• Members 176 posts
    Sept. 27, 2023, 4:20 a.m.

    Hi David
    Thanks for the kind words.
    Regarding the exposed sensor, I have been using mirrorless cameras since the Panasonic GF1 came out (cannot remember the exact year but I think more than 10 years ago).
    I have had a number of different brands: Olympus an Panasonic mft, Sony FF and APSc, Canon M series and Fujifilm APSc and all had the exposed sensor and it has never been a problem for me.

    I am not gentle on my gear but respectful that they are electronic items with some very sensitive parts. When I change lenses I do it as quick as I can while being aware of the conditions I am in. So I ensure I keep the camera down so nothing falls into it or gets blown onto it and where I can I use my carry bag for protection. So far, it's worked well for me (fingers crossed lol).

    I did get a big dust blob on my old Pentax DSLR once but managed to blow it out.

    Cheers
    Paul

  • Members 176 posts
    Sept. 27, 2023, 4:25 a.m.

    Beautiful image David, you did a great job.

    Love seeing the old churches and other building that had so much detail built into the minutest parts.
    That Laowa sounds like a very interesting lens.

    Cheers
    Paul

  • Members 176 posts
    Sept. 27, 2023, 4:44 a.m.

    Hi Dig,
    Thanks for the kind words about my pics :-)
    Take your time and think about what you will get from the change and what you already have.

    Reading helps a lot, especially with the forums where you find amazing and very experiences participants.

    Like you say, experiencing a camera yourself you really do find out things that don't get a mention (especially in many YT videos) and whether it's the camera of your dreams or a nightmare lol.

    As a casual (but regular) shooter, I find that I need to spend many many months to find what works and what doesn't.
    Problem is I keep trying new cameras and the journey starts again lol.

    I think the last 2 camera i bought (XH2s and R8) are both exceptional with the fast processors and fast sensor readouts and the subject detection.
    It means I can focus more on getting a better exposure and composition more often.
    I also try to get to a location earlier when the light is still good.
    I am getting better (I think) but it's been a long journey over many years.
    It's still fun though.

    Pardon my rambling.

    Cheers
    Paul

  • Members 176 posts
    Sept. 27, 2023, 4:49 a.m.

    Hi Joy
    Thank you kindly
    The 35mm lens I used in those shots is an RF stabilised lens. The others are EF mount used with the adaptor and (from memory) the 24mm is stabilised.

  • Members 176 posts
    Sept. 27, 2023, 5:12 a.m.

    HI Mocha
    Thanks for the lovely comment.
    I really enjoyed having the RP on that trip, it never let me down.

    The first pic was a waterfall where we trekked to for about 2 miles or so (3km).
    It was hard with some difficult descents (for me being an older person), carrying my backpack with a travel tripod and my 100-400 tamron as well as the 24mm and some other gear. I was decently fit then (2019) so it was all good. But not so much now so hopefully I won't be doing too much trekking fully loaded on the next trip.

    The 4th pic was from our hotel in Havana and the last was the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon (my wife an I bussed there from Las Vegas).

    Cheers
    Paul

  • Members 861 posts
    Sept. 27, 2023, 3:16 p.m.

    img_9127_$33_72dpi_web.jpg

  • Members 1739 posts
    Sept. 28, 2023, 2:19 a.m.

    OpenCube,

    Is that a infrared photo? Did you take that picture in a park?

  • Members 861 posts
    Sept. 28, 2023, 3:16 a.m.

    It's either 720nm or 550nm on a full spectrum. I forget which. It's in a garden on museum grounds....I really need to take that camera to that one park...

  • Members 643 posts
    Sept. 28, 2023, 5:35 p.m.

    A local chapel. Taken after sunset, using a bench and the camera's IBIS to get away with an ISO of 100.
    They're both crops of the same photo - please do tell which you like better. I can't decide.

    20230910-P9102212_v2.jpg
    20230910-P9102212_v1.jpg

    20230910-P9102212_v2.jpg

    JPG, 176.0 KB, uploaded by Dunlin on Sept. 28, 2023.

    20230910-P9102212_v1.jpg

    JPG, 127.4 KB, uploaded by Dunlin on Sept. 28, 2023.

  • Members 411 posts
    Sept. 28, 2023, 6:38 p.m.

    Hi Dunlin,

    You've got greater contrast and more interest in the sky in the portrait photo but I like the composition better in the landscape, super photo whichever way you decide to frame it.

    {edit} Looking at both in larger view there is no difference in contrast, it's just the way the site renders the pictures, but I'm still in favour of the landscape except for the sky. 👍

  • Sept. 28, 2023, 6:56 p.m.

    An interesting subject, Dunlin, but both photos have a lot of dark areas with no detail. The portrait one emphasizes the chapel more as the main subject. A square format might work better, if you can delete some of the dark blue sky and bring the reddish sky further down!

  • Members 1739 posts
    Sept. 29, 2023, 1:10 a.m.

    Dunlin,

    I like the landscape photo better. Maybe a landscape 4:3 or 3:2 crop would be better.

  • Members 732 posts
    Sept. 29, 2023, 1:06 p.m.

    I raise a glass to all of you.

    goblet2.jpg

    Steve Thomas

    goblet2.jpg

    JPG, 56.4 KB, uploaded by stevet1 on Sept. 29, 2023.

  • Members 1662 posts
    Sept. 29, 2023, 3:40 p.m.
  • Members 1662 posts
    Sept. 29, 2023, 3:40 p.m.
  • Members 643 posts
    Sept. 29, 2023, 5:07 p.m.

    Super shot Steve.
    I'd be interested to know how you took it.

  • Members 643 posts
    Sept. 29, 2023, 5:14 p.m.

    Thanks for the feedback everyone.
    How does the Jury like this version? This one was processed from RAW in darktable, I'm still working on it but here you are anyway.

    20230910-P9102212_01.jpg

    20230910-P9102212_01.jpg

    JPG, 137.2 KB, uploaded by Dunlin on Sept. 29, 2023.

  • Members 732 posts
    Sept. 29, 2023, 5:43 p.m.

    Dunlin,

    I took one shot with my lens cap on, using a high shutter speed and a low ISO (although I don't think that really matters), to create a sold back blackground.
    I shot this in a dark room to try and eliminate any stray bits of light that might leak in around the lens cap.

    Saving that photo, I then overlayed or layered on another photo on top of that black picture. Then I used a black eraser in an image editing program to erase any background from that second photo.

    In that goblet picture, I cropped the final product before saving it, but I shouldn't have..

    Steve Thomas

  • Sept. 29, 2023, 8:47 p.m.

    Terrific improvement, Dunlin!

    David

  • Members 176 posts
    Sept. 30, 2023, 1:59 p.m.

    Wow! Fantastic work Steve
    👏👏👏

  • Members 732 posts
    Sept. 30, 2023, 4:10 p.m.

    Why, thank you Paul.

    Steve Thomas

  • Sept. 30, 2023, 9:21 p.m.

    Digirame started this week with a blue hydrangea blossom, and followed up with an amazing plethora of VW bugs. I am reminded that there are people on Youtube who have put electric motors into their bugs, and one with a 517HP Subaru engine, which goes like a rocket. I found it worth watching.

    Steve Thomas had a go at photographing the moon and, though his picture was liked, discovered that getting it in focus is tricky. He also found berries, which nobody has yet identified: red, so poisonous? He is also doing interesting things in B&W, and has been experimenting with flower blossoms against a totally black background. A good experiment. The red one was particularly striking. He is now photographing other things (a glass) with the black background. Very impressive.

    Mocha was in Nene Park and brought us back lovely birds and a dragonfly.

    Simplejoy also went out photographing nature: bright colours in non-macro mode.

    Dunlin showed us a moon with stormy skies -- right out of Wuthering Heights or a Dracula movie -- and followed up with a night scene that looks excellent after he worked on it a little.

    Paul Fotoworld showed all the gory details of "Willy Wagtail consuming a Dragonfly". His RP photos are magnificent.

    I had luck with my Votive Church photo. As Vienna is not laid out on a grid system, and hardly any streets run N/S or E/W, I find it very difficult to predict where the sun will be, so this was lucky! I was not so lucky with the Schottenkirche, but I will return to it.

    OpenCube showed a picture taken with his modified camera with a filter that produces unreal colours!

    The new weekly thread is open here. Please start using it now.