Jump to content

r.t. dowling

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,570

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by r.t. dowling

    K-01 prices?

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Now that I've been using an Olympus E-PL1 for about a year, I've become much less attached to the idea that I absolutely <em>must</em> have a viewfinder. In fact, not having a viewfinder has sort of liberated me to try shots and angles that I otherwise wouldn't have tried, with surprising and in many cases excellent results. Granted I had been doing this for many years with small-sensor pocket-size digital cameras, but being able to do it with a "large" sensor camera for the first time has opened up a whole world of possibilities (e.g., being able to shoot at an ISO higher than 200 or 400, and being able to once again capture images with shallow depth of field).</p>

    <p>Frankly, if I <em>had</em> $299 to spend on something other than groceries or rent, I'd be verrrry tempted to spend it on a K-01. </p>

    <p>I do hope that Pentax will at least offer an optional add-on EVF if they continue to produce APS-C mirrorless cameras, but I'm beginning to see the lack of EVF as less of a dealbreaker than I previously thought it would be.</p>

    Effect of film simulation on RAW images

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Posted

    <blockquote>

    <p><em>"Everyone has a pet peeve, or two."</em></p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>Ain't that the truth!</p>

    <p>Mine is that the "Velvia," "Provia," and "Astia" settings in these cameras <em>don't actually look like</em> Velvia, Provia, or Astia film. Not even close. I say this from the standpoint of having actually <em>shot</em> those films back in the day.</p>

    The ultimate Pentax fan!

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>If one wanted something small and discreet, one could get an Auto 110 tattooed on one's pinky finger. :)<br>

    <em> </em></p>

    <blockquote>

    <p><em>"But perhaps you wouldn't want the "ED" some of the places?"</em></p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>*snicker*</p>

    <p> </p>

    New lenses....

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>I haven't heard quite as many reports of SDM problems with the Pentax 17-70 f/4 as I've heard with the 16-50 and 50-135. Optically the 17-70 is quite good, based on the tests and real-world results I've seen. </p>

    <p>Still, I wouldn't blame anyone for being hesitant to take a chance on an SDM lens, considering SDM's rather notorious history. </p>

    <p>I think Pentax would do well to re-release the 17-70 in a new "DC WR" version. Seems like it would be a hot seller if they did. Admittedly I haven't been paying much attention, but I assume (open to correction!) that the DC motor in the 18-135 has been more reliable than the various SDM motors.</p>

    Going retro: MX-1

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Nice. If it really does have the same lens as the Olympus XZ-2, that's definitely a good thing! The XZ-2 (and the XZ-1 before it) have possibly the best lenses of any compact zoom cameras on the market.</p>

    K-01 prices?

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Ah, I see. Well that explains it. I'm not on PF, and it doesn't appear that it's been mentioned here. Figured I'd say something in case anyone was looking to buy one. :)</p>

    K-01 prices?

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Has anyone noticed the prices on the K-01 lately? Just saw it body-only on Amazon for $349. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it seems like a steal at that price. Are these "early Black Friday" prices or is Pentax trying to clear them out to make way for something new?</p>

    <p>Edit: B&H has the K-01 + 40/2.8XS kit for $447 shipped. The 40/2.8XS sells separately for $247, so you'd essentially be getting the K-01 body for $200. Wow.</p>

    iMac or PC?

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    <p>What John said.</p>

    <p>I use Macs and PCs, and generally prefer Macs (especially from a hardware perspective), but there is definitely a learning curve when you switch from Windows to Mac (or vice versa). Even though the Mac operating system is generally considered "easier to use" than Windows, there's no getting around the fact that if you're accustomed to the Windows way of doing things, it's going to take you a while to adjust, and the adjustment period can be quite aggravating.</p>

    <p>Photoshop is Photoshop regardless of whether you're on Windows or Mac. The absolute best thing you can do is get a high quality display and calibrate it. That's something you really need to do no matter whether you're using Windows or Mac. My MacBook Pro's display was more "off" and required more tweaking than the Samsung display attached to my Dell PC.</p>

    Need help solving a minor mystery

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    <p>A few months ago, the hard drive in my desktop PC failed, and I lost pretty much everything I had created/downloaded/installed over the previous six months (I know, I know, I should have backed up my data more frequently -- trust me, I'm kicking myself every day!).</p>

    <p>I'm still in the process of slowly rebuilding, and I'm having a particularly hard time finding some of the photo software I used, especially one particular app because I can't remember the name of it. </p>

    <p>It was sort of similar to smartphone apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic, except it was a bit more in-depth and it was for Windows. (There may also be a Mac version; I can't remember.) </p>

    <p>I've tried Googling, to no avail. I can picture the software interface in my head and I can even remember the font used in the splash screen, but I just can't remember the name of the app.</p>

    <p>Here are a couple of the photos I manipulated with the app. I'm hoping that someone will recognize the frames, which I believe are unique to that app. These aren't great photos; they just happen to be the only ones I was able to recover after the crash. (I tried Googling the numbers on the frames but couldn't find anything relevant.)</p>

    <p> <img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y144/mec407/mP1000264.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="524" /></p>

    <p><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y144/mec407/mIMGP1249.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="519" /></p>

    <p><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y144/mec407/mP1000391.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="521" /></p>

    <p> </p>

    Olympus Pen IS System

    in Olympus

    Posted

    <p>Yes, those will work very well! I'm a big fan of the Series E lenses. You got a GREAT deal on those! I'm envious. :-)</p>

    <p>This is the adapter I use:</p>

    <p>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002U4QP9O?ie=UTF8&seller=A2UHLVL8IH9Q52&sn=RainbowImaging</p>

    <p>And this is the G version, if you plan to use G lenses (it will also work fine with non-G lenses):</p>

    <p>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0097ZE9TC?ie=UTF8&seller=A2UHLVL8IH9Q52&sn=RainbowImaging</p>

    Olympus Pen IS System

    in Olympus

    Posted

    <p>"High quality glass" means different things to different people. I absolutely adore my Pentax 50/1.7. It's incredibly sharp, has beautiful bokeh, rich color and contrast, and great "fit and finish." I've found it more useful on my Olympus E-PL1 than on my Pentax K100D because the Olympus makes manual focus much easier than looking through a small APS-C viewfinder.</p>

    <p>I also love my exceptionally compact and lightweight Nikon 50/1.8 Series E. It almost qualifies as a "pancake" lens. (That's somewhat diminished when attached to an adapter, but it's still smaller than the kit lens.)</p>

    <p>Both of these lenses were very inexpensive, but optically they're fabulous.</p>

    Olympus Pen IS System

    in Olympus

    Posted

    <p>Yes, image stabilization and auto exposure (aperture priority) will both work. The camera will ask you to input the focal length of the lens. Aperture priority autoexposure will work in the traditional way -- you set the aperture on the lens, and the camera automatically sets the shutter speed.</p>

    <p>I use Nikon and Pentax lenses on my E-PL1. The IS and autoexposure work great. :-)</p>

    <p>If you have Nikon "G" lenses which lack an aperture ring, you'll have to get an adapter that allows you to set the aperture via the adapter. It costs a bit more than the regular adapters.</p>

    K30 review

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Nah, most of them suck at reviewing phones too. They review every feature except for the phone's ability to -- gasp! -- make (and maintain) a phone call.</p>

    <p>Regarding the AF issues mentioned in the review that Mr. Campbell was posting about, that just seems to be par for the course with the 16-50/2.8 as far as I can tell. And despite those issues, they still said it was the most impressive entry-level DSLR they'd seen. If that's not a favorable review, I don't know what is.</p>

×
×
  • Create New...