagon too,
> XP or Vista for CS3 (yes I've heard the arguments why XP/Vista is
> required, it still sounds more like justification to extricate more
> cash) :-(
>   
Well, while MS has a clear interest in everyone changing for a new PC 
every 18 month, because it's virtually impossible to buy a PC without 
paying the "Microsoft Tax", I'm not sure Adobe has any. After all, they 
can't coerce you into buying a new copy of PS with every PC, not yet!

So maybe they just want to make best use of new hardware and OS neat 
features, to stay on the edge, and they know that users will buy these 
new hardware anyway (and of course OS, no way around it), because 
everybody claims so loud that you need Vista that, well, it must be true.

I could be very happy with just an Ubuntu box, if Adobe supported that, 
as well a a few other software and hardware vendors (but not MS).

Big companies with big bucks have an interest in supporting some large 
and expensive free software projects (Linux, Apache, OpenOffice, Java, 
Mozilla among others), but so far it seems that noone with big bucks has 
a business model that involves supporting The Gimp up to PS level... Too 
bad.

Patrice

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Re: IE7 and photo uploading

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

This behaviour is a microsoft feature to force you and your web provider 
to upgrade the server software to be compatible with IE7, and in the 
process become incompatible with IE 6, then force more people to upgrade 
to IE7, then to Vista, then buy a new PC because Vista is Too Slow, 
which is mandatorily bundled with a new copy of Vista again, then 
migrate to the new Office version because they like the new Vista eye 
candy so much that they also want the new Office eye candy, then force 
everyone to migrate to the new Office to be able to read each other's 
new Office documents... you get the point.

I chose to stick with good old Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice for 
now, keep my old PC etc... and still have friends.


Jack Davis a écrit :
> Yesterday I tried several times to upload a photo to the web and
> failed. I asked my webmaster (guess that's what folks some call them)
> if he would try it. He did and experienced the same problem. He somehow
> learned that there have been a number of complaints about the new
> Internet Explorer 7. I asked my wife if she had succumb to the IE7
> upgrade offerings and she said she had.
> My webperson and I went back to IE6 and the uploading problem went
> away.
> Anyone else had the problem?
>
> Jack
>
>
>
>  
> 
> Need Mail bonding?
> Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users.
> http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396546091
>
>   


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Re: Photo Challenge: Moon, Jupiter and Antares

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

John Celio a écrit :
>> On next February 12, the now growing moon will then be a very thin
>> crescent again, closing to the sun. At this very day, it will cruise
>> near the very bright planet Jupiter and the bright start Antares, in the
>> Scorpion constellation.
>>
>> The trio will raise at the east (as usual), shortly before the sun,
>> wherever you live.
>>
>> There are two challenges here:
>> - doing a nice composition, of general photographic interest, and not
>> only a pure astronomical "documentary" photograph, that would please
>> only astronomers.
>> 
>
>
> This sounds fun!  Could you maybe send out a reminder on the 11th, for those 
> of us with horrible memories for dates?  I have to get up really early these 
> days anyway, so I might as well put myself to good use.
>
> Thanks,
> John
>   


Sure, if I don't forget it, too :-)

By the way, the 13rd will not be too bad, too: the moon will be a bit 
more east from Jupiter and Antares, but thinner and closer to the sun, 
so the results might be pleasant, too...

Patrice

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Re: Photo Challenge: Moon, Jupiter and Antares

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Markus Maurer a écrit :
> An interesting idea Patrice.
> What time in the morning would that be, maybe I'm still awake?
>   
Here in France, the moon will raise shortly before 4AM, and the sun at 
7:45. Anytime in between should do, depending on the amount of dawn 
light you want.

For other people far from here, and serious about this little game, I 
suggest downloading the excellent, free and easy to use Stellarium 
program from http://www.stellarium.org (works on Windows and Mac) and do 
this simulation for your own place.

A map and a compass are also useful if you plan to investigate candidate 
places beforehand. Use the simulation to locate the position the moon 
will have, especially the heading, and prepare your shooting position(s) 
on the map, then on the field.

Good candidate places are those known to produce gorgeous sunrise shots 
(as I did with my sunset), or you might discover new ones as a reward.
> Do you think the Pentax M  100 or 200mm (on film) would be a good lens for
> that, what did you use in your GESO?
>   
It will be just great.

In my GESO (from EXIF data, therefore not very accurate):
  - 0024 was 100mm, slightly cropped, mostly vertical borders
  - 0031 was 125mm, no crop
  - 0041 was 125mm, almost no crop
  - 0048 was 45mm

All this with a *ist DS with the usual 1.5 crop factor.

The limiting factor here is the ability to use longer focal lengths, 
while still managing to include some interesting 
context/building/whatever in the frame. For instance, in my GESO, from 
where I sat, the moon did not get much closer to the church than in 
picture 0041, so anything longer than 135mm was useless. From another 
point of view, and/or with another subject in the foreground, I might 
have found a usage to the 80-320mm (equiv 480mm) and gotten a big 
moonball! But I had carefully chosen this location beforehand, and did 
not want to drive and run at the last minute to look for a better 
viewing angle (and probably miss it).

In the Feb/12 case, the moon will be much farther from the sun than last 
Saturday. So either you shoot it close to the horizon, very early in the 
night, with a still dark sky, or later before sunrise, with a more 
colorful sky, but higher in the sky (composition may be more difficult, 
or surprising, or original, or all of them).
> greetings
> Markus
>   
Regards, I hope you can join.
Patrice
>
> -Original Message-
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of
> Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)
> Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 1:31 AM
> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
> Subject: Photo Challenge: Moon, Jupiter and Antares
>
>
> Hello,
>
> Some of you may have noticed my latest GESO, about a nice conjunction
> between the thin moon crescent and the planet Venus last Saturday (GESO
> visible here):
> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-01-20-LuneVenusMarseille/
> http://tinyurl.com/24bg2d
>
> Unfortunately, I forgot to post a notice on the list beforehand, and
> only David Savage and I shared images of this event (Dave's images here):
>
> <http://www.arach.net.au/~savage/GESO/GESO_013/pages/_IGP0846.htm>
> <http://www.arach.net.au/~savage/GESO/GESO_013/pages/_IGP0855.htm>
>
>
> For people here that are interested in doing this kind of photos, I
> propose another similar challenge:
>
> On next February 12, the now growing moon will then be a very thin
> crescent again, closing to the sun. At this very day, it will cruise
> near the very bright planet Jupiter and the bright start Antares, in the
> Scorpion constellation.
>
> The trio will raise at the east (as usual), shortly before the sun,
> wherever you live.
>
> There are two challenges here:
> - doing a nice composition, of general photographic interest, and not
> only a pure astronomical "documentary" photograph, that would please
> only astronomers.
> - getting up at this time of the morning (and of the year in northern
> countries)
>
> I will do my best to produce something, and I invite enthusiasts to join me.
>
> To get an idea of what to expect, I did a simulation with the great
> software Stellarium, visible here:
>
> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/divers/2007-02-12-MJA/2007-02-12-Moon-
> Jupiter-Antares-crop.jpg.html
> http://tinyurl.com/ytmx8k
>
> This simulation is for Marseilles, France, but the configuration should
> be similar wherever you live in the northern hemisphere. The moon
> inclination will vary according to your latitude, and will be reversed
> in the southern hemisphere, but you get the idea. FYI, my shot of last
> saturday with the longest focal was approx 125mm.
>
> This is not really a "synchronicity" project, as everyone must take the
> picture before dawn wherever (s)he lives, before the moon and the rest

Photo Challenge: Moon, Jupiter and Antares

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hello,

Some of you may have noticed my latest GESO, about a nice conjunction 
between the thin moon crescent and the planet Venus last Saturday (GESO 
visible here):
http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-01-20-LuneVenusMarseille/
http://tinyurl.com/24bg2d

Unfortunately, I forgot to post a notice on the list beforehand, and 
only David Savage and I shared images of this event (Dave's images here):





For people here that are interested in doing this kind of photos, I 
propose another similar challenge:

On next February 12, the now growing moon will then be a very thin 
crescent again, closing to the sun. At this very day, it will cruise 
near the very bright planet Jupiter and the bright start Antares, in the 
Scorpion constellation.

The trio will raise at the east (as usual), shortly before the sun, 
wherever you live.

There are two challenges here:
- doing a nice composition, of general photographic interest, and not 
only a pure astronomical "documentary" photograph, that would please 
only astronomers.
- getting up at this time of the morning (and of the year in northern 
countries)

I will do my best to produce something, and I invite enthusiasts to join me.

To get an idea of what to expect, I did a simulation with the great 
software Stellarium, visible here:

http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/divers/2007-02-12-MJA/2007-02-12-Moon-Jupiter-Antares-crop.jpg.html
http://tinyurl.com/ytmx8k

This simulation is for Marseilles, France, but the configuration should 
be similar wherever you live in the northern hemisphere. The moon 
inclination will vary according to your latitude, and will be reversed 
in the southern hemisphere, but you get the idea. FYI, my shot of last 
saturday with the longest focal was approx 125mm.

This is not really a "synchronicity" project, as everyone must take the 
picture before dawn wherever (s)he lives, before the moon and the rest 
disappear into the sun's light.

If the number of participants is enough, I'll probably set up a gallery 
somewhere to host the images.

If this bothers you, sorry for that, otherwise, enjoy!

Patrice

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Re: Microsoft Photo info 1.0

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

Not really a surprise, but it doesn't support DNG.

I wonder when Microsoft will issue a similar "standard" to begin
undermining Adobe's stronghold on digital media file formats (and, as
an all-important consequence, $oftware).

Patrice

2007/1/24, Markus Maurer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=b038d4b5-1d88-437c-
> 9f54-1fb0d210b5ef&displaylang=en
>
> may be useful for some
> greetings
> Markus
>
>
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Re: GESO: Moon and Venus last Saturday

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

This comet is something!

Too bad I was too busy to do anything about it, even not seeing it
with my eyes :-(.

Now it's your turn southerners, and it seems even more gorgeous there...

BTW, I *could* spot the moon and Venus on this one :-).

Unfortunately, the distance between the comet and the moon reduces the
impact of the image, but there isn't much one can do about it (I don't
want to hear the word "Photoshop" in this context, you've all been
warned! :-) ).

The other one is nice, but definitely lacks a foreground (as a
background is out of the question ;-) ).

That was the tricky part for me: finding a good landscape, where I
could place something interesting as close to the moon as possible,
and that had to be near the horizon and rather far so I could use a
telephoto lens to "enlarge" the moon...

But no comet, I have to concede ;-)

Next time this kind of event arises, I hope to warn the list earlier.
This is a fun challenge for any landscape photographer and I'm sure a
bunch of great pictures would come up from the list!

Thanks for viewing and sharing.

Patrice

2007/1/24, David Savage <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> Lovely stuff Patrice. I like the 3rd one the best.
>
> This is all I managed to come up with on Saturday:
>
> <http://www.arach.net.au/~savage/GESO/GESO_013/pages/_IGP0846.htm>
>
> <http://www.arach.net.au/~savage/GESO/GESO_013/pages/_IGP0855.htm>
> (Your doing well if you can actually see the moon & Venus in this one :-)
>
> Cheers,
>
> Dave
>
> On 1/24/07, Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-01-20-LuneVenusMarseille/
> >
> > http://tinyurl.com/24bg2d
>
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Re: Tools of the trade?

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Ouch!

Bob W a écrit :
> A photo by David Hurn of a consultant in genitourinary medicine:
>
> http://todayspictures.slate.com/20070123/11.html
>
> Bob
>
>
>   


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Re: GESO: Moon and Venus last Saturday

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Tom C a écrit :
> Nice, especially the sunset Notre Dame shot!  I also like the other ones.  
> What's the 'blue light' visible in the the fourth at the bottom?
>   
It's a gate from a ruined castle, that is lit at night.

IMO this photo is not very well composed, as there are actually 2 images 
in there. I mainly included it for friends who know the place.

Best regards

Patrice
>
>
> Tom C.
>
>
>
>
>   
>> From: "Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Reply-To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List 
>> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List 
>> Subject: GESO: Moon and Venus last Saturday
>> Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 22:33:36 +0100
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> There was a great conjunction between Venus and the moon last Saturday.
>>
>> Here is a selection of my coverage of the "event", here in Marseille,
>> southern France:
>>
>> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-01-20-LuneVenusMarseille/
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/24bg2d
>>
>> I have fiddled for about one month trying to figure out a nice place to
>> shoot the event, and only Friday an old photo of mine (visible here:
>> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/d/1584-1/Notre+Dame+de+la+Garde-web.jpg
>> and http://tinyurl.com/yqobhy) reminded me that I know a good vantage
>> point from where one can see the sun and all those things that orbit
>> around it setting almost behind the major church in Marseille (at least
>> at this time in the year).
>>
>> I sent a post about this a short while *before* the event, unfortunately
>> it failed.
>>
>> As usual, comments are always welcome.
>>
>> With all my best wishes for year 2007.
>>
>> Patrice
>>
>>
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>> 
>
>
>
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Re: PESO - Flying

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Great shot.

It works well as it is for me.

Patrice

Bruce Dayton a écrit :
> I'd like some feedback on this.  The issue is whether to crop it or
> not.  What I like about this presentation is that you can get the
> sense of them flying over the trees.  Cropping removes that context.
> On the other hand, there is sufficient detail in the ducks to handle
> some crop.
>
> Pentax K10D, Tokina AT-X AF 400/5.6, Handheld
> ISO 200, 1/500 sec @ f/8
>
> http://www.daytonphoto.com/PAW/bkd_4280.htm
>
> Comments welcome
>
>   


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Re: Interest in developing a software around photograhy?

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi!

Here is a something I planned to do sometime, but never got the time to 
actually implement:

- Feed the software a bunch of DNG files (or other RAW format, but 
preferably DNG ;-)  )
- It will scan each file, and based on lens identifier,  focal length, 
approximate focusing distance, and aperture, set the appropriate values 
for chromatic aberration and vignetting.
- The values are fed from a (small) lens database. The feature looks 
pretty like PTlens, but acts on DNG parameters that are directly used by 
ACR.
- In a first version, the lens information could just be entered 
"manually" once per lens.

In a more extensible version, a training system could be used to feed 
the system with new information:
- Feed the tool with a picture from an unknown lens, it will apply 
nothing, and warn the user.
- The user uses ACR to set the appropriate corrections to the image, 
then starts some "training" function, that reads back this information 
and stores a new sample of parameter values for this lens.
- When analyzing a new image from a known lens, the software proposes 
correction values, based on samples already in the database, possibly by 
using an interpolation technique (e.g. if known values are known for 
28mm and 50mm, try to guess a value for 35mm). If the user is 
dissatisfied by the result, she can fix the values in ACR and run the 
training function: a new point is added to the database.

As the database is really small here, a lightweight implementation, such 
as SQLite, should be more than enough. Honestly I don't think a database 
is mandatory at all for this usage, but at least you meet your requirements.

Of course, depending on the scale of your project, you might include 
this function into a bigger tool.

Best regards

Patrice

Thibouille a écrit :
> I have to produce a software as a final evaluation of my computer
> sciences studies.
> Of course, nothing like a RAW converter etc. but maybe there a couple
> things which would be handy to have in a little software?
>
> Conversions? (focal length, DOF...)
> Inventory? (lenses, bodies, film, memory cards, bags, outfits, flahguns etc 
> ...)
> Cataloguing software?
> Exif/ipct collecting from files?
>
> I dunno, I'm open to any idea. I know a couple utilities already exists.
> It is more a question of programming something which I find useful
> rather than trying to revolutionize anything.
>
> A Database is mandatory. Except that I probably can do almost anything
> but I'll stay rather simple (I mean... not gonna do a second PS  ;)
>
> Thanks for your ideas !
>
>   


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GESO: Moon and Venus last Saturday

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi all,

There was a great conjunction between Venus and the moon last Saturday.

Here is a selection of my coverage of the "event", here in Marseille,
southern France:

http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/geso/2007-01-20-LuneVenusMarseille/

http://tinyurl.com/24bg2d

I have fiddled for about one month trying to figure out a nice place to
shoot the event, and only Friday an old photo of mine (visible here:
http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/d/1584-1/Notre+Dame+de+la+Garde-web.jpg
and http://tinyurl.com/yqobhy) reminded me that I know a good vantage
point from where one can see the sun and all those things that orbit
around it setting almost behind the major church in Marseille (at least
at this time in the year).

I sent a post about this a short while *before* the event, unfortunately
it failed.

As usual, comments are always welcome.

With all my best wishes for year 2007.

Patrice


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Re: Let's make a list: What has Pentax introduced in the past year?

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Mark Roberts a écrit :
> (And is anyone still looking forward to the supersonic focusing lenses 
> soon to come?
For sure, "supersonic" does not refer to the time to market.

Patrice

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Re: anyone else waiting forever for their K10D?

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

I too am waiting forever... to buy it!

Maybe when it gets below 650$...

Patrice

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Re: PESO - Two palm trees

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi!

Great shot if you ask me. Geat sky!

I just didn't see the red guy, and I believe cropping him off would 
result in a cropped boat, too, and that will probably be much worse IMHO.

Too bad the two palm trees were not a bit more on the right, say, closer 
to the right boats instead of the left ones (but not as close).

Regards

Patrice

Markus Maurer a écrit :
> I would like it more if the man on the right corner was cut away and again
> the photo looks a bit blurred to me.
> But the trees are nice indeed Boris :-)
> greetings
> Markus
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of
> Boris Liberman
> Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 7:05 AM
> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
> Subject: PESO - Two palm trees
>
>
> http://not.contaxg.com/document.php?id=16107&full=1
>
> As usual brutal and honest comments are the best ;-).
>
> Boris
>
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Re: Understanding ProPhoto RGB - or not

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi!

Boros Attila a écrit :
> Hello Patrice,
>
>   
8< SNIP SNIP SNIP -
> So there is really no silver bullet, and I should consider choosing a
> color space based on what kind of image I'm working with, and what the
> final output will be, and working with ProPhotoRGB in 16 bit is just a
> safe bet. Then the final step will be to convert to sRGB before saving
> for web. Can there be a loss of image detail/color when I perform such
> a conversion?
>   
Yep, with ProPhoto RGB/16bit, you're probably quite safe (16 bit is 16 
times better and the 12 bits originally in RAW files, so this allows for 
a good clearance).
In 8 bit you're definitely not.
> Let's say I have an image which fits perfectly into sRGB.
>
> A.)
> - I use ACR to open the image in Photoshop using ProphotoRGB.
> - Apply levels, curves, sharpening etc.
> - Convert to sRGB then save for web.
>
> B.)
> - I use ACR to ipen the image in Photoshop using sRGB.
> - Apply levels, curves, sharpening etc.
> - No need to convert, this is already sRGB so just save for web.
>
> Assuming that in both cases I work in 16 bits/channel mode will there
> be any differences between A.) and B.)? With other words, can
> colorspace conversions lead to a loss of information? It would seem
> that in B.) there is no color space conversion, it's sRGB all the way,
> but there is a catch: the article says that ProPhotoRGB is Camera
> Raw's native colour space. So if I get this right there will be a
> conversion in both cases.
>
>   
I'd say in 16 bit you probably won't see any difference. However, if you 
want to do a bit more advanced retouching, then save not only for web, 
but for print also, I'd recomment A, so you do the retouching just once 
for all.

BTW, in case A, there are two color conversions:
- Camera -> ProPhoto RGB (ACR does this one)
- ProPhotoRGB -> sRGB (before saving, in PS)
In case B, there is just one in ACR for Camera -> sRGB

(I assume here that the RAW camera data is in its own sensor-specific 
color space.)

Just like curves/levels adjustments, any color space conversion will in 
theory destroy some information, because you relocate some colors to 
other values, and with a finite number of values, some colors that were 
initialy separate will become identical. My bet is that in 16bits, with 
16 times more precision than actually present in the original data, this 
is not an issue.

Anyway, if the final result is just for 8bit Web display, we just 
shouldn't bother with this, as most web viewers won't have a properly 
calibrated screen.

I'd have very different conclusions in 8 bits, though!

> PLG> Just my 2 cents (a bit long, but these are Euro cents).
> Thank you Patrice, it is well worth it:)
>
> --
> Attila
>
>   
Best regards

Patrice

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Re: Understanding ProPhoto RGB - or not

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Mark Roberts a écrit :
> Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
>
>   
>> Selecting a colorspace is not a matter of "which is better than the  
>> other", it's a matter of how much data you can capture vs editing  
>> flexibility vs what device will you be presenting a rendering on.
>> 
>
> Rule of thumb: Whenever someone tells you that one colorspace is 
> "better" than another you can be pretty sure that what follows is going 
> to be nonsense ;-)
> (Unless they're saying it's better for a specific application, as in 
> "sRGB is better for printing to photographic paper" or "Adobe RGB is 
> better for the Vimfurdler 2355 inkjet printer", etc.)
>   
Indeed!

And I would add that the color space is also better or worse depending 
on the image itself.

For some images (maybe most of your images?) using a wider color space 
may actually give inferior results.

I've imagined a lengthy, but very accurate metaphor for this:

Imagine you have a field of land. It is your color space. It contains 
flowers and trees (each of them is a different color). You want to 
measure the positions of these flowers and trees in this field (each 
position corresponds to a given color). You can do so by dividing the 
field in equal portions, marked by poles. You can't position a tree in 
the field in a better precision than the distance between two poles. The 
problem is that you only have a limited number of poles.

Now you are given the choice between a smaller field (sRGB color space) 
and a larger field (ProPhoto). The smaller field is contained in the 
larger one, so there are trees that are in the larger field, but not in 
the smaller field (these are very saturated colors.) You want the larger 
field to get an image correctly measured if important parts of this 
image (a lot of the trees) are only in the larger field.

But this comes at a price. As you still have the same amount of poles 
whichever field you choose (say 256x256), if the larger field is chosen, 
more land needs to be covered, then the poles will be planted wider 
apart from each other. You can measure more land, but with less precision.

If you chose to map the larger field, but all your trees are in the 
smaller anyway, all you get, regarding YOUR trees, is a coarser precision.

Therefore, for an image with important detail in saturated colors 
(flowers?), consider working with a wide color space. If you're pretty 
sure your image only contains colors with lower saturation (portrait?), 
prefer a narrower color space and you'll have a better rendition of most 
of your image.

Or, use not 256 poles in each direction, but 65536 (16 bit instead of 8) 
throughout your workflow, and use wide color space until the very last 
point.

I like to use the highlight preview in ACR, to check that no major parts 
of the image are color-cropped. This preview changes dramatically for 
saturated colors depending on the selected color space. I work with sRGB 
whenever that makes sense, and seldom need any wider.

Just my 2 cents (a bit long, but these are Euro cents).

Patrice


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Re: OT - Prius Fuel Economy

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

It meant oil, gas, coal, tar ;-) and all kinds of fossil matter that one 
can burn...

Sorry for my poor english :-)

Patrice

keith_w a écrit :
> Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail) wrote:
>
> A bit chopped out, for brevity, but I've one question, so I can put all 
> that you wrote in place:
>
> What's "thermic?"
>
> keith whaley
>
>   
>> The exact figures for 2005 (as has roughly been since the mid 80s) are:
>> - nuke: 78%
>> - *thermic*: 11%
>> - hydraulic: 10%
>> - wind and solar: 0.2%
>> (from Electricité de France, 
>> http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/energie/statisti/pdf/elec-analyse-stat.pdf).
>> 
>
> [...]
>
>   
>> The French answer (for now, but of course there's controversy on this), 
>> is "stop fossil energy now, live to develop clean, renewable energies, 
>> and in the meantime fill the gap with the nasty nukes".
>>
>> I'm quite satisfied with this position, as I believe it's the most 
>> ecologically safe (ecologists will brobably burn me alive for writing this).
>>
>> I just can't understand some very "ecologist" countries, like Germany, 
>> that shut down nuclear plants to open new coal *thermic* ones, and pour 
>> more CO2 into the atmosphere!
>> 
>
> [...]
>
>   
>> Patrice
>>
>> 
>
>
>   


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Re: OT - Prius Fuel Economy

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

K.Takeshita a écrit :
> On 11/26/06 6:51 PM, "Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)",
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>   
>> The French answer (for now, but of course there's controversy on this),
>> is "stop fossil energy now, live to develop clean, renewable energies,
>> and in the meantime fill the gap with the nasty nukes".
>> 
>
> French are smart, eh?
>   
To be honest, the French "all nuclear" electricity programme dates back 
from the 60s, when Algeria got independent, and France lost most of its 
fuel source! I'm sure it initially had not much to do about environment...

Patrice


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Re: OT - Prius Fuel Economy

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

William Robb a écrit :
> - Original Message - 
> From: "Adam Maas"
> Subject: Re: OT - Prius Fuel Economy
>   
>> The solution to the environmental issue is to outlaw coal power and
>> push
>> through nukes (Which are very safe and the disposal issue for spent
>> fuel
>> is far less of an actual issue than anti-nuke luddites insist that it
>> is).
>> 
>
> Absolutely.
> I heard the other day that France is something like 90% nuclear, and
> they don't seem to be having any problems with their reactors.
> Is Pickering still running?
> There are also political issues surrounding nuclear which attempt to
> limit who can have it.
>   
We only have problems with anti-nukes ;-)

The exact figures for 2005 (as has roughly been since the mid 80s) are:
- nuke: 78%
- thermic: 11%
- hydraulic: 10%
- wind and solar: 0.2%
(from Electricité de France, 
http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/energie/statisti/pdf/elec-analyse-stat.pdf).

For sure, the masses feel terribly more uncomfortable with nuclear waste 
than with fossil CO2 production, which has been running for 2 centuries 
without causing any huge and terrible catastrophy so far.

OTOH, most people have an image of nuclear waste that looks like a pile 
of rusted tanks that leak some nasty oily crap that glows purple in the 
night. What most people don't realize, is that most vitrified nuclear 
waste is just like regular glass, but with radioactive atoms embedded 
between the "normal" atoms. Most of the time, the resulting glass is 
just slightly more radioactive than many natural rocks. This glass will 
never leak all the nuclear atoms at once! Claims that it will remain 
radioactive for very long periods of time are justified, but for now, 
our choice between fossil and nuclear energy looks too much like a 
choice between "leave an unpleasant legacy to our grand-grand-grand 
children" and "kill ourselves now, and stop worrying about grand 
children"! Regarding renewable energies, the question is "will we be 
able to replace fossil energy with it before we kill ourselves with CO2?".

The French answer (for now, but of course there's controversy on this), 
is "stop fossil energy now, live to develop clean, renewable energies, 
and in the meantime fill the gap with the nasty nukes".

I'm quite satisfied with this position, as I believe it's the most 
ecologically safe (ecologists will brobably burn me alive for writing this).

I just can't understand some very "ecologist" countries, like Germany, 
that shut down nuclear plants to open new coal thermic ones, and pour 
more CO2 into the atmosphere!

> We are dallying with wind power generation out here, but I don't know
> how viable it is for large population densities, how long it takes to
> amortize the environmental liabilities associated with making the
> turbines.
>
>   
>> And even better long-term solution is Solar Power Satellites, which
>> have
>> a serious lead time to get active, but make solar power a viable
>> option
>> for power (as opposed to a good method for supplementing power). The
>> basic technology was worked out and proven 30 years ago.
>>
>> 
>
> I recall hearing many years ago that the Russions were playing with
> power transmission without using power lines, and I heard an item on As
> It Happens the other day where a fellow (or group) had come up with a
> method of recharging small device batteries using a wireless
> transmission method.
>
> William Robb
>
>
>
>   
In La Réunion, the French island where I was born in the Indian Ocean, 
an interesting electricity wireless transmission experiment was done, to 
provide electricity through microwaves to a very remote village 
(actually VERY remote, see photo here: 
http://membres.lycos.fr/nirrey/etsdsfr211.html). It was promising.

We may be WAY off topic, here!

Patrice

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Re: K10D & Photoshop CS2

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

2006/11/24, Mark Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> If the K10D shot *compressed* DNG then I'd be able to skip
> the entire batch process. This is what I was hoping for.
>
> I'm hoping it's possible for them to provide this functionality
> eventually through a firmware update, but I have no way of knowing if
> that part of the camera's firmware is in the flash ROM. If it's not,
> then it won't be possible for them to change it through a firmware
> update.

With Flash prices constantly plumetting down, it's safe for any
manufacturer to put (almost) everything in Flash. The (small) extra
cost compared to plain ROM is overcome by greatly reducing the risk of
a software issue that couldn't be fixed by an upgrade if the piece of
software was in ROM. Besides, the whole firmware would ideally be
stored into one single chip, cheaper and safer than two separate ROM
and Flash chips.

So my guess is that everything is upgradeable, except maybe the
bootstrap code that actually allows the flash to be updated in the
first place (just in case). (This is often stored in Flash, but can't
be erased after manufacturing by electronic design.)

The questions are then:
   - is there any code space left to integrate a compression engine in
this flash?
   - how would the DNG compression process impact the performance?

The obvious workaround for this performance issue is to integrate some
hardware-assisted compression system (which is common for JPEG) but
this must be planned in advance and impact the hardware, and the cost.

Just my educated guess, I may be totally wrong.

Patrice

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Re: LCD Monitor Questions

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

For sure 6-bit would be 64*64*64 = 262144 colors, which is definitely 
*NOT* 16.2 million.

Even 2 colors with 8 bits and one with 7 bit would be a bit more than 8 
million colors.

Therefore the reason must be something else than bit depth, though I 
haven't any clue what it might be, sorry.

Just my 1.8c.

Patrice

Tom C a écrit :
> Some monitors claim to be capapble of displaying 16.7 million colors while 
> others claim 16.2 million. 8-bit vs. 6-bit as I understand it.  Any REAL 
> difference in actual use?
>
> I see some monitors that have virtually identical specs... hard to compare 
> and decide.
>
> Any real difference between:
>
> Dell
>
> http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-4688
>
> and Sceptre:
>
> http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2478085&CatId=0
>
> Thanks.
>
> Tom C.
>
>
>
>   


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Re: Apple Digital Camera RAW update now available

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Until a few weeks ago, both DS and DL were still listed on the French 
Pentax site. Since then, the K10D entered the site, and only the DS 
disappeared. The DL is still there.

Patrice

Adam Maas a écrit :
> Actually, they all are discontinued. The K100D and K110D are the current 
> models.
>
> -Adam
>
>
> Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail) wrote:
>   
>> Wow, some of these models are not discontinued yet! Good job Apple ;-)
>>
>> Adam Maas a écrit :
>> 
>>> Finaly some Pentax love for Aperture. The Update adds support for the 
>>> *istDS (And apparently the DL and D too according to the support list). 
>>> No K1x0D support yet though.
>>>
>>> -Adam
>>>
>>>   
>>>   
>> 
>
>
>   


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Re: Apple Digital Camera RAW update now available

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Wow, some of these models are not discontinued yet! Good job Apple ;-)

Adam Maas a écrit :
> Finaly some Pentax love for Aperture. The Update adds support for the 
> *istDS (And apparently the DL and D too according to the support list). 
> No K1x0D support yet though.
>
> -Adam
>
>   


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Re: PESO: November Moon

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

"""
Enlarged moon double exposure is, perhaps, the ultimate cliche in
photography, but, it seems, I have no shame.
"""

Yep, but I've seen far worse instances of it...

This is a great picture IMHO. Anyone got better results with Photoshop?

Patrice

Jack Davis a écrit :
> A couple of details. Shot about 20 frames of the moon with A*300 f/2.8,
> 1.4L T/C and 85B filter. (from my back patio)
> Rewound the 20 frames in the LX (great feature), removed the 1.4L T/C
> and, next day, headed for a local State Wildlife Refuge. Taken at about
> noon.
> Underexposed geese by 3 stops (2 by - exposure comp. and one by
> shooting 100 ISO Provia at ISO 200). Left the 85B in place.
> This small jpg produces some nodes (?) on the edge of the moon.
> Something I haven't see before. They do disappear with zoom in.
> Would liked to have had the full frame width, but the moon was too near
> the center, thus the 8x10 crop.
> Enlarged moon double exposure is, perhaps, the ultimate cliche in
> photography, but, it seems, I have no shame.
>
> Jack
>
> Comments certainly appreciated.
>
> http://photolightimages.com/aspupload/detail.asp?ID=198
>
>
>
>
>  
> __
> Check out the New Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things 
> done faster. 
> (http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta) 
>
>
>   


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Re: Waiting For Pentax Products

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Mort de rire!


(The French for LOL, litterally "laughing to death")
Patrice

Tom C a écrit :
> LOL!
>
>
>
> Tom C.
>
>
>
>
>
>   
>> From: Joseph Tainter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Reply-To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List 
>> To: pdml@pdml.net
>> Subject: Waiting For Pentax Products
>> Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2006 15:12:42 -0800
>>
>> http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=20716303
>>
>> 
>
>
>   


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*ist DS back from servicing

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

My *ist DS got back from servicing by Pentax France yesterday.

I have to say I'm quite satisfied by them.

The defective part (thumb dial) was replaced.
The body housing was completely cleaned, as well as the sensor, and even 
the dust that was stuck between the focusing screen and the prism was 
removed.

Not that it is specially outstanding, but I've heard very sad stories 
from friends with one of the Big Brands (not the one with a C :-) ), so 
I'm happy to see that Pentax even bothers to clean the seats and the 
windshield before handing back the keys.

Of course I would have preferred if my DS hadn't failed in the first 
place, but now it is like new, and nothing suggests the same part should 
fail again. Or does it?

Sorry guys, you'll have to see my crap now and again!

Patrice

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Re: K10D: kit (new one) and price for France

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Thibouille a écrit :
> The lowest
> advertised price is currently 830,20 euros from Amazon.fr and 859,00
> from Digibao (mentionned 'cos I bought my D from them and have been
> happy with them).
>   
I've bought my DS, a lens and a couple other items from Digibao, and 
I've been very happy with them, including their servicing department. 
Very professional, very efficient, very friendly, and very well reviewed 
by many buyers. As I live close to them, I can place an order one day 
and it is ready for pick-up the next day! I highly recommend them.

Now I have to resist placing this 859,00 eur order!

Patrice

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Re: PESO - Golden Eagle

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Great picture!

Seems that the foreground feathers show some "duplication", like a 
motion blur, but the sharp spots do not show any (or is it my eyes? ;-) )

Have you experienced such out-of-focus duplication effect elsewhere, or 
did it move its wing, or something?

Patrice

Bruce Dayton a écrit :
> Taken at the San Francisco Zoo.  Yes, it would be much cooler if I had
> hiked somewhere to find this, but I like it nonetheless.
>
> Pentax *istD, Sigma 100-300/4 EX @ 280mm, monopod
> ISO 400, 1/180 sec @ f/5.6
>
> http://www.daytonphoto.com/PAW/sfzoo_0288a.htm
>
> Comments welcome
>
>   


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Re: PESO - A valley view

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Great shot.

Advocates of "real images" would disagree, but it is probably much 
better without the power line ;-)

A bit oversharpened. Sharpening does not harm in the leaves, but it does 
at the (jagged) horizon.

I definitely need to get out before all those leaves fall !

Patrice

Jostein Øksne a écrit :
> http://www.oksne.net/paw/valleyview.html
>
> Thanks for looking.
>
> Jostein
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Pearl web

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Beautiful!

Great composition, great background, great colors...

Colored spots in almost each drop catch my eye... Was this intentional? 
Do you know what they come from?

Patrice

Jan van Wijk a écrit :
> Taken a few weeks back in Bavaria, arround 9 
> in the morning when it was still a bit foggy, 
> awaiting a beautiful september morning ...
>
>   http://www.dfsee.com/gallery/index.php?id=203
>
>
> Enjoy!
>
> Regards, JvW
>
>
> PS:
> The 'Heron kill series' and 'Yosemite halfdome' in that same
> gallery have also been improved a bit, based on comments :-)
> --
> Jan van Wijk;   http://www.dfsee.com/gallery
>
>
>
>   


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Re: K10D - RAW -> JPEG in Camera

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

I'd add this use case:

If you're short of memory and don't have anywhere to unload your cards, 
just scan for the "easy" RAW files that you can safely convert to Jpeg, 
delete them to reclaim mem space.

Shel Belinkoff a écrit :
> A friend who has ordered a K10D asked me what benefit there is to
> converting a RAW file to a JPEG file in camera.  I offered a few ideas, but
> I sometimes tend to miss the obvious or some subtleties.  So, can anyone
> offer up some benefits to this feature.
>
> Personally, I think it can be quite useful in some situations, such as when
> travelling and you want to make some prints locally but don't have your
> computer with you.  You can make a custom JPEG and print it at a kiosk or
> instant print place quickly and easily.  Or you can make a custom JPEG,
> instead of relying on the camera default, to send via email or burn on to a
> CD and send to friends/family, also with no need for computer and image
> processing software.  What else?
>
>
> Shel
>
>
>
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Truth

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

A very striking image, well put in perspective by the title...

Patrice

2006/10/10, Ralf R. Radermacher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> Truth is always the first victim of war.
>
> For Anna Politkovskaja:
>
> http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/770012/display/6884088
>
> http://www.rsf.org
>
> --
> Ralf R. Radermacher  -  DL9KCG  -  Köln/Cologne, Germany
> private homepage: http://www.fotoralf.de
> manual cameras and photo galleries - updated Jan. 10, 2005
> Contarex - Kiev 60 - Horizon 202 - P6 mount lenses
>
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> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
>

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PESO: Serious things

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/PESO/2006-06-18+Seillons+-+34-web.jpg.html

http://tinyurl.com/pdbb3

The book's title would translate to something like "Funnytronic
discoveries book".

Best Regards

Patrice

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Re: PESO - Fallen Leaf #2

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Yep, I take your point, and I believe that this picture is great as it is.

But I can't help thinking a bit less saturation would not harm this 
strong visual impact.

As usual, the author is the ultimate juge of what he/she wants to express.

Patrice

Paul Stenquist a écrit :
> I see this as graphic art. I think the question of realism is  
> irrelevant here.
> Paul
> On Oct 7, 2006, at 5:03 PM, Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail) wrote:
>
>   
>> Great picture, Shel.
>>
>> Maybe the leaf is a bit too saturated, though. It doesn't look too
>> realistic to me. Or it's just me, or my screen :-)
>>
>> Patrice
>>
>> Shel Belinkoff a écrit :
>> 
>>> I made this pic last year about this time.  This morning I  
>>> revisited the
>>> photo and saw something more, different in it.  So, here's the  
>>> revised
>>> edition.
>>>
>>> http://home.earthlink.net/~ebay-pics/fallenleaf2.html
>>>
>>>
>>> Shel
>>>
>>>   


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Re: PESO - Fallen Leaf #2

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Great picture, Shel.

Maybe the leaf is a bit too saturated, though. It doesn't look too 
realistic to me. Or it's just me, or my screen :-)

Patrice

Shel Belinkoff a écrit :
> I made this pic last year about this time.  This morning I revisited the
> photo and saw something more, different in it.  So, here's the revised
> edition.
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~ebay-pics/fallenleaf2.html
>
>
> Shel
>
>
>
>
>   


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Re: How to get a *bright* viewfinder

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

LOL!

The only drawback is that it gets permanent over time, so you need to 
graft the camera to your eye socket...

Juan Buhler a écrit :
> Making any viewfinder several times brighter is simple: have your eye
> doctor apply those drops that dilate your pupils. I tried it
> today--went shooting after my eye exam. Granted, I could barely see
> the camera, and had to dial some diopter correction in my istD, but
> the viewfinder (and the world) seemed so bright that I thought I had a
> digital MX or something.
>
> Maybe the K1D should have a little nozzle next to the viewfinder, that
> sprays those drops in your eye on startup. They'd get away with a
> pentamirror that way.
>
> :)
>
>   


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Re: OT: CPU question

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

For Photo usage, I'd say buy RAM first.

Then, if you still have some money to spend on it, buy more RAM again.

Finally, think about getting a new CPU.

I've a 1.5 GB machine with an AMD Athlon XP 64, and yes, PS goes faster 
than on most P4s I've seen with 1 GB or less.

Patrice

cbwaters a écrit :
> Ok, I know... Get a mac... I get it.  just can't right now.
>
> My PC is a P4 1.7 (don't know the FSB speed) and I've got 504MB of DDR DIMM 
> RAM (not sure of the speed there either)
>
> Without switching motherboards, I can move up to around P4 3.0 with an 
> 800Mhz FSB and hyper-threading for about $85.
>
> How would one describe the improvement is speed here?  1-10 with ten being 
> "waoh, that's the best $85 I ever spent!"
>
> I could, of course, also get more memory.
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> CW
>
>
>  
>
>
>   


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Re: K10D vs D80

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi,

There are a couple 3rd party options comparable in functionality to 
Nikon's 18-135, although probably not in par in terms of quality, and 
definitely not supersonic driven:

Sigma 18-125 F3.5-5.6 DC
Sigma 18-200 F3.5-6.3 DC
Tamron 18-200 F3.5-6.3 XR Di II

I know nothing about the image quality of the Tamron.

I own the Tokina 18-125 and I'm quite happy with it. Very convenient, 
and gives surprisingly good results given the price. Again, it is 
probably not as sharp as the Nikon, but the prices can't be compared 
neither.

I can provide sample shots (with *ist DS) if needed.

C'mon Pentax, please crank out some all-purpose wide-range hyperzoom 
18-100+ with that supersonic drive thing!

Patrice

Juan Buhler a écrit :
> A coworker of mine asked my opinion. He's about to buy a DSLR, and his
> main two options are a Nikon D80 and a K10D.
>
> Of course, I suggested he goes with the K10D, saying that its specs
> are closer to a D200 than to a D80. He's leaning towards it, but says
> that he likes that Nikon has an 18-135 lens--he doesn't want to carry
> any extra lenses (!).
>
> I told him the kit DA18-55 is very good, but that I don't think Pentax
> has anything equivalent to Nikon's 18-135. Is that so?  Anything else
> I should tell him?
>
> j
>
>   


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Re: What do you do when you get to IMGP9999

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Adam McKenty a écrit :
> How do you rename/organize your digital photos?
> I'm now at image 17,603 and am having a bit of a crisis with my sorting
> regime because I can't add my last 7603 images to my file system. Until
> now I've just been sorting my photos into a bunch of folders (people,
> deer, sail boats, etc.), and copying the best ones in to a best ones
> folder, with windows explorer. What I'd like to be doing is putting them
> all in one big folder and having them organized by their meta data
> keywords, which I could apply in bulk to an entire folder or drag on to
> an individual image without having to type them out seventeen thousand
> times. Is there any good freeware out there that can do this sort of
> thing? Most of my photos are jpgs but the last thousand or so are raws
> and I don't plan to be shooting to many more jpgs.
>
> Cheers,
> Francis
>
> www.photosynth.ca/photo (under construction)
>
>   
This is one of the reasons why I rename all my files "-MM-DD 
ShootingEvent - NN.DNG" as soon as they leave the memory card. I keep 
the original name in the Exif data just in case.

Patrice

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Re: Street photography - religious objections

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

I feel worried, too, about this... I'm must say I almost never do street 
photography partly because of this, and I'm extra careful in crowded areas.

Even in desert areas, one can encounter the issue, though!

I was once shooting lizards in a (almost) desert park with my 80-320 
(damn big telephoto lenses!). I hadn't noticed people in the line of 
sight about 50 or 100m away. They noticed me and ran at me yelling that 
I was not allowed to take photos of them.

I'd have liked to explain that they were probably not in the frame, and 
even so they would be way out of focus, but they didn't get my lizards 
story and were obviously not in a mood to listen to my demonstrations 
(or to anything at all...).

As they were getting pretty aggressive, and I was alone, therefore 
outnumbered, my best option was to mumble some apology and to get away, 
glad that they didn't insist to get the film, some money or whatever...

Most people do not care about being photographed, some are very willing 
to participate, and then it's a real pleasure, but the few who are 
hostile to the concept (for their own good reasons I won't challenge) 
can sometimes become really nasty.

Patrice

Vic Mortelmans a écrit :
> Hi,
>
> This forum has discussed legal objections to street photography many 
> times. When I do street photograpy, it's not that often that I really 
> take a frame on individual people, so I don't really bother about that. 
> If people are in the picture, they're mostly unaware and part of a crowd 
> or passing by at some distance. Moreover, I'm an amateur and don't 
> publish photographs, so I don't see any problem in that area.
>
> Today I was at a public street community fair (kind of garage sail) 
> taking some pictures. Again: not framing individual people, but just 
> catching the environment. Since we live in a multi-cultural city, I 
> happened to frame a sale stand where a family of muslim people was 
> looking around. One of the women directly signaled me that she opposed 
> to have a picture taken. I know that this is forbidden by the islam religon.
>
> I have a dual feeling about this.
>
> On the one hand, I can fully understand people to oppose to being 
> photographed, be it for religious reasons, privicy reason or economical 
> reaons (if the pictures are commercialized), or whatever. That's the 
> main reason why I'm not in to street photography with direct contact to 
> the subject; I know the risk that the reaction is negative and having 
> arguments or even a row would make me loose the pleasure of taking 
> pictures.
>
> On the other hand, I feel uncomfertable that a couple of muslim people 
> mingling in a crowd can prohibit me to take pictures. What if I would 
> have been photographing my 2 year old son running around through the 
> street and they happened to be in the background... Strictly spoken, 
> that would have objected them as well, I guess. They're just part of a 
> crowd.
>
> And I also have a third thought about this (but I hope I don't start a 
> polemic discussion on this). I'm myself a practicing roman catholic, so 
> I (think I) know what religion is about. Nevertheless, I can't imagine 
> to interact with other people in my city community in this defensive (*) 
> manner, based on my religious practice. But maybe I'm a bad catholic...
>
> Anyway, this is my (little) story... I'd like to hear some reaction to 
> that! Maybe this forum numbers some muslim photographers? That would be 
> really interesting!
>
> Groeten,
>
> Vic
>
> (*) note: I put the woman's reaction as being defensive, implying that I 
> was the one to be offensive, starting to take the picture. That's just 
> fair for the sake of the discussion.
>
>   


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Re: PESO: Moon Over Duomo, Milan

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Joseph Tainter a écrit :
> http://www.fotocommunity.com/pc/pc/cat/4404/display/6739171
>
> Pure serendipity. Late on the night of our arrival, jet-lagged and very 
> tired, my wife and I stepped out the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and saw 
> this sight.
>
> Comments welcome.
>
> Joe
Great composition... Have you considered double exposure to get both the 
Duomo and the moon correctly exposed? (I guess you weren't carrying a 
tripod, though).

Patrice

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Re: Care and Feeding of Rechargeable Batteries

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

This was true with Ni-Cd batteries, and in a *much* lower extent, with 
Ni-MH.

Li-Ion and newer batteries do not suffer this at all (the counterpart 
being a shorter lifespan).

Patrice

Shel Belinkoff a écrit :
> I've always understood that it's best to take 'em down to empty and in that
> way they can become fully charged.  Recharging them before they are
> depleted doesn't allow for a full charge.  Anyway, that's what I remember
> hearing.  I seem to recall Sony or Canon suggesting that you fully deplete
> the bats before recharging.
>
> Shel
>
>
>
>   
>> [Original Message]
>> From: Joseph Tainter 
>> 
>
>   
>> When our K10Ds arrive, what is the best way to care for
>>  the rechargeable  battery:
>>
>> Wait until empty, then recharge?
>>
>> Top it up regularly?
>> 
>
>
>
>   


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Re: Care and Feeding of Rechargeable Batteries

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Joseph Tainter a écrit :
> When our K10Ds arrive, what is the best way to care for the rechargeable 
> battery:
>
> Wait until empty, then recharge?
>
> Top it up regularly?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Joe
>
>   
As it is a Li-ion battery, there is no memory effect to be worried 
about. You'll get the same perf whether way you proceed.

However, I think doing more frequent partial charges may reduce 
lifespan, because this would mean more load/unload electro-chemical 
cycles (I may be wrong, though).

Patrice


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Re: DNG Converter?

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Doug Franklin a écrit :
> David Weiss wrote:
>
>   
>> Do I understand correctly that I can convert a pentax raw file to
>> dng using the pentax photo lab 3.02 software?  Can someone lead me
>> through this?  For some reason, I cannot find the options to do this.
>> (Or my brain is just too fried anymore).
>> 
>
> In the Photo Browser, right click on an image, and one of the options
> that appears will be "Save as DNG".  There may be other ways, too, but I
> didn't see DNG listed in the File Types box of the File Save As dialog box.
>
>   
... though I don't clearly see why this would be preferable from using 
the free and fully automated Adobe DNG Converter...

Patrice

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Re: PESO: Entre Terre et Ciel

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Cotty a écrit :
> On 22/9/06, Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail), discombobulated, unleashed:
>
>   
>> Thanks
>>
>> It's in Britanny, France, on the north coast, between Perros-Guirec and 
>> Ploumanac'h... One of he most beautiful coastlines in France BTW.
>>
>> Patrice
>> 
>
>   
>>> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/PESO/Terre+et+Ciel-web.jpg.html
>>>   
>
> That's a lovely shot Patrice. Do you live there? The Granite-Rose coast!
>
> We visited a couple of years ago. My snap is not as nice as yours, plus
> I can't spell granite ;-)
>
> <http://www.cottysnaps.com/snaps/landscapes/images/pic31.html>
>
> We stayed on a campsite near Perros-Guirec for a week. It was very
> relaxing and the whole coast is beautiful.
>   
I live about the opposite coast, in southern France (near Marseille) (some 
shots here 
http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/Provence/ )

I spent one week in Bretagne 4 years ago... It was between Christmas and the 
New Year, so the weather was cold crap all the time, except a couple days. 
These few days, on the other hand, had a gorgeous light, so I could shoot some 
nice shots.

I can see you were not as lucky as I was regarding quality of the light. I love 
winter for this. The crazy thing is that my pic was not taken specially early 
in the morning, probably something like 10.30, but the light would keep like 
this the whole day!

Patrice




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Re: PESO: Entre Terre et Ciel

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Thanks

It's in Britanny, France, on the north coast, between Perros-Guirec and 
Ploumanac'h... One of he most beautiful coastlines in France BTW.

Patrice

Bob W a écrit :
> That's very good indeed. Where is it?
>
> --
> Cheers,
>  Bob 
>
>   
>> -Original Message-
>> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On 
>> Behalf Of Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)
>> Sent: 22 September 2006 21:59
>> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
>> Subject: PESO: Entre Terre et Ciel
>>
>> I haven't posted any PESO for quite a while, so here's one 
>> just to keep 
>> in good shape.
>>
>>
>> 
> http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/PESO/Terre+et+Ciel-web.jpg.html
>   
>> As usual, all comments welcome.
>>
>> Patrice
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> 
>
>
>
>   


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PESO: Entre Terre et Ciel

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

I haven't posted any PESO for quite a while, so here's one just to keep 
in good shape.

http://www.lacouture.nom.fr/gallery/v/PESO/Terre+et+Ciel-web.jpg.html

As usual, all comments welcome.

Patrice

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Re: mirrorless SLR fantasy

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Beside all other advantages and drawbacks of still cameras with EVFs, 
they essentially use the main sensor for the "viewfinder" function. This 
has a definite adverse impact on noise.

Here, I rule out cameras that have a secondary sensor behind the 
viewfinder prism dedicated to the EVF, as these require the camera being 
a reflex in the first place, which was not your point.

Maybe when active heat dissipation systems become practical (e.g Peltier 
or nanofans), and still allow in-body shake reduction...

Patrice

Godfrey DiGiorgi a écrit :
> I have owned and used several EVF cameras, including the A2 and R1  
> (the two best EVF cameras around ... and which i still own and use).  
> While I don't hold out much hope for an EVF of the quality required  
> to replace a single lens reflex camera's viewfinder, they are useful  
> cameras in their own right.
>
> They are not SLR cameras, if only by definition. There is no mirror  
> or beam splitter in the light path, the "reflex" part of single lens  
> reflex.
>
> If, however, you were to design a camera using a high quality EVF as  
> an SLR replacement, you'd be throwing most of the advantages away by  
> adopting any current SLR lens mount. You would be better off  
> designing a new lens mount that allowed the rear of the lens to get  
> as close to the sensor plane as possible and thereby allow more room  
> for light path correcting elements so that the lens would be best  
> optimized for a digital sensor, with as close to orthogonal light  
> path as possible.
>
> This implies a whole new line of lenses and a very different camera  
> from anything we've seen to date. It would be interesting to see  
> Pentax produce it as something separate from their SLR line, but I  
> suspect it will take a lot to build something like this that is  
> convincingly marketable. Sony is closest to it with the acquisition  
> of Konica Minolta and the R1 in their portfolio already.
>
> If such a camera were developed and of the appropriate quality spec  
> on all counts, like the current R1 but with an interchangeable lens  
> system and far better quality EVF/LCD, I would be interested in one.  
> But I still don't see the design paradigm as competing with the DSLR  
> design of today: it's more complement than compete with different  
> strengths and weaknesses. The major advantages of an all-electronic  
> imaging system are the possibility of highly corrected lenses for the  
> digital sensor, less vibration through the lack of a moving mirror,  
> and a very flexible viewfinder positioning system to handle all kinds  
> of situations where the fixed geometry of SLRs' optical viewfinder  
> system can get in the way.
>
> Godfrey
>
>
>
> On Sep 19, 2006, at 6:34 AM, Takeshita K wrote:
>
>   
>>> Nice how the lack of a reflex mirrorbox thins out the M8.
>>>   
>> Not wishing to stir up any controversy, but above begs another  
>> question.
>> I wonder what other folks think about EVF which will eliminate the
>> mirror box, and give lens designers a tremendous freedom in designing
>> SLR lenses, particularly wider angle ones.  It will also eliminate
>> the "ugly" gables from the top of traditional SLRs, giving all sorts
>> of freedom in body design too.
>> Yes, I understand all the arguments that the optical view finder is
>> the essence of SLR and so forth (SLRs are often judged by their
>> viewfinder performance).
>> However, I once peeped through an EVF of one of the K/M models
>> (DiMage A2 or A200 or some such) and was surprised to find how clear
>> the image was (I know the poor EVF's of many P&S digicams which are
>> only useful for the composition).
>> But if the resolution is at least 1mp and the refresh rate is fast
>> enough, I would be very interested in it. It can be a 100% view area,
>> brighter (it could even be illuminated under certain conditions), and
>> give all sorts of creative options such as instant magnification
>> etc.  Most of all, it is going to give a live view in SLRs.
>>
>> Maybe Pentax might be the first one to adopt a superior EVF for
>> K1D ;-).  Then again, they are still too conservative in adopting too
>> radical a feature as a pioneer, unlike their past.
>> 
>
>
>   


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Re: OT: Fwd: 6x17 digicam

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

I'm panorama enthusiast, but not *that* enthusiastic! Wow, 28900 Euro 
for the "mobile" version!

I'm afraid I'd need to invest in a new photo bag, and a few replacement 
vertebrae, though ;-)

Patrice

Godfrey DiGiorgi a écrit :
> For the panorama enthusiast...
>
>   
>> http://tinyurl.com/pfxcj
>> 
>
> Godfrey
>
>   


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Re: K10D on Pentax Germany site

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Pancho Hasselbach a écrit :
> Raw file size will be roundabout 17MB.
>   
Unsurprisingly, this means 12bit uncompressed (as indicated about 
everywhere)...

This still does not explain the post-shoot ISO setting (or it's just 
some kind of exposure control).

Patrice

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Re: Does this mean what I think it means?

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Adam Maas a écrit :
>  From the Pentax France Page:
>
> Le traitement interne des fichiers RAW permet d'agir sur la taille, la 
> compression, la balance des blancs, le réglage des ISO (Pentax est le 
> seul), le ton de l'image, la saturation, la netteté et le contraste.
>
> via Babelfish:
>
> The internal treatment of files RAW makes it possible to act on the 
> size, compression, the balance of the white, the adjustment of the ISO 
> (Pentax is only), the tone of the image, saturation, clearness and contrast.
>
> It sounds like ISO adjustment in post is possible with RAW files. That 
> would be an earth-shaking capability.
>
> -Adam
>
>
>   
Hi,

French is my mother tongue (as my name suggests), and I can say that the 
babelfish translation is accurate in saying that it is "possible to 
*act* on ... the ISO adjustment".

To my ears this means that the ISO can be somehow (?) set at 
post-processing.

How they achieve such a result while storing only the 12bits in the RAW 
file is still a mystery to me. I wouldn't say so if at least 4 more bits 
were stored into the RAW.

Otherwise, with a 12bit RAW, +1 EV push gives roughly 11 useful bits, +4 
EV (100->1600) gives only 8 useful bits => nothing I can't do with my 
*ist DS...

Patrice

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Re: A caution about aging technology

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

In this kind of technology, most of the value of newer products is in 
the research and development. Manufacturing plays a smaller part, 
especially for high-end newest toys.

Over time, competition pushes prices down while the technology becomes 
mainstream. Under this pressure, the manufacturing cost remains more or 
less the same, but prices still must go down. Eventually, the older 
models street prices become very close to the manufacturing costs, 
margins become as thin as cigarette paper, and older models are 
eventually discontinued after a few years.

My approach is to buy such things, say, at 2/3 to 3/4 of their 
commercial lifetime. I get proven technology, with all upgrades and 
feedback from other users, at a very fair price.

Therefore, I bought my *ist DS only last year when prices suddenly fell 
way down. Next step will probably be an AS body (K100D?), but as I do 
not *need* this feature (I just would love to have it!), I'll most 
probably wait a couple years.

Of course, I may act a bit differently if photography was not just a 
leisure, but I needed maximum productivity.

Ultimately the question is all about what one *needs* at one particular 
time. My current 6 Mpix DSLR is far more than I could have dreamt of 
just a few years ago.

Patrice

Collin R Brendemuehl a écrit :
> A consideration:
> We must remember that these DSLRs are now just computers and
> the longer we hang onto older technology the faster it loses value.
> The faster upgrade may be the cheaper way to go.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Collin Brendemuehl
> http://www.brendemuehl.net
> http://evangelicalperspective.blogspot.com
>
> "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"
>  -- Jim Elliott
>
>
>   


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Re: Estimated File Size K10D

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Mark Roberts a écrit :
> Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail) wrote:
>
>   
>> If the K10D produces 11MB 16bit files, this is almost 50% lossless 
>> compression, which would be pretty good indeed! Hopefully it's indeed 16bit.
>> 
>
> Nope. They're 12-bit files.
>  
>   
Then, it's 15MB uncompressed, and 11MB is a 73% lossless compression, 
which seems much more likely.

Each time I tried 16-bit TIFF lossless compression (from scanned film), 
I got files bigger than their uncompressed version! So I hardly believed 
in the 50% 16bit thing...

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Re: Firmware updates!

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Another example of Pentax' good policy for supporting older models.

We've had the *ist DS v2.0 update with new features from the DL/DS2, and 
now this upgrade...

It would be so easy for Pentax to restrict SDHC compatibility to newer 
models, just to give another reason to migrate...

I'm glad I've Pentax and not some other big Camera manufacturer's gear.

Patrice

Mike Hamilton a écrit :
> SDHC for everyone!
>
> http://www.pentax.co.jp/english/support/
>
> mike
> --
> Remember to Breathe -- MichaelHamilton.ca
>
>   


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Re: K10D Resolving power

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Digital Image Studio a écrit :
> On 09/09/06, Paul Stenquist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> There's no such thing as can't in an emerging technology. Anything is
>> possible. In fact, vastly improved sensors are likely. Perhaps quite
>> soon.
>> 
>
> This is where understanding a little of the underlying physics can
> bring one back down to earth. Unless we can find a way to multiply the
> number of photons that hit the sensor then things aren't going to get
> miraculously better regardless of the sensor tech.
>   
This leaves us with the bigger sensors way, then. Provided that the 
manufacturers can resist the temptation to produce more pixels instead 
of bigger pixels, which I doubt, given marketing rules nowadays.

Patrice

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Re: Estimated File Size K10D

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

IIRC, the *istD not only does not compress RAW files, but also stores 
pixels in 16bits instead of 12, taking up 30% more space than necessary 
in the process.

10 Mpix should take 20 Mbytes if sampled at 16 bits, 16 Mbytes at 12bits 
(without the attached JPG preview). While lossless compression works 
quite well with 8 bit pictures, I've always had inefficient compression 
rates with 16bit images (I assume it gets harder to find two identical 
pixels to compress!).

If the K10D produces 11MB 16bit files, this is almost 50% lossless 
compression, which would be pretty good indeed! Hopefully it's indeed 16bit.

Patrice

Rick Womer a écrit :
> Nifty!  My ist D give me 144 PEFs on a 2 gig card.
>
> Rick
>
> --- Mark Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> K10D uses lossless compression for its RAW files.
>> They're claiming 185
>> on a 2-gig card, which works out to be about 11 Meg
>> each.
>>  
>> -- 
>> Mark Roberts Photography & Multimedia
>> www.robertstech.com
>> 412-687-2835
>> 


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Re: Dumb *istDS/DS2 question

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Thibouille a écrit :
> Where can I find a TIFF parser ?
>   
A google to exiftool might do the job. This nice tool also allows to 
change EXIF params (useful for example for copyright notes and extended 
crop).


Patrice

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Re: OT: Anyone have 24MB of web space free?

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

You can hand them to me, I'd happily post the file on my web site (and 
look at the tests!).

Patrice

Digital Image Studio a écrit :
> I made some quick and dirty lens comparison shots last week (DA16-45
> vs A20/2.8 and A24/2.8) but I have no time to pare them down nor a
> place to put them temporarily for DL. So does anyone have 24MB of web
> space free that would be willing to host a zip file full of JPGs?
> Please let me know if you could host them for a few days so that
> anyone interested can check them out.
>
>   


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Re: *ist D Losing it's Mind

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi,

Looks like you've just invented a pretty good excuse for ordering the K10D!

I've not expertienced anything like this (thank heavens!), but I have an 
extra suggestion: try to re-install the firmware. A alteration in the 
flash memory contents may well explain such a behavior.

If this proves true, trying this operation has a chance to fry the 
firmware for good, if its part dedicated to its own replacement is 
altered also, but any good design should prevent this from happening 
(firmware loading engine separate from regular firmware code, and 
cross-checks). But then, the cure would be to send the camera for repair 
(flash upgrade again), which you have to do anyway.

Lood luck, whichever fate you wish to your *ist-D ;-)

Patrice

Tom C a écrit :
> I suspect I'll need to send it in for a repair soon.  In the last couple of 
> weeks it has, intermittently upon power up, started acting strangely.  Any 
> push of any button or turn of any wheel will actuate the shutter, even 
> though no exposure is recorded.
>
> Turning it on/off does not help.  Removing the batteries and reinserting 
> them does not help.  The only thing that corrects it is to get into the menu 
> and scroll down to the Contrast setting.  Once there, exiting the menu 
> clears it up and it acts normally for the rest of the shooting session and 
> responds normally during subsequent power off/on cycles.
>
> Any one else experience this behavior?
>
> Oh well, it may be my chance to use up the Velvia and Provia in the 
> refrigerator.
>
> Tom C.
>
> "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or 
> numbered."
>
>
>
>   


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Re: Holy Crap -- Pentax 10MP body

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Aaron Reynolds a écrit :
> I have just learned something about it that pretty much seals the deal 
> -- I'll be buying it if I have to sell a kidney to do it.  It addresses 
> my most basic complaint about digital.  It's a feature that's so much 
> of a no-brainer, and yet as far as I know not a single DSLR out there 
> at any price, including ones using the same sensor, have it.
>   
A good focusing device that can be used with MF lenses (of course) and 
is accurate enough for fast lenses... Well, not only DSLRs lack this.

This and the wide angle limitation (sensor size) are my biggest 
complaints to the DSLRs (the full frame sensors do not suffer the wide 
angle issue, but they are far far over my price tag).

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Re: Holy Crap -- Pentax 10MP body

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Wow! Indeed the SR could do this! This only comes to "advertized" 30 
Mpix (just like Sigma). How great on the spec sheets!

Brendan MacRae a écrit :
> How about giving each sensor site the ability to
> capture more than one color at a time (like the
> Foveon). I would settle for that.
>
> -Brendan
>
> --- Aaron Reynolds <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>   
>> I have just learned something about it that pretty
>> much seals the deal 
>> -- I'll be buying it if I have to sell a kidney to
>> do it.  It addresses 
>> my most basic complaint about digital.  It's a
>> feature that's so much 
>> of a no-brainer, and yet as far as I know not a
>> single DSLR out there 
>> at any price, including ones using the same sensor,
>> have it.
>>
>> And unless I've missed some posts, no one has even
>> speculated about it 
>> here.  Or even said "gee, I wish it could do this".
>>
>> Brothers, I kid you not -- I may be selling my 67. 
>> Naturally, I have 
>> to see it in action to see if it matches up to what
>> the advantage 
>> should be in theory.  But if it does... holy crap.
>>
>> Mid-September we're going to be seeing some
>> forehead-slapping amongst 
>> the competition in the DSLR world.
>>
>> Unless, of course, I've been fed a complete load of
>> manure.  Which is 
>> entirely possible.
>>
>> -Aaron
>>
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>>
>> 
>
>
> __
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> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
> http://mail.yahoo.com 
>
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Re: Holy Crap -- Pentax 10MP body

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Or... Move the sensor even more... To cover a much wider area... say 
full frame, but much more than 10Mpix? At least great wide angle 
landscapes with fine details (provided one owns a great 24x36 wide angle).

What if Pentax says "well, it's 10Mpix APS-C, but on a tripod, it 
becomes a 30Mpix 24x36 (I haven't checked the numbers, they are most 
probably awfully wrong, and the SR platform most probably can't move 
that far away).

David Harris a écrit :
> To change from 67 would imply improved resolution and detail ... If shooting 
> tripod mounted and with the mirror locked up it might be possible to use the 
> SR system move the sensor a small amount between exposures then combine 
> exposures using an interpolation algorithm to improve the resolution? 
> Similarly, combining multiple exposures to improve the dynamic range in 
> camera (a bit like HDR imaging).
>  
> Dave
>
> - Original Message 
> From: Aaron Reynolds <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List 
> Sent: Monday, 14 August, 2006 12:08:00 PM
> Subject: Re: Holy Crap -- Pentax 10MP body
>
>
> No... mostly I shoot colour neg and make really nice scans on my Sprintscan 
> 120.
>
> -Aaron
>
> -Original Message-
>
> From:  "Lucas Rijnders" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subj:  Re: Holy Crap -- Pentax 10MP body
> Date:  Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:12 am
> Size:  1K
> To:  "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" 
>
> On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 03:01:20 +0200, Aaron Reynolds
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>   
>> I have just learned something about it that pretty much seals the deal
>> -- I'll be buying it if I have to sell a kidney to do it.  It addresses
>> my most basic complaint about digital.  It's a feature that's so much
>> of a no-brainer, and yet as far as I know not a single DSLR out there
>> at any price, including ones using the same sensor, have it.
>>
>> And unless I've missed some posts, no one has even speculated about it
>> here.  Or even said "gee, I wish it could do this".
>>
>> Brothers, I kid you not -- I may be selling my 67.  Naturally, I have
>> to see it in action to see if it matches up to what the advantage
>> should be in theory.  But if it does... holy crap.
>>
>> Mid-September we're going to be seeing some forehead-slapping amongst
>> the competition in the DSLR world.
>>
>> Unless, of course, I've been fed a complete load of manure.  Which is
>> entirely possible.
>> 
>
> Hi Aaron,
>
> Brilliant post :o) My first guess was ISO as accessible as shutter and
> aperture as an exposure control. However, you heavily hint at vastly
> improved image quality, archieveable with the same sensor. So I'll just
> ask:
>
> Do you shoot a lot of B&W in the 67?
>
>   


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Re: AdobeRGB vs. sRGB

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

William Robb wrote :
> Photographic paper's colour gamut falls within sRGB. If you send a wider 
> gamut file to a photographic printer, the paper will clip. 
>   
I agree with this.

Besides, using a wider color space (adobe RBG or ProPhoto or any other) 
means that a given color range will be represented by a narrower numeric 
range: if 0-255 represents a wider range, this means that each interval, 
for instance 127-128, represents a wider range, too. So a physical color 
range that spans over 10 units in sRGB may only span 8 units in aRGB.

Although a adobe RGB file will properly render a few colors that would 
be fully saturated in the equivalent sRGB, for the areas of the image 
that fall in both spaces, sRBG will have more distinct numeric values 
available to distinguish between colors. With 8 bit quantication, this 
means that adobe RGB may show more banding artifacts than sRGB for most 
colors, while sRGB will crop more very saturated colors. In most cases, 
where most of the image is in mid-range colors, one will prefer sRGB.

In very specific cases with many details to be rendered with colors in 
the borders of the color space (flowers ?) adobe RGB may do a greater 
job, provided that a suitable output device is used.

16 bit AND a wide color space may give you both precision and wide 
range, but again, the output device and media must be up to the task.

Patrice

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Re: Compare ways for antishake

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

2006/8/10, Bengt Falke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> I would like to find articles/web pages comparing the two different ways
> for solving antishake:
>
> adjust sensor in the body  - adjust optic elements in the lens
>
> I would appreciate your view on this subject and your links to
> interesting articles/web pages.
> Do you think Pentax are choosing the best way?
>
> regards/falke

Then you should add the third (new) category: digitally post-process
the image (blurred).

Besides cost, it may be have some advantages (e.g power usage). When
storing RAW images, a camera could just record the shake movements in
the RAW file, and the actual processnig could be done off-line... Very
little battery usage, no CPU power needed (so no extra delay),
original image preserved... But of course no direct Jpeg output.

I have a couple copies of the French magazine "Chasseur d'Images" with
real life tests of the effectiveness of the AS systems: 2 guys try to
shoot resolution targets "handheld", with varying exposure times. Then
they compare at which shutter speed the images get blurred, with and
without AS.

I'll try and get a hand on these papers.

For the moment, I just can remember their global Pros and Cons about
the two technologies you mentioned:

Optics:
   - Pro: works both for digital and film SLRs
   - Pro: Stabilizes the viewfinder image
   - Con: restricted to specific (usually high-end) lenses

Sensor:
   - Pro: Exists only for Digital
   - Pro: applies to all lenses (even discontinued ones that Pentaxists love)
   - Con: No viewfinder stabilization

Both seem to have the following cons:
   - Power consumption (a monopod or a faster lens work without batteries)
   - Only compensate for movements of the camera, NOT of the subject
(a faster lens does both, within limits).

By the way, their tests showed that the K100D seems to performs rather
not as well as Nikon's or Canon's stabilized lenses (about 1 f-stop
worse). I wonder if it's due to the technology itself, or the maturity
of the company with this technology.

Patrice

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Re: Anti-shake, after the fact

[Patrice LACOUTURE]

I've read a few months ago about a P&S camera that features such
software shake reduction. The camera movement ("kernel") is detected
by actual accelerometers just like with hardware AS, but the shake
correction is not done physically through lens or sensor position
control, but by an embedded software post-processing.

I can't remember which camera brand it is though.

Such deconvolution techniques have been used for quite a while by
astrophotographers. The movement kernel is very easy to determine in
this case, just pick a star image and you get the camera movement to
be removed.

Patrice

2006/8/9, Mark Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> Software-based anti-shake that works on photos you've already taken:
> http://news.com.com/Researchers+take+the+blur+out+of+shaky+photos/2100-1041_3-6102910.html?tag=nefd.lede
>
> --
> Mark Roberts Photography & Multimedia
> www.robertstech.com
> 412-687-2835
>
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Re: Non-working FA 80-320

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Had this exact issue last month (though I'm not sure about the lack of 
preview function... must be *ist D specific).

Then I figured out that when slightly pushing the ring, still in A 
position, in the opposite direction from the manual settings (as if I 
wanted to go "after A"), the normal operation was temporarily resumed. 
It stopped working when I released the ring so it could only work with 
the hand on the ring.

Eventually, I unscrewed the mount, and had to clean a conductive pad, 
where a brush attached to the ring comes to rest when the ring is set to 
the A position. This pad was dirty at the exact position where the brush 
would come when set to A, and pushing the ring even a slight bit would 
establish the connection again. Since cleaning, it just worked fine 
again, hopefully good for a few more years!

I'm generally poorly gifted regarding precision handwork, so almost 
anybody who knows how to operate a precision screwdriver should be able 
to do this simple operation. The only delicate phase is putting the 
whole thing together again. The aperture mechanical bracket is almost 
guaranteed to move away during dismantling, and must be carefully put 
back in place afterwards (otherwise, the aperture lever will be stuck or 
loose, and you'll know immediately anyway. Nothing should break apart if 
you're careful and check manually before you mount it on a body). The 
small ball-shaped connectors are also a bit annoying, as they are 
mounted on springs.

But again, if I managed to do so with a bit of patience and a clean 
working desk, many people can do so.

Good luck, this lens deserves it.

Patrice


Larry Levy a écrit :
> I felt that I needed a little greater reach on my *ist D, so I found and 
> bought an FA 80-320. The lens looks great, mounts well and has a major 
> problem. The D does not recognize or change the settings on the lens. 
> Additionally, when I use the preview switch, the lens does not stop down.
>
> On my Z-1, the camera does not set the lens in P mode, manual settings seem 
> to work and preview stops down.
>
> Off camera, moving the lens lever controls the diaphragm.
>
>
> Is there a reasonable fix for this? I do like the reach and would not like 
> to have to return it.
>
> Help
>   



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Re: Print sizes and megapixels

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Bob W a écrit :
>> This means that, with a 6mpix sensor, a 20x30 cm print should be
>> 
> seen 
>   
>> from a 33cm distance or more, which seems quite reasonable.
>>
>> 
>
> Looking from that distance at a print that size would mean you could
> not take in the whole area of the picture without scanning it with
> your eyes.
>
> This factor is one of the things that annoys me about a lot of photo
> books. They are very often far too big to be able to see the whole
> picture comfortably at a normal (for a book) viewing distance.
>
> --
> Cheers,
>  Bob 
>   

That's the point. If those pixels are already barely visible at such a 
close distance, 6 mpix is clearly no limitation for "normal" viewing 
distances, where they go below human eye resolution capabilities...

One may want to print BIG enlargements though, and expect the viewers to 
come close and still find detail. Some pictures clearly work like this, 
when you think "hey, something's happening, here", and come and see closer.

Patrice

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Re: Print sizes and megapixels

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Hi,

On a purely theoretical point of view, the human eye can resolve details 
at least 1/60th degree wide. This means, that the smallest detail the 
eye can see is about 3/1 the viewing distance...

This means that, with a 6mpix sensor, a 20x30 cm print should be seen 
from a 33cm distance or more, which seems quite reasonable.

As a rule of thumb, the viewing distance should equal the long border...

Of course, these are only theoretical figures. As someone pointed in 
this thread, everyone may or may not find a given same print acceptable. 
But given those limits, the resolution should not be to blame.

Patrice

Bob W a écrit :
> Hi,
>
> I've been doing some calculations of print sizes and megapixels, and
> found something I don't understand.
>
> If we assume the correct viewing distance for a print hanging on the
> wall is about 90cm, and we accept that the maximum size of the
> diagonal of the print should be half the viewing distance, then for
> the 4:3rds system the print should be 36x27cm, giving a diagonal of
> 45cm. This fits comfortably on A3 paper (29.7x42.0cm, about 11x16" in
> American).
>
> Printers generally seem to print at about 300 dots per inch, which is
> 118 dots per cm, as near as makes no difference.
>
> So for the printed area we need (27x118)x(36x118) = 13,534,128 pixels.
>
> Yet I'm sure I read about people making high quality 20x16" prints
> from 6 - 10 megapixel cameras.
>
> What gives?
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
>
>
>
>   


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Re: Another Photo Contest

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

[EMAIL PROTECTED] a écrit :
> In a message dated 6/24/2006 12:26:37 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> $10/entry!
>
> Kenneth Waller
> 
> I did wonder about that. I mean it seems like a very good contest -- much 
> better prizes, frankly, than I usually see (like in magazines). But maybe the 
> entry fee is helping pay for part of them.
>
> But I don't think a contest should have an entry fee, really. I just figured 
> maybe I didn't know anything. That maybe most photo contests have entry fees. 
> That I am clueless. Never tried to entry a photo contest, so don't know.
>
> Oh, well. Okay, consider the link retracted. And me better educated.
>
> Marnie aka Doe ;-)
>
>   
I've seen recently a contest with higher fees, and a few medals and 
ribbons as prices! Anyone interested?

Patrice

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Re: OT: Another Photo Contest

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Powell Hargrave a écrit :
> At 11:05 AM 24/06/2006 , Marnie wrote:
>   
>> http://www.worldinfocuscontest.com/
>>
>> Seems to be legit. There are enough good photographers on this list for 
>> someone to give it a shot. Or people who live in pretty places.
>> 
>
> Read the terms and conditions agreement.  You send it they own it.
>
> Powell
>
>   
Technically they do not own it, but have the right to do virtually 
anything with it. And it's your responsibility to make sure they won't 
infringe any law by doing so... Personnally, I wouldn't spend 10$ for 
such privileges!

Patrice

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Re: camera club question re: projected image contests

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Tom Reese a écrit :
> Hey all,
>
> Our photo club currently has competitions in slides and prints. We're going 
> to combine projected digital images and slides in future contests in order to 
> provide maximum opportunity for participation. Members won't have to make 
> prints to enter contests and they'll save a lot of aggravation and expense.
>
> My question from other club members is:
>
> are you having contests with projected images? What resolution do you use for 
> the images? Have you had any problems?
>
> thanks for your help.
>
> Tom Reese
>
>   
Hi Tom,

My club organizes every year quite a big contest (as far as a few 
thousands candidate photos is considered big), and seriously considered 
digital projection along with slides.
We discussed with other clubs and decided that we would not venture into 
this yet, mainly for manpower reasons (reception, sorting etc...).

However, we've often projected digital in various other occasions.

What we learned:
The quality is certainly behind slide projection, in resolution, and 
specially in color accuracy and stability (compared to a reasonably good 
slide projector typically available in a club). Maybe it's because the 
digital projectors we used were bad, but this proved noticeable with 
various recent models. Regarding color rendition, we did not have the 
hardware to calibrate the projected image, though.

The photos are not on the same playing ground not only depending on the 
support (digi vs. film), but also depending on the image orientation. 
While a slide can be projected vertically and horizontally with equal 
quality, the digital imager is a horizontal rectangle. Therefore, with a 
1600x1200 imager, horizontal images will be 1600x1066, while vertical 
images will be only 1200*800 (2/3 images like 24x36 and APS-C). The 
projected vertical image will be much smaller, with the same dot size, 
and will lose more detail.

I can see only two workaround to this:
 - configure the projection software or pre-process the images so the 
projection area is square (in this case 1200x1200). Of course this means 
lowering the quality of horizontal images to the same level as vertical 
images.
 - wait until manufacturers make square image projectors just for the 
photo clubs :-)

Projecting the original files and let the projection software do the 
resizing and adding black borders ran smoothly for us. One would expect 
that if the authors knew (or guessed) the projector's resolution, they 
would have the chance to adapt their files to it, especially sharpening 
and the interpolation method if one is preferred. Interpolators used in 
projection software do not always give identical results.

Enjoy your club activity (and the pictures) and take care.

Patrice

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Re: PESO and issue with *ist DS

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Thanks Lou for this tip.

I just tried it, but unfortunately, it does not seem to help with my 
unit. Neither pushing it down, nor up, nor away, nor anyhow :-(


On second thought, the occurrence of the issue is even worse (something 
like 50% maybe!) to the point where I can hardly stop the aperture down 
at all at times...


4.0 -> 4.7 -> 5.6 -> 6.7 -> 8.0 -> Oops! now 5.6 again!

I'll have to return it sooner than I expected :-(

And use my good old MZ5n to frame my newborn daughter! At least the 5n 
allows me to use the lens aperture ring!


Patrice

Lou Billing a écrit :

I've noticed this with my Ds also. The angled edge of the dial makes it easy
to apply a small amount of downward pressure when turning it and this seems
to correct the problem. It also seems necessary to turn it slowly and
deliberately, one click at a time as well.

Lou

  

-Original Message-
From: Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail) [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]


Now about some annoying issue I have with my *ist DS: when I use the
rear dial to zoom in/out in playback mode, or to change Aperture or
Speed or Exposure compensation, it behaves quite arratically:

- 100% OK when turned left.
When turned right:
- 50% OK
- 25% does nothing
- 25% turns right one or more steps!
  

Re: PESO and issue with *ist DS

[Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail)]

Patrice LACOUTURE (GMail) a écrit :
Now about some annoying issue I have with my *ist DS: when I use the 
rear dial to zoom in/out in playback mode, or to change Aperture or 
Speed or Exposure compensation, it behaves quite arratically:


- 100% OK when turned left.
When turned right:
- 50% OK
- 25% does nothing
- 25% turns right one or more steps!


Oops! I meant "25% turns _left_ one or more steps (even more annoying).

Not that it changes much ;-)

Thanks Lou for the hint about pushing the dial downwards... I may return 
it for servicing, but this tip might help waiting for the most 
appropriate time to do so.


Patrice