K-5 is a fab camera, superb IQ. The only negative is some suffered from AF issues, the K-5ii models (either the standard or the 's' model) are a better bet if you could stretch to one. The AF is much more reliable on these.

Regards
David

Last one for me too, the white background sets it off superbly. The first looks just a tad overexposed and the second one isn't quite as strong as a composition. All very nice, but No.3 is a class apart from the other two.

Regards
David

I use Signal Inks, available on ebay and they have never clogged my Epson printer, even though it goes for weeks sometimes without being used. Also, the quality of prints I find as good as or better than images printed commercially, the only restricting factor is the size. I've never had any problems with the ink not drying quickly enough and getting stuck to rollers, I suspect this is more down to the paper than the ink.

Regards
David

PS: I convert my images to the Epson Premium Glossy profile in Photoshop, this is designed specifically for the printer I use and they come out great with either the genuine Epson paper, or an alternative, both with non-genuine inks. I've just had a 30*20 inch print done on aluminium by DS Colour Labs and although it is very good, the quality is not better than I can get at home.

Ha - you're right. Nothing is level in our house and when renovating it I purposefully leave it wonky as to straighten it would strip away all character! The ceiling is fixed onto the original joists and follows their slopes and contours!

Thanks guys, there's already a projector in one of the other cellar rooms, so we don't need it in this one, although I did consider moving it. In the end we decided on a dedicated music room, as our two sons are quite musical and I'm trying to learn guitar. It will feature some of my images though, hung from the ceiling on wires.

Regards
David

Well done Gareth it's a great shot.

Regards
David

These are really excellent Bill, I'm particularly drawn to 1, 3, 6 and 8. It would be good if you could write a short summary of a few techniques you have used for the shots, what menu settings and some of the basic mechanics of how they were taken. This wont give away any trade secrets as I suspect your skill is the biggest factor in making these as good as they are.

Regards
David

The K-3 is a slightly better focusser all round than the K-5iis, not sure if the K-3ii is better again as I understand they have updated the focussing algorithm. Also not sure on the K-50, is it the same AF system as the K-30, in which case it will be pretty good, but not quite as good as a K-3?

I don't think my post helps very much!

Cheers
David

I don't print many at home as my printer is only A4, so not big enough, but it does produce high quality images with 6 inks (model is Epson PX720WD).

I always use 3rd party inks, it works without issues, I have refillable cartridges and the ink cost is a tiny fraction of the Epson cost. I've noticed no difference in colour fidelity and some of the prints have been on my walls for three years, no fading yet. Quite frankly, the printer warranty worries me not one jot, as I've already saved much more on the cost of ink than the printer cost me in the first place.

Regards paper, yes you do get what you pay for, but it's not always that straightforward. My genuine Epson paper is 5 times the cost of some other paper I bought on Amazon, and it does produce slightly more vibrant prints, but I actually prefer the colour balance that the cheaper paper produces; it's a slightly warmer tone.

Regards
David

Pretty darned impressive, all of these. The lens and Raynox combination looks surprisingly excellent, although I think the skill of the photographer is the biggest factor here. Not a hint of shake on any of them, which makes a huge difference with macro shots.

Regards
David

Thanks for the comments and encouragement everyone.

Not quite finished yet Stan, I reckon on another 3-4 months yet, as there are another two rooms and the cellar stairs to complete!

No procrastination Andy, we've had to virtually rebuild the house since we moved in; new slate roof covering, new drains, new lintels to replace rotten wooden ones, new windows, sandblast off render from the outside which was damaging the stonework, re-point outside walls, unblock chimney flues and reinstate period fireplaces, new chimney stacks, new chimney pots, re-line chimney flues with thermocrete, fit a log burner, remodel the whole of the (large) garden, new fences all round, dig up rough and potholed driveway and replace with block paving, re-build modern sunroom extension which was falling down and leaking through the roof, fit structural steel re-enforcements in the main cellar room, to stop the main house wall bulging inwards, due to pressure from an arch which forms the ceiling of a 'hidden room' which is underneath our front garden!

In the cellars we had to wait for underfloor heating to go in, together with a hybrid air source heat pump / gas central heating system, so that the walls dried out to an acceptable level before we could start work on them. We still have probably 2 or 3 years worth of work to complete, about 3 or 4 months of which will see the cellars finished.

Acoustically speaking, it will need some acoustic foam on the walls to dampen it down, with some soft furnishings as it echoes a bit, although at the moment its completely empty.

That's going in one of the other cellar rooms Neil!

It's all been a bit of an adventure and makes me shudder when I list what we've done, but on the bright side we're probably 3/4 of the way to finishing.

Thanks again all, I'll post a few more pics when other bits get finished.

Cheers
David