The shots certainly do have a style. I thought they were HDR when I first looked at them, number 2 does look different but follows a similar theme. Personally, the processing is too much for my taste and makes the images look a bit unnatural. They are very detailed, very appealing to the eye and very well done, but just don't tick my particular boxes.

No criticism intended here, this is all down to personal preference. The only other thing I have noticed which could do with correction is that all of the images slope down to the left very slightly. It's not obvious due to the content of the pictures, but it is there.

Regards
David

Personally, I love to use lenses wide open, particularly if they are as good as the DA 50-135. This does mean that focus is critical and you will need to ensure your lenses are calibrated to the camera (AF Fine Adjustment in the Menu), otherwise focus could be a bit off and this will ruin the shots.

Regards
David

Thanks for your help Jon, this seems to have sorted it out!

Regards
David

I have bought a new laptop (Asus N56VZ) with a superb full HD screen that's extremely sharp and colour neutral, but I have a problem.

I've got all my cameras set to SRGB and I have Adobe Camera RAW set to the standard SRGB setting (not Adobe RGB), so there's consistency all the way through. These settings are identical to the ones I was using on my old laptop with no issues.

However, when an image opens in Camera RAW the image has a pronounced colour cast; far too warm and also tending towards green. This is replicated when I open the image in CS3. The only way I can prevent this is by setting the colour profile in CS3 to 'no colour management'; something that I've never had to do before as the SRGB setting worked just fine. This produces another unwanted side effect; when I upload a Black and white image to the Gallery, it looks blue when viewed large, but correct on the normal Gallery view! I'm puzzled.

What's wrong here? The laptop is running the standard Asus colour profile designed to optimise it's own monitor and everything else I look at in all other programs and on the web is in true and faithful colour with no colour cast, including RAW images in PDCU4.

Hope someone can help, possibly someone with an Asus N56 laptop?

Regards
David

I've PM'd you Martyn, thanks for the heads up. I'll give the nice Greek chap a miss as there's also one at SRS with 12 months warranty for £179, but I was looking to spend around £140; this seems to be the going rate for a used example in good condition.

Regards
David

There's nothing much wrong with these latest shots colour wise, although they are very slightly cool for my taste. Not having a flash is an advantage, not a disadvantage! Flash tends to destroy the atmosphere in images unless used very carefully or in studio conditions. There is usually no need for it as the latest Pentaxes are so good in low light.

Try using either the AWB or the Daylight setting with a tweak - one position towards Amber. I find this gives lovely flattering results in most situations.

The problem I have with the photos above is more to do with the backgrounds - they are not flattering to the subjects. I think you could have used the 50-135 at a much wider aperture; this would have enabled a lower ISO, so better IQ and also would have blurred out the distracting backgrounds. Also, the first shot is backlit and would have been better shot the other way around, i.e. subjects facing the window light. I appreciate these were probably 'grab shots', but a little more thought about positioning and camera settings would have transformed them.

Regards
David

If you're going to be using the lenses mainly for hobbies and not indoor sports, I think you would be compromised by restricting yourself to the second combination as 135 at the long end would not be enough, especially if you're thinking about motorsports.

I would think your first combination is nearer the mark, but I think you should seriously consider dropping the Sigma 150-500 (brilliant lens BTW, very sharp, great colours but very heavy and needs a lot of light) and go for a Pentax 55-300 instead. I have both the Pentax and the Sigma and use them both regularly. For IQ the Pentax is superb, especially considering its price and this lens is always in my bag. You have no need to worry about IQ, even though it's not a pro grade lens. I'm not sure if you mentioned what camera body you have, but if it's a K-5II variant, previous worries / issues with focussing on the 55-300 are no longer a problem.

If you find that you don't get on with any of the lenses, as long as you buy sensibly and keep them in undamaged condition you will be able to sell them on with little financial loss if you decide to change as there's always strong demand for good pentax fit lenses.

Regards
David

M50 F1.4 withdrawn just to let everyone know. I've found out it makes a superb macro lens when reversed, so I'm keeping it!

Regards
David

Hello and welcome to the site!

Yes!