More thanks to you all for the helpful comments and suggestions - I'll try to bear them in mind in future.....on one proviso, i.e. IF I'm able !

I make this comment as circumstances in 'The Real World' don't always allow us to shoot under ideal lighting conditions or from the perfect angle.

The Dahlia was one such example - it was in the garden at Nuffield Place (NT) and family commitments meant I had to use the ambient light AT THAT TIME, also, the position of this particular dahlia in the flower bed meant my angle of view was limited to a few degrees either way and I could not get to the far side without trampling over the flower bed !

Another aspect is that when taking shots of varied nature on visits to NT etc it is not always practical to keep changing camera settings (the family get upset enough with all my 'hanging around' !) I tend therefore to make a decision on a general setting for that particular day and only make minor adjustments to shutter speed and/or aperture.

These are not meant to be excuses, just to point out that amateur photographers sometimes have to take what comes ! That is why I like digital photography and the ability to make adjustments in PSE etc.

Meanwhile I am extremely grateful for all your help and will TRY to incorporate the suggestions whenever the situation arises (if I remember, of course !)

Thanks again
Peter

Many thanks to all of you for the useful comments.

It was only after I'd posted this question that I checked the EXIF data and saw the 1250 ISO, so I did wonder if that might be part of the problem.

The reason the camera selected this high ISO was that I was using 1/500 on f/8 on TAv as it was fairly windy, so I wanted the fast shutter speed !
I now realise that I should have lowered the speed a bit and also opened the aperture a bit ?
Still, one only learns from one's mistakes !

Thanks again
Peter

I took a shot of a bright red Dahlia this week (K50 with DA18-135) and when I checked the image it seemed as if the red was 'blown out'

I know people say that it is difficult to shoot white objects but is it a common problem also with bright reds.

I spent some time working on the RAW image and managed a partial recovery but wondered what other people have to say ?

First here is the camera jpeg followed by the result from working on the RAW file in PSE11, all comments welcomed :-

Do you really want a 100mm lens for portrait work on an APSC camera ?

If not and cost is a strong factor then you can't go far wrong with the Helios 44 58mm f/2, which many people use for portraits ?
It may be M42 so will need an adaptor but a cheap 'flange' type which fits OUTSIDE the K-mount and is therefore very safe to use will overcome that and the disadvantage of losing infinity focus won't matter for portraits.
It is, of course, fully manual but superb quality.
Best of all they can be picked up for less than a tenner !

Just a thought ?
Peter

PS See also the separate thread on this lens posted by Mag07

+1

When you look at a scene your eye sees what it wants to see.
However, the camera catches everything.
I feel it therefore correct to make some 'adjustments' in order to convey the message you wanted to put over, without leaving any artifacts which might draw the eye away from the feature ! I don't do it very often (I usually spend time trying to adjust my PoV to obliterate unwanted things, but that's not always possible), only when needed.

Peter

I was having a similar problem and found that if you search for 'photo mounts' on ebay you will find several pages offering a selection of mounts (masks) to suit different frame and print sizes. Also try Dunelm Mill or The Range for cheap frames of mounted prints as suggested above.

Peter

Many thanks for the link - but I've ordered one for £5.99 (post free) from here :-

http://www.expansys.com/transcend-card-reader-usb-30-sdhc-sdxc-microsdhc-microsd...

Peter

I agree about the top cropping but this shot does illustrate what a great little lens this is !

Peter

I agree, but it all comes down to personal choice in what you MIGHT want to shoot ?

There are occasions, such as air shows or wildlife excursions when a longer 'tele' lens is the preferred choice but you may also want to take a more wide-angle shot ?
Then again there are all the other times when a shorter 'kit' lens is usually sufficient but you get the opportunity to shoot something that needs that extra reach or magnification for a close up.

Since I usually like to 'travel light' (i.e. fit a lens before leaving home and take no others with me) it usually comes down to the Sigma 18-250 which gives me a wide range, is super fast AF and good IQ. If I were to go to more air shows I would definitely consider something longer than 250mm but my resources do not stretch to the Pentax 150-450 (yet......... !!!)

That said, Mike's shots certainly set some high standards to aim for !

Peter

I totally agree !
Absolutely awsome shots with mind-blowing clarity.

These almost put me off posting my own RIAT 2015 shots but I will do a Forum thread once I've sorted through the 450+ that I took !

Best regards
Peter