Mesquite Baron

[Dario]

Here is another Baron and some of my very own mesquite ...feel free to critique

 

[tipusnr]

Nice job. I like the clean lines and the finish looks like a quality job. Does the mesquite shimmer like claro walnut?

 

[Old Griz]

Nice clean lines... I see you are using some of the ugly stuff you won't sell the rest of us.. []
You're doing good Dario...
The only critique is the picture... it is a bit pixilated... what setting are you using on your camera..

 

[JimGo]

Originally posted by Old Griz
<br />Nice clean lines... I see you are using some of the ugly stuff you won't sell the rest of us.. []
You're doing good Dario...
The only critique is the picture... it is a bit pixilated... what setting are you using on your camera..

I agree, great pen! Pic is pixelated, and and it looks a little washed out. More contrast in the pic would be helpful.

 

[Dario]

Tom,

The pics were quickies this noon after my lunch at home. I will check the settings tonight and report back. I just tried to take advantage of the natural light but it is very cloudy this past few days. My digital camera's Achilles heel is poor lighting. I probably over compressed the pics too [].

This is actually NOT amongst my personal stuff yet []...some IAP member got similar or better stuff from me. Admittingly, it is one of the better stuff though.

Tom, you know how much I've learned from you []. I thank you for your patience and willingness to share knowledge. I know it takes a lot of time to type each response whenever I "bug" you [].

Bill, I never turned claro walnut, it sure beats black walnut though. This does shimmer specially around the tiger striped areas (which didn't show much) and have nice chatoyance (sp?).

 

[Fangar]

Dario,

Nice Pen!

I think the problem with your photo is with what ever you are resizing the photo with. Your file size is only 25 K or so which tells me that it is really squashed. It causes the edges of the items in the photo to wave like yours does.

If you ever want to, send me one of your photos unsized straight from the camera and I would be happy to make some suggestions.

Cheers,

James

 

[alamocdc]

Good looking pen, Dario! [^]

 

[MDWine]

I just finished a "Dario Mesquite" last week, I've been too lazy to take pics yet... I will soon.

Nice pen Dario, very nicely done!

 

[Rifleman1776]

You asked about the pen. Nice work. Baron is always a good choice. Why doesn't my mesquite look as nice as your mesquite? Very attractive wood, I wood [] not have guessed it to be mesquite.

 

[Dario]

Frank,

I have better mesquite but they are not $1.00 each []...for $1.75 you can have better than these [].

Oops...I am on the wrong forum, sorry.

 

[alamocdc]

Frank, mine doesn't look like that either... [}] because I had a catch and blew out the end. []

 

[Dario]

Originally posted by Old Griz
<br />what setting are you using on your camera..

Tom,

Here is the camera settings. Camera by the way is Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC40 4MP with Leica lense.

AE Mode (P, A, S) = P
W. Balance (Auto, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, flourescent, flash, studio, manual) = Auto
ISO Sensitivity (Auto, 100, 200, 400) = 100
Spot AF (on, off) = on
Audio Rec (on, off) = off
Picture size (2240, 1600, 1120, 640) = 1120
Quality (Reg Comp, High comp, TIFF) = reg comp
Digital Zoon (on, off) = off
Picture Adjustment:
- Contrast (low, std, high) = low
- Sharpness (low, std, high) = high
- Saturation (low, std, high) = high

Thanks!

 

[Old Griz]

Make the following changes, they should make a difference

AE Mode (P, A, S) = P
W. Balance (Auto, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, flourescent, flash, studio, manual) = Auto
ISO Sensitivity (Auto, 100, 200, 400) = 100 Change to Auto
Spot AF (on, off) = on
Audio Rec (on, off) = off
Picture size (2240, 1600, 1120, 640) = 1120
Quality (Reg Comp, High comp, TIFF) = reg comp Change to either High or Tiff
Digital Zoon (on, off) = off
Picture Adjustment:
- Contrast (low, std, high) = low Change to std
- Sharpness (low, std, high) = high Change to std
- Saturation (low, std, high) = high Change to std

 

[Dario]

Thanks Tom,

I changed the settings and took some pics. They came out better but still dark. Will try taking some on daylight and post it later []

 

[Old Griz]

Dario, if those are the new pics on the thread, they are still pixilated.. I think you are compressing them too much...
Here is one of my pics.. the top is the way I originally posted it.. the bottom is set at the same compression size you used on your pic... you can see the difference...
I am not trying to be a PITA, but hoping this helps you to visualize what compression can do

<br />

 

[dancrafted]

Very nice pen.

 

[Dario]

Tom,

Nope they are still the same pics. I will try the new settings this weekend.

 

[wayneis]

Another thing to try is to set the white balance to manual and adjust it to the light that you have. Thats what I have been doing and it makes a big difference.

Wayne

 

[Dario]

Wayne,

I tried that last night with all other setting mods that Griz noted. I actually took several shots of the same subject changing just the white balance option and the best was my "flash" option. Much better compared to auto and the rest...but not enough.

My camera really needs natural light or maybe better lighting than what I have.

Thanks!

 

[Fangar]

Dario,

If your photos are coming out dark, there are one of two issues. You have to adjust the shutter (or how much time the sensor collects image information on a digital). More time, allows more light to enter the image. The other option is to add more light, which sometimes only fools the auto features on your camera to speed the shutter up in an attempt to compensate and thus maintaining the dark image issues.

Unfortunately, you have stumbled across one of the biggest issues with many digital cameras, low light issues.

However, what I see in your photos are not lighting issues, but pixelation like Tom mentioned. Many times caused by overcompressing a photo for posting to the web. Many times even a dark photo can be adjusted to look fine with the proper editing software.

James

 

[Dario]

Fangar,

I am using Paint shop Pro V6 and should be fine. Though I did overcompress, the actual picture is already pixilated (is there such word?) to begin with.

I read about this problem on DPReview after I bought my camera...it is a Panasonic software problem. Camera works very well on natural light but starts to shatter details once it is dark or HOT (and I am in Texas)...why I don't know.

I think they fixed the issue on their next cameras but never issued a "fix" firmware for mine. This is the first camera that Panasonic made/sold that I know...and as luck would have it, that's what I bought. []

Thanks!

 

[Old Griz]

Dario, I have the perfect fix for you photos.... I don't know why I didn't think of it before...
You have my mailing address so just send me the pens and I will take the pictures for you... no problems...
[][]

 

[alamocdc]

Dario, one of the two pics you sent me was not pixelated (at least not like what you have). Only the one you cropped. That is what is causing your pixelation. I've had the same problem with certain programs. I've had the same problem with resizing in some programs. For example, MS Photo Editor (older program) works fine for resizing as long as you choose 50%. Anything different and the pic pixelates. I haven't tried the free MS program Eagle uses yet, but it sems to work for those that use it.

 

[jvsank]

Great looking pen

 

[jbyrd24]

Great looking pen Dario[] The mesquite looks vaguely familiar[][]

 

[hobby_dale]

Dario, very nice job on the pen!