These certainly make the most of the lighting, which is quite hard to work in when its fairly harsh. I especially like the lamp shadow and the path under the bridge, both giving little titbits of what it would be like to be there. The wider views all convey a sense of relaxation and a sort of 'basking in the sun' feel.

The contrast is well controlled, I'm curious because I'd have expected darker shadows and higher contrast ..... did you have any shadow lifting set in the camera, or applied when processing? In any case its worked and has given a lighter feel to the photos.

Well, I guess the debate has moved on anyway as now we don't have a choice .... all new Pentax DSLRs come without the AA filter (I think ...). I just wanted to point out that sharpness should not be the only consideration if faced with a choice, say if buying secondhand, and that as far as the result of a final image from a camera is concerned, its very much a case of "its what you do with it that counts".

Another one hot off the press, from the same session …..

Ha ha, Lennybloke, that's new one, the idea that buying an AA filterless camera means you can spend more time out taking photos, no need to process them! You should be working for a camera makers marketing dept!

Actually what would probably lead to some K1 owners here producing sharper looking images would be to buy one of the tasty old Manual lenses you have for sale!

Peter hit the nail on the head before when he identified different levels of sharpening adjustment needed. ....i doubt the extra pulling on the sliders has kept him away from shooting photos for long though .....

Yes, please let's remember that the AA filter affects only the "capture sharpening" of the image ...ie it's state at the point of capture.

It's what happens to it afterwards that makes the real difference. I could easily produce a photo from the K7 that looks sharper than the same shot taken on a K1, depending on various conditions, processing and output sizes.

Of course if the K1 image were treated in the same way it would out-resolve the K7 one easily in an equal comparison .... But that would be down to the photographer, and how they dealt with their images after capture. I still think many K1 images seen on this forum look fairly soft .....

I thought also that ISO makes a difference ....ie higher ISOs equal smaller files....?

I remember you got some good ones with HSS, plus indoors bounced. They go through that difficult stage, yes, very annoying! I'm sure they'll get more patient over time

Off camera flash sure looks better, but usually the gear and technical talk about it takes up more forum space than chat about any actual photos! While the kids are not so focused then on camera is probably a more mobile approach!

I was asked a question a while back when I first got the D FA28-105mm, about how it compared with the F35-70mm. I remembered this when I found these little flowers to photograph, and as well I got out my Tamron 70-300. So I had the DFA (non-macro but very close focussing), the F35-70 (1:4 macro) and Tamron 70-300 (1:2 macro).

I used my softbox on the ground close to the flowers, allowing me to shoot at 1/180th and stopping well down ….

Here's couple with the F35-70, at 70mm with the macro setting …. ISO 100 / F13 & ISO 200 F16










Now I tried the same flower at similar magnification with the 28-105 at the long end …. ISO 100 /F11






Lastly I got closer in with the Tamron zoom at 270mm and its macro range ….. I was surprised at how the DOF dropped away dramatically ….. ISO 200 / F13






All in all I feel glad to have these lens options available. I think the F35-70 just sneaks ahead of the D FA28-105 in sharpness, however this is comparing 70mm against 105mm. I don't have a real macro lens, but for my purposes these will do! I find the flash helps with contrast and exposure challenges as well as allowing handholding for these sorts of shots.

Thanks Don! I hope your flash is still putting in some good service. Have you tried it off camera yet with the grandkids?

Not at all, I welcome all related discussion of course!. I'm pleased it prompted you to post your image also, as we need more portrait work and demonstrations of using flash here on PU.

I am always keen to promote the use of Pentax cameras with flash and to get people thinking of the different ways they can take more control over the contrast and quality of light for their people shots.

I get the impression sometimes that for many, getting an F1.4 lens or using high ISOs are seen as the preferable options .....