Just a thought on this...

Comparing in LR without having the K3 profile isn't comparing like-for-like AFAIK

Seem to remember reading somewhere that Adobe create a base profile for the noise floor of the camera, detailing the 'quality' of the noise. And then the controls work on top of that.

So with no K3 profile available you've got 'really raw' settings.


Perhaps if you took the K5 DNG into a hex editor and changed any "K5" strings to "K3" you'd get a more representative comparison?

Matt

Agree 100%

See Don's quote re 1/180 vs 1/250
If it's "crucial" then I shoot at any shutter speed I like with my Pentax flash guns in HS mode
No problem and no need to switch brands.

Matt

EDIT: Crossed in the ether while attending to pressing matters

1/180s is the fastest shutter speed where both leading and trailing curtains are open - giving a full view of the sensor.

Anything faster requires that the trailing curtain start travelling before the leading curtain has finished its travel. This creates a moving 'slit' down the sensor, which is why the HSS flash mode is more difficult - it has to 'pepper' the moving slit with light.

Anything less than 1/2 stop difference isn't going to save the shot
(Just as going from ISO640 to ISO800, or f/8 to f/7.1 doesn't make any practical difference)

There's no alternative to skill

Matt

1/180 vs 1/250 - seriously?!?!?!?!?!

Yawn

I also have Vertus Fluid Mask. Takes some learning but is perhaps more powerful than Topaz.
I find it depends on the image.
Matt

+1 for Topaz

Also, it's often worth learning some PS skills too. Check out www.photoshopdiva.com - Katrin Eismann has some decent tutorials that make cut outs much, much easier!

I often use a combination of Topaz and manual masking.
Matt

I used (and still use) Linux for server and development stuff. But it was so much 'tinkering' to get things working for desktop apps.
In the end I ended up with BSD Unix... on Mac. Best of both worlds IMO. Hate Windows even more after 4 years of relatively trouble free Mac LR4 and CS5 really works well.
Unfortunately I haven't found anything Open Source close to Silkypix, or LR (which is better still). Bu that may change eventually...
Matt

Well, I've had a hulking great Metz 50MZ5 for quite some time.
It's a brute of a flash - enough to temporarily blind you - but the weight is too much for me.

It's been stuck on a shelf for a couple of years, but is in good condition with the Lumiquest bounce, Stofen, and a couple of NiMH batteries besides. Full digital, GN70. Manual and "A" mode with the current dSLRs (though it does TTL too for film).

It could do with a new home...

Matt

Looking at the CamRanger I suspect it's a tiny Linux, ARM based computer. It connects via USB to the camera and provides their own WiFi adhoc network and protocol that's used by the various apps.

As for Pentax, it is possible to do similar things, but AFAIK the info isn't formally documented. The only available tool is "PK Tether" for Windows.

Maybe CamRanger could collaborate with the PK Tether author and work something out. Maybe Ricoh will open up the protocol, or extend it for later.

But as of now there is no option

Matt

Monitor upgrades for iMac aren't as difficult as it seems. I much prefer the neatness of it all and the silence (no fans at all!).

I'm running a 4 year old iMac at work - OS X seems to be more enduring than Windows And my main lappy is a >3yo MBP that I upgraded with a hybrid SSD/HDD. All running very well indeed and outliving several Dell Windows machines

Have just put a second IPS monitor onto the iMac via an DVI adapter. Simples.

Matt