Pentax K10D, SMC Pentax-DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited, ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/50 sec, +0.7 EV, IS on

Couple of things to report here. First, the image above was shot with a Pentax DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited lens that I am testing. The studio shots have been taken and now I just have to spend a few days living with it to see how it works for me. In case you were curious, whenever I get a loaner lens to test I put it on my camera and take it with me everywhere I go for several days. By forcing myself to use it for all of the various photos I take I can get a really good sense of how it performs within a couple hundred frames shot over just a few days.

Initial out-of-the-box impressions are that this is a very nicely put together lens that is absolutely the sharpest lens I’ve ever used. I really like the field of view the 35mm focal length gives on my K10D (52.5mm equiv). As a macro lens you can (read: have to) get crazy close to subjects. It’s actually quite a bit like using my DIY super macro set-up without all the fumbling around. Look for my typical in-depth user review in a few days.

Second, this image was processed using a brand-new copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 that the folks at Adobe sent over. I’ve been using Lightroom 1.4 all this time and I’m excited to explore the features of this new-and-improved version. I’ll be reporting on my impressions of LR 2.3 later. I can say that the upgrade was completely seamless and I haven’t missed a beat.

The image above was shot in RAW with my Pentax K10D in Aperture Priority mode. White balance was set to Auto as was the ISO. In Lightroom I imported the image using my default develop settings. I then cropped it and applied the Direct Positive preset. Finally, I tweaked the White Balance to bring out the blue hue of the evening light and dialed up the Vibrance a touch to get it to pop a bit more. The sharpness is mostly due to the lens.

Pentax K10D, Pentax SMC-A 50mm f/1.7 (manual focus), ISO 800, f/1.7, 1/50 sec, +0.7 EV, IS on

Speak to me…as in little green men from outer space ;-) This image makes me think of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Taken in the bar at the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas. The Centrifuge bar (as it is known) is designed around a central cylinderical tower covered in tiny color changing LED or fiber optic lights. I was sitting about 12-15′ away from the bar when I took this relaxing from 3 days of walking the show floor at PMA. I simply manually set the focus on my 50mm lens (at f/1.7) to around 3′ and let the camera do the rest. Shooting bokeh is really one of the easiest things to do once you understand the technique. The hard part becomes making an actual composition out of the bokeh. In this case the arrangeent of the lights themselves was all I needed. Tomorrow I’ll have another example shot in the same place.

Pentax K10D, Pentax SMC-A 50mm f/1.7 (manual focus), ISO 640, f/1.7, 1/100 sec, +/- 0 EV, IS on

Another from my brother-in-law’s house in Wetumpka, AL. They live in a 100+ year old cottage with wood plank walls and tall windows. This antique violin is hanging on the wall in their dining room next to a window draped in sheer white curtains. I shot this up and at an angle to maximize the short depth of field and get a nice mix of the warm brown and rich cool blue in the frame. Processed in Adobe Lightroom with my default develop settings for my Pentax K10D.

Here’s a wide shot of the wall in question:

Pentax K10D, Pentax SMC-A 50mm f/1.7 (manual focus), ISO 1000, f/4, 1/25 sec, +/- 0 EV, IS on

Antique door bell guts. Shot at my niece’s birthday party in Wetumpka, AL. Great old house with awesome light and lots of color. More to come…

Pentax K10D, Pentax SMC-A 50mm f/1.7 (manual focus), ISO 100, f/8, 1/400 sec, +/- 0 EV, IS off

Water sealant application on the new Auburn University student dining hall. Wide shot: