Yawn, Yawn, Yawn from me too. I'm going to bed so I don't need to read any more pointless posts about moire and K-5iis from non-owners.

Regards
David

Pretty bizarre stuff, but they are all good shots and no doubt will serve their purpose extremely well! I can't pick a favourite, but I think #4 is the most disturbing!

Regards
David

Number 3 is also my favourite, you've caught this one perfectly.

Aircraft shots are not really my cup of tea but these are all very well taken and I can appreciate the effort and skill that has gone into them.

Regards
David

Hi Alan

It's a tendency of the Pentax-M 28mm F3.5 lens to show strong purple tones and this is what you're seeing here. It probably looks more pronounced as the images are side by side with those from the 12-24 which does not have these tendencies. It's quite difficult to get rid of this, so I tend not to try and I don't mind it too much. I like the differences that using different glass produces and I usually leave them in my images.

Regards
David

Hi Rob, thank you for your comments; is this the type of shot you had in mind?

Pentax-M 28 mm F3.5




Thanks also to everyone else that has take the trouble to look and comment, it is very much appreciated as this is how I learn.

Hi Gareth, the reason for this was two-fold:

1. I wanted the metal flowers highlighted against the dark hedge

2. The focal length of the lens was a bit restrictive - I couldn't get the right angle to position it centrally and still get the flowers where I wanted them, so this off-centre composition was what I chose

Thanks for the question Gareth and you were right about the light - it was a little overcast with a few breaks and this made for soft light - much better than harsh shadows.

Regards
David

I live near Hardwick Hall (a masterpiece of Elizabethan architecture and engineering) and often visit for a walk around. I had a couple of spare hours late yesterday afternoon and decided to take the K-5iis and grab a few photos of the gardens and hall in the lovely, soft light. Here are just a few of them. Lenses used were the Samsung D-Xenon 12-24 and the Pentax-M 28mm F3.5, also used were a Hitech ND Grad 0.9 and for one image a Haida 10 stop filter. I hope you like them, CC is welcomed.

D-Xenon 12-24, ND Grad





Pentax-M 28mm F3.5 (my favourite lens?), ND Grad





D-Xenon 12-24, ND Grad, Haida 10 Stopper





Pentax-M 28mm F3.5





Samsung D-Xenon 12-24, Hoya Pro1 Polariser





Samsung D-Xenon 12-24, Hoya Pro1 Polariser





Samsung D-Xenon 12-24





Samsung D-Xenon 12-24, ND Grad





Samsung D-Xenon 12-24, ND Grad





Samsung D-Xenon 12-24, ND Grad




Regards
David

PS: Sincere apologies to Algi if there are any 'unacceptable levels of moire' in these images of architecture produced by the K-5iis . Apparently this camera cannot avoid such artefacts and should not be used for architectural shots? The truth is, if any are present here it is due to the compression required to upload the images to this website

The quality of this lens is undoubted for portraiture - it is a favourite for weddings both for this reason and its f2.8 max aperture.

The only downside for me is its bulkiness and this has so far put me off buying one - I use my Sigma F2.8 105 macro for portraits / wedding stuff as it seems to give a very similar IQ and bokeh to the Pentax DA*50-135, but obviously doesn't have the convenience or silent operation of the zoom.

I like these shots; the backgrounds are sufficiently diffused to not be distracting, but detailed enough to see what they are and they add to the atmosphere. I actually think the dreary weather and soft light has helped as there are no nasty shadows and the colours are vibrant but not oversaturated.

Regards
David

Beautiful colours Alan and quite different from your previous ones posted on here.

Incidentally, I had cause to get up and drive to work this morning as the sun rose (alarm went off!) and in South Yorkshire the sunrise was just breathtaking, the best I've ever seen. Shame I didn't have my cameras with me!

Regards
David

I like the first two in particular Andrew, the light is fantastic. I think you could bring even more out of these with a bit of shadow detail recovery, but I do like them as they are with the trees and branches silhouetted starkly. Number 2 is my favourite.

Regards
David

This thread inspired me to dig out the Haida 77mm 10 stopper and toddle off down to Hardwick Hall to try it out on a reflections shot. This is the one I used it on - 30 second exposure, ISO 200, F8 with the 12-24 lens on the K-5iis. I haven't had to remove any colour cast on this image which to me speaks volumes for the quality of the coating on the Haida 10 stopper. It is far superior to the Hitech filter and I bet would give the B+W / Lee 10 stoppers a run for their money.




Regards
David