new Pentax lens roadmap

Jan 302008

Looks interesting.  The addition of a DA* 30mm prime particularly piqued my interest (30mm being my favorite “normal” length for a aps-c dslr)

The DA* designation also has me keeping my fingers crossed that it will be a 1.4

the 15ltd also looks potentially interesting,  especially if it is a “pancake” (doubtful as it’s hard to make a lens that wide small)

SDM compatible TCs are also on the menu, a well needed addition. 

The only downside is the apparent removal of the 645d lens, seemingly indicating that the project really has been scrapped.  Sigh. 

But all in all, it looks like by next year pentax should have a remarkably full-featured lens lineup (the only missing elements being T/S lenses and superlong primes – both *very* highly specialized niches)

http://www.digital.pentax.co.jp/en/lens/roadmap.pdf

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Dpreview lens reviews…

Jan 292008

For all you MTF-Chart peepers:

Dpreveiw has launched a new section dedicated to formal lens tests.  they’ve only got 4 lenses up so far (2 of them are Pentax!)  but their little interactive chart-thingee (that’s the technical term) is awesome. 

As always though, I caution not to get too hung up on “the numbers” – they don’t always tell the whole story with a lens.  One of my absolute favorite lenses (the da21 limited) has rather average MTF numbers (for a prime) but produces some spectacular images that just have a wonderful, hard to define “character” to them that looks great in print.

Anyway, check it out:

dpreview lens tests

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the G9 goes to Austin

Jan 282008

Not much of a “photo trip” (was visiting dell on business) I got a few quick snapshots here and there with the G9, which handled itself admirably.  I continue to be impressed by the capabilities of this diminutive photo-making-machine.

Took a bunch of bird pictures, which is odd because I am about as far from being a “birder” as possible.  Still…  (as a side note, while taking the shots of peacocks, we saw what looked to be a commercial photoshoot going on and the photographer was using what looked to be a hassy H3D.  Drool.)

Click the thumbnail to see the gallery (just a few shots)

2008-01-26at15-15-14-canon-powershot-g9.jpg

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pentax k20d and k200d announced!

Jan 232008

The official announcement is in! K20d and k200d are here

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012312pentaxk20dhandson.asp

seems like a nice upgrade to the k10, although not compelling enough to make me switch.  The new sensor does look interesting though, especially if iso6400 is useable. 

Frankly though I think pentax needs to do better.  As the market becomes increasingly competitive, and price points keep getting driven down, they need to release something to “run with the big boys” or risk going the way of KM – great cameras, great lenses, but just too little too late to keep up with the market.  I really hope pentax dosn’t fall into that trap! (and as an ex-KMer I really don’t want to switch systems again!)

Benjikan, over at pentaxfourms.com has been hinting for months that there would be a new camera that would blow us all away, and frankly this isn’t it… One can only hope that this is just the teaser, release at the beginning to whet the appetite for the big announcement

(this new sensor in a 1d or dx level body would qualify!)

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Art for Geeks…

Jan 232008

Only sort of photography related, but had to share it. 

Being both an artist and a geek, a lot of these made me laugh

Art For Geeks

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Traveling with the G9

Jan 232008

So I’ve got another short trip this week, down to Austin, TX.  Not a dedicated photo-trip, and I want to pack light, so the SLR is staying at home. 

Gonna see how I can do with just the G9 and a single speedlight!  Should be an interesting experiment.  The G9 is an excellent performer within it’s limitations… let’s see how it holds up to being a primary camera…

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POLL: how do you do b/w conversions.

Jan 222008

So I love black & white photography.  Back in the old days, I don’t think I ever even shot a roll of color film (maybe a few slides here and there, but whatever…) 

Now while I’m one of those crazy folk who would love a dedicated black and white sensor in a dSLR, (resolution, no bayer filter etc…)  I’m realistic enough to realize it’s probably never going to happen, and really I’m ok with doing b/w conversions.  It has the added bonus of being more flexible than a straight up b/w image with regards to what you can get as the final output. 

The thing is, there are just *so many* ways to do it…lightroom, desaturation, color mixer, LAB color etc… I still haven’t decided on a favorite.   Usually I just convert in lightroom, use the channel mixer and then adjust contrast to taste.   But I’m always open to new techniques!  So I’m opening it up to y’all:

What’s your favorite method of b/w conversions in digital?  Post it here and I’ll give it a whirl! 

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new galleries – Feedback?

Jan 222008

After weighing the pros and cons, I’ve decided to go with a new gallery layout.   I like the whole “slidestrip” type layout as it offers a logical progression through the images rather than just randomly clicking thumbnails.  I also like the fact that it is a “click through” rather than “autoadvance” (which I hate).

(it’s also *much* easier to maintain on the backend, but that’s neither here nor there)

If you haven’t seen ‘em click on over to:

http://www.f1point0.com/galleries

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the new interface.

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I take better pictures with primes.

Jan 152008

As I mentioned in my previous article I am a devotee of the humble fixed focal length lens, AKA “prime”

As a predominantly fine art/street photographer, I have spent most of my photographic career not really “needing” zooms, but as I move more into the realm of commercial/assignment photography, I recently picked up a fast standard zoom (16-50/2.8) for when I need the flexibility over a prime.

so for the past few months while I play with my new toy, learning it particular quirks and characteristics my primes have sat on a shelf while my 16-50 has been attached to the camera.

And you know what? My pictures have gotten worse. Continue reading »

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G9 panorama mode

Jan 122008

I never did much in the way of panoramas, but the G9′s little panoramic mode makes it so easy it’s hard not to.  you simply put it in pano mode, and it provides guidelines to line up your shot as you pan from side to side.   Click off the number of shots you want, matching them up as closely as possible using the LCD.  I did a quick 3 shot pano of the view off our balcony in St. John.  Opened them in photoshop, and stitched together, preserving perspective.  The results were quite nice, I think I will definitely be using the pano mode more.

Just another reason the G9 rocks my face.

(click for larger image – note: even scaled down it’s a pretty big image)

2007-12-10at12-23-54-canon-powershot-g9.jpg

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2007 in recap…

Jan 082008

with the new year upon us, a new folder begins in lightroom.  (I arrange my images primarily by date, hierarchically – exceptions are for images of my paintings, and special projects/scanned images)

According to lightroom, I have 4322 images from 2007.  I know this is not a lot for some, but I do cull my images fairly aggressively.  Even so, looking through a years worth of pictures I can say I really only have probably 30-40 (or less depending on how picky I am being)”good” pictures (good meaning something I would make a large print of or show as an example of my work) 

And actually I’m quite happy about this.  For one thing it means that I am becoming more critical of my own work, which motivates me to do better work. 
Also, a 1/100 “good” shot ratio is not that bad when you consider that probably at least 60% of those 4000 photos are family event/party/social snapshots – never intended to be “artistic”, simply recording memories. 

Right now I am compiling a “top 10″ of 07.  My 10 “best” images from the year.  I’ll round them up, analyze them, and try and learn from them.  Why did they work, and how can I build upon them to do even better in ’08. 

Stay tuned!

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a few shots from St. John

Jan 082008

I was actually somewhat dissapointed with my work from the St. John trip, but I did get a few decent images. (not counting the photoshoots with Vicky and Sasha, some great stuff from those!)

click the pics for larger views on flickr.

“2 Pelicans” – Maho Bay, St John
2 Pelicans

“The Silver Lining” – taken from the balcony of our villa.
The Silver Lining

“Driftwood” – Cinnamon Bay, St. John
Driftwood on Cinnamon Bay

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