davidmantilla

February 21, 2015

DO:

* checkout <a href="http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html">strobist - lighting 101</a> if you haven't already. It's an excellent resource and definitely improved my understanding and appreciation for flash photography

* consider buying some PocketWizards (remote flash triggers). You can do some fun stuff with these and help you be more creative in your lighting.You can also buy some crappy cheap flashes and experiment and have fun. (no need to buy expensive flashes with built-in wireless triggers when you have the pocket wizard do the triggering for you).

* Do consider getting some flashes/strobes that have optical triggering (might be cheaper than getting a third pocket wizard)

DON'T:

* rush out to get expensive gear. One stroll through B&H's lighting department and you would think you need to spend a few thousand or tens of thousands of dollars to get started w/ artificial light. I got a good starter kit on ebay for cheap that got me going, w/o breaking the bank. (nice background stand w/ black and white background sheets come in handy when doing a "studio" setup at home; picked those up at a good price on ebay) Pocket Wizards were a bit pricey but very much worth it.

Anyway, some general advice hopefully helpful for you.

January 16, 2014

I should also add that my photos usually just stay buried in on my hard drive / shown online, though the idea is for them to make it into a Blurb photo book at some point. I have printed the occasional large print (16x24"), but it has been a long time since I did that.

January 16, 2014

Hi all, thanks everyone for all the great responses. Doesn't seem like people were raving about the W3, so that's good to know, will keep it in the "nice to have" bucket for now.

I'm going to be traveling to Peru and Colombia soon. Checking out Bogota (some landscape/cityscape/street photos), Cartagena (beach photos, in the water, etc.), and also Lima, Peru. They're all "safe" areas, biggest worry being pickpockets, etc. A friend got his laptop & bookbag stolen in Buenos Aires from right under his nose while eating in a restaurant, so I'm a bit more cautious these days. I may be traveling to Paracas (the "poor man's galapagos"), so that's where I may really want to have the 55-300mm handy.

I'm just wondering what other parents use when they go to the beach... I would have thought these W3 cameras would have caught on by now, but I looking back, I guess just see people being really careful with their P&S and iPhones while on the beach, I guess.

btw, I don't have many photos on here, but have more on my website... http://davidphoto.co/

January 13, 2014

Hi all, It's been a while since I post on here, glad to see the forum is still going. (Mental note to myself: go out and take more photos and post them here). I have amassed a nice collection of lenses over the years, and something that I now realize is, they spend too much time in the closet. Part of that is, carrying all that glass is heavy and not sure it's always worth it. Hence my question: I'm planning a trip to South America w/ the family and am thinking about what should I pack: (I admit my LBA is trying to make a come back in the form of justifying need of a new camera.)

Option 1: only pack smartphone - besides the obvious drawbacks to this option (crappy quality, etc.) if it were to get stolen, I would be very very sad/screwed.

Option 2: k5 plus a few lenses (let's not worry about which lenses for now) - obviously heavy, and if stolen, also could be very sad/expensive to replace

Option 3: get a compact P&S, thinking about the Optio W3, specifically, but could be other waterproof/crushproof/etc camera. - if stolen, sad to lose the photos, but not that expensive to replace compared to #1, #2

May be going to the beach, etc, so thought having a water proof camera would be good. not excited about taking the k5 to the beach. I'm not visiting Machu Picchu or anything, so don't really need to have my dSLR and my limited lenses. Then again, I'm pretty spoiled shooting with the k5 at high ISO (3200-6400) w/ my 31mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.4 lenses.

I'm wondering, does anyone have the W3, do you like it? does it take nice photos of landscapes, etc.? I like the f/2.0 lens, that's a plus over the W10. What's the photo quality like? Do people prefer other brand's waterproof camera options?

I have heard of people getting insurance for their photo gear... has anyone here done that? is it worth it? recommendations? I traveled to China previously, had no issues, felt very safe (other tourists had way more expensive equipment than me); South America is a bit different, may want to get that if I'm taking the k5 and my limited lenses.

Just curious..

thanks!

March 23, 2013

I have a k10d that served me well, then made the upgrade to k5 when first released, and believe me, I've never looked back. The difference in quality is so great, i would really say, if you can afford it, go for the k5. I have a bunch of film cameras that I hold on to, they still work after all these years, film quality hasn't changed much in the past 30 years. with digital however, the hardware and sensors improve every year, so that k10d is really out of date. i dont think about the megapixels, the improvement in the ISO and reduction of noise is a no-brainer for me to upgrade from k10d if possible.

December 30, 2012

Transition from amateur to pro is slow and steep, to say the least! So much to purchase, so much to learn...

I definately need to purchase some sort of flash, as right now I'm using homemade reflectors/defusers, which have been fun but don't cut it when there's a lack of light to begin with ;)

</blockquote>

I'd say, spend money on a decent flash and lighting set up before buying expensive lenses. Check out http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

A couple of pocket wizards, a flash or two, you can do lots of stuff. I picked up a cheap umbrella set & backdrop stand on ebay for $120 a few years back, very handy. definitely less expensive than the "pro" equipment at B&H that is easily 10x more expensive. a good book helps too. and lots of practice.

Good luck, hold off on buying new lenses as long as you can, b/c once you start, it's hard to stop. whenever i get the urge to buy a new lens, that' usually a good indicator i haven't taken enough photos lately and am getting bored. that's just me though.

May 6, 2012

Duane, great points. When I mentioned "Pentax should get someone w/ analytical capabilities" I was referring to the "leverage your existing customer base" approach you outlined in your post. From the outside looking in, Pentax has a lot of low-hanging fruit re: things they could do to improve their marketing capabilities. Seems shocking they haven't tried these already, I can only assume it's because they are understaffed or have no budget.

May 5, 2012

On more thing... I believe Vizio started thru

selling primarily thru Costco, back when it

was still a small startup company. No TV

ads, practically no publicity or ads, just

good products at compelling prices, right

next to big brand expensive TVs. Now its the

number 1 seller of HDTVs. Not sure Pentax

wants to compete on price alone, but I do

think there is an analogous opportunity to

compete directly against Canon and NIKON

(like Vizio did against Sony and Samsung) on

a Costco warehouse floor.

May 5, 2012

R.T., interesting stuff. I am not sure Target is

good idea, though. People may want to ask

a Target employee about the camera; high

chance that that person won't be able to sell

Pentax's virtues.

At Costco on other hand, no expectation

that an employee will help in purchasing

decision. It's on the shelf, there's a flyer,

price or something innovative may sway the

consumer -- good merchandising copy

required here. My dad recently bought an

Olympus Pen this way at Costco. Thought it

looked cool, interchangeable lens, half the

price of entry level Canon dSLR. No

salesman involved. He bought it. Why not

have Pentax there too?

May 4, 2012

You're assuming there would be a reasonable return on investment for those million dollar TV ad campaigns. Probably not. Pentax barely has any retail store penetration, so it's not like people who see the TV ad would find their way to a store that actually carries Pentax (I haven't seen Pentax at BestBuy, Sears, Costco, etc. for example).

I would instead focus my marketing money on promoting the Pentax k-x or Pentax k-01 at Costco for example. Have it side by side a Nikon and/or Canon at a slight discount, but good features.. I see $1400 Nikons on sale (and people buying them) there all the time. Shipping a palette or two to a few pilot stores would be worth it, I think. (This is assuming their customer call center is upto speed, etc., to handle any customer inquiries that would arise from their new customer base). See if it gets traction, if it does, then roll it out to key markets.

I think Pentax could use some analytics expertise, someone to help them crunch some numbers and better target their ads. Mass marketing won't work for Pentax. Targeting schools, students, moms and dads, even some Latino marketing would probably make more sense. It's all about identifying the customers -- demographics and psychographics -- TV ad spots don't let you finely target your customers, I think internet ads, Facebook, and (yikes, am I saying this?!) even social media would be the way to go for Pentax given its marketing budget relative to what Nikon and Canon spend on ads, sponsorships, celebrity endorsements, etc. Let's face it, there's an uphill battle to convince people who think Canon+Nikon = "good camera" , and "Sony" = "oh yeah, I have a SONY TV, DVD player, I guess they make good cameras too", that they should also consider a Pentax ("Pentax who?") I think there's a certain "personality type" for those who choose to go with Pentax, it's all about understanding what that type of person is, who they are, where they live, hang out (in real life and in cyberspace), who they are influenced by, and then get the brand and product messaging in front of them as often as possible. And make it easy for them to buy... I am spoiled living in NYC, there's a few professional camera stores w/ Pentax gear... if I lived elsewhere, I think my choices for finding PEntax stuff would be greatly limited. Internet shopping is great for brands and gear that you already know, for stuff you don't know, it's always better to be able to hold the product in your hand, even if you end up shopping online afterwards... (the "Amazon showroom" syndrome many retailers experience nowadays).

So I'm waiting for the day Pentax is selling in Costco. I won't hold my breath, but that route is what seems to make the most sense to me. Also the Pentax Gallery thingy should be more "social" and be better integrated in Facebook some how. Sometimes I think they should just run a campaign around "Pentax, Poor man's Leica".. piggyback off Leica's brand. LIke Avis.. "We're Number Two, We Try Harder" campaign that helped propel their sales and brand from nobody to somebody in the auto rental biz.

April 23, 2012

I second that... grab it if you are interested in that focal length. i bought one on eBay for $80 a couple of years ago, have been happy with it.. I don't use it as often as I would like, but it's very nice lens. I won't be selling it for a while. Manual focus on it is great, long throw, lets you focus more precisely. I miss the manual focus lenses, tempted to buy more of them. I onced photographed a soccer match using this lens (yes, a bit crazy I know)... I was blurry-eyed afterwards, so something in keep in mind (no AutoFocus, of course on these M lenses).

April 22, 2012

I got the k-5 early on, and have had that "problem" for a long time, shooting at 3200 ISO when I'm indoors. I was playing around with a newly acquired but very old JCPenny 2x Teleconverter, attached to a Pentax M 80-200 f/4 zoom.. This time I decided to "go all in" and hit "rock bottom" and check out ISO 12800... yes 12800. Came out pretty good I think.. I like having this "problem" ;)

Full image (no cropping)... Pentax k5 at ISO12800

April 13, 2012

I'll take them.. I can put my Pentax 645N to good use with that stash of film. Let me know!

David

April 1, 2012

I'm kicking the thread off this week, yay! I recently had a chance to attend a photoshoot thru a NY Meetup group. This particular meetup group (<a href="http://www.meetup.com/figure-photography/">Manhattan figure study and lighting workshop</a>) has regular group photoshoots where you shoot along side other photographers during a set period of time. Danielle Trixie was our model. There was another Pentaxian photographer, so I was not alone (for once), most others were using Canon/Nikon, and one guy had a digital hasselblad. (I held back from asking to try it out). I had my k-5 and and k10d with me, doing the dual lens thing. I don't have a fast wide zoom lens (16-50mm) and was working with a 12-24mm and 50mm combo instead. It worked out well. the 12-24mm is really quite sharp. I was definitely happy, though had to watch the distortion (or perspective, really) when at the wide end. I've included a "safe for work" photo below. My main takeaway was I need to be more assertive w/ the lighting setup. Too easy to fall into a "group think" scenario or "collective nonaction" as my friend likes to put it, when you have a group of photographers and people are more busy pressing the shutter than thinking about creative lighting. Something for me to work on for the next event.

Danielle Trixie (Pentax k5 and FA 31mm Ltd ISO 400, f/2.0 @ 1/180sec.)

March 28, 2012

Thanks Jemal & Dave! I've found that the 20-30 minutes after sunset are my favorite time of day to take photos. Beautiful, deep colors at that time. Sadly, it only lasts a few minutes. so "cant run around" to the different monuments to get the same lighting...

March 25, 2012

A shot from the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC at dusk. (Pentax k5 with 31mm Ltd f/4.5@1/30sec ISO 3200 handheld) <img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6234/6868267414_1d73133dfe_z.jpg" alt="" width="424" height="640" />

Washington Monument at dusk (Pentax k5, 12-24mm, @19mm, f/4.5@1/10sec ISO3200 handheld)

February 26, 2012

as others have stated, I'm not too concerned by the noise you see, (unclear how much pixel peeping you doing.. is this a 100% crop, 400%,etc). You shouldn't sharpen noise, use the masking setting in Lightroom to make sure you only sharpen the edges you want to sharpen, and a little Noise Control to smooth things out. I shoot in RAW in ISO 3200, 6400 and the noise is not usually an issue when printing. Even the ISO 12800 is workable with some selective sharpening / noise control in Lightroom.

February 23, 2012

I have the 31mm Ltd (and 77mm Ltd), yes, the ring rotates when the lens is autofocusing. I never noticed, probably because my second lens was the FA 50mm, which operates the same way. My fingers never get in the way, so I dont think it's an issue. There's plenty of room to grip the lens where you wont interfere w/ the focusing ring, so it's never been an issue. Actually, this is the first time I have even thought about it. What is kinda annoying compared to the DA lenses is the lack of Quick Shift.. but I'm thinking this is a relatively new development so the FA lenses have not been retrofitted.

February 19, 2012

I have some cool cityscape at sunset photos taken with a Pentax 645N and Velvia 50 I want to share, but haven't scanned them in yet (no transparency scanner, and didn't ask photo lab to scan at time of development); so those will have to wait another week or more. In the meantime, another shot from the November (not that long ago right?), from Mohonk Mountain House... this winter has been so mild, I feel like I'm not cheating by posting these late Fall shots ;) Again, spring is around the corner (in the US anyway)

<img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7184/6861083897_ab9d48331b_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="424" /> Pentax k-5 + the FA 50mm (ISO 100, 1/750 @ f/1.4) This is what it really looks like outside right now: <img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7205/6902987889_52c68e6689_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="424" /> Pentax k-5 + FA 31mm Limited (ISO 80, 1/80 @ f/5.6)

I forgot to mention I picked up a FA 31mm over the holidays. My favorite lens. Great performance; love the feel of the lens. Been using it to take lots of family photos, I need to make it downtown and take it for a spin around the city.

February 13, 2012

this I don't understand : among photographers there is a strong dislike or disapproval for any halo-effect. Personally I quite like it's somewhat enchanting, ambient effect.

</blockquote>

If you like it, that should be enough. I personally don't like it (my personal opinion, and I mean no offense). It just looks strange to me, even for HDR. Maybe it's just a matter of "working it" a bit more. I would try to figure out how to get the HDR effect w/o the halo look. Probably means more subtle layers, finessing of the Photoshop controls. This site has a few HDR examples that don't have the halo effect, or if it does, the artist uses it in more dramatic ways as part of composition, check it out, if you haven't seen it already: <a href="http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/03/10/35-fantastic-hdr-pictures/">http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/03/10/35-fantastic-hdr-pictures/</a>

February 13, 2012

I like the first one the most, the last one the least since, like Robin said, is a bit HDR-like, and also has a glow around the tree which is a bit off-putting. May want to blend that in a bit better... there shouldn't be a halo in the sky along the tree branches in my opinion.

February 12, 2012

Hi guys, I guess I'm the only up late tonight, so I'll kick off the POTW for this week... I've only been taking family shots lately, but I did find this garden shot from the fall that I have yet to post anywhere. A nice reminder of what's around the corner...

<img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7210/6861084535_79d35db229_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="424" /> Garden at Mohonk Mountain House, NY. Pentax k-5 and FA 50mm (ISO 200, 1/90 @ f/6.7)

February 2, 2012

Very tempting! I probably would have preordered, but already own a k-5 and love it. But I'm telling my friends and family about it! mirrorless + pentax lens line up, would be good. I've been getting into large format photography lately, getting used to the large ground glass for focusing... so LiveView only (i.e., no optical view finder) doesn't seem like such a bad idea anymore ;) I hope they got it "right" and the camera is a hit.

January 27, 2012

I suspect the OP is a troll and is LOL at all this verbiage without a coherent response from him. Maybe I'm wrong, but...

</blockquote>

Perhaps, but I know I've definitely enjoyed reading everyone's comments. Honestly, it's probably a bit overwhelming for someone new to get so many opinions. I've been tracking and reading up on medium format for a while (and large format, after reading Ansel Adam's Camera and Negative) and eventually I picked up a used Pentax 645N a few months back off ebay, and is in a box in a closet somewhere (a Holga would have been cheaper, but like someone else said, I def need aperture and shutter speed controls). Reading those two books gave me more appreciation for the art and technical aspects of photography.

Regarding the Pentax, the SLR-like ergonomics make it easy for a SLR user like me (I typically use a digital Pentax k-5), to feel comfortable with it. It's a great camera, I just need to get away from the computer and take some photos with it. And yes, the shutter sound, as loud as it is, is very satisfying. I think I'll take it out for a spin once it stops raining!

As far as Kodak going bankrupt, I think that was management's fault for falling asleep at the wheel. Fuji seems to be doing ok, even innovating with its latest digital offerings. Hopefully they'll be enough photo students, enthusiasts, and yes even hipsters to keep film going for a while longer. (I do worry about getting 4x5 film in the near future.. that to me seems like a film format that may not make it, and one I really like.. the pain level a bit too high for most people).

January 21, 2012

Banding or no, being able to shoot at 51200 is just remarkable...

</blockquote>

I agree, amazing to be able to shoot at ISO 51200. Looks better than ISO1600 on my old k10D. If you are shooting at that high ISO, you can shoot raw and tinker with the sharpening and noise reduction to see if that helps alleviate the banding (which in my opinion, doesn't hurt your photo). I have the k-5 and love it. I usually dont shoot above 3200, but I think I'm going to start doing so for some extreme situations. (Like shooting in the dark).

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Posts posted by davidmantilla