New here from Romania.

myststars

New member
Hi

I am from Romania.Currently i own a Pentax K-S2 + 50mm 1.8 aps-c but for my current photo needs i may need to upgrade to a new camera.So i am here to ask for advices and i hope people that have the gear may come with feedback.
I photograph in foggy weather and also foggy + night photography....Currently there have been many instances where my iso has gone to 6400 or even 12800.
Thank you
 

Marilynne

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Welcome!

I'm sure you'll get lots of advice here. We are a Nikon forum, so it'll probably a Nikon camera suggestion.
 

Clovishound

Senior Member
Welcome. What about your current setup is not meeting your needs? If it is that you are having to use high ISOs, I'm afraid new equipment will do little to help with that. In general, a full frame sensor will give you better low light performance than a crop frame, but the difference isn't huge. The only other equipment that will help is a faster lens. You are already using a fast lens, but you could move up to a 50mm 1.4 with you Pentax. That would cut your ISOs by 1/2 stop. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of Pentax mount lenses available for Pentax digital, as opposed to other more popular brands, such as Nikon, Canon etc.

What is your budget? A lot depends on that.

Unfortunately these days, starting over with a different system can get expensive, especially if you need higher end gear. Without knowing your budget, I would recommend a Nikon Z6iii and a 50mm F1.2 lens. That would run you around $4,000 new here in the US. If that is beyond your budget, there are other options that might suit your needs for less.

Do you own, and use other lenses? Having to replace a number of lenses, obviously increases the amount of money needed.

The other option is to use your current equipment and make changes with how you shoot and edit. That could also be a stopgap while saving for the equipment you want.

Are you using noise reduction software? This can make a huge difference in your images. This hummingbird image was shot at ISO 8000, and then somewhat heavily cropped.

DSC_0821.jpg


I processed it using Topaz. There are other options. If you are already using Lightroom, the latest version has rather good noise reduction, albeit, a bit slow.

The other thing is to use slower shutter speeds, if possible, to bring ISOs down. A lot depends on what exactly you are shooting. Obviously, moving subjects require faster shutter speeds. Static shots, like landscapes, can normally be shot at very low shutters speeds using a tripod, and give you low ISOs even in very low light situations.

You may already know much of this, and apologies if you do. Just trying to hit the obvious things as I don't know your experience level and shooting style. Showing us some of your work and what you are trying to move forward with would be helpful.

The other thing is that this is a Nikon forum, so the advice you get will mostly involve Nikon equipment. Everyone makes good cameras these days, although some excel in some areas over other manufacturers. You have to figure out what system fits your needs and budget.

Good luck, and we look forward to seeing some of your work.
 

nikonbill

Senior Member
Contributor
Welcome to the forum!

To add (a little) to already good points, your Pentex K2S is a APS-c sensor 20mp sensor. It sounds as you are a landscape shooter, please verify this (and any other photographic area's you like). You have a pretty capable rig so far, just my humble opinion.

To second Clovishound's main point please let us know what budget you want to stay at, that is the biggest key.

I would point out technique/skill out preforms gear in most situations, you just need a good base.

Even though we are a Nikon forum we have areas to discuss your Pentax specifically if you like. We also discuss software for processing (if you do that) and there are many free options these days and many paid ones. Discussing ways to improve technique (skill's) are no issue here as well.

I had Pentex film cameras back in my film days, I loved my KX and have images on my walls from it today.

Tell us more and a hearty welcome!!!
 

myststars

New member
Hello all...
Thx for warm welcome...

I will post a couple of my work here....











4000 $ is beyond my budget... I can a bit over 1200$.
I do things handheld usually and more Run And Gun style. :)...
I feel my KS2 is too noisy at iso 6400 and iso 12800 and there isa big loss of detail and dynamic range but on the other hand Z6 MK3 with lens at 4000$ is not worth for me this kind of investment.....
Also i am more a hobyist and never made money out of my pictures.I have only one lens the 50mm 1.8.
The other reason is that my camera is not auto-focusing very well in the conditions i do.The new mirroless auto focus in pitch black...Mine is rated -3 EV and some newer ones at -6.5 evs...
 

nikonbill

Senior Member
Contributor
I feel my KS2 is too noisy at iso 6400 and iso 12800
Do you use a PC to process your photos? If yes, what operating system does it have? Do you shoot in RAW or .jpg?

I would like to make some 0 dollar suggestions to improve your noise, it depends on your answers to the above.
 

myststars

New member
Do you use a PC to process your photos? If yes, what operating system does it have? Do you shoot in RAW or .jpg?

I would like to make some 0 dollar suggestions to improve your noise, it depends on your answers to the above.
RAW...I ussually don't do too much processing outside the camera but i may begin using the AI denoiser...

I have another 4 pictures.This were done durring the day at ISO 200 if i remember correctly so no problem here with ISO.










 
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tonye

New member
Welcome aboard, some very atmospheric shots there, well done considering your limitations. Some good suggestions have been put out previously. With your limited kit and budget may i suggest a sturdy lightweight tripod and a remote release to extend your exposure and lower your ISO. Any budget left could go to another lens, maybe a short zoom somewhere around 18-120 for your aps-c format
 

Clovishound

Senior Member
I understand that spending that kind of money is not in everyone's situation.

Before you spend your available money on new equipment, I would advise maximizing your processes and techniques. If you have access to de-noise software, try it out. There are free options available online, I have no idea how good they are, but they are certainly worth a try. It is truly amazing what some of the software can do. I would also recommend you start editing your software. Again, there is some decent free editing software out there. Even a few minor edits can dramatically improve your images. Nikon has NX Studio available for free from their downloads page. It is fairly basic, but also fairly easy to learn to use. You don't have to own or use a Nikon to get or use it. Programs like Gimp are far more powerful, but require a lot more learning to use well. Shooting in RAW is very much the preferred technique, but it presupposes you are going to edit it in post processing.

The other suggestion I would make is to use a tripod for your night photography. While they are a pain to carry around and set up, it appears you are mainly photographing static subjects, which is perfect for tripod use. They also slow you down and make you think more critically about your image prior to hitting the shutter button. This is purely a personal decision, as some folks feel too constrained by the use of a tripod. Your images are soft by design and don't necessarily require pin sharp focus points. However, one can always soften a sharp image, it is very difficult to sharpen a motion blurred image.

While modern mirrorless cameras will autofocus much better in very low light conditions than older cameras, they still can struggle with it.

Since you are posting your images from Flickr, there is no EXIF data available. If you post your photos directly from your computer to this forum, it will come with your photo and we can see information on how you shot your photo. This is helpful when asking advice on settings, equipment etc. Here are instructions on how to do that, if you choose to.

How to post images on the forum
 

myststars

New member
I understand that spending that kind of money is not in everyone's situation.

Before you spend your available money on new equipment, I would advise maximizing your processes and techniques. If you have access to de-noise software, try it out. There are free options available online, I have no idea how good they are, but they are certainly worth a try. It is truly amazing what some of the software can do. I would also recommend you start editing your software. Again, there is some decent free editing software out there. Even a few minor edits can dramatically improve your images. Nikon has NX Studio available for free from their downloads page. It is fairly basic, but also fairly easy to learn to use. You don't have to own or use a Nikon to get or use it. Programs like Gimp are far more powerful, but require a lot more learning to use well. Shooting in RAW is very much the preferred technique, but it presupposes you are going to edit it in post processing.

The other suggestion I would make is to use a tripod for your night photography. While they are a pain to carry around and set up, it appears you are mainly photographing static subjects, which is perfect for tripod use. They also slow you down and make you think more critically about your image prior to hitting the shutter button. This is purely a personal decision, as some folks feel too constrained by the use of a tripod. Your images are soft by design and don't necessarily require pin sharp focus points. However, one can always soften a sharp image, it is very difficult to sharpen a motion blurred image.

While modern mirrorless cameras will autofocus much better in very low light conditions than older cameras, they still can struggle with it.

Since you are posting your images from Flickr, there is no EXIF data available. If you post your photos directly from your computer to this forum, it will come with your photo and we can see information on how you shot your photo. This is helpful when asking advice on settings, equipment etc. Here are instructions on how to do that, if you choose to.

How to post images on the forum
Until i figured out posting here you can click on the image and it will take you to flickr...On the right under the camera model there is "show settings" you have the EXIF data.
The problem with software is that if i take the picture at iso 6400 or 12800 the details and DR are already lost and cannot be recovered..Pentax also has it's own utility but it may or may not be the best versus the new AI denoisers.
The tripod is useful if i travel specifically for photography but otherwise i may not carry it with me.Also if i board planes or go long distances and mountain hikes i will not carry the tripod.I am also skinny guy.Basically i have to rely on shooting handheld most of times.
Regarding autofocus now i think manual focus is the best way to go in my case.I do not have to worry about the camera autofocus system anymore.The fog plus nightime may push the autofocus system too far even for top of the line cameras..
How is the Z6 mk1 camera ?

@tonye suggested a zoom lens... Pentax has 18-250mm WR (weather resistant) lens but it is 3.5-6.3 aperture ... This is not a low light lens but it will do the job for daylight...

Thank you.
 

Clovishound

Senior Member
I have no experience with the Z6 line. Looking at the specs on it, the Z6 has a 24MP BSI vs the Z6iii which has a semi stacked. From what I read, the BSI sensor should have an edge over semi stacked in low light performance. This would be a plus for your stated needs. The down side is autofocus and video performance is better in the Z6iii.

For me, as primarily a wildlife photographer, the autofocus performance trumps low light. For you, it sounds like the low light would be more desired.

Actually, I wouldn't get overly concerned with the loss of resolution from ISOs in the range you have been shooting. Yes, there will be more resolution in a 100 ISO image than a 6400 ISO. However, the shots I'm looking at are not going to have lots of fine detail anyway. They actually don't need fine detail, they are about mood and soft texture, versus lots of resolution. I almost always choose a high enough shutter speed to get a sharp image, over lower ISOs. If the image is blurry from a too low shutter speed, you've lost the resolution anyway. Again, modern software does wonders cleaning up noisy images.

If you aren't going to be using a tripod, then good vibration reduction helps a lot. All the full frame Nikon Z lenses have In Body Image Stabilization. The vibration reduction equipment is inside the camera, vs the lens. If the lens has VR built into it, the two can work together to further stabilize the image. Most of the full frame wide to normal range Z lenses do not have VR in the lens, and rely on the IBIS. FYI, the IBIS in the Z6iii offers better stabilization than the original Z6.

I looked at the data from some of your night images. I notice you used F4.5 for most of them. Why use F4.5 rather than the F1.8 your lens is capable of to either decrease ISO, or increase shutter speed? That's an additional roughly 3 stops. Just curious.
 

tonye

New member
I looked at the data from some of your night images. I notice you used F4.5 for most of them. Why use F4.5 rather than the F1.8 your lens is capable of to either decrease ISO, or increase shutter speed? That's an additional roughly 3 stops. Just curious.
Probably for depth of field, just a guess.
 

nikonbill

Senior Member
Contributor
@myststars - Thank you for sharing some of your images, this really helps! First point I want to make they are some really nice photos.

I am not personally familiar with the Z6 mk1 (don't own one) but from reading what folks think and the fact it has two successors at this point other than low cost it maynot be the "best" choice. The new Z5II is reported to do very well at low light but it is out of the price bracket we need to be in.

So this brings me to my recommendation - get into editing after the camera.

Disclaimer - I'm just a retired mechanic so I don't have any connection to the software I am going to recommend, every thing is 0 cost (provided you have a PC).

Any editors you try will take on a learning curve some steep, but they will give you the reduction in noise you seek and better detail than you will think possible. There are several ways to edit and you will have to find what works for you as this is an extra step. I feel if you are editing in camera (and you are doing great at that from your examples) you can eliminate that step and do it on a PC.

In my opinion any addition you make to your gear would require this step to get the quality you desire in your images. So the sooner you get into good editing practice the better for your photography. The biggest plus is its the cheapest way to go even if you had to purchase a PC.

So I recommend Affinity Studio version 3 - the maker is now Canva and you simply create an account with just an email using the software is free. I have used Affinity for many years (versions 1 and 2) they do "offer" some AI tools that require a paid subscription I do not use those and for your goals I do not think you need them. This software would be the "easiest" to learn because there are many free tutorials and is in wide spread use. I would be thrilled to share my techniques concerning noise reduction if you like. There are several settings you would want to use so as not to destroy your detail. Learning these is the "price" of free and low cost software.

Second recommendation is GIMP and Raw Therapee - Both are open source software (free) they are very popular they have many tutorials as well. This combo is a little harder to learn however its very capable.

Affinity has Windows and MAC installers

GIMP/Rawtherapy have Windows and Linux versions

If you like I can download one of your images and "play" with it if you want to show you what is possible. Not having the RAW file will limit some of the detail retention but it would give you a good idea what is being discussed. I even have the Topaz AI tool Clovishound demoed (it's not free) if you would like to "see" how that would work on one of your photos. I have gotten proficient enough with Affinity I feel I can get better results than using the Topaz software with detail retention I don't use it much anymore.

If you take this step you will not regret it, even if you want to purchase software (basically the more you spend the more automated they become) and its the cheapest thing you could do.

All the best in your decision
 
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