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PENTAX PHOTOGRAPHY GRAPHICS & ILLUSTRATION ART
In the distant past man first recorded images on cave walls and carved figures where only a few could view and enjoy. Later drawing and painting were predominant and could be shared more widely, but this medium still lacked the ability for mass appreciation, until the development of the printing press. With the invention of the printing press the sharing of visual arts and ideas vastly increased their reach to the world. Can you see where I am going with this? THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY & THE PHOTOGRAPH PENTAX PHOTOGRAPHY I use several programs for post processing, Lightroom Classic for RAW, Affinity Photo & Photoshop, Pentax Digital Camera Utility 5 and Fast Stone Image Viewer. See my Post Processing Software page here. Why is Metal Detecting part of my Menu? Yes, I understand that Metal Detecting seems unrelated to photography, but that is just not the case. I have resources there in the links for unusual and historic locations off the beaten path that are in need of a preserving image. Check it out, even if detecting is not your thing, you may still find lost or forgotten treasure. Gradual loss of archives and collections of materials, photos, artifacts, books and ephemera.
Why a Pentax? First off I did not want to spend a ton of money on my camera and lenses just to get a decent picture. The Pentax K-70 with the DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL DC WR lens are both weather resistant, 24MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor, No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter so images are so much sharper, in body Sensor-shift Image Stabilization, every k mount lens ever made will work on this camera, 3" Fully Articulated Screen, Built in Wireless and more for under $800. The 18-135mm wr lens takes excellent photos for all around use and I don't have to worry about a little rain. I also have the Pentax 35mm DA L f/2.4 AL Lens, inexpensive, yet it takes amazingly sharp images. So for under a grand I have a camera system that has features that would cost me twice that from any other manufacturer. Check out this comparison here. The camera offers 12 Custom Image Profiles in camera and RAW processing software for processing into any of those 12 image profiles in post. Look at a full explanation and samples on the Ricoh website here. The Nikon D3300 only offers 6 image profiles is not weatherproof, etc. I started looking beyond my D3300 after many frustrating attempts to get a good, sharp image of graphics and text for the antique paper I sell on ebay. Ebay restricts the image size to not more than 7 mp. I was using my Nikon D3300 with AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens in order to get the sharpest images possible. I tried different lighting, tripod, adjusting the in camera settings to get sharp, contrasty images without success. Yes, I could shoot RAW and post process every image to improve it before using it on ebay, but I could not afford the extra time that would take. I need decent pictures right out of the camera. I purchased my K-70 strictly for personal use, but after testing it to shoot items for ebay I found it was far superior using the Pentax 35mm DA L f/2.4 AL Lens for text and graphics. I was so impressed with the results and how easy it was to get a great image every time that I purchased a dedicated camera for my ebay sales, the Pentax K-50. Also, the K-50 has two Custom User Modes where I can save my Manual settings. U1 for 3D product lighting setup on one side of the room & U2 for flat items on the other side of the room. It could not get any better and simpler than that. I am practical, so rather than buy a bigger zoom for the K-70, I was using the Nikon D3300 with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens for outdoor nature shots. See some shots with this camera and lens here. UPDATE: As of May 2021 sold my Nikon D3300 system and I am not missing it at all. I found a used but mint Pentax 55-300mm wr lens to replace the Nikkor Zoom for a couple hundred dollars that works wonderfully and erased every reason for keeping the D3300. Sorry Nikon. Misc. Useful & Tutorial Links
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Note, links to outside websites open in a new tab so you don't lose your place on Grahique Du Jour PENTAX SPECIFIC
USEFUL TOOLS & SUPPLIERS
SPECIAL INTEREST LEARNING
MEDIA
GENERAL LEARNING
INTERESTING IMAGES
SITES TO BROWSE PHOTOS & GRAPHICS
Here is post explaining the difference between Smartphone and DSLR cameras I thought this shot was amazing, it shows what can be done with the right equipment, skill and determination... For a total of 6.9 hours of imaging, the longest single image with my RASA 11 so far. |
FlyingEagle: I have a Pentax K-70 that I use as my personal camera with Pentax 18-135mm wr, 55-300mm wr & 35mm lenses. I use a K-50 for my ebay images with the Pentax 35mm Limited Macro lens. It has the Dark Image Mods by gdriggers8 on ebay so I never have to worry about that issue. I sold a Nikon D3300 to go strictly Pentax. I really fancy the Pentax over other cameras I have used and looked at. I am not here to sell anyone on Pentax, rather just to share what I found works for me and why. I also emphasize that I am not a pro. I use my cameras to shoot images of antique paper, books and antiques for sale on ebay, to record memories and for fun. So what I use must be functional and take the best images I can get for the money. © Grahique Du Jour (papertique)