I've had another go at the tree image - with all of the processing being done in Rawtherapee (apart from the final resizing). I think the original was a bit blue. I don't know whether you guys think this version is an improvement - but, as far as I can recollect, it is pretty close to what it actually looked like on the day.





Andrew

Please feel free to play with any image I post. I really like the "infra red" version - how did you do that?

(NOTE: I was burgled whilst away on holiday and my PC went walkies. I've now bought a new one with Windows 7. As a temporary measure, I've been using a freebie called "Photoscape" for photo editing but have now ordered Photoshop Elements 8 to replace my previously installed but not entirely kosher Photoshop 7 - so I might not be able to replicate the effect yet).

As an aside, Father Ted - most of the photos I take don't do much for me either. I've got very few (in about 4000 since I bought the K200D) that I would describe as keepers. It's high time that I started posting some on here - maybe if I listen to what folks say, I might improve a bit eventually. One of the main problems I have, I think, is that I don't spend enough time thinking about what I want to achieve before I fire the shutter - so it's usually entirely accidental if anything useful is captured. Maybe I need to take notice of Ken Rockwell when he says that folks should FART for Fantastic Photos.

Andrew

A bit like this?



Andrew

I bought an "as new" MF Sigma 24mm f2.8 Super-wide II a month or so back and took it with me on holiday to Kielder Campsite in Northumberland at the end of May. I decided that, for the whole holiday, I would use nothing else and so it stayed on my K200D for about 10 days.

These are a few of the photos (snaps?) I took with it. I've lurked around the Pentax User forums for quite a while now, so maybe it's time I stuck my head above the parapet. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions and criticism that anyone might feel able to offer.

One of the first things you do when you pitch a caravan is fill up the Aquaroll and then make a cup of tea or coffee. The nearest tap had a slight problem ...



I don't know whether you've seen Kielder Skyspace (rather pretentious name for a building with a hole in the roof).



Inside the building ....



Looking up ....



I spotted this interesting looking tree, but I think the photo is lacking a bit of something - maybe a mountain in the background.



As trees have lots of fractal detail, I reckon they make good subjects for judging the sharpness of a lens. This is a 100% crop from the above photo.


I reckon the 24mm Sigma is plenty sharp enough and is a definite keeper. Indeed, I don't feel any particular urge at the moment to take it off the camera.


Andrew

Yes, a couple of shims were included. No, I didn't use them.

Andrew

and on mine ....... "Hello, my name is Miss Julian" ............

Mmmm....

Andrew

There is an interesting article on Ken Rockwell's site about focussing to what he calls the "True hyperfocal" distance.

He postulates that hyperfocal distance isn't particularly useful for shots taken with a small aperture because it doesn't take into account reduction of sharpness due to diffraction. He explains a methodology intended to obtain the sharpest possible photo taking into account both focus and diffraction.

Interesting reading, but makes your head hurt.

Andrew

Errr ....... not sure I can offer a sensible reply
I have asked previously about the difference between the 16-45 and 18-55 and IIRC, received replies that implied "chalk and cheese".

As I'm a bit of a geek, I tend to prefer laboratory tests (MTF's) rather than anecdotal evidence so I didn't bite. Actually, that's not quite true, I did pitch at a couple of second user 16-45s on Fleabay but the prices went beyond what I thought I should pay, given that I wasn't entirely convinced.

In the end, I gave up the chase for a 16-45. At apertures from f8 onwards, I've seen nothing that convinced me that it was any better than the Mk2 kit. Whilst it may well be better at f5.6 and wider, I have primes that cover some of the range anyway. Now, if anyone has a "cheap" 20mm or 24mm prime that they don't use ......


Andrew

I haven't had a problem yet with a SDHC card so, for now, I think I'll give this "upgrade" a miss.

Andrew

The version of RT that crashed under Windoze was 2.4.1. Rawtherapee V2.4 works fine here. Actually, 2.4.1 also works fine if you pinch a DLL from 2.4 (it's documented in the RT forum).

Andrew