Photo guys, opinion needed!

Post by **mr tibbs** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:10 pm

I just checked the Woot Sellout and it's a Pentax K100D body only refurb for $240. Do you guys think this is a good deal? I already have a Pentax SLR (35 mm) so I already have a few lenses I can use with this. What do you guys think, should I pull the trigger?

Woot Linky

Post by **stipud** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:17 pm

DSLR's are fun as hell. That's quite cheap too! I say go for it!

bretti_kivi · Post by **bretti_kivi** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:52 pm

do it. Get some real rechargeables, you'll have a ball.

Any questions, ask!

Bret - a K10D user

joyride · Post by **joyride** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:22 am

wow, that is a good deal. any idea on how much the basic kit lens would be? im guessing around $100, so for $350 that is a damn good find.

Once you get a DSLR, you will wonder why you ever shot with a point and shoot.

Post by **mr tibbs** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:14 pm

Well, I pulled the trigger and got this. I figured I would not find this deal again and since I already have some lenses this was kind of a no brainer. When I get it I'll be sure to post up some pics. Thanks for the input guys!

Post by **mr tibbs** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:42 pm

I got my camera today and decided to try it out. Here are a few pics I snapped today. I did nothing more than throw a lens on and snap these pics. It makes me want to take some classes and learn how to use this damn thing!

bretti_kivi · Post by **bretti_kivi** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 1:06 am

that second one looks pretty cool; try raising yourself a bit higher so that the antlers don't get mixed with the background, let the "actors" be seperate within the shot.

The first one - not bad, I would probably have turned on the flash and dropped the exposure some (the flash would keep the bushes to the right bright and your snow wouldn't be quite so blinding). good start, keep it up

Oh, and go scour the bay for a 28/f2.8 and a 50 F1.7. They should be cheap. A 135/3.5 is also very, very nice to have.

EDIT: Oops, just read you already have lenses. which ones?

Bret

5.9Limited · Post by **5.9Limited** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 5:01 am

Im a Nikkon Dslr user...a few lenses and some sweet pix...I'll post em later... nice shots tibbs...Ive never taken any classes but have slew of good books that were a big help..

Post by **stipud** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 8:25 am

A good flash is a godsend. Just bought myself a Canon 430EX last week, and it has changed the way I take pictures. An aimable flash is absolutely a must... bouncing it off of walls works so well! No more washed out direct flash!

I actually commit photography sacrilege; I only use megazoom lenses (e.g. 18-200mm), which cover everything from wide angle to telephoto. Pro photographers typically hate these things because they can warp the corners of pictures, and because they take a bit more time to expose the picture. Both of these issues were troublesome when I used them on my 35mm, but they are barely noticable now on my DSLR thanks to the natural frame cropping and optical stabilization.

It is indeed very nice not to have to schlep around and change 5 lenses everywhere you go. I always had problems with dust getting in my old cameras, but now that I don't change the lense, I haven't had a single issue.

They are especially good for tourist pictures (mostly what I use mine for), where your subject will change frequently. If you end up shooting a lot of the same things, having dedicated lenses makes more sense.

As for how to take pictures... practice practice practice. With a DSLR you can take pictures endlessly, with multiple angles and exposures, and not have to pay for processing. Try to avoid placing your subjects directly in the middle of the picture -- focus on them first, then shoot off to the side (usually thirds of the frame are visually pleasing). And read your manual! It's got lots of hints that tell you how to use your camera to do different things.

One cool thing you might want to try is a long exposure flash shot in the late evening. Get some friends to pose in front of a sunset, and tell them to stand as still as possible. The long exposure will capture the sunset behind them, while the flash will make sure they are in focus in the foreground. Makes for some very nice and different portraits.

Post by **mr tibbs** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:38 am

Wow, thanks for all of the tips guys! Like I said this was just kind of a quick test run. I didn't mess with any settings on the camera and just let the auto picture do it's thing. My one big downfall right now is that I completely forgot about a memory card. I had to find one around the house and the biggest SD card I found was a 32MB card. I can fit a whole whopping 6 pictures on the card!

I guess I need to go get me a real card today and fix that problem.

As for lenses Bretti I have 2 one is a Pentax-F SMC 1:4 - 5.6, 35-80mm and the other is a Pentax-F SMC 1:4.7 - 5.6, 80-200mm. I had both of these for the 35mm SLR Pentax that I had before the DSLR. They seem to work pretty good to me? Any suggestions?

Post by **stipud** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 10:14 am

Does the autofocus still work on those lenses with your DSLR? If so you should be pretty well off. Only thing I might recommend would be a nice wide angle (18mm or lower), since 35mm will translate to nearly 50mm on a digital camera, which is a little high for taking wider shots and architectural pictures.

Pentax makes one that fits the bill...
http://www.amazon.com/Pentax-FA-18-35mm ... B0000C4G2H

This way you would have 18-35, 35-80, 80-200!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_factor

Post by **mr tibbs** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:01 am

stipud wrote:Does the autofocus still work on those lenses with your DSLR? If so you should be pretty well off. Only thing I might recommend would be a nice wide angle (18mm or lower), since 35mm will translate to nearly 50mm on a digital camera, which is a little high for taking wider shots and architectural pictures.

Pentax makes one that fits the bill...
http://www.amazon.com/Pentax-FA-18-35mm ... B0000C4G2H

This way you would have 18-35, 35-80, 80-200!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_factor

Yeah, the auto focus still works with the DSLR. The motor is in the body so you don't have to buy new lenses. Damn I love Pentax, they really thought this out. I'll take a look at those lenses, would something like that work better for macro?

Post by **stipud** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:22 am

With f4, it will do ok at shooting macro pics... it will have a wider depth of field (i.e. more stuff in focus), than a typical macro lense, which generally has an f3-f1.

For macro, you may want something with a huge aperture (lowest F-number possible), so that you can reduce your depth of field, which makes your subject float over a blurry background. Depending on your subject you also want a different zoom. For example, bugs and stuff are great to shoot with a telephoto macro lense, like the 135/3.5 that Brett suggested, whereas wider angle macro shots are also possible for flowers, or pets.

My favorite macro photography is telephoto. You might want to try putting on your telephoto lens, and manually adjusting the focus to the closest possible setting. I generally use manual focus in this range because most cameras have a lot more difficulty focusing up close, and need to be moved a ways back in order to focus, but YMMV. Then go out, and move the camera closer to a branch, bug, or something small until it comes into focus. Then take a couple pictures around that range, until you get one the perfect focus, and voila... you have a super zoomed macro pic.

For example, I shot this little guy (he was about 1cm across) with my megazoom set to 200mm f6:

Same settings, smaller bug:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro_photography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

bretti_kivi · Post by **bretti_kivi** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:59 am

I like my primes

I now have
18-55
50-200 DFA (digital "optimized")

then
24 - 2.8
50 - 2.8
135 - 3.5

primes (fixed)

I like using the fixed lenses, but can understand completely stipud's point of view. It's stupid to be changing lenses when you are missing a shot as a result.

for flash: either a AF-360 or Sigma EF-530 is cool, if you can find a 500 still, they work nicely as well; they'll also work off-camera which is where the real fun starts

practice, practice. play with it, work out what you want, what you're good at and ask questions

Stipud: tried bouncing it off colored surfaces (like paper) yet?

Bret

Post by **stipud** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:09 pm

bretti_kivi wrote:Stipud: tried bouncing it off colored surfaces (like paper) yet?

ZOMG you just blew my mind.

I have a Stofen Omni-bounce ordered for it as well, in order to soften out the shadow edges a bit. My flash has a diffuser flap it but it makes only a marginal difference from what I can see.

bretti_kivi · Post by **bretti_kivi** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:50 pm

this is just water....direct from the tap...

bounced off dark blue paper, diffuser on top. As usual, my 50/f2.8.

joyride · Post by **joyride** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:37 am

I wish I could afford a new flash. But I think an 8mm lens will be next.

And get a memory card! There is nothing better than being able to rifle off shots at different exposures and DOF's, just to be sure that you have the right one. I usually bracket everything by a stop. And I always shoot in RAW format. The controls you have over jpeg are a lifesaver (just wait till you shoot the wrong white balance).

Any of you tried the reverse lens trick yet? talk about a small DOF...

bretti_kivi · Post by **bretti_kivi** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 11:07 am

... something else:

Here some photos so you can see what happens when I process RAW, Unsharp Mask ... and a couple of other bits.

I got a new toy today.

All with 1/180, F8 (i think...) off-camera flash, triggered with the on cam flash; background is paper, the off-cam flash diffused through paper (it's to the left of the key).

photo out of the camera

white balance repair to temp 8206

100% crop of the area - the top of the key itself, the engraving

after USM; radius 6, amount 0.6, threshold 5

this is the full pic afterwards: look very closely at the grain of the stainless and also the crossbar of the A. The USM is overdone for this situation!

Hope this helps.

Bret

joyride · Post by **joyride** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:19 pm

Gotta love Raw. Have you thought about using overlays for that key image? I did a quick edit with some dodge/burn to level out the stainless part, and it really brings out more contrast in it. Although, the texture may be a little much. Also, this could look good as a duotone.

bretti_kivi · Post by **bretti_kivi** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:02 pm

I was "product shooting" it, rather than trying to get the 'best' out of it... and I'm pretty sure that's the shot my daughter composed

For the flash setup:
- off cam flash set to optical trigger (your flash manual will tell you how to do this)
- setup as follows: bent paper underneath the key, leaned on something at the rear.
- to the left of the key, a single sheet; flash directly behind that (say, 1/2" away).
That's why there's hardly any shadows.

joyride: post it up, sooo many people don't really understand what's possible, how and why they'd want to do it! I have to go to bed and tomorrow I have a shedload to do at work

Bret