WOW Matt,

That works unbelievably better than what I have been doing with just unsharp mask alone. I am quite new to Photoshop and have been mostly just tinkering with a few key features and I can see that I have a whole LOT to learn. Sharpening by different amounts in each channel makes so much sense and I certainly appreciate you going to the trouble of sharing your methods both here and on your website. Your instructions along with the reasons they are applied are very helpful and they worked like a charm.

Regards

Drew Peabody

PS: I even learned what Wallace and Gromit means today.

Sorry to get your heart racing Mac. I didn't read that too carefully did I?

Drew

Hey Mac

Check out this listing on Ebay. Item number: 5812101079 You have 1 day left on it

Drew

Thank you for that Matt. I was relatively happy with RS Essentials and I am used to the interface so your mini review has convinced me to upgrade to RSP. It seems well worth the $59 to me.

Also, your comment about your successful sharpening technique in Photoshop is intriguing and hope you will share it with us some day. I am sure there are a great many digital novices like me out there and your expertise and opinions are much valued and respected.

Thanks again Matt

Drew

Just a heads up for Pixmantec's RawShooter Essential users on the recent release of RawShooter Premium 2006 for $99 US. There is a $40 discount if you buy before October 31 so that only leaves a few days to try the free demo and buy before the offer expires.
http://www.pixmantec.com/products/rawshooter.html

BTW, I could not open the WORKFLOW link on their website but you can get it from the program when you download the demo.

I have been playing around with it tonight and really like the improvements and to me it seems well worth the $59 price. I have only used the free RawShooter Essentials so I do not know how this new product compares with the other popular raw converters like C1LE and Adobe CameraRaw. It would be interesting to hear how it compares if anyone knows.

Drew

One afternoon over coffee, two grey-haired men were chatting about their many years of friendship together in the local photography club.

The first man says to the second, "We are such good friends, I think we should make a pact".

"What kind of pact?" asks the second.

The first responds, "A pact that who ever of us dies first, and before his wife disposes of his camera equipment, that the other will tell her the real price he had paid for it”.

Hi Ted

My opinion is that you will not be disappointed with your DS2 purchase. I have had my *ist DS for over 6 months and I absolutely love it. I especially like the size and feel of it, and it is as natural and intuitive to use as my old film Pentax MZ5n (ZX5n USA) I have always been reluctant to buy any camera that has menus to wade through to change settings but Pentax has been very thoughtful to make the most needed settings extremely easy to get to via the Fn button. As for the question of slowness of the kit lens, keep in mind that the slowest ISO setting on this camera is 200 which is two stops better than most other digital camera's best quality ISO. You will find for street shooting that ISO 800 is very acceptable and not at all like 800 film. I also have the 18-55mm lens and while it is quite acceptable, as pointed out to me (by very knowledgeable people on this forum), the Pentax F/4 16-45mmDA is much superior. I basically paid $100 Cdn for mine so it was a no-brainer what to buy. Check it out for yourself.

As for JPEG's, I would thoroughly recommend shooting in RAW. The difference is dramatic and actually very simple to work with and THEN convert to JPEG or TIFF and continue on in Photoshop or PS Elements. Do a search on this site for all the pros (and cons - if any) on RAW.

The RAW converter I use is Raw Shooter 2005 and it is available for FREE at Pixmantec.com. Here checkout this workflow video at http://pictureflow.fileburst.com/_Tutorials/RawShooter/index.html to give you a quick idea what RAW conversion is all about.

Good luck

Drew

Moral Choice

This test only has one question, but it's a very important one. By
giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision.

Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous. Please scroll down slowly and give due consideration to each line.

THE SITUATION

You are in New Orleans to be specific. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions. You are photo journalist working for a major newspaper, and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster.

The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-
making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water. Nature is unleashing all of its
destructive fury.

THE TEST

Suddenly you see a man in the water. He is fighting for his life,
trying not to be taken down with the debris. You move closer. Somehow the man looks familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It's the President, George W. Bush.

At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under forever. You have two options- you can save the life of the President, or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world's most famous men.

THE QUESTION

Here's the question, and please give an honest answer.......

Would you select high contrast colour film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?

Thanks for the advice but… too late, I already bought it despite still not having found any technical reviews online. I bought it on the condition I could return it if I was not satisfied. Turns out - I am satisfied and I am keeping it. I have no argument that there are indeed better lenses for sale but as stated I was looking for a telephoto zoom to supplement my 18-55mm DA. (not replace it)

The 50-200mm lens is a perfect fit for me and is almost as small and light as the 18-55mm DA. The pair gives me a 28-300 mm equivalent range and it even shares the same 52mm filter size. Yes, I already own a few analogue prime lenses that are very sharp but I have grown weary of hauling them all around for maybe 10% use. These two DA lenses and my featherweight *ist DS have totally changed how much equipment my wife has to lug for me when we are hiking, and… I am getting a bigger percentage of keeper photos in the process.

My mini review: The 50-200mm DA feels very good in the hand due to the oversized rubber zoom grip. It is also feels very well balanced on the camera. I have found no vignetting as mentioned by Guest Dave but I do agree with his finding of very minor distortion. I have noticed very slight edge softness at both ends of the zoom range but I have seen absolutely no chromatic aberration or purple fringing. The auto-focus is quick and accurate but slightly easier confused in poor lighting conditions than the 18-55mm. A very minor nit-pick is the lens cap is almost impossible to remove with the (included) cylindrical lens hood attached but I solved that problem by replacing the cap with a center pinch release cap.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this lens to anyone with limited funds but who still wants reasonable quality and value. In my opinion I would rate it’s overall quality as a 7.5 out of 10. Price paid $315 CDN

Regards

Drew Peabody

Thank you for you replies. George, I value your learned lens opinions but your recomendations exceed my modest budget. Not sure why you are telling me about wide angle lenses though. I will however continue to buy lottery tickets . Your comparison of the 50-200mm with the 18-55mm is good and makes me feel confident it is a good choice for me in an affordable Pentax lens.

Dave's input and tests are valuable and appreciated. If I don't find a technical review soon I will probably do what Dave has done and just buy one because like Reinhauser says "perfect match for istD" - or so it seems.

Thanks all

Drew

PS: joelw135, amazing B&H took so long to get it. I have seen it here in Canada at London Drugs for 2 months now.