dan bachmann

<p>I love my M9, so I would normally say yes, but since you have the M8 and it appears to do everything (and more with IR) that the M9 would do, why change?<br>

<br />On the other hand, while I am happy with M9, I know it is fun to try some other options now and then. To satisfy that, I tend to pick up old film cameras.</p>

<p>I had the same problem when resizing images from DNG files using BreezeBrowser. The JPEGs were fine, but coming from DNG, the results were awful. I could easily correct this in Photoshop or Lightroom, but sometimes you want it just out of the camera. As for white balance, I often have the camera preset to about 5400k.<br>

The solution I found was to run all the files through Adobe's free DNG converter and convert the DNG to a newer version of a DNG. It fixed everything! I also have it put a full size preview of the image into the new DNG file and the result is still smaller than the original DNG.</p>

 

<p>I purchased a one year old M9 and had the registration transferred over to my name with the included form with the Leica passport. I then received an updated passport from Leica with my details printed on it, so I would say it is transferable. Extensions are also possible.</p>

<p>I've had good results with a 135mm (Canon f/3.5 LTM on an M9). For some candid shots outdoors at f/4 it worked well, but also in the studio. These shots were at f/9. Such a small set of frame lines made me shoot tighter than normal and that is what I liked about these portraits.<br>

<a title="Ella130 by Dan Bachmann, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6228/6371913949_bbe34ea4e6.jpg" alt="Ella130" width="333" height="500" /></a> <a title="Ella011 by Dan Bachmann, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6225/6371911653_d5f32b5276.jpg" alt="Ella011" width="500" height="333" /></a></p>

<p>The 24mm f/2.8 is a fine lens and there's no missing the USM with something this wide; however, I have found the EF-S 10-22mm lens (at 22mm f/5.6) to beat the 24mm f/5.6 in sharpness, so that might be another consideration.</p>

<p>I own both of these lenses and I found that the EF-S 10-22mm USM at 17mm and 22mm beat the EF 17-40mm f/4L at 17 and 22mm on the cropped body camera (both at f/5.6). The 10-22mm is simply outstanding. It also beat the EF 24mm f/2.8 prime (22mm, both at f/5.6) in my simple tests.</p>

<p>Probably your best bet are using Pentax 40mm f/2.8 pancake lenses. Either get the Pentax M 40mm pancake and an adapter for you Canon or go for a Pentax *ist D or K-m or K100D with the Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8.<br>

I have a Canon, but for a compact camera that still has great IQ, I can pocket my Pentax *ist D with the pancake lenses!</p>

<p>From what I have read about the large cards only going to 8gb in a Canon 20D is true; however, if you format the card in your computer, the 20D will use the full amount of space.<br>

I also agree with the last poster, I've never had a problem with the card in my camera, but could see misplacing one, so I'd rather go for the larger cards too.</p>

<p>I've used Fixation in London and was happy. A friend had a bad experience with having his camera cleaned there, but it is certainly worth seeing what they have on offer<br>

http://www.fixationuk.com/Fixation/Rental.html</p>

 

<p>I have the Epson R285 which is the European version (the R280, R285 and R290 are the same except for the CD that comes with them as far as I can tell). It is fantastic for color prints. My regret now is that I wish I had an A3 printer of this quality.<br>

As for black and white, it is not so wonderful. They seem to be slightly cold in feeling. They are still very good, but there is a feeling that comes across of something lacking. Perhaps printing on a warmer paper, like Bamboo would take care of that problem. There are 6 colour black/grey ink systems in the UK for this printer though, so that may help. From what I understand, the good black and white printing requires at least one black and one lighter black ink to make a good ink jet B&W print, though I could be wrong there. Quadtone rip didn't work at all on my R285 - the image was mostly black.<br>

As for the inks for this printer, I get the OEM versions for half the price as the shop sells the retail versions and you should also be able to get the individual inks since you will mostly be using yellow, light cyan and light magenta for photo printing.</p>

<p>I had the same problem - the key is what Tim (above) said in step 2. Photoshop will manage the colors and so will the printer. If you have them both set, you'll get dark and ugly prints. After doing that, I was blown away with the quality (I am using the European version, R285).</p>

 

<p>There is no easy way to do this. There are chip reprogrammers and also a trouble shooting program floating around the net that will let you reset the chip so it thinks it has ink. I tried the program on my R285 and ended up doing it wrong. The end result was it nearly drained all my other inks.<br>

If you only care about the black ink, you could get the cheaper/refill inks.</p>

<p>Would any one be interested in sharing generic profiles for the R285/R290 and Epson Claria inks? At least that way we'd have good starting points. Fotospeed and Permajet both offer profiling services, so we could build up a decent list and there's one floating around for Ilford.</p>

As others have suggested, it would be too awkward to shoot the wedding and resolve things afterwords. I could be

she doesn't have the money and has a friend who will shoot it. It's a mistake I know, but perhaps she wants to loose

you.

 

The reason for that may be she doesn't have the money now (also someone hinted). I'd let her know if she wants you

to shoot, but doesn't have the money now, perhaps something can be worked out, but also make it clear that you are

quite busy and won't be offended if she has found another photographer.

I agree that dropping the K100D (Super) is something Pentax should not have done or drop the K200D to fill that void. If I were to go for a newer Pentax, I'd be looking at the K20D or the K100D Super. The 6MP CCD and 14MP CMOS both yield a cleaner image than the 10MP CCD so that is a key reason why I've not considered the K10D or K200D. To many, this won't be such an issue though.

I found Michael Reichmann's article particularly non-biased. He is primarily a digital Canon user and digital medium format enthusiast now, but heavily used Pentax (medium format) just a few years ago (if anyone has watched his early DVDs, you will see). He clearly understands what Pentax has come up in the K10D - an innovative camera that incorporates features he wishes his Canon would have.

I am not sure about the 50mm 1.7, but the FA 50mm 1.4 should still be in production as it on the most recent product list.

"I am currently on my third XPan body"

 

I find this very much of a worry! Were the problems due to the conditions of use or do they just fall apart with normal use? I was hoping an XPAN/TX would be the ultimate travel camera, but if they need frequent repair I'm better off sticking with my old SLR. Especially considering the costs!

 

Has anyone else needed to have their XPAN replaced like this?

 

Thanks

My father gave me a K1000 as a birthday gift in high school and that's how it started. I later wanted to try autofocus and got a PZ-20 after my first real job because it seemed the amount of camera I got with a Pentax was more than the other SLRs plus my two lenses would still work.

 

I went through a compact camera phase for travel, but when I settled back down I made friends with my Pentax again; however, I quickly sold off my lenses in search for primes and then considered the move to Canon or Nikon as a digital SLR while my investment in lenses was not an issue.

 

I returned to Pentax because of the following:

* the most compatable lens mount

* plenty of good deals on quality lenses

* many used old bodies from the manual era and some new ones from other companies (less reliant on batteries - better in below freezing temperatures and deserts)

* use of AA batteries on the *ist D so I didn't need to carry a special charger everywhere or buy expensive extra special batteries

* the compact size of the *ist D

 

I've never had any problems with Pentax and have been happy with my pictures since I got the first one and I've never needed a repair. Now some of my pictures are appearing in galleries. I can't think of any reason to switch to another mount. For adventure travel, for my dreams, for my life, Pentax fits the bill better than the others.

 

Saying that, I'd probably be happy with a Nikon just as well, but then I'd need to spend a lot more to get the features of a mid-range Pentax.<div></div>