Hello Everybody,

I've read all your posts with interest, and it seems that some of what you are saying is not particularly true - or accurate.
I constantly read and learn as much as I can on digital photography, and I recently read this article on a magazine. It actually states the exact opposite of what Hefty was saying about the amount of detail in Shadows / highlights. So I'm taking some time, and writing for you the entire article... Please remember that it only regards RAW files, and not Jpegs, but then again, if you are serious about your K10, you surely wouldn’t want to loose the possibility of shooting in RAW..

Hope you enjoy this!

Nathan


Digital SLR Photography - June 2008
"Exposing to the Right"

First thing “exposing to the right” is fast becoming a widely accepted approach to help maximise image quality – although it applies if you shoot in RAW. With this technique you effectively push exposure settings as close to the overexposure as possible without actually clipping the highlights. The result is a histogram with the majority of pixels grouped to the right of midpoint – hence the name “expose to the right”.
The logic of this approach can only be understood once you appreciate that CCD and CMOS sensors count light photons in a linear fashion. Linear capture has important implications on exposure. Most digital SLR’s record a 12 bit image, capable of recording 4096 total values over 6 stops. However, whilst you might automatically think that each f-stop of the 6 stop range would record an equal amount of the tonal value total, this is not so. The level corresponds exactly to the number of photons captured, so in reality, each stop records half the light of the previous one. For example, half of the levels are devoted to the brightest stop (204, half of the remainder (1024 levels) are devoted to the next stop and so on. As a result, the last, and darkest of the 6 stops, only boasts 46 levels. At first this might seem very confusing and the relevancy not obvious. However, in simple terms, what it means is if you do not properly use the right side of the histogram, - which represents the majority of tonal values, you are wasting up to half of the available encoding levels. So if you deliberately underexpose to ensure detail is retained in the highlights – a common practice among digital photographers – you are potentially loosing a large percentage of the data that can be captured. Noise can be significantly increased as a result – particularly to mid-tones and shadows. This is because, when you open up the shadow areas during RAW conversion, in order to lighten an image, you have to spread the 64 levels in the darkest stop over a wider tonal range. So, whilst it remains important not to overexpose images to the degree where the value for pure white is blown, “exposing to the right” is a logical approach to exposure. Whilst the method needs applying with care, and relies heavily on using the histogram to avoid “clipping”, image quality will be maximised. When using this approach you may notice that images appear light and washed out on the LCD monitor. Don’t worry; colour and contrast can be quickly restored during RAW conversion. “Exposing to the right” is an advanced technique that many experienced photographers are still getting used to, so don’t worry if you find it confusing.

unlucky!

Daniel, you should've posted this a bit earlier on.. I would have been happy to go and take some photos.

I often work with live bands, and a night out would have fitted nicely with my crazy weekly schedule....

Next time, you can PM me a bit earlier...

Good night
Nathan

Dear Matt

- my K10 is always on M or Av - i actually don't use other modes... but my question is another one.
Isn't P-ttl mode on the flash going to use all the power necessary? And not the minimum necessary to illuminate the scene?

Is the P-ttl recognising the ISO setting of the camera, therefore reducing the flashoutput if the ISo is higher?

Wouldn't it be better to set the flash on A or M in case of fast shooting (event indoors where the flash is anyway bounced off a ceiling or wall?)

Obviously for this type of event photography all is needed is a fast shutter (not lower than say 1/45) and nothing else matters. What would happen if the camera was in Tv, and what would be the best setting for the flash then?

Thank you so much for all this. I have read the P-ttl sticky guide, and I usually use this mode. This is why I am curious about the other modes on the flash.

Cheers.
Nathan

Hello there!

I've been reading this post with great interest, as I am doing quite a lot of work that necessitates a flash, and as I wrote in another post, I struggle quite a lot with recharge times and battery exchange....

So... Matt... as I am trying to learn as much as I can to maximise the use of the flash (360) I believe that i am correct in switching immediately from P-ttl, to A or M. I have only done this rarely, as a trial and not during an event - in order not to have problems with the shoot.

What are the settings you would suggest to maximise use?
ISO / Aperture / time / should I simply use the flash in A and set the parameters of the shot? and then only use fill-in? What if the light condition is very low, and this becomes impossible?

PLease enlighten me!

Cheers
Nathan

Hello everybody,
I had a shoot tonight, and it was a big and busy event in an hotel, with a dark reception room and a lot of flash power needed!

I found some collegues with nikon outfit, who carried a little extra battery pack attached to their flashes, and it seemed to provide an extra fast recharge time, and longer battery life.
this is what they used:

http://www.microglobe.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?pName=nikon-sd800-sd800-ext...

I am now looking at possible similar products or DIY inventions to supply my pentax 360 with the same type of extra battery power.
I found that the bigger Pentax 540 has a £100 power pack that is connected via pc cable.

http://www.microglobe.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?pName=pentax-tr-power-pack-...


I wonder if any of you have any experience in this, and can suggest any product or give some advice.

Thank you,
Cheers,

Nathan

Hello there,

I bought the Tamron 18-250mm in october last year, and i use it with one of my 2 K10d bodies.

The price, zoom range, IQ are absolutely incredible for what the lens is. I wanted to buy it for your same reasons, and soon decided that I didn't need another Zoom lens to cover any lenghts. This is not to say that other (fast f2. lenses are not better, because they probably are, but the difference is so marginal that I can definitely do without them. Instead I started buying primes and if I need the absolute quality of image (say for photoshoots or live bands), then I use those fixed focal lenghts which provide the speed and quality needed).

The Tamron is really really good, its not particulary fast (f3.5-6.3) and the image quality is (IMO) much better than the kit lens 18-55mm and also better than the 18-55mm Mark II. As a walkabout lens its incredibly versatile, and it suffers from very little distortion at both zoom ends, whilst if you just stop it down a little (f7.1 - f8 - f11) it becomes really quite sharp.

I believe that if you want an inexpensive walkabout lens that you can leave on the camera all the time, then this is the one for you. Consider though that this defies the purpose of the SLR.

If on the other hand you do a lot of low light photography, and need a faster lens, then you should probably go with the 2 DA* (16-50mm and 50-135mm), but then you would spend about 3 times more than with the tamron.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,
Nathan

Hello there!

Well, first of all, Israel in not in africa...

From a moral and cultural point of view, Israel is a real democracy, and therefore much closer to European standards than many other countries.

This is one of the reasons why Israel could not possibly compete in the Asian League, where most countries are not democracies and (also for many other reasons) would not accept Israel in a sports competition.

Israel was founded by Europeans, and even today, more than 50% of its population is made of first / second generation europeans.

An interesting article on the subject is here:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/06/27/edsalz_ed3_.php?page=1


Cheers
Nathan

http://www.woophy.com/download/311209

Hope you like this

Nathan

Hello everybody,

I found this lens for sale on ebay, and it looks tremendously dodgy. The picture is not clear, and the lens really doesn't look like the Pentax fit one...
It looks more like a nikon fit - without the small screen with the m/ft ratios.
The story around the auction is also dodgy...
Then the price - I would probably buy it up to £250 if it was a real 10-20mm, even just to resell it later, its a very good lens! So how is it actually possible to have a £0 starting price?

Any ideas anybody?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&...


Cheers,
Nathan

hi there,

I live in west london, and work just beyond slough...so drive through the langley Pentax HQ almost every day.

I've been there a few times, and usually speaking face to face with the secretary proves beneficial.

PLease let me know if you need help with the Pentax HQ

Cheers,

Nathan