Jump to content

yosh

PhotoNet Pro
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    570

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 Content Type 

Posts posted by yosh

    Shooting RAW+ With the K-5

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Thanks Jemal, I have checked that. With the exposure compensation set at 0 my preview shows a very overexposed photo. If I take the shot anyway and then look at the raw file it is exposed correctly, but the corresponding jpg is overexposed. I've updated the firmware and have set everything back to the factory defaults as far as I can tell and it still happens. That having been said though, when I first open the folder in Bridge the raw and jpg files look the same side by side, but as bridge builds the thumbnail the raw image suddenly gets darker. You know when you first open a new folder there is this black frame around the image until the thumbnail is rendered then it goes away. That is when the raw image gets dark, when the frame disappears. I am beginning to think I have two problems, the one in camera mentioned and one in photoshop. I've reloaded photoshop after uninstalling it and then editing the registry to purge all traces of photoshop but when I reinstalled all the settings that I had were back. Obviously I missed something. In editing I can take care of these problems, but it is annoying and I can't trust my preview screen to let me know if I am underexposing a shot.</p>

    Shooting RAW+ With the K-5

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Thanks Michael. I can usually get what I want in post from the raw if the file isn't too dark. My problem is that when shooting the preview shows a brighter image than what I see in Photoshop like 4 stops brighter. And that is whether I shoot just raw or raw+. So what happens is that in the field I wind up adjusting my exposure down so it isn't so bright. That gives me some raw originals that wind up just being to dark to process well. I constantly wind up second guessing my exposure decisions. I must say that this has only started happening in the last couple of months. Also I don't know what ACR is. Could you explain that to me?</p>

    Shooting RAW+ With the K-5

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>I had a bit of an accident and have been laid up, but I finally got around to using the Pentax software to view my raw and jpg files and lo and behold, they are the same. So it would seem the prob is not the K-5 but photoshop. Now all I got to do is figure out what setting in photoshop is off. Might me easier to uninstall and reinstall the software. Sheesh</p>

    Shooting RAW+ With the K-5

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Trent, I've downloaded the K-5 manual so that I can do searches through it using key words. So much easier than thumbing through the index of the hard copy. I haven't found anything like what you mention. The only time any variant of the word "render" is used is in the warranty statement, "...services will be rendered...". I've put in the search terms jpg, jpeg, bright and came up with nothing resembling what you are talking about. </p>

    Shooting RAW+ With the K-5

    in Pentax

    Posted

    Rob, that's what I was thinking too. But I've opened the

    same file three different computers with three different

    versions of Photoshop with the same results. I haven't tried

    Pentax software yet, I'll think I'll try that next.

    Shooting RAW+ With the K-5

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p >I've got one of the original K-5s which has been an incredible work horse. But it seems to have developed a problem that I have noticed in the past few shoots that I have done. I like to shoot both raw and jpg simultaneously, which has never been an issue, but recently when I bring the images up in bridge the raw files are way darker than the corresponding jpg. The jpg resembles what I see in preview screen when I am shooting. I've tried shooting just raw with the same results. What is on the preview looks good but the raw still comes out very dark. I went into the menu and reset the settings but to no avail. I am at a loss as to what is causing this. Anybody got any ideas?</p>

     

    Problems with the K7 sharpness

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Ok, I'm back. Don't know if anyone will be updated on this thread or not but I'm going to post anyway. I've done a little work since the last time I've posted and have shot two weddings plus a host of other shoots as well with the K5 and have this to report. First, my K5 focus point was off. Using the focusing chart (as well as other gradient focusing methods I determined that the focus point was a bit beyond where the little red dot lit up in spot focus setting. My original test shooting a basically perpendicular to a flat surface didn't show this. What I was calling unsharpness was in fact out of focus. I have adjusted that using the cameras AF adjustment settings.<br>

    Second, I screwed up. When I brought both the K20's and the K7's raw files into Photoshop I did not take into account that I had set the programs raw defaults to sharpen the K20s files. I had not set the program to sharpen the K7's so the initial test was skewed to start with. Zeroing out the raw defaults for both cameras and redoing the test I find that the K7 is still not quite as sharp as my K20s but only ever so slightly. Barely noticeable.<br>

    Having done the above mentioned shoots I must say that I am impressed with the K7's focusing speed and accuracy, it's improved dynamic range, even with the camera's D-Range settings turned off and it's white balance accuracy. It has a pleasure to shoot with!<br>

    Thanks again for all of your input and help!</p>

    Problems with the K7 sharpness

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Michael and Laurentiu,<br>

    Well I finally read the above mentioned white paper. I have to admit that about 90% of it was just way over my head (never any good at calculus). I did do the test we've been discussing using a ruled piece of paper - still haven't gotten around to printing the sample grid provided by one of the above links. And found that the line that I focused on (I put a small circle on it so I could tell which one it was) was sharpest with those fore and aft getting progressively fuzzier at pretty much the same rate. So it isn't a focus issue. So I am forced to conclude that what the white paper is discussing is the problem. As I said I didn't understand most of it but I was able to glean the basics, that plus the final paragraph in layman's terms which helped so much. Bottom line - the shutter slams the camera around, noticeable at certain shutter speeds - and the way to fix it is to use a very heavy tripod. Perhaps down the road there will be a firmware update that can address the sensor processor's inability to compensate. But then again, maybe that isn't possible. <br>

    Thanks again for all your help!<br>

    Daniel</p>

    Problems with the K7 sharpness

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Thanks Michael! I don't plan on dismissing the research. Just trying to figure out how to work around the flaws. For a lot of what I do (weddings) the K7s flaws aren't a big stumbling block. I shoot with two cameras anyway so I can just use the K20 for when crispness is critical. The speed, silence and DR improvements at the ISOs I shoot are enough to make me want to keep it. Actually, I paid less for the K7 than I did my first K20 and about the same as I did for my second K20. One thing that kind of stumps me is that pretty much all the reviews I read, from dpreview on down said great things about the K7. This issue was never mentioned.</p>

    <p >As soon as I can get a break from working for a living for a little bit I'm going to put together a test scenario as described in other's posts and do a proper test, as well as mess around with the AF adjustments.</p>

    <p >And thanks for clearing up clarity. I didn't know that about it.</p>

    <p > </p>

    Problems with the K7 sharpness

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>I wanted to address some of your comments Cristofor, sorry, Laurentiu, I'm used to calling people by their surname. Anyway, you state that the K7 has no sharpness issue however, according to Michael Elenko, there does seem to be some problems inherent with the K7. And that, apparently at slower shutter speeds I am including below another photo that I took at a faster shutter speed. Much better results. I haven't gotten around to doing the tests that several of you all have suggested but I will. This shot was just more fun to do!<br>

    As to the difference in color between the K7 and the K20, I noticed that too. Haven't isolated that issue yet either. On some shoots I do I wind up using multiple cameras so I try and set them all to be exactly the same. Which is the first thing I did with the K7 once I figured out the menu system. So I was quite puzzled as to why the odd color shift. And yes I was using the same WB setting. I have to say overall I like the way the K7 handles color better than my K20. I do think though that my K10 and K20s will still be my work horses. The K7 does have it's niche though – I do love that quiet shutter.<br>

    This shot was taken at 1/180th of a second. Still not blinding I know but a lot faster than 1/40th. The only processing I did was in raw editor for fill light, blacks, clarity and vibrance. And in each of those cases I didn't do much. And no sharpening. I focused on the leaf on the brass Fuchi (collar) between the Tsuba and Tsuka (handle).<br /> <img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/11605711-md.jpg" alt="" /></p>

    Problems with the K7 sharpness

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Thanks you all! Great advise. I'll definitely have to do some tweaking. Overall I like the camera very much. I think I mentioned that the photos I posted were with the second K7 I got, returned the first one. Both shoot the same. I love the photos Cristofor by the way! Excellent captures.<br>

    Daniel</p>

    Problems with the K7 sharpness

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>Wow! Thanks for all the quick responses. I've been in the studio or with clients all day and haven't had a chance to look back till now (many, many hours later). I'll respond down the list in order:<br>

    Michael Elenko - <br>

    I did use a tripod, SR was turned off, I didn't use MLU but did use a wireless remote.<br>

    I guess saying a calibrated the lens was incorrect, I used the AF Adjustment on the Pentax lenses but not on the Tamron (doesn't work on not Pentax lenses).<br>

    I used the single autofocus setting as well as manual with the same results.<br>

    Shutter speed was 1 second for those particular shots.<br>

    Sharpness settings were identical for all three cameras as were the jpeg scene settings.<br>

    For processing I simply opened in raw editor (I shot in raw – DNG) saved as TIFF and then JPEG small enough to post here. No other processing.<br>

    And I screwed up. The test subject I posted was, I agree, poor. I'll upload the test shots I did with the Tamron lens at the end of this post. I think they are a better example and a better test subject.<br>

    <br /><br /><br>

    Laurentiu Cristofor -<br>

    I would agree with the motion blur idea if it showed up in both images from the K7 and K20 and if I hadn't been using a heavy tripod with wireless trigger. I did try manual focus with both and got the same results as with auto.<br>

    <br /><br /><br>

    Andrew Dickson-<br>

    Thanks for the info. I will definitely look into it and I hadn't heard of the K-r. Interesting.<br>

    As mentioned above, all shots were done on a heavy tripod, but all were below 120 of a second. The shots that I posted were done at 1 second (it was night) and the initial ones I did were at 100 ISO at 1/40<sup>th</sup> of a second. I'm probably going to keep the K7 because I can sharpen the photos as needed in PhotoShop and the other improvements, especially the silent shutter are quite nice I shoot a lot of weddings and being quite during the ceremony is quite nice.<br>

    <br /><br /><br>

    R.T. Dowling-<br>

    The shots that I posted were done in tungsten light on the porch at night. Not optimal. The first test shots that I did were done in early afternoon (cloudy) outside. No wind by the way. I do have to say though that I did notice the sharpness issue when I was doing some close up hand held work, not exactly macro but pretty close, in daylight. That was what triggered all the testing that I did.<br>

    <br /><br /><br>

    Thank you all for your responses. It has given me some ideas on how to proceed. I have been shooting Pentax cameras since the LX first came out and am not going to let this little quirk dampen my love for Pentax cameras.<br>

    Daniel<br>

    Oh, I noticed that the resolution on the two photos that I posted was so poor you probably didn't get a good idea of what I'm talking about. I'm going to try linking to the photos (the first ones I took) that I have posted in my gallery. I hope this works.<br>

    <img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/11598675-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="452" /><br>

    This is from the K20<br>

    <img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/11598673-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="452" /><br>

    This is from the K7<br>

    <br /></p>

    Problems with the K7 sharpness

    in Pentax

    Posted

    <p>I recently purchased a K7 from Camerakings.com, it seemed like a good deal. Several hundred dollars off retail. I was doing a test shoot using my Tamron SP AF Aspherical XR Di 28-75 f2.8 lens and noticed the photos weren't as sharp as I had expected. So I did a comparison shoot using my K20 and found that indeed the photos taken with the K7 were substantially less sharp. Same focal length, ISO settings and aperture in both cases. I have two K20s and did the same test again using the other K20 with the same results. The two K20s were the same but the K7 was distinctly less sharp. I tweaked the sharpness and contrast settings on the K7 with some improvement but still no where near as sharp. I did the same comparison using my Pentax SMC DA 18-55 and although the photos were sharper than the Tamron they weren't as sharp as what I took with the K20s with the same lens. Even after lens calibration. Has anyone else noticed this? Is there something I am overlooking?<br>

    Here are the sample images I took:</p>

    <div>00XG2z-279051584.jpg.443ec7715192c98ca2eae3b6ac54490f.jpg</div>

×
×
  • Create New...