Re: Some quick monitor info
Paul, It seems my CRT monitor is about to bite the dust - it's starting to exhibit keystoning so I suspect the yoke is becoming a problem. If I were to consider an LCD, what important specs should I be looking for? not all LCDs are made equal, even when all of them say Active matrix TFT. Currently (S-)IPS panels are probably the best for colour corrections/photo editing, followed by PVA and MVA. Most of the common LCDs are made using basic TN technology which is quite inferior to the above mentioned due to significant colour shifts when viewed from an angle among other things (fine for the office stuff though). If tech specs mention viewing angles 178/178, it's most probably PVA/MVA based display, 170/170 is characteristic of IPS. Latest TN panels offer 160/160 but I'd say it's more like 150/130 as the visible difference is considerably higher. Of course there are some other important aspects like quality and uniformity of the backlighting or internal gamma/LUT adjustements capabilities but the quality of the screen is primarily determined by used panel technology. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: GESO - San Jose Grand Prix
Hi John, The gallery is here: http://www.jfwaf.com/SJGP/ interesting bokeh on http://www.jfwaf.com/SJGP/pages/SJGP37.html;. Which lens was it shot with? ;-) I like 11, 12, 31, 32 more than others. No 38 is also very interesting if a bit blurry. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
PESO: Help me to identify this photo :-)
taken in Copenhagen few years ago I'm still trying to figure out what's on the following photo: http://picasaweb.google.com/placus/Scandinavia/photo#5082196141588664642 Help, please! :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Peso: Watersports
Hi Bill, http://users.accesscomm.ca/wrobb/pictures/peso/watersports1.html nice beast, frightening teeth :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
For Mac users: MacUpdate bundle (1 day left)
http://www.mupromo.com/ I'm mentioning it because not everybody is keeping eye on all web sites (including me - I received a similar message from a friend of mine) and there are some really useful applications like LittleSnitch (see thread about firewalls) or Graphic Converter (converts about any graphic format out there and more). My pick of the crop is probably AmadeusPro though. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Camera Armor coming soon for K10D
Coming soon for the K10D: Camera Armor. This blog post has some more details: http://ok1000.blogspot.com/2007/07/k10d-camera-armor-coming-soon.html Do I understand correctly that it transforms any camera to *Canon*? :-O Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO - Photoshop fun - Actual Pentax content!
Christian, good work, can't see anything wrong with it, but *where are cormorants*? ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Lightroom isn't working for me.
Paul, Try as I might, I can't get used to lightroom. I still prefer ACR by a wide margin. I find the adjustments by click in lightroom to be far too coarse. And the categories seemed to be aimed at amateurs. Clarity and vibrance? What does that mean. In ACR, I know what contrast, brightness, exposure and shadows mean. you have the same contrast, shadows, etc. sliders in Lightroom as well. Clarity and vibrance are two new useful tools (also found in ACR 4.x) which add punch to an image either by adjusting local contrast (clarity) or colour saturation (vibrance) without going over the top. Tip: try to adjust various parameters using the live histogram (and/or other live tools) - just click in the appropriate region on the histogram and drag - it's a very easiest and quickest way to develop a picture IMHO (sadly, live histogram is not present in ACR). Lightroom still feels a bit slow to my taste occasionally (and I'm running it on a 4 core MacPro) but it's much better than public beta in that respect. Actually the only thing I'm missing is perspective correction - if that was present I'd probably do without Photoshop/Elements altogether. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: My *ist DS was stolen - need new gear
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: The K10D is another matter entirely. A short list of improvements: - far faster writing to storage, even with the same speed card - far more accurate metering calibration I'd like just add: - the same quality viewfinder as on istDS and unlike on istDS the eyepiece seems to be multicoated again! Still can't compare with MX's viewfinder, though. ;-) The quality of the viewfinder was a deciding factor for me when I was in the market for a DSLR and I opted for istDS over K100D because of that (most of my pictures are focused manually). However if you tend to use AF it's probably irrelevant. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Lightning Strike
Walter, If I cannot get the internet to work on the computer, then I will salvage parts and buy another. Was wondering if it is feasible to make an external drive using an enclosure and the sata drive from the computer. It is 250 gig and quite small. Just don't know how all that works. If not, I can always installit in any new computer I get as a data/backup drive. you may want to look at eSATA disk enclosure - much faster than any USB (and faster than FW too BTW) but it would probably require a dedicated controller (as not too many motherboards are equipped with eSATA yet). Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
KX dead meter
Hi, I acquired a nice KX recently to complete my other xX series cameras (MX and LX) and I found that the needle in the viewfinder is not moving and is always pointing upwards. However if I press the battery check button it moves down (at 1/30s setting IIRC) so hopefully it's not dead completely. Any ideas what could be wrong? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: KX dead meter
Mark, The meter circuitry seems to be the weak point of the KX: I've been through several with dead meters. I never completed troubleshooting to 100% certainty, but it seems very likely that the culprit is the integrated circuit that comprises the most of the meter electronics. I never determined exactly what the chip thank you for your reply. It's probably not worth invest more time in it then - who needs damn meter anyway... ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Lightroom isn't working for me.
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: It's operation did mate well with my already established workflow as well. I've not had any performance problems on the Apple G4 and G5 systems I'm running it on, even though they are well behind the leading edge of the new Apple systems based on the Intel cpu. in my experience Lightroom is much more disk bound than CPU bound. Provided you have at least 1GB of RAM available to LR (the more the better) and reasonably fast CPU (say over 1.5 GHz), it's fine. I haven't noticed any substantial speed difference running LR on iMac Core2 Duo and MacPro (2x dual core Xeon). And yes, despite my initial dissatisfaction with public beta versions I became another LR aficionado. :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: KX dead meter
Bob, The KX doesn't turn on the meter until you pull the winder lever into the standoff position. Pull it out just a bit and have another go at it. (Eric @ PentaxRepairs pointed this out to me one day when I asked him to repair my KX meter.) ;-) thank you very much, it worked! :-) Usually I can live without metering especially when shooting negatives (which can handle 1-3 stops of accidental overexposure without problems :-)) yet I do like when things are working properly. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New Carl Zeiss lenses for Pentax K mount!
Adam, big hit in Nikon-land, that's only because the Nikon 50/1.4 is fairly average in performance not because the Zeiss is legendary in its performance. especially when it's Cosina Zeiss... Yet several of the Cosina-built Zeiss lenses outperform their Contax predecessors. Notably the ZF 25/2.8(which is an entirely new design) and the ZM 21/2.8. don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Cosina. Actually they are quite like Pentax and usually offer excellent value for money. But these Carl Zeiss lenses are far from that - Pentax own Limiteds are much better value IMO. BTW Contax(Kyocera)/Cosina doesn't matter, both are building lenses in some automated factory so I'd expect similar results. The price of original Zeiss/Leica glass is higher because of the labour cost involved (hand assembly, testing), while this is perhaps slightly above standard mass production with fancy name on top of it (an unnecessarily high price IMHO). Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New Carl Zeiss lenses for Pentax K mount!
big hit in Nikon-land, that's only because the Nikon 50/1.4 is fairly average in performance not because the Zeiss is legendary in its performance. especially when it's Cosina Zeiss... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Indepemdence Day
http://home.earthlink.net/~shel-pix/independenceday.html sad but true. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: antivirus discussion
Godfrey, Generally this is tracked on a per-program basis. The first time a program initiates an outbound connection you are asked to authorize it, afterwards the Firewall software remembers what has been authorized. Some firewall packages offer a third 'one time' authorization option as well. I figured this kind of thing would be necessary. Sounds like a royal pain in the butt to me, particularly if you have a complex system and the things you are connecting to have a degree of variability and hand-off the connection to other IP addresses frequently. actually it's not problem at all. I'm running Kerio Personal Firewall on my WXP based notebook (until Apple releases something similar - A4 size, 1.2kg I am stuck with PC) and apart from that no other security related program such as anti-virus or anti-spyware (they are IMHO even worse than malware) is running on it. First time you get a connection attempt from/to unknown program, KPF displays an alert and let you decide whether it's legitimate. You can then set up a rule which will allow/deny the program to access specific port/range/protocol/IP address/es (just like on a normal unix based firewall - because in fact, KPF is unix based firewall). It also does MD-5 checksum of actual binaries so it's unlikely that any program trying to pretend it's something else stays unnoticed. Needless to say I never had a security related problem with my notebook (and I use it in the wild quite often). And it's running at full speed because there's no anti-whatewer to slow it down constantly (impact of KPF is negligible). Higly recommened for all PC users (especially older version 2.1.5). Mac users need not apply (yet). Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: antivirus discussion
Mark, Mac users need not apply (yet). As far as legitimate software leaking personal information *out*, Mac users indeed should apply! The specific case that started this discussion probably wasn't doing so (though there's no way for me to tell) but anything on your computer, Mac, Windows or Linux, that tries talking to the outside world without your permission deserves your attention. you are right, in that case you can enable MAC OS X built-in firewall (based on standard BSD IPF) or, if you prefer GUI, there's a little utility called Little Snitch which will tell you about it http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html It's just not as important as on PC from the security standpoint. Yet. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: OT Basic W20 video editing
Well it was a surprise to me. It's just such a simple unassuming looking piece of software. this is almost always the case with Apple software - looks simple but is very capable. The same applies to LightRoom. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Photo browsers and PS
David, I have been noticing taht when i open a horse shot in either Mac preview,Windows default photo viewer or in Vueprint from Hamrick, the photos look fine, lots of detail, bright contrasty etc. these programs honour the color profile which is embedded in the picture (yes, even windows default photo viewer!) One of the things io sell is a CD of all the shots from 1 show ona CD, and i ~have~been going into PS and clean them up if need be. This is were i notice that when i bring them up in PS, they are dark etc. not nice and punchy as in the browsers. which version of PS? Up to version 5.0 PS was not colour managed application. However the pictures should look the same in the later versions. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Transcend Memory Cards
I have 3 x 2GB Transcend 150x cards and they perform great. Yes it is true that the fit in the K10D slot is a bit snug but after a few times in and out of the slot they work just fine. I have a Transcend 4GB SD and it's just fine. But the real problem with these second class manufacturers is consistency of their products - one batch could be as good or even better than a similar product from the first class manufacturer and another batch could be a disaster. WRT speed - my Transcend is highly asymmetrical, I can read about 15MB/s off the card, but write to it just above 5MB/s or so. Sandisk Ultra II is 10/10. And for me the speed doesn't matter altogether (reliability does). Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Polarisers and digital photography
Bob, I'm going to take a polariser, probably. I haven't used a polariser in digital photography before. Is there anything I particularly need to look out for, or be aware of? I use B+W and Contax circular polarisers, which are neutral in colour and good quality, but if there's anything intrinsically different about using them with digital compared to film, please let me know. polariser is as useful on digital as ever. Most of my pictures of NZ were taken with B+W MRC circular polariser and I haven't noticed any adverse effects. And the polariser enabled me to take some pictures which would be impossible to take otherwise, like: http://picasaweb.google.com/placus/NewZealand/photo#5079591291629615122 Perhaps not a typical case for using a polariser, but without it almost whole surface of the lake turned to washed out white. Polariser helped to restore at least some of the details... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: OT Basic W20 video editing
Rob, I have GB of uncompressed MOV files produced by a Pentax W20, what I would like to do is edit and splice them. Can anyone suggest a basic but capable shareware/freeware video editor for Windows? for basic editing, QuickTime Pro should be enough ($30 from Apple, http://www.apple.com/quicktime/pro/). You will be able to compress your movies using the H.264 codec too. VirtualDub (free, http://www.virtualdub.org/) is also capable program, but probably doesn't support .mov files natively. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Super A diaphragma misalignment - is my lever bent?
http://picasaweb.google.be/vicmortelmans/Tech02/photo#5079724145182516050 I have only one K-mount camera, so can someone check if this is normal, or if the lever should be straight upwards? it's straight on all of my cameras. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: what's the difference between M and A?
Vic, And I also assume that the 50mm f/1.4 M and A are optically identical? I have four M-50/1.4 and two A-50/1.4 (you can never have enough fifties). Here's a summary of my findings: M: - better bokeh - better build quality A: - better sharpness from 1.4 to 2.8 - perhaps slightly higher contrast (different coatings) - full support for digital SLRs (except AF, of course) you may already guessed which one I prefer from the numbers above. :-) Nevertheless the (optical) differences are very small and you can't go wrong with either. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Transcend Memory Cards
Mark Cassino wrote: Looking at the cards, the paper labels are visibly thicker than the older transcends I have. All it took was a few buffs with some 400 grade sandpaper and they were worn down enough to fit in and out of the camera without problem. perhaps Transcend changed its' suppliers? Anyhow thank you for letting us know. Since SanDisk Ultra II cards are almost on par price-wise with Transcend now, I'll be buying them instead. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Lightroom and organizing files
Marnie, I have one external drive for all my photos. The thing I worry about is it is in a external drive case, slim. No fan that I can see or hear and I think it gets hot. This is worrying me more and more. But it was the typical type of external HD case that Fry's sold. There must be something better, though. according to Google's findings there's no correlation between drive temperature and drive mortality http://storagemojo.com/?p=378 Nevertheless you really should have your pictures stored on at least two separate devices, you know. :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Pentax in Hong Kong
On the way back home from New Zealand we spent 2 days in Hong Kong. Landing in HK is compulsory anyway so why not spend a little bit of time exploring this interesting city? As you can see on the following picture http://picasaweb.google.com/placus/HongKong/photo#5076607749647775714 Pentax is doing pretty well there (sorry, tinyurl seems to be dead today). K10D and K100D (and to some extent istDx series) cameras were available pretty much in all shops we visited and most of the shops also stocked some common lenses (and I've even seen a complete range of DA limiteds in one of them - just FYI DA40 was for 2200HKD, DA21 was for 3100HKD). BTW for more pics of HK, just click on View Album... Comments are welcome as always. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Peter Lacus in New Zealand
Hello everybody, since I am now more or less un-lagged (you know recovering from 12 hour jetlag takes some time) I'd like to say few words about our visit to a beautiful land of Aotearoa, also known a New Zealand. You can find something interesting or even breathtaking in about any country in the world, but the diversity of NZ is phenomenal - wherever you go there's certainly something to see (and to do). Even driving is far from the usual boring relocation and quite a few roads bear the attribute Scenic route. And it's well deserved indeed. I've put some pictures on http://picasaweb.google.com/placus/NewZealand so enjoy and if you have any question, please ask. Any comments are also very welcome. These are all from istDs, slides are being developed. The weather was great and practically the only rainy day we experienced on the way to Milford Sound. But I can't complain because according to David Mann (our man from Christchurch ;-)), Milford is even more spectacular in rain than on a clear day. Unfortunately we haven't met David because we were in Christchurch during a work days. But we were lucky to meet Alastair in Palmerston North so even if it wasn't the first PDML meeting in New Zealand, it was most probably the first on the North Island. ;-) Alastair kindly brought some very interesting Pentax gear to our meeting so I had an opportunity to try for example SMC Pentax A* 200 lens - the first star lens I've ever seen in person. Thank you, Alastair! It was a quite short visit to this beautiful country but it was certainly worth flying around the world to see it. We changed our itinerary in the middle for a more relaxed route which means we left some parts (most notably western shore glaciers, north of the South Island and Kaikoura) for our next visit - yes, I hope to return to Aotearoa sooner rather than later! Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Photoshop and the Exif info
Bong Manayon wrote: that line when you do something there. Photoshop also knocks off the lens data, which is why you are asked to manually identify the lens whether the photo was scanned or digital. more precisely Camera RAW 2.x doesn't care about lens make, but this info is preserved in Camera RAW 3.x and later - e.g. PS CS2, PSE 3-5. Unfortunately, the last Camera RAW compatible with PS CS is 2.4... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: New Zealand (+ Hong Kong stopover)
Hello again, finally I've managed to write a reply (been busy working on the itinerary etc.). Bob, David, Alastair - thank you very much for your replies. Here is (more or less) final version of our itinerary: Southern Island --- 16.5. Christchurch Arriving at 8am. After some 26 hours spent in planes we'll probably rest. We also need to buy some food, mobile phone pay-as-you-go package and most importantly familiarize ourself with the left side of the road driving (here in London I rode just my bike so far). David, are you around? ;-) 17.5. Christchurch - Lake Tekapo (Mt Cook) 18.5. Lake Tekapo - Queenstown (Te Anau) alternatively: 17.5. Christchurch - Dunedin 18.5. Dunedin - Te Anau I'd like to see the Catlins Forest and the wildlife of the Otago peninsula but the other option is also tempting. We probably need to discuss this with David. 19.5. Milford Sound / Doubtful Sound - Queenstown unfortunately just one of them depending on the circumstances. But Bob's postcard picture from Doubtful Sound surely looks like from a fairy tale so I am slightly biased towards the latter. 20.5. Queenstown - Franz Jozef 21.5. Franz Jozef - Punakaiki Rocks 22.5. Punakaiki Rocks - Kaikoura 23.5. Kaikoura - Christchurch we prefer not to hurry, so eventually we may allow more time for some of these places, perhaps skip Kaikoura altogether and drive from Punakaiki to Christchurch via Arthur's Pass (provided it's any quicker). [EMAIL PROTECTED]:30pm flight to Auckland Northern Island --- Since Bob has already explored the north of Auckland it's our duty for PDML to explore some places south of it. ;-) 24.5. Auckland - Waitomo Caves 25.5. Waitomo Caves - Tongariro NP possibly climb on the Mount Doom... 26.5. Tongariro NP - Palmerston North it might be off the tourist tracks but there must be something if a fellow Pentaxian has made it his home. So Alastair, what are you planning to do on Saturday, 26th? ;-) 27.5. Palmerston North (through Hawke's Bay) - Rotorua 28.5. Rotorua - Auckland [EMAIL PROTECTED]:30pm leaving Auckland for Hong-Kong Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: MZ-S/MR-52 Reserected as K1!
http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/other/2006/02/17/3233.html looks quite similar to MZ-D prototype to me, see Boz's site... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
New Zealand (+ Hong Kong stopover)
Hi, I'm flying to New Zealand (together with another list member) on 14th of May so it's about time to ask some questions I guess ;-) (since I haven't found too many conversations about subj. in the list archives): 1. where to go? I'm sure there are so many places worth visiting and we've got just 8 days for the Southern Island and 5 days for the Northern Island. I'd certainly like to experience Rotorua and compare NZ fjords with their cousins in Norway. If you know about some hidden gems please share your knowledge. Exact GPS coordinates of great photographic vistas are especially welcome! (just kidding, I don't have a GPS ;-)). 2. where not to go? Are there some obvious tourist traps which are better to be avoided? 3. availability/prices of Pentax lenses and slide film. If the prices were substantially closer to the US than to the UK, I'd probably buy 21Ltd. and perhaps 40Ltd. at the start of our trip (which happens in Christchurch). WRT slide film, Kodak EliteChrome or Fuji Sensia is enough for me (but of course AGFA RSX-II 50 would be preferable) - is it readily available or it's better to take some from home? 4. I'd welcome some tips which car rental company offers most bang for the buck - e.g. not the most expensive nor the cheapest one, but with solid fleet and services. On our US trip we've used Alamo services and we were very satisfied. Also is compact/intermediate car (1.6-2.0l engine) enough or it would be a better idea to rent a SUV? 5. And of course the most important question - how about small PDML meeting under the Southen Cross? It's always nice to meet fellow Pentaxians anywhere in the world, isn't it? Of course any other suggestions/comments are welcome - if you know for example where to buy the best (yet affordable) wine or where to see kiwi in the wild - _everything_ is welcome. If you don't have experience from New Zealand but have some from Hong Kong, just substitute NZ in the questions above with HK (except of Q4 - we are probably not going to rent a car in HK - it's just stopover on the way back home, which means 2 days 2 nights). Thank you for any replies! Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: GMail problems
I haven't been able to access my gmail account via a web browser for a couple of days now ( Temporary Error (502)). Not a real problem, as they are still forwarding mail to my accesscomm account. Anyone else on gmail having problems or are they just picking on me? no problems yet from London... but apparently you are not alone http://tinyurl.com/2qghd2 Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Please unenable me!
Juan, Please, help me save $5000 and stay on the Pentax side... do you have _ALL_ Limited lenses already? ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: EXIF Data Availability?
Jack, I am using PSE 5. I'm wondering if EXIF data are available as a result of downloading RAW/jpg shots from a memory card. in PSE 3 (hopefully they haven't changed it later): File - File Info (in the Editor) or Window - Properties - Metadata tab (in the Organizer) however the latter apparently only works with JPEGs. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: SMCL
http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/770012/display/8549737 aha, so this is the place where SMC Lenses are produced... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: OT: Stupid Windows Question
William, I have a file on my desktop that won't go away. It doesn't have an extension, it is zero bytes in size, and zero bytes on the disk. When I try to delete it, I get an error message Cannot delete file: Cannot read from the source file or disk. If I try to change attributes, or copy it, I get an error: The system cannot find the specified file. there's a possibility that some system process has locked the file. In that case you need to find its' handle, close it, and then you can do pretty much everything with it, icluding delete. To find a file handle just download a copy of excellent freeware tool ProcessExplorer from http://tinyurl.com/sjzno then press Ctrl-F and enter part of the file name. You get a window showing which process has locked the file. You can then unlock it choosing Close Handle from the menu. You will be warned that it's potentially dangerous operation which can lead to system instability and indeed it can. :-) However it's still probably a better solution than complete reinstall. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: OT: Advice buying an iMac
Hello Jan, 2) what external storage is recommended ? I saw I have a choice of Firewire-400/800 and USB 2.0 FW800 - FW400 - USB from the fastest to the least fast Speed is of some importance, but I would like to be able to share the storage with other (windows) systems too ... That may mean using a FAT32 filesystem perhaps ? Does the MAC support that natively with OS-X ? yes, including Unicode. NTFS is supported too, but not so reliably (e.g. reading is ok, writing is not) Or would an HFS+ external disk be muchbetter, and use yet another cheap Windows compatible one just for backup ... good idea, even if you can use FAT32 formatted disk without apparent problems, HFS+ is always your best bet. Of course you can partition one physical drive to a PC (FAT32) and Mac (HFS+) parts. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: POLL - Computer Screen Size Resolution
Boris, I concur. I really don't mind vertical scrolling, because I have this wheel on the mouse horizontal scrolling upsets me ;-). Apple Mighty Mouse might be your remedy. ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: POLL - Computer Screen Size Resolution
Hi Jan, For daily work and most browsing, a laptop with 15 inch 1024x768 (NOT running Mac, Windows or Linux , so no Flash either :-) so it's DOS ;-) *BSD or ? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: POLL - Computer Screen Size Resolution
1) What size screen do you use 17' LCD (1280x1024) and 12' LCD (1024x786) 2) What resolution do you prefer? 1600x1200 (not on my screens though ;-)). We bought some NEC SpectraView 2090 LCDs for colour corrections and they're great. A-TW-IPS, HW calibration (in the LCD itself) etc. Definitely way better than anything CRT I've seen (including Barco Personal Calibrators) and better than most other LCDs as well (including Apple Cinemas). 3) What's the largest size image that you can see on your screen without undue scrolling? This would have to take into consideration real estate eaten up by the browser. 4) What minimum/maximum size images do you prefer to look at? 5) If you had to scroll to see an entire image, would you be less inclined to view additional images from that poster? I don't mind scrolling if the image looks interesting. Or save it and open it in Photoshop or so... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Red sails wide to leeward swing on the heavy spar
Bob, http://www.web-options.com/_4064827.jpg David vs Goliath. ;-) What is it - the Thames Barrier? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Got my smc PENTAX-DA 50-200mm F4-5.6 ED lense today
Bill, http://roman.blakout.net/?blog=20070329160524 The top picture is wonderful. It looks like you live in a beautiful old city. If you don't mind, what is the name of it? it's a really beautiful city of Tallinn, Estonia, one of my top five cities. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Mega-Enablement: FA*250-600/5.6
Jay, I decided that I might as well go for it and if it didn't work out I could always sell it. Even though f5.6 is not as fast as I would prefer and a zoom would not be as sharp as a prime, I figured the flexibility of having the wide zoom range could come in handy and the chances of finding a used 600/f4 in my price range would be pretty slim. Anyhow, here is one of the first few images from it and the K10D when we had a little bit of decent light: http://i.pbase.com/o6/87/63987/1/75415076.oCor9YTy.IMGP0850.jpg to me it looks excellent (for both technical quality and composition). BTW what's that light strip behind his tail? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Facts about the PDML's favorite photographer
http://www.modestypanel.com/artorcrap/# I got 12/16, which was a bit disappointing, but I didn't understand that some of it was not art, and the pisspot suckered me. I scored 8/16, e.g. truly random, but I think they are all crap in there anyway. BTW have you noticed: Pentax' ads were cute, but very sad. Pentax has been one of the driving forces in Japanese photo gear for many decades. Want to know what light meter Ansel Adams used? He used the Pentax spotmeters. It's sad that Pentax has to grovel to Canon and Nikon like this. Neither Canon nor Nikon ever made anything used by serious photographers, like Ansel's light meters or the extraordinary Pentax 67 medium-format SLR system which still creates images far better technically than anything from Nikon or Canon. Canon and Nikon have only made piddly 35mm cameras or digital SLRs used by amateurs and newsguys, not large format gear for serious artists (Nikon does make view camera lenses.) Pentax shouldn't have to supplicate itself to Canon and Nikon. these words wrote the same Ken Rockwell http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/pma07-b.htm Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Facts about the PDML's favorite photographer
Bob, Well, nice to hear him say that about Pentax, but what sort of credibility does someone have if they can write Neither Canon nor Nikon ever made anything used by serious photographers. apparently I'm filtering such nonsense stuff automatically at some unconscious level. He is often quite right, but I agree, his style is not the best possible (yet I haven't found it to be too distracting. Which, of course, I can't say about his auto portraits. ;-)). Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Lens suggestions
Hi Nick, I need to ask about bodies sometime soon too. I'd really like to get an MX, but I don't know if I can live with only having the three LEDs for an exposure meter. actually, there are five of them so it's not a problem anymore I reckon. ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Lens suggestions
Nick, Specifically I'm looking at the M28mm f/2, M50mm f/1.4, and either the A85mm f/1.4 or the 85mm f/2. Pros, cons? can't comment on the others, but I like M50/1.4 more than A50/1.4 (I have 2 samples from both). If you are after sharpness wide open you might prefer the A version, because it actually is sharper, but you are going to pay for that with significantly worse (double line type) bokeh. YMMV, but I prefer M50 over A50 any time. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO -- Groton-New London Airport
Hi Peter, http://www.mindspring.com/~pjalling/PESO_--_grotonnewlondonairport.html I like it, another picture which IMHO fits your Zen series. And I also like your new watermark better than the older design. ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Lightroom crashing my PC
Bob, The system doesn't hang though - it switches off the power. to me it sounds like CPU overheating. Most of the recent CPUs have temperature sensors built in and when temperature reaches some critical value they turn off themselves to prevent damage. Check the CPU fan or try monitoring the CPU temperature using some tool such as SpeedFan http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Macro Lenses
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I quite like the look of my 50 and 28 mm F series. exactly, I too like my F50/1.7 and IMHO only Limiteds and everything pre-A are nicer looking. Actually it was the first AF lens I've bought to see what about AF is. I still prefer to focus it manually even on ist-Ds. :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: I'm invisible...
Hello Markus, I would not call it a masterpiece because of the cut off feet and the distortions in the background and the ugly car on the right side but the expression on the faces and the moment itself are indeed very well seen and captured. Somehow the critics on some of Juans photos look as bit overrated to me if I have the right to say so. This is just my honest opinion. just some notes: - street photography requires different skills than for example landscape photography. One moment the composition may be winning, shortly after boring. Honestly I haven't even noticed the car until you've pointed it out. - if I wrote masterpiece that might be overrated, however I wrote little masterpiece ;-) - I'd be very happy if I managed to capture such a photo so from my standpoint it's not overrated at all... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO:High flyer
Markus, http://www.mypage.bluewin.ch/solicom/highfly.jpg as usual I found your post in the middle of another thread but it was worth it. Very nice, simple but powerful picture and those colours just love each other. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: I'm invisible...
http://photoblog.jbuhler.com/index.php?showimage=727 yeah, Mike Johnston is right, a little masterpiece every so often... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Macro Lenses
Hi Walter, Anyone know anything about these or others that I need to consider? Tamron SP 90/2.5 ? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: K10D and K100D support in Aperture
Brendan, Thank god! indeed (from the use of lower case I guess you mean Steve J. himself, not a proper God Almighty)? Recently I've done some tests and Apple RAW importer (or whatever it is) rendered some pictures somewhat better than ACR. Not all of them, so it's probably good idea to have both. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: a NEW Pentax-A 28mm f/2 lens just sold on Ebay ...
Someone sent me an item number on the German Ebay site last night, after hearing of my desire for a Pentax 28mm f/2 lens. There was a NEW one listed from someone in Germany. and there was also K28/2 on Italian eBay http://tinyurl.com/ysj233 Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: White Breasted Nuthatch
Hi Paul, He landed here: http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5691710size=lg I see, nice little birdie and great posing, but that sky looks somewhat artificial, doesn't it? ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Pentax and Foveon?
Hello John, why have you trucate edited my comments to make them out context? I was just commenting that in terms of resolution, a 3Mp true color sensor is more resolution than 10Mp bayer type sensor which is really only 2.5Mp true color upconverted/interpolated back up to a fake full color 10Mp., that's all. I don't think they were out of context but I'm sorry if you felt it that way. As I understand it you were comparing the resolution of 3Mp true color sensor to that of 12Mp Bayer sensor. I just think it's probably not entirely fair comparison because IMHO with Bayer sensor you are getting full resolution luminance information, it's just colour information what is incomplete and needs to be interpolated. I'm with John Francis on this one (3Mp Foveon =~ 6Mp Bayer) or I may even prefer 6Mp Bayer over 3Mp Foveon (depending on subject). Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Pentax and Foveon?
John, Oh yeah, to get full luminance information from any X megapixel sensor, all the individual pixels have to be wideband monochrome, (no bayer filtering). I think kodak actually made one like this at one time, I would love one, if it was cheap and much higher resolution than a same Mp color bayer one and I dont see why not. damn, sounds like you are right (as always ;-)). I'd love to have a pocketable monochrome camera. When I need to use high ISO on my pocket cameras I'm switching to BW mode anyway. But the quality of the output is not as good as it could be using a dedicated monochrome sensor. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Pentax and Foveon?
bayer for you to be interested? Even a 3Mp true color foveon is approx same as 12mp bayer, which is better why do you think so, John? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Pentax and Foveon?
Godfrey, means that, under certain circumstances, Fovean sensors have more tendency to create moire and other Analog to Digital artifacts. Much of which can be controlled by post-capture image processing in the camera, of course. that sounds interesting, do you know how? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO -- Thimble Islands at Sunset
Hi Peter, http://www.mindspring.com/~morephotos/PESO_--_tiass.html Equipment: Pentax *ist-Ds/smc Pentax FA 70-210 f4~5.6. very pleasant view, great light reflections... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: White Breasted Nuthatch
http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5672710size=lg -- Problem with Your Input We had a problem processing your entry: This photo doesn't exist. (The owner has probably deleted it.) Please back up using your browser, correct it, and resubmit your entry. -- apparently the bird flew away... Pity. Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: beauty shot: Pentax K10D- 17mm lenses are out there
Bill, DSLR cameras are showing 10 stops or more of dynamic range, which is about 3 stops more than that of print film, probably 5 stops more range than slide film. IMHO there's only one definitive truth - film emulsions react to the light in a different way than linear digital sensors. Indeed it's much easier to extract useful data from digital RAW files but does it prove that digital sensor captures wider dynamic range? IMHO it proves that current scanners are not capable of extracting data from the film more than anything else. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: beauty shot: Pentax K10D- 17mm lenses are out there
Hi John, Regarding the contrast, I already noted the SCENE exceeeded the dynamic range of the camera, there is nothing that can be done to fix that other than to buy a better DSLR camera, if one even exists in that regard. I heard you can shot such scene few times with a different settings and then combine these exposures to get broader dynamic range. Regarding the sharpness, I am not seeing any artifacts of oversharpening here, I was careful not to overdo it. I am sure it would have looked better if shot RAW like you suggest, because the camera sucks for its jpeg conversion and I'm not saying you did it. It was the camera which did it on your behalf I'm afraid. I bet if you did shoot it to RAW all those faint light/white lines around contrasty edges wouldn't be there (except of white lines around the number 8, of course ;-)). At least I can see them not just on my notebbok's screen, but also on a 20' iMac screen I've calibrated (using a Gretag-Macbeth Eye One II, target 6500K, Gamma 2.2, brightness 140cd/m2) today just for this occassion. You always have the option of blurring the image if if the sharpness is too much for your tastes I guess... not in this case, unfortunately. At least not with common Gaussian etc. blur filters. Maybe Photoshop CS2 Smart Blur can cope with it, I haven't tried... Don't get me wrong, you certainly did your best with this picture, it was the camera which was not up to the task (using JPEG). And perhaps I am just over sensitive to processed look to images after seeing so many of them. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: beauty shot: Pentax K10D- 17mm lenses are out there
Godfrey, Even Kodak said there's not much usable IMAGE data in film much past the 6000-8000 ppi scanning capability of todays high-end drum scanners, Peter. There's more noise and grain data, of course, if that's what you want to extract. Drum scanners of this order can obtain more than 16 stops of useful tonal range data, if it were there. It isn't. well I have direct experience with some high end scanning equipment such as AGFA XY-15 or Crossfield Celsius. But this is not important I'm just mentioning it that I am aware what are these monsters capable of. Moreover these are not recent anymore... ;-) I'm in the process of doing a K10D dynamic range measurement analysis, similar to what I did with the *ist DS a year or more back. First order look at the results seems to show that at maximum it nets 11.5 stops of DR in RAW capture mode, but whether there's anything useful about that last stop and a half is debatable. I never saw anything useful beyond about 9 stops out of BW film with even the most exotic processing chemistry and technique, most of the time 6-7 stops was about the useful limit for negatives. I have done no direct comparisons between shooting the same scene with analog and digital yet. Eventually I will do it and I will be interested in the picture as a whole, not just resolution or dynamic range (or any other isolated parameter for that matter). For the time being my primary camera will be either MZ-S (or another M-series body ;-)), because it's proven technology and I am familiar enough with it (lack of artificial look also playing significant role) but I certainly won't keep my ist-Ds in the closet. Time will tell... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: beauty shot: Pentax K10D- 17mm lenses are out there
I'd have to dig out my charts from when I was learning the Zone System, but my recollection is that I was never able to get more than 9-10 stops out of BW film without going to very exotic processing methods. My experience working as a QC technician in the photo lab industry indicated to me that print film, when measured on a densitometer, was incapable of givng more than 7-8 stops of dynamic range. which still by far exceeds capabilities of any paper I guess... My observations were not dependant on scanner limitations or paper dynamic ranges, but on direct measurement of film samples using a device designed specifically for that purpose. fair enough. Now let's talk about smoothness of tonal ranges... :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: beauty shot: Pentax K10D- 17mm lenses are out there
Godfrey, ...(lack of artificial look also playing significant role).. A digital camera can produce any look you want. It's all in the image processing. And that's not something learned overnight. The more you do, the better your results will be. unfortunately, I can't agree completely. Some limitations are built-in to system and you can't overcome them easily (Nyquist frequency, pixels arranged in [Bayer] matrix) and when they play together against you, some artificial flavour to picture is pretty much inevitable (such as moire or aliasing). Indeed film does have its' own set of limitations as well (for example limited dynamic range) but I'm used to them. Of course I expect my skills will improve over time (I can now produce better results using ACR than one month ago) but I expect the RAW converters will improve as well. :-) However I don't expect miracles - rendering on film will always be different than on digital IMHO. Not better nor worse, just different... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: beauty shot: Pentax K10D- 17mm lenses are out there
John, I may have oversharpened the first web sized attempt on this but I didnt alter the levels on this shot from the capture, it was already pegged from full black to full white on the histogram as captured (most likely due to the blazing highlights in the chrome struts) and the limited dynamic range of the camera. I dont prefer soft or prefer contrasty, I prefer accurate reproduction of whatever the lens was aimed at. Actually, based on my experience, It is ususally indicative of a good exposure and good lens whenever the histogram reaches a full spread like that. that's your choice and I did not criticized it in any way. Whether the image accurate reproduces the scene in front of the lens I don't care too much, whether it captures one's attention or evokes one's emotions I do care. Anyway, heres another attempt at this one (larger still) , hopefully it better shows this RMC tokina 17mm F3.5 lens to actually be pretty good in my opinion. http://www.jchriso.com/temp/17MMRMCTOKINASAMPLE1L.jpg full size version looks indeed even better than the intermediate one yet it's still too sharp/contrasty for my taste. ;-) But when considered it was shot to JPEG it's actually pretty good. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: beauty shot: Pentax K10D- 17mm lenses are out there
Hi David, Is it just me or does that shot look over sharpened? way oversharpened/too contrasty - that was my immediate opinion after seeing the small picture. On the bigger one it's not so pronounced. But it's really hard to say, JPEG compression plays its' role here among other things. Personally I prefer softer/less contrasty look to pictures. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Another lens story.
William, http://users.accesscomm.ca/wrobb/temp/flare70.html It's not that good a picture... As an aside: The picture in the background was one I shot on my Dad's OM-1 just before I bought my LX. I think your new lens was just envious from seeing a picture made using a competitor hanging on the wall... ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: How about Pentax M 135/3.5 and M 200/4.0?
Jens, I have a M 4/200mm as well. I have tested it against some fine lenses, like the FA* 2.8/80-200mm It's better than I thought it would be: http://jensbladt.dk/Test/images/200mm56-small/0830-PM-200-56.jpg http://jensbladt.dk/Test/images/200mm56-small/1197-PTX-200mm-F56.jpg wow, that's quite a difference, are you sure it wasn't caused by auto focus or something? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: How about Pentax M 135/3.5 and M 200/4.0?
John, I've not compared the K 200/4 to the M 200/4 despite owning the K. However a couple of years back I tested M 200/4, A 200/4, A 70-210/4 and FA 80-320 (at 200mm)against each other on film, the M 200/4 appeared sharpest with best definition followed by a close call between A 70-210/4 and FA 80-320, both had slighty higher contrast than the the M 200/4 with the FA 80-320 having a slightly warmer rendering but were not quite as sharp. A 200/4 came dead last. I own just the M200/4 and the A70-210/4 and generally I concur with your findings. Nevertheless my sample of M200/4 shows some chromatic aberration on film (haven't tried it on digital yet). Yuriy: Ralf posted a superb picture made using the M200/4 not so long time ago... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Probably old news already
John, Indeed. And the (current) official release date is May 15th, which just happens to be my birthday! cool, I'm just wondering how they knew it? ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: A cool accesscory
Hi Mike, Tigerdirect.ca has the Transcend 150x 4GB cards that all the folks in the US rave about... (NewEgg.com doesn't ship to Canada, sadly). $66.99 for 4GB of 150x memory? Hell yeah. I could order 3 and have enough memory for 6 months! :) not just in the US. ;-) They are IMHO not true 150x cards and almost certainly are slower than for example SanDisk 133x Extreme III, but price is very good indeed and they are plenty fast for use in my ist-Ds. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO - Winter Thaw
Tom, An abstract of nature. It's a frozen over section of More's Creek. The picture was taken from (guessing) 175 feet above the surface. http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5654453 your place in PDML's Hall of Fame is ready. :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: How about Pentax M 135/3.5 and M 200/4.0?
John, I own just the M200/4 and the A70-210/4 and generally I concur with your findings. Nevertheless my sample of M200/4 shows some chromatic aberration on film (haven't tried it on digital yet). Never really noticed CA in any of my shots but the K 300mm f/4 has a little, expected on a 300mm I guess, I used to use it at motorcycle racing events on my MX. well, it definitely does not pose a problem and it's visible just on very contrasty edges, but it's there. Might be just my sample, of course. Yuriy: Ralf posted a superb picture made using the M200/4 not so long time ago... I must have missed that, I'd love to see it if still available. http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/mypics/770012/display/7414242 Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO - Sydney Harbour Pano
Hi Christian, That's what you call impeccable timing, lightning reflexes, an artist eye and rush hour ferry schedules... The ferry's do come quite frequently... indeed, but these details are what differentiates great picture from good one, IMHO. It's the most beautiful city on the planet, Peter, you should visit if you can. it may well be even if I prefer nature over cities (especially big) any time. From all the cities I've visited so far I liked Copenhagen the most. My top five cities also includes Prague, Tallinn, San Francisco and Amritsar. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO - Sydney Harbour Pano
The ship is actually one of the 'Manly Ferries' (Manly being a seaside suburb on Sydney's north, not a description of the ferries.) It's also a bit of an illusion - the boat is between the bridge and the camera position, they don't pass under the bridge. The ferries run regularly so you don't have to wait long for one to pass by. thanks for clarification, Brian. Nevertheless ships are supposed to pass under the bridges on the pictures, aren't they? ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Q: OSX/intel: Photoshop CS2 or wait for CS3?
Godfrey, So... If you're impatient or have work to do, buy the CS2 Mac OS X upgrade and get going. If your needs are lighter, you can download the evaluation copy and get 30 days free trial use ... I don't think CS3 will be available in 30 days, but it's not a bad risk as you can simply buy the upgrade at the end when the trial runs out. You won't be able to get CS3 beta unless you get the CS2 license, however. according to John Nack (senior product manager, PS): The good news is that we have a fix for this problem, but timing is such that we won't be able to post another public beta build. http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/photoshop_cs3_beta/ CS3 might be out sooner than later... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO - Lazy Afternoon II
Russell, I couldn't decide between two, so I posted both! Maybe you can help. http://www.avocadohead.com/piclinks/IMGP2545.html that one looks better to me. However I have no clue what I'm looking at. :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO -- Connecticut Zen VI
Peter, Not quite the same Zen feeling of the rest of the series but I couldn't figure out what else to call it. http://www.mindspring.com/~morephotos/PESO_--_connzenvi.html very nice. Actually I like the whole Zen series, just haven't commented on them because I can't keep pace with the list one more time... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO - Sydney Harbour Pano
Christian, I shot a lot of frames on last year's Oz trip in the hopes of stitching some panos. I've struggled a lot with it until I found autopano www.autopano.net It really made it easier to put these things together. Check out: http://photography2.skofteland.net:8080/displayimage.php?pos=-68 very nice, saved me from trip to Sydney... ;-) BTW have you been waiting for that ship under the bridge or it just happened? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO - The Wrong Back
Marnie, http://members.aol.com/eactivist/PAWS/pages/wrongback.htm when I saw your picture my first thought was it must be Taos Pueblo. So apparently it works (I haven't been there). ;-) May we see The Right Back now? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO - The Wrong Back
Hello Ann, She showed us the right one a while ago, Peter :) skim list like I do do ya? I'm afraid so, otherwise it would be a full time job... ;-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Side-by-side 16-45 vs 16-50 lenses
Hi Peter, Interesting. I hate the gold trim, though it would probably look good on that Limited Edition *ist D from Australia from a few years ago. count me in, I wouldn't even hesitate to say it looks cheap. Also it doesn't look like internal focusing lens to me. But I'm not a prospective buyer of these lenses so my opinion is irrelevant. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO - Fresh Snow
Hi Tom, http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5601441 simply beautiful. Just out of curiosity I've tried to crop it slightly from the top (as Ann Bruce suggested) and - not surprisingly at all - it remained beautiful. :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO -- Threatening Skies, Calm Seas
David J Brooks wrote: I think the colour version is the more dramatic, but i like the a conversion better of the 'a or b exactly my opinion as well. Very nice. BTW where is it? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: K10D
Paul Stenquist wrote: In the studio I shoot AWB and adjust color temp when doing the RAW conversion. I can deliver any result I want that way and can adjust the temperature and tint precisely. I don't see any reason to fool with white balance in the camera. I agree almost completely. The only exception is that I have all my digital cameras (including video) preset to Daylight (actually my Sony DSC-T1 is preset to Cloudy because its performance WRT white balance is simply disappointing). Partially because I'm used to shoot daylight balanced films with my film cameras and partially because that way I obtain reference white balance (e.g. how it looked like at the time of shot). Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: Sumatran Tiger
Hi Mark, http://www.westerickson.net/mark/misc/tiger.jpg Photograph notes: Camera at 1/125 and ISO400, lens zoomed all the out to 210 and wide open at F/4. Getting the focus right with the 70-210 is hard! I had several others that were not quite in focus. Fortune smiled on me and the best composition ended up as the sharpest. My focus issues were probably a combination of the slow shutter sped and genuine focus issues. I probably should have shot at ISO800 and 1/250. maybe. Nevertheless you did very well, obtaining sharp picture handholding 300mm at 1/125s is quite a feat (if your initials aren't PSS, that is ;-)). Any hope to recover some higlights in tiger's face? It's not too distracting, actually it's one of the best shots from the zoo I've seen but still... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: Tuolumne Meadows
I prefer the more dramatic light of the first rendition - oops, Marnie's gone! Me too. Nice one Peter. thank you, friends. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Pentax K 28mm f2.0 Lens
J. C. O., Going much higher would still be worthwhile. I can see in some of my 6MP APS images with my best lenses that the image is still at full contrast even in the finest details and the image is suffering from pixelation problems due to low res (6Mp on APS is nowhere even close what do you mean by 'pixelation problems'? Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: Tuolumne Meadows
Hi Tom, Lovely composition Peter. thanks It looks like it was hard for the film to capture the entire dynamic range of the scene. Some additional adjustments to bring up the shadow and a slight tweak down on the highlights would likely benefit the image. today I've played with the picture on an iMac and the result is here: http://picasaweb.google.com/placus/USA/photo#5031857931909650706 What was it scanned on? Konica Minolta Dual Scan IV Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: Tuolumne Meadows
Hi Adam, Good capture of some really challenging light. -Adam Who misses RSXII 50, one of his favourite slide films I agree, it is (was) my favourite film for shooting nature. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: Tuolumne Meadows
Hi Jack, Would love to see more detail. Split ND filter (would guess about two stops) would sure have helped. but I am lazy man, you know. Because if I wasn't, I'd do it properly, e.g. with at least a medium format camera on a tripod. That said, I don't have a split ND filter. :-| Still, a beautiful area and scene. yes indeed, very pleasant place. Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: Tuolumne Meadows
Hi Bruce, It is a beatiful scene - but reminds me of the difficulties I have had scanning slide film. The shadows are rather murky and don't show the detail as well. I agree completely, extracting details from a RAW file is so much easier than from a film scan. Nevertheless, I still enjoy occasional projection and have no plans to stop shooting slides until they are gone for good... Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: PESO: Tuolumne Meadows
Hi Peter, Just a remembrance, huh, did I ever tell you that I hate you? well, maybe. ;-) But I was just lucky to be there with my camera preset to F/8. :-) Cheers, Peter -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
