Shoot! The Day

The gang at Photoshelter are on a mission to revitalize stock photography. One day, five categories, prizes. So, register for the event and, wherever you are on 20 July, Shoot! The Day.

Squidoo

I've just discovered Squidoo. It looks interesting. I've already created my first lens, on the subject of photography.

Unfortunately, the site is having major problems this weekend. I hope this isn't normal.

Edit: Site is back up. I'm working now on a lens about disaster preparedness and recovery.

Camera Notes

I've posted some photo equipment on eBay, as a result of my recent experience shooting daily in Vietnam. Here's what I've found:

The Pentax K100D is a great camera, no doubt. The K10D, however, motivates me to move up for several reasons. First, as an old film-and-darkroom guy, I value post- processing and prefer to shoot in RAW format whenever possible. The small buffer of the K100D forces me into JPEG mode more often than I would like. Second, the K10D has more of its manual overrides on buttons; the K100D buries them in menus. Third, the K10D dispenses with the "idiot" modes and replaces them with truly innovative and useful shooting modes. Other nice upgrades include the K10D's weathersealing and sensor dust removal functions.

The Tamron 70-300mm Di zoom (effective length 105-450mm) is a decent lens, especially at the price. Nits to pick (for me) were:

• Autofocus slow - tends to hunt
• Lack of clutch in focusing mechanism - risk of damage to lens if you forget to switch to manual focus when attaching or removing lens hood
• Weight and bulk - I didn't really find much use for the 200 - 300mm range, or the macro. The 50-200mm would be a better choice for my use

That said, I probably would not be selling it if I weren't scraping together the money to buy a K10D. It's a good lens to have in your bag

The Metz Mecablitz 36 C-2 is a non-dedicated unit. It will not interface with the camera manufacturers' various TTL flash modes. Used properly, however, it delivers very consistent results at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated unit. It also is less likely to be fooled by highly reflective backgrounds. The trade-off is a bit of a learning curve (the instruction manual is excellent) and a certain amount more manual adjusting. I did learn to use it fairly efficiently, but I still think I could work faster with a dedicated unit. Trade-offs to everything, as I said. I'll buy the Pentax AF540FGZ.

So, now you know.

The K10D Book

I made the switch to digital single-lens reflex (D-SLR) last year, with the purchase of a Pentax K100D. Prior to that, I had 25 years with a Nikon FE 35mm SLR.

I used the K100D daily in the course of a five-week family vacation in Vietnam. There's a lot to like about this camera, as this image shows, including size, weight, image quality and in-body shake reduction.

However, the lack of readily-accessible manual controls and the small RAW buffer got me thinking about upgrading to the newer K10D.

I began researching the K10D in earnest upon my return. After lurking a bit and posting a few questions at PentaxWorld, PentaxForums, and Digital Photography Review, I was pretty convinced I was on the right track.

Along now comes Yvon Bourque and his self-published PENTAX K10D - Everything you need to know... and then some. This little gem of a book goes beyond the instruction manual and gives a practical photographer's perspective on the camera and its use. Besides his own, lifelong experience in photography, Yvon actively mines the discussion forums for other users' ideas, experience and suggestions. Oh yes, and he's a heck of a nice guy to deal with, too.

The book is bigger than the manual and is coil bound so it lies flat for easy reference, especially useful when you're holding the camera in your hands and walking through the controls and settings.

If you have a K10D, you need this book. I ordered mine in advance of the camera (still getting the $$ together as I write this) and I'm glad I did. I'm not affiliated with the publishers and don't get a commission; I just like the book. Big thanks to Yvon and his wife for producing it.

As for my K100D? You'll find it on eBay until June 10.