I'm a bit confused by all this talk about having to open different programs & plug-ins to process a RAW file. It's a breeze if using PSE8.

All I ever do for a single RAW is just right-click on the file in Explorer and select "Open with ... " then PhotoShop Elements. Elements then starts up and automatically starts ACR. You do whatever you want in ACR and then just click on the "Open Image" button. This closes ACR and passes the image to the PSE Editor. What could be easier?

RawTherapee is a very powerful tool. I must learn to use it properly some time.

Andrew

FWIW, I ordered a K30 body from SRS at 12.30pm yesterday. It arrived around 1pm today!!

Don't forget, in the "Customer Notes" section of the order on the SRS Website, you need to request free P&P as a Pentx User member - and put your login ID there too.

All I need to do now is learn how to use it. I've had the K200D (with a battery grip permanently fitted) for about 4 years now - and could probably use it in my sleep. The K30 feels so different - much lighter & all the buttons are in different places. This is going to take a while .......


Cheers
Andrew

I bought one 2 or 3 years back for a K200D from these folks. Quite a bit more expensive than £13.06, I'm afraid, especially once VAT has been added - but they do work very well.

Andrew

It would seem that Santa thinks the problem is solved, as he has just waved my debit card at our friends from SRS and they have deposited a K30 body in his sleigh.

If Parcel Force do the business, it should arrive on Weds.

Andrew

The cost of a Katzeye screen with Optibrite Coating, once I've paid import duty & VAT is going to be about what I'd get for the K200D if I were to sell it.

So, I may as well keep the K200D and use that when manual focus doesn't work so well on the K30.

Problem solved? Maybe .........

Andrew

[quote:3496ace15f="Mannesty"]I've no experience of either camera model you mention, but I do know that the split-image focusing screen in your K200D was not fitted as standard.[/QUOTE]

True - I fitted a split-screen from focusingscreen.com some years back. I've just had a quick whizz with a freebie utility called "ExposurePlot" to analyse the photos stored on a USB backup drive I use. Nearly 60% of all photos that I have taken in the last two years were taken at focal lengths of 24mm, 28mm or 50mm. These correspond to the three manual focus primes that I use regularly.

Indeed, yes. It's a swings and roundabouts issue, though. What you gain on ease & accuracy of manual focussing, you lose by not being able to use single point metering. In any case, I wouldn't want to take a K30 apart to replace the screen whilst it is under warranty.

Andrew

I am reliably informed that Santa is about to wield my debit card to replace my K200D with a nice shiny new probably black (maybe blue) K30 body.

I have read lots of reviews and am completely convinced that the K30 is a major upgrade to my K200D except in two respects - focussing with manual focus lenses, which I use a lot. The K200D has a split-image focussing screen which makes accurate focussing with manual focus lenses much easier and faster. The other is that I have a battery grip for the K200D, which cannot be fitted to the K30 - but I'm convinced I could get along without that and probably not miss it after a day or two.

So, down to the point of the post - - - how easy is it using Live View/focus peaking on a K30 as a focussing aid for manual focus lenses? It strikes me as a bit of an ergonomic disaster to have to keep switching from viewfinder to Live View and back, when I'm so used to focussing through the viewfinder with a split-image screen?

Does anyone have experience of making the same move - and how did it go? Am I worrying too much? Should I tell Santa to sit on his hands or, given what seems to me to be a silly low current price for the K30, just get on with pulling the trigger?

Andrew

Santa *might* be delivering a K30 body.

Is this still available? You have another PM

Andrew

Measuring the screen brightness is part of the process of calibration. I use a PANTONE Huey colorimeter with Argyll CMS and DisCalGui (free and works a LOT better than the supplied software).

From memory (its been a while!), the initial screen luminance (brightness) of my DELL monitor was 244 cd/sq.m. By default, they are always set very high, as it is apparently better for marketing - i.e. they can claim the contrast is higher.

Also from memory, the sRGB spec requires a screen brightness of 120 cd/sq.m for image editing. I've just checked a completely white image in PSE8 with my K200D and it suggests an exposure of 1/100 - 1/125 sec at f5.6, ISO400 - so the monitor is still not far out

Andrew