Tell The Kids They're Just Playing (also: A Rant)

      They're not doing what you (you dirty-minded person, you) think they're doing. This was a fleeting moment: the one on top was just strolling along, not caring that it had just run over someone.

      It's hard to keep highlights from blowing out in the bright lights of the Academy. This photo would be a lot better if that wasn't a concern.

      Did you notice the digital noise in yesterday's photo? It is most readily apparent in the dark area at the top. That's another photo that would be a lot better if not for one stupid problem. My damn K10D is from the early production run of that camera, which became known for having really bad vertical banding patterns (noise) in low-light situations. Pentax released a firmware fix for it, but it only reduced the problem's severity rather than fixing it completely. As far as I know, they never offered to replace the affected cameras or tried further firmware fixes. I have never been able to shoot long nighttime exposures (or effectively turn up the exposure in post-processing of underexposed photos like yesterday's) because of this problem. Due to the expense of buying a new (or used) replacement camera, I will have to avoid these shooting situations for a long time to come, and this really makes me mad.

      I can't send the camera in for any kind of repair or replacement, because it is years out of warranty and I don't think they'd do anything anyway. I can't sell the camera to get a new one, because who is going to pay anything for a camera with a problem like this, that is also multiple generations behind? It also has a problem with alignment: No matter how level the scene looks in my viewfinder, the photo is always noticeably tilted. This means either the sensor is misaligned, or the prism is. I sent the camera in (while it was under warranty) for this problem as well as a back-focusing issue, and when it came back it was only partly fixed. I just didn't notice right away, because I'd assumed they had done it right.

      Basically, I am stuck with a lemon, and every time I come up against this noise problem I get really mad at myself for being so loyal to Pentax. I have no desire (nor could I afford) to switch brands (no one else makes lenses like Pentax's little primes), but I'm getting real tired of my camera.

      Maybe that's the real reason I shoot so rarely these days.

7:24 PM