Expressive eyes

The DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited is a lens that made me ponder for a long time whether to get it or not. The maximum aperture isn't that much faster compared to the DA 18-55mm kit lens plus the kit lens goes quite a bit wider. Yes it is smaller and better built but it costs quite a bit more too. With the new DA 15mm f/4 Limited wide angle, the DA 21mm seems to be less prominent in the Pentax blogosphere and discussion forums.



To me it seems almost unthinkable to let go of this lens, which has become one of my favs among my lenses. It's small and compact dimensions means it's always in the bag. Because of its small size, I managed to get up close to shoot a neighbor's cat and my pet chihuahua Pepe. I wanted to catch a wideangle perspective of their expressive eyes. The images were shot with the K-7 and processed in Silver Efex Pro.

Saturday morning shots

My weekends are usually quite busy but last week I had a chance to catch up with some friends over breakfast and briefly walked around a few blocks of the city on a Saturday morning taking some snaps. Managed to catch a few nice images with my infrared modded camera and the K20D with a few prime lenses.


K20D FA 135mm f/2.8


K20D FA 135mm f/2.8

Here I've used my IR camera and converted the image to a monochrome. I've used the DA 21mm as it is versatile as a location lens. Its small size attracts little attention and AF is fast that you can shoot quickly.


*ist DL2 DA 21mm f/3.2


*ist DL2 DA 21mm f/3.2


*ist DL2 DA 21mm f/3.2

Garden Exploration

I had taken this shot of these small flowers some time ago at the Botanic Gardens but I didn't really have the time to sit down and decide how to best process the shot. Well today it became pretty clear to me and I only took a few minutes to achieve the look that I wanted, a light sepia tint background with the flowers standing out. All done in Photoshop with adjustment layers.


K20D with DA 21mm Limited

Marina Barrage Pentax Shootout

We had our latest Pentax user meet-up on 15 November at the Marina Barrage. By way of introduction, the Marina Barrage is a new dam spanning the Marina Channel, forming Singapore's first reservoir in the city. Flowing into the channel is water from the Singapore and Kallang rivers. The dam serves to control flooding, provide an additional source of water supply and offer a new waterfront experience in the area.


Sigma 17-70mm


Sigma 17-70mm

We had a healthy turnout of Pentax users and even though the area was new, there was a lot to shoot, from city skyline to water features to people enjoying themselves. The weather was largely overcast, which meant our pictures were devoid of nice blue skies. The lighting was flat, soft and diffused outdoors but we all made the best of it.


DA 21mm Limited


DA 21mm Limited


DA 21mm Limited

Posted here are just a few pictures that I took at the place with the K20D using various lenses.


FA 50mm


Tamron 70-300mm

Little India Pentax Outing - Monochrome

Just a few more shots from the recent Little India Pentax user outing. I decided early on that the people and location shots should be in monochrome. All shots taken with the K20D using the same lenses as in the previous post.

Dunlop Street

DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited

Provision shop

FA 28-200mm f/3.5~5.6

Exhale

Sigma 90mm f/2.8 Macro

Old biker

FA 28-200mm f/3.5~5.6

General worker

DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited

Weight on my shoulder

FA 28-200mm f/3.5~5.6

Little India Pentax Outing

Last month, we had our October Pentax user outing to shoot the area known as Little India, a predominantly Indian area that has many shophouses and merchants. We had a good turnout and as usual friendly banter as we slowly made our way among the shops, shooting the people and the many objects of interest.

Tomatoes 90 cents

FA 28-200mm f/3.5~5.6

Fruit shop

Sigma 90mm f/2.8 Macro

String of bananas

Sigma 90mm f/2.8 Macro

Unfortunately this post comes up only now as it has been a little hectic on the work and domestic front, so I've neglected post processing and writing on this blog. I had to run off a little early but still managed to take a couple of interesting images. Definitely a place that has a lot of captivating images waiting to be shot.

Squash

Sigma 90mm f/2.8 Macro

Carrots and radishes

FA 28-200mm f/3.5~5.6

Radishes and bitter gourds

FA 28-200mm f/3.5~5.6

Anyway about the outing, I've always liked shooting Little India simply because there is much to shoot. As it was going to be a street shoot, I packed my K20D with three lenses, the lowly FA 28-200mm superzoom, the DA 21mm Limited pancake and the Sigma 90mm Macro.

Lotus

Sigma 90mm f/2.8 Macro

Hibiscus in a pot

DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited

The FA 28-200 is essentially a rebadged Tamron. I picked it up at a used computer shop awhile back. Optical quality is decent but it makes up for it with a wide range of focal lengths. I needed a compact wideangle in the DA 21mm and used a macro to pick out and isolate interesting subjects.

Folded leaves

Sigma 90mm f/2.8 Macro

Parasols

FA 28-200mm f/3.5~5.6

Getting Familiar With Shooting IR

A few more IR explorations. Took these scenic landscapes with the *ist DL2 with the DA 21mm Limited. As I mentioned awhile back, digital IR photography is essentially a 2 step process: capturing the IR image on camera and secondly, post processing the images.



In the short period that I've been shooting digital IR, I've found that I've needed to pay attention to a few areas prior to shooting. First order of the day is to establish the baseline white balance of the camera. This applies to both modded IR cameras or a DSLR with an IR filter attached. Taking a manual white balance reading from something that reflects a lot of IR light like a patch of green grass/leaves in bright light is the proven method. The key issue here is taking the WB reading in bright sunlight. Take a WB reading on an overcast day and you're likely to get a somewhat different result when post-processing later.



IR images look best when there is good contrast in the scene. That said, it is pretty important to get the exposure right to reduce subsequent post processing issues. Because only a fraction of the light spectrum is recorded on the camera's sensor, I tend to think the camera's dynamic range is reduced a little.



Underexpose and you're likely to have flat or noisy images. Blow the highlights and you lose detail. The best aid in exposure determination is using the camera's histogram on the LCD as it can be difficult to eyeball the reddish brown images captured on-camera. As exposure can vary according to the scene, it is a good idea to bracket. It is also a good practice to delete those images that for want of a better word, "cannot make it".



Shooting in Manual mode offers the best control but shooting in Aperture priority with +EV compensation is another workable method. Focusing wise, autofocus is definitely useful. To compensate for the slight shift in wavelength, some tweaking of the AF in the debug menu (for a modded IR camera) is good, but if you're using a standard DSLR with screw-in IR filters, stopping down will cover the slight focus shift. Use the lowest ISO setting possible.



The images here were taken just a few days after I got the modded camera. They aren't perfect in my opinion. The WB wasn't really spot on and I was a little rusty in the post processing department, but these so-so shots provide good feedback on small details that need to be worked on to get one's personal look in IR lanscapes. I'll post some information on the post processing that I use in a later post.

Changi Meet-up

The Pentax user group on Clubsnap is slowly but surely growing. Evidence of this was our latest group outing to Changi Village. As the plan was to catch some sunrise shots, the meeting time was a very early 6.30am. Many of us were there to learn from night86mare who never fails to wow us with his landscapes.


Tripods galore... DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited

Unfortunately the weather was dull and dismal with the sun obscured by thick cloud. And it didn't take long for the storm clouds to prematurely end a very short photo taking session. Didn't really have the chance to use much of my gear, though I have to say it's a weight off the shoulders when carrying a Gitzo CF tripod around. Anyway here are some of the few shots that I took, all with the K20D.


DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited


DA* 50-135mm f/2.8

While the weather may have dampened the photo taking opportunities, like all good meet-ups the company was good and so was the breakfast offerings at the the food center. Pentax meet-ups are fun affairs and I'll definitely be on the look-out for the next one coming up.


DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited


DA* 50-135mm f/2.8

Dark Reflection

Was out very late in the city and shot this lonely bus stop which had this dare I say arresting anti-drug poster displayed. Even though the light level was pretty low and I didn't have a very fast lens aperture wise, the camera's Shake Reduction and high ISO performance allowed me to shoot hand held very easily.


K20D with DA 21mm Limited.

Some K20D Images

Low key still life of a small lime.
The lime plant I have seems to be dying,
and this was perhaps a last attempt to fruit.


DFA 100mm Macro

Front grille of a Nissan.
Liked the abstract shapes.
Tricky lighting but the K20D got it right.


DA 21mm Limited

Small Wonder: the DA 21mm Limited Pancake

Water's Edge

Just recently I chanced upon a used DA 21mm Limited that another photographer had put up for sale. Even though I've had the DA 16-45mm f/4 and more recently the FA 20-35mm f/4, I have always been somewhat intrigued about the DA 21mm Limited. Good build quality yet compact and small, and good optical performance all add up to a lens that is quite special. The lens is tiny and comes with a unique bayonet lens hood that has a window cutout.


Solitary

Well, now that I got the new K20D, I thought it was time to reconsider this lens. The lens gives the angle of view of a moderate wide angle and the 0.2 metre minimum focusing distance is sufficiently close for the kind of shots that I like to take.


Growth

I'm pleased to say the lens hasn't disappointed me one bit. It's been on the K20D a lot. The quick AF is definitely a big plus because focusing manually can be a bit tricky at this focal length and at a maximum aperture of f/3.2. Nonetheless I've been kicking myself for not getting this pancake sooner. It's just a versatile lens that delivers.


Intersection

Here a series of images that I'm doing for a personal photo book that I'm planning to self publish later in the year. All were shot with the DA 21mm Limited on the K20D.


Grain