I have decided to come into the 21st Century. No, I have decided to embrace it!
In the late spring this year Mark C. posted some of his stunning dragonfly shots and mentioned focus stacking. In the discussion of his images he mentioned focus peaking with the K-01. What, I queried, is focus peaking? He and others gave explanations, I did some web searches to find more. Hummph I muttered. Not of any real concern to me. In August participated in a workshop where I learned much more about focus stacking, and I learned something about using Liveview. But focus peaking was still a mystery to me. In my October workshop I learned more about stacking, and was exposed to the benefits of HDR, something that had also been a mystery to me. In my playing around since receiving my K-3 I have had an epiphany. This stuff really works! The K-3 Liveview focus peaking capability combined with focus stacking in post-processing is truly a game changer in macro photography. Look at the image on the LCD, twiddle with the focus, and it is as though a flashlight is playing across the image, highlighting the areas in focus. And Bill reported how Liveview and face detection(!), another modern gimmick, helped him in the studio. The advances in camera firmware/software and the UI really do make a difference. I still prefer the M mode to AV or TV, but I have found that TAV can play a meaningful role. (I know, that has been around for a couple of generations, but it is part of the total new package.) I haven't been this enthusiastic about a new camera since I first started using HyperProgram mode. Life is good and the K-3 is a great tool. stan -- 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.
