I saw the pics before reading the commentary, but I love hearing this these real-life reviews. So much more interesting than reading dry test reports.
Speaking of which, I'm working my way through Erwin Putz' Leica Lens Compendium. I'd recommend the book even if you don't shoot Leica, just for a crash course in optics design. But sooooo dry. What do spun steel pans look like? D William Robb wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subject: A bit embrassing? > > > >> Some interesting threads came up today: In-camera (image stabilisation) vs. >> lens dedicaed >> (image stabilisation); improved continuous autofocus with the new Pentax >> cameras and lenses. >> No much discussion followed either of these. So what topic does the list >> fixate on: Whether >> Macs or PCs do a better job of burning DVDs. Such silliness. >> > > Well, while you guys were fixating on burning CDs and trying to decide which > method of shake > reduction works best, I shot 6 gigs of Lyndsaye at the studio. > It was another good day. > However, to answer your questions: > In camera IS definitely is better, since it supports all my Pentax lenses. > What more is there to > say? > The AF improvements with DA* lenses will be an improvement to me if I ever > get around to > purchasing any of them. I'm still not convinced that zooms are where I want > to go, though the > 60-250 is on my next lens list, and I will pick one up the moment it becomes > available to me. > > Now, about my day. > This time, I managed to remember to set my ISO to 100....... > I decided to eschew the umbrellas and soft boxes in favour of spun steel > pans, which I like > better. I don't know why, but I just like the quality of light off them > better. I think they > give a more lifelike image. > The studio boys use umbrellas and the like because they are easy, I say easy > sometimes doesn't > give as nice a result. > I started off with the DA70mm LTD and did some basic head shots so she could > see how her hair > style photographs (trial run for her wedding in June). > I then backed off a bit and did some half length stuff some kinda arsty stuff. > After I got bored with that, I switched to the Voigtlander 58mm and she > switched to a little red > dress, which was quite delightful. We did a bunch of full lengths, and then I > had her sit down > and we did some stuff, and then I had her stand up again and did some more > full lengths. > After that, she changed into a little black dress, which didn't work quite as > well, but I got a > few nice shots, and then she changed into slacks and a sleeveless top, which > worked quite well. > > The camera worked marvelously. Every exposure is excellent (except for a few > where the flash > trigger didn't manage to fire the Normans) and I only have a couple of > pictures that misfocused, > and that was my fault for pushing the button when I should have been twisting > the focus ring. > Something that I've noticed is that the IR trigger reflects a red catchlight > in the subjects > eyes. I never saw this with the K10. It's not really a big deal, but for > wedding work I will > probably go back to a PC cord (thanks Pentax for including a plug) to avoid > having to retouch > all the eyes. > Buffer size and write speeds was not an issue, the camera easily keeps up > with the recycling > time on the power pack, even with the slower UltraII 4 gig cards that I am > using. I noticed that > there is now an ExtremeIII 4 gb card available, I may pick up a few of them, > for shooting doggie > stuff, the faster write speeds can be handy. > One thing I am noticing when comparing K20 images to K10 images is that the > K20 seems to give a > smoother looking picture. Skin tones are nicer, tonal transitions are > smoother, and the camera > seems less prone to blowing out highlights and loosing shadow detail. > Talking about detail, there is a very noticable improvement in fine detail > with this camera. > Some of it (perhaps nost of it) can be attributed to the higher resolution > sensor, but I think > that fine tuning the AF on a lens by lens basis makes an improvement as well. > The images are > more sharply detailed than anything I've seen coming off a 35mm film camera. > The screen on the K20 gives a very close approximation of what the image > looks like with the > default Camera Raw settings. The K10 was always just a tad brighter than what > would show up on > the monitor. I'm glad they included the adjustments, I'm even happier that I > don't feel the need > to avail myself of them. > > Anyway, I'll post a few shots later. > > William Robb > > > > > > -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.iinet.net.au/~derbyc -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
