I think this thread has wandered way off-topic, which is a bit unfair to the OP, as he was asking for assistance and advice on a specific question:

Maybe we could concentrate on answering the question rather than having a go at each other?

Regards
David

Just a bit of fun, I was wondering what the views of our esteemed Forum members are on whether HDR is needed or not, in particular given the dynamic range of the K-5 and newer bodies, also the range of processing options available to us. I'll start the ball rolling with one of my (non HDR) images and I will say that normally we don't need HDR, but there are rare occasions where I use it to achieve a particular look (usually tonemapping).

The Lead Mine



The image is of Magpie Mine, near Bakewell in the Derbyshire Peak District.

Regards
David

I haven't noticed any under exposure with my 17-70, on any of my cameras, i.e. the K-5, the K-5IIs or the K-x. It would be a good idea to compare your lens to another 17-70 on your own camera, if you know someone who has the same lens. That way you could prove whether or not it is something particular to your copy.

Funnily enough, my Sigma 150-500 tends to over-expose a little compared to my other lenses and it does this on all bodies. It might be the Sigma rather than the Pentax lens that is exposing incorrectly.

Regards
David

Greetings from the South (of Sheffield)!

Regards
David

Yes, these are better, but I think they are still a bit too dark. For this type of image, the details in the trees and the buildings need to be clearly visible, otherwise it sort of negates the reason for the shots. They're not abstract or geometric, nor are they silhouettes, so they need the detail to make them stand out.

Maybe they are too under-exposed to recover the right level of detail, I'm not sure, but I don't think they are quite hitting the mark as they are.

Best wishes
David

Sorry Dr O, I really am rather stupid sometimes! I first saw the thread after your first comment and didn't notice it wasn't you selling!

Anyway, as you say it's still a good price.

Sorry to the seller if this has hijacked the thread a bit, but I suspect it will do no harm and will probably help to draw attention to the sale.

Regards
David

I'm not sure that it is that much of a task to pick out favourites from the week's images, then choose a single winner from a short list. Most people know what they like and wouldn't need to open every image posted as the thumbnails are often enough at a glance to eliminate or include an image.

I like Dr O's suggestion of a 'premiere' gallery if a way could be found of deciding which images would go into it. I think it would help to give something to aspire to, rather than all the images getting bundled into a single gallery.

Regards
David

Looks like a good price to me.... I would be surprised if someone doesn't snap this up; if I had not just bought a 12-24 I would have considered it, but the coffers are a bit empty for me at present.

Good luck with the sale Dr O, not many of these come up.

Regards
David

Great idea Richard - who would you think would be appropriate to judge it? What about one of the Mods judging the first one, then the previous week's winner judging it from then onwards?

Regards
David

There is promise in these, but they are all too dark! The shadows need bringing up to reveal the detail that can't be seen as they are at present.

Regards
David