Thanks all, for the advice.

A couple of points I hadn't considered there, so I'll probably pop down Jessops and try a few on , once I've worked out what I need exactly.

Cheers

Liam

Hi all,

what do you all use to carry your kit around on a day out? I'm trying, and failing, to choose a backpack. I like the idea of this one..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TRACKPACK-LARGE-PHOTO-RUCKSACK-NEW-RRP-79-99_W0QQitemZ3874...

with the ability to carry a large lens already attached, and space for lots more lenses etc.

Any recomendations?

Cheers

Liam

Hi Peter,

the only specific mention I could find was this (the March 24th update)

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/new/index.shtml

I couldn't find anything else, but if I get the chance, I'll have a flick through the news sites tomorrow.

Cheers

Liam

Hi Lena,

No worries on that score.. nice photos. I especially like the Misty Morning one.

Cheers

Liam

Hi,

I've just been checking up to see if Pixmatic's Rawshooter Essentials 2005 had any recent upgrades to enable me to process RAW files from my DL. They've now released Essentials 2006, which supports the D, DS, and now both the DS2 and DL RAW files, which seems fairly comprehensive.

You can get it here..

http://www.pixmantec.com/products/rawshooter_essentials.asp

It came out in February, so at most this news is only 6 or 7 weeks old.

Cheers

Liam

Hi,

would reloading the firmware reset the electronics to normal if all else fails?

Here's a link...

http://www.pentaximaging.com/customer_care/show_firmware?firmId=1020

just an idea, for later.

Cheers

Liam

Hi John,

thanks.. when I do another it will take a lot less time, as it was mainly trial and error to find out which technique worked best. I've got a colour one to do, but there is a lot less damage although the areas are bigger. I think that'll be cutting and pasting similar areas in the main, and a little detailing elsewhere in the busier parts of the image. All good fun. It is excruciating though, but when you get a decent sized chunk done and compare it to the original, which I had side by side throughout, it keeps you going. The sense of acheivement with anything like this is the reward at the end.

I won't be doing too many though, hopefully.

Cheers

Liam

Morning all,

I've been away from the nattering for a few days.. been busy with a little photo reconstruction. The silver had disintegrated in places and there were a few crease marks. It's very tedious work requiring lots of man hours, and when I started, I had no idea how to do it..

This is the original photo, from C1948 ish..




..and this is what I done did with a week of messing around.. I suppose about 15-20 hours all told..




I know it's not perfect, but as a first attempt I don't think I did too bad. There are probably easier ways of doing it, but I basically blew it up to 400% on screen from an original scan size of 2036x1526 and painted in all (most of) the missing pixels by hand. I used a 3x3 pixel brush set to either 1% or 3% opacity depending on whether it was a dark or light area and just added a bit at a time until the missing areas matched (or as close as possible) the surrounding pixels. I altered the contrast selectively in a couple of areas afterwards. One thing I forgot to do with this example before posting is to greyscale it, which I'll do later. It was scanned on a colour scanner and in places there are hints of reds, blues and yellows where there shouldn't be.

I now know why this sort of work is so expensive to get done, judging by the time involved.

Now I'm going to get the gear ready for a trip to.. maybe South Wales, hopefully there's still some snow.. and try for the buzzard pictures that I didn't get a fortnight ago. I'll probably use the 300 prime on a couple of 2x converters (an 1800 lens.. ) and see what happens.

Still, before that, I really ought to get dressed.

Cheers

Liam

Hi all,

I was just browsing through a few mis-spelt words in the ebay search box and came across this.. spelt ASASHI

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Objectif-42-a-vis-Super-Takumar-de-Asashi-Japan-1-2-55_W0Q...

Judging by the punctuation etc. of the rest of the description, it's unlikely to be found with any normal search, (Takumar doesn't get picked up because of the hyphen for instance) so anyone wanting it should win it on the first bid. I have to be good this month, what with breaking the car, so it's all yours.

Cheers

Liam

Hi Don,

Although I'm lapsing these days, I've been a member/moderator/manager/security expert/web design bod etc. on several tech forums over the years, as well as a few science boards. I'm one of those people that likes to let everyone else know what I know, helping them in the process.

That isn't as completely altruistic as it sounds, because I get to learn something new most times, by having to research the new problems.. and if nothing else, I get a few beers for sorting out friends' PCs in the process.

It's quite a refreshing change to come to a forum where, although I've loved all my previous memberships, I get to ask the questions rather than answer them. That said, if I know the answer I'll jump in anyway.. usually with a disclaimer about waiting for someone more knowledgable.

As far as facing rejection, I think that the only way to learn anything is to get your hands dirty, cock up, and find out why. There's only so much any book or website can teach you before you have to go out and take some pictures.

As I said in a previous post, I took 200 odd snaps yesterday.. enough for a gallery of maybe 20 on my site in the next day or so (I'll post a link as and when). I liked this one because of the blown out wings. I think(?) that this means he's top dog on the lake, and he stood out from the flat winged swans swimming nearby. I'll be over there again this weekend depending on the weather, and I'll see if I can improve on this chap if he's there.

Thanks for the help and nice comments everyone. Off for a beer now..

Cheers

Liam