Thanks for taking it on the chin Nigel, I appreciate you not taking this to heart where my comments are concerned.

Regarding the distortion of the lens, I don't seem to see these extreme effects with the 12-24, which is a wider angle than you lens is. Yes, you need to be careful about the angle you point it, but it certainly doesn't result in the type of effects seen here.

If you ever think about changing it I can highly recommend the 12-24, it is superb.

Regards
David

Lovely shots Jules - welcome back!

Cheers
David

The dandelion is great Maria, beautifully executed. Also, I would like to add that the general standard of your processing is outstanding, both for its artistic and its technical quality. Your black and white conversions are so well judged and I think the skill you show in your processing is at least as important in your images as your camera work, which is also superb.

I wait with bated breath for 3, 4 and 5!

Regards
David

Congratulations to you both, a superb set of images, I am very jealous! Are Tom's cropped more or was the lens longer?

Regards
David

OK, here goes! I always seem to be the one to say something that disagrees with the other comments, but I can only say it as I see it!

First of all, the compositions on most of these are very good, the exception to this is the first one that to me looks like a telephoto view for no reason. It isn't isolating or framing anything in particular and I'm not too sure what the shot is about, apart from showcasing the fantastic sharpness achieved with an old lens and a TC, which is very commendable in itself.

Secondly, the colours on most of the shots appears to be a bit odd and a bit 'forced' to my eyes, most noticeably in the first two and the last two shots.

Thirdly, the detail and sharpness throughout is exceptionally good, this is one of your strengths Nigel and it shows in these images.

Fourthly, and I'm sure this is what you were expecting, is that I cannot reconcile the slopes on images 3, 4 and 5. It simply looks absolutely wrong to me and is not what the eye would see. I think this is the result of distortion on the 14mm Samyang lens. You have tried to reconcile this by making sure the tower is straight, but this just makes the rest of the shots look wrong. I know you don't mind me being honest and I have to say that I don't think this lens does you any favours at all as you are always making compromises to cope with the distorted view it is giving. If you are looking for distortion and using it for visual effect this is fine, but it seems to me that you are trying to correct it and then ending up with something that is neither one thing nor the other. My recommendation would be to shoot with other less extreme lenses for a while and concentrate on getting the composition and artistic elements of your shots right.

I am sorry once again if this sounds harsh, but I think you have massive potential Nigel, but you are holding yourself back by using the wrong tools and sometime over-egging the processing, both of which result in some of the images looking unnatural.

Keep posting the shots, I hope I haven't been discouraging as that isn't the intent.

Best wishes
David

Too late Nigel, I've already seen them and I am preparing my thoughts before I post a considered set of comments!

Regards
David

The Integral Ultima Pro cards are the best quality I have had so far. They are well made, do not come apart and have been totally reliable for me so far.

Regards
David

You need to buy a cable from ebay, they are very cheap, approx. £2 if from China and have 2.5mm plugs, not 3.5mm ones. They work perfectly, I use my Trigmaster II with these on both the K-3 and K-5IIs with no issues.

The link provided by Brian above is not correct, that cable will not fit as the plugs are too large. If necessary I have a spare cable you could buy, it cost me approx. £2, but you should be able to find one on ebay with no problems.

Regards
David

I know you didn't get on with it Mike, but in my experience there's nothing wrong with that K-3 sensor. It produces superb quality images for me and I find it comfortably outperforms my K-5IIs. I'm a bit unsure why some of us are so cool on it?

Regards
David

What a superb shot, it deserves all the credit it gets!

Regards
David