A couple from today :)

Hi All

Been a wee while since I was able to post in this section of the forum, but thanks to Mike-P (and the sale of a Fuji S5) I now have a K-7 in my bag

Excellent Brian, welcome back! I've been watching your posts on EPZ since we last saw you and you've developed a distinctive, quality style.

Thank you John, comments very much appreciated.

Still got so much more to learn though!!

Excellent shots/technique. I particular like No.2, sharpness and lighting superb.

Paul

Hmmm, I never got people looking like that infront of the camera when I had it

Welcome back .. look forward to seeing more of the same quality.

Nice to see you back Brian

Just my picky thoughts (whether valid or not)... Seems slightly underexposed on first sight, but that may well have been your intention

Additionally, I think the eyes need to be sharper. I can't tell what's happening at this small size, but it looks like the point of focus is slightly too far forward. Particularly in #2 this is causing me trouble Not sure if you've done much PP... but the front of the hat looks sharp, so I'm a bit puzzled (The brain tends to hone in on the sharpest point.)

Matt

Welcome back Brian
Dare I say I dont like the jeans in the first shot and the hand and disjointed fingers in the second.

Apart from those minor niggles they are both OK, the second gets my vote for best, the pose is good and it fills the frame well.

You should try and get up for the Goth meet Mike, you'll get lots of girls like that in front of your camera

Hi All

Thanks for the welcome back, it's nice to know I'm welcome

Regarding the comments on the images posted, I will admit they are maybe not quite as sharp as they could/should be for a couple of reasons. I only have an 18-55 WR kit lens at the moment, both images were shot wide open (f5.6) IIRC this lens is noted for a bit of softness wide open or maybe (which is more likely) it's because I'm having a few problems with the K7 ergonomics after using the D300 for a couple of years (and a K10D before that). The ergonomic issue stems from the small size of the K7 and also the green and AF button, being so close together and having dyslexic fingers it may well be that I've not nailed the focus point when I press the shutter as I keep mistaking the green button for the AF button while shooting in CAF mode, the green button on the K10D was in the perfect position.

As for being under exposed, maybe they are a tad dark although Lightroom didn't show any clipping (it could also be that I was just tired after an 8 hour shoot The shots were taken adhoc with the studio lights set for the D300 at around f9 and ISO 200 (K7 set at f5.6 and ISO100) so yes they are probably approx 1/2 stop under as shot, Ill have a more leisurely look at them this evening.

Still it's good to be able to post images without getting flack, hopefully I can add a descent lens or two soon and really see what the K7 is capable of.


P.S, Whatever happened to Impotentspider

As if we would .

Welcome back Brian. Love the pics.

I've had another go this evening, are these any better ???






Images from the 18-55 wide open definately appear to be a bit soft when shot wide open, can't see me missing focus on 90+ images although there are a few that look nice and sharp, don't think it's a back/front focus issue as I didn't see that when I was messing about around the house, might also be me not paying attention and waiting for the SR to fully deploy.

So it looks like I may well have to invest in some LBA but I need new tyers and a car service plus the central heating is back on

Brian, I'm a little troubled.. there's something that strikes me as not quite right about the first one.

[IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/chris5gd/Technical/mcb1-1.jpg[/IMG]

The skin tone around the jaw line seems a little strange.

Could you elaborate? Is it a bit of PP gone a bit awry? A bit of lighting not quite right?

Either way, it's something of a distraction. The pose (especially the offset angle of her head) looks a touch forced to me, too, so I'm afraid I'm not really taken by the first.

The second is just delicious though (edit: bright or muted).

If I was going to be picky about the second one, I'd suggest the eyes aren't quite as sharp as the lips. You can force that, though, in this case, by adding a layer just for the eyes and applying some extreme USM to it, adjusting the overlay percentage till it looks Ok.

Edit: actually, on reflection, I think the shininess of the lips make them look sharper than they are. Shine is often easily confused with sharp, it seems to me, which is what gives the lips their undeserved dominance in this case. I think you could still beef up the apparent sharpness of the eyes and get away with it.

I think the subtleties of her expression make the second one worth any amount of PP effort.

These are great. I especially like the second - very good indeed in my opinion.

Regards

+1! Nice.

the second one for me.

Excellent shots especially no 2