Sony Lounge Thread MKIII (All Sony cameras welcome)

Puckman wrote in post #18424457
And for Vinz and the other portrait guys around here...I'm a complete newbie when it comes to posed portraits and processing, so I could use a few pointers.

I liked the framing and pose in this one, but one of the eyes is slightly OOF. Was shooting the FE 85 wide open. Do you typically stop down for these kinds of shots (up close, full head) to make sure both eyes are sharp?

No real post processing done here beyond WB and some contrast...I don't know the first thing about skin smoothing or any of that good stuff that Vin does.

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Yes for tightly framed shots stop down 1-2 stops...or more. If you're unsure, take multiple shots at different apertures and/or drop into MF or DMF so focus peaking comes on and you can see how much DOF you have.

Loxia 21mm:

David Arbogast wrote in post #18424497
Loxia 21mm:

You wasted no time in getting the most out of that new lens

Puckman wrote in post #18424509
You wasted no time in getting the most out of that new lens

Thanks! I was just happy to find something to shoot on yet another stormy evening.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18424204
Eriet NM is out
We had to make a decision time off wise, Yellowstone and Glacier are in a couple of weeks.
Done deal on that....for the winter trip Poof had to decide whether a long trip back out west
or a shorter trip to Florida and the Canadian maritimes in May.
She chose the Canada trip.
So my hopes of Basque del Apache will have to wait yet another year....but the good is that
maybe I can image Gannets in Newfoundland.

Oh noes!!!!

Ok well I will scout it out for you with the Tab Trailer.

Puckman wrote in post #18424457
And for Vinz and the other portrait guys around here...I'm a complete newbie when it comes to posed portraits and processing, so I could use a few pointers.

I liked the framing and pose in this one, but one of the eyes is slightly OOF. Was shooting the FE 85 wide open. Do you typically stop down for these kinds of shots (up close, full head) to make sure both eyes are sharp?

No real post processing done here beyond WB and some contrast...I don't know the first thing about skin smoothing or any of that good stuff that Vin does.

Hosted photo: posted by Puckman in
./showthread.php?p=184​24457&i=i255085112
forum: Sony Digital Cameras

for 3/4 shot, i go 1.6 but for that close, you definitely need to stop down to gain wider DOF. The level of skin retouching will depend on what type of portrait. for example like beauty shots, they usually make it perfect. for portrait, i don't retouch as much. i don't do smoothing specially using plugins. i just dodge and burn unwanted small patches of shadows and highlights. when you do that, it will ultimately smooth out. it takes longer but that's you do it if you want more natural. one tip on how to make sure you won't over, just dodge and burn in 100% view, max of 200% zoom on details. I actually start doing D&B without zooming at all. then i go a 100%.

for your shot, her skin is very good already. maybe i'll just remove some pimples and that's it. i do using a blank layer. select the healing tool. on the option bar, choose current and below to affect the background layer. others duplicate the background layer. it works but it will increase your file size and may slow down your machine. hope it helps.

David Arbogast wrote in post #18424497
Loxia 21mm:

Awesome you're loving your new lens!

David Arbogast wrote in post #18424497
Loxia 21mm:

looks good.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18424645
Awesome you're loving your new lens!

Thanks! Loving the lens for sure.

Also appreciate very much the Sea Eagle recommendation...been studying up on them. Seems like a good solution for me. Can't decide if I should go with a Fast Track (more stable for my camera gear) or the RazorLite (like the lighter weight and it looks great for a inflatable and is likely much faster).

vinmunoz wrote in post #18424647
looks good.

Thanks!

Yes sir all fits in the backpack, but know this. Repacking to get the kayak back into the backpack
takes practice. There are youtubes on how best to do this. I suggest watching, re-watching, trying, re-watching
then doing.
The structure is of two type of material. Hypalon bottom with is stout on its own, and the main body material which
is stout to hold the 10 PSI. It is plyable/foldable obviously but takes effort....e.g. don't be so gently on it to get it
to do what you want. Colder temp's make it harder.
I'll be curious to the up-charge the airline charges you.
Not too awfully long ago I flew two Feathercraft kayaks to Montana for paddling and it was only $50 ish per kayak.

David Arbogast wrote in post #18424497
Loxia 21mm:

Nice. Congrats on the Loxia.

When comparing against the Batis, try a really heavily backlit scene. When I tested the Batis 25 and Loxia 21, the Loxia is more flare/ghosting resistant and that's where the difference in microcontrast was most obvious. Not that the Batis has a flare issue, its just that the Loxia is exceptionally good.

Also...any thoughts on owning both the Loxia 21 and Batis 18? I've been running around in circles about wanting something wider than 21mm, and have considered the Batis 18...or the CV15....or 12-24, 16-35 f4 sony or canon. The GM is more than I'm willing to spend since its more of an occasional need. Lots of choice on the UWA side of things.

David, or anyone else studying these just remember to look at the types of water and landings you be
dealing with.
I've pulled up in a saltina marsh in a hardshell and heard the scraping sound of oyster shells. That's a horrid
sound on a 4K kayak's gelcoat. Hypalon really is tough but do that how many times and suddenly the kayak is flat
I once stepped out of a kayak near Shell Key of the coast of Florida--me the dummie not wearing water shoes and stepped
onto a gnarly rusty pylong2 feet below the surface. Stitches and a tetanus shot. Yeah well we all know underwater hazards
are out there. Just saying.

One more thing on the 353rl, and it applies to any kayak.
They track really really well with the integral rudder (pops on during assembly/inflation) BUT like any kayak, if it tracks
straight there is a resistance to turning quickly/conversely a kayak (like a white water boat) turns on a dime but tracks like
crap. Covering distance/speed you want a tracker.

Do look at the weight the 393rl can carry. It is amazing. I could easily paddle camp a week or more out/off of one.

Anyone read this here about the laowa macro clones? http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/topic/15035​92

The lenses are on eBay I see and come with a different shell and no shift function but the optics inside are reported to be the same as the laowa