Freakscene
Obscure member
Thank you. One trick I have found to help myself avoid over-processing is that I overlay a processed file with an unprocessed file and blend them 50%. If after a good deal of looking the blended file looks better than the processed file, I start over and go more gently.
Genesis was horrific.
Back to the theme of the original post; one interesting thing about the Pentax K-3 iii Monochrome is that it appears to have some different settings for file output. I am not sure if it will apply only to jpgs or also to RAW files, but having some output settings in camera that can be matched to the lighting may further decrease the need for processing.
Pentax lenses also tend to have more moderate contrast than modern Leica lenses, and this is also likely to aid tonality.
Marty
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Rayt
Nonplayer Character
I personally don’t like the over processed look some at the verge of HDR. So far I have only seen my M10M photos on the screen and have’t printed anything on paper yet. All my jpgs are temporary and I made them for posting and then deleted from my HD. Once I start printing I will be able to gauge what the files should look like. Everything looks brighter on a screen.
agentlossing
Well-known
Quoth someone on a rangefinder forum.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Freakscene
Obscure member
This is the guy who started the incredibly long running “let’s see your SLR” thread.Yes ... I see the irony there!
Archlich
Well-known
I hope they get to release some more limited lens if they're set on going the Leica route.
Freakscene
Obscure member
The current lens line is excellent, but inconsistent, slow and has some pretty big gaps (no 28 or 35mm equivalent prime!!!???). Endearingly strange like Pentax itself. But a line of f2 Limiteds in focal lengths photographers are used to would be nice.
Disappointed_Horse
Well-known
Indeed. I like small lenses like the DA Limiteds as much as anyone but I don't quite understand why you would want to put a tiny pancake lens on a body that weighs over 800g. I'm afraid I'd miss having a (relatively) fast 50mm-equivalent prime lens. (Probably 80%+ of the photos I've taken with a DSLR over the past fifteen years have been taken with my Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 AF-S DX lens on a series of Nikon bodies.)
Then again, I have plenty of Pentax M42 Takumar lenses and Pentax still makes their M42 to K-mount adapter…
Freakscene
Obscure member
Indeed. I’m looking forward to portraits with my various Pentax M42 50mm f1.4s. But AF is really nice when you need it.
For the M Monochrom, I wrote my own Fortran code to change the black-level DNG field as written by the camera and use a Gamma-curve LUT to convert 14-bits to 16-bits. It batch-processes all files in the directory at once, command-line driven. After looking at the pixels in HEX, realized there was shadow detail being clipped by the "Black-Level" in the unmodified DNG. For High-ISO, it also restores a bad column. The column is not dead, just has a DC offset from the rest of the image.
zane0777
Established
The Pentax-FA 35mm f2 lens is quite nice on APS-C, though of course not f/1.4. I've used one for 15+ years and never been disappointed.
Disappointed_Horse
Well-known
Good to know. Although I like having the f/1.8 lens on my Nikon, I usually try to shoot stopped down to f/2.8 or smaller (habit from using vintage lenses), so I guess the 35mm f/2 FA lens would be fine for me. The Pentax 35mm f/2.8 DA Limited Macro lens looks great too.
markjwyatt
Well-known
...WHAT?
agentlossing
Well-known
Even with the K-1, which provides room for all of one's fingers on its substantial grip, I prefer shorter lenses which aren't front-heavy. The K-3 is even smaller. I do agree, though, that the gap between the 21mm and 40mm is rather unsatisfactory in terms of pancake-sized Limited lenses, but the DA 35mm Limited Macro does fill that gap, albeit not with a lot of speed. The FA 35mm f2 is fairly compact and I could see it being used on an APS-C body (I own it but use it on the K-1). It isn't as sharp as it could be, however. Honestly the plastic fantastic DA 35mm f2.4 is as sharp as I've used in that focal range.
titrisol
Bottom Feeder
I bought the K3-iii when it came out ($2,000) and it is a great platform.
IMHO this was the easiest way to fulfill the monochrome dreams of the Pentax aficionados.
The $500 premium is not bad, I planned to convert my K5-ii into mochrome and the quote for the job was more than that.
IMHO this was the easiest way to fulfill the monochrome dreams of the Pentax aficionados.
The $500 premium is not bad, I planned to convert my K5-ii into mochrome and the quote for the job was more than that.
I think this camera is very important for Pentax and I think it is going to work for them. Even though I do not want the camera, I have to think what a cool move by Pentax.
JohnWolf
Well-known
I was keen on this camera, but have changed my mind. The lens I’d like puts the purchase at about $3300. That’s a big commitment to two things I‘d long ago left off - crop sensors and DSLRs. Although I continue to use the GR line for its size. I‘d like to try the Monochrome, but am pretty sure a DSLR is not for me.
Incidentally, Samuel Streetlife had a Monochrome for a month and compared output with converted GR III files. He says he cannot see a difference, except at very high ISOs.
John
Incidentally, Samuel Streetlife had a Monochrome for a month and compared output with converted GR III files. He says he cannot see a difference, except at very high ISOs.
John
Freakscene
Obscure member
What lens are you interested in John?
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
I have spend under 300 USD for two weather sealed zooms and one macro. Images are sharper than from my two L zooms on Canon 5D MKII.
His comparison is kind of vague, since it was not regular K-3 III with same lens, but GR III. We have this discussion in K-3 IIIM in this thread earlier on.
Where are very few who are capable to deal with Monochrome files. Samuel is not one of them, for sure. But I liked his earlier Pentax DLSR portraits, nothing wrong with crop and DLSR at all.
He is raving about his Nikon DLSR for sometime now.
I'd rather see FujiFilm X Pro 3 as Monochrome, but they are having ball with film emulations, I guess.
And if bw emulation is OK for Samuel, it is OK for most. But not to me and few others .I'm waiting for someone to give K-3 IIIM's DNG files access. Too bad greedy Amazon killed DPP...