A mono conversion using a blue filter would bring the car out even more, as all the background tones would be darker.

Philip

Karl, I prefer the first shot. However, as it is not quite a silhouette, I am straining to see it. So if it were my image I would like to see more. The driveway can provide lead-in lines to guide the eyes towards the clock tower, and gently lightening the shadows to reveal it, would also bring up more of the detail in the whole building. Perhaps also a 2:1 crop?




Philip

Thank you for viewing and commenting, Nigel. They were all taken at around 3.p.m., the first with the sun behind me and the others angled more towards the sun (roughly towards south). In PP I reduced the yellows in the first shot slightly, as this seemed to help retain the detail of the tightly-packed leaves, when re-sizing for the web. So the others do have more yellow, but I agree about the shadows in the last one and thank you for the suggestion.

Philip

I'm not usually that keen on fish-eye shots, but this one is a great composition, Stephen - I really like it!

Philip

Images from a stroll in the park:












C&C always welcomed.

Philip

Nigel, I like 1, 2, 4 and 6, and the best of those are 2 and 4. If they were mine I would leave 4 in colour as it suits the little girl, but I think it needs a slight clockwise rotation. The textures and skies in the others suggest they might suit conversions to mono. E.g.-



Philip

Sorry Dave, I misinterpreted the point of your first post - I thought you were looking for a way to make your Pentax system more compact. I think you have made an excellent choice in the X100s. I like to have different focal lengths available, so when travelling very light I take a Lumix LX7, which I'm keeping until the day that Pentax produce a compact like the MX-1 but with a viewfinder!

Philip

Nigel has given you a way forward here, if you want to stay with a Pentax DSLR. The 21, 40 and 70 make a great prime set. Each one adds only a centimetre or two to the front of the camera body, and the two not in use easily fit in a pocket.

Philip

Mike, I would suggest that other owners of the 18-135 would agree with you regarding the amazing sharpness of this lens. Although the lens reviewers at photozone moan about the edges of images at its longer focal lengths, their MTF results (link 1) show very high centre resolution throughout its range. In fact, a study of the MTF figures from 24mm to 50mm (the "standard" range for APS-C), would indicate that its resolution at apertures from 5.6 to 11, from centre to edge, is comparable to that of the revered 31mm Limited (link 2). In my experience it is an excellent lens, and a good choice for outdoor photography like you show here. As well as being sharp, it feels well-made, it has quick, quiet and accurate focusing, and it is weatherproof too.

Most of them have something different about their appearance - for one thing, the colour balance doesn't seem quite right. Number 5 is the only colour shot here that looks realistic to me, but perhaps you were not aiming for realism in the others. Just my opinions, of course.

Philip

That illustrates clearly how Pentax ergonomics are so good. If a future K- DSLR is given a touch screen, it must be only as an option that can be switched off, or it would be doubtful that many current users would want to upgrade.

Philip