Ducks and Swans

[casil403]

In January I went back home to visit my family in BC. The live near this lagoon/bird sanctuary area and every day at around noon, this couple comes to feed the ducks and swans buckets of bird feed. We went down to have a look....so many swans and hundreds of ducks! I got to hand feed the swans ...was quite something!

[Ben H]

Wow!

Ducktastic! :clap:

Great shots!

[Barefoot]

Casil, do you realize just how incredible that fourth shot is? To me, at least, it is.

Was there any post p in it?

[Michaelaw]

That last shot is a sea of ducks, sort of a "Where's Waldo" in duck terms. The swans have a decidedly yellow cast on my monitor, is that just me?

[JAS_Photo]

Holy Heck! Look at all those green heads! cool shots Casil!

[casil403]

Casil, do you realize just how incredible that fourth shot is? To me, at least, it is.

Was there any post p in it?

Thanks!
Just a small crop to remove a swan butt..other than that nada.
I actually had these in the recycle bin destined for deletion as I didn't think much of them and pulled them at the last minute.

Michael, the swans necks were a bit on the yellowish side if that's what you are seeing...the rest of their bodies are white in the original. The ducks in the back seem white too so not too sure. I probably had it on the wrong WB (actually I probably had the setting on auto) as this was the first photos I took with the DSLR :)

[Barefoot]

Another question. Were they shot with the K200D? If so, maybe you could put that last one back on a card and then put the card in the 200D so that you could run the HDR filter option the camera offers. I'd really like to see that.

[casil403]

They were all shot w/ the k200. How would i go about putting it back on the card?

[Barefoot]

Do you use a card reader or a USB cable to download images from the camera?

[casil403]

yeah...i think i just figured it out....transfer file

[Barefoot]

Hope:fingerscr it works, I bet it will be even cooler!

[casil403]

It loads back onto the SD card, but the camera won't show it ....:cry-an:

[Barefoot]

Well, damn. :wall-an:

Didn't you download the trial of Photomatix? Cheat it!

[casil403]

I'll download it onto this computer...I'm on the other one right now and get it to you ASAP!
Thanks for the help tho!

[Barefoot]

Don't rush. I just thought it would be cool to see what it would look like after the 200D's HDR filter had a chance to work on it. It would probably be a subtle effect, but I am interested in seeing what the in camera process looks like.

[jjeling]

Another question. Were they shot with the K200D? If so, maybe you could put that last one back on a card and then put the card in the 200D so that you could run the HDR filter option the camera offers. I'd really like to see that.

Hate to break it to you guys but thats not going to work.
The option on the Pentax cameras is called "Extended" dynamic range(EDR) and not "High" dynamic range(HDR). Putting the image onto a card and then back into the camera is not going to change enhance the image more than it already is. Not only that, EDR only applies to in-camera JPEGS. This means that if you are a RAW shooter, the EDR option is completely useless. There is more information for exposure and color in RAW than EDR JPEGS. In essence, shooting in RAW is still as good as a camera will get. Otherwise, if your shooting in JPEG mode, the details of the image are not going to get much better. The camera is not going to be able to create more information about an image if it is put back into the camera with EDR turned on. EDR is not a filter, it is something that is applied to images the instant they are exposed.

Also, as another tip for Pentax shooters using JPEGs. DO NOT trust the camera's default settings. Pentax sets the contrast, sharpness, and color settings down. They are extremely conservative with this. If you turn each of these settings up, then the quality of the JPEGS is the same as any Canon or Nikon. This is something the most reviews of Pentax cameras do not pick up on. Raw files are raw files from any camera, sharpening to your desire is forced regardless in this situation.

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/55085-camera-hdr-2.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/55152-dynamic-range-200-k20d.html

[Barefoot]

While the link I posted to an article in another thread suggested that the K20 and K200 would create actual HDR images in camera was as bogus as it could be, and I left a comment on the dude’s website to that effect, the fact of the matter is that both cameras do indeed have a filter that simulates the HDR process.

I’m not talking about the “EDR” function of the camera, which amounts to nothing more than Nikon’s “Active D Lighting” feature. Both of those features are designed to preserve detail in harsh lighting conditions. I feel sure that Canon offers a similar feature.

Rather than believe what I was reading in some bogus review by a cat that didn’t know what he was talking about or what was posted in a Pentax forum by someone who might have a clue, I just went straight to the horses mouth and downloaded the user manual for the 200D.

It clearly states on page 184 that by selecting the HDR filter from the eight available in camera filters it will, and I quote, “create an image that looks as though it is a High Dynamic Range Image. Select from three levels.”

Works on jpeg’s only.

[jjeling]

Will have some more info on this tomorrow. Just posed the question on the Pentax forums. If it is an HDR filter, the differences between my K10 and the K20 and 200 are crazy. A lot of new options that seem unlikely, but you never know.
If this is a filter is applied like other in-camera filters(B&W, sepia, etc) it seems like this would work if the file were to remain untouched(unedited and same file name) and left in its original folder. Basically, if you remove the card and put it back in, it would work. Copy and paste would be ok, but nothing more than that, needs to be the "original" file.

[Mad Aussie]

Great shots Casil! Can't believe you throwing those away!

[Barefoot]

Great shots Casil! Can't believe you throwing those away!

Really, that fourth shot is just crazy good to me.

[MoinMoin]

The last picture is really great - and there is ONE without a green head.
Who else is seeing this "mistake"? ;-)

@Michaelaw: Yes - I see the yellow on the swan-photos too.

[Mad Aussie]

The last picture is really great - and there is ONE without a green head.
Who else is seeing this "mistake"? ;-)
Bottom left corner ;)

[jlabel]

Very nice pictures, its a pity that you caughta pigeon in the first frame