duane_mills

<p>Well I'm late to the party this week. I see it's been a terrific kick off by Dorus. Doug, thanks for the kind words last week. The photo was HDR, 5 bracketed photos, and I used Photomatix to fuse them. Dorus / Guus introduced me to Photomatix. It's a dynamite piece of software with great effects. A few favourite's this week…Dorus's - B&W train track shot. Bob's landscapes always amaze and inspire me - the first is spectacular. Harry's macro - Berry shot is well done. Haig's hummingbird amazes as always. Matt's - meditation shot is a neat image capture. Here are three from me. Just experimenting with photography after dark...</p><div></div>

<p>And finally...</p><div></div>

<p>My son at another track meet on Saturday...</p><div></div>

<p>Terrific POW last week. I haven't seen that kind of participation in the Pentax Forum since 2008. It also puts me on the hook to contribute as to not let fellow Pentaxians down. A few images that stood out: Haig's "Hummingbird" wowed us all. Matt's "Sunrise" was an outstanding capture. Howard's 'Sunglasses" series continues to be interesting as is captures what others see. Dave - Clara has grown up since you first posted her sports shots years ago - time passes too quickly. Here are three shots from this week: </p><div></div>

Capturing sharp images with great detail will happen with both the K-5 II and K-5 IIs. After considering both I opted the K- 5 II. I had two reasons for this: - I had decided to shoot mostly with primes which are very sharp indeed. My latest are the HD DA 21 and HD DA 40 and I have just recently ordered the HD DA 70. - You can always sharpen a little in post processing if needed. Camera bodies change so fast with today's technology, I believe saving a few dollars and investing in better glass is a wise investment. After all what's the point in having a camera capable of producing stunning images if the lenses are not up to the task.

<p>And last but not least, a micro-brewery & pub... </p><div></div>

<p>A third...</p><div></div>

<p>Another photo of my son...</p><div></div>

<p>The POTW thread is picking up steam once again! It has been several years since we have seen these photo sharing activity levels amongst fellow Pentaxians. Keep it rolling. It's terrific to see and dynamite to experience the world through the eyes of other Pentax shooters.</p> <p>My fav's from last week (in no particular order); Don's "Snake" - a 300mm gives a nice working distance for that capture. Doug's "Mudskipper" - it's the first time I've seen one. Dorus's HDR "Bridge & Fog" shot - stunning image. Harry's "Hidden Lake" - the image makes me want to cast a line and crack open a beer! Yuri's "Divers" - the spear guns make me wonder what they might encounter. Nick's "Q7 Shots" have made me interested in a camera that I wouldn't have considered for travelling. Matt's "Town Party" - it looks more like a pagan ceremony for an offering to the gods! Haig's "Late Bloomer" - it's always amazing to see like unfolding when unexpected. Howard's 'Ladies" - he always manages to catch smiles from lovely ladies.</p> <p>Here are a few images from this week:</p> <div></div>

<p>Harry, it really depends on what you're looking for. Metz makes a solid flash. If you want the flexibility of expanding to use multiple flashes - the Pentax is the better choice as the Metz won't work as the controller/master - but it will work as a slave - so you'd still need a Pentax 540 or 360. The menus and controls are very different as well - you should try them out to see the difference. If you want to save $$$ how about a AF 540 FGZ Model 1?</p>

<p>Here's a second..</p><div></div>

<p>Terrific POTW run last week. My Fav's were (not in any particular order): Doug - "The Crab": the little critter posed for you, cool! Harry - "The Trolley" - great image, it might pop a little more if you had caught the trolley entering the frame but is still a terrific capture. Dave - "Front Porch" - sharp with creamy bokeh, kudos. Good to see your shots again. Howard - "The Smile" - stunning beauty with a mischievous smile - well done.<br> Here are a couple of shots from this week from a small town with a large airport runway; Gander Newfoundland: </p><div></div>

Hi Wayne. The jitterbug refocusing you describe happens when AF is set to Continuous. When in AFS (AF Single) keeping the shutter button pressed halfway will retain your original focus point as you recompose (the red AF point won't reappear in the viewfinder though). I have been using the same technique way back to my K-100D Super. On the K-5 II; I must ensure the switch on the outside of the camera body is set to AFS (page 108 in the K-5 II / K-5 IIs manual).

<p>And number three….</p><div></div>

<p>Here's the second...</p><div></div>

<p>Not much opportunity to shoot around here. 2 clear days amongst 41 rainy ones. Maybe I should invest in some WR glass? Here are a couple of shots from earlier this summer. Got to run for now but will be back to pick out a few fav's after more images are posted. Cheers.</p> <p>D</p><div></div>

<p>With a few minor changes in Lightroom...</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks for your thoughts. I agree. Also, I have started with the 30 Lightroom free trial. Here's my first effort…The youtube Adobe tutorials are very helpful. Cheers.</p><div></div>

<p>Hi folks. When I started in this forum several years ago I used Photoshop CS3 on a PC. I have since moved over to an iMac and have been using iPhoto as well as Photomatix. I was planning on purchasing Aperture but Apple is discontinuing it. Presently; I'm trying Lightroom but am wondering if Aperture is worth purchasing at this stage in the game. Any thoughts? Anyone who has used both?</p>

<p>The focus on gimmicky entry level cameras with colours has been a Pentax approach for some time, it's still an ice-cream cone - just a new flavour. Yes the K-S1 a solid entry level offering but I feel Ricoh should position the entry level Pentax with the strength of the Pentax lens line in mind…offer a K-S1 kit with a kit lens AND a DA 40 f/2.8 XS…position it as an all-around starter fit with a stunning prime…for compactness…for superior IQ…for portraits…for walk-around general photography. If the 2-lens kit was only $100 more it might work out very well for Ricoh.</p>

<p>Kudos, the photos are very well captured indeed. The Dragonfly is may favourite, it's an amazing image.</p>

<p>Now this is a fun game! I live in a province that is 720,000 sq km and only has 500,000 people - so how many Pentax DSLR camera's have I seen here? Lets see…the father of one of my daughters friends has an istD…that's 1! My friend Rob has two K-20's…that's 3! The lady with the K-7 I sold my FA 50 to after getting the 40 pancake…that's 4! The lady I met at Henry's Camera who had two K-30's…that's 6! The university student I sold my K-100D Super to when I got the K-5II…that's 7! Do I count with my K-5 II to make it 8?</p> <p> </p>

<p>And one more...</p><div></div>

<p>Now here's one from me:</p><div></div>

<p>Hi all, another great POTW thread last week. Thanks to all who posted for sharing your captures from the week. I used to be very active in the Pentax Forum on Photo.net and life got in the way for a few years and am happy to have found my way back. Thanks for the chuckle last week Howard. I am a HUGE LOTR fan. My kids have grown up reading the books as well before being allowed to watch the movies. We have a in-house rule; book first, movie second. Matt - my images were HDR (5 bracketed photos each) that were put fused in Photomatrix which Guus (Dorus?) introduced me to. I'm still experimenting with the software.<br> My 3 favourites from last week (in no particular order) were: Matt's - "Close to the Summit", Doug's - "Remarkable Rocks" and Dorus's - "Coming & Going". <br> Here are three shots from "The Rock" (that's what we locals call this island). The first was taken by my 9 year old son who; selected his shooting location and scene, set up the tripod and K-5, adjusted everything to his liking and shot the following image in Aperture Priority:</p><div></div>