I have the older, WG-1, version and on this self portrait seems to work fine.

There are though some modes and settings which prevent selection of the self-portrait modes.

I downloaded the WG-2 manual (from here) to see if it also has similar restrictions.

There is a table on pages 220 & 221 which list the functions available for different shooting modes. In summary I think the following will prevent the self-portrait modes from being available:

Having the macro light on (Rec. Mode Menu 4)
Any Movie Mode
Digital Microscope Mode
Wide Mode
Pet Mode
Digital Panorama Mode
Report Mode

So as a quick test it might be worth trying it in something simple, like Auto Picture Mode, with the macro light selected to be off, just to see if the self-portrait modes are then available.

Apologies if this does not fix the problem as I am only coming from the WG-1 and don't have any experience of using the WG-2

Glyn

I have seen my K-5 work HDMI into two different projectors, an Acer P5260i (from about 2008 ) and a much more recent Epson EB-W12. It is also possible that I have connected my older K-7 to the Acer projector but I'm not 100% sure.

Looking at settings on both my K-5 & K-7 I notice that I have changed the HDMI output format from the default "Auto" to "1080i" (on page 2 of the set-up menu). I am not sure why I did this but it was probably originally to test both into our full-HD TV and obviously was left at this setting which subsequently was fine, certainly for the K-5, with both projectors.

Therefore as a long-shot I would recommend that you try setting the K-7 HDMI format to "1080i" and try it again with your projector. I guess it may just be possible that the projector is being confused by the the exchange that I am sure is needed to make the K-7 "Auto" HDMI format work. Certainly your projector is specified to work 1080i so it should be fine.

Glyn

P.S. While you are at it I think it would be worth checking that Video Out, on the same menu page, is set to "PAL". Obviously HDMI is digital and does not use PAL or NTSC colour encoding but it might well change the frame rate between 50 or 60Hz although your projector should work fine either way.

I have just done a quick test to check my memory of how it worked and I was wrong in that in live view you get a lot of data on the screen which may not be good for your application, see this screen shot of live-view from my K-5 on our TV:

[IMG]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/GlynM/Misc/IMGP0270-1-small.jpg[/IMG]

Probably the most annoying part is the focus square in the middle.

I have also tried the analogue cable (it was still in my K-5 box ) and that seemed to work although there was some over scanning on our TV that clipped off the edges of the display.

If you can find your analogue cable it would be worth trying it on your TV before to see if live-view will work for you before spending any money on an HDMI cable.

Glyn

P.S. It turns out that you can turn-off some of the live-view data in the K-5 menu which might make it easier:

[IMG]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/GlynM/Misc/IMGP0271-1small.jpg[/IMG]

Assuming that the projector has a standard HDMI input (like a TV) then I think you need a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable but of course it would be wise to check the projector.

I can't remember where I got mine from as it dates back to my K-7 days but just doing a quick hunt on Amazon I found lots of examples and this one is sort of in the middle of the range. I guess you could probably find loads of them on ebay.

Some care is needed as there is an even smaller HDMI connector, called a micro-HDMI, which is used on some compact cameras (like the Pentax WG-1). For the K-5 you need a Mini-HDMI.

I hope this helps.

Glyn

P.S. If the projector does not have a HDMI input then you could probably use the analogue video output using the cable with the small usb connector to yellow (video) and white (audio) phono plugs that came with the camera. It is not something I have used so would need testing and I guess the quality will not be as good as using the digital HDMI output.

Probably not quite what you had in mind but I have done a demonstration to a local photo group where I connected the K-5 directly to the projector using the HDMI output on the camera and used live-view to show what the camera could see.

This is not perfect though as you only see the image and not all the details of the settings you get through the viewfinder. Auto focus in live-view is somewhat slow and seems to perform a quick digital zoom so is different to normal but I guess for a macro demonstration you will use manual focus. I seem to remember that with the HDMI output in use the rear display on the camera is also disabled.

This of course does rely on the projector having an HDMI input, which is not being used by the laptop, and that you have the necessary cable (mini HDMI to HDMI?).

When I did this the laptop was connected via the VGA input to the projector so it was just a matter of selecting different inputs on the projector to switch between the laptop & camera displays.

I guess you can transfer the results by pulling the SD card out and using a card reader on the laptop (our lap-top had one built-in) or via the usb solution suggested by steven above.

If you have got a cable and a TV with a HDMI input it is well worth having a little play to see if this approach would work for you.

Glyn

Many thanks to darkskies for setting such an interesting, topical and unusual subject. Thanks also for a nice set of reviews and probably what was some difficult, but excellent, judging.

Congratulations to John for the win and everyone else for a wonderful set of interpretations.

Great fun all-round .

Glyn

P.S. I was really taken by Barrie's birthday cake image and when I found that the brick texture was also available in PSE10 I had fun creating some pseudo graffiti although none of it looked as good as Barrie's image.

The trouble is that I think without the reviews you can only be in it to win.

Perhaps less so recently but certainly early on the the winners were mostly a small group of our more experienced members. Without having the reviews if you don't think you can win why bother to enter.

I worry that without a firm encouragement to include reviews people won't bother to do them and the competition will no longer be fully inclusive, may become an exclusive club and decay away.

Certainly without a commitment for reviews I don't intend to participate.

Glyn

I have to say that I think the judges reviews are a very important element for the weekly and fortnightly competitions.

For me it means that everyone who takes the trouble to enter gets something out of it regardless of whether they achieve a podium pace or commendation.

When I started in the competitions my pictures were often fairly bad but the comments kept me in and over time improved my photography skills. Certainly when I have, very occasionally, been in the privileged position to judge one of these competitions I have lots of feedback saying that the reviews were really appreciated.

I don't think long and deep reviews are necessary. A single, short, sentence for each entry is completely acceptable.

I also think the task is only onerous if left to the last minute. Very early on someone pointed out that best way to tackle the reviews was to spread them out and do then as the entries were submitted and this has worked well for me.

I found my first judging really daunting but actually it provided confidence and now I use these new skills to judge other competitions, something I certainly would have never thought myself capable of without the experience gained here.

I fear that without the reviews we might put people off, particularly our beginners or new members who don't think they have much chance of winning but are pleased to get something back to help them along.

Glyn

I have a couple of concerns about the gallery competition section:

1) Is it capable of running more than one competition at once?

2) The wording at top of the gallery competition section suggests that the competitions are tied to a period of a single week. Is it possible to define other periods, like monthly?


I have a vague memory that we did have an extra, special, competition at one point so 1 above is probably plausible but I am not so sure about 2.

Me thinks some testing will be required.

On a separate issue we really like the judge to write a comment about each entry, even if it is just a single sentence. Should this be added to the rules?

Glyn

P.S. The extra competition was the "Pentax User meet competition" between weekly competitions #96 & #97 but retained the weekly duration, 9th - 16th May 2009.

The Grunge Thread is here.

And the tutorial video is here.

Glyn